Optical noise-resistant nonreciprocal phonon blockade in a spinning optomechanical resonator.

A scheme of nonreciprocal conventional phonon blockade (PB) is proposed in a spinning optomechanical resonator coupled with a two-level atom. The coherent coupling between the atom and breathing mode is mediated by the optical mode with a large detuning. Due to the Fizeau shift caused by the spinning resonator, the PB can be implemented in a nonreciprocal way. Specifically, when the spinning resonator is driven from one direction, the single-phonon (1PB) and two-phonon blockade (2PB) can be achieved by adjusting both the amplitude and frequency of the mechanical drive field, while phonon-induced tunneling (PIT) occurs when the spinning resonator is driven from the opposite direction. The PB effects are insensitive to cavity decay because of the adiabatic elimination of the optical mode, thus making the scheme more robust to the optical noise and still feasible even in a low-Q cavity. Our scheme provides a flexible method for engineering a unidirectional phonon source with external control, which is expected to be used as a chiral quantum device in quantum computing networks.

Dissipative preparation of qutrit entanglement via periodically modulated Rydberg double antiblockade.

We propose a mechanism of Rydberg double antiblockade by virtue of a resonant dipole-dipole interaction between a pair of Rydberg atoms placed at short distances scaling as 1/R3. By combining this novel excitation regime with microwave-driven fields and dissipative dynamics, a stationary qutrit entangled state can be obtained with high quality, the corresponding steady-state fidelity and purity are insensitive to the variations of the dynamical parameters. Furthermore, we introduce time-dependent laser fields with periodically modulated amplitude to speed up the entanglement creation process. Numerical simulations reveal that the order of magnitude of the shortened convergence time is about 103 in units of ω0, and the acceleration effect appears valid in broad parametric space. The present results enrich the physics of the Rydberg antiblockade regimes and may receive more attention for the experimental investigations in dissipative dynamics of neutral atoms.

Entanglement enhanced by Kerr nonlinearity in a cavity-optomagnonics system.

We present a method to enhance steady-state bipartite and tripartite entanglement in a cavity-optomagnonics system by utilizing the Kerr nonlinearity originating from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The system comprises two microwave cavities and a magnon and represents the collective motion of several spins in a macroscopic ferrimagnet. We prove that Kerr nonlinearity is reliable for the enhancement of entanglement and produces a small frequency shift in the optimal detuning. Our system is more robust against the environment-induced decoherence than traditional optomechanical systems. Finally, we briefly analyze the validity of the system and demonstrate its feasibility for detecting the generated entanglement.

Photon blockade by enhancing coupling via a nonlinear medium.

A significantly low value of the single-photon coupling constant is a major challenge in the creation of a single-photon source via photon blockade. Here, we propose a photon blockade scheme composed of a weakly second-order nonlinear medium with an optical parametric amplification in a low-frequency cavity. Unlike the traditional weakly coupled system, the effective coupling strength in the proposed scheme can be significantly higher than the decay rate of the cavity mode. This can be achieved by adjusting the squeezing parameter even if the original coupling strength is weak. The thermal noise of the squeezed cavity mode can be suppressed by a squeezed vacuum field. Using a probability amplitude method, we obtain the optimal condition of photon blockade in the steady-state. By solving the master equation numerically in the steady-state, a strong photon antibunching effect that is consistent with the optimal conditions can be obtained in the cavity with low frequency. Besides, the photon blockade phenomenon and cross-correlation of two cavities can be significantly enhanced under a specific squeezing parameter. Our results may be useful for future studies on the characteristics of photon statistics.

Ground-state cooling of mechanical oscillator via quadratic optomechanical coupling with two coupled optical cavities.

We present a scheme for the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like nonlinear ground-state cooling in a double-cavity optomechanical system in which an optical cavity mode is coupled parametrically to the square of the position of a mechanical oscillator, an additional auxiliary cavity is coupled to the optomechanical cavity. The optimum cooling conditions is derived, based on which the heating process can be well suppressed and the mechanical resonator can be cooled with an optimal effect to near its ground state through EIT-like cooling mechanism even in unresolved sideband regime. It is demonstrated by numerical simulations that not only the average phonon number of steady state is lower than that of single-cavity optomechanical system, but also the cooling rate is greatly faster than that of the linear optomechanical coupling due to the two-phonon cooling process in the quadratic coupling. Also, the ground-state cooling is achievable even with a relatively weak quadratic coupling strengthby tunning the coupling between two cavities to reach the optimum cooling conditions, thus provides an solution for overcoming the limitations of weak quadratic coupling rate in experiments. The proposed approach provides a platform for quantum manipulation of macroscopic mechanical devices beyond the resolved sideband limit and linear coupling regime.

lncRNA-ATB promotes viability, migration, and angiogenesis in human microvascular endothelial cells by sponging microRNA-195.

