39 research outputs found
Observation of entanglement negativity transition of pseudo-random mixed states
Multipartite entanglement is a key resource for quantum computation. It is
expected theoretically that entanglement transition may happen for multipartite
random quantum states, however, which is still absent experimentally. Here, we
report the observation of entanglement transition quantified by negativity
using a fully connected 20-qubit superconducting processor. We implement
multi-layer pseudo-random circuits to generate pseudo-random pure states of 7
to 15 qubits. Then, we investigate negativity spectra of reduced density
matrices obtained by quantum state tomography for 6 qubits.Three different
phases can be identified by calculating logarithmic negativities based on the
negativity spectra. We observe the phase transitions by changing the sizes of
environment and subsystems. The randomness of our circuits can be also
characterized by quantifying the distance between the distribution of output
bit-string probabilities and Porter-Thomas distribution. Our simulator provides
a powerful tool to generate random states and understand the entanglement
structure for multipartite quantum systems
SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) spike protein adjuvanted with Alum-3M-052 enhances antibody production and neutralization ability
BackgroundOptimizing adjuvant is one of the critical methods to improve the vaccine. 3M-052, a novel TLR7/8 agonist which was designed for slow dissemination at the injection site, has a potential as adjuvant, but its performance as a vaccine adjuvant for SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein has not been studied. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Alum-3M-052 as an adjuvant to improve mice serum antibody titers and pseudovirus neutralization efficiency.MethodFemale Balb/c mice were immunized 3 times at day 0, 7 and 21 intramuscularly with SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein and adjuvant (Alum or Alum-3M-052). Mice serum was collected weekly since day 7. Antibody titers of mice serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) IgG and IgM were detected by ELISA. Inhibition rates of mice serum blocking SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein binding to ACE2 were detected by SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) Inhibitor Screening Kit. Neutralization efficiencies of mice serum against both SARS-CoV-2 (BA.2.12.1) pseudovirus and SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) pseudovirus were detected by pseudovirus neutralizing assay.ResultSerum of mice immunized by SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein adjuvanted with Alum-3M-052 had highest antibody titers and higher neutralization efficiency against both SARS-CoV-2 (BA.2.12.1) pseudovirus and SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) pseudovirus. Besides, neutralization efficiency of anti-SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein antibody against SARS-CoV-2 (BA.2.12.1) pseudovirus was lower than that of SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) pseudovirus.ConclusionAlum-3M-052 rapidly increased the titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 (B.1.617.2) spike protein neutralizing antibodies and enhanced the neutralization ability against pseudoviruses and variants. This study provided evidence for the application of Alum-3M-052 as an adjuvant in COVID-19 vaccines production
On-chip black hole: Hawking radiation and curved spacetime in a superconducting quantum circuit with tunable couplers
Hawking radiation is one of quantum features of a black hole, which can be
understood as a quantum tunneling across the event horizon of the black hole,
but it is quite difficult to directly observe the Hawking radiation of an
astrophysical black hole. Remarkable experiments of analogue black holes on
various platforms have been performed. However, Hawking radiation and its
quantum nature such as entanglement have not been well tested due to the
experimental challenges in accurately constructing curved spacetime and
precisely measuring the thermal spectrum. Based on the recent architecture
breakthrough of tunable couplers for superconducting processor, we realize
experimentally an analogue black hole using our new developed chip with a chain
of 10 superconducting transmon qubits with interactions mediated by 9
transmon-type tunable couplers. By developing efficient techniques to engineer
the couplings between qubits via tuning couplers, we realize both the flat and
curved spacetime backgrounds. The quantum walks of quasi-particle in the curved
spacetime reflect the gravitational effect around the black hole, resulting in
the behavior of Hawking radiation. By virtue of the state tomography
measurement of all 7 qubits outside the analogue event horizon, we show that
Hawking radiation can be verified. In addition, an entangled pair is prepared
inside the horizon and the dynamics of entanglement in the curved spacetime is
