First CHIST-ERA Joint Transnational Call
 

Call deadline: 5th of November 2010, 17:00 GMT

In the new Commission ICT Work Programme 2011-2012 there is a new call (with deadline December the 2nd 2010) for Coordination and Support Actions designed to identify FET-Flagship Candidate (if you don't know what a FET-Flagship is a good place to start from is here).

The Commission ICT Work-Programme 2011-2012 feature an interesting Objective under FET-Open, namely "Objective ICT-2011.9.4: International cooperation on FET research". This consist in a funding scheme that provides additional funding to existing grant for on-going FET IPs and STREPs ending at least 18 months after the submission date of the proposal (click on the tab below to access the full Objective text as published in the WP).

The new ICT Work Programme 2011-2012 has been published on the CORDIS website (a copy for download is available also here), and QIPC is contemplated again amongst the FET Proactive Initiatives. 

The WP features the objective ICT-2011 9.9 "Quantum ICT including ERA-NET Plus" (click on the tab below to read the full text)

On August 6 HP Labs' researcher Vinay Deolalikar sent the following letter to his fellows researchers in HP Labs:

"Dear Fellow Researchers,
I am pleased to announce a proof that P is not equal to NP, which is attached in 10pt and 12pt fonts

The proof required the piecing together of principles from multiple areas within mathematics. The major effort in constructing this proof was uncovering a chain of conceptual links between various fields and viewing them through a common lens. Second to this were the technical hurdles faced at each stage in the proof.

This work builds upon fundamental contributions many esteemed researchers have made to their fields. In the presentation of this paper, it was my intention to provide the reader with an understanding of the global framework for this proof. Technical and computational details within chapters were minimized as much as possible.

Quantum communication is built on a set of disruptive concepts and technologies. It is driven by fascinating physics and by promising applications. It requires a new mix of competencies, from telecom engineering to theoretical physics, from theoretical computer science to mechanical and electronic engineering. First applications have already found their way into niche markets, and university labs are working on futuristic quantum networks, but most of the surprises are still ahead of us.

• Quantum Optics and Quantum Information
• Novel Laser Phenomena And Non Linear Atom And Photon Optics
• Cold Matter Non-Linear Optics In A Coherently Prepared Molecular Medium
• Ion Traps and Laser Cooling
• Confined Atoms And Atoms In External Fields
• Strong Field Theory
• Laser Development And Modelling
• Shaping Of High Intensity Laser Pulses
• Molecules In Strong Fields
• High Intensity Laser Interactions With Nanoparticles

Perfect states are those quantum states from which a perfectly secure cryptographic key can be extracted. They present the basic unit of quantum privacy. In this work we show that all states belonging to this class violate a Bell inequality. This result establishes a connection between perfect privacy and non-locality in the quantum domain.

Physicists in Israel are the first to entangle five photons in a NOON state – the superposition of two extreme quantum states. Unlike previous schemes for creating such states, the researchers claim that their new technique can entangle an arbitrarily large number of photons – so called "high-NOON states". This could be good news for those developing quantum metrology techniques because high-NOON states could be used to improve the precision of a range of different measurements.

We introduce lossless state detection of trapped neutral atoms based on cavity-enhanced fluorescence. In an experiment with a single 87-Rb atom, a hyperfine-state detection fidelity of 99.4% is achieved in 85 microseconds. The quantum bit is interrogated many hundred times without loss of the atom while a result is obtained in every read-out attempt. The fidelity proves robust against atomic frequency shifts induced by the trapping potential.