Sub-Nyquist Field Trial Using Time Frequency Packed DP-QPSK Super-Channel Within Fixed ITU-T Grid

Sub-Nyquist time frequency packing technique was demonstrated for the first time in a super channel field trial transmission over long-haul distances. The technique allows a limited spectral occupancy even with low order modulation formats. The transmission was successfully performed on a deployed Australian link between Sydney and Melbourne which included 995 km of uncompensated SMF with coexistent traffic. 40 and 100 Gb/s co-propagating channels were transmitted together with the super-channel in a 50 GHz ITU-T grid without additional penalty. The super-channel consisted of eight sub-channels with low-level modulation format, i.e. DP-QPSK, guaranteeing better OSNR robustness and reduced complexity with respect to higher order formats. At the receiver side, coherent detection was used together with iterative maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) detection and decoding. A 975 Gb/s DP-QPSK super-channel was successfully transmitted between Sydney and Melbourne within four 50GHz WSS channels (200 GHz). A maximum potential SE of 5.58 bit/s/Hz was achieved with an OSNR=15.8 dB, comparable to the OSNR of the installed 100 Gb/s channels. The system reliability was proven through long term measurements. In addition, by closing the link in a loop back configuration, a potential SE*d product of 9254 bit/s/Hz*km was achieved

Sequence-Selection-Based Constellation Shaping for Nonlinear Channels

Probabilistic shaping is, nowadays, a pragmatic and popular approach to improve the performance of coherent optical fiber communication systems. In the linear regime, the potential of probabilistic shaping in terms of shaping gain and rate granularity is well known, and its practical implementation has been mostly mastered. In the nonlinear regime, the advantages offered by probabilistic shaping remain not only valid, but might also increase thanks to the appealing opportunity to use the same technique to mitigate nonlinear effects and obtain an additional nonlinear shaping gain. Unfortunately, despite the recent research efforts, the optimization of conventional shaping techniques, such as probabilistic amplitude shaping (PAS), yields a relevant nonlinear shaping gain only in particular scenarios of limited practical interest, e.g., in the absence of carrier phase recovery. Recently, a more theoretical approach, referred to as sequence selection, has been proposed to understand the performance and limitation of nonlinear constellation shaping. Sequence selection shapes the distribution of the transmitted symbols by selecting or discarding the sequences generated by a certain source according to a metric that measures their quality. In this manuscript, after a brief review of conventional probabilistic shaping, we use sequence selection to investigate through simulations the potential, opportunities, and challenges offered by probabilistic shaping for nonlinear channels. First, we show that ideal sequence selection is able to provide up to 0.13 b/s/Hz additional gain with respect to PAS with an optimized blocklength. However, this additional gain is obtained only if the selection metric accounts for the signs of the symbols, ruling out the possibility of using one of the simple recently proposed sign-independent metrics. We also show that, while the signs must be known to compute the selection metric, there is no need to shape them, since nearly the same gain can be obtained by properly selecting the amplitudes (with a sign-dependent metric) and leaving the signs uniform i.i.d. Furthermore, we show that the selection depends in a non-critical way on the symbol rate and link length: the sequences selected for a certain scenario still provide a relevant gain if the link length or baud rate are modified (within a reasonable range). Then, we analyze and compare several practical implementations of sequence selection by taking into account interaction with forward error correction (FEC), information loss due to selection, and complexity. Overall, we conclude that the single block and the multi block FEC-independent bit scrambling are the best options for the practical implementation of sequence selection, with a gain up to 0.08 b/s/Hz. The main challenge and limitation to their practical implementation remains the evaluation of the metric, whose complexity is currently too high. Finally, we show that the nonlinear shaping gain provided by sequence selection persists when carrier phase recovery is included, in contrast to the nonlinear shaping gain offered by optimizing the blocklength of conventional PAS techniques

\u3cem\u3eSecuring Employer-based Pensions: An International Perspective.\u3c/em\u3e Zvi Bodie, Olivia S. Mitchell and John A. Turner.

Zvi Bodie, Olivia S. Mitchell and John A. Turner. Securing Employer- based Pensions: An International Perspective. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. $44.95 hardcover

On the Nonlinear Shaping Gain with Probabilistic Shaping and Carrier Phase Recovery

The performance of different probabilistic amplitude shaping (PAS)techniques in the nonlinear regime is investigated, highlighting its dependence on the PAS block length and the interaction with carrier phase recovery (CPR). Different PAS implementations are considered, based on different distribution matching (DM) techniques—namely, sphere shaping, shell mapping with different number of shells, and constant composition DM—and amplitude-to-symbol maps. When CPR is not included, PAS with optimal block length provides a nonlinear shaping gain with respect to a linearly optimized PAS (with infinite block length); among the considered DM techniques, the largest gain is obtained with sphere shaping. On the other hand, the nonlinear shaping gain becomes smaller, or completely vanishes, when CPR is included, meaning that in this case all the considered implementations achieve a similar performance for a sufficiently long block length. Similar results are obtained in different link configurations ($1\times 180$ km, $15\times 80$ km, and $27\times 80$ km single-mode-fiber links), and also including laser phase noise, except when in-line dispersion compensation is used. Furthermore, we define a new metric, the nonlinear phase noise (NPN) metric, which is based on the frequency resolved logarithmic perturbation models and explains the interaction of CPR and PAS. We show that the NPN metric is highly correlated with the performance of the system. Our results suggest that, in general, the optimization of PAS in the nonlinear regime should always account for the presence of a CPR algorithm. In this case, the reduction of the rate loss (obtained by using sphere shaping and increasing the DM block length) turns out to be more important than the mitigation of the nonlinear phase noise (obtained by using constant-energy DMs and reducing the block length), the latter being already granted by the CPR algorithm

