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The standard weak-coupling approximations associated to open quantum systems have been extensively used in the description of a two-level quantum system, qubit, subjected to relatively weak dissipation compared with the qubit frequency. However, recent progress in the experimental implementations of controlled quantum systems with increased levels of on-demand engineered dissipation has motivated precision studies in parameter regimes that question the validity of the approximations, especially in the presence of time-dependent drive fields. In this paper, we address the precision of weak-coupling approximations by studying a driven qubit through the numerically exact and non-perturbative method known as the stochastic Liouville–von Neumann equation with dissipation. By considering weak drive fields and a cold Ohmic environment with a high cutoff frequency, we use the Markovian Lindblad master equation as a point of comparison for the SLED method and study the influence of the bath-induced energy shift on the qubit dynamics. We also propose a metric that may be used in experiments to map the regime of validity of the Lindblad equation in predicting the steady state of the driven qubit. In addition, we study signatures of the well-known Mollow triplet and observe its meltdown owing to dissipation in an experimentally feasible parameter regime of circuit electrodynamics. Besides shedding light on the practical limitations of the Lindblad equation, we expect our results to inspire future experimental research on engineered open quantum systems, the accurate modeling of which may benefit from non-perturbative methods.

Conducting an open quantum system towards a desired steady state through reservoir engineering is a remarkable task that takes dissipation and decoherence as tools rather than impediments. Here we develop a collisional model to implement reservoir engineering for the one-dimensional harmonic motion of a trapped ion. Our scheme is based on the pulsed interaction between the vibrational mode and the electronic levels of a trapped ion, which is promoted by resolved-sideband lasers. Having multiple internal levels, we show that multiple reservoirs can be engineered, allowing for more efficient synthesis of well-known non-classical states of motion and the generation of states that are unfeasible with a single-bath setup, for instance, thermal states with arbitrary positive temperatures. We apply these ideas to quantum Otto cycles beyond purely thermal reservoirs. In particular, we present general conditions for the violation of the standard Otto bound in the limiting regime of non-adiabatic dynamics.

It can be hypothesized that the body composition characteristics of different sheep breeds affect their nutritional requirements. However, no study has yet been carried out to determine the nutritional requirements for maintenance of Texel purebred lambs, despite their growing importance in sheep meat production globally. Our objective was therefore to determine the energy and protein requirements for maintenance of Texel lambs. Thirty-four Texel lambs were used, all intact males that were weaned at 50 days old, and confined in individual pens. Two experiments were conducted, as follows. In Experiment 1, a digestibility assay was performed to determine the dietary energy value, in a 3×3 double Latin square design, in which lambs were submitted to three levels of feed restriction (0%, 55% and 70% of ad libitum feed intake). In Experiment 2, the energy and protein requirements for maintenance of Texel lambs from 21 to 40 kg BW were determined using a randomized block design, in which lambs were also submitted to three levels of feed restriction (0%, 55% and 70% of ad libitum feed intake). The requirements for net energy for maintenance (NEm), metabolizable energy for maintenance (MEm), net protein for maintenance (NPm) and metabolizable protein for maintenance (MPm) were determined. The digestibility of dry matter, energy, protein and metabolizability were similar between food restriction levels, averaging 74.4%, 75.5%, 80.3% and 0.636, respectively. The NEm determined for growing Texel lambs was 263 kJ/kg of the metabolic fasting BW (FBW), the MEm was 417 kJ/kg0.75 FBW and the efficiency of use of MEm was 0.63. In addition, the NPm was 1.24 g/day per kg0.75 FBW and the MPm was 2.98 g/day per kg0.75 FBW. The energy requirements of Texel lambs are different from those reported in the literature, possibly due to differences between breeds, diets and environmental effects, whereas the protein requirements are different from literature mainly due to methodological differences; further studies are need to address these aspects that affects the nutritional requirements for raising sheep from different breeds in different environments.

