Central European Workshop Research Articles

Looking for provisioning places of shaped tools of the late Neanderthals: A study of a Micoquian open-air site, Pietraszyn 49a (southwestern Poland)

The purpose of this article is to yield new insights into the topic of provisioning places of late Neanderthals using records from the central European Micoquian workshop Pietraszyn 49a, located in southwestern Poland. The site has been radiometrically dated back, using optically stimulated luminescence, to the final phase of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 or the beginning of MIS 3. The technological study, supported by numerous refits, shows that the main goals of manufacturing were shaped tools typologically corresponding to knives, handaxes, and bifacial scrapers. Considering the large variety of lithic raw materials and technical features, it can also be concluded that this assemblage resulted from the activity of at least several individuals. A microscopic investigation of use-wear traces indicates that this place was integrated within other elements of foraging zones, such as killing or butchering sites.

Post Scriptum: Tendency in Understanding the Foundations of Quantum Optics, Quantum Information, and Quantum Computing Technologies†

We present a short discussion of the results presented in the contributions to the Special issue consisting of two parts and dedicated to the memory of Professor Stig Stenholm and Professor Jozsef Janszky. Our goal here is to provide a connection of these results with general problems in foundations of quantum mechanics. We discuss the relation of the developments in better understanding the foundations of quantum mechanics to its intuitively difficult notion of states and observables in such important systems as laser photons, oscillations realized by molecular vibrations, currents in superconducting circuits based on Josephson junction devices, and trapped ions with efforts in scientific activities like scientific collaborations of Russian, European, USA, and other institutions and organization of long-living series meetings like Central European Workshops on Quantum Optics (CEWQO) and International Conferences on Squeezed States and Uncertainty Relations (ICSSUR) with publications in international Scientific Journals. We present some discussions of the works of researchers and their results in the area of fundamental theory.

Elemental and Raman investigation of 13th – 14th and 16th century enamelled glass beakers found in Estonia

Fragments of five enamelled glass beakers found from the Estonian towns Viljandi and Tartu have been studied by using Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption and X-ray fluorescence methods. The beakers of 13th–14th–century dating are made of soda-lime silica glass and by composition and some decoration motifs they are comparable with the analogous finds in Europe (beakers supposedly of Venetian origin), a colourless beaker with an unusual decoration pattern from Viljandi being of a similar composition. The rare and relatively primitive (both by the frit fabrication and enamelling) blue beaker of the same era from Viljandi is also a soda-lime glass which contains a minute amount of the colouring agent Co accompanied by the elements Pb and Zn. The composition suggests that this beaker also originates from a workshop somewhere in South Europe (not excluding Venice/Murano), the Co ore being imported from the Occident. The other blue beaker (bowl) of the 16th century, found in Viljandi, belongs to the potash glasses and contains also the colouring agent cobalt, here together with the additives As, Bi, Ti, and Ni. As the Co ore of a similar composition was acquired from the Ore Mountains in Germany, it is likely that this artefact was made in some Central European workshop. An analysis of the yellow enamel on these beakers shows the use of Pb-Sn-O-type colourant on earlier artefacts, while the antimony-rich colourant appears only in the case of the late medieval potash glass. In summary, both the use of Co-colourant of local (European) origin in the blue glass of the 16th century and the occurrence of antimony in the yellow enamel on it, suggest that a marked development of the European mine industry took place in the Late Middle Ages.

Consideratii privind evolutia pustilor de vanatoare in secolele XVIII-XIX. Colectie de arme a Muzeului Banatului din Timisoara / Consideration on the Evolution of the Hunting Rifles in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Arms Collection of the Banat Museum

