350 research outputs found
Unexpectedly allowed transition in two inductively coupled transmons
We present experimental results in which the unexpected zero-two transition
of a circuit composed of two inductively coupled transmons is observed. This
transition shows an unusual magnetic flux dependence with a clear disappearance
at zero magnetic flux. In a transmon qubit the symmetry of the wave functions
prevents this transition to occur due to selection rule. In our circuit the
Josephson effect introduces strong couplings between the two normal modes of
the artificial atom. This leads to a coherent superposition of states from the
two modes enabling such transitions to occur
Understanding the saturation power of Josephson Parametric Amplifiers made from SQUIDs arrays
We report on the implementation and detailed modelling of a Josephson
Parametric Amplifier (JPA) made from an array of eighty Superconducting QUantum
Interference Devices (SQUIDs), forming a non-linear quarter-wave resonator.
This device was fabricated using a very simple single step fabrication process.
It shows a large bandwidth (45 MHz), an operating frequency tunable between 5.9
GHz and 6.8 GHz and a large input saturation power (-117 dBm) when biased to
obtain 20 dB of gain. Despite the length of the SQUID array being comparable to
the wavelength, we present a model based on an effective non-linear LC series
resonator that quantitatively describes these figures of merit without fitting
parameters. Our work illustrates the advantage of using array-based JPA since a
single-SQUID device showing the same bandwidth and resonant frequency would
display a saturation power 15 dB lower.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Appendices include
A photonic crystal Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifier
An amplifier combining noise performances as close as possible to the quantum
limit with large bandwidth and high saturation power is highly desirable for
many solid state quantum technologies such as high fidelity qubit readout or
high sensitivity electron spin resonance for example. Here we introduce a new
Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier based on Superconducting QUantum
Interference Devices. It displays a 3 GHz bandwidth, a -102 dBm 1-dB
compression point and added noise near the quantum limit. Compared to previous
state-of-the-art, it is an order of magnitude more compact, its characteristic
impedance is in-situ tunable and its fabrication process requires only two
lithography steps. The key is the engineering of a gap in the dispersion
relation of the transmission line. This is obtained using a periodic modulation
of the SQUID size, similarly to what is done with photonic crystals. Moreover,
we provide a new theoretical treatment to describe the non-trivial interplay
between non-linearity and such periodicity. Our approach provides a path to
co-integration with other quantum devices such as qubits given the low
footprint and easy fabrication of our amplifier.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Appendixe
The dystroglycan: Nestled in an adhesome during embryonic development
AbstractInvertebrate and vertebrate development relies on complex processes that require many coordinated cell functions including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and polarization. These processes depend on tissues and are spatio-temporally regulated by specific interactions between cells and between cells and the extracellular matrices. The dystroglycan, a transmembrane receptor that binds multiple extracellular matrix proteins, is expressed from oogenesis to organogenesis. There are increasing data suggesting that the axis, consisting of extracellular component–dystroglycan–cytoplasmic proteins, controls both the adhesion of cells to matrices as well as the transduction of signals coming from or directed to matrices. In this article, we review current advances leading to consider that the dystroglycan is a key protein nestled in an adhesome involved in mechanisms of cell adhesion during embryonic development
Evidence of dual Shapiro steps in a Josephson junctions array
The modern primary voltage standard is based on the AC Josephson effect and
the ensuing Shapiro steps, where a microwave tone applied to a Josephson
junction yields a constant voltage ( is Planck's constant and
the electron charge) determined by only the microwave frequency and
fundamental constants. Duality arguments for current and voltage have long
suggested the possibility of dual Shapiro steps -- that a Josephson junction
device could produce current steps with heights determined only on the applied
frequency. In this report, we embed an ultrasmall Josephson junction in a high
impedance array of larger junctions to reveal dual Shapiro steps. For multiple
frequencies, we detect that the AC response of the circuit is synchronised with
the microwave tone at frequency , and the corresponding emergence of flat
steps in the DC response with current , equal to the tunnelling of a
Cooper pair per tone period. This work sheds new light on phase-charge duality,
omnipresent in condensed matter physics, and extends it to Josephson circuits.
Looking forward, it opens a broad range of possibilities for new experiments in
the field of circuit quantum electrodynamics and is an important step towards
the long-sought closure of the quantum metrology electrical triangle.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
The translational repressor 4E-BP mediates hypoxia-induced defects in myotome cells.
