296 research outputs found
Comment on "Secure direct communication with a quantum one-time pad"
In the paper [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{69}, 052319 (2004)], a quantum direct
communication protocol is proposed which is claimed to be unconditionally
secure even for the case of a noisy channel. We show that this is not the case
by giving an undetectable attack scheme
Energy Requirements for Quantum Data Compression and 1-1 Coding
By looking at quantum data compression in the second quantisation, we present
a new model for the efficient generation and use of variable length codes. In
this picture lossless data compression can be seen as the {\em minimum energy}
required to faithfully represent or transmit classical information contained
within a quantum state.
In order to represent information we create quanta in some predefined modes
(i.e. frequencies) prepared in one of two possible internal states (the
information carrying degrees of freedom). Data compression is now seen as the
selective annihilation of these quanta, the energy of whom is effectively
dissipated into the environment. As any increase in the energy of the
environment is intricately linked to any information loss and is subject to
Landauer's erasure principle, we use this principle to distinguish lossless and
lossy schemes and to suggest bounds on the efficiency of our lossless
compression protocol.
In line with the work of Bostr\"{o}m and Felbinger \cite{bostroem}, we also
show that when using variable length codes the classical notions of prefix or
uniquely decipherable codes are unnecessarily restrictive given the structure
of quantum mechanics and that a 1-1 mapping is sufficient. In the absence of
this restraint we translate existing classical results on 1-1 coding to the
quantum domain to derive a new upper bound on the compression of quantum
information. Finally we present a simple quantum circuit to implement our
scheme.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Ultraviolet Detection of the Binary Companion to the Type IIb SN 2001ig
We present HST/WFC3 ultraviolet imaging in the F275W and F336W bands of the
Type IIb SN 2001ig at an age of more than 14 years. A clear point source is
detected at the site of the explosion having and
mag. Despite weak constraints on both the
distance to the host galaxy NGC 7424 and the line-of-sight reddening to the
supernova, this source matches the characteristics of an early B-type main
sequence star having K and . A BPASS v2.1 binary evolution model, with
primary and secondary masses of 13 M and 9 M respectively,
is found to resemble simultaneously in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram both the
observed location of this surviving companion, and the primary star
evolutionary endpoints for other Type IIb supernovae. This same model exhibits
highly variable late-stage mass loss, as expected from the behavior of the
radio light curves. A Gemini/GMOS optical spectrum at an age of 6 years reveals
a narrow He II emission line, indicative of continuing interaction with a dense
circumstellar medium at large radii from the progenitor. We review our findings
on SN 2001ig in the context of binary evolution channels for stripped-envelope
supernovae. Owing to the uncrowded nature of its environment in the
ultraviolet, this study of SN 2001ig represents one of the cleanest detections
to date of a surviving binary companion to a Type IIb supernova.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Resubmitted to ApJ after minor changes requested
by refere
High resolution spectroscopy of SN~2023ixf's first week: Engulfing the Asymmetric Circumstellar Material
We present a series of high-resolution echelle spectra of SN~2023ixf in M101,
obtained nightly during the first week or so after discovery using PEPSI on the
LBT. NaID absorption in these spectra indicates a host reddening of
=0.031~mag and a systemic velocity of 7~km~s relative to the
average redshift of M101. Dramatic changes are seen in in the strength and
shape of strong emission lines emitted by CSM, including HeII4686,
CIV5801,5811, H, and NIV7109,7123. In general, these narrow lines
broaden to become intermediate-width lines before disappearing from the
spectrum within a few days, indicating a limited extent to the dense CSM of
around 20-30 AU (or \la10 cm). H persists in the spectrum
for about a week as an intermediate-width emission line with P~Cyg absorption
at 700-1300 km s arising in the post-shock shell of swept-up CSM. Early
narrow emission lines are blueshifted and indicate an expansion speed in the
pre-shock CSM of about 115 km s, but with even broader emission in
higher ionization lines. This is faster than the normal winds of red
supergiants, suggesting some mode of eruptive mass loss from the progenitor or
radiative acceleration of the CSM. A lack of narrow blueshifted absorption
suggests that most of the CSM is not along our line of sight. This and several
other clues indicate that the CSM of SN~2023ixf is significantly aspherical. We
find that CSM lines disappear after a few days because the asymmetric CSM is
engulfed by the SN photosphere.Comment: Accepted verion, 8/1
Constraints on the multiplicity of the most massive stars known: R136 a1, a2, a3, and c
The most massive stars known to date are R 136 a1, a2, a3, and c within the
central cluster R 136a of the Tarantula nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
(LMC), with reported masses in excess of 150-200. However, the mass
estimation of these stars relies on the assumption that they are single. We
collected three epochs of spectroscopy for R 136 a1, a2, a3, and c with the
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
in the years 2020-2021 to probe potential radial-velocity (RV) variations. We
combine these epochs with an additional HST/STIS observation taken in 2012. We
use cross-correlation to quantify the RVs, and establish constraints on
possible companions to these stars up to periods of ~10 yr. Objects are
classified as binaries when the peak-to-peak RV shifts exceed 50 km/s, and when
the RV shift is significant with respect to errors.
