4,794 research outputs found
Quantum Measurement Theory in Gravitational-Wave Detectors
The fast progress in improving the sensitivity of the gravitational-wave (GW)
detectors, we all have witnessed in the recent years, has propelled the
scientific community to the point, when quantum behaviour of such immense
measurement devices as kilometer-long interferometers starts to matter. The
time, when their sensitivity will be mainly limited by the quantum noise of
light is round the corner, and finding the ways to reduce it will become a
necessity. Therefore, the primary goal we pursued in this review was to
familiarize a broad spectrum of readers with the theory of quantum measurements
in the very form it finds application in the area of gravitational-wave
detection. We focus on how quantum noise arises in gravitational-wave
interferometers and what limitations it imposes on the achievable sensitivity.
We start from the very basic concepts and gradually advance to the general
linear quantum measurement theory and its application to the calculation of
quantum noise in the contemporary and planned interferometric detectors of
gravitational radiation of the first and second generation. Special attention
is paid to the concept of Standard Quantum Limit and the methods of its
surmounting.Comment: 147 pages, 46 figures, 1 table. Published in Living Reviews in
Relativit
Multifrequency Aperture-Synthesizing Microwave Radiometer System (MFASMR). Volume 1
Background material and a systems analysis of a multifrequency aperture - synthesizing microwave radiometer system is presented. It was found that the system does not exhibit high performance because much of the available thermal power is not used in the construction of the image and because the image that can be formed has a resolution of only ten lines. An analysis of image reconstruction is given. The system is compared with conventional aperture synthesis systems
Development of a breadboard model correlation interferometer for the carbon monoxide pollution experiment
The breadboard model of the correlation interferometer for the Carbon Monoxide Pollution Experiment has been designed, fabricated, and tested. Laboratory, long-path, and atmospheric tests which were performed show the technique to be a feasible method for obtaining a global carbon monoxide map and a vertical carbon monoxide profile and similar information is readily obtainable for methane as well. In addition, the technique is readily applicable to other trace gases by minor instrumental changes. As shown by the results and the conclusions, it has been determined that CO and CH4 data can be obtained with an accuracy of 10% using this technique on the spectral region around 2.3 microns
Transmittivity measurements by means of squeezed vacuum light
A method for measuring the transmittivity of optical samples by using
squeezed--vacuum radiation is illustrated. A squeezed vacuum field generated by
a below--threshold optical parametric oscillator is propagated through a
nondispersive medium and detected by a homodyne apparatus. The variance of the
detected quadrature is used for measuring the transmittivity. With this method
it is drastically reduced the number of photons passing through the sample
during the measurement interval. The results of some tests are reported.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Nano-displacement measurements using spatially multimode squeezed light
We demonstrate the possibility of surpassing the quantum noise limit for
simultaneous multi-axis spatial displacement measurements that have zero mean
values. The requisite resources for these measurements are squeezed light beams
with exotic transverse mode profiles. We show that, in principle, lossless
combination of these modes can be achieved using the non-degenerate Gouy phase
shift of optical resonators. When the combined squeezed beams are measured with
quadrant detectors, we experimentally demonstrate a simultaneous reduction in
the transverse x- and y- displacement fluctuations of 2.2 dB and 3.1 dB below
the quantum noise limit.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, submitted to "Special Issue on Fluctuations &
Noise in Photonics & Quantum Optics" of J. Opt.
Quantum metrology and its application in biology
Quantum metrology provides a route to overcome practical limits in sensing
devices. It holds particular relevance to biology, where sensitivity and
resolution constraints restrict applications both in fundamental biophysics and
in medicine. Here, we review quantum metrology from this biological context,
focusing on optical techniques due to their particular relevance for biological
imaging, sensing, and stimulation. Our understanding of quantum mechanics has
already enabled important applications in biology, including positron emission
tomography (PET) with entangled photons, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using
nuclear magnetic resonance, and bio-magnetic imaging with superconducting
quantum interference devices (SQUIDs). In quantum metrology an even greater
range of applications arise from the ability to not just understand, but to
engineer, coherence and correlations at the quantum level. In the past few
years, quite dramatic progress has been seen in applying these ideas into
biological systems. Capabilities that have been demonstrated include enhanced
sensitivity and resolution, immunity to imaging artifacts and technical noise,
and characterization of the biological response to light at the single-photon
level. New quantum measurement techniques offer even greater promise, raising
the prospect for improved multi-photon microscopy and magnetic imaging, among
many other possible applications. Realization of this potential will require
cross-disciplinary input from researchers in both biology and quantum physics.
In this review we seek to communicate the developments of quantum metrology in
a way that is accessible to biologists and biophysicists, while providing
sufficient detail to allow the interested reader to obtain a solid
understanding of the field. We further seek to introduce quantum physicists to
some of the central challenges of optical measurements in biological science.Comment: Submitted review article, comments and suggestions welcom
Two-parameter Hong-Ou-Mandel dip
A modification of the standard Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer is proposed
which allows one to replicate the celebrated coincidence dip in the case of
two-independent delay parameters. In the ideal case where such delays are
sufficiently stable with respect to the mean wavelength of the pump source,
properly symmetrized input bi-photon states allow one to pinpoint their values
through the identification of a zero in the coincidence counts, a feature that
cannot be simulated by semiclassical inputs having the same spectral
properties. Besides, in the presence of fluctuating parameters the zero in the
coincidences is washed away: still the bi-photon state permits to recover the
values of parameters with a visibility which is higher than the one allowed by
semiclassical sources. The detrimental role of loss and dispersion is also
analyzed and an application in the context of quantum positioning is presented.Comment: 16 pages,9 figure
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