International audienceCell growth, proliferation, differentiation and survival are influenced by the availability of oxygen. The effect of hypoxia on embryonic cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms to maintain cellular viability are still poorly understood. In this study, we show that hypoxia during Xenopus embryogenesis rapidly leads to a significant developmental delay and to cell apoptosis after prolonged exposure. We provide strong evidence that hypoxia does not affect somitogenesis but affects the number of mitotic cells and muscle-specific protein accumulation in somites, without interfering with the expression of MyoD and MRF4 transcription factors. We also demonstrate that hypoxia reversibly decreases Akt phosphorylation and increases the total amount of the translational repressor 4E-BP, in combination with an increase of the 4E-BP associated with eIF4E. Interestingly, the inhibition of PI3-kinase or mTOR, with LY29002 or rapamycin, respectively, triggers the 4E-BP accumulation in Xenopus embryos. Finally, the overexpression of the non-phosphorylatable 4E-BP protein induces, similar to hypoxia, a decrease in mitotic cells and a decrease in muscle-specific protein accumulation in somites. Taken together, our studies suggest that 4E-BP plays a central role under hypoxia in promoting the cap-independent translation at the expense of cap-dependent translation and triggers specific defects in muscle development
Using bi-fluxon tunneling to protect the Fluxonium qubit
Encoding quantum information in quantum states with disjoint wave-function
support and noise insensitive energies is the key behind the idea of qubit
protection. While fully protected qubits are expected to offer exponential
protection against both energy relaxation and pure dephasing, simpler circuits
may grant partial protection with currently achievable parameters. Here, we
study a fluxonium circuit in which the wave-functions are engineered to
minimize their overlap while benefiting from a first-order-insensitive flux
sweet spot. Taking advantage of a large superinductance (),
our circuit incorporates a resonant tunneling mechanism at zero external flux
that couples states with the same fluxon parity, thus enabling bifluxon
tunneling. The states and are encoded in wave-functions
with parities 0 and 1, respectively, ensuring a minimal form of protection
against relaxation. Two-tone spectroscopy reveals the energy level structure of
the circuit and the presence of quantum-phase slips between different
potential wells corresponding to fluxons, which can be precisely
described by a simple fluxonium Hamiltonian or by an effective bifluxon
Hamiltonian. Despite suboptimal fabrication, the measured relaxation () and dephasing () times not only
demonstrate the relevance of our approach but also opens an alternative
direction towards quantum computing using partially-protected fluxonium qubits.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure
Directing peptide crystallization through curvature control of nanotubes ‡
International audienceIn the absence of efficient crystallization methods, the molecular structures of fibrous assemblies have so far remained rather elusive. In this paper, we present a rational method to crystallize the lanreotide octapeptide by modification of a residue involved in a close contact. Indeed, we show that it is possible to modify the curvature of the lanreotide nanotubes and hence their diameter. This fine tuning leads to crystallization because the radius of curvature of the initially bidimensional peptide wall can be increased up to a point where the wall is essentially flat and a crystal is allowed to grow along a third dimension. By comparing X-ray diffraction data and Fourier transform Raman spectra, we show that the nanotubes and the crystals share similar cell parameters and molecular conformations, proving that there is indeed a structural continuum between these two morphologies. These results illustrate a novel approach to crystallization and represent the first step towards the acquisition of an Å-resolution structure of the lanreotide nanotubes β-sheet assembly
A tunable Josephson platform to explore many-body quantum optics in circuit-QED
Coupling an isolated emitter to a single mode of the electromagnetic field is
now routinely achieved and well understood. Current efforts aim to explore the
coherent dynamics of emitters coupled to several electromagnetic modes (EM).
freedom. Recently, ultrastrong coupling to a transmission line has been
achieved where the emitter resonance broadens to a significant fraction of its
frequency. In this work we gain significantly improved control over this
regime. We do so by combining the simplicity of a transmon qubit and a bespoke
EM environment with a high density of discrete modes, hosted inside a
superconducting metamaterial. This produces a unique device in which the
hybridisation between the qubit and up to 10 environmental modes can be
monitored directly. Moreover the frequency and broadening of the qubit
resonance can be tuned independently of each other in situ. We experimentally
demonstrate that our device combines this tunability with ultrastrong coupling
and a qubit nonlinearity comparable to the other relevant energy scales in the
system. We also develop a quantitative theoretical description that does not
contain any phenomenological parameters and that accurately takes into account
vacuum fluctuations of our large scale quantum circuit in the regime of
ultrastrong coupling and intermediate non-linearity. The demonstration of this
new platform combined with a quantitative modelling brings closer the prospect
of experimentally studying many-body effects in quantum optics. A limitation of
the current device is the intermediate nonlinearity of the qubit. Pushing it
further will induce fully developed many-body effects, such as a giant Lamb
shift or nonclassical states of multimode optical fields. Observing such
effects would establish interesting links between quantum optics and the
physics of quantum impurities.Comment: Main paper and Supplementary Information combined in one file. List
of the modifications in the final version: new abstract and introduction,
comparison to RWA treatment, more precise capacitance mode
DigInPix: Visual Named-Entities Identification in Images and Videos
International audienceThis paper presents an automatic system able to identify visual named-entities appearing in images and videos, among a list of 25,000 entities, aggregated from Wikipedia lists, and more specific websites. DigInPix is a generic application designed to identify different kinds of entities. In this first attempt , we only focus on logo identification (more generally on legal persons). The identification process mainly relies on an efficient CBIR system, searching in an indexed image database composed of 600,000 weak-labelled images crawled from Google Images. DigInPix proposes a responsive-design html5 interface 1 for testing purposes
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