Quantum Simulation of Tunable Neuron Activation

The activation of the neuron is simulated by a quantum circuit. When the circuit is deep enough, the output qubit is deterministically in the state $|1⟩$ if the probability of the input qubit in the designated state is larger than the threshold value. Conversely, the output qubit is deterministically in the state $|0⟩$ if the probability is smaller than the threshold value. The threshold value is adjustable. When the depth of the circuit is limited, the nonlinear relations between the input and the output can also be realized.     

Multi‐Party Semi‐Quantum Key Distribution Protocol With Four‐Particle Cluster States

The application of semi‐quantum conception can provide unconditional secure communication for communicators without quantum capabilities. A semi‐quantum key distribution (SQKD) protocol based on four‐particle cluster states is put forward, which can achieve key distribution among one quantum party and two classical parties simultaneously. Furthermore, this protocol can be expanded to the χ‐party ( $\chi >3$) communication scheme. Compared with the existing multi‐party SQKD protocol, the proposed protocol and the extended one own more excellent time efficiency and qubit efficiency. The security of the proposed SQKD protocol under ideal circumstances is validated while the key rate under non‐ideal conditions is calculated.     

Spectral Determinant of the Two-Photon Quantum Rabi Model

The various generalized spectral determinants (G-functions) of the two-photon quantum Rabi model are analyzed with emphasis on the qualitative aspects of the regular spectrum. Whereas all of them yield at least a subset of the exact regular eigenvalues, only the G-function proposed by Chen et al. in 2012 exhibits an explicitly known pole structure which dictates the approach to the collapse point. This function is derived rigorously employing the ${\mathbb{Z}}_4$-symmetry of the model and shown that its zeros correspond to the complete regular spectrum.     

Optimal Quantum Violations of n-Locality Inequalities with Conditional Dependence on Inputs

Bell experiment in a network gives rise to a form of quantum nonlocality which is conceptually different from traditional multipartite Bell nonlocality. In this work, the star-network configuration involving arbitrary n independent sources and $(n+1)$ parties, including n edge parties and one central party is considered. Each of the n edge parties shares a physical system with the central party. Each edge party receives $2^{m-1}$ number of inputs, and the central party receives an arbitrary m number of inputs. The conditional dependence on the inputs of each edge party is imposed so that the local probabilities satisfy a set of constraints. A family of generalized n-locality inequalities is proposed in the arbitrary input scenario by imposing the set of constraints on inputs. The optimal quantum violation of the inequalities is derived by using an elegant sum-of-squares approach without specifying the dimension of the quantum system. Notably, the optimal quantum value is achieved only when the set of linear constraints on inputs is satisfied, which, in turn, self-tests the observables required for each edge party. It shows that while conditional dependence on inputs significantly reduces the n-local bound of the inequalities, the optimal quantum violation remains invariant. It argues that this implies a more robust test of network non-locality, which can be revealed for smaller visibility parameters of the corresponding state. Further, the network nonlocality is characterized and examine its correspondence with suitably derived standard Bell nonlocality.     

High-Fidelity and Low-Cost Hyperparallel Quantum Gates for Photon Systems via Λ-Type Systems

Quantum gates designed with minimized resources overhead have a crucial role in quantum information processing. Here, based on the degrees of freedom (DoFs) of photons and Λ-type atom systems, two high-fidelity and low-cost protocols are presented for realizing polarization-spatial hyperparallel controlled-not (CNOT) and Toffoli gates on photon systems with only two and four two-qubit polarization–polarization swap (P-P-SWAP) gates in each DoF, respectively. Moreover, the quantum gates can be extended feasibly to construct 2m-target-qubit hyperparallel CNOT and 2n-control-qubit Toffoli gates required only 4m and 4n P-P-SWAP gates on $(m+1)$- and $(n+1)$-photon systems, respectively, which dramatically lower the costs and bridge the divide between the theoretical lower bounds and the current optimal syntheses for the photonic quantum computing. Further, the unique auxiliary atom of these quantum gates can be regarded as a temporary quantum memory that requires no initialization and measurement, and is reused within the coherence time, as the state of the atom remains unchanged after the hyperparallel quantum computing.     

Transmission in Graphene through Tilted Barrier in Laser Field

The transmission of Dirac fermions in graphene through a tilted barrier potential in the presence of a laser field of frequency ω is studied. By using Floquet theory, the Dirac equation is solved and then the energy spectrum is obtained. The boundary conditions together with the transfer matrix method allow to determine the transmission probabilities corresponding to all energy bands $E+l\hslash \omega$ $(l=0,\pm 1,\text{…})$. By limiting to the central band $l=0$ and the two first side bands $l=\pm 1$, it is shown that the transmissions are strongly affected by the laser field and barrier. Indeed, it is found that the Klein effect is still present, a variety of oscillations are inside the barrier, and there is essentially no transmission across all bands.     

