4,562 research outputs found
Quantum state conversion by cross-Kerr interaction
A generalized Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer equipped with cross-Kerr
elements is proposed to convert N-photon truncated single-mode quantum states
into (N+1)-mode single-photon states, which are suitable for further state
manipulation by means of beam splitter arrays and ON/OFF-detections, and vice
versa. Applications to the realization of unitary and non-unitary
transformations, quantum state reconstruction, and quantum telemanipulation are
studied.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, using a4.st
Absolute dimensions of eclipsing binaries. XVII. A metal-weak F-type system, perhaps with preference for Y = 0.23-0.24
V1130 Tau is a bright (m_V = 6.56), nearby (71 +/- 2 pc) detached system with
a circular orbit (P = 0.80d). The components are deformed with filling factors
above 0.9. Their masses and radii have been established to 0.6-0.7%. We derive
a [Fe/H] abundance of -0.25 +/- 0.10. The measured rotational velocities, 92.4
+/- 1.1 (primary) and 104.7 +/- 2.7 (secondary) km/s, are in fair agreement
with synchronization. The larger 1.39 Msun secondary component has evolved to
the middle of the main-sequence band and is slightly cooler than the 1.31 Msun
primary. Yonsai-Yale, BaSTI, and Granada evolutionary models for the observed
metal abundance and a 'normal' He content of Y = 0.25-0.26, marginally
reproduce the components at ages between 1.8 and 2.1 Gyr. All such models are,
however, systematically about 200 K hotter than observed and predict ages for
the more massive component, which are systematically higher than for the less
massive component. These trends can not be removed by adjusting the amount of
core overshoot or envelope convection level, or by including rotation in the
model calculations. They may be due to proximity effects in V1130 Tau, but on
the other hand, we find excellent agreement for 2.5-2.8 Gyr Granada models with
a slightly lower Y of 0.23-0.24. V1130 Tau is a valuable addition to the very
few well-studied 1-2 Msun binaries with component(s) in the upper half of the
main-sequence band, or beyond. The stars are not evolved enough to provide new
information on the dependence of core overshoot on mass (and abundance), but
might - together with a larger sample of well-detached systems - be useful for
further tuning of the helium enrichment law.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Entanglement purification of multi-mode quantum states
An iterative random procedure is considered allowing an entanglement
purification of a class of multi-mode quantum states. In certain cases, a
complete purification may be achieved using only a single signal state
preparation. A physical implementation based on beam splitter arrays and
non-linear elements is suggested. The influence of loss is analyzed in the
example of a purification of entangled N-mode coherent states.Comment: 6 pages, 3 eps-figures, using revtex
Age and helium content of the open cluster NGC 6791 from multiple eclipsing binary members. I. Measurements, methods, and first results
Earlier measurements of the masses and radii of the detached eclipsing binary
V20 in the open cluster NGC 6791 were accurate enough to demonstrate that there
are significant differences between current stellar models. Here we improve on
those results and add measurements of two additional detached eclipsing
binaries, the cluster members V18 and V80. The enlarged sample sets much
tighter constraints on the properties of stellar models than has hitherto been
possible, thereby improving both the accuracy and precision of the cluster age.
We employed (i) high-resolution UVES spectroscopy of V18, V20 and V80 to
determine their spectroscopic effective temperatures, [Fe/H] values, and
spectroscopic orbital elements, and (ii) time-series photometry from the Nordic
Optical Telescope to obtain the photometric elements. The masses and radii of
the V18 and V20 components are found to high accuracy, with errors on the
masses in the range 0.27-0.36% and errors on the radii in the range 0.61-0.92%.
V80 is found to be magnetically active, and more observations are needed to
determine its parameters accurately. The metallicity of NGC 6791 is measured
from disentangled spectra of the binaries and a few single stars to be [Fe/H]=
+0.29 \pm 0.03 (random) \pm 0.07 (systematic). The cluster reddening and
apparent distance modulus are found to be E(B - V) = 0.160 \pm 0.025 and (m -
M)V = 13.51 \pm 0.06 . A first model comparison shows that we can constrain the
helium content of the NGC 6791 stars, and thus reach a more accurate age than
previously possible. It may be possible to constrain additional parameters, in
particular the C, N, and O abundances. This will be investigated in paper II.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Production of superpositions of coherent states in traveling optical fields with inefficient photon detection
We develop an all-optical scheme to generate superpositions of
macroscopically distinguishable coherent states in traveling optical fields. It
non-deterministically distills coherent state superpositions (CSSs) with large
amplitudes out of CSSs with small amplitudes using inefficient photon
detection. The small CSSs required to produce CSSs with larger amplitudes are
extremely well approximated by squeezed single photons. We discuss some
remarkable features of this scheme: it effectively purifies mixed initial
states emitted from inefficient single photon sources and boosts negativity of
Wigner functions of quantum states.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Heralded single-photon generation using imperfect single-photon sources and a two-photon-absorbing medium
We propose a setup for a heralded, i.e. announced generation of a pure
single-photon state given two imperfect sources whose outputs are represented
by mixtures of the single-photon Fock state with the vacuum
. Our purification scheme uses beam splitters, photodetection and a
two-photon-absorbing medium. The admixture of the vacuum is fully eliminated.
