105 research outputs found
Heralded quantum steering over a high-loss channel
Entanglement is the key resource for many long-range quantum information
tasks, including secure communication and fundamental tests of quantum physics.
These tasks require robust verification of shared entanglement, but performing
it over long distances is presently technologically intractable because the
loss through an optical fiber or free-space channel opens up a detection
loophole. We design and experimentally demonstrate a scheme that verifies
entanglement in the presence of at least dB of added loss,
equivalent to approximately km of telecommunication fiber. Our protocol
relies on entanglement swapping to herald the presence of a photon after the
lossy channel, enabling event-ready implementation of quantum steering. This
result overcomes the key barrier in device-independent communication under
realistic high-loss scenarios and in the realization of a quantum repeater.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Vacuum-Gap Capacitors for Low-Loss Superconducting Resonant Circuits
Low-loss microwave components are used in many superconducting resonant
circuits from multiplexed readouts of low-temperature detector arrays to
quantum bits. Two-level system defects in amorphous dielectric materials cause
excess energy loss. In an effort to improve capacitor components, we have used
optical lithography and micromachining techniques to develop superconducting
parallel-plate capacitors in which lossy dielectrics are replaced by vacuum
gaps. Resonance measurements at 50 mK on lumped LC circuits that incorporate
these vacuum-gap capacitors (VGCs) reveal loss tangents at low powers as low as
4x10^{-5}, significantly lower than with capacitors using amorphous
dielectrics. VGCs are structurally robust, small, and easily scaled to
capacitance values above 100 pF.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, .docx forma
Measurement crosstalk between two phase qubits coupled by a coplanar waveguide
We analyze the measurement crosstalk between two flux-biased phase qubits
coupled by a resonant coplanar waveguide cavity. After the first qubit is
measured, the superconducting phase can undergo damped oscillations resulting
in an a.c. voltage that produces a frequency chirped noise signal whose
frequency crosses that of the cavity. We show experimentally that the coplanar
waveguide cavity acts as a bandpass filter that can significantly reduce the
crosstalk signal seen by the second qubit when its frequency is far from the
cavity's resonant frequency. We present a simple classical description of the
qubit behavior that agrees well with the experimental data. These results
suggest that measurement crosstalk between superconducting phase qubits can be
reduced by use of linear or possibly nonlinear resonant cavities as coupling
elements.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
B Lineage–specific Regulation of V(D)J Recombinase Activity Is Established in Common Lymphoid Progenitors
Expression of V(D)J recombinase activity in developing lymphocytes is absolutely required for initiation of V(D)J recombination at antigen receptor loci. However, little is known about when during hematopoietic development the V(D)J recombinase is first active, nor is it known what elements activate the recombinase in multipotent hematopoietic progenitors. Using mice that express a fluorescent transgenic V(D)J recombination reporter, we show that the V(D)J recombinase is active as early as common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) but not in the upstream progenitors that retain myeloid lineage potential. Evidence of this recombinase activity is detectable in all four progeny lineages (B, T, and NK, and DC), and rag2 levels are the highest in progenitor subsets immediately downstream of the CLP. By single cell PCR, we demonstrate that V(D)J rearrangements are detectable at IgH loci in ∼5% of splenic natural killer cells. Finally, we show that recombinase activity in CLPs is largely controlled by the Erag enhancer. As activity of the Erag enhancer is restricted to the B cell lineage, this provides the first molecular evidence for establishment of a lineage-specific transcription program in multipotent progenitors
An Easy-To-Use Simulation Program Demonstrates Variations in Bacterial Cell Cycle Parameters Depending on Medium and Temperature
Many studies are performed on chromosome replication and segregation in Escherichia coli and other bacteria capable of complex replication with C phases spanning several generations. For such investigations an understanding of the replication patterns, including copy numbers of origins and replication forks, is crucial for correct interpretation of the results
Novel Acid-Activated Fluorophores Reveal a Dynamic Wave of Protons in the Intestine of Caenorhabditis elegans
Unlike the digestive systems of vertebrate animals, the lumen of the alimentary canal of C. elegans is unsegmented and weakly acidic (pH ~ 4.4), with ultradian fluctuations to pH > 6 every 45 to 50 seconds. To probe the dynamics of this acidity, we synthesized novel acid-activated fluorophores termed Kansas Reds. These dicationic derivatives of rhodamine B become concentrated in the lumen of the intestine of living C. elegans and exhibit tunable pKa values (2.3–5.4), controlled by the extent of fluorination of an alkylamine substituent, that allow imaging of a range of acidic fluids in vivo. Fluorescence video microscopy of animals freely feeding on these fluorophores revealed that acidity in the C. elegans intestine is discontinuous; the posterior intestine contains a large acidic segment flanked by a smaller region of higher pH at the posterior-most end. Remarkably, during the defecation motor program, this hot spot of acidity rapidly moves from the posterior intestine to the anterior-most intestine where it becomes localized for up to 7 seconds every 45 to 50 seconds. Studies of pH-insensitive and base-activated fluorophores as well as mutant and transgenic animals revealed that this dynamic wave of acidity requires the proton exchanger PBO-4, does not involve substantial movement of fluid, and likely involves the sequential activation of proton transporters on the apical surface of intestinal cells. Lacking a specific organ that sequesters low pH, C. elegans compartmentalizes acidity by producing of a dynamic hot spot of protons that rhythmically migrates from the posterior to anterior intestine
The earliest thymic T cell progenitors sustain B cell and myeloid lineage potential
The stepwise commitment from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow to T lymphocyte-restricted progenitors in the thymus represents a paradigm for understanding the requirement for distinct extrinsic cues during different stages of lineage restriction from multipotent to lineage-restricted progenitors. However, the commitment stage at which progenitors migrate from the bone marrow to the thymus remains unclear. Here we provide functional and molecular evidence at the single-cell level that the earliest progenitors in the neonatal thymus had combined granulocyte-monocyte, T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte lineage potential but not megakaryocyte-erythroid lineage potential. These potentials were identical to those of candidate thymus-seeding progenitors in the bone marrow, which were closely related at the molecular level. Our findings establish the distinct lineage-restriction stage at which the T cell lineage-commitment process transits from the bone marrow to the remote thymus. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved
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