Partial-measurement back-action and non-classical weak values in a superconducting circuit

We realize indirect partial measurement of a transmon qubit in circuit quantum electrodynamics by interaction with an ancilla qubit and projective ancilla measurement with a dedicated readout resonator. Accurate control of the interaction and ancilla measurement basis allows tailoring the measurement strength and operator. The tradeoff between measurement strength and qubit back-action is characterized through the distortion of a qubit Rabi oscillation imposed by ancilla measurement in different bases. Combining partial and projective qubit measurements, we provide the solid-state demonstration of the correspondence between a non-classical weak value and the violation of a Leggett-Garg inequality.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, and Supplementary Information (8 figures

A platform independent communication library for distributed computing

We present MPWide, a platform independent communication library for performing message passing between supercomputers. Our library couples several local MPI applications through a long distance network using, for example, optical links. The implementation is deliberately kept light-weight, platform independent and the library can be installed and used without administrative privileges. The only requirements are a C++ compiler and at least one open port to a wide area network on each site. In this paper we present the library, describe the user interface, present performance tests and apply MPWide in a large scale cosmological N-body simulation on a network of two computers, one in Amsterdam and the other in Tokyo

CO2 Conversion in Nonuniform Discharges: Disentangling Dissociation and Recombination Mechanisms

Motivated by environmental applications such as synthetic fuel synthesis, plasma-driven conversion shows promise for efficient and scalable gas conversion of CO2 to CO. Both discharge contraction and turbulent transport have a significant impact on the plasma processing conditions, but are, nevertheless, poorly understood. This work combines experiments and modeling to investigate how these aspects influence the CO production and destruction mechanisms in the vortex-stabilized CO2 microwave plasma reactor. For this, a two-dimensional axisymmetric tubular chemical kinetics model of the reactor is developed, with careful consideration of the nonuniform nature of the plasma and the vortex-induced radial turbulent transport. Energy efficiency and conversion of the dissociation process show a good agreement with the numerical results over a broad pressure range from 80 to 600 mbar. The occurrence of an energy efficiency peak between 100 and 200 mbar is associated with a discharge mode transition. The net CO production rate is inhibited at low pressure by the plasma temperature, whereas recombination of CO to CO2 dominates at high pressure. Turbulence-induced cooling and dilution of plasma products limit the extent of the latter. The maxima in energy efficiency observed experimentally around 40% are related to limits imposed by production and recombination processes. Based on these insights, feasible approaches for optimization of the plasma dissociation process are discussed.</p

Doppler-ultrasound reference values after pediatric liver transplantation:a consecutive cohort study

OBJECTIVES: Doppler ultrasound (DUS) is the main imaging modality to evaluate vascular complications of pediatric liver transplants (LT). The current study aimed to determine reference values and their change over time.METHODS: A consecutive cohort of pediatric patients undergoing an LT were retrospectively included between 2015 and 2020. Timepoints for standardized DUS were intra-operative and postoperative (day 0), days 1-7, months 1 and 3, and years 1 and 2. DUS measurements of the hepatic artery (HA), portal vein (PV), and hepatic vein(s) (HV) were included if there were no complications during 2 years follow-up. Measurements consisted of: peak systolic velocity (PSV) and resistive index (RI) for the HA, PSV for the PV, and venous pulsatility index (VPI) for the HV. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze change over time.RESULTS: One hundred twelve pediatric patients with 123 LTs were included (median age 3.3 years, interquartile range 0.7-10.1). Ninety-five HAs, 100 PVs, and 115 HVs without complications were included. Reference values for HA PSV and RI, PV PSV, and HV VPI were obtained for all timepoints (4043 included data points in total) and presented using 5th-95th percentiles and threshold values. All reference values changed significantly over time (p = 0.032 to p &lt; 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: DUS reference values of hepatic vessels in children after LT are presented, reference values change over time with specific vessel-dependent patterns. Timepoint-specific reference values improve the interpretation of DUS values and may help to better weigh their clinical significance.KEY POINTS: • Doppler ultrasound reference values of pediatric liver transplantations are not static but change over time. Applying the correct reference values for the specific timepoint may further improve the interpretation of the measurements. • The pattern of change over time of Doppler ultrasound measurements differs between the hepatic vessel and measurement; knowledge of these patterns may help radiologists to better understand normal postoperative hemodynamic changes.</p

