5,129 research outputs found
Comment on "Indispensable Finite Time Correlations for Fokker-Planck Equations from Time Series Data"
Comment on "Indispensable Finite Time Correlations for Fokker-Planck
Equations from Time Series Data"Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur
On giant piezoresistance effects in silicon nanowires and microwires
The giant piezoresistance (PZR) previously reported in silicon nanowires is
experimentally investigated in a large number of surface depleted silicon nano-
and micro-structures. The resistance is shown to vary strongly with time due to
electron and hole trapping at the sample surfaces. Importantly, this time
varying resistance manifests itself as an apparent giant PZR identical to that
reported elsewhere. By modulating the applied stress in time, the true PZR of
the structures is found to be comparable with that of bulk silicon
A de Finetti representation theorem for infinite dimensional quantum systems and applications to quantum cryptography
According to the quantum de Finetti theorem, if the state of an N-partite
system is invariant under permutations of the subsystems then it can be
approximated by a state where almost all subsystems are identical copies of
each other, provided N is sufficiently large compared to the dimension of the
subsystems. The de Finetti theorem has various applications in physics and
information theory, where it is for instance used to prove the security of
quantum cryptographic schemes. Here, we extend de Finetti's theorem, showing
that the approximation also holds for infinite dimensional systems, as long as
the state satisfies certain experimentally verifiable conditions. This is
relevant for applications such as quantum key distribution (QKD), where it is
often hard - or even impossible - to bound the dimension of the information
carriers (which may be corrupted by an adversary). In particular, our result
can be applied to prove the security of QKD based on weak coherent states or
Gaussian states against general attacks.Comment: 11 pages, LaTe
Evolution and loss of long-fringed petals
Background: The Cucurbitaceae genus Trichosanthes comprises 90–100 species that occur from India to Japan and southeast to Australia and Fiji. Most species have large white or pale yellow petals with conspicuously fringed margins, the fringes sometimes several cm long. Pollination is usually by hawkmoths. Previous molecular data for a small number of species suggested that a monophyletic Trichosanthes might include the Asian genera Gymnopetalum (four species, lacking long petal fringes) and Hodgsonia (two species with petals fringed). Here we test these groups’ relationships using a species sampling of c. 60% and 4759 nucleotides of nuclear and plastid DNA. To infer the time and direction of the geographic expansion of the Trichosanthes clade we employ molecular clock dating and statistical biogeographic reconstruction, and we also address the gain or loss of petal fringes.
Results: Trichosanthes is monophyletic as long as it includes Gymnopetalum, which itself is polyphyletic. The closest relative of Trichosanthes appears to be the sponge gourds, Luffa, while Hodgsonia is more distantly related. Of six morphology-based sections in Trichosanthes with more than one species, three are supported by the molecular results; two new sections appear warranted. Molecular dating and biogeographic analyses suggest an Oligocene origin of Trichosanthes in Eurasia or East Asia, followed by diversification and spread throughout the Malesian biogeographic region and into the Australian continent.
Conclusions: Long-fringed corollas evolved independently in Hodgsonia and Trichosanthes, followed by two losses in the latter coincident with shifts to other pollinators but not with long-distance ispersal events. Together with the Caribbean Linnaeosicyos, the Madagascan Ampelosicyos and the tropical African Telfairia, these cucurbit lineages represent an ideal system for more detailed studies of the evolution and function of petal fringes in plant-pollinator mutualisms
Device independent quantum key distribution secure against coherent attacks with memoryless measurement devices
Device independent quantum key distribution aims to provide a higher degree
of security than traditional QKD schemes by reducing the number of assumptions
that need to be made about the physical devices used. The previous proof of
security by Pironio et al. applies only to collective attacks where the state
is identical and independent and the measurement devices operate identically
for each trial in the protocol. We extend this result to a more general class
of attacks where the state is arbitrary and the measurement devices have no
memory. We accomplish this by a reduction of arbitrary adversary strategies to
qubit strategies and a proof of security for qubit strategies based on the
previous proof by Pironio et al. and techniques adapted from Renner.Comment: 13 pages. Expanded main proofs with more detail, miscellaneous edits
for clarit
Structure of self-assembled Mn atom chains on Si(001)
Mn has been found to self-assemble into atomic chains running perpendicular
to the surface dimer reconstruction on Si(001). They differ from other atomic
chains by a striking asymmetric appearance in filled state scanning tunneling
microscopy (STM) images. This has prompted complicated structural models
involving up to three Mn atoms per chain unit. Combining STM, atomic force
microscopy and density functional theory we find that a simple necklace-like
chain of single Mn atoms reproduces all their prominent features, including
their asymmetry not captured by current models. The upshot is a remarkably
simpler structure for modelling the electronic and magnetic properties of Mn
atom chains on Si(001).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Locking of accessible information and implications for the security of quantum cryptography
The unconditional security of a quantum key distribution protocol is often
defined in terms of the accessible information, that is, the maximum mutual
information between the distributed key S and the outcome of an optimal
measurement on the adversary's (quantum) system. We show that, even if this
quantity is small, certain parts of the key S might still be completely
insecure when S is used in applications, such as for one-time pad encryption.
This flaw is due to a locking property of the accessible information: one
additional (physical) bit of information might increase the accessible
information by more than one bit.Comment: 5 pages; minor change
Electronic coupling between Bi nanolines and the Si(001) substrate: An experimental and theoretical study
Atomic nanolines are one dimensional systems realized by assembling many
atoms on a substrate into long arrays. The electronic properties of the
nanolines depend on those of the substrate. Here, we demonstrate that to fully
understand the electronic properties of Bi nanolines on clean Si(001) several
different contributions must be accounted for. Scanning tunneling microscopy
reveals a variety of different patterns along the nanolines as the imaging bias
is varied. We observe an electronic phase shift of the Bi dimers, associated
with imaging atomic p-orbitals, and an electronic coupling between the Bi
nanoline and neighbouring Si dimers, which influences the appearance of both.
Understanding the interplay between the Bi nanolines and Si substrate could
open a novel route to modifying the electronic properties of the nanolines.Comment: 6 pages (main), 2 pages (SI), accepted by Phys. Rev.
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