Observation of the Crossover from Photon Ordering to Delocalization in Tunably Coupled Resonators.

Networks of nonlinear resonators offer intriguing perspectives as quantum simulators for nonequilibrium many-body phases of driven-dissipative systems. Here, we employ photon correlation measurements to study the radiation fields emitted from a system of two superconducting resonators in a driven-dissipative regime, coupled nonlinearly by a superconducting quantum interference device, with cross-Kerr interactions dominating over on-site Kerr interactions. We apply a parametrically modulated magnetic flux to control the linear photon hopping rate between the two resonators and its ratio with the cross-Kerr rate. When increasing the hopping rate, we observe a crossover from an ordered to a delocalized state of photons. The presented coupling scheme is intrinsically robust to frequency disorder and may therefore prove useful for realizing larger-scale resonator arrays.

Realization of a Quantum Random Generator Certified with the Kochen-Specker Theorem.

Random numbers are required for a variety of applications from secure communications to Monte Carlo simulation. Yet randomness is an asymptotic property, and no output string generated by a physical device can be strictly proven to be random. We report an experimental realization of a quantum random number generator (QRNG) with randomness certified by quantum contextuality and the Kochen-Specker theorem. The certification is not performed in a device-independent way but through a rigorous theoretical proof of each outcome being value indefinite even in the presence of experimental imperfections. The analysis of the generated data confirms the incomputable nature of our QRNG.

Polymorphism control of superconductivity and magnetism in Cs(3)C(60) close to the Mott transition.

The crystal structure of a solid controls the interactions between the electronically active units and thus its electronic properties. In the high-temperature superconducting copper oxides, only one spatial arrangement of the electronically active Cu(2+) units-a two-dimensional square lattice-is available to study the competition between the cooperative electronic states of magnetic order and superconductivity. Crystals of the spherical molecular C(60)(3-) anion support both superconductivity and magnetism but can consist of fundamentally distinct three-dimensional arrangements of the anions. Superconductivity in the A(3)C(60) (A = alkali metal) fullerides has been exclusively associated with face-centred cubic (f.c.c.) packing of C(60)(3-) (refs 2, 3), but recently the most expanded (and thus having the highest superconducting transition temperature, T(c); ref. 4) composition Cs(3)C(60) has been isolated as a body-centred cubic (b.c.c.) packing, which supports both superconductivity and magnetic order. Here we isolate the f.c.c. polymorph of Cs(3)C(60) to show how the spatial arrangement of the electronically active units controls the competing superconducting and magnetic electronic ground states. Unlike all the other f.c.c. A(3)C(60) fullerides, f.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) is not a superconductor but a magnetic insulator at ambient pressure, and becomes superconducting under pressure. The magnetic ordering occurs at an order of magnitude lower temperature in the geometrically frustrated f.c.c. polymorph (Néel temperature T(N) = 2.2 K) than in the b.c.c.-based packing (T(N) = 46 K). The different lattice packings of C(60)(3-) change T(c) from 38 K in b.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) to 35 K in f.c.c. Cs(3)C(60) (the highest found in the f.c.c. A(3)C(60) family). The existence of two superconducting packings of the same electronically active unit reveals that T(c) scales universally in a structure-independent dome-like relationship with proximity to the Mott metal-insulator transition, which is governed by the role of electron correlations characteristic of high-temperature superconducting materials other than fullerides.

Cu and CuO/titanate nanobelt based network assemblies for enhanced visible light photocatalysis.

3D network configurations of copper(II) oxide/titanate nanobelt (CuO/TiNBs) and copper/titanate nanobelt (Cu/TiNBs) were formed using a two-step polyelectrolyte-assisted synthesis and assembly approach. The photoactivity of the TiNB/CuO and Cu/TiNB composite networks is significantly enhanced as compared to the activity of 3D structures formed of pristine TiNB. An efficient, UV-vis-light-induced electron transfer at the two-component interface achieved by the intimate coupling of TiNB with p-type semiconducting CuO and plasmonic Cu nanoparticles in composite heterostructures facilitates control over the system's exciton dynamics, which results in highly efficient UV-vis photocatalytic performance of heterostructures. The superior photocatalytic activity of the metal and semiconductor/semiconductor nanocomposite structures in the visible region is discussed, highlighting the role of interfacial electron-charge transfer (IFCT) in semiconductor-semiconductor (CuO/TiNB) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Cu nanoparticles in metal-semiconductor heterostructures.

Self-assembled artificial cilia.

Due to their small dimensions, microfluidic devices operate in the low Reynolds number regime. In this case, the hydrodynamics is governed by the viscosity rather than inertia and special elements have to be introduced into the system for mixing and pumping of fluids. Here we report on the realization of an effective pumping device that mimics a ciliated surface and imitates its motion to generate fluid flow. The artificial biomimetic cilia are constructed as long chains of spherical superparamagnetic particles, which self-assemble in an external magnetic field. Magnetic field is also used to actuate the cilia in a simple nonreciprocal manner, resulting in a fluid flow. We prove the concept by measuring the velocity of a cilia-pumped fluid as a function of height above the ciliated surface and investigate the influence of the beating asymmetry on the pumping performance. A numerical simulation was carried out that successfully reproduced the experimentally obtained data.

