Quantum robustness and phase transitions of the 3D Toric Code in a field

We study the robustness of 3D intrinsic topogical order under external perturbations by investigating the paradigmatic microscopic model, the 3D toric code in an external magnetic field. Exact dualities as well as variational calculations reveal a ground-state phase diagram with first and second-order quantum phase transitions. The variational approach can be applied without further approximations only for certain field directions. In the general field case, an approximative scheme based on an expansion of the variational energy in orders of the variational parameters is developed. For the breakdown of the 3D intrinsic topological order, it is found that the (im-)mobility of the quasiparticle excitations is crucial in contrast to their fractional statistics

A parameter optimization approach to controller partitioning for integrated flight/propulsion control application

A parameter optimization framework is presented to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. The controller partitioning problem is briefly discussed and a cost function to be minimized is formulated, such that the resulting 'optimal' partitioned subsystem controllers will closely match the performance (including robustness) properties of the closed-loop system with the centralized controller while maintaining the desired controller partitioning structure. The cost function is written in terms of parameters in a state-space representation of the partitioned sub-controllers. Analytical expressions are obtained for the gradient of this cost function with respect to parameters, and an optimization algorithm is developed using modern computer-aided control design and analysis software. The capabilities of the algorithm are demonstrated by application to partitioned integrated flight/propulsion control design for a modern fighter aircraft in the short approach to landing task. The partitioning optimization is shown to lead to reduced-order subcontrollers that match the closed-loop command tracking and decoupling performance achieved by a high-order centralized controller

A method for partitioning centralized controllers

The notion of controller partitioning is described. Conditions are developed under which the input/output behavior of a multi-input multi-output centralized controller can be exactly matched by two separate subsystem controllers interconnected through output crossfeed. A systematic method is developed for determining a controller partitioning which best approximates the input/output behavior of the centralized controller for the general case when the exact matching conditions are not satisfied. The controller partitioning procedure is demonstrated for a centralized integrated flight/propulsion controller designed in a previous study

Emergent Fermions and Anyons in the Kitaev Model

We study the gapped phase of the Kitaev model on the honeycomb lattice using perturbative continuous unitary transformations. The effective low-energy Hamiltonian is found to be an extended toric code with interacting anyons. High-energy excitations are emerging free fermions which are composed of hardcore bosons with an attached string of spin operators. The excitation spectrum is mapped onto that of a single particle hopping on a square lattice in a magnetic field. We also illustrate how to compute correlation functions in this framework. The present approach yields analytical perturbative results in the thermodynamical limit without using the Majorana or the Jordan-Wigner fermionization initially proposed to solve this problem.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, published versio

Perturbative study of the Kitaev model with spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking

We analyze the Kitaev model on the triangle-honeycomb lattice whose ground state has recently been shown to be a chiral spin liquid. We consider two perturbative expansions: the isolated-dimer limit containing Abelian anyons and the isolated-triangle limit. In the former case, we derive the low-energy effective theory and discuss the role played by multi-plaquette interactions. In this phase, we also compute the spin-spin correlation functions for any vortex configuration. In the isolated-triangle limit, we show that the effective theory is, at lowest nontrivial order, the Kitaev honeycomb model at the isotropic point. We also compute the next-order correction which opens a gap and yields non-Abelian anyons.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, published versio

An Efficient Method for Calculating the Absorption Enhancement in Solar Cells with Integrated Plasmonic and Photonic Nanoparticles

We present a method for calculating the plasmonic and photonic enhancement of the absorption in solar cells. The method involves coupling between a transfer matrix method to describe light propagation in the layered stack and Mie theory for calculating the absorption and angular scattered field distribution from the nanoparticles. We also compare the method to rigorous simulations

Computer code for controller partitioning with IFPC application: A user's manual

A user's manual for the computer code for partitioning a centralized controller into decentralized subcontrollers with applicability to Integrated Flight/Propulsion Control (IFPC) is presented. Partitioning of a centralized controller into two subcontrollers is described and the algorithm on which the code is based is discussed. The algorithm uses parameter optimization of a cost function which is described. The major data structures and functions are described. Specific instructions are given. The user is led through an example of an IFCP application

Application of controller partitioning optimization procedure to integrated flight/propulsion control design for a STOVL aircraft

A parameter optimization framework has earlier been developed to solve the problem of partitioning a centralized controller into a decentralized, hierarchical structure suitable for integrated flight/propulsion control implementation. This paper presents results from the application of the controller partitioning optimization procedure to IFPC design for a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) aircraft in transition flight. The controller partitioning problem and the parameter optimization algorithm are briefly described. Insight is provided into choosing various 'user' selected parameters in the optimization cost function such that the resulting optimized subcontrollers will meet the characteristics of the centralized controller that are crucial to achieving the desired closed-loop performance and robustness, while maintaining the desired subcontroller structure constraints that are crucial for IFPC implementation. The optimization procedure is shown to improve upon the initial partitioned subcontrollers and lead to performance comparable to that achieved with the centralized controller. This application also provides insight into the issues that should be addressed at the centralized control design level in order to obtain implementable partitioned subcontrollers