Demonstration of microwave single-shot quantum key distribution.

Security of modern classical data encryption often relies on computationally hard problems, which can be trivialized with the advent of quantum computers. A potential remedy for this is quantum communication which takes advantage of the laws of quantum physics to provide secure exchange of information. Here, quantum key distribution (QKD) represents a powerful tool, allowing for unconditionally secure quantum communication between remote parties.

High-performance activation of ozone by sonocavitation for BTEX degradation in water.

This work presents a novel advanced oxidation process (AOP) for degradation of emerging organic pollutants - benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEXs) in water. A comparative study was performed for sonocavitation assisted ozonation under 40-120 kHz and 80-200 kHz dual frequency ultrasounds (DFUS). Based on the obtained results, the combination of 40-120 kHz i.

Quantum behavior of the Duffing oscillator at the dissipative phase transition.

The non-deterministic behavior of the Duffing oscillator is classically attributed to the coexistence of two steady states in a double-well potential. However, this interpretation fails in the quantum-mechanical perspective which predicts a single unique steady state. Here, we measure the non-equilibrium dynamics of a superconducting Duffing oscillator and experimentally reconcile the classical and quantum descriptions as indicated by the Liouvillian spectral theory.

Effects of patient and disease characteristics on global functioning in patients with axial spondyloarthritis in routine care.

Background: The ASAS Health Index (ASAS HI) was developed to assess global functioning in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Influencing factors have not been studied to date, especially the influence of inflammation and structural changes in the spine has remained unclear to date.

Objective: To find out whether and to what degree do axial inflammation, radiographic damage and other clinical features influence global functioning of patients with axSpA.

Experimental quantum teleportation of propagating microwaves.

The field of quantum communication promises to provide efficient and unconditionally secure ways to exchange information, particularly, in the form of quantum states. Meanwhile, recent breakthroughs in quantum computation with superconducting circuits trigger a demand for quantum communication channels between spatially separated superconducting processors operating at microwave frequencies. In pursuit of this goal, we demonstrate the unconditional quantum teleportation of propagating coherent microwave states by exploiting two-mode squeezing and analog feedforward over a macroscopic distance of = 0.

Ultrasound-assisted heterogeneous activation of persulfate and peroxymonosulfate by asphaltenes for the degradation of BTEX in water.

This study investigated - for the first time - the simultaneous degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX) by persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activated by asphaltenes (Asph) under ultrasound (US) irradiation. Advantageous properties such as high thermal stability, low production cost and extensive availability make asphaltenes as an appealing carbonaceous material for heterogeneous catalysis. The application of asphaltenes in PS/US increased the degradation of BTEXs from 31%, 34%, 35%, 32%-78%, 94%, 98% and 98%, while the removal of these compounds in PMS/US system was improved from 26%, 27%, 24%, 20%-76%, 91%, 97%, 97%, respectively.

Displacement of Propagating Squeezed Microwave States.

Displacement of propagating quantum states of light is a fundamental operation for quantum communication. It enables fundamental studies on macroscopic quantum coherence and plays an important role in quantum teleportation protocols with continuous variables. In our experiments, we have successfully implemented this operation for propagating squeezed microwave states.

Fluxon readout of a superconducting qubit.

An experiment demonstrating a link between classical single-flux quantum digital logic and a superconducting quantum circuit is reported. We implement coupling between a moving Josephson vortex (fluxon) and a flux qubit by reading out of a state of the flux qubit through a frequency shift of the fluxon oscillations in an annular Josephson junction. The energy spectrum of the flux qubit is measured using this technique.

Crossover of the thermal escape problem in annular spatially distributed systems.

The computer simulations of fluctuational dynamics of an annular system governed by the sine-Gordon model with a white noise source are performed. It is demonstrated that the mean escape time (MET) of a phase string for an annular structure can be much larger than for a linear one and has a strongly pronounced maximum as a function of system's length. The location of the MET maximum roughly equals the size of the kink-antikink pair, which leads to evidence of a spatial crossover between two dynamical regimes: when the phase string escapes over the potential barrier as a whole and when the creation of kink-antikink pairs is the main mechanism of the escape process.