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At least 289 records · Page 16

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference of single-photon-level pulses stored in independent room-temperature quantum memories

Abstract Quantum repeater networks require independent absorptive quantum memories capable of storing and retrieving indistinguishable photons to perform high-repetition entanglement swapping operations. The ability to perform these coherent operations at room temperature is of prime importance for the realization of scalable quantum networks. We perform Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between photonic polarization states and single-photon-level pulses stored and retrieved from two sets of independent room-temperature quantum memories. We show that the storage and retrieval of polarization states from quantum memories does not degrade the HOM visibility for few-photon-level polarization states in a dual-rail configuration. For single-photon-level pulses, we measure the HOM visibility with various levels of background in a single polarization, single-rail QM, and investigate its dependence on the signal-to-background ratio. We obtain an HOM visibility of 43%, compared to the 48% no-memory limit of our set-up. These results allow us to estimate a 33% visibility for polarization qubits under the same conditions. These demonstrations lay the groundwork for future applications using large-scale memory-assisted quantum networks.

Physics↗

Nucleoporin downregulation modulates progenitor differentiation independent of nuclear pore numbers

Nucleoporins (NUPs) comprise nuclear pore complexes, gateways for nucleocytoplasmic transport. As primary human keratinocytes switch from the progenitor state towards differentiation, most NUPs are strongly downregulated, with NUP93 being the most downregulated NUP in this process. To determine if this NUP downregulation is accompanied by a reduction in nuclear pore numbers, we leveraged Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy. No significant changes in nuclear pore numbers were detected using three independent NUP antibodies; however, NUP reduction in other subcellular compartments such as the cytoplasm was identified. To investigate how NUP reduction influences keratinocyte differentiation, we knocked down NUP93 in keratinocytes in the progenitor-state culture condition. NUP93 knockdown diminished keratinocytes’ clonogenicity and epidermal regenerative capacity, without drastically affecting nuclear pore numbers or permeability. Using transcriptome profiling, we identified that NUP93 knockdown induces differentiation genes related to both mechanical and immune barrier functions, including the activation of known NF-κB target genes. Consistently, keratinocytes with NUP93 knockdown exhibited increased nuclear localization of the NF-κB p65/p50 transcription factors, and increased NF-κB reporter activity. Taken together, these findings highlight the gene regulatory roles contributed by differential NUP expression levels in keratinocyte differentiation, independent of nuclear pore numbers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Carrier density independent scattering rate in SrTiO₃-based electron liquids

We examine the carrier density dependence of the scattering rate in two- and three-dimensional electron liquids in SrTiO 3 in the regime where it scales with T n (T is the temperature and n ≤ 2) in the cases when it is varied by electrostatic control and chemical doping, respectively. It is shown that the scattering rate is independent of the carrier density. This is contrary to the expectations from Landau Fermi liquid theory, where the scattering rate scales inversely with the Fermi energy (E F ). We discuss that the behavior is very similar to systems traditionally identified as non-Fermi liquids (n < 2). This includes the cuprates and other transition metal oxide perovskites, where strikingly similar density independent scattering rates have been observed. Ultimately, the results indicate that the applicability of Fermi liquid theory should be questioned for a much broader range of correlated materials and point to the need for a unified theory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Origin-independent calculation of quadrupole intensities in X-ray spectroscopy

For electronic excitations in the ultraviolet and visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, the intensities are usually calculated within the dipole approximation, which assumes that the oscillating electric field is constant over the length scale of the transition. For the short wavelengths used in hard X-ray spectroscopy, the dipole approximation may not be adequate. In particular, for metal K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), it becomes necessary to include higher-order contributions. In quantum-chemical approaches to X-ray spectroscopy, these so-called quadrupole intensities have so far been calculated by including contributions depending on the square of the electric-quadrupole and magnetic-dipole transition moments. However, the resulting quadrupole intensities depend on the choice of the origin of the coordinate system. Here, we show that for obtaining an origin-independent theory, one has to include all contributions that are of the same order in the wave vector consistently. This leads to two additional contributions depending on products of the electric-dipole and electric-octupole and of the electric-dipole and magnetic-quadrupole transition moments, respectively. We have implemented such an origin-independent calculation of quadrupole intensities in XAS within time-dependent density-functional theory, and demonstrate its usefulness for the calculation of metal and ligand K-edge XAS spectra of transition metal complexes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A gyro-gauge independent minimal guiding-center reduction by Lie-transforming the velocity vector field

