Quantum computation with ions in microscopic traps

We discuss a possible experimental realization of fast quantum gates with high fidelity with ions confined in microscopic traps. The original proposal of this physical system for quantum computation comes from Cirac and Zoller (Nature 404, 579 (2000)). In this paper we analyse a sensitivity of the ion-trap quantum gate on various experimental parameters which was omitted in the original proposal. We address imprecision of laser pulses, impact of photon scattering, nonzero temperature effects and influence of laser intensity fluctuations on the total fidelity of the two-qubit phase gate.     

Rotationally Resolved REMPI Spectra of CaH in a Molecular Beam

Rotationally resolved spectra of the CaH radical using a supersonic molecular beam are reported. Thus, high energy resolution of the (1+1′) REMPI spectra corresponding to the A←X and B←X electronic transitions were measured which allowed for the first time a clear and precise analysis of the low rotational part (J≤7) of the CaH spectrum. A comparison with previous studies revealed that the commonly accepted energy separation between the two band heads of B−X (v′=1, v′=0) of 10 cm⁻¹ is not correct. A value of ca. 1.6 cm⁻¹ was found to be more realistic. On the other hand, the present study confirmed that the perturbation appears only for v′=1, N′>3 of the B state.     

Phase diagram of the ANNNI model in the Hamiltonian limit

The Hamiltonian limit of the ANNNI model in (1+1) dimensions is studied by using the Quantum Statistical Monte Carlo method. Even if recent results suggest that Monte Carlo calculations may prove unreliable in the study of this system, the phase diagram of the quantum version of the model was successfully obtained. In particular, the clusive transitions between the disordered, the floating incommensurate and the degenerate 2, 2 are determined by analysing the correlation length behaviour in finite lattices.Partially supported by CONICET Argentina     

On the Locally Polynomial Complexity of the Projection-Gradient Method for Solving Piecewise Quadratic Optimisation Problems

This paper proposes a method for solving optimisation problems involving piecewise quadratic functions. The method provides a solution in a finite number of iterations, and the computational complexity of the proposed method is locally polynomial of the problem dimension, i.e., if the initial point belongs to the sufficiently small neighbourhood of the solution set. Proposed method could be applied for solving large systems of linear inequalities.     

Diffusion Model of a Non-Integer Order PIγ Controller with TCP/UDP Streams

In this article, a way to employ the diffusion approximation to model interplay between TCP and UDP flows is presented. In order to control traffic congestion, an environment of IP routers applying AQM (Active Queue Management) algorithms has been introduced. Furthermore, the impact of the fractional controller PIγ and its parameters on the transport protocols is investigated. The controller has been elaborated in accordance with the control theory. The TCP and UDP flows are transmitted simultaneously and are mutually independent. Only the TCP is controlled by the AQM algorithm. Our diffusion model allows a single TCP or UDP flow to start or end at any time, which distinguishes it from those previously described in the literature.     

Supervised Domain Adaptation for Automated Semantic Segmentation of the Atrial Cavity

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia. At present, cardiac ablation is the main treatment procedure for AF. To guide and plan this procedure, it is essential for clinicians to obtain patient-specific 3D geometrical models of the atria. For this, there is an interest in automatic image segmentation algorithms, such as deep learning (DL) methods, as opposed to manual segmentation, an error-prone and time-consuming method. However, to optimize DL algorithms, many annotated examples are required, increasing acquisition costs. The aim of this work is to develop automatic and high-performance computational models for left and right atrium (LA and RA) segmentation from a few labelled MRI volumetric images with a 3D Dual U-Net algorithm. For this, a supervised domain adaptation (SDA) method is introduced to infer knowledge from late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) MRI volumetric training samples (80 LA annotated samples) to a network trained with balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) MR images of limited number of annotations (19 RA and LA annotated samples). The resulting knowledge-transferred model SDA outperformed the same network trained from scratch in both RA (Dice equals 0.9160) and LA (Dice equals 0.8813) segmentation tasks.     

