1,007 research outputs found
Estimates for practical quantum cryptography
In this article I present a protocol for quantum cryptography which is secure
against attacks on individual signals. It is based on the Bennett-Brassard
protocol of 1984 (BB84). The security proof is complete as far as the use of
single photons as signal states is concerned. Emphasis is given to the
practicability of the resulting protocol. For each run of the quantum key
distribution the security statement gives the probability of a successful key
generation and the probability for an eavesdropper's knowledge, measured as
change in Shannon entropy, to be below a specified maximal value.Comment: Authentication scheme corrected. Other improvements of presentatio
The Critical Coupling Likelihood Method: A new approach for seamless integration of environmental and operating conditions of gravitational wave detectors into gravitational wave searches
Any search effort for gravitational waves (GW) using interferometric
detectors like LIGO needs to be able to identify if and when noise is coupling
into the detector's output signal. The Critical Coupling Likelihood (CCL)
method has been developed to characterize potential noise coupling and in the
future aid GW search efforts. By testing two hypotheses about pairs of
channels, CCL is able to identify undesirable coupled instrumental noise from
potential GW candidates. Our preliminary results show that CCL can associate up
to of observed artifacts with , to local noise sources,
while reducing the duty cycle of the instrument by . An approach
like CCL will become increasingly important as GW research moves into the
Advanced LIGO era, going from the first GW detection to GW astronomy.Comment: submitted CQ
Methods for Reducing False Alarms in Searches for Compact Binary Coalescences in LIGO Data
The LIGO detectors are sensitive to a variety of noise transients of
non-astrophysical origin. Instrumental glitches and environmental disturbances
increase the false alarm rate in the searches for gravitational waves. Using
times already identified when the interferometers produced data of questionable
quality, or when the channels that monitor the interferometer indicated
non-stationarity, we have developed techniques to safely and effectively veto
false triggers from the compact binary coalescences (CBCs) search pipeline
Interplay between geometry and flow distribution in an airway tree
Uniform fluid flow distribution in a symmetric volume can be realized through
a symmetric branched tree. It is shown here, however, that the flow
partitioning can be highly sensitive to deviations from exact symmetry if
inertial effects are present. This is found by direct numerical simulation of
the Navier-Stokes equations in a 3D tree geometry. The flow asymmetry is
quantified and found to depend on the Reynolds number. Moreover, for a given
Reynolds number, we show that the flow distribution depends on the aspect ratio
of the branching elements as well as their angular arrangement. Our results
indicate that physiological variability should be severely restricted in order
to ensure uniform fluid distribution in a tree. This study suggests that any
non-uniformity in the air flow distribution in human lungs should be influenced
by the respiratory conditions, rest or hard exercise
GEO 600 and the GEO-HF upgrade program: successes and challenges
The German-British laser-interferometric gravitational wave detector GEO 600
is in its 14th year of operation since its first lock in 2001. After GEO 600
participated in science runs with other first-generation detectors, a program
known as GEO-HF began in 2009. The goal was to improve the detector sensitivity
at high frequencies, around 1 kHz and above, with technologically advanced yet
minimally invasive upgrades. Simultaneously, the detector would record science
quality data in between commissioning activities. As of early 2014, all of the
planned upgrades have been carried out and sensitivity improvements of up to a
factor of four at the high-frequency end of the observation band have been
achieved. Besides science data collection, an experimental program is ongoing
with the goal to further improve the sensitivity and evaluate future detector
technologies. We summarize the results of the GEO-HF program to date and
discuss its successes and challenges
Cost-benefit analysis for commissioning decisions in GEO600
Gravitational wave interferometers are complex instruments, requiring years
of commissioning to achieve the required sensitivities for the detection of
gravitational waves, of order 10^-21 in dimensionless detector strain, in the
tens of Hz to several kHz frequency band. Investigations carried out by the
GEO600 detector characterisation group have shown that detector
characterisation techniques are useful when planning for commissioning work. At
the time of writing, GEO600 is the only large scale laser interferometer
currently in operation running with a high duty factor, 70%, limited chiefly by
the time spent commissioning the detector. The number of observable
gravitational wave sources scales as the product of the volume of space to
which the detector is sensitive and the observation time, so the goal of
commissioning is to improve the detector sensitivity with the least possible
detector down time. We demonstrate a method for increasing the number of
sources observable by such a detector, by assessing the severity of
non-astrophysical noise contaminations to efficiently guide commissioning. This
method will be particularly useful in the early stages and during the initial
science runs of the aLIGO and adVirgo detectors, as they are brought up to
design performance.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, 2 table
Multivariable fractional polynomial interaction to investigate continuous effect modifiers in a meta-analysis on higher versus lower PEEP for patients with ARDS.
OBJECTIVES: A recent individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis suggested that patients with moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) benefit from higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) ventilation strategies. However, thresholds for continuous variables (eg, hypoxaemia) are often arbitrary and linearity assumptions in regression approaches may not hold; the multivariable fractional polynomial interaction (MFPI) approach can address both problems. The objective of this study was to apply the MFPI approach to investigate interactions between four continuous patient baseline variables and higher versus lower PEEP on clinical outcomes. SETTING: Pooled data from three randomised trials in intensive care identified by a systematic review. PARTICIPANTS: 2299 patients with acute lung injury requiring mechanical ventilation. INTERVENTIONS: Higher (N=1136) versus lower PEEP (N=1163) ventilation strategy. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prespecified outcomes included mortality, time to death and time-to-unassisted breathing. We examined the following continuous baseline characteristics as potential effect modifiers using MFPI: PaO2/FiO2 (arterial partial oxygen pressure/ fraction of inspired oxygen), oxygenation index, respiratory system compliance (tidal volume/(inspiratory plateau pressure-PEEP)) and body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: We found that for patients with PaO2/FiO2 below 150 mm Hg, but above 100 mm Hg or an oxygenation index above 12 (moderate ARDS), higher PEEP reduces hospital mortality, but the beneficial effect appears to level off for patients with very severe ARDS. Patients with mild ARDS (PaO2/FiO2 above 200 mm Hg or an oxygenation index below 10) do not seem to benefit from higher PEEP and might even be harmed. For patients with a respiratory system compliance above 40 mL/cm H2O or patients with a BMI above 35 kg/m(2), we found a trend towards reduced mortality with higher PEEP, but there is very weak statistical confidence in these findings. CONCLUSIONS: MFPI analyses suggest a nonlinear effect modification of higher PEEP ventilation by PaO2/FiO2 and oxygenation index with reduced mortality for some patients suffering from moderate ARDS. STUDY REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42012003129
Security against individual attacks for realistic quantum key distribution
I prove the security of quantum key distribution against individual attacks
for realistic signals sources, including weak coherent pulses and
downconversion sources. The proof applies to the BB84 protocol with the
standard detection scheme (no strong reference pulse). I obtain a formula for
the secure bit rate per time slot of an experimental setup which can be used to
optimize the performance of existing schemes for the considered scenario.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Research in Extracorporeal Life Support: A Call to Action
SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
- …