1,101 research outputs found
Efficient computation of hashes
The sequential computation of hashes at the core of many distributed storage systems and found, for example, in grid services can hinder efficiency in service quality and even pose security challenges that can only be addressed by the use of parallel hash tree modes. The main contributions of this paper are, first, the identification of several efficiency and security challenges posed by the use of sequential hash computation based on the Merkle-Damgard engine. In addition, alternatives for the parallel computation of hash trees are discussed, and a prototype for a new parallel implementation of the Keccak function, the SHA-3 winner, is introduced
On demand entanglement in double quantum dots via coherent carrier scattering
We show how two qubits encoded in the orbital states of two quantum dots can
be entangled or disentangled in a controlled way through their interaction with
a weak electron current. The transmission/reflection spectrum of each scattered
electron, acting as an entanglement mediator between the dots, shows a
signature of the dot-dot entangled state. Strikingly, while few scattered
carriers produce decoherence of the whole two-dots system, a larger number of
electrons injected from one lead with proper energy is able to recover its
quantum coherence. Our numerical simulations are based on a real-space solution
of the three-particle Schroedinger equation with open boundaries. The computed
transmission amplitudes are inserted in the analytical expression of the system
density matrix in order to evaluate the entanglement.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Visualization of droplet condensation in membrane distillation desalination with surface modification: hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity, and wicking spacers
Condensation performance is a key target for improving the energy efficiency of thermal desalination technologies such as air gap membrane distillation (AGMD). This study includes the first visualization of condensation in AGMD, through the use of a high conductivity, transparent sapphire condenser surface. The study examines how flow patterns are affected by several novel modifications, including varied surface hydrophobicity, module tilt angle, and gap spacer design. The experimental results were analyzed with numerical modeling. While the orientation of the mesh spacer, which holds the air gap apart, was found to have no substantial effect on the permeate production rate, the surface's hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity did result in different rates. The hydrophobic surface exhibited fewer droplets bridging the gap, more spherical droplets, and better droplet shedding. For gap sizes less than ~3 mm, the hydrophilic surface frequently had regions of water pinned around the surface itself and the plastic spacer. While the flow patterns observed were more complex than the film condensation typically used to model the process, the simplified numerical modelling yielded good agreement with the data when an adjustment factor was used to account for the gap size
Gravitational Collapse of a Shell of Quantized Matter
The semi-classical collapse, including lowest order back-reaction, of a thin
shell of self-gravitating quantized matter is illustrated. The conditions for
which self-gravitating matter forms a thin shell are first discussed and an
effective Lagrangian for such matter is obtained. The matter-gravity system is
then quantized, the semi-classical limit for gravitation is taken and the
method of adiabatic invariants is applied to the resulting time dependent
matter Hamiltonian. The governing equations are integrated numerically, for
suitable initial conditions, in order to illustrate the effect of
back-reaction, due to the creation of matter, in slowing down the collapse near
the horizon.Comment: 20 pages, 1 eps figure. Problem with figure fixe
Obesity and Albuminuria Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: The Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) Study
This is an uncopyedited electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Diabetes Care. The American Diabetes Association, publisher of Diabetes Care, is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it by third parties. The definitive publisher-authenticated version will be available in a future issue of Diabetes Care in print and online a
Single-qubit gates and measurements in the surface acoustic wave quantum computer
In the surface acoustic wave quantum computer, the spin state of an electron
trapped in a moving quantum dot comprises the physical qubit of the scheme. Via
detailed analytic and numerical modeling of the qubit dynamics, we discuss the
effect of excitations into higher-energy orbital states of the quantum dot that
occur when the qubits pass through magnetic fields. We describe how
single-qubit quantum operations, such as single-qubit rotations and
single-qubit measurements, can be performed using only localized static
magnetic fields. The models provide useful parameter regimes to be explored
experimentally when the requirements on semiconductor gate fabrication and the
nanomagnetics technology are met in the future.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Distributed Synthesis in Continuous Time
We introduce a formalism modelling communication of distributed agents
strictly in continuous-time. Within this framework, we study the problem of
synthesising local strategies for individual agents such that a specified set
of goal states is reached, or reached with at least a given probability. The
flow of time is modelled explicitly based on continuous-time randomness, with
two natural implications: First, the non-determinism stemming from interleaving
disappears. Second, when we restrict to a subclass of non-urgent models, the
quantitative value problem for two players can be solved in EXPTIME. Indeed,
the explicit continuous time enables players to communicate their states by
delaying synchronisation (which is unrestricted for non-urgent models). In
general, the problems are undecidable already for two players in the
quantitative case and three players in the qualitative case. The qualitative
undecidability is shown by a reduction to decentralized POMDPs for which we
provide the strongest (and rather surprising) undecidability result so far
Cylindrical Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in a Transverse Magnetic Field
We compute the single-particle states of a two-dimensional electron gas
confined to the surface of a cylinder immersed in a magnetic field. The
envelope-function equation has been solved exactly for both an homogeneous and
a periodically modulated magnetic field perpendicular to the cylinder axis. The
nature and energy dispersion of the quantum states reflects the interplay
between different lengthscales, namely, the cylinder diameter, the magnetic
length, and, possibly, the wavelength of the field modulation. We show that a
transverse homogeneous magnetic field drives carrier states from a quasi-2D
(cylindrical) regime to a quasi-1D regime where carriers form channels along
the cylinder surface. Furthermore, a magnetic field which is periodically
modulated along the cylinder axis may confine the carriers to tunnel-coupled
stripes, rings or dots on the cylinder surface, depending on the ratio between
the the field periodicity and the cylinder radius. Results in different regimes
are traced to either incipient Landau levels formation or Aharonov-Bohm
behaviour.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figure
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Containment and equivalence of weighted automata: Probabilistic and max-plus cases
This paper surveys some results regarding decision problems for probabilistic and max-plus automata, such as containment and equivalence. Probabilistic and max-plus automata are part of the general family of weighted automata, whose semantics are maps from words to real values. Given two weighted automata, the equivalence problem asks whether their semantics are the same, and the containment problem whether one is point-wise smaller than the other one. These problems have been studied intensively and this paper will review some techniques used to show (un)decidability and state a list of open questions that still remain
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