A New Twist on Low-Complexity Digital Backpropagation

This work proposes a novel low-complexity digital backpropagation (DBP) method, with the goal of optimizing the trade-off between backpropagation accuracy and complexity. The method combines a split step Fourier method (SSFM)-like structure with a simplified logarithmic perturbation method to obtain a high accuracy with a small number of DBP steps. Subband processing and asymmetric steps with optimized splitting ratio are also employed to further reduce the number of steps required to achieve a prescribed performance. The first part of the manuscript is dedicated to the derivation of a simplified logarithmic-perturbation model for the propagation of a dual-polarization multiband signal in an optical fiber, which serves as a theoretical background for the development of the proposed coupled-band enhanced split step Fourier method (CB-ESSFM) and for the analytical calculation of the model coefficients. Next, the manuscript presents a digital signal processing algorithm for the implementation of DBP based on a discrete-time version of the model and an overlap-and-save processing strategy. Practical approaches for the optimization of the coefficients used in the algorithm and of the splitting ratio of the asymmetric steps are also discussed. A detailed analysis of the computational complexity of the algorithm is also presented. Finally, the performance and complexity of the proposed DBP method are investigated through numerical simulations and compared to those of other methods. In a five-channel 100 GHz-spaced wavelength division multiplexing system over a 15×80 km single-mode-fiber link, the proposed CB-ESSFM achieves a gain of about 1 dB over simple dispersion compensation with only 15 steps (corresponding to 681 real multiplications per 2D symbol), with an improvement of 0.9 dB over conventional SSFM and almost 0.4 dB over our previously proposed ESSFM. Significant gains and improvements are obtained also at lower complexity. For instance, the gain reduces to a still significant value of 0.34 dB when a single DBP step is employed, requiring just 75 real multiplications per 2D symbol. A similar analysis is performed also for longer links, confirming the good performance of the proposed method

Exploring The Potential of Probabilistic Shaping Technique in Quantum Key Distribution Systems

We investigated the role of probabilistic shaping in the optimization of the secure key rate of a continuous variable quantum key distribution system with discrete modulation in both homodyne and heterodyne scheme

Information-Theoretic Tools for Optical Communications Engineers [Invited]

Fundamental information-theoretic concepts are explained for nonspecialists, with emphasis on their practical usAge. The notions of a \u27FEC threshold\u27 and a \u27nonlinear Shannon limit\u27 are critically reviewed, highlighting their limitations and possible alternatives

Probabilistic Amplitude Shaping for Continuous-Variable Quantum Key Distribution with Discrete Modulation over a Wiretap Channel

To achieve the maximum information transfer and face a possible eavesdropper, the samples transmitted in continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) protocols are to be drawn from a continuous Gaussian distribution. As a matter of fact, in practical implementations the transmitter has a finite (power) dynamics and the Gaussian sampling can be only approximated. This requires the quantum protocols to operate at small powers. In this paper, we show that a suitable probabilistic amplitude shaping of a finite set of symbols allows to approximate at will the optimal channel capacity also for increasing average powers. We investigate the feasibility of this approach in the framework of CV-QKD, propose a protocol employing discrete quadrature amplitude modulation assisted with probabilistic amplitude shaping, and we perform the key generation rate analysis assuming a wiretap channel and lossless homodyne detection

An approach for the identification of targets specific to bone metastasis using cancer genes interactome and gene ontology analysis

Metastasis is one of the most enigmatic aspects of cancer pathogenesis and is a major cause of cancer-associated mortality. Secondary bone cancer (SBC) is a complex disease caused by metastasis of tumor cells from their primary site and is characterized by intricate interplay of molecular interactions. Identification of targets for multifactorial diseases such as SBC, the most frequent complication of breast and prostate cancers, is a challenge. Towards achieving our aim of identification of targets specific to SBC, we constructed a 'Cancer Genes Network', a representative protein interactome of cancer genes. Using graph theoretical methods, we obtained a set of key genes that are relevant for generic mechanisms of cancers and have a role in biological essentiality. We also compiled a curated dataset of 391 SBC genes from published literature which serves as a basis of ontological correlates of secondary bone cancer. Building on these results, we implement a strategy based on generic cancer genes, SBC genes and gene ontology enrichment method, to obtain a set of targets that are specific to bone metastasis. Through this study, we present an approach for probing one of the major complications in cancers, namely, metastasis. The results on genes that play generic roles in cancer phenotype, obtained by network analysis of 'Cancer Genes Network', have broader implications in understanding the role of molecular regulators in mechanisms of cancers. Specifically, our study provides a set of potential targets that are of ontological and regulatory relevance to secondary bone cancer.Comment: 54 pages (19 pages main text; 11 Figures; 26 pages of supplementary information). Revised after critical reviews. Accepted for Publication in PLoS ON

Phase noise mitigation in photonics-based radio frequency multiplication

Two photonics-based radio frequency multiplication schemes for the generation of high-frequency carriers with low phase noise are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. With respect to conventional frequency multiplication schemes, the first scheme induces a selective cancelation of phase noise at periodic frequency-offset values, whereas the second scheme provides a uniform 3-dB mitigation of phase noise. The two schemes are experimentally demonstrated for the generation of a 110-GHz carrier by sixfold multiplication of an 18.3-GHz carrier. In both cases, the experimental results confirm the phase noise reduction predicted by theory