Zero-point momentum in complex media

In this work we apply field regularization techniques to formulate a number of new phenomena related to momentum induced by electromagnetic zero-point fluctuations. We discuss the zero-point momentum associated with magneto-electric media, with moving media, and with magneto-chiral media.     

Fault tolerant three-party quantum secret sharing against collective noise

We present two robust three-party quantum secret sharing protocols against two kinds of collective noise. Each logical qubit is made up of two physical qubits and is invariant under a collective noise. The two agents encode their message on each logical qubit with two unitary physical operations on two physical qubits. As each logical qubit received by each agent can carry two bits of information and the classical information exchanged is reduced largely, these protocols have a high intrinsic efficiency. Moreover, the boss Alice can read out her agents' information with two Bell-state measurements on each four-qubit system, not four-photon joint measurements.     

Investigating generation mechanisms of tyre/road noise by speed exponent analysis

The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of air-pumping related noise sources on typical tyre/road noise. The aim is to increase the understanding of noise generation mechanisms and catalyse the development of existing tyre/road noise simulation tools. The speed dependency of measured and simulated tyre/road noise is analysed and the results show that a large part of the noise can be explained by a high speed exponent traditionally connected with air-pumping mechanisms. Surprisingly, this is also the case for rough road surfaces which are expected to mainly generate noise by tyre vibrations. It is also found that vehicle wind noise may have a strong influence on the pass-by noise and care must be taken when analysing measurement data of quiet tyre/road combinations. Even simulated tyre/road noise shows higher speed exponents than what is anticipated without the inclusion of any type of air-pumping mechanism in the model. It is concluded that it is unfeasible to separate noise created by tyre vibrations from noise created by air-pumping with a speed exponent analysis due to the overlap in the speed exponents connected with the different generation mechanisms.     

A tuned damping device for reducing noise from railway track

A promising means to reduce the component of railway rolling noise radiated by the track is to increase the damping of the rail. This increases the attenuation with distance of vibrations transmitted along the rail and thereby reduces the noise radiated. To achieve this, a tuned, damped mass-spring absorber system has been designed. To cover a wide range of frequencies, multiple tuning frequencies are used along with a material with a high damping loss factor. Suitable materials have been found from extensive tests on samples and prototypes of the damper have been built and tested, both in the laboratory and in the field. Results are very promising with reductions of the track component of noise of around 6 dB being measured.     

Measurability of vacuum fluctuations and dark energy

Vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field induce current fluctuations in resistively shunted Josephson junctions that are measurable in terms of a physically relevant power spectrum. In this paper we investigate under which conditions vacuum fluctuations can be gravitationally active, thus contributing to the dark energy density of the universe. Our central hypothesis is that vacuum fluctuations are gravitationally active if and only if they are measurable   in terms of a physical power spectrum in a suitable macroscopic or mesoscopic detector. This hypothesis is consistent with the observed dark energy density in the universe and offers a resolution of the cosmological constant problem. Using this hypothesis we show that the observable vacuum energy density _ρvac${\rho }_{\mathit{vac}}$ in the universe is related to the largest possible critical temperature _Tc$T_c$ of superconductors through _ρvac=σ·(_kTc)⁴/?³c³${\rho }_{\mathit{vac}}=\sigma ·({\mathit{kT}}_c{)}^4/{?}^3{c}^3$, where σ$\sigma$ is a small constant of the order 10^-3${10}^{-3}$. This relation can be regarded as an analog of the Stefan–Boltzmann law for dark energy. Our hypothesis is testable in Josephson junctions where we predict there should be a cutoff in the measured spectrum at 1.7 THz if the hypothesis is true.     

Pulsed-field separation of particles in a microfluidic device

We demonstrate the proof-of-principle of a new separation concept for micrometer-sized particles in a structured microfluidic device. Under the action of externally applied, periodic voltage-pulses two different species of like-charged polystyrene beads are observed to simultaneously migrate into opposite directions. Based on a theoretical model of the particle motion in the microdevice that shows good agreement with the experimental measurements, the underlying separation mechanism is identified and explained. Potential biophysical applications, such as cell sorting, are briefly addressed.     

Thermal noise limit in measuring the gravitational constant G using the angular acceleration method and the dynamic deflection method

A general comparison is made between two methods of measuring the gravitational constant G. The angular acceleration method can avoid the anelasticity effect since the torsion fiber is not twisted. The dynamic deflection method is similar in principle but it does not use feedback, therefore a major noise introduced by the feedback control system in the angular acceleration method can be avoided. Both methods have their advantages and can be performed with the same device. Based on different expressions of G, we have expressed the signal-to-noise ratio and calculated the thermal noise limit for both methods. In order to get a lower thermal noise limit, the dynamic deflection method should avoid resonance.     

Towards 5G: Performance evaluation of 60 GHz UWB OFDM communications under both channel and RF impairments

Detailed analysis on the impact of RF and channel impairments on the performance of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems based on the IEEE 802.15.3c standard, for high data-rate applications using the 60 GHz millimetre frequency band is presented in this paper. This frequency band, due to the large available bandwidth is very attractive for future and 5G wireless communication systems. The usage of OFDM at millimetre-wave (mmWaves) frequencies is severely affected by non-linearities of the Radio Frequency (RF) front-ends. The impact of impairments is evaluated, in terms of some of the most important key performance indicators, including spectral efficiency, power efficiency, required coding overhead and system complexity, Out-Of-Band Emissions (OOBEs), Bit Error Rate (BER) target and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR). Additionally, joint distortion effects of coexisting Phase-Noise (PN), mixer IQ imbalances and Power Amplifier (PA) non-linearities, on the performance degradation of a mmWave radio transceiver, combined with various multipath fading channels, are investigated. Subsequently, the power efficiency of the system is evaluated by estimating values of the PA Output-Power-Backoff (OBO) needed to meet the requirements for the Transmit Spectrum Mask (TSM) and BER target. Finally, a comparison of the system overall performance between uncoded and coded OFDM systems combined with Quadrature Amplitude Modulations (16 and 64 QAM) and its maximum operable range are evaluated by transmitting a Full HD uncompressed video frame under five different RF impairment conditions over a typical LOS kiosk 60 GHz IEEE channel model.     

Performance Enhancement for Optical Fast Frequency-hopping CDMA Systems by BCH Channel Coding

In this paper, the impact of optical beat noise on the performance of optical fast frequency-hopping code-division multiple-access (FFH OCDMA) networks is analyzed. BCH/FFH-OCDMA to reduce the impact of optical beat noise is proposed. It is shown that, BCH/FFH-OCDMA has much better performance under the same bit rate, same chip time and same number of available wavelengths. Another advantage for BCH/FFH-OCDMA is that the code length of one-coincidence sequence will be shorter, which can greatly reduce the difficulty of fabrication for fiber gratings.     

Enhancing optomechanical force sensing via precooling and quantum noise cancellation

We theoretically investigate optomechanical force sensing via precooling and quantum noise cancellation in two coupled cavity optomechanical systems.We show that force sensing based on the reduction of noise can be used to dramatically enhance the force sensing and that the precooling process can eifectively improve the quantum noise cancellation.Specifically,we examine the effect of optomechanical cooling and noise reduction on the spectral density of the noise of the force measurement;these processes can significantly enhance the performance of optomechanical force sensing,and setting up the system in the resolved sideband regime can lead to an optimization of the cooling processes in a hybrid system.Such a scheme serves as a promising platform for quantum back-action-evading measurements of the motion and a framework for an optomechanical force sensor.