Quantum Design (United States)

Purpose This study aims to explore stakeholder communication strategies for facilitating the adoption of circular economy (CE) practices in the Nigerian construction industry. It addresses a critical gap in the existing literature by focusing on communication dynamics within a developing economy, where sociocultural and infrastructural challenges significantly influence the adoption of CE. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was employed, using a purposive sampling technique to select 25 stakeholders across 3 major groups: industry professionals, government officials and academics. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and data were analysed thematically to identify key communication strategies for fostering stakeholder collaboration and overcoming communication barriers in promoting CE in the Nigerian construction industry. Findings Five core themes emerged from the analysis: participatory approaches, formalised communication channels, integration of digital tools, capacity building and awareness creation and the role of policy and governance. The findings highlight that context-specific communication strategies are critical for aligning stakeholder interests, promoting trust and fostering CE adoption in resource-constrained environments. Research limitations/implications The study was geographically limited to North Central Nigeria, and the findings may not be generalisable to other regions with differing socioeconomic conditions. Future research could adopt mixed-methods approaches and expand the geographic scope to provide a more comprehensive understanding of stakeholder communication in CE adoption. Originality/value This study contributes to the knowledge of CE adoption by providing context-specific insights into stakeholder communication in a developing economy. It offers a novel framework for addressing communication barriers and fostering collaboration in resource-constrained environments.

A novel material is obtained by modifying pristine YBCO superconductor via simultaneous partial substitution of Sr for Ba and Se for O. The intended stoichiometry was [Formula: see text]SrxCu3[Formula: see text]Sex with [Formula: see text], 0.75 and 1; and [Formula: see text] yielded the most interesting results considered in detail. We confirmed that Se atoms indeed enter the superconductor lattice cell. The obtained polycrystalline material contains five phases, with the major phase ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]wt.%) being [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]Cu3O6[Formula: see text]. The synthesized superconductor demonstrates unique properties, including (i) two superconducting transitions with [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]K yielding the Wohlleben effect; (ii) strong-coupling d-wave superconductivity (with [Formula: see text] 5); (iii) Schottky anomaly in the heat capacity; and, most importantly, (iv) a very unusual anomaly in the heat capacity which can be associated with the quantum criticality typically observable at much higher fields. The fact that the quantum criticality is visible in weaker fields ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]T) may open opportunities for exploration of the interplay between superconductivity and pair density waves by wide research community particularly when its pure phase is available. To facilitate this, the stability of single-phase [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]Cu3O6[Formula: see text] is analyzed using machine learning methods.

Single-photon detectors based on the superconducting transition-edge sensor are used in a number of visible to near-infrared applications, particularly for photon-number-resolving measurements in quantum information science. To be practical for large-scale spectroscopic imaging or photonic quantum computing applications, the size of visible to near-infrared transition-edge sensor arrays and their associated readouts must be increased from a few pixels to many thousands. In this manuscript, we introduce the kinetic inductance current sensor, a scalable readout technology that exploits the nonlinear kinetic inductance in a superconducting resonator to make sensitive current measurements. Kinetic inductance current sensors can replace superconducting quantum interference devices for many applications because of their ability to measure fast, high slew-rate signals, their compatibility with standard microwave frequency-division multiplexing techniques, and their relatively simple fabrication. Here, we demonstrate the readout of a visible to near-infrared transition-edge sensor using a kinetic inductance current sensor with 3.7 MHz of bandwidth. We measure a readout noise of 1.4pA/Hz\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1.4\\,{{{\\rm{pA}}}}/\\sqrt{{{{\\rm{Hz}}}}}$$\\end{document}, considerably below the detector noise at frequencies of interest, and an energy resolution of (0.137 ± 0.001) eV at 0.8 eV, comparable to resolutions observed with non-multiplexed superconducting quantum interference device readouts.

Qubits based on ions trapped in linear radio-frequency traps form a successful platform for quantum computing, due to their high fidelity of operations, all-to-all connectivity, and degree of local control. In principle, there is no fundamental limit to the number of ion-based qubits that can be confined in a single 1D register. However, in practice, there are two main issues associated with long trapped-ion crystals, that stem from the “softening” of their modes of motion, upon scaling up: high heating rates of the ions’ motion and a dense motional spectrum; both impede the performance of high-fidelity qubit operations. Here, we propose a holistic, scalable architecture for quantum computing with large ion crystals that overcomes these issues. Our method relies on dynamically operated optical potentials that instantaneously segment the ion crystal into cells of a manageable size. We show that these cells behave as nearly independent quantum registers, allowing for parallel entangling gates on all cells. The ability to reconfigure the optical potentials guarantees connectivity across the full ion crystal and also enables efficient midcircuit measurements. We study the implementation of large-scale parallel multiqubit entangling gates that operate simultaneously on all cells and present a protocol to compensate for crosstalk errors, enabling full-scale usage of an extensively large register. We illustrate that this architecture is advantageous both for fault-tolerant digital quantum computation and for analog quantum simulations. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Combining different analytical methods into one instrument is of great importance for the simultaneous acquisition of complementary information. Especially highly localized probing of mechanical, electrical, magnetic, chemical and crystalllographic properties on the nanoscale represents a key success factor for gaining new insights into the micro and nano-world. Here, the in-situ combination of scanning electron or scanning ion microscopy (SEM/FIB) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) presents a unique possibilty to characterize ion-beam treated surfaces and extract novel information.

