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Reinforcement learning approach to nonequilibrium quantum thermodynamics
2021
We use a reinforcement learning approach to reduce entropy production in a closed quantum system brought out of equilibrium. Our strategy makes use of an external control Hamiltonian and a policy gradient technique. Our approach bears no dependence on the quantitative tool chosen to characterize the degree of thermodynamic irreversibility induced by the dynamical process being considered, require little knowledge of the dynamics itself and does not need the tracking of the quantum state of the system during the evolution, thus embodying an experimentally non-demanding approach to the control of non-equilibrium quantum thermodynamics. We successfully apply our methods to the case of single- …
Vacancy-like Dressed States in Topological Waveguide QED
2020
We identify a class of dressed atom-photon states formingat the same energy of the atom at any coupling strength. As a hallmark, their photonic component is an eigenstate of the bare photonic bath with a vacancy in place of the atom. The picture accommodates waveguide-QED phenomena where atoms behave as perfect mirrors, connecting in particular dressed bound states (BS) in the continuum or BIC with geometrically-confined photonic modes. When applied to photonic lattices, the framework provides a general criterion to predict dressed BS in lattices with topological properties by putting them in one-to-one correspondence with photonic BS. New classes of dressed BS are thus predicted in the pho…
Prevalence and characteristics of antidepressant drug prescriptions in older Italian patients.
2012
ABSTRACTBackground: During last few decades, the proportion of elderly persons prescribed with antidepressants for the treatment of depression and anxiety has increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence of antidepressant prescription and related factors in elderly in-patients, as well as the consistency between prescription of antidepressants and specific diagnoses requiring these medications.Methods: Thirty-four internal medicine and four geriatric wards in Italy participated in the Registro Politerapie SIMI–REPOSI study during 2008. In all, 1,155 in-patients, 65 years or older, were enrolled. Prevalence of the use of antidepressants was calculated at both admission and dis…
Entanglement entropy in a periodically driven quantum Ising chain
2016
We numerically study the dynamics of entanglement entropy, induced by an oscillating time periodic driving of the transverse field, h(t), of a one-dimensional quantum Ising chain. We consider several realizations of h(t), and we find a number of results in analogy with entanglement entropy dynamics induced by a sudden quantum quench. After short-time relaxation, the dynamics of entanglement entropy synchronises with h(t), displaying an oscillatory behaviour at the frequency of the driving. Synchronisation in the dynamics of entanglement entropy, is spoiled by the appearance of quasi-revivals which fade out in the thermodynamic limit, and which we interpret using a quasi-particle picture ada…
Colloquium: Nonequilibrium effects in superconductors with a spin-splitting field
2018
This Colloquium discusses the recent progress in understanding the properties of spin-split superconductors under nonequilibrium conditions. Recent experiments and theories demonstrate a rich variety of transport phenomena occurring in devices based on such materials that suggest direct applications in thermoelectricity, low-dissipative spintronics, radiation detection, and sensing. This text discusses different experimental situations and presents a theoretical framework based on quantum kinetic equations. This framework provides an accurate description of the nonequilibrium distribution of charge, spin, and energy, which are the relevant nonequilibrium modes, in different hybrid structure…
Work fluctuations in bosonic Josephson junctions
2016
We calculate the first two moments and full probability distribution of the work performed on a system of bosonic particles in a two-mode Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian when the self-interaction term is varied instantaneously or with a finite-time ramp. In the instantaneous case, we show how the irreversible work scales differently depending on whether the system is driven to the Josephson or Fock regime of the bosonic Josephson junction. In the finite-time case, we use optimal control techniques to substantially decrease the irreversible work to negligible values. Our analysis can be implemented in present-day experiments with ultracold atoms and we show how to relate the work statistics to that…
Superconducting size effect in thin films under electric field: Mean-field self-consistent model
2019
We consider effects of an externally applied electrostatic field on superconductivity, self-consistently within a BCS mean field model, for a clean 3D metal thin film. The electrostatic change in superconducting condensation energy scales as $\mu^{-1}$ close to subband edges as a function of the Fermi energy $\mu$, and follows 3D scaling $\mu^{-2}$ away from them. We discuss nonlinearities beyond gate effect, and contrast results to recent experiments.
Association between clusters of diseases and polypharmacy in hospitalized elderly patients: results from the REPOSI study.
2011
BACKGROUND: Although the association between multimorbidity and polypharmacy has been clearly documented, no study has analyzed whether or not specific combinations of diseases influence the prescription of polypharmacy in older persons. We assessed which clusters of diseases are associated with polypharmacy in acute-care elderly in-patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was held in 38 Italian internal medicine and geriatric wards participating in the Registro Politerapie SIMI (REPOSI) study during 2008. The study sample included 1155 in-patients aged 65 years or older. Clusters of diseases, defined as two or more co-occurring specific chronic diseases, were identified using the odds…
Aggregation of [Ln(12)(III)] clusters by the dianion of 3-formylsalicylic acid. Synthesis, crystal structures, magnetic and luminescence properties
2019
Three isostrucutral dodecanuclear clusters with the general formula [Ln(12)(fsa)(12)(mu f(3)-OH)(12)(DMF)(12)]center dot nDMF (fsa(2-) is the dianion of 3-formylsalicylic acid; Ln = Eu 1, Gd 2, Dy 3) have been obtained from the reaction of fromylsalicyclic acid (H(2)fsa), tetrabutylammonium hydroxide and Ln(NO3)(3)center dot 6H(2)O in methanol/DMF. Their structure consists of four vertex-sharing heterocubanes. Each heterocubane unit is assembled from four Ln(III) ions, three mu(3)-OH groups and one mu(3)-oxygen atom arising from the fsa(2-) carboxylato group. The photophysical properties of the europium derivative investigated at both 300 and 80 K sustain a relative intense emission obtaine…
Color Sensitive Response of Graphene/Graphene Quantum Dot Phototransistors
2019
We present the fabrication and characterization of all-carbon phototransistors made of graphene three terminal devices, coated with atomically precise graphene quantum dots (GQD). Chemically synthesized GQDs are the light absorbing materials, while the underlying chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene layer acts as the charge transporting channel. We investigated three types of GQDs with different sizes and edge structures, having distinct and characteristic optical absorption in the UV–vis range. The photoresponsivity exceeds 106 A/W for vanishingly small incident power (<10–12 W), comparing well with state of the art sensitized graphene photodetectors. More importantly, the photor…