Experimental Demonstration of Unconditional Entanglement Swapping for Continuous Variables

The unconditional entanglement swapping for continuous variables is experimentally demonstrated. Two initial entangled states are produced from two nondegenerate optical parametric amplifiers operating at deamplification. Through implementing the direct measurement of Bell-state between two optical beams from each amplifier the remaining two optical beams, which have never directly interacted with each other, are entangled. The quantum correlation degrees of 1.23dB and 1.12dB below the shot noise limit for the amplitude and phase quadratures resulting from the entanglement swapping are straightly measured.Comment: new versio

Low complexity Reed–Solomon-based low-density parity-check design for software defined optical transmission system based on adaptive puncturing decoding algorithm

AbstractWe propose and demonstrate a low complexity Reed–Solomon-based low-density parity-check (RS-LDPC) code with adaptive puncturing decoding algorithm for elastic optical transmission system. Partial received codes and the relevant column in parity-check matrix can be punctured to reduce the calculation complexity by adaptive parity-check matrix during decoding process. The results show that the complexity of the proposed decoding algorithm is reduced by 30% compared with the regular RS-LDPC system. The optimized code rate of the RS-LDPC code can be obtained after five times iteration

Dense-coding quantum key distribution based on continuous-variable entanglement

We proposed a scheme of continuous-variable quantum key distribution, in which the bright Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entangled optical beams are utilized. The source of the entangled beams is placed inside the receiving station, where half of the entangled beams are transmitted with round trip and the other half are retained by the receiver. The amplitude and phase signals modulated on the signal beam by the sender are simultaneously extracted by the authorized receiver with the scheme of the dense-coding correlation measurement for continuous quantum variables, thus the channel capacity is significantly improved. Two kinds of possible eavesdropping are discussed. The mutual information and the secret key rates are calculated and compared with those of unidirectional transmission schemes

3-Hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase involved in isoleucine catabolism regulates triacylglycerol accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Since methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase appears to be absent in the majority of photosynthetic organisms, including diatoms, (S)-methylmalonyl-CoA, the intermediate of isoleucine (Ile) catabolism, cannot be metabolized to (R)methylmalonyl-CoA then to succinyl-CoA. In this study, propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC) RNAi silenced strains and 3-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase (HIBCH) overexpression strains were constructed to elucidate the Ile degradation pathway and its influence on lipid accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum based on growth, neutral lipid content and metabolite profile analysis. Knockdown of PCC disturbed the metabolism of Ile through propionyl-CoA to methylmalonyl-CoA, as illustrated by much higher Ile content at day 6. However, Ile decreased to comparable levels to the wild-type at day 10. PCC silencing redirected propionyl-CoA to acetyl-CoA via a modified beta-oxidation pathway, and transcript levels for some branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) degradation-related genes, especially HIBCH, significantly upregulated in the PCC mutant, which enhanced the BCAA degradations and thus resulted in higher triacylglycerol (TAG) content. Overexpression of HIBCH accelerates Ile degradation and results in a lowered Ile content in the overexpression strains, thus enhancing carbon skeletons to the tricarboxylic acid cycle and giving rise to increasing TAG accumulation. Our study provides a good strategy to obtain high-lipid-yield transgenic diatoms by modifying the propionyl-CoA metabolism. This article is part of the themed issue &#39;The peculiar carbon metabolism in diatoms&#39;.</p

Effects of wave-current interaction on storm surge in the Taiwan Strait: Insights from Typhoon Morakot

The effects of wave-current interaction on storm surge are investigated by a two-dimensional wave-current coupling model through simulations of Typhoon Morakot in the Taiwan Strait. The results show that wind wave and slope of sea floor govern wave setup modulations within the nearshore surf zone. Wave setup during Morakot can contribute up to 24% of the total storm surge with a maximum value of 0.28 m. The large wave setup commonly coincides with enhanced radiation stress gradient, which is itself associated with transfer of wave momentum flux. Water levels are to leading order in modulating significant wave height inside the estuary. High water levels due to tidal change and storm surge stabilize the wind wave and decay wave breaking. Outside of the estuary, waves are mainly affected by the current-induced modification of wind energy input to the wave generation. By comparing the observed significant wave height and water level with the results from uncoupled and coupled simulations, the latter shows a better agreement with the observations. It suggests that wave-current interaction plays an important role in determining the extreme storm surge and wave height in the study area and should not be neglected in a typhoon forecast

Geostatistical and stochastic study of flow and tracer transport in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain

Yucca Mountain has been proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy as the nation’s long-term, permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. The potential repository would be located in Yucca Mountain’s unsaturated zone (UZ), which acts as a critical natural barrier delaying arrival of radionuclides to the water table. Since radionuclide transport in groundwater can pose serious threats to human health and the environment, it is important to understand how much and how fast water and radionuclides travel through the UZ to groundwater. The UZ system consists of multiple hydrogeologic units whose hydraulic and geochemical properties exhibit systematic and random spatial variation, or heterogeneity, at multiple scales. Predictions of radionuclide transport under such complicated conditions are uncertain, and the uncertainty complicates decision making and risk analysis. This project aims at using geostatistical and stochastic methods to assess uncertainty of unsaturated flow and radionuclide transport in the UZ at Yucca Mountain. Focus of this study is parameter uncertainty of hydraulic and transport properties of the UZ. The parametric uncertainty arises since limited parameter measurements are unable to deterministically describe spatial variability of the parameters. In this project, matrix porosity, permeability and sorption coefficient of the reactive tracer (neptunium) of the UZ are treated as random variables. Corresponding propagation of parametric uncertainty is quantitatively measured using mean, variance, 5th and 95th percentiles of simulated state variables (e.g., saturation, capillary pressure, percolation flux, and travel time). These statistics are evaluated using a Monte Carlo method, in which a three-dimensional flow and transport model implemented using the TOUGH2 code is executed with multiple parameter realizations of the random model parameters

A novel dual-rotor ultrasonic motor for underwater propulsion

Micro underwater vehicles (MUVs) have been highlighted recently for underwater explorations because of their high maneuverability, low price, great flexibility, etc. The thrusters of most conventional MUVs are driven by electromagnetic motors, which need big mechanical transmission parts and are prone to being interrupted by the variance of ambient electromagnetic fields. In this paper, a novel dual-rotor ultrasonic motor with double output shafts, compact size, and no electromagnetic interference is presented, characterized, and applied for actuating underwater robots. This motor was composed of a spindle-shaped stator, pre-pressure modulation unit, and dual rotors, which can output two simultaneous rotations to increase the propulsion force of the MUV. The pre-pressure modulation unit utilized a torsion spring to adjust the preload at the contact faces between the stator and rotor. The working principle of the ultrasonic motor was developed and the vibration mode of the stator was analyzed by the finite element method. Experimental results show that the no-load rotary speed and stalling torque of the prototype ultrasonic motor were 110 r/min and 3 mN m, respectively, with 150 V peak-to-peak driving voltage at resonance. One underwater robot model equipped with the proposed ultrasonic motor-powered thruster could move at 33 mm/s immersed in water. The dual-rotor ultrasonic motor proposed here provides another alternative for driving MUVs and is appropriate for developing specific MUVs when the electromagnetic interference issue needs to be considered. © 2019 by the authors