directly measured. Our results would stimulate more interests to explore
information paradox, entropy and other related features of black holes using
programmable superconducting processor with tunable couplers.Comment: modified manuscripts, 7 pages, 4 figures (main text) + 12 pages
(supplementary information
Quantum simulation of topological zero modes on a 41-qubit superconducting processor
Quantum simulation of different exotic topological phases of quantum matter
on a noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) processor is attracting growing
interest. Here, we develop a one-dimensional 43-qubit superconducting quantum
processor, named as Chuang-tzu, to simulate and characterize emergent
topological states. By engineering diagonal
Aubry-Andr-Harper (AAH) models, we experimentally
demonstrate the Hofstadter butterfly energy spectrum. Using Floquet
engineering, we verify the existence of the topological zero modes in the
commensurate off-diagonal AAH models, which have never been experimentally
realized before. Remarkably, the qubit number over 40 in our quantum processor
is large enough to capture the substantial topological features of a quantum
system from its complex band structure, including Dirac points, the energy
gap's closing, the difference between even and odd number of sites, and the
distinction between edge and bulk states. Our results establish a versatile
hybrid quantum simulation approach to exploring quantum topological systems in
the NISQ era.Comment: Main text: 6 pages, 4 figures; Supplementary: 16 pages, 14 figure
Smart Sensor and Sensor Node Design Based on WGSN Data Interface Standard
The standardized configuration methods of sensors and sensor nodes were presented based on the basis of the sensor signal and data interface standardization efforts of China Standardization Working Group on Sensor Networks (WGSN). The self-descriptive digital communication sensors that can be configured by the sensor nodes were designed and developed. And the sensor nodes could automatically identify the docking sensors. The application demo indicates that sensor node can automatically identify the accessing sensors and completes the corresponding configuration, which can also calibrate these sensors
Strong Metal Support Effect of Pt/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> Photocatalysts for Boosting Photothermal Synergistic Degradation of Benzene
Catalysis is the most efficient and economical method for treating volatile organic pollutants (VOCs). Among the many materials that are used in engineering, platinized carbon nitride (Pt/g-C3N4) is an efficient and multifunctional catalyst which has strong light absorption and mass transfer capabilities, which enable it to be used in photocatalysis, thermal catalysis and photothermal synergistic catalysis for the degradation of benzene. In this work, Pt/g-C3N4 was prepared by four precursors for the photothermal synergistic catalytic degradation of benzene, which show different activities, and many tests were carried out to explore the possible reasons for the discrepancy. Among them, the Pt/g-C3N4 prepared from dicyanamide showed the highest activity and could convert benzene (300 ppm, 20 mL·min−1) completely at 162 °C under solar light and 173 °C under visible light. The reaction temperature was reduced by nearly half compared to the traditional thermal catalytic degradation of benzene at about 300 °C
Photothermally responsive icariin and carbon nanofiber modified hydrogels for the treatment of periodontitis
Introduction: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease brought on by various bacteria, and effective antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and alveolar bone regeneration are the main goals of treating periodontal disease.Methods: In the current work, we employed Icariin (ICA) into a hydrogel modified with carbon nanofiber (CNF) to create a multifunctional composite nanoplatform. The composite was activated in the near infrared (NIR) to treat periodontitis.Results: The antibacterial results showed that the ICA+CNF@H showed 94.2% and 91.7% clearance of S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, under NIR irradiation. In vitro experiments showed that NIR-irradiated composites suppressed inflammatory factor (IL-6) and ROS expression and up-regulated the performance of anti-inflammatory factor (IL-10) in RAW264.7 cells. At the same time, the composites promoted the production of osteogenic factors in BMSCs, with an approximately 3-fold increase in alkaline phosphatase activity after 7Â days and an approximately 2-fold increase in the rate of extracellular matrix mineralization after 21Â days. In vivo tests showed that the alveolar bone height was clearly greater in the ICA+CNF@H (NIR) group compared to the periodontitis group.Discussion: In conclusion, ICA+CNF@H under NIR irradiation achieved a synergistic effect of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, reduction of reactive oxygen species and promotion of osteogenesis, offering a novel approach for treating periodontitis