Tag Archives: resembling

Scientists create conditions resembling a “superpositioned” Schrodinger’s cat

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The principle of quantum superposition allows the system to be prepared with two arbitrary state superpositions. A paradigmous example is the superposition of two coherent states. Superposition of such states is usually referred to as the Schrödinger cat state, but in Irwin Schrodinger’s original thought experiment, a cat-temperature-equal system system is prepared with superposition of two mixed states dominated by classical variation. Physicists at the University of Innsbruck have now managed to create the state of Hot Schrodinger cats with a superconducting microwave resonator.

Yang et al. We generated highly mixed quantum states with different quantum properties. Image credit: Innsbruck University.

SchrödingerCat states are an attractive phenomenon in quantum physics, where quantum objects exist simultaneously in two different states.

In Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment, it is a cat living and dead at the same time.

In real experiments, such simultaneity is seen in the positions of atoms and molecules, as well as the vibrations of electromagnetic resonators.

Previously, these analogues to Schrodinger’s thought experiments were first created by cooling quantum objects to their ground state.

In a new study, Dr. Gerhard Kirchumere and his colleagues at Innsbruck University demonstrated that it is indeed possible to create quantum superpositions from thermally excited states.

“Schrodinger also envisioned a living, namely “hot” cat in his thought experiments,” says Dr. Kirchumere, author of the study.

“We wanted to know if these quantum effects could also be produced if they didn’t start from the ‘cold’ ground state. ”

To generate the Schrödinger CAT state, researchers used a transmon Qubit with a microwave resonator.

They have succeeded in creating quantum layers at temperatures up to 1.8 k. This is 60 times the ambient temperature of the cavity.

“Our results show that it is possible to generate highly mixed quantum states with distinct quantum properties,” says Dr. Ian Yang, the first author of the study.

Scientists used two special protocols to create the state of Hot Schrodinger cats.

These protocols have been used previously to produce CAT states starting from the ground state of the system.

“It turns out that the tuned protocol also works at high temperatures and produces clear quantum interference,” said Professor Oriol Romero Isart, co-author of the study.

“This opens up new opportunities for the creation and use of quantum superpositions, for example, in nanomechanical oscillators.

“When I first mentioned our results, many of our colleagues were surprised because we usually think of temperature as a disruption to quantum effects,” says Thomas Agnius, co-author of the study.

“Our measurements confirm that quantum interference can last even at high temperatures.”

The findings could benefit quantum technology development.

“Our work reveals that quantum phenomena can be observed and used in warm, less ideal environments,” Dr. Kirchem said.

“If the system can create the interactions it needs, temperature is ultimately irrelevant.”

a paper The findings were published in the journal Advances in science.

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Ian Yang et al. 2025. Hot Schrodinger cat condition. Advances in science 11 (14); doi:10.1126/sciadv.adr4492

Source: www.sci.news

Newly Discovered Hairy Pitcher Plant Resembling an Orangutan Found in Borneo

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The orange fur on the underside is Nepenthes The leaves are why this plant is named after an orangutan

Alviana Damit

A newly described species of Nepenthes, one of the largest and furriest species ever discovered, has been identified in the wild mountains of Malaysian Borneo.

The back of the leaf is Nepenthes The team that discovered the plant in May 2023 decided to name it after the native Borneo orangutan because of its thick, rust-colored fur.Pongo Pygmaas) People who share the Meriow Mountains in central Sabah.

“It's certainly not as hairy as an orangutan. It's more like a really hairy-chested human,” he says. alastair robinson At the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. “But the color is almost the same as orangutan fur.”

He suggests that the plant may have a common name: orangutan pitcher plant. Robinson and his colleagues discovered just 39 plants during their two expeditions, which they say are at high risk of extinction if not protected from poaching by collectors.

Mr Robinson said there was evidence that poachers had entered the area and stolen the specimens even before arriving at the scene, as the plants had been sold online.

Nepenthes A genus of carnivorous plants found throughout the tropics of Southeast Asia and parts of the Pacific Ocean and consisting of more than 160 species. It is very popular in the black market horticulture industry because its leaves form spectacular water containers. In the wild, animals fall into these pitchers and drown before being consumed by the digestive enzymes produced by plants.

