Uniform Coupling Research Articles

Investigating the influence of acid-base/KH550 composite surface modified BF on the properties of fiber-reinforced SBS-modified asphalt mastic

The surface properties of fibers significantly influence fiber-reinforced asphalt mastic (FRAM) performance. However, the impact of composite-modified basalt fiber (BF) on basalt fiber-reinforced asphalt mastic (BFRAM) remains unclear. This study examines the effects of acid-base/KH550 modified BFs on BFRAM performance, providing an experimental basis for further optimization. Tests included SEM and fiber leakage for BFs and separation, physical properties, DSR, and DMA for BFRAMs. The research indicates that (1) Composite modification enhances the fiber’s surface roughness, activity, oil-holding properties, and compatibility with SBS-modified asphalt. (2) Due to differences in acid-base etching, acid etching combined with KH550 promotes a more uniform and extensive coupling reaction with the BFs. In contrast, alkali etching with KH550 facilitates a deeper, localized reaction. (3) Composite modification of the BFs significantly improves the high-temperature rheological properties of the BFRAMs, with acid-base etching making the grafting reaction between the fiber and coupling agent more pronounced. At a test temperature of 82°C, the rutting factor of BFRAMs containing composite-modified (acid-etched + KH550) BFs is 2.7 times that of asphalt mastic without BFs. (4) The glass transition temperature of BFRAMs modified by acid etching and KH550 is 4.9°C lower than that of the original asphalt mastic, proving that composite-modified BFs enhance the low-temperature elastic deformation capacity of the BFRAMs.

Microlens arrays for multichannel laser-to-waveguide coupling

An optical multichannel coupling system for coupling laser arrays to waveguide arrays is developed. Based on a microlens array, the system enables coupling of nine individual optical channels, with one aspheric microlens per channel at a lateral channel pitch of 100 µm. The design process criteria for the proposed microlenses, with 97 µm diameter and working distances from laser to lens and lens to waveguide of 150 µm and 275 µm, respectively, are described. The microlens array is fabricated on a 4mm×2mm×0.41mm fused silica chip and contains an orthogonal grid with 32×16 microlenses, of which a row of nine adjacent microlenses is used for coupling. Uniform coupling over all channels can be achieved, as well as specific coupling for each channel individually with less than −13.5dB crosstalk. The coupling system is designed for optical neural stimulators.

Expansion-flow-modulated 3D printing of vertically aligned graphene photofuel cell

Channel-aligned regulation of photoelectrode within the bulk structure to generate eminent light absorbance and high-level pollutant adsorption is pivotal but challenging for realizing high-performance photofuel cell (PFC) system. Herein, we demonstrated an effective and scalable expansion-flow-modulated direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing strategy for controllably constructing microlattice photoelectrode, with multiscale well-interconnected oriented channels built by layer-by-layer highly-regular assembly of filaments and vertical alignment of graphene nanosheets within filaments as well as uniform coupling of abundant photoactive nanoparticles to highly ordered channel walls. The unique architectural features enabled high-speed and effective diffusion/trapping of wastewater pollutants throughout the entire photoelectrode, and meanwhile facilitated ready spreading of incident light into the photoelectrode interior to yield high light absorption. As a result, an integrated 3D-printed vertically-aligned PFC (3DP VAPFC) assembled with as-fabricated photoelectrode exhibited its powerful capability for efficiently converting wastewater pollutants into electric energy under sunlight, with remarkable cycling stability and maximum power density of 0.11 mW cm−2. This work opens a promising route for architecting advanced photoelectrode toward PFC devices with highly efficient degradation and electricity generation of pollutants.

Optogenetic confirmation of transverse-tubular membrane excitability in intact cardiac myocytes.

T-tubules (TT) form a complex network of sarcolemmal membrane invaginations, essential for well-co-ordinated excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) and thus homogeneous mechanical activation of cardiomyocytes. ECC is initiated by rapid depolarization of the sarcolemmal membrane. Whether TT membrane depolarization is active (local generation of action potentials; AP) or passive (following depolarization of the outer cell surface sarcolemma; SS) has not been experimentally validated in cardiomyocytes. Based on the assessment of ion flux pathways needed for AP generation, we hypothesize that TT are excitable. We therefore explored TT excitability experimentally, using an all-optical approach to stimulate and record trans-membrane potential changes in TT that were structurally disconnected, and hence electrically insulated, from the SS membrane by transient osmotic shock. Our results establish that cardiomyocyte TT can generate AP. These AP show electrical features that differ substantially from those observed in SS, consistent with differences in the density of ion channels and transporters in the two different membrane domains. We propose that TT-generated AP represent a safety mechanism for TT AP propagation and ECC, which may be particularly relevant in pathophysiological settings where morpho-functional changes reduce the electrical connectivity between SS and TT membranes. KEY POINTS: Cardiomyocytes are characterized by a complex network of membrane invaginations (the T-tubular system) that propagate action potentials to the core of the cell, causing uniform excitation-contraction coupling across the cell. In the present study, we investigated whether the T-tubular system is able to generate action potentials autonomously, rather than following depolarization of the outer cell surface sarcolemma. For this purpose, we developed a fully optical platform to probe and manipulate the electrical dynamics of subcellular membrane domains. Our findings demonstrate that T-tubules are intrinsically excitable, revealing distinct characteristics of self-generated T-tubular action potentials. This active electrical capability would protect cells from voltage drops potentially occurring within the T-tubular network.

