139,087 research outputs found
Secure Coherent-state Quantum Key Distribution Protocols with Efficient Reconciliation
We study the equivalence between a realistic quantum key distribution
protocol using coherent states and homodyne detection and a formal entanglement
purification protocol. Maximally-entangled qubit pairs that one can extract in
the formal protocol correspond to secret key bits in the realistic protocol.
More specifically, we define a qubit encoding scheme that allows the formal
protocol to produce more than one entangled qubit pair per coherent state, or
equivalently for the realistic protocol, more than one secret key bit. The
entanglement parameters are estimated using quantum tomography. We analyze the
properties of the encoding scheme and investigate its application to the
important case of the attenuation channel.Comment: REVTeX, 11 pages, 2 figure
Quasiparticle entanglement: redefinition of the vacuum and reduced density matrix approach
A scattering approach to entanglement in mesoscopic conductors with
independent fermionic quasiparticles is discussed. We focus on conductors in
the tunneling limit, where a redefinition of the quasiparticle vacuum
transforms the wavefunction from a manybody product state of noninteracting
particles to a state describing entangled two-particle excitations out of the
new vacuum. The approach is illustrated with two examples (i) a
normal-superconducting system, where the transformation is made between
Bogoliubov-de Gennes quasiparticles and Cooper pairs, and (ii) a normal system,
where the transformation is made between electron quasiparticles and
electron-hole pairs. This is compared to a scheme where an effective
two-particle state is derived from the manybody scattering state by a reduced
density matrix approach.Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physics, Focused Issue on "Solid State
Quantum Information". 19 pages, 7 figure
Information Nano-Technologies: Transition from Classical to Quantum
In this presentation are discussed some problems, relevant with application
of information technologies in nano-scale systems and devices. Some methods
already developed in quantum information technologies may be very useful here.
Here are considered two illustrative models: representation of data by quantum
bits and transfer of signals in quantum wires.Comment: LaTeX (article class), 10 pages, 3 figures (from 6 eps files
Tracing the Biological Roots of Knowledge
The essay is a critical review of three possible approaches in the theory of knowledge while tracing the biological roots of knowledge: empiricist, rationalist and developmentalist approaches.
Piaget's genetic epistemology, a developmentalist approach, is one of the first comprehensive
treatments on the question of tracing biological roots of knowledge. This developmental approach is
currently opposed, without questioning the biological roots of knowledge, by the more popular
rationalist approach, championed by Chomsky. Developmental approaches are generally coherent
with cybernetic models, of which the theory of autopoiesis proposed by Maturana and Varela made
a significant theoretical move in proposing an intimate connection between metabolism and
knowledge. Modular architecture is currently considered more or less an undisputable model for
both biology as well as cognitive science. By suggesting that modulation of modules is possible by
motor coordination, a proposal is made to account for higher forms of conscious cognition within
the four distinguishable layers of the human mind. Towards the end, the problem of life and
cognition is discussed in the context of the evolution of complex cognitive systems, suggesting the
unique access of phylogeny during the ontogeny of human beings as a very special case, and how
the problem cannot be dealt with independent of the evolution of coding systems in nature
Machine vision and the OMV
The orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) is intended to close with orbiting targets for relocation or servicing. It will be controlled via video signals and thruster activation based upon Earth or space station directives. A human operator is squarely in the middle of the control loop for close work. Without directly addressing future, more autonomous versions of a remote servicer, several techniques that will doubtless be important in a future increase of autonomy also have some direct application to the current situation, particularly in the area of image enhancement and predictive analysis. Several techniques are presentet, and some few have been implemented, which support a machine vision capability proposed to be adequate for detection, recognition, and tracking. Once feasibly implemented, they must then be further modified to operate together in real time. This may be achieved by two courses, the use of an array processor and some initial steps toward data reduction. The methodology or adapting to a vector architecture is discussed in preliminary form, and a highly tentative rationale for data reduction at the front end is also discussed. As a by-product, a working implementation of the most advanced graphic display technique, ray-casting, is described
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