Mr Robinson said that because the mountain is “essentially a rock mountain”, there is no running water above 300 meters, so the pickasaw is often the only water source for local wildlife. states.

Their jugs reach 45 centimeters in length and can hold much more than 2 liters of water. They're “like their own little ecosystem,” Robinson says.

This new species was first photographed in 2004, but was mistaken for a known variety. “I've been studying Nepenthes “I have lived in Borneo for many years and this species is the furriest species I have ever come across,” says a team member. Alviana Damit At the Forest Research Center in Sandakan, Malaysia. “Naming it after an orangutan is the perfect tribute.”

topic:

  • plant/
  • endangered species

Source: www.newscientist.com

Ancient nematode fossils resembling Ediacaran species discovered in Australia

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For decades, paleontologists have hypothesized that a major group of animals called ecdysizoans must be older than the Cambrian, but until now their origins have remained a mystery. discovery of Unkus Zaugishi A research team led by Professor Mary Droser at the University of California, Riverside says that the large gap between predictions based on molecular data and the lack of description of ecdysizoans prior to the rich Cambrian fossil record has been reconciled and animal life This will deepen our understanding of the evolution of .

Digital photography and 3D laser scanning Unkus Zaugishi body fossils. Scale bar – 10 mm. Image credit: Hughes others., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.030.

Ecdysids are the largest and most species-rich group of animals on Earth, containing more than half of all animals.

Characterized by a cuticle (a tough external skeleton that is periodically shed), this group consists of three subgroups. Arthropods, including insects, spiders, and crustaceans. and Scaridophora, an eclectic group of small scaly marine creatures.

“Like many modern animal groups, ecdymozoans are prevalent in the Cambrian fossil record, and at the beginning of this era, about 540 million years ago, we see evidence of all three subgroups. We can,” said Ian Hughes, a graduate student in oceanography. Studied biology at Harvard University.

“We know that they didn’t suddenly appear out of nowhere, so the ancestors of all ecdysizoans originated in the preceding Ediacaran period (635 to 539 million years ago). It must have existed.”

“DNA-based analyzes used to predict the age of fauna by comparing it to its closest living relatives supported this hypothesis.”

“However, ecdysozoan fossil animals remain hidden among the large number of animal remains that paleontologists have discovered during the Ediacaran period.”

Newly described Ediacaran ecdysizoan, Unkus Zaugishi was only a few centimeters long.

Gathering of 82 people Unkus Zaugishi The specimen was discovered in Nilpena-Ediakara National Park in South Australia.

Dr. Scott Evans of Florida State University said, “Nilpena is perhaps the best fossil site in the world for understanding the evolution of early animals, because fossils occur during periods of increased diversity, and these “This is because we can excavate extensive rock formations that preserve snapshots of the world.” .

“The layer we found was Unkus Zaugishi It's especially interesting because the grains in the sediment are so small that you can actually see every detail of the fossils preserved there. ”

“We were excited to find evidence for what scientists have long predicted: the presence of ecdymozoans during Ediacaran times,” Hughes said.

“It’s also very important for understanding what these early animal groups looked like and their lifestyles, especially since ecdysizoans really came to dominate the Cambrian marine ecosystem.”

This finding is reported in the following article: paper in a diary current biology.

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Ian V. Hughes others. An Ediacaran bilaterian from South Australia with an affinity for molting animals. current biology published online on November 18, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.030

Source: www.sci.news

Argentina unearths new fossil of cephalopod resembling a nautilus

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Paleontologists have redescribed Epitornoceras bardisi Using new fossils from the Chigua Formation, researchers have uncovered a mysterious species of ammonite cephalopod that lived in the Devonian Period of Argentina.

Artistic Reproduction of an Ammonite Epitornoceras bardisi During the Middle Devonian. Image courtesy of H. Santiago Druetta / CICTERRA / National University of Córdoba.

Epitornoceras bardisi It lived in the marine environment of the supercontinent Gondwana during the Late Givetian Stage of the Middle Devonian, approximately 383 million years ago.