The atherosclerosis in the arterial system of the extremities is considered as the major pathogenesis of peripheral arterial disease. The present work aimed to explore the potential role of long noncoding RNA activated by tumor growth factor-ß (lncRNA-ATB) on the dysfunction of endothelial cells. Human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) were transfected with lncRNA-ATB expressing vectors, and then the formation of tubes and expression of proteins associated with angiogenesis were analyzed using microscope and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)/Western blot analysis. Cell viability, migration, and microRNA-195 (miR-195) expression were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, modified Boyden chambers, Western blot analysis, and RT-qPCR. The interaction between lncRNA-ATB and miR-195 was determined by RT-qPCR, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and biotin-avidin pull-down assay. Finally, expression of key kinases in the PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK pathways was determined by Western blot analysis. We found vascular tubulogenesis was induced spontaneously when HMEC-1 cells were cultured in Matrigel-coated plates. lncRNA-ATB overexpression increased cell viability, migration and formation of tubes, along with upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, and vascular endothelial growth factor. Then, we found lncRNA-ATB worked as a molecular sponge for miR-195, and the effects of lncRNA-ATB on HMEC-1 cells were reversed by miR-195 overexpression while were augmented by miR-195 inhibition. Phosphorylated levels of key kinases in the PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK pathways were increased by lncRNA-ATB via miR-195. In conclusion, lncRNA-ATB enhanced cell viability, migration and angiogenesis in HMEC-1 cells through sponging miR-195. Moreover, the PI3K/AKT and MEK/ERK pathways were activated by lncRNA-ATB via miR-195.

Controllable photonic and phononic edge localization via optomechanically induced Kitaev phase.

Experimental realization of the Kitaev model is a greatly attractive topic due to the potential applications to build robust qubits against decoherence in topological quantum computation. In this work, we investigate the charged whispering-gallery microcavity array model and simulate the normal Kitaev chain under this mechanism in the first time. We find that the system reveals profound connections with the normal Kitaev chain and its some derivatives, and the topological property of the system depends on effective optomechanical coupling strength deeply. In optomechanically induced Kitaev topologically nontrivial phase, compared to the normal Kitaev chain in the Majorana basis, the novel and distinct structure of charged whispering-gallery microcavity array model leads to controllable photonic and phononic edge localization. Furthermore, we also simulate the extended Kitaev chain and show that two topologically different nontrivial phases of the system allow one to realize more freewheeling controllable photonic and phononic edge localization. Our model offers an alternative approach to correlate with other more complicated one-dimensional noninteracting spinless topological systems relevant to the p-wave superconducting pairing.

Ground-state cooling of rotating mirror in double-Laguerre-Gaussian-cavity with atomic ensemble.

A scheme is proposed to cool a rotating mirror close to its ground state in a double-Laguerre-Gaussian-cavity optomechanical system, where an auxiliary cavity and a two-level atomic ensemble simultaneously couple to the original optomechanical cavity. By choosing parameters reasonably, we find that the cooling process of the rotating mirror can be strengthened greatly while the heating process can be suppressed effectively. We show that the proposed ground-state cooling scheme can work well no matter whether in the weak or strong coupling regime for the atomic ensemble and original cavity. Compared with previous related schemes, our scheme works in the unresolved sideband regime with fewer strict limitations for the auxiliary systems.

Generation of steady entanglement via unilateral qubit driving in bad cavities.

We propose a scheme for generating an entangled state for two atoms trapped in two separate cavities coupled to each other. The scheme is based on the competition between the unitary dynamics induced by the classical fields and the collective decays induced by the dissipation of two non-local bosonic modes. In this scheme, only one qubit is driven by external classical fields, whereas the other need not be manipulated via classical driving. This is meaningful for experimental implementation between separate nodes of a quantum network. The steady entanglement can be obtained regardless of the initial state, and the robustness of the scheme against parameter fluctuations is numerically demonstrated. We also give an analytical derivation of the stationary fidelity to enable a discussion of the validity of this regime. Furthermore, based on the dissipative entanglement preparation scheme, we construct a quantum state transfer setup with multiple nodes as a practical application.

Effective W-state fusion strategies in nitrogen-vacancy centers via coupling to microtoroidal resonators.

