Measurement Uncertainty and Its Connection to Quantum Coherence in an Inertial Unruh–DeWitt Detector

The dynamic characteristics of measured uncertainty and quantum coherence are explored for an inertial Unruh–DeWitt detector model in an expanding de Sitter space. Using the entropic uncertainty relation, the uncertainty of interest is correlated with the evolving time t, the energy level spacing δ, and the Hubble parameter H. The investigation shows that, for short time, a strong energy level spacing and small Hubble parameter can result in a relatively small uncertainty. The evolution of quantum coherence versus the evolving time and Hubble parameter, which varies almost inversely to that of the uncertainty, is then discussed, and the relationship between uncertainty and the coherence is explicitly derived. With respect to the l₁ norm of coherence, it is found that the environment for the quantum system considered possesses a strong non-Markovian property. The dynamic behavior of coherence non-monotonously decreases with the growth of evolving time. The dynamic features of uncertainty and coherence in the expanding space with those in flat space are also compared. Furthermore, quantum weak measurement is utilized to effectively reduce the magnitude of uncertainty, which offers realistic and important support for quantum precision measurements during the undertaking of quantum tasks.     

Atmospheric oxidation chemistry of 1–methoxy 2–propyl acetate initiated by OH radicals: kinetics and mechanisms

Kinetics and mechanism of the gas-phase reaction of CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)CH₂OCH₃ (MPA) with OH radicals in the presence of O₂ and NO have been investigated theoretically by performing a high and reliable level of theory, viz., CCSD(T)/6-311?+?G(d,p)//BH&HLYP/6-311++G(d,p)?+?0.9335×ZPE. The calculations predict that the H-abstraction from the ?CH₂?O? position of MPA is the most facile channel, which leads to the formation of the corresponding alkoxy radicals CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)C(O ?)HOCH₃ under atmospheric conditions. This activated radicals CH₃C(O)OCH(CH₃)C(O ?)HOCH₃ will undergo further rearrangement, fragmentation and oxidative reactions and predominantly leads to the formation of various products (methyl formate HC(O)OCH₃ and acetic anhydride CH₃C(O)OC(O)CH₃). In the presence of water, acetic anhydride can convert into acetic acid CH₃C(O)OH via the hydrolysis reaction. The calculated total rate constants over the temperature range 263–372?K are used to derive a negative activation energy (E_a= ?5.88 kJ/mol) and an pre-exponential factor (A?=?1.78×10^?12 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1). The obtained Arrhenius parameters presented here are in strong agreement with the experimental values. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the total rate constant over a temperature range of 263?1000?K can be described by k?=?5.60 × 10^?14×(T/298?K)^3.4×exp(1725.7?K/T) cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1.     

Studies on coherent and incoherent spin dynamics that control the magnetic field effect on photogenerated radical pairs

Since 1970s, magnetic field effects (MFEs) on photogenerated radical pairs have been the centre of focus in the field of spin chemistry. The MFE attributes to quantum mechanical interconversion between the singlet and triplet radical pair states and subsequent spin-selective recombination reactions. In this New View article, the author picks up two hot topics studied during the last two decades, which are (i) so-called low field effect (LFE) and (ii) 2J-resonance MFE on fixed distance donor–acceptor linked molecules. In both of the topics, quantum mechanical explanations are given referring to recent reports, and some novel calculations have been carried out for bridging theoretical and experimental data for long-lived radical pairs. For the first topic, time domain calculations of coherent state mixing have been carried out for elucidation of hyperfine (HF) structure dependence of the LFE. For the second topic, Monte Carlo simulations of the torsional motion of polyaromatic linker unit have been carried out for the demonstration of fast decoherence in such rigid molecules. From these considerations, future possibilities of MFE studies on photo-functional materials and biomolecules have been indicated.     

Dynamical Analysis of a New Chaotic Fractional Discrete-Time System and Its Control

This article proposes a new fractional-order discrete-time chaotic system, without equilibria, included two quadratic nonlinearities terms. The dynamics of this system were experimentally investigated via bifurcation diagrams and largest Lyapunov exponent. Besides, some chaotic tests such as the 0–1 test and approximate entropy (ApEn) were included to detect the performance of our numerical results. Furthermore, a valid control method of stabilization is introduced to regulate the proposed system in such a way as to force all its states to adaptively tend toward the equilibrium point at zero. All theoretical findings in this work have been verified numerically using MATLAB software package.     

