Thermal Entanglement between Alternate Qubits of a Four-qubit Heisenberg XX Chain in a Magnetic Field

The concurrence of two alternate qubits in a four-qubit Heisenberg XX chain is investigated when a uniform magnetic field B is included. It is found that there is no thermal entanglement between alternate qubits if B is close to zero. Magnetic field can induce entanglement in a certain range both for the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic cases. Near zero temperature, the entanglement undergoes two sudden changes with increasing value of the magnetic field B. This is due to the changes in the ground state. This novel property may be used as quantum entanglement switch. The anisotropy in the system can also induce the entanglement between two alternate qubits.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Transport reversal in a delayed feedback ratchet

Feedback flashing ratchets are thermal rectifiers that use information on the state of the system to operate the switching on and off of a periodic potential. They can induce directed transport even with symmetric potentials thanks to the asymmetry of the feedback protocol. We investigate here the dynamics of a feedback flashing ratchet when the asymmetry of the ratchet potential and of the feedback protocol favor transport in opposite directions. The introduction of a time delay in the control strategy allows one to nontrivially tune the relative relevance of the competing asymmetries leading to an interesting dynamics. We show that the competition between the asymmetries leads to a current reversal for large delays. For small ensembles of particles current reversal appears as the consequence of the emergence of an open-loop like dynamical regime, while for large ensembles of particles it can be understood as a consequence of the stabilization of quasiperiodic solutions. We also comment on the experimental feasibility of these feedback ratchets and their potential applications.Comment: LaTeX, 7 pages, 6 figure

Bulk Entanglement Gravity without a Boundary: Towards Finding Einstein's Equation in Hilbert Space

We consider the emergence from quantum entanglement of spacetime geometry in a bulk region. For certain classes of quantum states in an appropriately factorized Hilbert space, a spatial geometry can be defined by associating areas along codimension-one surfaces with the entanglement entropy between either side. We show how Radon transforms can be used to convert this data into a spatial metric. Under a particular set of assumptions, the time evolution of such a state traces out a four-dimensional spacetime geometry, and we argue using a modified version of Jacobson's "entanglement equilibrium" that the geometry should obey Einstein's equation in the weak-field limit. We also discuss how entanglement equilibrium is related to a generalization of the Ryu-Takayanagi formula in more general settings, and how quantum error correction can help specify the emergence map between the full quantum-gravity Hilbert space and the semiclassical limit of quantum fields propagating on a classical spacetime.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figure

Asymptotically Optimal Multiple-access Communication via Distributed Rate Splitting

We consider the multiple-access communication problem in a distributed setting for both the additive white Gaussian noise channel and the discrete memoryless channel. We propose a scheme called Distributed Rate Splitting to achieve the optimal rates allowed by information theory in a distributed manner. In this scheme, each real user creates a number of virtual users via a power/rate splitting mechanism in the M-user Gaussian channel or via a random switching mechanism in the M-user discrete memoryless channel. At the receiver, all virtual users are successively decoded. Compared with other multiple-access techniques, Distributed Rate Splitting can be implemented with lower complexity and less coordination. Furthermore, in a symmetric setting, we show that the rate tuple achieved by this scheme converges to the maximum equal rate point allowed by the information-theoretic bound as the number of virtual users per real user tends to infinity. When the capacity regions are asymmetric, we show that a point on the dominant face can be achieved asymptotically. Finally, when there is an unequal number of virtual users per real user, we show that differential user rate requirements can be accommodated in a distributed fashion.Comment: Submitted to the IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. 15 Page

How occasional backstepping can speed up a processive motor protein

Fueled by the hydrolysis of ATP, the motor protein kinesin literally walks on two legs along the biopolymer microtubule. The number of accidental backsteps that kinesin takes appears to be much larger than what one would expect given the amount of free energy that ATP hydrolysis makes available. This is puzzling as more than a billion years of natural selection should have optimized the motor protein for its speed and efficiency. But more backstepping allows for the production of more entropy. Such entropy production will make free energy available. With this additional free energy, the catalytic cycle of the kinesin can be speeded up. We show how measured backstep percentages represent an optimum at which maximal net forward speed is achieved.Comment: LaTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure

A new conducting polymer with exceptional visible-light photocatalytic activity derived from varbituric acid polycondensation

Abstract A novel covalent, metal-free, photocatalytic material is prepared by thermal polymerization of barbituric acid (BA). The structure of the photocatalyst is analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared, UV?visible, and 1H solution and 13C solid-state NMR spectroscopy. The photodegradation efficiency of BA thermally polymerized at different temperatures is tested by photocatalytic degradation of aquatic rhodamine B (RhB) dye under visible-light irradiation. It is shown that heating BA at an optimized temperature of 300 °C, that is, still in the range that polymer-like polycondensation takes place, results in a photocatalyst that can remove RhB with 96% photodegradation efficiency after 70 min exposure to visible light. The polycondensation reaction of BA is identified to process through precipitation of trimer units as primary building blocks. Reference experiments such as addition of scavengers and saturation with oxygen are studied to understand the photodegradation process. It is shown that the presence of triethanolamine, and excess of oxygen and p-benzoquinone in the solution of RhB and photocatalyst (BA300) is not beneficial, but decreases the photodegradation efficiency

Innovation Institution and Spatial Transfer of Energy Industry: The Case of Jiangsu Province, China

This study aims to explore the effect of innovation institution on spatial transfer of energy industry in Jiangsu, China. We focus on the disparity of innovation and energy industry, and analyze the spatial transfer difference in different types of energy industry, rather than view energy industry as a whole. The study demonstrates the spatial change of energy industry at regional level and maps the spatial pattern at city level. The study chooses intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection intensity, authorization patents and local research and development (R&D) investment as the proxy of innovation. Using official data and employing panel fixed-effect model at city-industry level, we conclude (a) innovation abilities significantly influence the spatial transfer of energy industry in Jiangsu. Especially, due to the different time, IPRs protection, patent counts, and R&D investment have different effects on different regions in Jiangsu; (b) 2010 is an important turning point for energy industry development in Jiangsu, and after 2010, the energy industry begins to shift to the middle and northern Jiangsu, whereas the spatial pattern of energy industry in coastal cities is basically unchanged; (c) there is a great difference between the regions in Jiangsu Province, and industrial upgrading has not been achieved in northern Jiangsu

Destruction of the Mott Insulating Ground State of Ca_2RuO_4 by a Structural Transition

We report a first-order phase transition at T_M=357 K in single crystal Ca_2RuO_4, an isomorph to the superconductor Sr_2RuO_4. The discontinuous decrease in electrical resistivity signals the near destruction of the Mott insulating phase and is triggered by a structural transition from the low temperature orthorhombic to a high temperature tetragonal phase. The magnetic susceptibility, which is temperature dependent but not Curie-like decreases abruptly at TM and becomes less temperature dependent. Unlike most insulator to metal transitions, the system is not magnetically ordered in either phase, though the Mott insulator phase is antiferromagnetic below T_N=110 K.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communications

Magnetic and electrical resistance behaviour of the oxides, Ca3−x_{3-x}Yx_xLiRuO6_6 (x= 0.0, 0.5 and 1.0)

We have investigated the magnetic and electrical resistance behaviour of Ca$_{3-x}$Y$_x$LiRuO$_6$. The parent compound exhibits magnetic ordering from Ru sublattice at a rather high temperature, 113 K. Though the paramagnetic Curie temperature ($\theta$$_p$) is negative indicative of antiferromagnetic ordering, the large magnitude (-250 K) of $\theta$$_p$ reveals complex nature of the magnetism in this compound. Ru ions appear to be in the pentavalent state. We note that the N\'eel temperature undergoes only a marginal reduction by Y substitution. All these compositions are found to be insulators and thus the electron doping does not result in metallicity. Thus the overall magnetic and transport behaviour are found to be essentially insensitive to Y substitution for Ca, a finding which may favour the idea of quasi-one-dimensional magnetism in these compounds.Comment: 5 pages of text in RevTex, 6 figures, Solid State Communications (in press