On the Magnetization and Entanglement Plateaus in One-Dimensional Confined Molecular Magnets

One-dimensional (1D) magnetic systems offer rich phenomena in the quantum limit, proving more chemically accessible than zero-dimensional or higher-dimensional frameworks. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) have recently been used to encapsulate trimetric nickel(II) acetylacetonate [Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 10615–10621]. Here, we investigate the magnetization on spin chains based on nickel trimers by Matrix Product State (MPS) simulations. Our findings reveal plateaus in the exchange/magnetic-field phase diagram for three coupling configurations, showcasing effective dimeric and trimeric spin-ordering with similar or staggered entanglement across chains. These ordered states allow the qubit-like tuning of specific local magnetic moments, exhibiting disengagement or uniform coupling in entanglement plateaus. This behavior is consistent with the experimental transition from frustrated (3D) to non-frustrated (1D) molecules, corresponding to large and smaller SWCNT diameters. Our study offers insights into the potential of 1D-confined trimers for quantum computation, extending beyond the confinement of trimetric nickel-based molecules in one dimension.

Phonon dichroism in proximitized graphene

We systematically investigate the phonon dichroism in proximitized graphene with broken time-reversal symmetry. We find that in the absence of any type of spin–orbit coupling, phonon dichroism vanishes. Linear and circular phonon dichroism occur in the presence of uniform (staggered) intrinsic spin–orbit coupling and ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) exchange coupling. All these situations can be distinguished by their specific behaviors of phonon absorption at the transition point. Our finding provides new possibilities to use phonon dichroism to identify the form of spin–orbit coupling and exchange coupling in proximitized graphene on various magnetic substrates.

Abstract P1096: Computational Motion Artifact Removal Acts As Virtual Blebbistatin In Ipsc-derived Cardiomyocytes And Micro-tissues

Introduction: Drugs like blebbistatin that paralyze tissues are critical for accurate optocardiography but directly affect sarcomeres, making it challenging to study structure-function relationships. To overcome this, we applied Direct Deformation Estimation (DDE), a robust strain estimation tool, to enable computational motion removal from videos of beating monolayers and engineered heart tissues formed from human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM). Methods: hiPSC-CM and miniaturized engineered heart muscles were stained with the far-red voltage sensitive dye, BeRST-1. Videos of overall motion (bright-field), Ca 2+ (endogenous GCamP6f reporter) and voltage were captured at 100 Hz. Temporal median filtering and Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization were applied as pre-processing steps to improve convergence. The inverse of conformal mappings estimated from DDE were used to “unwarp” videos to artificially reduce motion. Removal of motion was assessed in bright-field videos by performing optical flow analysis. Improvements in optical mapping accuracy were estimated by calculating the spatial distribution of APD 80 (voltage) and time to 75% decay from peak (τ 75 ; Ca 2+ ). Results: Virtual blebbistatin removed >90% of motion from monolayers and engineered tissues without affecting sarcomere architecture (sarcomeric α-Actinin staining), in contrast to chemical blebbistatin. Virtual blebbistatin further reduced spatial dispersion in both APD 80 and τ 75, leading to overall distributions that were less skewed by artificially low repolarization times. Interestingly, when directly assessing Ca 2+ -contraction coupling in plots of motion-corrected Ca 2+ vs. contraction magnitude, we observed that engineered tissues had more uniform and consistent coupling compared to monolayers. Conclusions: Superior uniformity in calcium-contraction coupling of engineered tissues as opposed to monolayers is consistent with observations that engineered tissues are more likely to recapitulate genotype-phenotype relationships and drug responsiveness. Virtual blebbistatin is a promising tool for non-invasive analysis of Ca 2+ -contraction coupling and robust optocardiography.