Enhancement of the Quantum Coherence in a Hierarchical Environment System by Weak Measurement and Weak Measurement Reversal

The quantum coherence of a two-qubit system in which each qubit is coupled to its own hierarchical environment is studied. The effect of the hierarchical environment is explored in order to improve the coherence effectively. It is discovered that the dynamics of coherence can be manipulated by the number N of the second-layer cavities ($m_n$), the coupling strengths Ω₀, Ω, κ, respectively for the qubit-cavity (m₀), nearest-neighbor, and m₀-$m_n$ cavities. It depends also on the decay rate Γ of second-layer cavities. Furthermore, an effective scheme for enhancing coherence is proposed by using weak measurement and weak measurement reversal. The explicit conditions of the optimal measurement strengths to improve the coherence comparatively are derived. It is seen that the final stable value of the coherence is independent of the number N of second-layer cavities but is related to the weak measurement strength m when the coupling strength between two nearest-neighbor cavities is taken into account.     

Phantom Cosmological Model with Observational Constraints in f(Q)$f(Q)$ Gravity

In this paper, the cosmological model of the Universe has been presented in $f(Q)$ gravity and the parameters are constrained from the cosmological data sets. At the beginning, a well motivated form of $f(Q)=\alpha +\beta Q^n$ has been employed, where α, β, and n are model parameters. The Hubble parameter is obtained in redshift with some algebraic manipulation from the considered form of $f(Q)$. Then it is parameterized with the recent $\text{Hubble}$ data and $\text{Pantheon}+\text{SHOES}$ data using Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis. The obtained model parameter values are validated with the baryon acoustic oscillation data set. A parametrization of the cosmographic parameters shows the early deceleration and late time acceleration with the transition at $z_{\mathrm{t}}\approx 0.75$. The $Om(z)$ diagnostics gives positive slope which shows that the model is in the phantom phase. Also the current age of the Universe has been obtained as, $t_0=13.85\text{Gyrs}$. Based on the present analysis, it indicates that the $f(Q)$ gravity may provide an alternative to dark energy for addressing the current cosmic acceleration.     

Electron–Phonon Superconductivity in Boron-Based Chalcogenide (X= S,Se) Monolayers

Electron–phonon mediated superconductivity is deeply investigated in two boron based monolayer materials, namely, $B_{3}S$, a metal exhibiting the ability to superconduct, and a new metal, $B_{3}Se$, presenting perfect kinetic stability. Calculations based on density functional perturbation theory combined with the maximally localized Wannier function also reveal that both materials exhibit anisotropic planar hexagonal structure like graphene. The key parameters involved in the superconductor behavior are all calculated. The electronic density in the Fermi surface is given to provide the environment for enhanced electron–phonon coupling. The longitudinal and transverse vibration modes of optical phonons mainly contribute to the electron–phonon coupling strength. Furthermore, the binding energy between the bosonic Cooper pair superfluid is quantified and determined. The critical temperature for the two materials is 20 and 10.5 K, respectively. The results obtained show the potential use of such materials for superconducting applications.     

Single-Photon Based Three-Party Quantum Secure Direct Communication with Identity Authentication

Multipartite quantum secure direct communication (MQSDC) enables multiple message senders to simultaneously and independently transmit secret messages to a message receiver through quantum channels without sharing keys. Existing MQSDC protocols all assume that all the communication parties are legal, which is difficult to guarantee in practical applications. In this study, a single-photon based three-party QSDC protocol with identity authentication is proposed. In the protocol, the message receiver first authenticates the identity of two practical message senders. Only when the identity authentication is passed, the legal message senders can encode their messages by the hyper-encoding technology. In theory, two bits of messages can be transmitted to the message receiver in a communication round. The protocol can resist the external attack and internal attack, and guarantee the security of the transmitted messages and the identity codes of each legal message sender. The secret message capacity of the protocol is simulated with two-decoy-state method. The maximal communication distance between any two communication parties can reach $\approx$31.75 km with weak signal and decoy state pulses. The three-party QSDC protocol can be extended to a general MQSDC protocol and has important application in the further practical MQSDC field.     