Currently, the gun collection of the Banat Museum in Timişoara holds 16 items that can be classified as hunting rifles, all of them being inventoried in the registers of the History Department.Chronologically speaking, the hunting rifles held by the museum’s collection can be dated between the 18thcentury and the late 19th century. e most ancient piece is a flintlock rifle dating from the second half of the 18thcentury, followed by six percussion guns built during the first half of the 19th century. e museum’s collection holds a Berenger system hunting rifle, a Flobert type weapon and a Tabatiére system gun – exhibits that can be dated from the second half of the 19th century. A Hammerless double-barreled shotgun comes from the second half of the 19th century. Also, the collection contains three sporting rifles dated from the first half of the 19th century and two compressed air guns, one coming from the beginning of the 19th century and the other one dating from the mid – 19th century. Concerning the manufacturing workshop of these hunting rifles held by the museum’s collection from Timişoara, it should be noted that only some of these pieces display various inscriptions or badges of the armourers. More accurately, nine of the guns exhibit the names of the armourers and the manufacturing site inscribed on the barrels or the mechanism. e name of the Viennese armourer Johann Fruwirth is displayed on two of the guns. Both weapons are inscribed with the manufacturing site, the city of Vienna. e mechanism of the most beautiful gun of the collection is inscribed with the name of the Vienese armourer Johann Baptist Strixner. One of the sporting rifles was manufactured by Johann Peter from Weiskirchen. A double-barreled percussion gun comes from St. Etienne. One of the two compressed air guns, held by the collection, was manufactured by G. Leute, an armourer from Munich. Another weapon from the collection bears an inscription with the name of Johann Peterlongo, the founder of the “Tiroler Waffenfabrik” factory from Innsbruck. e Tabatiére gun – the commercial version – was manufactured in Liege, Belgium. e last detected workshop belongs to G. Teschner from Frankfurt, which produced the Hammerless gun. In conclusion, we may assert that the vast majority of the hunting rifles identified in the collection of the Banat Museum were manufactured in the Central European workshops. As to the ornaments and embellishments displayed by the collection from Timișoara, it should be mentioned the fact that the most beautiful exhibits are the guns dating from the first half of the 19th century. Two of them, manufactured by the Vienese armourers Johann Fruwirth and J.B. Strixner, bear highly rich embellishment displayed on the barrels and mechanism as well as on the wooden part of the weapon. Both exhibits are engraved with floral and vegetal motifs, carved with stylized vegetal and zoomorphic motifs, inlaid with multiple pearl and brass elements. e other guns from the collection are less decorated, most of them bearing engravings, grooves and inlays. As regards the history of the hunting rifles up until now we know the origin of only six of the 16 items submitted in the present article. ree of the six weapons mentioned above became part of the collection during the pre-war period, one of the guns was donated during the first half of the 20th century, while the last two were also donated during the 7th and the 8th decades of the last century. As a conclusion, we acknowledge the fact that the present hunting rifle collection represents a very interesting set, due to the diversity of the existing models but also to some of the exhibits’ rarity, among the Romanian borders, as the example of the Girardoni compressed air gun.

The 17th Central European Workshop on Quantum Optics in St Andrews, Scotland

This paper briefly comments on the current state of quantum optics.

Superposition rule and entanglement in diagonal and probability representations of density states**Based on the invited talk presented by one of us (VIM) at the XV Central European Workshop on Quantum Optics (Belgrade, Serbia, 30 May–3 June 2008).

The quasidistributions corresponding to the diagonal representation of quantum states are discussed within the framework of operator-symbol construction. The tomographic-probability distribution describing the quantum state in the probability representation of quantum mechanics is reviewed. The connection between the diagonal and probability representations is discussed. The superposition rule is considered in terms of the density-operator symbols. The separability and entanglement properties of multipartite quantum systems are formulated as the properties of the density-operator symbols of the system states.

Introduction to the 12th Central European Workshop on Quantum Optics

A brief comment concerning the history of Central European Workshops on Quantum Optics and the development of quantum optics is presented.

Trends in Quantum Optics

The series of Central European Workshops on Quantum Optics looks back on a successful annual sequence of ten meetings, previously held at locations in Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and most recently in Germany. The goal to provide a forum for quantum optics specialists from both Central Europe and elsewhere has always been accompanied by an attempt to provide a small-sized and affordable meeting. Together with the contributions of the participants and the many discussion during the meetings, the special flair of this series of Workshops has become well established. This special issue of Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics is devoted to the tenth anniversary Workshop, held during 4–7th April 2003 at Rostock-Warnemunde, Germany, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It contains selected articles by the participants of the Workshop, who came not only from Central Europe but also from other parts of the world. Their contributions cover a variety of subjects, reflecting the fact that, stimulated by the progress of experimental techniques, quantum optics has become a rapidly growing field of research.