Riccardo Mannella

High-fidelity quantum driving

Transforming a quantum system with high fidelity is usually a trade-off between an increase in speed—thereby minimizing decoherence—and robustness against fluctuating control parameters. Protocols at these two extreme limits are now demonstrated and compared using Bose–Einstein condensates in optical traps.

Stochastic resonance in perspective.

SummaryWe outline the historical development of stochastic resonance (SR), a phenomenon in which the signal and/or the signal-to-noise ratio in a nonlinear system increase with increasing intensity of noise. We discuss basic theoretical ideas explaining and describing SR, and we review some revealing experimental data that place SR within the wider context of statistical physics. We emphasize the close relationship of SR to some effects that are well known in condensed-matter physics.

Intestinal and lung parasites in owned dogs and cats from central Italy

Prevalence and risk factors of intestinal and lung parasites were investigated in 239 owned dogs and 81 owned cats from central Italy. In 36 dogs and 20 cats found infected by nematodes, pre and post-treatment faecal egg count (FEC) was also evaluated. About 31% of dogs and about 35% of cats resulted positive for at least one intestinal or lung parasitic species. Helminthic, intestinal and zoonotic infections resulted prevalent in examined animals. Examined dogs resulted infected by Toxocara canis (13.0%), Toxascaris leonina (1.7%), Trichuris vulpis (3.3%), Ancylostoma caninum (2.0%), Uncinaria stenocephala (1.25%), Strongyloides stercoralis (0.8%), Angiostrongylus vasorum (0.4%), Dipylidium caninum (1.25%), Taeniidae eggs (0.4%), Giardia duodenalis (3.8%), and Cystoisospora (Isospora) spp. (7.5%). Examined cats were infected by Toxocara cati (22.2%), Capillaria aerophila (1.2%), Ancylostoma tubaeformae (1.2%), U. stenocephala (3.7%), Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (1.2%), Mesocestoides sp. (1.2%), D. caninum (1.2%), G. duodenalis (1.2%) and Cystoisospora spp. (4.5%). The presence of clinical signs and the young age (less than 6 months) were identified as risk factors by univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. In 63.9% treated dogs and in 80.0% treated cats, percentages of post-treatment FEC reduction higher than 90% were found. Results obtained in this study are discussed.

Stochastic resonance in electrical circuits. II. Nonconventional stochastic resonance

For pt.I see ibid., vol.46, no.9, pp.1205-14 (1999). Stochastic resonance (SR), in which a periodic signal in a nonlinear system can be amplified by added noise, is discussed. The application of circuit modeling techniques to the conventional form of SR, which occurs in static bistable potentials, was considered in a companion paper. Here, the investigation of nonconventional forms of SR in part using similar electronic techniques is described. In the small-signal limit, the results are well described in terms of linear response theory. Some other phenomena of topical interest, closely related to SR, are also treated.

Absorbing boundaries and optimal stopping in a stochastic differential equation

Abstract The problem of optimal stopping to an absorbing boundary in a stochastic differential equation (and more generally, in a stochastic series) is studied. It is shown that a simple minded approach may lead to incorrect results and that some corrections are needed. An algorithm for the correction is introduced and compared to numerical simulations for some case examples.

Time-resolved measurement of Landau-Zener tunneling in periodic potentials.

We report time-resolved measurements of Landau-Zener tunneling of Bose-Einstein condensates in accelerated optical lattices, clearly resolving the steplike time dependence of the band populations. Using different experimental protocols we were able to measure the tunneling probability both in the adiabatic and in the diabatic bases of the system. We also experimentally determine the contribution of the momentum width of the Bose condensates to the temporal width of the tunneling steps and discuss the implications for measuring the jump time in the Landau-Zener problem.

Quasisymplectic integrators for stochastic differential equations

Two specialized algorithms for the numerical integration of the equations of motion of a Brownian walker obeying detailed balance are introduced. The algorithms become symplectic in the appropriate limits and reproduce the equilibrium distributions to some higher order in the integration time step. Comparisons with other existing integration schemes are carried out both for static and dynamical quantities.

Nonconventional Stochastic Resonance

It is argued, on the basis of linear response theory (LRT), that new types of stochastic resonance (SR) are to be anticipated in diverse systems, quite different from the one most commonly studied to date, which has a static double-well potential and is driven by a net force equal to the sum of periodic and stochastic terms. On this basis, three new nonconventional forms of SR are predicted, sought, found, and investigated both theoretically and by analogue electronic experiment: (a) in monostable systems; (b) in bistable systems with periodically modulated noise; and (c) in a system with coexisting periodic attractors. In each case, it is shown that LRT can provide a good quantitative description of the experimental results for sufficiently weak driving fields. It is concluded that SR is a much more general phenomenon than has hitherto been appreciated.

A Gentle Introduction to the Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations

A gentle introduction to the simulation of stochastic differential equations is presented, with particular attention to the simulation of rare fluctuations, a topic of interest in the light of recent theoretical work on optimal paths. The “best algorithm” and some problems connected to the treatment of the boundaries will be discussed.

Experiments on critical phenomena in a noisy exit problem.

SUMMARY We consider noise-driven exit from a domain of attraction in a two-dimensional bistable system lacking detailed balance. Through analog and digital stochastic simulations, we find a theoretically predicted bifurcation of the most probable exit path as the parameters of the system are changed, and a corresponding nonanalyticity of the activation energy. We also investigate the extent to which the bifurcation is related to the local breaking of time-reversal invariance.