430 research outputs found
Entanglement-free Heisenberg-limited phase estimation
Measurement underpins all quantitative science. A key example is the
measurement of optical phase, used in length metrology and many other
applications. Advances in precision measurement have consistently led to
important scientific discoveries. At the fundamental level, measurement
precision is limited by the number N of quantum resources (such as photons)
that are used. Standard measurement schemes, using each resource independently,
lead to a phase uncertainty that scales as 1/sqrt(N) - known as the standard
quantum limit. However, it has long been conjectured that it should be possible
to achieve a precision limited only by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle,
dramatically improving the scaling to 1/N. It is commonly thought that
achieving this improvement requires the use of exotic quantum entangled states,
such as the NOON state. These states are extremely difficult to generate.
Measurement schemes with counted photons or ions have been performed with N <=
6, but few have surpassed the standard quantum limit and none have shown
Heisenberg-limited scaling. Here we demonstrate experimentally a
Heisenberg-limited phase estimation procedure. We replace entangled input
states with multiple applications of the phase shift on unentangled
single-photon states. We generalize Kitaev's phase estimation algorithm using
adaptive measurement theory to achieve a standard deviation scaling at the
Heisenberg limit. For the largest number of resources used (N = 378), we
estimate an unknown phase with a variance more than 10 dB below the standard
quantum limit; achieving this variance would require more than 4,000 resources
using standard interferometry. Our results represent a drastic reduction in the
complexity of achieving quantum-enhanced measurement precision.Comment: Published in Nature. This is the final versio
Ab-initio Quantum Enhanced Optical Phase Estimation Using Real-time Feedback Control
Optical phase estimation is a vital measurement primitive that is used to
perform accurate measurements of various physical quantities like length,
velocity and displacements. The precision of such measurements can be largely
enhanced by the use of entangled or squeezed states of light as demonstrated in
a variety of different optical systems. Most of these accounts however deal
with the measurement of a very small shift of an already known phase, which is
in stark contrast to ab-initio phase estimation where the initial phase is
unknown. Here we report on the realization of a quantum enhanced and fully
deterministic phase estimation protocol based on real-time feedback control.
Using robust squeezed states of light combined with a real-time Bayesian
estimation feedback algorithm, we demonstrate deterministic phase estimation
with a precision beyond the quantum shot noise limit. The demonstrated protocol
opens up new opportunities for quantum microscopy, quantum metrology and
quantum information processing.Comment: 5 figure
Lumbar spinal stenosis treatment with aperius perclid interspinous system
The purpose of this study is to report clinical outcome and imaging changes of percutaneous Aperius stand-alone implant in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis and neurogenic intermittent claudication, which did not respond to conservative treatment.Between January 2008 and July 2010, 37 patients (20 males and 17 females) with mean age of 64.3 years underwent surgery for the onset of claudicatio spinalis with Aperius PercLID interspinous device (Medtronic). In all patients, the diagnosis was: foraminal stenosis, in one case (2.7 \%) it was associated to a degenerative anterior listhesis (I grade), in three cases (8.1 \%) it was associated to an intraforaminal disc herniation. The mean follow-up was of 18 months (range 2-35 months). The patients were evaluated through the Oswestry disability index, Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ), VAS scales. In all cases were obtained preoperative and in postoperative radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging.The VAS score decreased significantly after surgery: the patients presented a mean VAS of seven preoperatively and two postoperatively (p < 0.001). The ZCQ score significantly decreased postoperatively, with an average reduction of 21.89 \% (p < 0.001). The ODI score as well showed a significant reduction postoperatively of an average 26.09 \% (p < 0.001).Despite of the brief follow up, the preliminary results are encouraging, showing a significantly decrease of the disability parameters, a marked improvement of the function with the vanishing of the claudicatio spinalis and the following increase of the free interval during the walk. Aperius PercLID system seems to offer an alternative to the traditional decompression surgery
Effect of biased noise fluctuations on the output radiation of coherent beat laser
Effect of biased noise fluctuations on the degree of squeezing as well as the
intensity of a radiation generated by a one-photon coherent beat laser is
presented. It turns out that the radiation exhibits squeezing inside and
outside the cavity under certain conditions. The degree of squeezing is
enhanced by the biased noise input significantly in both regions. Despite the
presence of the biased environment modes outside the cavity, the degree of
squeezing outside the cavity can be greater than or equal to or even less than
the cavity radiation depending on the initial preparation of the atomic
superposition and amplitude of the external driving radiation. But the
intensity of the radiation is found to be lesser outside the cavity regardless
of these parameters.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