Lottery and Auction on Quantum Blockchain

This paper proposes a protocol for lottery and a protocol for auction on quantum Blockchain. Our protocol of lottery satisfies randomness, unpredictability, unforgeability, verifiability, decentralization and unconditional security. Our protocol of auction satisfies bid privacy, posterior privacy, bids’ binding, decentralization and unconditional security. Except quantum Blockchain, the main technique involved in both protocols is quantum bit commitment.     

Controllable Preparation of Plasmonic Gold Nanostars for Enhanced Photothermal and SERS Effects

Gold nanostars(Au NSs) are asymmetric anisotropic nanomaterials with sharp edge structure. As a promising branched nanomaterial, Au NS has excellent plasmonic absorption and scattering properties. In order to tune the plasmonic photothermal and surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS) activity of Au NSs to obtain the desired characteristics, the effects of reagents on the local surface plasmon resonance(LSPR) bands of Au NSs were studied and the morphology and size were regulated. Nanoparticles with different sharp edges were synthesized to make their local plasmon resonance mode tunable in the visible and near-infrared region. The effects of the number and sharpness of different tips under the control of AgNO₃ on the photothermal response of Au NSs and the SERS activity and their mechanism were discussed in detail. The results show that as the length of the branch tip becomes longer and the sharpness increases, the plasmonic photothermal effect of Au NSs is strengthened, and the photothermal conversion efficiency is the highest up to 40% when the length of Au NSs is the longest. Au NSs with high SERS activity are used for the Raman detection substrate. Based on this property, the quantitative detection of the pesticide thiram is achieved.     

Quantum Thermalization and Vanishing Thermal Entanglement in the Open Jaynes–Cummings Model

The quantum thermalization of the Jaynes–Cummings (JC) model in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium open-system cases is studied, in which the two subsystems, a two-level system and a single-mode bosonic field, are in contact with either two individual heat baths or a common heat bath. It is found that in the individual heat-bath case, the JC model can only be thermalized when either the two heat baths have the same temperature or the coupling of the JC system to one of the two baths is turned off. In the common heat-bath case, the JC system can be thermalized irrespective of the bath temperature and the system–bath coupling strengths. The thermal entanglement in this system is also studied. A counterintuitive phenomenon of vanishing thermal entanglement in the JC system is found and proved.     

Measuring fluorescence to track a quantum emitter's state: a theory review

We review the continuous monitoring of a qubit through its spontaneous emission, at an introductory level. Contemporary experiments have been able to collect the fluorescence of an artificial atom in a cavity and transmission line, and then make measurements of that emission to obtain diffusive quantum trajectories in the qubit's state. We give a straightforward theoretical overview of such scenarios, using a framework based on Kraus operators derived from a Bayesian update concept; we apply this flexible framework across common types of measurements including photodetection, homodyne, and heterodyne monitoring and illustrate its equivalence to the stochastic master equation formalism throughout. Special emphasis is given to homodyne (phase-sensitive) monitoring of fluorescence. The examples we develop are used to illustrate basic methods in quantum trajectories, but also to introduce some more advanced topics of contemporary interest, including the arrow of time in quantum measurement, and trajectories following optimal measurement records derived from a variational principle. The derivations we perform lead directly from the development of a simple model to an understanding of recent experimental results.     

Inactivation of foodborne pathogens based on synergistic effects of ultrasound and natural compounds during fresh produce washing

Ultrasound has potential to be used for disinfection, and its antimicrobial effectiveness can be enhanced in presence of natural compounds. In this study, we compared the antimicrobial effects of ultrasound at 20 kHz (US 20 kHz) or 1 MHz (US 1 MHz) in combination with carvacrol, citral, cinnamic acid, geraniol, gallic acid, lactic acid, or limonene against E. coli K12 and Listeria innocua at a constant power density in water. Compared to the cumulative effect of the individual treatments, the combined treatment of US 1 MHz and 10 mM citral generated >1.5 log CFU/mL additional inactivation of E. coli K12. Similarly, combined treatments of US 1 MHz and 2 mM carvacrol (30 min), US 20 kHz and 2 mM carvacrol, 10 mM citral, or 5 mM geraniol (15 min) generated >0.5–2.0 log CFU/mL additional inactivation in L. innocua. The synergistic effect of citral, as a presentative compound, and US 20 kHz treatment was determined to be a result of enhanced dispersion of insoluble citral droplets in combination with physical impact on bacterial membrane structures, whereas the inactivation by US 1 MHz was likely due to generation of oxidative stress within the bacteria. Combined ultrasound and citral treatments improved the bacterial inactivation in simulated wash water in presence of organic matter or during washing of inoculated blueberries but only additive antimicrobial effects were observed. Findings in this study will be useful to enhance fresh produce safety and shelf-life and design other alternative ultrasound based sanitation processes.