Generalized P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras

We generalize the P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras of Martinez-Zelmanov. This generalization is not so restrictive but suffcient enough so that we are able to have a classification for this generalized P(N)-graded Lie superalgebras. Our result is that the generalized P(N)-graded Lie super-algebra L is centrally isogenous to a matrix Lie superalgebra coordinated by an associative superalgebra with a super-involution. Moreover, L is P(N)-graded if and only if the coordinate algebra R is commutative and the super-involution is trivial. This recovers Martinez-Zelmanov's theorem for type P(N). We also obtain a generalization of Kac's coordinatization via Tits-Kantor-Koecher construction. Actually, the motivation of this generalization comes from the Fermionic-Bosonic module construction.     

Interaction induced non-reciprocal three-level quantum transport

Besides its fundamental importance, non-reciprocity has also found many potential applications in quantum technology. Recently, many quantum systems have been proposed to realize non-reciprocity, but stable non-reciprocal process is still experimentally difficult in general, due to the needed cyclical interactions in artificial systems or operational difficulties in solid state materials. Here, we propose a new kind of interaction induced non-reciprocal operation, based on the conventional stimulated-Raman-adiabatic-passage(STIRAP) setup, which removes the experimental difficulty of requiring cyclical interaction, and thus it is directly implementable in various quantum systems. Furthermore, we also illustrate our proposal on a chain of three coupled superconducting transmons, which can lead to a non-reciprocal circulator with high fidelity without a ring coupling configuration as in the previous schemes or implementations. Therefore, our protocol provides a promising way to explore fundamental non-reciprocal quantum physics as well as realize non-reciprocal quantum device.     

Quantum algorithm for neighborhood preserving embedding

Neighborhood preserving embedding (NPE) is an important linear dimensionality reduction technique that aims at preserving the local manifold structure. NPE contains three steps, i.e., finding the nearest neighbors of each data point, constructing the weight matrix, and obtaining the transformation matrix. Liang et al. proposed a variational quantum algorithm (VQA) for NPE [Phys. Rev. A 101 032323 (2020)]. The algorithm consists of three quantum sub-algorithms, corresponding to the three steps of NPE, and was expected to have an exponential speedup on the dimensionality n. However, the algorithm has two disadvantages: (i) It is not known how to efficiently obtain the input of the third sub-algorithm from the output of the second one. (ii) Its complexity cannot be rigorously analyzed because the third sub-algorithm in it is a VQA. In this paper, we propose a complete quantum algorithm for NPE, in which we redesign the three sub-algorithms and give a rigorous complexity analysis. It is shown that our algorithm can achieve a polynomial speedup on the number of data points m and an exponential speedup on the dimensionality n under certain conditions over the classical NPE algorithm, and achieve a significant speedup compared to Liang et al.'s algorithm even without considering the complexity of the VQA.     

A quantum circuit design of AES requiring fewer quantum qubits and gate operations

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is one of the most widely used block ciphers nowadays, and has been established as an encryption standard in 2001. Here we design AES-128 and the sample-AES (S-AES) quantum circuits for deciphering. In the quantum circuit of AES-128, we perform an affine transformation for the SubBytes part to solve the problem that the initial state of the output qubits in SubBytes is not the |0>^⊗8 state. After that, we are able to encode the new round sub-key on the qubits encoding the previous round sub-key, and this improvement reduces the number of qubits used by 224 compared with Langenberg et al.’s implementation. For S-AES, a complete quantum circuit is presented with only 48 qubits, which is already within the reach of existing noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers.     

Water-assisted mechanical testing of polymeric thin-films

Thin films with a nanometer-scale thickness are of great interest to both scientific and industrial communities due to their numerous applications and unique behaviors different from the bulk. However, the understanding of thin-film mechanics is still greatly hampered due to their intrinsic fragility and the lack of commercially available experimental instruments. In this review, we first discuss the progression of thin-film mechanical testing methods based on the supporting substrate: film-on-solid substrate method, film-on-water tensile tests, and water-assisted free-standing tensile tests. By comparing past studies on a model polymer, polystyrene, the effect of different substrates and confinement effect on the thin-film mechanics is evaluated. These techniques have generated fruitful scientific knowledge in the field of organic semiconductors for the understanding of structure–mechanical property relationships. We end this review by providing our perspective for their bright prospects in much broader applications and materials of interest.     

The Role of Radical Bridges in Polynuclear Single-Molecule Magnets

Employing radical bridges between anisotropic metal ions has been a viable route to achieve high-performance single-molecule magnets (SMMs). While the bridges have been mainly considered for their ability to promote exchange interactions, the crystal-field effect arising from them has not been taken into account explicitly. This lack of consideration may distort the understanding and limit the development of the entire family. To shed light on this aspect, herein we report a theoretical investigation of a series of N -radical-bridged diterbium complexes. It is found that while promoting strong exchange coupling between the terbium ions, the N -radical induces a crystal field that interferes destructively with that of the outer ligands, and thus reduces the overall SMM behavior. Based on the theoretical results, we conclude that the SMM behavior in this series could be further maximized if the crystal field of the outer ligands is designed to be collinear with that of the radical bridge. This conclusion can be generalized to all exchange-coupled SMMs.     

Electrochemically Determining Electronic Structure of ZnO Quantum Dots with Different Surface Ligands

The electronic structure of quantum dots (QDs) including band edges and possible trap states is an important physical property for optoelectronic applications. The reliable determination of the energy levels of QDs remains a big challenge. Herein we employ cyclic voltammetry (CV) to determine the energy levels of three types of ZnO QDs with different surface ligands. Coupled with spectroscopic techniques, it is found that the onset potential of the first reductive wave is likely related to the conduction band edges while the first oxidative wave originates from the trap states. The determined specific energy levels in CV further demonstrates that the ZnO QDs without surface ligands mainly have oxygen interstitial defects whilst the ZnO QDs covered with ligands contain oxygen vacancies. The present electrochemical method offers a powerful and effective way to determine the energy levels of wide bandgap ZnO QDs, which will boost their device performance.     

Synthesis and optical properties of new chalcones containing 4-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]phenyl fragment

New chalcones with 4-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino] phenyl fragment were obtained from 4-[bis(2-acetoxyethyl) amino]- benzaldehyde by the Claisen–Schmidt reaction. From their UV-VIS absorption and emission spectra, optical band gap values were calculated based on the Stokes shifts as well as the molar absorption coefficients and fluorescence quantum yields were estimated. The dependence of the absorption and emission maxima on solvent polarity and pH was evaluated.     

Wave packet dynamics of nonlinear Gazeau–Klauder coherent states of a position-dependent mass system in a Coulomb-like potential

AD = 1 position-dependent mass approach to constructing nonlinear quantum states for a modified Coulomb potential is used to generate Gazeau–Klauder coherent states. It appears that their energy eigenvalues are scaled down by the quantum number and the nonlinearity coefficient. We study the basic properties of these states, which are found to be undefined on the whole complex plane, and some details of their revival structure are discussed.