Entanglement degradation in the solid state: interplay of adiabatic and quantum noise

We study entanglement degradation of two non-interacting qubits subject to independent baths with broadband spectra typical of solid state nanodevices. We obtain the analytic form of the concurrence in the presence of adiabatic noise for classes of entangled initial states presently achievable in experiments. We find that adiabatic (low frequency) noise affects entanglement reduction analogously to pure dephasing noise. Due to quantum (high frequency) noise, entanglement is totally lost in a state-dependent finite time. The possibility to implement on-chip both local and entangling operations is briefly discussed.Comment: Replaced with published version. Minor change

Distillation by repeated measurements: continuous spectrum case

Repeated measurements on a part of a bipartite system strongly affect the other part not measured, whose dynamics is regulated by an effective contracted evolution operator. When the spectrum of this operator is discrete, the latter system is driven into a pure state irrespective of the initial state, provided the spectrum satisfies certain conditions. We here show that even in the case of continuous spectrum an effective distillation can occur under rather general conditions. We confirm it by applying our formalism to a simple model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Existence and approximation of probability measure solutions to models of collective behaviors

In this paper we consider first order differential models of collective behaviors of groups of agents based on the mass conservation equation. Models are formulated taking the spatial distribution of the agents as the main unknown, expressed in terms of a probability measure evolving in time. We develop an existence and approximation theory of the solutions to such models and we show that some recently proposed models of crowd and swarm dynamics fit our theoretic paradigm.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figur

Revival of quantum correlations without system-environment back-action

Revivals of quantum correlations have often been explained in terms of back-action on quantum systems by their quantum environment(s). Here we consider a system of two independently evolving qubits, each locally interacting with a classical random external field. The environments of the qubits are also independent, and there is no back-action on the qubits. Nevertheless, entanglement, quantum discord and classical correlations between the two qubits may revive in this model. We explain the revivals in terms of correlations in a classical-quantum state of the environments and the qubits. Although classical states cannot store entanglement on their own, they can play a role in storing and reviving entanglement. It is important to know how the absence of back-action, or modelling an environment as classical, affects the kind of system time evolutions one is able to describe. We find a class of global time evolutions where back-action is absent and for which there is no loss of generality in modelling the environment as classical. Finally, we show that the revivals can be connected with the increase of a parameter used to quantify non-Markovianity of the single-qubit dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; this version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Derivation of the particle dynamics from kinetic equations

We consider the microscopic solutions of the Boltzmann-Enskog equation discovered by Bogolyubov. The fact that the time-irreversible kinetic equation has time-reversible microscopic solutions is rather surprising. We analyze this paradox and show that the reversibility or irreversibility property of the Boltzmann-Enskog equation depends on the considered class of solutions. If the considered solutions have the form of sums of delta-functions, then the equation is reversible. If the considered solutions belong to the class of continuously differentiable functions, then the equation is irreversible. Also, we construct the so called approximate microscopic solutions. These solutions are continuously differentiable and they are reversible on bounded time intervals. This analysis suggests a way to reconcile the time-irreversible kinetic equations with the time-reversible particle dynamics. Usually one tries to derive the kinetic equations from the particle dynamics. On the contrary, we postulate the Boltzmann-Enskog equation or another kinetic equation and treat their microscopic solutions as the particle dynamics. So, instead of the derivation of the kinetic equations from the microdynamics we suggest a kind of derivation of the microdynamics from the kinetic equations.Comment: 18 pages; some misprints have been corrected, some references have been adde

Spinor techniques for massive fermions with arbitrary polarization

We present a new variant of the spinor techniques for calculating the amplitudes of processes involving massive fermions with arbitrary polarization. It is relatively simple and leads to basic spinor products. Our procedure is not more complex than CALCUL spinor techniques for massless fermions. We obtain spinor Chisholm identities for massive fermions. As an illustration, expressions are given for the amplitudes of electron-positron annihilation into fermions-pairs for several polarizations.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Decay of nonlocality due to adiabatic and quantum noise in the solid state

We study the decay of quantum nonlocality, identified by the violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) Bell inequality, for two noninteracting Josephson qubits subject to independent baths with broadband spectra typical of solid state nanodevices. The bath noise can be separated in an adiabatic (low-frequency) and in a quantum (high-frequency) part. We point out the qualitative different effects on quantum nonlocal correlations induced by adiabatic and quantum noise. A quantitative analysis is performed for typical noise figures in Josephson systems. Finally we compare, for this system, the dynamics of nonlocal correlations and of entanglement

The zinc transporter Slc30a8/ZnT8 is required in a subpopulation of pancreatic alpha-cells for hypoglycemia-induced glucagon secretion

SLC30A8 encodes a zinc transporter ZnT8 largely restricted to pancreatic islet β- and α-cells, and responsible for zinc accumulation into secretory granules. Although common SLC30A8 variants, believed to reduce ZnT8 activity, increase type 2 diabetes risk in humans, rare inactivating mutations are protective. To investigate the role of Slc30a8 in the control of glucagon secretion, Slc30a8 was inactivated selectively in α-cells by crossing mice with alleles floxed at exon 1 to animals expressing Cre recombinase under the pre-proglucagon promoter. Further crossing to Rosa26:tdRFP mice, and sorting of RFP+: glucagon+ cells from KO mice, revealed recombination in ∼30% of α-cells, of which ∼50% were ZnT8-negative (14 ± 1.8% of all α-cells). Although glucose and insulin tolerance were normal, female αZnT8KO mice required lower glucose infusion rates during hypoglycemic clamps and displayed enhanced glucagon release (p < 0.001) versus WT mice. Correspondingly, islets isolated from αZnT8KO mice secreted more glucagon at 1 mm glucose, but not 17 mm glucose, than WT controls (n = 5; p = 0.008). Although the expression of other ZnT family members was unchanged, cytoplasmic (n = 4 mice per genotype; p < 0.0001) and granular (n = 3, p < 0.01) free Zn2+ levels were significantly lower in KO α-cells versus control cells. In response to low glucose, the amplitude and frequency of intracellular Ca2+ increases were unchanged in α-cells of αZnT8KO KO mice. ZnT8 is thus important in a subset of α-cells for normal responses to hypoglycemia and acts via Ca2+-independent mechanisms

Do patients with hallucinations imagine speech right?

A direct relationship between auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) and decreased left-hemispheric lateralization in speech perception has been often described, although it has not been conclusively proven. The specific lateralization of AVHs has been poorly explored. However, patients with verbal hallucinations show a weak Right Ear Advantage (REA) in verbal perception compared to non AVHs listeners suggesting that left-hemispheric language area are involved in AVHs. In the present study, 29 schizophrenia patients with AVHs, 31 patients with psychotic bipolar disorder who experienced frequent AVHs, 27 patients with schizophrenia who had never experienced AVHs and 57 healthy controls were required to imagine hearing a voice in one ear alone. In line with previous evidence healthy controls confirmed the expected REA for auditory imagery, and the same REA was also found in non-hallucinator patients. However, in line with our hypothesis, patients with schizophrenia and psychotic bipolar disorder with AVHs showed no lateral bias. Results extend the relationship between abnormal asymmetry for verbal stimuli and AVHs to verbal imagery, suggesting that atypical verbal imagery may reflect a disruption of inter-hemispheric connectivity between areas implicated in the generation and monitoring of verbal imagery and may be predictive of a predisposition for AVHs. Results also indicate that the relationship between AVHs and hemispheric lateralization for auditory verbal imagery is not specific to schizophrenia but may extend to other disorders as well