41,512 research outputs found
A synthesis of logic and bio-inspired techniques in the design of dependable systems
Much of the development of model-based design and dependability analysis in the design of dependable systems, including software intensive systems, can be attributed to the application of advances in formal logic and its application to fault forecasting and verification of systems. In parallel, work on bio-inspired technologies has shown potential for the evolutionary design of engineering systems via automated exploration of potentially large design spaces. We have not yet seen the emergence of a design paradigm that effectively combines these two techniques, schematically founded on the two pillars of formal logic and biology, from the early stages of, and throughout, the design lifecycle. Such a design paradigm would apply these techniques synergistically and systematically to enable optimal refinement of new designs which can be driven effectively by dependability requirements. The paper sketches such a model-centric paradigm for the design of dependable systems, presented in the scope of the HiP-HOPS tool and technique, that brings these technologies together to realise their combined potential benefits. The paper begins by identifying current challenges in model-based safety assessment and then overviews the use of meta-heuristics at various stages of the design lifecycle covering topics that span from allocation of dependability requirements, through dependability analysis, to multi-objective optimisation of system architectures and maintenance schedules
Geometric quantum computation with NMR
The experimental realisation of the basic constituents of quantum information
processing devices, namely fault-tolerant quantum logic gates, requires
conditional quantum dynamics, in which one subsystem undergoes a coherent
evolution that depends on the quantum state of another subsystem. In
particular, the subsystem may acquire a conditional phase shift. Here we
consider a novel scenario in which this phase is of geometric rather than
dynamical origin. As the conditional geometric (Berry) phase depends only on
the geometry of the path executed it is resilient to certain types of errors,
and offers the potential of an intrinsically fault-tolerant way of performing
quantum gates. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has already been used to
demonstrate both simple quantum information processing and Berry's phase. Here
we report an NMR experiment which implements a conditional Berry phase, and
thus a controlled phase shift gate. This constitutes the first elementary
geometric quantum computation.Comment: Minor additions at request of referees. 4 pages revtex including 2
figures (1 eps). Nature in pres
Fault-tolerant quantum computation versus Gaussian noise
We study the robustness of a fault-tolerant quantum computer subject to
Gaussian non-Markovian quantum noise, and we show that scalable quantum
computation is possible if the noise power spectrum satisfies an appropriate
"threshold condition." Our condition is less sensitive to very-high-frequency
noise than previously derived threshold conditions for non-Markovian noise.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure
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