Thermoelectrics are promising by directly generating electricity from waste heat. However, (sub-)room-temperature thermoelectrics have been a long-standing challenge due to vanishing electronic entropy at low temperatures. Topological materials offer a new avenue for energy harvesting applications. Recent theories predicted that topological semimetals at the quantum limit can lead to a large, non-saturating thermopower and a quantized thermoelectric Hall conductivity approaching a universal value. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the non-saturating thermopower and quantized thermoelectric Hall effect in the topological Weyl semimetal (WSM) tantalum phosphide (TaP). An ultrahigh longitudinal thermopower S_{xx} sim 1.1 times 10^3 , mu , {mathrm{V}} , {mathrm{K}}^{ - 1} and giant power factor sim 525 , mu , {mathrm{W}} , {mathrm{cm}}^{ - 1} , {mathrm{K}}^{ - 2} are observed at ~40 K, which is largely attributed to the quantized thermoelectric Hall effect. Our work highlights the unique quantized thermoelectric Hall effect realized in a WSM toward low-temperature energy harvesting applications.

An electronic tongue (e-tongue) is a multisensory system usually applied to complex liquid media that uses computational/statistical tools to group information generated by sensing units into recognition patterns, which allow the identification/distinction of samples. Different types of e-tongues have been previously reported, including microfluidic devices. In this context, the integration of passive mixers inside microchannels is of great interest for the study of suppression/enhancement of sensorial/chemical effects in the pharmaceutical, food, and beverage industries. In this study, we present developments using a stereolithography technique to fabricate microfluidic devices using 3D-printed molds for elastomers exploring the staggered herringbone passive mixer geometry. The fabricated devices (microchannels plus mixer) are then integrated into an e-tongue system composed of four sensing units assembled on a single printed circuit board (PCB). Gold-plated electrodes are designed as an integral part of the PCB electronic circuitry for a highly automated platform by enabling faster analysis and increasing the potential for future use in commercial applications. Following previous work, the e-tongue sensing units are built functionalizing gold electrodes with layer-by-layer (LbL) films. Our results show that the system is capable of (i) covering basic tastes below the human gustative perception and (ii) distinguishing different suppression effects coming from the mixture of both strong and weak electrolytes. This setup allows for triplicate measurements in 12 electrodes, which represents four complete sensing units, by automatically switching all electrodes without any physical interaction with the sensor. The result is a fast and reliable data acquisition system, which comprises a suitable solution for monitoring, sequential measurements, and database formation, being less susceptible to human errors.

A quantum spin liquid is a state of matter where unpaired electrons’ spins, although entangled, do not show magnetic order even at the zero temperature. The realization of a quantum spin liquid is a long-sought goal in condensed-matter physics. Although neutron scattering experiments on the two-dimensional spin-1/2 kagome lattice ZnCu3(OD)6Cl2 and triangular lattice YbMgGaO4 have found evidence for the hallmark of a quantum spin liquid at very low temperature (a continuum of magnetic excitations), the presence of magnetic and non-magnetic site chemical disorder complicates the interpretation of the data. Recently, the three-dimensional Ce3+ pyrochlore lattice Ce2Sn2O7 has been suggested as a clean, effective spin-1/2 quantum spin liquid candidate, but evidence of a spin excitation continuum is still missing. Here, we use thermodynamic, muon spin relaxation and neutron scattering experiments on single crystals of Ce2Zr2O7, a compound isostructural to Ce2Sn2O7, to demonstrate the absence of magnetic ordering and the presence of a spin excitation continuum at 35 mK. With no evidence of oxygen deficiency and magnetic/non-magnetic ion disorder seen by neutron diffraction and diffuse scattering measurements, Ce2Zr2O7 may be a three-dimensional pyrochlore lattice quantum spin liquid material with minimum magnetic and non-magnetic chemical disorder. A detailed neutron scattering and muon spin relaxation study uncovers a continuum of magnetic excitations down to 35 mK in the pyrochlore lattice compound Ce2Zr2O7 with minimum chemical disorder, consistent with quantum spin liquid behaviour.

Helium is a precious resource, and cryogenic facilities worldwide operate under the threat of supply problems. Using thermodynamic principles, the authors reveal a method for more efficient small-scale helium liquefaction. This technology improves rates and lowers energy consumption by employing higher pressure during the liquefaction process. Thus the next generation of cryocooler-based liquefiers will enable convenient production of liquid helium locally within small laboratories, medical centers, and hospitals everywhere.