We show how the dispersive regime of the Jaynes-Cummings model may serve as a valuable tool to the study of open quantum systems. We employ it in a bottom-up approach to build an environment that preserves qubit energy and induces varied coherence dynamics. We then present the derivation of a compact expression for the qubit coherence, applied here to the case of a finite number of thermally populated modes in the environment. We also discuss how the model parameters can be adjusted to facilitate the production of short-time monotonic decay (STMD) of the qubit coherence. Our results provide a broadly applicable platform for the investigation of energy-conserving open system dynamics which is fully within the grasp of current quantum technologies.

The interaction of qubits with quantized modes of electromagnetic fields has been largely addressed in the quantum optics literature under the rotating wave approximation (RWA), where rapid oscillating terms in the qubit-mode interaction picture Hamiltonian can be neglected. At the same time, it is generally accepted that provided the interaction is sufficiently strong or for long times, the RWA tends to describe physical phenomena incorrectly. In this work, we extend the investigation of the validity of the RWA to a more involved setup where two qubit-mode subsystems are brought to interaction through their harmonic coordinates. Our treatment is all analytic thanks to a sequence of carefully chosen unitary transformations which allows us to diagonlize the Hamiltonian within and without the RWA. By also considering qubit dephasing, we find that the purity of the two-qubit state presents non-Markovian features which become more pronounced as the coupling between the modes gets stronger and the RWA loses its validity. In the same regime, there occurs fast generation of entanglement between the qubits which is also not correctly described under the RWA. The setup and results presented here clearly show the limitations of the RWA in a scenario amenable to exact description and free from numerical uncertainties. Consequently, it may be of interest for the community working with cavity or circuit quantum electrodynamic systems in the strong coupling regime.

We study the suppression of qubit dephasing through Uhrig dynamical decoupling (UDD) in nontrivial environments modeled within the spin-boson formalism. In particular, we address the case of (i) a qubit coupled to a bosonic bath with power-law spectral density, and (ii) a qubit coupled to a single harmonic oscillator that dissipates energy into a bosonic bath, which embodies an example of a structured bath for the qubit. We then model the influence of random time jitter in the UDD protocol by sorting pulse-application times from Gaussian distributions centered at appropriate values dictated by the optimal protocol. In case (i) we find that, when few pulses are applied and a sharp cutoff is considered, longer coherence times and robust UDD performances (against random timing errors) are achieved for a super-Ohmic bath. On the other hand, when an exponential cutoff is considered a super-Ohmic bath is undesirable. In case (ii) the best scenario is obtained for an overdamped harmonic motion. Our study provides relevant information for the implementation of optimized schemes for the protection of quantum states from decoherence.

The Eastern Ghats granulite belt of India has traditionally been described as a Proterozoic mobile belt, with probable Archaean protoliths. However, recent findings suggest that synkinematic development of granulites took place in a compressional tectonic regime and that granulite facies metamorphism resulted from crustal thickening. The field, petrological and geochemical studies of a charnockite massif of tonalitic to trondhjemitic composition, and associated rocks, document granulite facies metamorphism and dehydration partial melting of basic rocks at lower crustal depths, with garnet granulite residues exposed as cognate xenoliths within the charnockite massif. The melting and generation of the charnockite suite under granulite facies conditions have been dated c. 3.0 Ga by Sm–Nd and Rb–Sr whole rock systematics and Pb–Pb zircon dating. Sm–Nd model dates between 3.4 and 3.5 Ga and negative epsilon values provide evidence of early Archaean continental crust in this high-grade terrain.

