170 research outputs found
In-situ Tuning of the Electric Dipole Strength of a Double Dot Charge Qubit: Charge Noise Protection and Ultra Strong Coupling
Semiconductor quantum dots, where electrons or holes are isolated via
electrostatic potentials generated by surface gates, are promising building
blocks for semiconductor-based quantum technology. Here, we investigate double
quantum dot (DQD) charge qubits in GaAs, capacitively coupled to high-impedance
SQUID array and Josephson junction array resonators. We tune the strength of
the electric dipole interaction between the qubit and the resonator in-situ
using surface gates. We characterize the qubit-resonator coupling strength,
qubit decoherence, and detuning noise affecting the charge qubit for different
electrostatic DQD configurations. We find that all quantities can be tuned
systematically over more than one order of magnitude, resulting in reproducible
decoherence rates MHz in the limit of high interdot
capacitance. Conversely, by reducing the interdot capacitance, we can increase
the DQD electric dipole strength, and therefore its coupling to the resonator.
By employing a Josephson junction array resonator with an impedance of
k and a resonance frequency of GHz, we observe
a coupling strength of MHz, demonstrating the possibility to
achieve the ultrastrong coupling regime (USC) for electrons hosted in a
semiconductor DQD. These results are essential for further increasing the
coherence of quantum dot based qubits and investigating USC physics in
semiconducting QDs.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figure
International Guillain-Barré Syndrome Outcome Study (IGOS): protocol of a prospective observational cohort study on clinical and biological predictors of disease course and outcome in Guillain-Barré syndrome
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute polyradiculoneuropathy with a highly variable clinical presentation, course, and outcome. The factors that determine the clinical variation of GBS are poorly understood which complicates the care and treatment of individual patients. The protocol of the ongoing International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS), a prospective, observational, multi-centre cohort study that aims to identify the clinical and biological determinants and predictors of disease onset, subtype, course and outcome of GBS is presented here. Patients fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for GBS, regardless of age, disease severity, variant forms, or treatment, can participate if included within two weeks after onset of weakness. Information about demography, preceding infections, clinical features, diagnostic findings, treatment, course and outcome is collected. In addition, cerebrospinal fluid and serial blood samples for serum and DNA is collected at standard time points. The original aim was to include at least 1000 patients with a follow-up of 1-3 years. Data are collected via a web-based data entry system and stored anonymously. IGOS started in May 2012 and by January 2017 included more than 1400 participants from 143 active centres in 19 countries across 5 continents. The IGOS data/biobank is available for research projects conducted by expertise groups focusing on specific topics including epidemiology, diagnostic criteria, clinimetrics, electrophysiology, antecedent events, antibodies, genetics, prognostic modelling, treatment effects and long-term outcome of GBS. The IGOS will help to standardize the international collection of data and biosamples for future research of GBS. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01582763
Strengths use and deficit correction in organizations: development and validation of a questionnaire
Microwave spectroscopy of interacting Andreev spins
Andreev bound states are fermionic states localized in weak links between
superconductors which can be occupied with spinful quasiparticles. Microwave
experiments using superconducting circuits with InAs/Al nanowire Josephson
junctions have recently enabled probing and coherent manipulation of Andreev
states but have remained limited to zero or small fields. Here we use a
flux-tunable superconducting circuit in external magnetic fields up to 1T to
perform spectroscopy of spin-polarized Andreev states up to ~250 mT, beyond
which the spectrum becomes gapless. We identify singlet and triplet states of
two quasiparticles occupying different Andreev states through their dispersion
in magnetic field. These states are split by exchange interaction and couple
via spin-orbit coupling, analogously to two-electron states in quantum dots. We
also show that the magnetic field allows to drive a direct spin-flip transition
of a single quasiparticle trapped in the junction. Finally, we measure a gate-
and field-dependent anomalous phase shift of the Andreev spectrum, of magnitude
up to approximately . Our observations demonstrate new ways to
manipulate Andreev states in a magnetic field and reveal spin-polarized triplet
states that carry supercurrent
Introduction: Examined Live â An Epistemological Exchange Between Philosophy and Cultural Psychology on Reflection
Besides the general agreement about the human capability of reflection, there is a large area of disagreement and debate about the nature and value of âreflective scrutinyâ and the role of âsecond-order statesâ in everyday life. This problem has been discussed in a vast and heterogeneous literature about topics such as epistemic injustice, epistemic norms, agency, understanding, meta-cognition etc. However, there is not yet any extensive and interdisciplinary work, specifically focused on the topic of the epistemic value of reflection. This volume is one of the first attempts aimed at providing an innovative contribution, an exchange between philosophy, epistemology and psychology about the place and value of reflection in everyday life.
Our goal in the next sections is not to offer an exhaustive overview of recent work on epistemic reflection, nor to mimic all of the contributions made by the chapters in this volume. We will try to highlight some topics that have motivated a new resumption of this field and, with that, drawing on chapters from this volume where relevant.
Two elements defined the scope and content of this volume, on the one hand, the crucial contribution of Ernest Sosa, whose works provide original and thought-provoking contributions to contemporary epistemology in setting a new direction for old dilemmas about the nature and value of knowledge, giving a central place to reflection. On the other hand, the recent developments of cultural psychology, in the version of the âAalborg approachâ, reconsider the object and scope of psychological sciences, stressing that â[h]uman conduct is purposefulâ
Microwave studies of the fractional Josephson effect in HgTe-based Josephson junctions
The rise of topological phases of matter is strongly connected to their
potential to host Majorana bound states, a powerful ingredient in the search
for a robust, topologically protected, quantum information processing. In order
to produce such states, a method of choice is to induce superconductivity in
topological insulators. The engineering of the interplay between
superconductivity and the electronic properties of a topological insulator is a
challenging task and it is consequently very important to understand the
physics of simple superconducting devices such as Josephson junctions, in which
new topological properties are expected to emerge. In this article, we review
recent experiments investigating topological superconductivity in topological
insulators, using microwave excitation and detection techniques. More
precisely, we have fabricated and studied topological Josephson junctions made
of HgTe weak links in contact with two Al or Nb contacts. In such devices, we
have observed two signatures of the fractional Josephson effect, which is
expected to emerge from topologically-protected gapless Andreev bound states.
We first recall the theoretical background on topological Josephson junctions,
then move to the experimental observations. Then, we assess the topological
origin of the observed features and conclude with an outlook towards more
advanced microwave spectroscopy experiments, currently under development.Comment: Lectures given at the San Sebastian Topological Matter School 2017,
published in "Topological Matter. Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences,
vol 190. Springer
Single-shot divergence measurements of a laser-generated relativistic electron beam
Copyright 2010 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Physics of Plasmas, 17(11), 113106_1-113106_7, 2010 and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.351459
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