We discuss two potential realizations of the scheme.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures (LaTeX). In version v2 we have slightly modified
our setup so as to increase the success probability of single-photon
generation by a factor of two. In addition, in an appendix we discuss
alternative realizations of single-photon generation without a Mach-Zehnder
interferometer. Three new figures have been added. Version v3 is a revised
version published in Phys. Rev. A. It contains numerous minor corrections and
clarifications. A new figure has been added in order to clarify our
convention regarding labelling the field modes. The action of the beam
splitters in the Schroedinger picture is introduced. A new reference has been
include
Absolute dimensions of solar-type eclipsing binaries. EF Aquarii: a G0 test for stellar evolution models
Recent studies have shown that stellar chromospheric activity, and its effect
on convective energy transport in the envelope, is most likely the cause of
significant radius and temperature discrepancies between theoretical evolution
models and observations. We aim to determine absolute dimensions and abundances
for the solar-type detached eclipsing binary EF Aqr, and to perform a detailed
comparison with results from recent stellar evolutionary models. uvby-beta
standard photometry was obtained with the Stromgren Automatic Telescope. The
broadening function formalism was applied on spectra observed with HERMES at
the Mercator telescope in La Palma, to obtain radial velocity curves. Masses
and radii with a precision of 0.6% and 1.0% respectively have been established
for both components of EF Aqr. The active 0.956 M_sol secondary shows star
spots and strong Ca II H and K emission lines. The 1.224 M_sol primary shows
signs of activity as well, but at a lower level. An [Fe/H] abundance of
0.00+-0.10 is derived with similar abundances for Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Co,
and Ni. Solar calibrated evolutionary models such as Yonsei-Yale,
Victoria-Regina and BaSTI isochrones and evolutionary tracks are unable to
reproduce EF Aqr, especially for the secondary, which is 9% larger and 400 K
cooler than predicted. Models adopting significantly lower mixing length
parameters l/H_p remove these discrepancies, as seen in other solar type
binaries. For the observed metallicity, Granada models with a mixing length of
l/H_p=1.30 (primary) and 1.05 (secondary) reproduce both components at a common
age of 1.5+-0.6 Gyr. Observations of EF Aqr suggests that magnetic activity,
and its effect on envelope convection, is likely to be the cause of
discrepancies in both radius and temperature, which can be removed by adjusting
the mixing length parameter of the models downwards.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication by A&
Development and Progress in Enabling the Photocatalyst Ti02 Visible-Light-Active
Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) of organic contaminants is a promising air and water quality management approach which offers energy and cost savings compared to thermal catalytic oxidation (TCO). The most widely used photocatalyst, anatase TiO2, has a wide band gap (3.2 eV) and is activated by UV photons. Since solar radiation consists of less than 4% UV, but contains 45% visible light, catalysts capable of utilizing these visible photons need to be developed to make peo approaches more efficient, economical, and safe. Researchers have attempted various approaches to enable TiO2 to be visible-light-active with varied degrees of success'. Strategies attempted thus far fall into three categories based on their electrochemical' mechanisms: 1) narrowing the band gap of TiO2 by implantation of transition metal elements or nonmetal elements such as N, S, and C, 2) modifying electron-transfer processes during PCO by adsorbing sensitizing dyes, and 3) employing light-induced interfacial electron transfer in the heteronanojunction systems consisting of narrow band gap semiconductors represented by metal sulfides and TiO2. There are diverse technical approaches to implement each of these strategies. This paper presents a review of these approaches and results of the photocatalytic activity and photonic efficiency of the end .products under visible light. Although resulting visible-light-active (VLA) photocatalysts show promise, there is often no comparison with unmodified TiO2 under UV. In a limited number of studies where such comparison was provided, the UV-induced catalytic activity of bare TiO2 is much greater than the visible-light-induced catalytic activity of the VLA catalyst. Furthermore, VLA-catalysts have much lower quantum efficiency compared to the approx.50% quantum efficiency of UV-catalysts. This stresses the need for continuing research in this area
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