We introduce a gyro-gauge independent formulation of a simplified guiding-center reduction, which removes the fast time-scale from particle dynamics by Lie-transforming the velocity vector field. This is close to Krylov-Bogoliubov method of averaging the equations of motion, although more geometric. At leading order, the Lie-transform consists in the generator of Larmor gyration, which can be explicitly inverted, while working with gauge-independent coordinates and operators, by using the physical gyro-angle as a (constrained) coordinate. This brings both the change of coordinates and the reduced dynamics of the minimal guiding-center reduction order by order in a Larmor radius expansion. The procedure is algorithmic and the reduction is systematically derived up to full second order, in a more straightforward way than when Lie-transforming the phase-space Lagrangian or averaging the equations of motion. The results write up some structures in the guiding-center expansion. Extensions and limitations of the method are considered.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Mass-dependent and -independent fractionation of isotopes in Ni and Pb chelate complex formation reactions

Mass independent fractionation (MIF) has been a very interesting topic in the field of inorganic isotope chemistry, in particular, geo- and cosmo- chemistry. In the present work, we studied the isotope fractionation of Ni(II) and Pb(II) ions in complex formation with chelating reagent EDTA. To obtain clear results on the mass dependence of the isotope fractionation, we have conducted long-distance ion exchange chromatography of Ni(II) and Pb(II), using chelate complex reagent EDTA. The results apparently show that the isotope fractionation in Ni complex formation system is governed by the mass dependent rule. On the other hand the isotope fractionation in the Pb complex system is governed by the mass independent rule or the nuclear volume effect.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Independent bases on the spatial wavefunction of four-identical-particle systems

We construct the independent bases on the spatial wavefunction of four-identical-particle systems classified under the rotational group SO(3) and the permutation group S{sub 4} with the usage of transformation coefficients that relate wavefunctions described in one set of internal coordinates with those in another. The basis functions for N⩽ 2 are presented in the explicit expressions based on the harmonic oscillator model. Such independent bases are supposed to play a key role in the construction of the wavefunctions of the five-quark states and the variation calculation of four-body systems. Our prescription avoids the spurious states and can be programmed for arbitrary N.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Microwave absorptions of ultrathin conductive films and designs of frequency-independent ultrathin absorbers

We study the absorption properties of ultrathin conductive films in the microwave regime, and find a moderate absorption effect which gives rise to maximal absorbance 50% if the sheet (square) resistance of the film meets an impedance matching condition. The maximal absorption exhibits a frequency-independent feature and takes place on an extremely subwavelength scale, the film thickness. As a realistic instance, ∼5 nm thick Au film is predicted to achieve the optimal absorption. In addition, a methodology based on metallic mesh structure is proposed to design the frequency-independent ultrathin absorbers. We perform a design of such absorbers with 50% absorption, which is verified by numerical simulations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Nanometer-scale temperature imaging for independent observation of Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices

This paper reports a technique for independent observation of nanometer-scale Joule heating and thermoelectric effects, using atomic force microscopy (AFM) based measurements of nanometer-scale temperature fields. When electrical current flows through nanoscale devices and contacts the temperature distribution is governed by both Joule and thermoelectric effects. When the device is driven by an electrical current that is both periodic and bipolar, the temperature rise due to the Joule effect is at a different harmonic than the temperature rise due to the Peltier effect. An AFM tip scanning over the device can simultaneously measure all of the relevant harmonic responses, such that the Joule effect and the Peltier effect can be independently measured. Here we demonstrate the efficacy of the technique by measuring Joule and Peltier effects in phase change memory devices. By comparing the observed temperature responses of these working devices, we measure the device thermopower, which is in the range of 30 ± 3 to 250 ± 10 μV K{sup −1}. This technique could facilitate improved measurements of thermoelectric phenomena and properties at the nanometer-scale.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Detector-device-independent quantum key distribution

Recently, a quantum key distribution (QKD) scheme based on entanglement swapping, called measurement-device-independent QKD (mdiQKD), was proposed to bypass all measurement side-channel attacks. While mdiQKD is conceptually elegant and offers a supreme level of security, the experimental complexity is challenging for practical systems. For instance, it requires interference between two widely separated independent single-photon sources, and the secret key rates are dependent on detecting two photons—one from each source. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-principle experiment of a QKD scheme that removes the need for a two-photon system and instead uses the idea of a two-qubit single-photon to significantly simplify the implementation and improve the efficiency of mdiQKD in several aspects.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Interference-induced angle-independent acoustical transparency

It is revealed that the Fano-like interference leads to the extraordinary acoustic transmission through a slab metamaterial of thickness much smaller than the wavelength, with each unit cell consisting of a Helmholtz resonator and a narrow subwavelength slit. More importantly, both the theoretical analysis and experimental measurement show that the angle-independent acoustical transparency can be realized by grafting a Helmholtz resonator and a quarter-wave resonator to the wall of a narrow subwavelength slit in each unit cell of a slit array. The observed phenomenon results from the interferences between the waves propagating in the slit, those re-radiated by the Helmholtz resonator, and those re-radiated by the quarter-wave resonator. The proposed design may find its applications in designing angle-independent acoustical filters and controlling the phase of the transmitted waves.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Model-independent measurement of the charge density distribution along an Fe atom probe needle using off-axis electron holography without mean inner potential effects