Janus Single-Layer CoClBr: A Direct Ferromagnetic Semiconductor with Controllable BandGap and Enhanced Magnetic Anisotropy Under Strain

The 2D materials with both ferromagnetism and semiconducting properties are desirable for spintronics applications. Here, inspired by the successful synthesis of single-layer CoCl ${}_2$, it predicts that Janus single-layer CoClBr is a 2D intrinsic ferromagnetic semiconductor with a direct bandgap of 3.71 eV by first-principles calculations. Single-layer CoClBr exhibits an in-plane magnetic anisotropic energy (MAE) of 542.25 $\mu$eV per Co atom and a Curie temperature (T ${}_c$) of 89.49 K. Biaxial strain can effectively modulate its bandgap, MAE, and T ${}_c$, but will not change the ferromagnetic ground state. Compressive strain can increase the Curie temperature and switch the spin moment from in-plane direction to out-of-plane direction. Tensile strain can enlarge the bandgap and introduce a direct-to-indirect bandgap transition in CoClBr. The MAE of CoClBr reaches 391.73 $\mu$eV per Co atom and 1560.49 $\mu$eV per Co atom at a compressive strain of -2% and a tensile strain of 5%, respectively. The tunable electronic and magnetic properties of Janus single-layer CoClBr has potential application in low-dimensional spintronics devices.     

Phase Diagrams of Periodically Driven Spin–Orbit Coupled 87Rb and 23Na Bose–Einstein Condensates

The phase boundaries of periodically driven spin–orbit coupled BECs with effective two‐body interactions are analytically calculated by using variational method. The phase diagrams of periodically driven ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ systems present distinguished features from undriven systems, respectively. For the ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ BECs, the critical density $n_c$ (density at quantum tricritical point) will be dramatically reduced in some parameter regions, and the prospect of observing this intriguing quantum tricritical point is greatly enlarged. Moreover, a series of quantum tricritical points emerge quasi‐periodically when increasing the Raman coupling strength with fixed ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ density. In the ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ BECs, two hyperfine states of ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ atoms can be miscible within the suitable regions of driving parameter space. As a result, ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ systems will stay in the stripe phase with small Raman frequency at typical density, which expands the region of stripe phase in the phase diagram. In addition, an absence of quantum tricritical point in such ${}^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ system is observed, which is very unlike ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ systems.     

The Effects of an Impurity in an Ising‐XXZ Diamond Chain on Thermal Entanglement,on Quantum Coherence,and on Quantum Teleportation

The effects of an impurity plaquette on the thermal quantum correlations measurement by the concurrence, on quantum coherence quantified by the recently proposed l₁‐norm of coherence and on quantum teleportation in a Ising‐ $XXZ$ diamond chain are discussed. Such an impurity is formed by the $XXZ$ interaction between the interstitial Heisenberg dimers and the nearest‐neighbor Ising coupling between the nodal and interstitial spins. All the interaction parameters are different from those of the rest of the chain. By tailoring them, quantum entanglement and quantum coherence can be controlled and tuned. Therefore, the quantum resources—thermal entanglement and quantum coherence—of the model exhibit a clear performance improvement in comparison to the original model without impurities. It is demonstrated that quantum teleportation can be tuned by its inclusion. Thermal teleportation is modified in a significant way as well, and a strong increase in the average fidelity is observed. The exact solution is furnished by the use of the transfer‐matrix method.     

Effects of a Uniform Magnetic Field on Twisted Graphene Nanoribbons

In the present work, the relativistic quantum motion of massless fermions in a helicoidal graphene nanoribbon under the influence of a uniform magnetic field is investigated. Considering a uniform magnetic field (B) aligned along the axis of helicoid, this problem is explored in the context of Dirac equation in a curved space-time. As this system does not support exact solutions due to considered background, the bound-state solutions and local density of states (LDOS) are obtained numerically by means of the Numerov method. The combined effects of width of the nanoribbon (D), length of ribbon (L), twist parameter (ω), and B on the equations of motion and LDOS are analyzed and discussed. It is verified that the presence of B produces a constant minimum value of local density of state on the axis of helicoid, which is possible only for values large enough of ω, in contrast to the case for $B=0$ already studied in the literature.     

Realization of Z2 Topological Metal in Single-Crystalline Nickel Deficient NiV2Se4

Temperature-dependent electronic and magnetic properties are reported for nickel-deficient NiV₂Se₄. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction shows it to crystallize in the monoclinic Cr₃S₄ structure type with space group $I2/m$ and vacancies on the Ni site, resulting in the composition Ni_0.85V₂Se₄ in agreement with our electron-probe microanalysis. Structural distortions are not observed down to 1.5 K. Nevertheless, the electrical resistivity shows metallic behavior with a broad anomaly around 150–200 K that is also observed in the heat capacity data. This anomaly indicates a change of state of the material below 150 K. It is believed that this anomaly could be due to spin fluctuations or charge-density-wave fluctuations, where the lack of long-range order is caused by vacancies at the Ni site of Ni_0.85V₂Se₄. The non-linear temperature dependence of the resistivity as well as an enhanced value of the Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma =104.0(1)$ mJ mol⁻¹ K⁻² suggest strong electron–electron correlations in this material. First-principles calculations performed for NiV₂Se₄, which are also applicable to Ni_0.85V₂Se₄, classify this material as a topological metal with $Z_2=(1;110)$ and coexisting electron and hole pockets at the Fermi level. The phonon spectrum lacks any soft phonon mode, consistent with the absence of periodic lattice distortion in the present experiments.     

