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Current laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors suffer from a fundamental limit to their precision due to the displacement noise of optical elements contributed by various sources. Several schemes for Displacement-Noise Free Interferometers (DFI) have been proposed to mitigate their effects. The idea behind these schemes is similar to decoherence-free subspaces in quantum sensing i.e. certain modes contain information about the gravitational waves but are insensitive to the mirror motion (displacement noise). In this paper, we derive quantum precision limits for general DFI schemes, including optimal measurement basis and optimal squeezing schemes. We introduce a triangular cavity DFI scheme and apply our general bounds to it. Precision analysis of this scheme with different noise models shows that the DFI property leads to interesting sensitivity profiles and improved precision due to noise mitigation and larger gain from squeezing.

Shannon's channel coding theorem describes the maximum possible rate of reliable information transfer through a classical noisy communication channel. It, together with the source coding theorem, characterizes lossless channel communication in the classical regime. Lossy compression scenarios require the additional description provided by rate-distortion theory, which characterizes the trade-off between compression rate and the distortion of the compressed signal. Even in this context, the capacity characterizes the usefulness of a channel -- a channel with more capacity will always outperform a channel with less capacity. We show that this is no longer true when sending classical information over a quantum channel. In particular, we find a pair of quantum channels where the channel with the lower capacity causes less distortion than the higher capacity channel when both are used at a fixed rate., Comment: Comments are welcome

Several complicated non-linear models exist which simulate the physical processes leading to fluctuations in global climate. Some of these more advanced models use observations to constrain various parameters involved. However, they tend to be very computationally expensive. Also, the exact physical processes that affect the climate variations have not been completely comprehended. Therefore, to obtain an insight into global climate, we have developed a physically motivated reduced climate model. The model utilizes a novel mathematical formulation involving a non-linear delay differential equation to study temperature fluctuations when subjected to imposed radiative forcing. We have further incorporated simplified equations to test the effect of speculated mechanisms of climate forcing and evaluated the extent of their influence. The findings are significant in our efforts to predict climate change and help in policy framing necessary to tackle it.

On 21 August 2017 a total solar eclipse swept across the contiguous United States providing excellent opportunities for diagnostics of the Sun's corona. The Sun's coronal structure is notoriously difficult to observe except during solar eclipses; thus theoretical models must be relied upon for inferring the underlying magnetic structure of the Sun's outer atmosphere. These models are necessary for understanding the role of magnetic fields in the heating of the corona to a million degrees and generation of severe space weather. Here we present a methodology for predicting the structure of the coronal field based on long-term surface flux transport simulations whose output is utilized to extrapolate the coronal magnetic field structures. This prescription was applied to the 21 August 2017 solar eclipse. Post-eclipse analysis shows good agreement between model simulated and observed coronal structures and their locations on the limb. We demonstrate that slow changes in the Sun's surface magnetic field distribution driven by long-term flux emergence and evolution govern large-scale coronal structures with a (plausibly cycle-phase dependent) dynamical memory timescale on the order of few solar rotations -- opening up the possibility of large-scale, global corona predictions at least a month in advance., Comment: Revised version of manuscript detailing the methodology, models and data utilized to predict the coronal magnetic field structure of the solar eclipse on 21 August, 2017, now including post-eclipse comparisons between predictions and observations. This version replaces the older version and incorporates a correction in the PFSS rendering of the corona