The one-dimensional charge density distribution along an electrically biased Fe atom probe needle is measured using a model-independent approach based on off-axis electron holography in the transmission electron microscope. Both the mean inner potential and the magnetic contribution to the phase shift are subtracted by taking differences between electron-optical phase images recorded with different voltages applied to the needle. The measured one-dimensional charge density distribution along the needle is compared with a similar result obtained using model-based fitting of the phase shift surrounding the needle. On the assumption of cylindrical symmetry, it is then used to infer the three-dimensional electric field and electrostatic potential around the needle with ∼10 nm spatial resolution, without needing to consider either the influence of the perturbed reference wave or the extension of the projected potential outside the field of view of the electron hologram. The present study illustrates how a model-independent approach can be used to measure local variations in charge density in a material using electron holography in the presence of additional contributions to the phase, such as those arising from changes in mean inner potential and specimen thickness.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Table-like magnetocaloric effect in Gd{sub 56}Ni{sub 15}Al{sub 27}Zr{sub 2} alloy and its field independence feature

In order to obtain “table-like” magnetocaloric effect (MCE), multiple-phase Gd{sub 56}Ni{sub 15}Al{sub 27}Zr{sub 2} alloy was prepared by arc-melting followed by suck-casting method. Powder x-ray diffraction and calorimetric measurements reveal that the sample contains both glassy and crystalline phases. The fraction of the glassy phase is about 62%, estimated from the heat enthalpy of the crystallization. The crystalline phases, Gd{sub 2}Al and GdNiAl further broadened the relatively wider magnetic entropy change (−ΔS{sub M}) peak of the amorphous phase, which resulted in the table-like MCE over a maximum temperature range of 52.5 K to 77.5 K. The plateau feature of the MCE was found to be nearly independent of the applied magnetic field from 3 T to 5 T. The maximum −ΔS{sub M} value of the MCE platforms is 6.0 J/kg K under applied magnetic field change of 5 T. Below 3 T, the field independence of the table-like feature disappears. The relatively large constant values of −ΔS{sub M} for the respective applied magnetic fields have promising applications in magnetic refrigeration using regenerative Ericsson cycle.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effective interactions between nanoparticles: Creating temperature-independent solvation environments for self-assembly

The extent to which solvent-mediated effective interactions between nanoparticles can be predicted based on structure and associated thermodynamic estimators for bulk solvents and for solvation of single and pairs of nanoparticles is studied here. As a test of the approach, we analyse the strategy for creating temperature-independent solvent environments using a series of homologous chain fluids as solvents, as suggested by an experimental paper [M. I. Bodnarchuk et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 132, 11967 (2010)]. Our conclusions are based on molecular dynamics simulations of Au{sub 140}(SC{sub 10}H{sub 21}){sub 62} nanoparticles in n-alkane solvents, specifically hexane, octane, decane and dodecane, using the TraPPE-UA potential to model the alkanes and alkylthiols. The 140-atom gold core of the nanocrystal is held rigid in a truncated octahedral geometry and the gold-thiolate interaction is modeled using a Morse potential. The experimental observation was that the structural and rheological properties of n-alkane solvents are constant over a temperature range determined by equivalent solvent vapour pressures. We show that this is a consequence of the fact that long chain alkane liquids behave to a good approximation as simple liquids formed by packing of monomeric methyl/methylene units. Over the corresponding temperature range (233–361 K), the solvation environment is approximately constant at the single and pair nanoparticle levels under good solvent conditions. However, quantitative variations of the order of 10%–20% do exist in various quantities, such as molar volume of solute at infinite dilution, entropy of solvation, and onset distance for soft repulsions. In the opposite limit of a poor solvent, represented by vacuum in this study, the effective interactions between nanoparticles are no longer temperature-independent with attractive interactions increasing by up to 50% on decreasing the temperature from 361 K to 290 K, accompanied by an increase in emergent anisotropy due to correlation of mass dipoles on the two nanoparticles. One expects therefore that during self-assembly using solvent evaporation, temperature can be used as a structure-directing factor as long as good solvent conditions are maintained. It also suggests that disordered configurations may emerge as solvent quality decreases due to increasing role of short-range attractions and ligand fluctuation-driven anisotropy. The possibilities of using structural estimators of various thermodynamic quantities to analyse the interplay of ligand fluctuations and solvent quality in self-assembly as well as to design solvation environments are discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Numerical studies of independent control of electron density and gas temperature via nonlinear coupling in dual-frequency atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasmas

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) provide a promising technology of generating non-equilibrium cold plasmas in atmospheric pressure gases. For both application-focused and fundamental studies, it is important to explore the strategy and the mechanism for enabling effective independent tuning of key plasma parameters in a DBD system. In this paper, we report numerical studies of effects of dual-frequency excitation on atmospheric DBDs, and modulation as well as separate tuning mechanism, with emphasis on dual-frequency coupling to the key plasma parameters and discharge evolution. With an appropriately applied low frequency to the original high frequency, the numerical calculation demonstrates that a strong nonlinear coupling between two frequencies governs the process of ionization and energy deposition into plasma, and thus raises the electron density significantly (e.g., three times in this case) in comparisons with a single frequency driven DBD system. Nevertheless, the gas temperature, which is mainly determined by the high frequency discharge, barely changes. This method then enables a possible approach of controlling both averaged electron density and gas temperature independently.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An O ( N ) and parallel approach to integral problems by a kernel-independent fast multipole method: Application to polarization and magnetization of interacting particles

Large classes of materials systems in physics and engineering are governed by magnetic and electrostatic interactions. Continuum or mesoscale descriptions of such systems can be cast in terms of integral equations, whose direct computational evaluation requires O ( N 2 ) operations, where N is the number of unknowns. Such a scaling, which arises from the many-body nature of the relevant Green's function, has precluded wide-spread adoption of integral methods for solution of large-scale scientific and engineering problems. In this work, a parallel computational approach is presented that relies on using scalable open source libraries and utilizes a kernel-independent Fast Multipole Method (FMM) to evaluate the integrals in O ( N ) operations, with O ( N ) memory cost, thereby substantially improving the scalability and efficiency of computational integral methods. We demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and scalability of our approach in the context of two examples. In the first, we solve a boundary value problem for a ferroelectric/ferromagnetic volume in free space. In the second, we solve an electrostatic problem involving polarizable dielectric bodies in an unbounded dielectric medium. Lastly, the results from these test cases show that our proposed parallel approach, which is built on a kernel-independent FMM, can enable highly efficient and accurate simulations and allow for considerable flexibility in a broad range of applications.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Independent amplitude approximations in coupled cluster valence bond theory: Incorporation of 3-electron-pair correlation and application to spin frustration in the low-lying excited states of a ferredoxin-type tetrametallic iron-sulfur cluster

We report that coupled cluster valence bond (CCVB) is a simple electronic structure method based on a perfect pairing (PP) reference with 2-pair recouplings for strong electron correlation problems. CCVB is spin-pure, size-consistent, and can exactly (in its active space) separate any molecule into atoms for which unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) at dissociation is the sum of the ground state UHF energies of the atoms. However CCVB is far from a complete description of strong correlations. Its first failure to exactly describe spin-recouplings arises at the level of 3 electron pairs, such as the recoupling of 3 triplet oxygen atoms in the dissociation of singlet ozone. Such situations are often associated with spin frustration. To address this limitation, an extension of CCVB, termed CCVB+i3, is reported here that includes an independent (i) amplitude approximation to the 3-pair recouplings. CCVB+i3 thereby has the same basic computational requirements as those of CCVB, which has previously been shown to be an efficient method. CCVB+i3 correctly separates molecules that CCVB cannot. As a by-product, an independent 2-pair amplitude approximation to CCVB, called PP+i2, is also defined. Remarkably, PP+i2 can also correctly separate systems that CCVB cannot. CCVB+i3 is validated on the symmetric dissociation of D 3h ozone. CCVB+i3 is then used to explore the role of 3-pair recouplings in an [Fe 4 S 4 (SCH 3 ) 4 ] 2- cluster that has been used to model the iron-sulfur core of [Fe 4 S 4 ] ferredoxins. Using localized PP orbitals, such recouplings are demonstrated to be large in some low-lying singlet excited states of the cluster. Lastly, significant 3 pair recoupling amplitudes include the usual triangular motif associated with spin frustration and other geometric arrangements of the 3 entangled pairs across the 4 iron centers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Method-independent cusps for atomic orbitals in quantum Monte Carlo

Here, we present an approach for augmenting Gaussian atomic orbitals with correct nuclear cusps. Like the atomic orbital basis set itself and unlike previous cusp corrections, this approach is independent of the many-body method used to prepare wave functions for quantum Monte Carlo. Once the basis set and molecular geometry are specified, the cusp-corrected atomic orbitals are uniquely specified, regardless of which density functionals, quantum chemistry methods, or subsequent variational Monte Carlo optimizations are employed. We analyze the statistical improvement offered by these cusps in a number of molecules and find them to offer similar advantages as molecular-orbital-based approaches while remaining independent of the choice of many-body method.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