Oscillatory and anti-oscillatory motifs in genetic regulatory networks

Recently,self-sustained oscillatory genetic regulatory networks(GRNs) have attracted significant attention in the biological field.Given a GRN,it is important to anticipate whether the network could generate oscillation with proper parameters,and what the key ingredients for the oscillation are.In this paper the ranges of some function-related parameters which are favorable to sustained oscillations are considered.In particular,some oscillatory motifs appearing with high-frequency in most of the oscillatory GRNs are observed.Moreover,there are some anti-oscillatory motifs which have a strong oscillation repressing effect.Some conclusions analyzing these motif effects and constructing oscillatory GRNs are provided.     

Efficient error estimation in quantum key distribution

In a quantum key distribution(QKD)system,the error rate needs to be estimated for determining the joint probability distribution between legitimate parties,and for improving the performance of key reconciliation.We propose an efficient error estimation scheme for QKD,which is called parity comparison method(PCM).In the proposed method,the parity of a group of sifted keys is practically analysed to estimate the quantum bit error rate instead of using the traditional key sampling.From the simulation results,the proposed method evidently improves the accuracy and decreases revealed information in most realistic application situations.     

50 km无特征源的测量设备无关量子密钥分发实验

测量设备无关量子密钥分发协议可以免疫所有测量端的漏洞，极大地推进量子保密通信的实用化进程。美中不足的是，该协议依然对源端有极强的安全性假设。源端设备的非完美性同样会留下多种侧信道，从而威胁系统的实际安全性。针对此问题，提出无特征源测量设备无关量子密钥分发协议。该协议在量子态制备不完美的情况下依然可以提取出安全的密钥，是理论无条件安全性与实际安全性的完美结合。通过三强度诱骗态方法以及自行研制的Sagnac-Asymmetric-Mach-Zehnder编码结构，成功搭建无特征源的测量设备无关量子密钥分发系统，并在长为50.4 km的光纤信道和25 MHz的系统重复频率下达到1.91×10^-6的安全密钥分发速率。     

Estimation of key rate after setting dead time

The estimation of key rate is an important aspect of the quantum key distribution process,especially in the use of dead time.In this paper,we demonstrate a numerical simulation to estimate the average detection probability and the key rate.Using our method,the estimated average detection probability is better than the previous result.Besides,we can easily find the best dead time,especially when considering the impact of after pulse.     

Hong–Ou–Mandel interference with two independent weak coherent states

Recently,the Hong-Ou-Mandel(HOM) interference between two independent weak coherent pulses(WCPs) has been paid much attention due to the measurement-device-independent(MDI) quantum key distribution(QKD).Using classical wave theory,articles reported before show that the visibility of this kind of HOM-type interference is ≤ 50%.In this work,we analyze this kind of interference using quantum optics,which reveals more details compared to the wave theory.Analyses confirm the maximum visibility of 50%.And we conclude that the maximum visibility of 50%comes from the two single-photon states in WCPs,without considering the noise.In the experiment,we successfully approach the visibility of 50%by using WCPs splitting from the single pico-second laser source and phase scanning.Since this kind of HOM interference is immune to slow phase fluctuations,both the realized and proposed experiment designs can provide stable ways of high-resolution optical distance detection.     

一种改善双镜头大视角二维三角法测距精度的方法

对双镜头二维三角法测距精度的实验研究表明,在大视角下,双镜头二维测距存在较大的测距误差;通过应用小孔成像代替普通镜头成像进行二维测距研究,证明了大视角非近轴光线的镜头失真是造成该误差的主要原因,并且基于实验提出了一种经验修正公式,明显地提高了系统的测距精度和速度.实验结果表明,在50 mm×50 mm的工作区,对应于80°的大视角下,测距系统在x和y方向的平均定位精度均优于2 mm,平均分辨率分别为0.2 mm和0.1 mm.     

Security of biased BB84 quantum key distribution with finite resource

In the original BB84 quantum key distribution protocol, the states are prepared and measured randomly, which lose the unmatched detection results. To improve the sifting efficiency, biased bases selection BB84 protocol is proposed. Meanwhile, a practical quantum key distribution protocol can only transmit a finite number of signals, resulting in keys of finite length. The previous techniques for finite-key analysis focus mainly on the statistical fluctuations of the error rates and yields of the qubits. However, the prior choice probabilities of the two bases also have fluctuations by taking into account the finite-size effect. In this paper, we discuss the security of biased decoy state BB84 protocol with finite resources by considering all of the statistical fluctuations. The results can be directly used in the experimental realizations.     

光学体系宏观-微观纠缠及其在量子密钥分配中的应用

宏观-微观纠缠最早起源于“薛定谔的猫”思想实验, 是指在宏观体系与微观体系之间建立量子纠缠. 实现宏观-微观纠缠可以利用多种物理体系来完成, 本文重点介绍了在光学体系中制备和检验宏观-微观纠缠的发展过程. 从最初的受激辐射单光子量子克隆到光学参量放大, 再到相空间的位移操作, 实验上制备宏观-微观纠缠的方法取得了长足的进步. 利用非线性光学参量放大过程制备的宏观-微观纠缠的光子数可以达到10⁴量级, 人眼已经可以观察到, 因此使用人眼作为探测器来检验宏观-微观纠缠的实验开始出现. 但随后人们意识到, 粗精度的光子数探测器, 例如人眼, 无法严格判定宏观-微观纠缠的存在. 为了解决这个难题, 提出了一种巧妙的方法, 即在制备宏-微观纠缠后, 利用局域操作过程将宏观态再变为微观态, 通过判定微观纠缠存在的方法来判定宏微观纠缠的存在. 之后相空间的位移操作方法将宏观态的粒子数提高到10⁸, 并且实现了纠缠的严格检验. 利用光机械实现宏观-微观纠缠的方案也被提出. 由于量子密钥分配中纠缠是必要条件, 而宏观-微观纠缠态光子数较多这一优势可能会对量子密钥分配的传输距离有所提高. 本文介绍了利用相位纠缠的相干态来进行量子秘钥分配的方案, 探讨了利用宏观-微观纠缠实现量子密钥分配的可能性.     

Analysis of Faraday–Michelson quantum key distribution system with unbalanced attenuation

Quantum key distribution(QKD) is a major research topic because it provides unconditional security. Unfortunately, many imperfections remain in QKD's experimental realization. The Faraday–Michelson(FM) QKD system is proposed to eliminate these imperfections using polarization. However, the long arm's phase modulator(PM) has an unexpected insertion loss, meaning that the state sent is no longer perfect. In this letter, we propose an alternative FM-QKD system structure, and analyze the security and key generation rate in comparison with the original system via different analysis methods. We find an obvious key rate improvement when the PM insertion loss is not extremely small.     

Simple and practical method of characterizing the parametric down-conversion source

Parametric down-conversion(PDC) sources play an important role in quantum information processing, therefore characterizing their properties is necessary. Here we present a statistical model to assess the properties of the PDC source with certain distribution, such as the brightness and photon channel transmissions, we only need to measure the singles and coincidences counts in a few seconds. Furthermore, we validate the model by applying it to a PDC source generating highly non-degenerate photon pairs. The results of the experiment indicate that our method is more simple, efficient, and less time consuming.