Spatial exporters

In this paper, we provide causal evidence that firms serve new markets which are geographically close to their prior export destinations with a higher probability than standard gravity models predict. We quantify the impact of this spatial pattern using a data set of Chinese firms which had never exported to the EU, the United States, and Canada before 2005. These countries imposed import quotas on textile and apparel products until 2005 and experienced a subsequent increase in imports of previously constrained Chinese firms. Controlling for firm-destination specific effects and accounting for potential true state dependence we show that the probability to export to a country increases by about two percentage points for each prior export destination which shares a common border with this country. We find little evidence for other forms of proximity to previous export destinations like common colonizer, language or income group

Security of coherent state quantum cryptography in the presence of Gaussian noise

We investigate the security against collective attacks of a continuous variable quantum key distribution scheme in the asymptotic key limit for a realistic setting. The quantum channel connecting the two honest parties is assumed to be lossy and imposes Gaussian noise on the observed quadrature distributions. Secret key rates are given for direct and reverse reconciliation schemes including postselection in the collective attack scenario. The effect of a non-ideal error correction and two-way communication in the classical post-processing step is also taken into account.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures updated version including two-way communication; changed the definition of the excess noise to match the definition given earlier (Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 117901); submitted to PRA; presented at the 8th International Conference on Quantum Communication, Measurement and Computing, Tsukub

Superconductivity and hybrid soft modes in TiSe2_2

The competition between superconductivity and other ground states of solids is one of the challenging topics in condensed matter physics. Apart from high-temperature superconductors [1,2] this interplay also plays a central role in the layered transition-metal dichalcogenides, where superconductivity is stabilized by suppressing charge-density-wave order to zero temperature by intercalation [3] or applied pressure [4-7]. 1T-TiSe$_2$ forms a prime example, featuring superconducting domes on intercalation as well as under applied pressure. Here, we present high energy-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering measurements of the CDW soft phonon mode in intercalated Cu$_x$TiSe$_2$ and pressurized 1T-TiSe$_2$ along with detailed ab-initio calculations for the lattice dynamical properties and phonon-mediated superconductivity. We find that the intercalation-induced superconductivity can be explained by a solely phonon-mediated pairing mechanism, while this is not possible for the superconducting phase under pressure. We argue that a hybridization of phonon and exciton modes in the pairing mechanism is necessary to explain the full observed temperature-pressure-intercalation phase diagram. These results indicate that 1T-TiSe$_2$ under pressure is close to the elusive state of the excitonic insulator

A joint view on genetic variants for adiposity differentiates subtypes with distinct metabolic implications.

The problem of the genetics of related phenotypes is often addressed by analyzing adjusted-model traits, but such traits warrant cautious interpretation. Here, we adopt a joint view of adiposity traits in ~322,154 subjects (GIANT consortium). We classify 159 signals associated with body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), or WHR adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI) at P < 5 × 10 <sup>-8</sup> , into four classes based on the direction of their effects on BMI and WHR. Our classes help differentiate adiposity genetics with respect to anthropometry, fat depots, and metabolic health. Class-specific Mendelian randomization reveals that variants associated with both WHR-decrease and BMI increase are linked to metabolically rather favorable adiposity through beneficial hip fat. Class-specific enrichment analyses implicate digestive systems as a pathway in adiposity genetics. Our results demonstrate that WHRadjBMI variants capture relevant effects of "unexpected fat distribution given the BMI" and that a joint view of the genetics underlying related phenotypes can inform on important biology

Photoemission kinks and phonons in cuprates

One of the possible mechanisms of high Tc superconductivity is Cooper pairing with the help of bosons, which change the slope of the electronic dispersion as observed by photoemission. Giustino et al. calculated that in the high temperature superconductor La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 crystal lattice vibrations (phonons) should have a negligible effect on photoemission spectra and concluded that phonons do not play an important role. We show that the calculations employed by Giustino et al. fail to reproduce huge influence of electron-phonon coupling on important phonons observed in experiments. Thus one would expect these calculations to similarly fail in explaining the role of electron-phonon coupling for the electronic dispersion.Comment: To appear in Nature as a Brief Communiction Arisin

Theory of "ferrisuperconductivity" in U1−xThxBe13U_{1-x}Th_xBe_{13}

We construct a two component Ginzburg-Landau theory with coherent pair motion and incoherent quasiparticles for the phase diagram of $U_{1-x}Th_xBe_{13}$. The two staggered superconducting states live at the Brillouin zone center and the zone boundary, and coexist for temperatures $T\le T_{c2}$ at concentrations $x_{c1}\approx 0.02\le x \le x_{c2}\approx 0.04$. We predict below $T_{c2}$ appearance of a charge density wave (CDW) and Be-sublattice distortion. The distortion explains the $\mu$SR relaxation anomaly, and Th-impurity mediated scattering of ultrasound to CDW fluctuations explains the attenuation peak.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps figures, REVTe