Higher Flavor Symmetries in the Standard Model

A study of the generalized global flavor symmetries of the Standard Model is initiated. The presence of nonzero triangle diagrams between the U(3)⁵ flavor currents and the $U{(1)}_Y$ hypercharge current intertwines them in the form of a higher-group which mixes the zero-form flavor symmetries with the one-form magnetic hypercharge symmetry. This higher symmetry structure greatly restricts the possible flavor symmetries that may remain unbroken in any ultraviolet completion that includes magnetic monopoles. In the context of unification, this implies tight constraints on the combinations of fermion species which may be joined into multiplets. Three of four elementary possibilities are reflected in the classic unification models of Georgi–Glashow, $SO(10)$, and Pati–Salam. The final pattern is realized non-trivially in trinification, which exhibits the sense in which Standard Model Yukawa couplings which violate these flavor symmetries may be thought of as spurions of the higher-group. Such modifications of the ultraviolet flavor symmetries are possible only if new vector-like matter is introduced with masses suppressed from the unification scale by the Yukawa couplings.     

Tangent Fermions: Dirac or Majorana Fermions on a Lattice Without Fermion Doubling

Methods to discretize the Hamiltonian of a topological insulator or topological superconductor, without giving up on the topological protection of the massless excitations (respectively, Dirac fermions or Majorana fermions) are reviewed. The method of tangent fermions, pioneered by Richard Stacey, is singled out as being uniquely suited for this purpose. Tangent fermions propagate on a $2+1$ dimensional space-time lattice with a tangent dispersion: ${\tan }^2(\mathit{\epsilon }/2)={\tan }^2(k_x/2)+{\tan }^2(k_y/2)$ in dimensionless units. They avoid the fermion doubling lattice artefact that will spoil the topological protection, while preserving the fundamental symmetries of the Dirac Hamiltonian. Although the discretized Hamiltonian is nonlocal, as required by the fermion-doubling no-go theorem, it is possible to transform the wave equation into a generalized eigenproblem that is local in space and time. Applications that are discussed include Klein tunneling of Dirac fermions through a potential barrier, the absence of localization by disorder, the anomalous quantum Hall effect in a magnetic field, and the thermal metal of Majorana fermions.     

Physical Dimensions/Units and Universal Constants: Their Invariance in Special and General Relativity

The theory of physical dimensions and units in physics is outlined. This includes a discussion of the universal applicability and superiority of quantity equations. The International System of Units (SI) is one example thereof. By analyzing mechanics and electrodynamics, it naturally leads one, besides the dimensions of length and time, to the fundamental units of action $\mathfrak{h}$, electric charge q, and magnetic flux ?. Also, $q\times ?=\text{action}$ and $q/?=1/\text{resistance}$ are known. These results of classical physics suggests to look into the corresponding quantum aspects of q and ? (and also of $\mathfrak{h}$): The electric charge occurs exclusively in elementary charges e, whereas the magnetic flux can have any value; in specific situations, however, in superconductors of type II at very low temperatures, ? appears quantized in the form of fluxons (Abrikosov vortices). And $\mathfrak{h}$ leads, of course, to the Planck quantum h. Thus, one is directed to superconductivity and, because of the resistance, to the quantum Hall effect. In this way, the Josephson and the quantum Hall effects come into focus quite naturally. One goal is to determine the behavior of the fundamental constants in special and in general relativity.     

The Linear Optical Unambiguous Discrimination of Hyperentangled Bell States Assisted by Time Bin

A linear optical unambiguous discrimination of hyperentangled Bell states is proposed for two‐photon systems entangled in both the polarization and momentum degrees of freedom (DOFs) assisted by time bin. This unambiguous discrimination scheme can completely identify 16 orthogonal hyperentangled Bell states using only linear optical elements, where the function of the auxiliary entangled Bell state is replaced by time bin. Moreover, the possibility of extending this scheme for distinguishing hyperentangled Bell states in n DOFs is discussed, and it shows that $2^{n+k+1}$ hyperentangled Bell states in n ( $n\ge 2$) DOFs can be distinguished with k ( $k<n$) auxiliary entangled states of additional DOFs by introducing a time delay, which decreases the auxiliary entanglement resource required for unambiguous discrimination of hyperentangled Bell state. Therefore, this scheme provides a new way for distinguishing hyperentangled states with current technology, which will extend the application of discrimination of hyperentangled states via linear optics to other quantum information protocols besides hyperdense coding schemes in the future.