R 136 a1, a2, and a3 do not satisfy the binary criteria and are thus
classified as putatively single, although formal peak-to-peak RV variability on
the level 40 km/s is noted for a3. Only R 136 c is classified as binary, in
agreement with literature. We can generally rule out massive companions (M2 >
~50 Msun) to R 136 a1, a2, and a3 out to orbital periods of < 1 yr (separations
< 5 au) at 95% confidence, or out to tens of years (separations < ~100 au) at
50% confidence. Highly eccentric binaries (e > ~0.9) or twin companions with
similar spectra could evade detection down to shorter periods (> ~10 d), though
their presence is not supported by the relative X-ray faintness of R 136 a1,
a2, and a3. We derive a preliminary orbital solution with a 17.2 d period for
the X-ray bright binary R 136 c, though more data are needed to conclusively
derive its orbit.
Our study supports a lower bound of 150-200 on the upper-mass limit
at LMC metallicityComment: Accepted to A&
The Properties of Fast Yellow Pulsating Supergiants: FYPS Point the Way to Missing Red Supergiants
Fast yellow pulsating supergiants (FYPS) are a recently-discovered class of
evolved massive pulsator. As candidate post-red supergiant objects, and one of
the few classes of pulsating evolved massive stars, these objects have
incredible potential to change our understanding of the structure and evolution
of massive stars. Here we examine the lightcurves of a sample of 126 cool
supergiants in the Magellanic Clouds observed by the Transiting Exoplanet
Survey Satellite (\tess~) in order to identify pulsating stars. After making
quality cuts and filtering out contaminant objects, we examine the distribution
of pulsating stars in the Hertzprung-Russel (HR) diagram, and find that FYPS
occupy a region above . This luminosity boundary
corresponds to stars with initial masses of 18-20 , consistent
with the most massive red supergiant progenitors of supernovae (SNe) II-P, as
well as the observed properties of SNe IIb progenitors. This threshold is in
agreement with the picture that FYPS are post-RSG stars. Finally, we
characterize the behavior of FYPS pulsations as a function of their location in
the HR diagram. We find low frequency pulsations at higher effective
temperatures, higher frequency pulsations at lower temperatures, with a
transition between the two behaviors at intermediate temperatures. The observed
properties of FYPS make them fascinating objects for future theoretical study.Comment: Consistent with published version which contains significantly
improved detection and rejection of contaminant objects. Comments welcom
Three-dimensional distribution of ejecta in Supernova 1987A at 10 000 days
Due to its proximity, SN 1987A offers a unique opportunity to directly
observe the geometry of a stellar explosion as it unfolds. Here we present
spectral and imaging observations of SN 1987A obtained ~10,000 days after the
explosion with HST/STIS and VLT/SINFONI at optical and near-infrared
wavelengths. These observations allow us to produce the most detailed 3D map of
H-alpha to date, the first 3D maps for [Ca II] \lambda \lambda 7292, 7324, [O
I] \lambda \lambda 6300, 6364 and Mg II \lambda \lambda 9218, 9244, as well as
new maps for [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644 \mu m and He I 2.058 \mu m. A comparison with
previous observations shows that the [Si I]+[Fe II] flux and morphology have
not changed significantly during the past ten years, providing evidence that it
is powered by 44Ti. The time-evolution of H-alpha shows that it is
predominantly powered by X-rays from the ring, in agreement with previous
findings. All lines that have sufficient signal show a similar large-scale 3D
structure, with a north-south asymmetry that resembles a broken dipole. This
structure correlates with early observations of asymmetries, showing that there
is a global asymmetry that extends from the inner core to the outer envelope.
