Continuous-wave mid-infrared frequency conversion in silicon nanowaveguides

We report the first demonstration of cw wavelength conversion from the telecommunications band to the mid-IR (MIR) region via four-wave mixing in silicon nanowaveguides. We measure a parametric bandwidth of 748 nm by converting a 1636 nm signal to produce a 2384 nm idler and show continuously tunable wavelength conversion from 1792 to 2116 nm. This report indicates that the advantages of silicon photonics may be leveraged to create devices for a large range of MIR applications that require cw operation.     

Asymmetric orbital-lattice interactions in ultrathin correlated oxide films

Using resonant x-ray spectroscopies combined with density functional calculations, we find an asymmetric biaxial strain-induced d-orbital response in ultrathin films of the correlated metal LaNiO3 which are not accessible in the bulk. The sign of the misfit strain governs the stability of an octahedral "breathing" distortion, which, in turn, produces an emergent charge-ordered ground state with an altered ligand-hole density and bond covalency. Control of this new mechanism opens a pathway to rational orbital engineering, providing a platform for artificially designed Mott materials.     

Demonstration of sufficient control for two rounds of quantum error correction in a solid state ensemble quantum information processor

We report the implementation of a 3-qubit quantum error-correction code on a quantum information processor realized by the magnetic resonance of carbon nuclei in a single crystal of malonic acid. The code corrects for phase errors induced on the qubits due to imperfect decoupling of the magnetic environment represented by nearby spins, as well as unwanted evolution under the internal Hamiltonian. We also experimentally demonstrate sufficiently high-fidelity control to implement two rounds of quantum error correction. This is a demonstration of state-of-the-art control in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, a leading test bed for the implementation of quantum algorithms.     

Deterministic separation of arbitrary photon pair states in integrated quantum circuits

Entangled photon pairs must often be spatially separated for their subsequent manipulation in integrated quantum circuits. Separation that is both deterministic and universal can in principle be achieved through anti‐coalescent two‐photon quantum interference. However, such interference‐facilitated pair separation (IFPS) has not been extensively studied in the integrated setting, which has important implications on performance. This work provides a detailed review of IFPS and examines how integrated device dependencies such as dispersion impact separation fidelity and interference visibility. The analysis applies equally to both on‐chip and in‐fiber implementations. When coupler dispersion is present, the separation performance can depend on photon bandwidth, spectral entanglement and the dispersion. By design, reduction in the separation fidelity due to loss of non‐classical interference can be perfectly compensated for by classical wavelength demultiplexing effects. This work informs the design of devices for universal photon pair separation of states with tunable arbitrary properties.

     

Period doubling toward chaos in a driven magnetic macrospin

The Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation is analyzed in the case of a configuration involving easy plane isotropy under the influence of a sinusoidally oscillating magnetic field and a demagnetizing field. Through the use of numerical techniques, chaotic behavior is found and analyzed. By reducing the system to a discrete map (numerically), bifurcation diagrams for the system are computed. The system is found to exhibit a period doubling cascade route to chaos, and it obeys certain convergence rules for chaotic transitions outlined by Feigenbaum. A connection is drawn between the route to chaos and the geometry of the system, and comparisons are made with similar systems. Within the chaotic regime, windows of arbitrarily large period are suspected to exist, and explicitly illustrated and discussed for a period three window.     

Long descending cervical propriospinal neurons differ from thoracic propriospinal neurons in response to low thoracic spinal injury

Background  

Propriospinal neurons, with axonal projections intrinsic to the spinal cord, have shown a greater regenerative response than supraspinal neurons after axotomy due to spinal cord injury (SCI). Our previous work focused on the response of axotomized short thoracic propriospinal (TPS) neurons following a low thoracic SCI (T9 spinal transection or moderate spinal contusion injury) in the rat. The present investigation analyzes the intrinsic response of cervical propriospinal neurons having long descending axons which project into the lumbosacral enlargement, long descending propriospinal tract (LDPT) axons. These neurons also were axotomized by T9 spinal injury in the same animals used in our previous study.     

Development of a cryopreservation protocol for the microcyclic rust-fungus Puccinia spegazzinii

The rust fungus Puccinia spegazzinii (Basidiomycotina: Uredinales) has been identified as a potential classical biological control agent for the invasive weed Mikania micrantha (Asteraceae). Long-term, live storage of this pathogen is required for reference. As biotrophs, almost all rusts species cannot be preserved by traditional cryopreservation protocols, which rely on in vitro culture techniques. In addition, the embedded teliospores and delicate basidiospores of this microcyclic rust are not amenable to direct plunge freezing. Continuous culture of the rust on living plants is both laborious and expensive, so a variety of approaches for cryopreservation and storage were tested. These methods included traditional approaches to fungal cryopreservation such as variation of cooling rate regime and alginate encapsulation techniques. However, an in situ cryopreservation technique was the only method identified as having any potential for the long-term cryopreservation of the 10 isolates tested. Material from either petiole or stem tissue remained viable after cryopreservation, determined by the ability of the material to produce basidiospores. However, despite great progress being made in developing an optimal cryopreservation method, infection of the host plant by basidiospores produced from previously cryopreserved teliospores, embedded in leaf petioles, was not achieved.     

Driven depinning of strongly disordered media and anisotropic mean-field limits

Extended systems driven through strong disorder are modeled generically using coarse-grained degrees of freedom that interact elastically in the directions parallel to the drive and slip along at least one of the directions transverse to the motion. In the limit of infinite-range elastic and viscous coupling this model has a tricritical point separating a region where the depinning is continuous, in the universality class of elastic depinning, from a region where depinning is hysteretic. Many of the collective transport models discussed in the literature are special cases of the generic model.