The electrochemistry of arylated anthraquinones in room temperature ionic liquids

Arylated anthraquinone derivatives of different sizes and different π‐basicities have been prepared, and the electrochemical behaviour of these substances has been studied on screen printed graphite electrodes in the three room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₄MIM][PF₆]), 1‐hexyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₆MIM][PF₆]) and 1‐octyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([C₈MIM][PF₆]). Half redox potentials for the first and second one electron reduction waves were identified, and the diffusion coefficient values were estimated from cyclic voltammetry measurements. The influence of the nature of the RTIL and of the substitution pattern of the anthraquinone on the solvodynamic radii were studied. A correlation of the reductive potentials with the corresponding Hammett constants of the substituents was tested. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ab initio investigation of the electronic and vibrational properties for the (CaLi)+ ionic molecule

A wide adiabatic study has been performed for numerous electronic states of CaLi⁺ molecular ion. The adiabatic potential energy curves and their spectroscopic constants (R_e, D_e, ω_e and T_e) have been calculated using an ab initio approach including a nonempirical pseudo-potential for the Ca and Li cores with the core polarisation potentials operator through full configuration interaction (FCI). Thereafter, the energies of vibrational levels and their spacing for all these states have been reported. In addition, the electric dipole moment curves have been investigated for the (1-19) Σ, (1-12) Π and (1-8) Δ electric states. Moreover it lets us check the extreme transition dipole moments (TDM). These behaviours of TDM are more accustomed to estimate the radiative lifetimes for all vibrational levels in 2¹Σ⁺ and 3¹Σ⁺ states. Also, the bound-bound and the bound-free contribution have been calculated precisely and by employing a Franck–Condon (FC) approximation.     

Self-organisation of di(perfluorohexyl)hexane in Langmuir and LB films

Symmetrical triblock semifluorinated n-alkane, di(perfluorohexyl)hexane of the formula F(CF₂)₆(CH₂)₆(CF₂)₆F (abbreviated F₆H₆F₆), has been synthesised and investigated at the air/water interface. Our results show for the first time that this unusual film-forming material, completely hydrophobic in nature and possessing no polar group, is capable of stable film formation at the free water surface. The surface pressure–area isotherm of the studied compound exhibited two regions: corresponding to monotonous pressure rise, followed by a pseudo-plateau region. Visualisation of film structure with Brewster angle microscope (BAM) proved the formation of domains within the pseudo-plateau region. A closer insight into the structure of these domains with atomic force microscope (AFM) proved their ordered, circular shape. The average area of F₆H₆F₆ domain was found to depend on surface pressure value, as it is 4.98 ± 1.75 μm² at π = 1.2 mN/m to 16.54 ± 0.31 μm² at π = 1.7 mN/m. Following performed quantum-chemical calculations, it can be concluded that the observed surface aggregates from F₆H₆F₆ are formed by linear conformers with shifted CF and CH parts. The calculated domain thickness is between 20 and 21 Å, which perfectly agrees with the experimental value estimated from AFM measurements (20.3 ± 1.4 Å).     

Effects of fish farm loading on sea grass Posidonia oceanica at Vrgada Island (Central Adriatic): a nitrogen stable isotope study

Analyses of nitrogen stable isotopes in the marine sea grass Posidonia oceanica were used to investigate the influence of fish farming on the coastal ecosystem of Vrgada Island in the Murter Sea, Central Adriatic. The results show a statistically significant ¹⁵N enrichment (up to 4.7‰ at p?<?0.005) in P. oceanica leaf and shoot tissues from fish cage sites with respect to the unaffected offshore reference site of Lumbarda Reef Flat (Kornati Islands). Heavy nitrogen enrichment was also detected in other benthic organisms analysed during this study and is attributed to the absorption and assimilation of ¹⁵N-enriched fish farm derived nitrogen waste.