Interplay of inertia and adaptive couplings in the emergent dynamics of Kuramoto ensemble

We study the emergent dynamics of Kuramoto oscillators under the interplay between inertia and adaptive couplings. For the phase dynamics, we use the inertial Kuramoto model with time-dependent mutual coupling strengths. For the constant and uniform coupling strength, the inertial Kuramoto model can exhibit the slow relaxation dynamics toward phase-locked state under suitable conditions on system parameters and initial data. To model the time-evolution of mutual coupling strengths, we employ two types of coupling functions, namely “Hebbian coupling” and “anti-Hebbian coupling”. With these modeling spirit, the resulting coupled dynamics for the phase and mutual coupling strength becomes the coupled second-order and first-order systems of ordinary differential equations. For the proposed coupled system, we provide several sufficient frameworks for phase and frequency synchronization in terms of system parameters and initial data for Hebbian and anti-Hebbian coupling functions.

Transforming Industrial Manipulators via Kinesthetic Guidance for Automated Inspection of Complex Geometries.

The increased demand for cost-efficient manufacturing and metrology inspection solutions for complex-shaped components in High-Value Manufacturing (HVM) sectors requires increased production throughput and precision. This drives the integration of automated robotic solutions. However, the current manipulators utilizing traditional programming approaches demand specialized robotic programming knowledge and make it challenging to generate complex paths and adapt easily to unique specifications per component, resulting in an inflexible and cumbersome teaching process. Therefore, this body of work proposes a novel software system to realize kinesthetic guidance for path planning in real-time intervals at 250 Hz, utilizing an external off-the-shelf force-torque (FT) sensor. The proposed work is demonstrated on a 500 mm2 near-net-shaped Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) complex component with embedded defects by teaching the inspection path for defect detection with a standard industrial robotic manipulator in a collaborative fashion and adaptively generating the kinematics resulting in the uniform coupling of ultrasound inspection. The utilized method proves superior in performance and speed, accelerating the programming time using online and offline approaches by an estimate of 88% to 98%. The proposed work is a unique development, retrofitting current industrial manipulators into collaborative entities, securing human job resources, and achieving flexible production.

An analytic method for vibration analysis of non-uniformly coupled L-shaped plates with arbitrary boundary conditions

L-shaped plates are extensively utilized in practical engineering and plates are uniformly coupled in most previous studies. However, spot welding, riveting or bolting is also employed to link two plates and these connection types lead to non-uniform coupling conditions. In this regard, an analytic model is developed for vibration analysis of L-shaped plates with non-uniform coupling conditions. The system is decomposed into two independent rectangular plates, and both bending and in-plane vibrations are analyzed via the classic plate theory and superposition method. The artificial spring technique is adopted to deal with non-uniform continuity conditions and arbitrary uniform boundary conditions, and these conditions are assembled into the governing equation. Comparisons of natural frequencies of L-shaped plates with different boundary and coupling conditions are firstly made, and high accuracy and wide application of the developed model are demonstrated. Furthermore, influences of boundary conditions, coupling conditions, coupling angle and length of plates are investigated. Results reveal that out-of-plane and in-plane displacements are coupled in every plate of L-shaped plate systems. Uniform distribution of coupling nodes can efficiently increase natural frequencies and a few coupling nodes play the role of uniform rigid coupling conditions. Natural frequencies of L-shaped plates at a right angle are the maximum or very close to maximum one. Besides, present results can be used as benchmarks for future researchers.

Direct position determination algorithm for non‐circular sources in the presence of mutual coupling and its theoretical performance analysis

AbstractThis article proposes a direct position determination (DPD) algorithm for non‐circular sources observed by a moving array using the self‐calibration technique in the presence of mutual coupling. The method first utilises the symmetric Toeplitz property of uniform linear array matrices with mutual coupling and cyclic Toeplitz property of uniform circular array coupling matrix, realising the decoupled estimations of target position parameters and sensor error parameters. Then the position parameters of multiple non‐circular are directly determined based on the subspace data fusion criterion in a decoupled manner, where the subspaces are obtained using the extended array data model with the non‐circular properties of the sources. This results in a significant improvement in the accuracy of the target position estimation and the number of distinguishable sources compared to the traditional mutual coupling calibration algorithm. In addition, the theoretical mean square error expression for the position estimations of the proposed algorithm under the influence of finite sampling is derived based on the matrix perturbation analysis theory, and the corresponding Cramér‐Rao bound is given. Finally, the correctness of the theoretical derivation and the superiority of the method is verified by simulation experiments.

