Papers by Sonali Mohapatra
Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) missions currently in development for space are expanding in numbe... more Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) missions currently in development for space are expanding in number due to the increasing need for more secure means of encryption combined with the range limitations of terrestrial QKD. Most of these new missions are using smaller satellites to test their payloads. The ROKS (Responsive Operations for Key Services) mission is one such mission. It will utilize a 6U CubeSat bus and is set to launch in Q4 2022. A breadboard model of a 785 nm weak coherent pulse quantum source module designed for ROKS, named JADE, was tested within a lab testbench environment with the mission's systems represented by breadboard models with equivalent components. JADE's optical module was miniaturized to be compatible with the limited payload volumes of these small classes of satellites. Lab-based testbench characterization of JADE's ability to emit quantum pulses with four polarization states that propagate through the beamsteering system for analysis by a receiver box was demonstrated. Future work will focus on further shrinking the JADE module down to less than 1/3U size, increasing the interoperability of the module with standard interfaces for both CubeSats and SmallSats, and adding further capabilities and full environmental testing qualification to JADE. BACKGROUND Ensuring forward security for data, quantum key distribution (QKD) remains the only theoretically provable secure encryption method against future attacks 1,2. It uses the principles of quantum mechanics to securely create a private key through the use of encoded photons. This private key is shared by two parties and can then be used with a one-time pad to send encrypted information.
Physical Review D, 2020
Combining insights from both the effective field theory of quantum gravity and black hole thermod... more Combining insights from both the effective field theory of quantum gravity and black hole thermodynamics, we derive two novel consistency relations to be satisfied by any quantum theory of gravity. First, we show that a particular combination of the number of massless (light) fields in the theory must take integer values. Second, we show that, once the massless spectrum is fixed, the Wilson coefficient of the Kretschmann scalar in the low-energy effective theory is fully determined by the logarithm of a single natural number.
Physics Letters B, 2018
We calculate the gravitational radiation background generated from boson star binaries formed in ... more We calculate the gravitational radiation background generated from boson star binaries formed in locally dense clusters with formation rate tracked by the regular star formation rate. We compute how the the frequency window in gravitational waves is affected by the boson field mass and repulsive self-coupling, anticipating constraints from EPTA and LISA. We also comment on the possible detectability of these binaries.
The European Physical Journal C, 2018
The effective field theory of quantum gravity generically predicts non-locality to be present in ... more The effective field theory of quantum gravity generically predicts non-locality to be present in the effective action, which results from the low-energy propagation of gravitons and massless matter. Working to second order in gravitational curvature, we reconsider the effects of quantum gravity on the gravitational radiation emitted from a binary system. In particular, we calculate for the first time the leading order quantum gravitational correction to the classical quadrupole radiation formula which appears at second order in Newton's constant.
The European Physical Journal C, 2016
In this short paper we investigate quantum gravitational effects on Einstein's equations using Ef... more In this short paper we investigate quantum gravitational effects on Einstein's equations using Effective Field Theory techniques. We consider the leading order quantum gravitational correction to the wave equation. Besides the usual massless mode, we find a pair of modes with complex masses. These massive particles have a width and could thus lead to a damping of gravitational waves if excited in violent astrophysical processes producing gravitational waves such as e.g. black hole mergers. We discuss the consequences for gravitational wave events such as GW 150914 recently observed by the Advanced LIGO collaboration.
Platform pointing to target ground station. 10°20°3 Authenticate ground station. 20°30°4 OGS alig... more Platform pointing to target ground station. 10°20°3 Authenticate ground station. 20°30°4 OGS alignment. 30°40°5 QKD transmission to OGS. Possibly followed by reconciliation with RF ground station. 40°170°6 CubeSat out of view of ground station but above horizon. 170°180°A
General Relativity (GR) is a highly successful theory whose predictions are still being confirmed... more General Relativity (GR) is a highly successful theory whose predictions are still being confirmed a hundred years later. However, despite its significant success, there still remain questions beyond the realm of its validity. The reconciliation of Standard Model (SM) and GR or Quantum Mechanics (QM) and GR point towards the need for a potential modification of GR or a consistent theory of quantum gravity (QG). The purpose of this thesis is to explore classical and quantum gravity in order to improve our understanding of different aspects of gravity, such as black holes (BHs), exotic compact objects (ECOs) like Boson Stars (BS) and gravitational waves (GW). We follow recent advancements in the field of Effective Quantum Gravity (EQG) by noticing that gravity naturally lends itself to an effective framework. The cut off of this effective theory is set to be the Planck mass since this is where UV effects are expected to take over. We focus on finding low energy quantum corrections to G...
In this essay, we review the meta-string formulation proposed by Freidel, Leigh, Minic in a recen... more In this essay, we review the meta-string formulation proposed by Freidel, Leigh, Minic in a recent paper. Our work focuses on the construction of a closed-string world-sheet from gluing of Nakamura strips. We review the symplectic current formulation for determining the gluing condition for a single strip. We then study the two-strip scenario in a new notation to rigorously derive the boundary equations of motion and finally generalize our result to N -strips. We find the conjugate momenta to the strip separation variable and relate it to the midpoint velocity of a strip. We see the natural evolution of meta-D-branes in meta- string theory from the strip picture. Finally, we motivate and show the connection of the strip picture to the string-bit picture put forward by Klebanov and Susskind and conjecture the relation to the Chan-Paton factors.
IET Quantum Communication
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Papers by Sonali Mohapatra