Insight into contraction dynamics of microwave plasmas for CO2 conversion from plasma chemistry modelling

This work addresses plasma chemistry in the core of a vortex-stabilized microwave discharge for CO2 conversion numerically, focusing on the pressure-dependent contraction dynamics of this plasma. A zero-dimensional model is presented for experimental conditions in a pressure range between 60 and 300 mbar and a temperature range between 3000 and 6500 K. Monte Carlo Flux simulations, which describe electron kinetics, are self-consistently coupled to the plasma chemistry model. The simulation results show that an increase in pressure is accompanied by a transition in neutral composition in the plasma core: from a significant amount of CO2 and O2 at low pressures to a O/CO/C mixture at high pressures, the composition being determined mostly by thermal equilibrium and by transport processes. The change of temperature and composition with pressure lead to higher ionisation coefficient and more atomic ion composition in the plasma core. These changes result in an increase in ionisation degree in the plasma core from 10-5 to 10-4. These factors are shown to be fundamental to drive contraction in the CO2 microwave discharge.</p

Numerical model for the determination of the reduced electric field in a CO2 microwave plasma derived by the principle of impedance matching

Three dimensional electromagnetic modelling of a free-standing CO2 microwave plasma has been performed, by describing the plasma as a dielectric medium. The relative permittivity and conductivity of the medium are parametrised. The waveguide geometry from experiment, including the tuner, is put into the model, knowing that this corresponds to maximum power transfer of the microwave generator to the plasma under plasma impedance matching conditions. Two CO2 plasma discharge regimes, differing mainly in pressure, input power and temperature, have been studied. The model\u27s validity has been checked through study of materials of known conductivity. From measurements of the neutral gas temperature and the plasma electron density profile, the reduced electric field is determined. From the parametrisation of the dielectric properties, a range for the effective electron-neutral collision frequency for momentum transfer is estimated. The results for the reduced electric field and the range of the electron neutral collision frequency obtained, are consistent as verified by simulations using BOLSIG+. In addition, from this comparison it is possible to narrow down the range of the collision frequencies, and to estimate the electron temperature. The reduced electric field lies between 80 and 180 Td for the relatively low pressure, low input power, the so-called \u27diffuse\u27 regime. For the relatively high pressure, high input power (\u27contracted\u27) regime it lies between 10 and 60 Td. The normalised collision frequency lies between 1.6 and 2.3 for the diffuse regime, while for the contracted regime it lies between 2 and 3. The electron temperature ranges from 2 to 3 eV for the diffuse regime, and from 0.5 to 1 eV for the contracted regime. Related content: 10.1088/1361-6595/ab1ca1</p

Characterization of the CO2 microwave plasma based on the phenomenon of skin-depth-limited contraction

The subatmospheric CO2 microwave plasma is known to contract to a narrow filament with rising pressure as result of a mode transition. This changing state of contraction is investigated in relation to its dielectric properties, in order to directly relate the discharge parameters to the discharge radius. The electron density and gas temperature are measured, respectively, by 168 GHz microwave interferometry and Doppler broadening of the 777 nm oxygen emission lines. The plasma is operated in steady state with 1400 W at 2.45 GHz, between 100 mbar and 400 mbar. Electron density values in the central region range from 1018 to 1020 m−3 between the discharge modes, while the gas temperature increases from 3000 K to 6500 K, in good agreement with previously reported values. Based on the dielectric properties of the discharge in relation to the plasma radius, it is found that the discharge column constitutes a radius of a single skin depth. Implications of these insights on the conditions of previously reported CO2 dissociation experiments are discussed.</p

Reply to Letter to the Editor HEP-20-0593

We sincerely thank Dr. Javitt for his interest in and perspective on our paper (1). He indicates that aspecific effects of Myrcludex B should be considered an explanation for increased biliary cholesterol and phospholipid secretion after Myrcludex B treatment as partial hepatectomy (PH) also leads to an increased contribution of pericentral hepatocytes to bile salt uptake and secretion but biliary cholesterol and phospholipid secretion are not affected. In our opinion, non-specific Myrcludex B-induced activation of canalicular or sinusoidal transporters seems unlikely given the absence of NTCP homology with these transporters and our data from experiments with SR-B1 or ABCG8 null mice. Myrcludex B is an NTCP-specific peptide showing minimal uptake by hepatocytes