The high-grade metamorphic belt of the Eastern Ghats, India, displays polyphase deformation structures, a complex metamorphic record and dehydration melting in different crustal protoliths. High-temperature melting in pelitic and greywacke-like precursors in a clockwise P-T path, decompression and subsequent isobaric cooling have recently been described from the south-central sector of this belt. In this contribution, high-temperature melting has been dated at c. 1162 Ma by Sm-Nd whole-rock isotopic compositions of granitoids. Subsequent isobaric cooling could have occurred between 988 and 900 Ma as indicated by U-Pb ages of zircon and monazite in pelitic granulites. Thus, a prolonged orogenic cycle of at least 250 Ma is envisaged. Additionally, isotopic disequilibrium between whole rock and minerals in sapphirine granulites could have resulted from rapid melting and been further enhanced by a prolonged reaction history of the sapphirine granulite.

Spectacular exposures of granulite-migmatite occur in the Chilka Lake area of the Eastern Ghats belt. The garnetiferous granite gneiss of peraluminous granitic composition, often contains restitic metapelite inclusions and is demonstrably a product of biotite-dehydration melting in pelitic rocks. On the other hand, older layers and bands of charnockitic rocks frequently occur as dismembered patches within the peraluminous granite, thus imparting a measled appearance of the granite exposures. The partial melting and emplacement of the peraluminous granite represent the Grenvillian thermal event, as evidenced by Rb-Sr whole rock and Pb-Pb zircon dating. On the other hand, minor patches of charnockite represent migmatized relict, as evidenced by some older zircons, in addition to those of Grenvillian age.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

Xylella fastidiosa causes citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) disease in Brazil and Pierce's disease of grapevines in the United States. Both of these diseases cause significant production problems in the respective industries. The recent establishment of the glassy-winged sharpshooter in California has radically increased the threat posed by Pierce's disease to California viticulture. Populations of this insect reach very high levels in citrus groves in California and move from the orchards into the vineyards, where they acquire inoculum and spread Pierce's disease in the vineyards. Here we show that strains of X. fastidiosa isolated from diseased citrus and coffee in Brazil can incite symptoms of Pierce's disease after mechanical inoculation into seven commercial Vitis vinifera varieties grown in Brazil and California. Thus, any future introduction of the CVC strains of X. fastidiosa into the United States would pose a threat to both the sweet orange and grapevine industries. Previous work has clearly shown that the strains of X. fastidiosa isolated from Pierce's disease- and CVC-affected plants are the most distantly related of all strains in the diverse taxon X. fastidiosa. The ability of citrus strains of X. fastidiosa to incite disease in grapevine is therefore surprising and creates an experimental system with which to dissect mechanisms used by X. fastidiosa in plant colonization and disease development using the full genome sequence data that has recently become available for both the citrus and grapevine strains of this pathogen. Xylella fastidiosa causes citrus variegated chlorosis disease in Brazil and Pierce's disease of grapevines in the United States. Both of these diseases cause significant production problems in their respective industries. The recent establishment of the glassy-winged sharpshooter in California has radically increased the threat posed by Pierce's disease to California viticulture. However, until now it has not been known if the citrus strains of X. fastidiosa could also infect grapevine and cause disease. We now show, by experimental inoculation, that the citrus strain of the pathogen can also infect grapevine and produce symptoms that are indistinguishable from those of authentic Pierce's disease. This is surprising because the two strains are quite distinct genetically. Our results suggest that an inadvertent introduction of the citrus strain of this pathogen into California would threaten both the grapevine and citrus industries. It is interesting to note that the grapevine strains of the pathogen apparently can not induce citrus variegated chlorosis disease, because citrus has been grown on a large scale for more than a century in both California and Florida in the presence of Pierce's disease of grapevine, and the citrus disease has never been reported. The importance of these diseases to their respective industries has led to full genome sequencing projects of both the citrus and grapevine strains of the pathogen. Our results show that grapevines can serve as a convenient experimental host for the analysis of the mechanisms that the pathogen uses to cause disease in the host plant, using the full genome sequence data. This is important to the citrus community because citrus is a very poor experimental host for X. fastidiosa. Our results are therefore of immediate interest to the scientific and regulatory community interested in both citrus variegated chlorosis and Pierce's disease, and in the longer term to producers of both citrus and grapevines.