Daily Archives: March 5, 2020

Decades after Einstein described quantum entanglement as spooky action at a distance, it was still seen as a quirkyif fascinatingfeature of quantum theory. But that changed in the early 1990s when physicists predicted that entanglement would allow the state of one particle to be transferredor, teleportedto another. Suddenly entanglement was not just something weird, but something useful, says Guifre Vidal, a graduate student at the time.

To know how useful a quantum state was, you had to know how much entanglement it contained, and this was exactly what Vidal and other theorists wanted to quantify. In a 2002 paper, Vidal, by then a postdoc at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and his coauthor Reinhard Werner of the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, focused on a measure of entanglement that would apply to mixed states. Compared with the pure states that had been considered before, mixed states are more representative of those that can be created in experiments.

The measure, known as logarithmic negativity, was attractive to experimentalists because it allowed them to compare entanglement in different setups, says Vidal. Negativity is still used today to assess, for example, new ways of creating entangled photons for quantum information technologies. But Vidal, who now works at X (formerly, Google X), values the entanglement measures for a different reason. In his view, it led researchers to powerful mathematical tools for describing quantum systems, called tensor networks. This formalism has influenced the development of quantum gravity, quantum field theory, quantum simulation, and artificial intelligence.

Jan Sperling, a theorist who recently began leading a group at Paderborn University in Germany, says Vidal and Werners paper influenced the way physicists characterize a quantum systems unique characteristicsin essence, its quantumness. It also laid the groundwork for so-called quantum resource theories. Much like thermodynamics sets limits on the efficiency of an engine, a resource theory defines the capabilities of a quantum system.

Sperling says he was drawn to the fundamental and application-oriented sides of entanglement, which he sees as increasingly converging. It is interesting to observe how basic concepts of quantum physics have inspired and revolutionized quantum information technologies, potentially benefiting society as a whole.

G. Vidal and R. F. Werner, Computable measure of entanglement, Phys. Rev. A 65, 032314 (2002).

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50 Years of Physical Review A: The Legacy of Three Classics - Physics

The world of physics was turned on its head once quantum mechanics was discovered, and since that point, in time, the topic has been a big topic of debate in the scientific world.

One of the leading physicists who are pursuing an understanding of quantum mechanics is theoretical physicist Sean Carroll. In Carroll's new book, 'Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds And The Emergence Of Spacetime' he pushes forth the Many World's Theory, or parallel universe understanding quantum mechanics. Now, this is where things get tricky to understand, and rather than attempting to recite such a complex topic, I'd advise you to watch the above video.

Carroll is taking his theory to Australian audiences in "Our Preposterous Universe" tour, and has also recently spoken to News.com.au about his theory. According to News.com.au, Carroll's base theory on observing an electron in the quantum state is that the electron is actually in all of its possible positions at once, but just different parallel universes. Here's what is stated by the publication, "Out of the known mechanics of quantum states must emerge multiple, parallel worlds."

Carroll says, "But there's a lot more going on, not every world you imagine actually comes true. There are still equations, physical rules, patterns that must be obeyed. Some possible alternate worlds can come true. But not all of them."

If you are after anymore information regarding what Carroll has to say about his theory, check out this link here.

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Parallel Universes do exist and we will find them, says physicist - TweakTown

A conservationist in France haas uncovered a highly valuable first edition copy of the great physicist Isaac Newton's pioneering text Philosophi Naturalis Principiaone of the most important works in the history of science and mathematics.

The textwhose title translates as Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy from the original Latinwas first published in 1687 and consists of three books.

In the manuscript, the English scientist famously outlined his three laws of motion, which formed the bedrock of classical mechanicsa branch of physics which deals with the movement (or equilibrium) of bodies under the influence of forces.

The first edition text in question was found by Vannina Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff, a director of conservation at the Fesch public heritage librarylocated in Ajaccio on the French island of Corsica the AFP reported.

The library, which contains around 50,000 books, was founded by Lucien Bonaparte, a brother of the famous statesman and military leader Napolon Bonaparte who was Emperor of France at the beginning of the 19th century.

Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff came across the workoften referred to simply as the "Principia"while examining an index created by Lucien Bonaparte. The conservationist noted the text appeared to be surprisingly well preserved.

"I found the Holy Grail in the main room, hidden in the upper shelves," Schirinsky-Schikhmatoff told the AFP. "The cover has a little damage but inside it's in excellent conditionthis is the cornerstone of modern mathematics."

After initial publication of the work, English translations were printed. However, first edition Latin copies of the Principiawhich were intended for distribution on the European mainlandare highly prized, given that only around 400 were produced, The Guardian reported. Only about half of these are thought to remain in existence today.