Gravitational Radiation from Post-Newtonian Sources and Inspiralling Compact Binaries
The article reviews the current status of a theoretical approach to the
problem of the emission of gravitational waves by isolated systems in the
context of general relativity. Part A of the article deals with general
post-Newtonian sources. The exterior field of the source is investigated by
means of a combination of analytic post-Minkowskian and multipolar
approximations. The physical observables in the far-zone of the source are
described by a specific set of radiative multipole moments. By matching the
exterior solution to the metric of the post-Newtonian source in the near-zone
we obtain the explicit expressions of the source multipole moments. The
relationships between the radiative and source moments involve many non-linear
multipole interactions, among them those associated with the tails (and
tails-of-tails) of gravitational waves. Part B of the article is devoted to the
application to compact binary systems. We present the equations of binary
motion, and the associated Lagrangian and Hamiltonian, at the third
post-Newtonian (3PN) order beyond the Newtonian acceleration. The
gravitational-wave energy flux, taking consistently into account the
relativistic corrections in the binary moments as well as the various tail
effects, is derived through 3.5PN order with respect to the quadrupole
formalism. The binary's orbital phase, whose prior knowledge is crucial for
searching and analyzing the signals from inspiralling compact binaries, is
deduced from an energy balance argument.Comment: 109 pages, 1 figure; this version is an update of the Living Review
article originally published in 2002; available on-line at
http://www.livingreviews.org
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ADC Nonlinearity Correction for the Majorana Demonstrator
Imperfections in analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) cannot be ignored when signal digitization requirements demand both wide dynamic range and high resolution, as is the case for the Majorana Demonstrator 76Ge neutrinoless double-beta decay search. Enabling the experiment's high-resolution spectral analysis and efficient pulse shape discrimination required careful measurement and correction of ADC nonlinearities. A simple measurement protocol was developed that did not require sophisticated equipment or lengthy data-taking campaigns. A slope-dependent hysteresis was observed and characterized. A correction applied to digitized waveforms prior to signal processing reduced the differential and integral nonlinearities by an order of magnitude, eliminating these as dominant contributions to the systematic energy uncertainty at the double-beta decay Q value
Loss of TET2 in human hematopoietic stem cells alters the development and function of neutrophils
Somatic mutations commonly occur in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Some mutant clones outgrow through clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and produce mutated immune progenies shaping host immunity. Individuals with CH are asymptomatic but have an increased risk of developing leukemia, cardiovascular and pulmonary inflammatory diseases, and severe infections. Using genetic engineering of human HSCs (hHSCs) and transplantation in immunodeficient mice, we describe how a commonly mutated gene in CH, TET2, affects human neutrophil development and function. TET2 loss in hHSCs produce a distinct neutrophil heterogeneity in bone marrow and peripheral tissues by increasing the repopulating capacity of neutrophil progenitors and giving rise to low-granule neutrophils. Human neutrophils that inherited TET2 mutations mount exacerbated inflammatory responses and have more condensed chromatin, which correlates with compact neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) production. We expose here physiological abnormalities that may inform future strategies to detect TET2-CH and prevent NET-mediated pathologies associated with CH
Three little pieces for computer and relativity
Numerical relativity has made big strides over the last decade. A number of
problems that have plagued the field for years have now been mostly solved.
This progress has transformed numerical relativity into a powerful tool to
explore fundamental problems in physics and astrophysics, and I present here
three representative examples. These "three little pieces" reflect a personal
choice and describe work that I am particularly familiar with. However, many
more examples could be made.Comment: 42 pages, 11 figures. Plenary talk at "Relativity and Gravitation:
100 Years after Einstein in Prague", June 25 - 29, 2012, Prague, Czech
Republic. To appear in the Proceedings (Edition Open Access). Collects
results appeared in journal articles [72,73, 122-124
Quality assessment of clinical practice guidelinesfor Chagas disease
INTRODUCTION: The development of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has increased; this study aimed to assess the quality of CPGs for the management of Chagas disease. METHODS: Following a systematic search of the scientific literature, two reviewers assessed the eligible guidelines using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation (AGREE) II instrument. RESULTS: Five CPGs were included. The AGREE domains of scope/purpose, stakeholder involvement, and clarity of presentation were rated well, and the domains of applicability and editorial independence received poor ratings. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of CPGs for Chagas disease is poor, and significant work is required to develop high-quality guidelines
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