On smaller scales, the two brightest lines, H-alpha and [Si I]+[Fe II] 1.644
\mu m, show substructures at the level of ~ 200 - 1000 km/s and clear
differences in their 3D geometries. We discuss these results in the context of
explosion models and the properties of dust in the ejecta.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
The slow demise of the long-lived SN 2005ip
The Type IIn supernova (SN IIn) 2005ip is one of the most well-studied and long-lasting examples of an SN interacting with its circumstellar environment. The optical light curve plateaued at a nearly constant level for more than five years, suggesting ongoing shock interaction with an extended and clumpy circumstellar medium (CSM). Here, we present continued observations of the SN from similar to 1000 to 5000 d post-explosion at all wavelengths, including X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared (NIR), and mid-infrared. The UV spectra probe the pre-explosion mass loss and show evidence for CNO processing. From the bolometric light curve, we find that the total radiated energy is in excess of 10(50) erg, the progenitor star's pre-explosion mass-loss rate was greater than or similar to 1 x 10(-2)M(circle dot) yr(-1), and the total mass lost shortly before explosion was greater than or similar to 1M(circle dot), though the mass lost could have been considerably larger depending on the efficiency for the conversion of kinetic energy to radiation. The ultraviolet through NIR spectrum is characterized by two high-density components, one with narrow high-ionization lines, and one with broader low-ionization HI, HeI, [OI], MgII, and Fe II lines. The rich Fe II spectrum is strongly affected by Ly alpha fluorescence, consistent with spectral modelling. Both the Balmer and He I lines indicate a decreasing CSM density during the late interaction period. We find similarities to SN 1988Z, which shows a comparable change in spectrum at around the same time during its very slow decline. These results suggest that, at long last, the shock interaction in SN 2005ip may finally be on the decline
The R136 star cluster dissected with Hubble Space Telescope/STIS. I. Far-ultraviolet spectroscopic census and the origin of HeII 1640 in young star clusters
We introduce a HST/STIS stellar census of R136a, the central ionizing star
cluster of 30 Doradus. We present low resolution far-ultraviolet STIS/MAMA
spectroscopy of R136 using 17 contiguous 52x0.2 arcsec slits which together
provide complete coverage of the central 0.85 parsec (3.4 arcsec). We provide
spectral types of 90% of the 57 sources brighter than m_F555W = 16.0 mag within
a radius of 0.5 parsec of R136a1, plus 8 additional nearby sources including
R136b (O4\,If/WN8). We measure wind velocities for 52 early-type stars from CIV
1548-51, including 16 O2-3 stars. For the first time we spectroscopically
classify all Weigelt & Baier members of R136a, which comprise three WN5 stars
(a1-a3), two O supergiants (a5-a6) and three early O dwarfs (a4, a7, a8). A
complete Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for the most massive O stars in R136 is
provided, from which we obtain a cluster age of 1.5+0.3_-0.7 Myr. In addition,
we discuss the integrated ultraviolet spectrum of R136, and highlight the
central role played by the most luminous stars in producing the prominent HeII
1640 emission line. This emission is totally dominated by very massive stars
with initial masses above ~100 Msun. The presence of strong HeII 1640 emission
in the integrated light of very young star clusters (e.g A1 in NGC 3125)
favours an initial mass function extending well beyond a conventional upper
limit of 100 Msun. We include montages of ultraviolet spectroscopy for LMC O
stars in the Appendix. Future studies in this series will focus on optical
STIS/CCD medium resolution observations.Comment: 20 pages plus four Appendices providing LMC UV O spectral templates,
UV spectral atlas in R136, wind velocities of LMC O stars and photometry of
additional R136 source
Saliva molecular inflammatory profiling in female migraine patients responsive to adjunctive cervical non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation : the MOXY Study
BackgroundRising evidence indicate that oxytocin and IL-1 impact trigemino-nociceptive signaling. Current perspectives on migraine physiopathology emphasize a cytokine bias towards a pro-inflammatory status. The anti-nociceptive impact of oxytocin has been reported in preclinical and human trials. Cervical non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) emerges as an add-on treatment for the preventive and abortive use in migraine. Less is known about its potential to modulate saliva inflammatory signaling in migraine patients. The rationale was to perform inter-ictal saliva measures of oxytocin and IL-1 ss along with headache assessment in migraine patients with 10weeks adjunctive nVNS compared to healthy controls.Methods12 migraineurs and 12 suitably matched healthy control were studied with inter-ictal saliva assay of pro- and anti-neuroinflammatory cytokines using enzyme-linked immuno assay techniques along with assessment of headache severity/frequency and associated functional capacity at baseline and after 10weeks adjunctive cervical nVNS.ResultsnVNS significantly reduced headache severity (VAS), frequency (headache days and total number of attacks) and significantly improved sleep quality compared to baseline (pPeer reviewe
- …