The Muon F-µ+-F Hydrogen Bond-like Complex.

Muon spin rotation (µSR) and relaxation has been used to study the local magnetic structure of K3Fe5F15. A collinear F-µ+-F "hydrogen bond-like" symmetric double minimum type complex with a F...F distance of 2.8 Å and a separation between the two minima of 0.8 Å has been found in the paramagnetic phase. The apparent central position of the muon seems to be the result of fast muon tunneling between two equivalent minima in the F-µ+-F bond.

Strong correlations in highly electron-doped Zn(II)-DNA complexes.

We present spectroscopic measurements on the first example of a chemically electron-doped metal-DNA complex. We show that a doping level as high as the stoichiometric limit of one electron per base pair can be achieved. The doped unpaired electrons occupy lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels of the nucleobases as detected with electron spin resonance and x-ray absorption near edge structure measurements. Delocalization and strong correlations between the unpaired electrons are evident from a temperature-independent spin susceptibility and a microwave conductivity above 100 K.

Studying light-harvesting models with superconducting circuits.

The process of photosynthesis, the main source of energy in the living world, converts sunlight into chemical energy. The high efficiency of this process is believed to be enabled by an interplay between the quantum nature of molecular structures in photosynthetic complexes and their interaction with the environment. Investigating these effects in biological samples is challenging due to their complex and disordered structure. Here we experimentally demonstrate a technique for studying photosynthetic models based on superconducting quantum circuits, which complements existing experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches. We demonstrate a high degree of freedom in design and experimental control of our approach based on a simplified three-site model of a pigment protein complex with realistic parameters scaled down in energy by a factor of 105. We show that the excitation transport between quantum-coherent sites disordered in energy can be enabled through the interaction with environmental noise. We also show that the efficiency of the process is maximized for structured noise resembling intramolecular phononic environments found in photosynthetic complexes.

Publisher Correction: Studying light-harvesting models with superconducting circuits.

The original HTML version of this Article contained an error in the second mathematical expression in the fourth sentence of the fourth paragraph of the 'Excitation transfer with uniform white noise' section of the Results. This has been corrected in the HTML version of the Article.The original PDF version of this Article incorrectly stated that 'Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to A. Pcn.', instead of the correct 'Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to A. Potocnik'. This has been corrected in the PDF version of the Article.

Contextuality without nonlocality in a superconducting quantum system.

Classical realism demands that system properties exist independently of whether they are measured, while noncontextuality demands that the results of measurements do not depend on what other measurements are performed in conjunction with them. The Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem states that noncontextual realism cannot reproduce the measurement statistics of a single three-level quantum system (qutrit). Noncontextual realistic models may thus be tested using a single qutrit without relying on the notion of quantum entanglement in contrast to Bell inequality tests. It is challenging to refute such models experimentally, since imperfections may introduce loopholes that enable a realist interpretation. Here we use a superconducting qutrit with deterministic, binary-outcome readouts to violate a noncontextuality inequality while addressing the detection, individual-existence and compatibility loopholes. This evidence of state-dependent contextuality also demonstrates the fitness of superconducting quantum circuits for fault-tolerant quantum computation in surface-code architectures, currently the most promising route to scalable quantum computing.

Optimized unconventional superconductivity in a molecular Jahn-Teller metal.

Understanding the relationship between the superconducting, the neighboring insulating, and the normal metallic state above T c is a major challenge for all unconventional superconductors. The molecular A3C60 fulleride superconductors have a parent antiferromagnetic insulator in common with the atom-based cuprates, but here, the C60 (3-) electronic structure controls the geometry and spin state of the structural building unit via the on-molecule Jahn-Teller effect. We identify the Jahn-Teller metal as a fluctuating microscopically heterogeneous coexistence of both localized Jahn-Teller-active and itinerant electrons that connects the insulating and superconducting states of fullerides. The balance between these molecular and extended lattice features of the electrons at the Fermi level gives a dome-shaped variation of T c with interfulleride separation, demonstrating molecular electronic structure control of superconductivity.

Size and symmetry of the superconducting gap in the f.c.c. Cs3C60 polymorph close to the metal-Mott insulator boundary.

The alkali fullerides, A(3)C(60) (A = alkali metal) are molecular superconductors that undergo a transition to a magnetic Mott-insulating state at large lattice parameters. However, although the size and the symmetry of the superconducting gap, Δ, are both crucial for the understanding of the pairing mechanism, they are currently unknown for superconducting fullerides close to the correlation-driven magnetic insulator. Here we report a comprehensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of face-centred-cubic (f.c.c.) Cs(3)C(60) polymorph, which can be tuned continuously through the bandwidth-controlled Mott insulator-metal/superconductor transition by pressure. When superconductivity emerges from the insulating state at large interfullerene separations upon compression, we observe an isotropic (s-wave) Δ with a large gap-to-superconducting transition temperature ratio, 2Δ0/k(B)T(c) = 5.3(2) [Δ0 = Δ(0 K)]. 2Δ0/k(B)T(c) decreases continuously upon pressurization until it approaches a value of ~3.5, characteristic of weak-coupling BCS theory of superconductivity despite the dome-shaped dependence of Tc on interfullerene separation. The results indicate the importance of the electronic correlations for the pairing interaction as the metal/superconductor-insulator boundary is approached.