We propose effective W-state fusion schemes for nonlocal electron-spin states and photon states by using the nitrogen-vacancy centers defect in diamond coupled to microtoroidal resonators. Using these schemes, a (m+n-1)-qubit W state can be obtained by fusing n-qubit and m-qubit W states (m, n ≥ 2), which means these schemes are applicable to create arbitrary scale W states with Bell states as the initial resource. The construction of these schemes is very compact and simple compared with the previous logical-gate-based fusion schemes. We analyze the feasibility and evaluate the optimal resource cost of the schemes, which shows that the present schemes can be realized with high fidelities and less resource cost than the previous schemes. Our schemes may be significant for the large-scale solid-state-based entanglement generation and for photon-qubit-based quantum information processing tasks.

Simulating Z2 topological insulators via a one-dimensional cavity optomechanical cells array.

We propose a novel scheme to simulate Z2 topological insulators via one-dimensional (1D) cavity optomechanical cells array. The direct mapping between 1D cavity optomechanical cells array and 2D quantum spin Hall (QSH) system can be achieved by using diagonalization and dimensional reduction methods. We show that the topological features of the present model can be captured using a 1D generalized Harper equation with an additional SU(2) guage structure. Interestingly, spin pumping of effective photon-phonon bosons can be naturally derived after scanning the additional periodic parameter, which means that we can realize the transition between different QSH edge states.

Classical-to-quantum transition behavior between two oscillators separated in space under the action of optomechanical interaction.

We propose a scheme to show that the system consisting of two macroscopic oscillators separated in space which are coupled through Coulomb interaction displays the classical-to-quantum transition behavior under the action of optomechanical coupling interaction. Once the optomechanical coupling interaction disappears, the entanglement between the two separated oscillators disappears accordingly and the system will return to classical world even though there exists sufficiently strong Coulomb coupling between the oscillators. In addition, resorting to the squeezing of the cavity field generated by an optical parametric amplifier inside the cavity, we discuss the effect of squeezed light driving on this classical-to-quantum transition behavior instead of injecting the squeezed field directly. The results of numerical simulation show that the present scheme is feasible and practical and has stronger robustness against the environment temperature compared with previous schemes in current experimentally feasible regimes. The scheme might possibly help us to further clarify and grasp the classical-quantum boundary.

Dissipative preparation of distributed steady entanglement: an approach of unilateral qubit driving.

We propose a nonlocal scheme for preparing a distributed steady-state entanglement of two atoms trapped in separate optical cavities coupled through an optical fiber based on the combined effect of the unitary dynamics and dissipative process. In this scheme, only the qubit of one node is driven by an external classical field, while the other one does not need to be manipulated by an external field. This is meaningful for long distance quantum information processing tasks, and the experimental implementation is greatly simplified due to the unilateral manipulation on one node and the process of entanglement distribution can be avoided. This guarantees the absolute security of long distance quantum information processing tasks and makes the scheme more robust than that based on the unitary dynamics. We introduce the purity to characterize the mixture degree of the target steady-state. The steady entanglement can be obtained independent of the initial state. Furthermore, based on the dissipative entanglement preparation scheme, we construct a quantum teleportation setup with multiple nodes as a practical application, and the numerical simulation demonstrates the scheme can be realized effectively under the current experimental conditions..

Steady-state mechanical squeezing in a double-cavity optomechanical system.

We study the physical properties of double-cavity optomechanical system in which the mechanical resonator interacts with one of the coupled cavities and another cavity is used as an auxiliary cavity. The model can be expected to achieve the strong optomechanical coupling strength and overcome the optomechanical cavity decay, simultaneously. Through the coherent auxiliary cavity interferences, the steady-state squeezing of mechanical resonator can be generated in highly unresolved sideband regime. The validity of the scheme is assessed by numerical simulation and theoretical analysis of the steady-state variance of the mechanical displacement quadrature. The scheme provides a platform for the mechanical squeezing beyond the resolved sideband limit and solves the restricted experimental bounds at present.

Robust entanglement between a movable mirror and atomic ensemble and entanglement transfer in coupled optomechanical system.

We propose a scheme for the creation of robust entanglement between a movable mirror and atomic ensemble at the macroscopic level in coupled optomechanical system. We numerically simulate the degree of entanglement of the bipartite macroscopic entanglement and show that it depends on the coupling strength between the cavities and is robust with respect to the certain environment temperature. Inspiringly and surprisingly, according to the reported relation between the mechanical damping rate and the mechanical frequency of the movable mirror, the numerical simulation result shows that such bipartite macroscopic entanglement persists for environment temperature up to 170 K, which breaks the liquid nitrogen cooling and liquid helium cooling and largely lowers down the experiment cost. We also investigate the entanglement transfer based on this coupled system. The scheme can be used for the realization of quantum memories for continuous variable quantum information processing and quantum-limited displacement measurements.

Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis via Small Saphenous Veins for Treating Acute Deep Venous Thrombosis.

BACKGROUND There is little data comparing catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) via small saphenous veins vs. systematic thrombolysis on complications and efficacy in acute deep venous thrombosis patients. The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy and safety of CDT via the small saphenous veins with systematic thrombolysis for patients with acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT). MATERIAL AND METHODS Sixty-six patients with acute DVT admitted from June 2012 to December 2013 were divided into 2 groups: 27 patients received systemic thrombolysis (ST group) and 39 patients received CDT via the small saphenous veins (CDT group). The thrombolysis efficiency, limb circumference differences, and complications such as post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) in the 2 groups were recorded. RESULTS The angiograms demonstrated that all or part of the fresh thrombus was dissolved. There was a significant difference regarding thrombolysis efficiency between the CDT group and ST group (71.26% vs. 48.26%, P=0.001). In both groups the postoperative limb circumference changes were higher compared to the preoperative values. The differences between postoperative limb circumferences on postoperative days 7 and 14 were significantly higher in the CDT group than in the ST group (all P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative PTS in the CDT group (17.9%) was significantly lower in comparison to the ST group (51.85%) during the follow-up (P=0.007). CONCLUSIONS Catheter-directed thrombolysis via the small saphenous veins is an effective, safe, and feasible approach for treating acute deep venous thrombosis.

Efficient shortcuts to adiabatic passage for three-dimensional entanglement generation via transitionless quantum driving.

We propose an effective scheme of shortcuts to adiabaticity for generating a three-dimensional entanglement of two atoms trapped in a cavity using the transitionless quantum driving (TQD) approach. The key point of this approach is to construct an effective Hamiltonian that drives the dynamics of a system along instantaneous eigenstates of a reference Hamiltonian to reproduce the same final state as that of an adiabatic process within a much shorter time. In this paper, the shortcuts to adiabatic passage are constructed by introducing two auxiliary excited levels in each atom and applying extra cavity modes and classical fields to drive the relevant transitions. Thereby, the three-dimensional entanglement is obtained with a faster rate than that in the adiabatic passage. Moreover, the influences of atomic spontaneous emission and photon loss on the fidelity are discussed by numerical simulation. The results show that the speed of entanglement implementation is greatly improved by the use of adiabatic shortcuts and that this entanglement implementation is robust against decoherence. This will be beneficial to the preparation of high-dimensional entanglement in experiment and provides the necessary conditions for the application of high-dimensional entangled states in quantum information processing.

Deterministic conversion of a four-photon GHZ state to a W state via homodyne measurement.

We propose a specific method for converting a four-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state to a W state in a deterministic way by using linear optical elements, cross-Kerr nonlinearities, and homodyne measurement. We consider the effects of the quadrature homodyne measurements on the fidelity of the W state and the experimental feasibility of the proposed scheme. This might provide great prospects for converting multipartite entangled states into each other for future optical quantum information processing (QIP).

Steady-state mechanical squeezing in a hybrid atom-optomechanical system with a highly dissipative cavity.

Quantum squeezing of mechanical resonator is important for studying the macroscopic quantum effects and the precision metrology of weak forces. Here we give a theoretical study of a hybrid atom-optomechanical system in which the steady-state squeezing of the mechanical resonator can be generated via the mechanical nonlinearity and cavity cooling process. The validity of the scheme is assessed by simulating the steady-state variance of the mechanical displacement quadrature numerically. The scheme is robust against dissipation of the optical cavity, and the steady-state squeezing can be effectively generated in a highly dissipative cavity.

Effective W-state fusion strategies for electronic and photonic qubits via the quantum-dot-microcavity coupled system.

We propose effective fusion schemes for stationary electronic W state and flying photonic W state, respectively, by using the quantum-dot-microcavity coupled system. The present schemes can fuse a n-qubit W state and a m-qubit W state to a (m + n - 1)-qubit W state, that is, these schemes can be used to not only create large W state with small ones, but also to prepare 3-qubit W states with Bell states. The schemes are based on the optical selection rules and the transmission and reflection rules of the cavity and can be achieved with high probability. We evaluate the effect of experimental imperfections and the feasibility of the schemes, which shows that the present schemes can be realized with high fidelity in both the weak coupling and the strong coupling regimes. These schemes may be meaningful for the large-scale solid-state-based quantum computation and the photon-qubit-based quantum communication.