1,725 research outputs found
Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution using Thermal States
We consider the security of continuous-variable quantum key distribution
using thermal (or noisy) Gaussian resource states. Specifically, we analyze
this against collective Gaussian attacks using direct and reverse
reconciliation where both protocols use either homodyne or heterodyne
detection. We show that in the case of direct reconciliation with heterodyne
detection, an improved robustness to channel noise is achieved when large
amounts of preparation noise is added, as compared to the case when no
preparation noise is added. We also consider the theoretical limit of infinite
preparation noise and show a secure key can still be achieved in this limit
provided the channel noise is less than the preparation noise. Finally, we
consider the security of quantum key distribution at various electromagnetic
wavelengths and derive an upper bound related to an entanglement-breaking
eavesdropping attack and discuss the feasibility of microwave quantum key
distribution.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures. Updated from published version with some minor
correction
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: An experimentally accessible paradigm for quantum computing
We present experimental results which demonstrate that nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy is capable of efficiently emulating many of the
capabilities of quantum computers, including unitary evolution and coherent
superpositions, but without attendant wave-function collapse. Specifically, we
have: (1) Implemented the quantum XOR gate in two different ways, one using
Pound-Overhauser double resonance, and the other using a spin-coherence double
resonance pulse sequence; (2) Demonstrated that the square root of the
Pound-Overhauser XOR corresponds to a conditional rotation, thus obtaining a
universal set of gates; (3) Devised a spin-coherence implementation of the
Toffoli gate, and confirmed that it transforms the equilibrium state of a
four-spin system as expected; (4) Used standard gradient-pulse techniques in
NMR to equalize all but one of the populations in a two-spin system, so
obtaining the pseudo-pure state that corresponds to |00>; (5) Validated that
one can identify which basic pseudo-pure state is present by transforming it
into one-spin superpositions, whose associated spectra jointly characterize the
state; (6) Applied the spin-coherence XOR gate to a one-spin superposition to
create an entangled state, and confirmed its existence by detecting the
associated double-quantum coherence via gradient-echo methods.Comment: LaTeX + epsfig + amsmath packages, 27 pages, 12 figures, to appear in
Physica D; revision updates list of authors and reference
Morphogenesis of myocardial trabeculae in the mouse embryo
Formation of trabeculae in the embryonic heart and the remodelling that occurs prior to birth is a conspicuous, but poorly understood, feature of vertebrate cardiogenesis. Mutations disrupting trabecular development in the mouse are frequently embryonic lethal, testifying to the importance of the trabeculae, and aberrant trabecular structure is associated with several human cardiac pathologies. Here, trabecular architecture in the developing mouse embryo has been analysed using high-resolution episcopic microscopy (HREM) and three-dimensional (3D) modelling. This study shows that at all stages from mid-gestation to birth, the ventricular trabeculae comprise a complex meshwork of myocardial strands. Such an arrangement defies conventional methods of measurement, and an approach based upon fractal algorithms has been used to provide an objective measure of trabecular complexity. The extent of trabeculation as it changes along the length of left and right ventricles has been quantified, and the changes that occur from formation of the four-chambered heart until shortly before birth have been mapped. This approach not only measures qualitative features evident from visual inspection of 3D models, but also detects subtle, consistent and regionally localised differences that distinguish each ventricle and its developmental stage. Finally, the combination of HREM imaging and fractal analysis has been applied to analyse changes in embryonic heart structure in a genetic mouse model in which trabeculation is deranged. It is shown that myocardial deletion of the Notch pathway component Mib1 (Mib1(flox/flox); cTnT-cre) results in a complex array of abnormalities affecting trabeculae and other parts of the heart.This work was supported by funding to TJM from the Medical Research Council (U117562103); to JCM by the Higher Education Funding Council for England; to JLdlP and GL by grants SAF2010-17555 and SAF2013-45543-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO); and to GC by a research fellowship at the University College London Biomedical Research Centre from the UK National Institutes of Health Research Cardiometabolic Programme.S
Experimental investigation of continuous variable quantum teleportation
We report the experimental demonstration of quantum teleportation of the
quadrature amplitudes of a light field. Our experiment was stably locked for
long periods, and was analyzed in terms of fidelity, F; and with signal
transfer, T_{q}=T^{+}+T^{-}, and noise correlation, V_{q}=V_{in|out}^{+}
V_{in|out}^{-}. We observed an optimum fidelity of 0.64 +/- 0.02, T_{q}= 1.06
+/- 0.02 and V_{q} =0.96 +/- 0.10. We discuss the significance of both T_{q}>1
and V_{q}<1 and their relation to the teleportation no-cloning limit.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER)
The Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) is a balloon-borne
cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarimeter designed to search for evidence
of inflation by measuring the large-angular scale CMB polarization signal.
BICEP2 recently reported a detection of B-mode power corresponding to the
tensor-to-scalar ratio r = 0.2 on ~2 degree scales. If the BICEP2 signal is
caused by inflationary gravitational waves (IGWs), then there should be a
corresponding increase in B-mode power on angular scales larger than 18
degrees. PIPER is currently the only suborbital instrument capable of fully
testing and extending the BICEP2 results by measuring the B-mode power spectrum
on angular scales = ~0.6 deg to 90 deg, covering both the reionization
bump and recombination peak, with sensitivity to measure the tensor-to-scalar
ratio down to r = 0.007, and four frequency bands to distinguish foregrounds.
PIPER will accomplish this by mapping 85% of the sky in four frequency bands
(200, 270, 350, 600 GHz) over a series of 8 conventional balloon flights from
the northern and southern hemispheres. The instrument has background-limited
sensitivity provided by fully cryogenic (1.5 K) optics focusing the sky signal
onto four 32x40-pixel arrays of time-domain multiplexed Transition-Edge Sensor
(TES) bolometers held at 140 mK. Polarization sensitivity and systematic
control are provided by front-end Variable-delay Polarization Modulators
(VPMs), which rapidly modulate only the polarized sky signal at 3 Hz and allow
PIPER to instantaneously measure the full Stokes vector (I, Q, U, V) for each
pointing. We describe the PIPER instrument and progress towards its first
flight.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. To be published in Proceedings of SPIE Volume
9153. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2014,
conference 915
Risk factors for bovine periodontal disease – a preliminary study
The work presented in this pilot study aimed to identify potential risk factors associated with bovine periodontitis development. Bovine periodontitis is a multifactorial polymicrobial infectious disease for which the aetiopathogenesis and risk factors are not fully understood. From cattle slaughtered in an abattoir in Scotland, 35 dental arcades with periodontal lesions and 40 periodontally healthy arcades were selected over seven visits for study. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between periodontitis and the independent variables, gender, age and breed. For every increase in year of age, cattle were 1.5 times more likely to have periodontitis. A graphical analysis indicated that within the limits of this study, we could not detect any major influence of breed on the age-effect. Although logistic regression analysis demonstrated that periodontitis lesions are more prevalent with increasing age of cattle the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. It is likely that periodontitis is an important cause of oral pain in older cattle and can contribute to reduced productivity/performance. Further studies with a larger sample size are necessary to elucidate the associations between potential risk factors and periodontitis in cattle and to define its effects on animal welfare and productivity
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