One such first edition copy became the most expensive printed science book ever sold in December 2016, after an anonymous buyer paid around $3.7 million for it during an auction at Christie's in New York.

The Principia helped to shape the evolution of modern physics. In fact, the work was famously described by Albert Einstein as "perhaps the greatest intellectual stride that it has ever been granted to any man to make."

In the work, Newton outlines his universal physical laws of gravitation and motion, helping to explain phenomena which were previously described by renowned scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, according to Christie's.

"For the first time a single mathematical law could explain the motion of objects on earth as well as the phenomena of the heavens," a Christie's description of the book read. "It was this grand conception that produced a general revolution in human thought, equaled perhaps only by that following Darwin's Origin of Species."

The famous three laws of motion can be described as follows, according Stanford University:

While the advent of Einstein's theory of relativity and the rise of quantum mechanics posed a challenge to Newton's ideas, the laws outlined in Principia are still key to our understanding of the universe, centuries after publication.

The masterwork may never have been published, however, if it wasn't for the efforts of the renowned English astronomer Edmond Halleythe man who Halley's comet was named after. Halley encouraged Newton to produce a text outlining his ideas and edited the work once written. The astronomer also covered most of the printing costs because the Royal Societythe world's oldest independent scientific academyhad run out of money at the time and was no longer able to finance the project.

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Rare Copy of Isaac Newton's Masterwork Discovered on French Island - Newsweek

This month in Insights & Outcomes, Yale scientists take a deep dive into thermodynamics, discover a new drug to treat seizures, and unify the algebra of everything.

As always, be sure to keep tabs on the latest research news in the Science & Technology and Health & Medicine pages on YaleNews. For now, grab your lab coat and lets go:

Its long been understood that you can eliminate wasted energy in a thermodynamic change from a cars speed to the biological processes in a cell as long as the change occurs slowly enough. But theres a limit to this, according to assistant professor of physics Benjamin Machta and graduate student Samuel Bryant.

In a new study, they report that all controlled thermodynamic changes must consume a minimum amount of energy, regardless of speed. Previous analyses have missed an important, but easily overlooked point, Bryant said. The control mechanism responsible for changing the object under consideration must necessarily waste some energy. Machta and Bryant said their work is particularly relevant for biology, where processes such as the release of calcium in muscles, do seem to be paying substantial costs in energy. The study appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The prognosis for people suffering from chronic epilepsy is often poor, even after surgery and with anti-seizure medication. Now a Yale team has found that an experimental drug which targets a protein linked to two genetic disorders associated with intractable epilepsy reduces seizures and cell abnormalities in mouse models of the conditions. This is a completely new treatment with unexpected benefits, said Yales Angelique Bordey, professor of neurosurgery and of cellular and molecular physiology and senior author of the research.

Bordey and first author Longbo Zhang said they hope the drug that targets the protein FLNA might help reduce seizures in those with epilepsy as well as two genetic disorders, tuberous sclerosis complex and focal cortical dysplasia type II, which is found in a subset of patients. The study appears in Science Translational Medicine.

A study led by Yale emergency medicine assistant professor Edouard Coupet II, M.D., found that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not associated with a change in opioid overdoses (ODs). The researchers found no link between expansion of insurance for young adults under the ACA (via extended dependent coverage) and any fatal prescription, non-prescription opioids such as heroin, or methadone overdoses, nor emergency department encounters. Such a link had been suggested by advocates of ACA repeal. Researchers compared a group that was eligible before the ACA passed to a group that became eligible after ACA passed.

Coupet, a National Institute on Drug Abuse-sponsored Yale Drug Use, Addiction, and HIV Scholar, said the findings underscore the importance of increased insurance coverage in providing mental health and addiction services to vulnerable populations. Around the time when young adults are seeing a lot of behavioral health issues manifest, including substance use disorders, expanding access to providers allows them to pursue addiction treatment, he said. The study appears in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

For more than a century, classical mechanics and quantum mechanics have been thought to be very different. Peter Morgan, a laboratory associate in physics, now argues that they can be unified. In a new study, Morgan takes an algebraic approach to demonstrating that classical and quantum mechanics are equally capable of modeling measurements and analyzing measurement results. A more precise understanding of their relationship, Morgan said, enables a unification of collapse and no-collapse interpretations of quantum mechanics. This recognition provides for new approaches to the unification of general relativity, which is essentially classical, and the standard model of particle physics, which is essentially quantum, he said. The study appears in Annals of Physics.

Researchers at Yale and the University of Michigan found, to their surprise, that people do not report bias toward emergency room physicians based on gender or race. The study enrolled 3,592 participants from across the U.S. and asked them to imagine that they had been admitted to the ER for stomach pain. Participants were presented with a physicians image a white man, white woman, black man, or black woman and two conflicting diagnoses, a conservative one established by the physician, and a more aggressive one (appendicitis) that the participant self-diagnosed using a web-based source. Researchers asked a series of questions related to confidence in the diagnosis and treatment plan. They found no loss of confidence or satisfaction in physicians based on race or gender.

