Efficient quantum key distribution secure against no-signalling eavesdroppers

By carrying out measurements on entangled states, two parties can generate a secret key which is secure not only against an eavesdropper bound by the laws of quantum mechanics, but also against a hypothetical "post-quantum" eavesdroppers limited by the no-signalling principle only. We introduce a family of quantum key distribution protocols of this type, which are more efficient than previous ones, both in terms of key rate and noise resistance. Interestingly, the best protocols involve large number of measurements. We show that in the absence of noise, these protocols can yield one secret bit per entanglement bit, implying that the key rates in the no-signalling post-quantum scenario are comparable to the key rates in usual quantum key distribution.Comment: 11 pages, 2 color figures. v2: minor modifications, added references, added note on the relation to quant-ph/060604

Micromagnetic Simulations of Ferromagnetic Rings

Thin nanomagnetic rings have generated interest for fundamental studies of magnetization reversal and also for their potential in various applications, particularly as magnetic memories. They are a rare example of a geometry in which an analytical solution for the rate of thermally induced magnetic reversal has been determined, in an approximation whose errors can be estimated and bounded. In this work, numerical simulations of soft ferromagnetic rings are used to explore aspects of the analytical solution. The evolution of the energy near the transition states confirms that, consistent with analytical predictions, thermally induced magnetization reversal can have one of two intermediate states: either constant or soliton-like saddle configurations, depending on ring size and externally applied magnetic field. The results confirm analytical predictions of a transition in thermally activated reversal behavior as magnetic field is varied at constant ring size. Simulations also show that the analytic one dimensional model continues to hold even for wide rings

A theoretical study of the conversion of gas phase methanediol to formaldehyde

Methanediol, or methylene glycol, is a product of the liquid phase reaction of water and formaldehyde and is a predicted interstellar grain surface species. Detection of this molecule in a hot core environment would advance the understanding of complex organic chemistry in the interstellar medium, but its laboratory spectroscopic characterization is a prerequisite for such observational searches. This theoretical study investigates the unimolecular decomposition of methanediol, specifically the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of the molecule under typical laboratory and interstellar conditions. Methanediol was found to be thermodynamically stable at temperatures of <100 K, which is the characteristic temperature range for interstellar grain mantles. The infinite-pressure RRKM unimolecular decomposition rate was found to be <10^(−18) s^(−1) at 300 K, indicating gas phase kinetic stability for typical laboratory and hot core temperatures. Therefore, both laboratory studies of and observational searches for this molecule should be feasible

Ferromagnetic resonance study of polycrystalline Fe_{1-x}V_x alloy thin films

Ferromagnetic resonance has been used to study the magnetic properties and magnetization dynamics of polycrystalline Fe$_{1-x}$V$_{x}$ alloy films with $0\leq x < 0.7$. Films were produced by co-sputtering from separate Fe and V targets, leading to a composition gradient across a Si substrate. FMR studies were conducted at room temperature with a broadband coplanar waveguide at frequencies up to 50 GHz using the flip-chip method. The effective demagnetization field $4 \pi M_{\mathrm{eff}}$ and the Gilbert damping parameter $\alpha$ have been determined as a function of V concentration. The results are compared to those of epitaxial FeV films

Thermal Stability of the Magnetization in Perpendicularly Magnetized Thin Film Nanomagnets

Understanding the stability of thin film nanomagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) against thermally induced magnetization reversal is important when designing perpendicularly magnetized patterned media and magnetic random access memories. The leading-order dependence of magnetization reversal rates are governed by the energy barrier the system needs to surmount in order for reversal to proceed. In this paper we study the reversal dynamics of these systems and compute the relevant barriers using the string method of E, Vanden-Eijnden, and Ren. We find the reversal to be often spatially incoherent; that is, rather than the magnetization flipping as a rigid unit, reversal proceeds instead through a soliton-like domain wall sweeping through the system. We show that for square nanomagnetic elements the energy barrier increases with element size up to a critical length scale, beyond which the energy barrier is constant. For circular elements the energy barrier continues to increase indefinitely, albeit more slowly beyond a critical size. In both cases the energy barriers are smaller than those expected for coherent magnetization reversal.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Figure