All articles starting with D
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Decoding problem (quantum error correction)
The decoding problem in quantum error correction is the task of inferring a likely error pattern from noisy syndrome measurements and applying a correction so the encoded logical information survives.
Decoherence and robustness of adiabatic quantum computation
Decoherence and robustness of adiabatic quantum computation is the study of how decoherence, thermal noise, and Landau–Zener transitions affect adiabatic quantum computation, whose robustness depends on the annealing scheme.
Decoherence in condensed-matter and mesoscopic systems
Decoherence in condensed-matter and mesoscopic systems is the loss of quantum phase coherence of electrons, spins, or qubit variables in solids, caused by material-inherent baths like phonons and nuclear spins.
Decoherence in spin baths
Decoherence in spin baths is the loss of quantum coherence of a central qubit or spin caused by coupling to an environment of localized spins, described by the central-spin model.
Decoherence rates and timescales
Decoherence rates and timescales measure how quickly quantum superpositions lose coherence through environmental interaction, with timescales that scale with mass and separation and can be vastly shorter than relaxation times.
Decoherence-free subspace
A decoherence-free subspace (DFS) is a subspace of a quantum system's Hilbert space in which states evolve unitarily, providing passive error avoidance when noise is symmetric.
Décollement
Décollement, French for "ungluing," is a fault surface parallel to weak bedding that separates deformed rocks above from rocks below, typical of thrust regions like the Alps.
Decolonisation of Africa
The decolonisation of Africa, also known as African decolonization, is the process by which European-ruled African territories gained independence, mainly from 1945 to the 1970s.
Decolonising the Mind
Decolonising the Mind (1986), Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's essay collection on the politics of language in African literature, arguing for writing in African languages and renouncing English for creative work.
Decolonization
Decolonization is the process by which colonies gain self-government or independence from colonial powers, chiefly after 1945; also called the end of empire. Distinguished by the UN decolonization framework, 1960 Declaration, and 17 remaining non-self-governing territories.
Decolonization of Africa
The decolonization of Africa was the process by which European-ruled colonies became independent states, beginning in the 1950s and ending with Namibia's independence in 1990; Western Sahara remains unresolved.
Decolonization of East Timor
The decolonization of East Timor was Portugal's 1974–1975 process of relinquishing its colony, which saw civil war, a unilateral independence declaration on 28 November 1975, and an Indonesian invasion nine days later.
Decommissioning trust fund
A decommissioning trust fund is a segregated account in which a nuclear plant licensee sets aside money to pay for the plant's eventual decontamination and dismantlement.
Decommunization in Ukraine
Decommunization in Ukraine: removal of communist symbols, monuments, and place names since 1991, systematized by four laws of 9 April 2015 drafted under Volodymyr Viatrovych, extended after 2022 into derussification and a 2023 decolonization law.
Decomposer
Decomposer: organisms, chiefly fungi and bacteria plus soil fauna, that break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients. Fungi drive rate-limiting lignin breakdown; bacteria also degrade lignin and cellulose.
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which dead organisms' organic remains are broken down, recycling carbon and nutrients, with bacteria and fungi doing about 90% of the work.
Decomposition theorem
The decomposition theorem is a 1981 result in algebraic geometry, proved by Beilinson, Bernstein, Deligne, and Gabber, stating that derived direct images of intersection cohomology complexes split into direct sums.
Decompression
Decompression (decompression staging, decompression sickness prevention): controlled pressure reduction after diving or caisson work, governed by Haldanian and bubble models such as Bühlmann ZHL-16C, validated against DCS outcomes.
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness, also known as the bends or caisson disease, is a condition where nitrogen bubbles form in the body after rapid pressure reduction, mainly in divers.
Decompression surgery
Decompression surgery is an operation that relieves pressure on spinal nerves or the spinal cord by removing bone, ligament, or disc material, used mainly for lumbar spinal stenosis and herniated discs.
Decompressive craniectomy
Decompressive craniectomy is a neurosurgical operation in which part of the skull is removed to lower intracranial pressure, mainly for severe stroke, brain swelling, and traumatic brain injury.
Decompressive hemicraniectomy
Decompressive hemicraniectomy is a neurosurgical operation that removes a large bone flap from one side of the skull to relieve pressure, used mainly for severe stroke and traumatic brain injury.
Decongestant
Decongestants, also called nasal decongestants, are vasoconstrictor medicines (pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, oxymetazoline, xylometazoline) that relieve stuffy nose; topical use is limited to 5 days to avoid rebound congestion and rhinitis medicamentosa, and oral phenylephrine was found ineffective by FDA advisers.
Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry is a 1997 American comedy-drama written and directed by and starring Woody Allen, about a novelist whose fiction alienates everyone in his life.
Deconstruction
Deconstruction: philosophical and literary analysis method founded by Jacques Derrida (déconstruction) in 1960s France, questioning binary oppositions via différance, trace, supplement; not a method, spread to American literature departments, distinct from deconstructivist architecture.
Deconstructivism
Deconstructivism, or Deconstructivist architecture, is an architectural movement of the late 1980s defined by irregular, fragmented, non-rectilinear forms rejecting Modernist grids and rational structure, named by a 1988 MoMA exhibition.
Deconvolution
Deconvolution is the operation inverse to convolution, recovering an input signal from an observed output. Because it amplifies noise, regularized methods like Wiener and Richardson-Lucy filtering are used.
Decorado
Decorado is a 2025 Spanish-Portuguese adult 2D animated feature by Alberto Vázquez, expanding his Goya-winning 2016 short. Arnold, a middle-aged mouse, suspects his world is a set run by the ALMA/ACME corporation; it won the 2026 Goya for Best Animated Feature.
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland
Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland (Hälsingegårdarna), Sweden's 15th UNESCO World Heritage site (2012, criterion v): seven 19th-century timber farms with Herrstuga festivity rooms painted by local and Dalarna itinerant artists.
Decorator pattern
The Decorator pattern, also called Wrapper, is a structural design pattern that attaches new behaviors to objects by placing them in wrappers sharing the wrapped object's interface.