These results have different implications for different groups. The results are positive from an organizational and policy standpoint, and make a strong case for continuing to build a diverse and inclusive physician workforce, said Basmah Safdar, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine, who specializes in sex and gender-specific research. Safdar said the findings do not invalidate the many negative personal experiences women and black physicians experience due to patient bias. The study appears in JAMA Network Open.

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Insights & Outcomes: Thermodynamics and the algebra of everything - Yale News

Wormhole traveling is mainly known for being a very fictional concept, and the general assumption when it comes to wormhole traveling seems to be that it has always stayed that way. However, one physicist believes that this may actually be proven to be true.

Express reports that Harvard physicist Daniel Jafferis weighed in on the concept of traveling through a wormhole and wormholes in general. Dr. Jafferis explained that it would take a long time to go through a wormhole, much longer compared to direct travel, and thus it would not be useful when it comes to navigating space. In his work, Dr. Jafferis hopes to make a quantum theory of gravity, which is something that scientists have always wanted to achieve for years.

Dr. Jafferis revealed that the key import of his work is its link to the black hole information problem as well as the link between gravity and quantum mechanics. I think it will teach us deep things about the gauge/gravity correspondence, quantum gravity, and even perhaps a new way to formulate quantum mechanics, He added.

The reason why wormholes would take longer to travel through is that the black holes, which essentially serve as openings to these wormholes, are not in a straight line. Dr. Jafferis likened wormhole traveling to quantum teleportation via black holes. However, just getting to a black hole is a challenge in itself as the nearest black hole to Earth is trillions of miles away.

Speaking of black holes, it was previously reported that this celestial enigma tends to reject the basic laws of quantum mechanics, including Albert Einsteins theory of relativity simply by consuming physical information and making it disappear. This is a concept that many scientists have debated and failed to agree on one definitive explanation to this object.

According to Italian astrophysicist, Fabio Panucci during a Ted Talk back in November of 2019, Throughout history, paradoxes have threatened everything we know, and just as often, they reshape our understanding of the world. Panucci continued to explain that one of the biggest paradoxes in the universe, referred to as the black hole information paradox, threatens to rewrite the theory of relativity as well as quantum mechanics.

The questions it raises for physics are far more urgent, that destruction of information would force us to rewrite some of our most fundamental scientific theories.

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Physicist believes that wormhole travel is possible - EconoTimes

What is the fastest way to heat a system which is coupled to a temperature-controlled oven?

The obvious answer is to utilize just the hottest temperature accessible.

According to a new theoretical study, cooling, as the first step before heating, maybe the fastest way to warm up certain materials. Such precooling could lead in some cases to exponentially quicker heating.

The concept is similar to the Mpemba effect, a process in which hot water can freeze faster than cold water.

Scientists, despite everything, dont concede to why the Mpemba impact occurs, and it isnt very easy to repeat the effect reliably.

Physicist Andrs Santos of Universidad de Extremadura in Badajoz, Spain, said, The new study is a way of thinking of effects like the Mpemba effect from a different perspective.

This potential for faster heating doesnt apply to pizza slices, yet to specific simplified theoretical models of materials, which scientists use to make calculations that assist them in understanding real materials.

Physicists Amit Gal and Oren Raz of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, considered a theoretical framework called the Ising model, a 2-D grid of atoms which have magnetic poles that point either up or down. Specifically, they considered a version of the Ising model in which neighboring atoms tended to point their poles in opposite directions, behavior which is called antiferromagnetic. In that framework, heating could occur faster after a pre-cooling phase.

Gal said, For the new effect to occur, there must be some relevant property of the system other than a uniform temperature that is affected by the precooling. Otherwise, thered be no difference between a system that had been precooled and rewarmed, and one that hadnt. The temperature cannot tell the whole story.

When it comes to the antiferromagnetic Ising model, Scientists considered the overall magnetization produced from all the atoms and also the number of magnets pointed in the opposite direction of their neighbors. Cooling the material could change the ratio between those two properties in a way that would allow heating to proceed more quickly.

Physicist Adolfo del Campo of the Donostia International Physics Center in Spain said, The prospects are exciting. Scientists have been searching for ways to speed up the heating in tiny machines that follow the rules of quantum mechanics and can bypass some of the limits of standard machines (SN: 4/1/19). If the effect can be exploited in such minute machines, it would [be] quite handy.

The study is published in the Physical Review Letters.

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Cooling certain materials is the fastest way to heat them - Tech Explorist