The mean-field limit for particle systems with uniform full-rank constraints

We consider a particle system with uniform coupling between a macroscopic component and individual particles. The constraint for each particle is of full rank, which implies that each movement of the macroscopic component leads to a movement of all particles and vice versa. Skeletal muscle tissues share a similar property which motivates this work.We prove convergence of the mean-field limit, well-posedness and a stability estimate for the mean-field PDE. This work generalises our previous results from [25] to the case of nonlinear constraints.

Layered Organic Conductors Based on BEDT-TTF and Ho, Dy, Tb Chlorides

Molecular semiconductors with lanthanide ions have been synthesized based on BEDT-TTF and lanthanide chlorides: (BEDT-TTF)2[HoCl2(H2O)6]Cl2(H2O)2 (1, which contains a 4f holmium cation), and (BEDT-TTF)2LnCl4(H2O)n (Ln = Dy, Tb, Ho (2–4), which contain 4f anions of lanthanides). Conductivity and EPR measurements have been carried out along with the SQUID magnetometry, and the crystal structure has been established for 1. The structure of 1 is characterized by an alternation of organic radical cation layers composed of BEDT-TTF chains and inorganic layers consisting of chains of the [HoCl2(H2O)6]+ cations interlinked by chlorine anions and crystallization water molecules. The magnetic susceptibility of 1–3 determined mainly by lanthanide ions follows the Curie–Weiss law with the Weiss temperatures of −3, −3, −2 K for 1–3, respectively, indicating weak antiferromagnetic coupling between paramagnetic lanthanide ions. The signals attributed to the BEDT-TTF+· radical cations only are observed in the EPR spectra of 1–3, which makes it possible to study their magnetic behavior. There are two types of chains in the organic layers of 1: the chains composed of neutral molecules and those formed by BEDT-TTF+· radical cations. As a result, uniform 1D antiferromagnetic coupling of spins is observed in the BEDT-TTF+· chains with estimated exchange interaction J = −10 K. The study of dynamic magnetic properties of 1–3 shows that these compounds are not SMMs.

Numerical Solution of Finite Kuramoto Model with Time-Dependent Coupling Strength: Addressing Synchronization Events of Nature

The synchronization of an ensemble of oscillators is a phenomenon present in systems of different fields, ranging from social to physical and biological systems. This phenomenon is often described mathematically by the Kuramoto model, which assumes oscillators of fixed natural frequencies connected by an equal and uniform coupling strength, with an analytical solution possible only for an infinite number of oscillators. However, most real-life synchronization systems consist of a finite number of oscillators and are often perturbed by external fields. This paper accommodates the perturbation using a time-dependent coupling strength K(t) in the form of a sinusoidal function and a step function using 32 oscillators that serve as a representative of finite oscillators. The temporal evolution of order parameter r(t) and phases θj(t), key indicators of synchronization, are compared between the uniform and time-dependent cases. The identical trends observed in the two cases give an important indication that the synchrony persists even under the influence of external factors, something very plausible in the context of real-life synchronization events. The occasional boosting of coupling strength is also enough to keep the assembly of oscillators in a synchronized state persistently.

The structure of uni-directional chain for the synchronization of networked chaotic systems

In this paper, we introduce the structure of uni-directional chain (UDC) as a benchmark to probe the synchronizability of networked chaotic system. By studying the relation between the length of UDC and its synchronizability, we identify a region of coupling strength, referred to as strong controllable region (SCR), where a UDC with arbitrary length could realize synchronization that is robust to non-local disturbance. More importantly, it is found that there exists a kind of chaotic oscillators where the region of negative master stability function (MSF) overlaps with the SCR. As MSF implements local stability analysis to provide the necessary condition for the appearance of synchronization, while SCR permits stable synchronization corresponding to non-local disturbance pertinent to sufficient condition, the role of MSF for such kind of oscillator may be equivalent to provide sufficient condition of network synchronization. Besides, we propose methods for the control of network synchronization based on the characteristic of UDC. For networks with fixed structure, by obtaining a minimal spanning tree, each node chooses one of its neighbors and follows its dynamics with uniform coupling strength to realize synchronization. For growing networks, by establishing directed connection from newly added nodes to existing nodes. An interacting structure which is similar to the combination of a group of UDCs is formed and the system is guaranteed to be controlled within the SCR.

Terahertz beam splitter based on mode coupling of subwavelength waveguides

A broadband terahertz waveguide type beam splitting scheme for multi-port outputs is proposed, which is realized by uniform mode coupling of the multiple subwavelength waveguides. The full-vectorial finite-difference beam propagation method (BPM) is adopted to numerically analyze the mechanism and splitting performance of the beam splitter, and the influence of the supporting structure between the waveguides and the outer dielectric ring on its transmission performance is studied. In particular, a 1 × 8 beam splitter is designed with a coupling zone length of 1.02 mm, which can couple the input THz wave into eight output ports uniformly. The insertion loss of the device is 9.3 dB at the center frequency of 0.54 THz and the bandwidth can reach 0.21 THz with insertion loss lower than 10 dB.

Collective dynamics of neural network with distance dependent field coupling

In this work, we analyse the collective dynamics of Hindmarsh-Rose neurons with distance dependent memristor and mean field coupling, realised by power law exponent. The memristor characterises the electromagnetic field induced by the magnetic flux. The mean field represents the global effect in the neurons which are usually influenced by enormous number of neighbours. The uniform global mean field drives the memristive neural network from Amplitude Death to synchronised bursting state. Desynchronised, Mixed Oscillatory, imperfect and complete synchronised states are attained by the network due to the interplay between memristor and uniform mean field coupling. The synchronisation scenario has been analysed in distance dependent memristive and mean field network, by varying the values of power law exponent. The distance dependent mean field coupling induces chimera and multichimera states in the system. The strength of incoherence and discontinuity measure are calculated to distinguish incoherent, chimera, multichimera and coherent states. Coherent states are unattainable for high values of power law exponent. The existence of chimera states in system with long range interactions are verified by parameter space. This work may give better understanding about the different aspects of synchronisation involved in neural networks with distance dependent coupling and proves that the non local synaptic coupling is not a prerequisite to realise chimera states.

Nearly optimal time-independent reversal of a spin chain

We propose a time-independent Hamiltonian protocol for the reversal of qubit ordering in a chain of $N$ spins. Our protocol has an easily implementable nearest-neighbor, transverse-field Ising model Hamiltonian with time-independent, non-uniform couplings. Under appropriate normalization, we implement this state reversal three times faster than a naive approach using SWAP gates, in time comparable to a protocol of Raussendorf [Phys. Rev. A 72, 052301 (2005)] that requires dynamical control. We also prove lower bounds on state reversal by using results on the entanglement capacity of Hamiltonians and show that we are within a factor $1.502(1+1/N)$ of the shortest time possible. Our lower bound holds for all nearest-neighbor qubit protocols with arbitrary finite ancilla spaces and local operations and classical communication. Finally, we extend our protocol to an infinite family of nearest-neighbor, time-independent Hamiltonian protocols for state reversal. This includes chains with nearly uniform coupling that may be especially feasible for experimental implementation.

Adaptive rewiring in nonuniform coupled oscillators.

Structural plasticity of the brain can be represented in a highly simplified form as adaptive rewiring, the relay of connections according to the spontaneous dynamic synchronization in network activity. Adaptive rewiring, over time, leads from initial random networks to brain-like complex networks, that is, networks with modular small-world structures and a rich-club effect. Adaptive rewiring has only been studied, however, in networks of identical oscillators with uniform or random coupling strengths. To implement information-processing functions (e.g., stimulus selection or memory storage), it is necessary to consider symmetry-breaking perturbations of oscillator amplitudes and coupling strengths. We studied whether nonuniformities in amplitude or connection strength could operate in tandem with adaptive rewiring. Throughout network evolution, either amplitude or connection strength of a subset of oscillators was kept different from the rest. In these extreme conditions, subsets might become isolated from the rest of the network or otherwise interfere with the development of network complexity. However, whereas these subsets form distinctive structural and functional communities, they generally maintain connectivity with the rest of the network and allow the development of network complexity. Pathological development was observed only in a small proportion of the models. These results suggest that adaptive rewiring can robustly operate alongside information processing in biological and artificial neural networks.

Diamond NV Centers Based Quantum Sensor Using a VCO Integrated With Filtering Antenna

This paper presents a diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center based magnetic field sensor using a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) integrated with a filtering antenna. In existing NV-based quantum sensing systems, microwave source and delivery units are implemented by a set of bulky and costly instruments. This limits its practical applications as well as portability. Here, a VCO integrated with the filtering antenna is designed, providing a more uniform, efficient, broadband and lower phase noise microwave field coupling to the NV centers. As a result, the sensitivity and the dynamic range have been improved over the conventional scheme using separate microwave components, such as antennas, transmission lines, and resonators. Moreover, in this work, the optic filter, and photodetector are also integrated using the hybrid microwave integrated circuits (HMIC) technique for the first time. This significantly increases the integration level and reduces the cost of the NV-based magnetometers. The experimental results indicate that our VCO integrated filtering antenna achieves a sensitivity of 8.52 μT/Hz^1/2 and a dynamic range up to 32.73 dB, which are both greatly improved compared to the VCO with a single resonator. This validates the effectiveness of the approach.