“During the Early to Middle Devonian, southwestern Gondwana was characterized by a circumpolar marine environment with a remarkable phase of increasing specificity and the near absence of typical Palaeozoic groups (mainly conodonts, graptolites and stromatoporoids),” Dr. Ninon Allaire By the National University of Córdoba and colleagues.

“One of these families is Ammonite They are extremely rare, with only a few reported finds in deposits from the Early Eifelian to Early Frasnian (393 to 383 million years ago) in Bolivia and Argentina.

Epitornoceras bardisi It was first described as a member of the cephalopod genus in 1968. Tornoceras.

The team's new findings suggest that the species should be reclassified into a separate genus. Epitornoceras.

The genus has been recorded from North America, North Africa and Europe, but this is its first record from South America.

“Epitornoceras “It inhabits North Africa, the Rhine-Bohemian basin and the Appalachian basin,” the paleontologists said.

“Their diversification and acquisition of a wide geographic range occurred after the Taganic biotic crisis in the mid-late Givetian.”

“therefore, Epitornoceras Its occurrence in the southernmost part of West Gondwana during the Late Givean is not surprising, given the well-documented pattern of tropical migration into the circumpolar basins following the Taganic biotic crisis.”

New specimens Epitornoceras bardisi From the type area of ​​the Chigua Formation, San Juan Province, Argentina. Image courtesy of Allaire others., doi: 10.5252/geodiversitas2024v46a7.

In this study, the authors examined 10 new specimens. Epitornoceras bardisi It was collected from the top of the Chigua Formation in San Juan Province, Argentina.

The study area is located in the Argentine Precordillera, an intraplate fold-fault zone at the southern edge of the Central Andean foreland basin.

“Epitornoceras “Records from Appalachia, Morocco and Europe indicate that the genus is distributed worldwide and diversified after the Taganic biotic crisis in the mid-late Givetian,” the researchers said.

“Its presence at the southernmost tip of western Gondwana suggests a late Givetian migration from the tropics into the cooler Malvinocossan realm.”

“Despite the presence of ammonites from all over the world in the Argentine Precordillera, the coexisting trilobites are Carmoniaceae Additional endemic genera include Bellenopigue“We confirm that the Malvinoxosan (Malvinocafric) realm is still identifiable as a major biogeographic unit during the Late Givettian of southernmost West Gondwana, based on its typical diagnostic elements.”

Team paper Published in the journal Geodiversitas.

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N. Alaïa others2024. Late Givetian (Middle Devonian) ammonoids Epitornoceras Flake, 1902, from Argentina (southwest Gondwana). Geodiversitas 46(7):327-341; doi: 10.5252/geodiversitas2024v46a7

Source: www.sci.news

Male and female spiders resembling a flower.

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A brown male Thomisus guangxicus Spider (center) in a Hoya pandurata flower with a pale amber female just below it.

Wu Shimao

A species of spider discovered in China may have evolved a male-female pair that looks like a flower, allowing it to blend into the background.

“This may be the world's first case of cooperative imitation,” said Shi-Mao Wu of Yunnan University, who observed it with colleagues. Jiang Yun Gao.

Spiders of the family Tomicidae, also known as crab spiders, are ambush predators that usually live on or near flowers.

They are known for their excellent camouflage abilities that prevent them from being detected by prey or predators. Some species can even change color to match the color of the flower they sit on.

Wu and Gao were in the rainforest of southwestern China's Yunnan province when a male crab spider attacked them. Tomysus guanxicus Something caught Mr. Wu's attention.the spider was sitting on the flower Hoya pandurataa plant that lives on ancient tea trees in the forest.

“The first time I observed a male spider, I didn't see a female spider,” Wu said. Only when I got closer did I notice that the male spider was lying on the female's back. “They tricked my eyes really well,” he says.

Researchers hypothesize that the small, dark-colored males mimic pistils (female organs in the center of flowers), while the females mimic fused petals.

Researchers say that only when individual spiders of both sexes come together will the flowers match in appearance.

but, Gabriele Greco A professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences is not convinced. “It's very difficult to determine the nature of the observed behavior,” he says.

In fact, in many spider species it is common for the male to stand over the female during mating. “A simpler explanation might be simple interactions related to courtship and mating,” Greco says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com