Preparing a commercial quantum key distribution system for certification against implementation loopholes

A commercial quantum key distribution (QKD) system needs to be formally certified to enable its wide deployment. The certification should include the system's robustness against known implementation loopholes and attacks that exploit them. Here we ready a fiber-optic QKD system for this procedure. The system has a prepare-and-measure scheme with decoy-state BB84 protocol, polarisation encoding, qubit source rate of 312.5 MHz, and is manufactured by QRate in Russia. We detail its hardware and post-processing. We analyse the hardware for any possible implementation loopholes and discuss countermeasures. We then amend the system design to address the highest-risk loopholes identified. We also work out technical requirements on the certification lab and outline its possible structure.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

Three-Dimensional Mathematical Modeling of Dynamics Interfaces Between Aluminum, Electrolytes and Reverse Zone of Oxidized Metal Depending on the Potencial Distribution

В статье представлена новая математическая модель с высокой степенью детализации описания изучаемых процессов. Проведены расчёты электролизёра Содерберга для модельной задачи, а также расчёты для многоанодного электролизёра. Для описания гидродинамики процесса электролиза используется система уравнений Навье-Стокса. Распределение электромагнитных полей описывается системой уравнений Максвелла. Рассматривается влияние распределения потенциала по аноду на МГД-стабильность электролиза, а также даётся сравнительный анализ численных экспериментовThe mathematical model with a high detailed description of the studied processes is presented in current paper. Results of modeling Soderbergh’s reduction cell for model task and for reduction cell with multiple anodes are also presented. System of the equations of Navier-Stokes is used for modeling of hydrodynamics of process of electrolysis. Distribution of electromagnetic fields is fitted to Maxwell’s system of equations. Influence of distribution of electric potential over the anode on MHD-stability of process is considered and comparative analysis of numerical experiments is also give

Inter-calibration of Infrared Channels of Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Imagers

This article examines a method of inter-calibration for MSU-GS imager of the Russian Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite Elektro-L No. 2. Since the launch (December 11, 2015), the satellite's radiation cooler has been operating in an abnormal mode, so the calibration of the IR channels of the MSU-GS imager differed from that pre-flight and, in general, could have a daily variability. To ensure the satellite's further operation in orbit, it was necessary to calibrate imager channels at a frequency that would allow to identify daily calibration course to detect and compensate its sources. In order to do this, we have developed a special method of GEO-GEO inter-calibration. The calibration of MSU-GS was performed using SEVIRI imager installed on the GEO satellite Meteosat-10. SEVIRI was chosen as a reference instrument because its spectral channels are similar to those of MSU-GS. The MSU-GS was calibrated according to the regressions calculated from the simultaneous images of the field of regard selected between the sub-satellite points. The dynamic brightness temperature range was determined by deep convective clouds in high troposphere and warm ocean surface. Using the proposed method of inter-calibration, it was possible to confirm the absence of a significant daily variation of the calibration since November 2017. The amplitude of the variation smoothly increases from ~0.2 K at high (~300 K) BTs to ~1.0 K when the brightness temperature decreased to 200 K. These estimates allow the use of the Fourier spectrometer IKFS-2 installed on the Russian Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite Meteor-M No. 2 to verify the developed GEO-GEO scheme of inter-calibration. Despite the specifics of the situation on board Elektro-L No. 2, the proposed method of GEO-GEO inter-calibration can be applied to radiometers of other neighboring satellites that differ in SSP and spatial resolution

Molecular alliance of Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus and a short unmodified antisense oligonucleotide of its anti-apoptotic IAP-3 gene: A novel approach for gypsy moth control

Baculovirus IAP (inhibitor-of-apoptosis) genes originated by capture of host genes. Unmodified short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligoDNAs) from baculovirus IAP genes can down-regulate specific gene expression profiles in both baculovirus-free and baculovirus-infected insects. In this study, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae infected with multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV), and LdMNPV-free larvae, were treated with oligoDNA antisense to the RING (really interesting new gene) domain of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene. The results with respect to insect mortality, biomass accumulation, histological studies, RT-PCR, and analysis of DNA apoptotic fragmentation suggest that oligoRING induced increased apoptotic processes in both LdMNPV-free and LdMNPV-infected insect cells, but were more pronounced in the latter. These data open up possibilities for promising new routes of insect pest control using antisense phosphodiester DNA oligonucleotides

Molecular Alliance of Lymantria dispar Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus and a Short Unmodified Antisense Oligonucleotide of Its Anti-Apoptotic IAP-3 Gene: A Novel Approach for Gypsy Moth Control

Baculovirus IAP (inhibitor-of-apoptosis) genes originated by capture of host genes. Unmodified short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligoDNAs) from baculovirus IAP genes can down-regulate specific gene expression profiles in both baculovirus-free and baculovirus-infected insects. In this study, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae infected with multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV), and LdMNPV-free larvae, were treated with oligoDNA antisense to the RING (really interesting new gene) domain of the LdMNPV IAP-3 gene. The results with respect to insect mortality, biomass accumulation, histological studies, RT-PCR, and analysis of DNA apoptotic fragmentation suggest that oligoRING induced increased apoptotic processes in both LdMNPV-free and LdMNPV-infected insect cells, but were more pronounced in the latter. These data open up possibilities for promising new routes of insect pest control using antisense phosphodiester DNA oligonucleotides

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements