Violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality with weak measurements of photons

By weakly measuring the polarization of a photon between two strong polarization measurements, we experimentally investigate the correlation between the appearance of anomalous values in quantum weak measurements, and the violation of realism and non-intrusiveness of measurements. A quantitative formulation of the latter concept is expressed in terms of a Leggett-Garg inequality for the outcomes of subsequent measurements of an individual quantum system. We experimentally violate the Leggett-Garg inequality for several measurement strengths. Furthermore, we experimentally demonstrate that there is a one-to-one correlation between achieving strange weak values and violating the Leggett-Garg inequality.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Polynomial ergodicity and asymptotic behaviour of unbounded solutions of abstract evolution equations

In this paper we develop the notion of ergodicity to include functions dominated by a weight $w$. Such functions have polynomial means and include, amongst many others, the $w$-almost periodic functions. This enables us to describe the asymptotic behaviour of unbounded solutions of linear evolution, recurrence and convolution equations. To unify the treatment and allow for further applications, we consider solutions $\phi : G\rightarrow X$ of generalized evolution equations of the form $(*) (B\phi)(t)=A\phi (t)+\psi (t)$ for $t\in G$ where $G$\ is a locally compact abelian group with a closed subsemigroup $J$, $A$ is a closed linear operator on a Banach space $X$, $\psi :G\rightarrow X$ is continuous and $B$ is a linear operator with characteristic function $\theta_{B}:\hat{G}\rightarrow \mathbf{C}$. We introduce the resonance set $\theta_{B}^{-1}(\sigma (A))$ which contains the Beurling spectra of all solutions of the homogeneous equation $B\phi =A\circ \phi$. For certain classes {\F} of functions from $J$ to $$ the spectrum sp_{{\F}}(\phi) of $\phi$ relative to $$ is used to determine membership of {\F}. Our main result gives general conditions under which sp_{{\F}}(\phi)\ is a subset of the resonance set. As a simple consequence we obtain conditions under which \psi |_{J}\in \F implies \phi |_{J}\in {\F}. An important tool is our generalization to unbounded functions of a theorem of Loomis. As applications we obtain generalizations or new proofs of many known results, including theorems of Gelfand, Hille, Katznelson-Tzafriri, Esterle et al., Ph\'{o}ng, Ruess and Arendt-Batty.Comment: 42 page

Creation of Maximally Entangled Photon Number States using Optical Fibre Multiports

We theoretically demonstrate a method for producing the maximally path-entangled state (1/Sqrt[2]) (|N,0> + exp[iN phi] |0,N>) using intensity-symmetric multiport beamsplitters, single photon inputs, and either photon-counting postselection or conditional measurement. The use of postselection enables successful implementation with non-unit efficiency detectors. We also demonstrate how to make the same state more conveniently by replacing one of the single photon inputs by a coherent state

High-Fidelity Z-Measurement Error Correction of Optical Qubits

We demonstrate a quantum error correction scheme that protects against accidental measurement, using an encoding where the logical state of a single qubit is encoded into two physical qubits using a non-deterministic photonic CNOT gate. For the single qubit input states |0>, |1>, |0>+|1>, |0>-|1>, |0>+i|1>, and |0>-i|1> our encoder produces the appropriate 2-qubit encoded state with an average fidelity of 0.88(3) and the single qubit decoded states have an average fidelity of 0.93(5) with the original state. We are able to decode the 2-qubit state (up to a bit flip) by performing a measurement on one of the qubits in the logical basis; we find that the 64 1-qubit decoded states arising from 16 real and imaginary single qubit superposition inputs have an average fidelity of 0.96(3).Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, comments welcom

The Influence of Management and Environment on Local Health Department Organizational Structure and Adaptation: A Longitudinal Network Analysis

Objective: The nation's 2862 local health departments (LHDs) are the primary means for assuring public health services for all populations. The objective of this study is to assess the effect of organizational network analysis on management decisions in LHDs and to demonstrate the technique's ability to detect organizational adaptation over time. Design and Setting: We conducted a longitudinal network analysis in a full-service LHD with 113 employees serving about 187 000 persons. Network survey data were collected from employees at 3 times: months 0, 8, and 34. At time 1 the initial analysis was presented to LHD managers as an intervention with information on evidence-based management strategies to address the findings. At times 2 and 3 interviews documented managers' decision making and events in the task environment. Results: Response rates for the 3 network analyses were 90%, 97%, and 83%. Postintervention (time 2) results showed beneficial changes in network measures of communication and integration. Screening and case identification increased for chlamydia and for gonorrhea. Outbreak mitigation was accelerated by cross-divisional teaming. Network measurements at time 3 showed LHD adaptation to H1N1 and budget constraints with increased centralization. Task redundancy increased dramatically after National Incident Management System training. Conclusions: Organizational network analysis supports LHD management with empirical evidence that can be translated into strategic decisions about communication, allocation of resources, and addressing knowledge gaps. Specific population health outcomes were traced directly to management decisions based on network evidence. The technique can help managers improve how LHDs function as organizations and contribute to our understanding of public health systems

Time-reversal and super-resolving phase measurements

We demonstrate phase super-resolution in the absence of entangled states. The key insight is to use the inherent time-reversal symmetry of quantum mechanics: our theory shows that it is possible to \emph{measure}, as opposed to prepare, entangled states. Our approach is robust, requiring only photons that exhibit classical interference: we experimentally demonstrate high-visibility phase super-resolution with three, four, and six photons using a standard laser and photon counters. Our six-photon experiment demonstrates the best phase super-resolution yet reported with high visibility and resolution.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Quantum gate characterization in an extended Hilbert space

We describe an approach for characterizing the process of quantum gates using quantum process tomography, by first modeling them in an extended Hilbert space, which includes non-qubit degrees of freedom. To prevent unphysical processes from being predicted, present quantum process tomography procedures incorporate mathematical constraints, which make no assumptions as to the actual physical nature of the system being described. By contrast, the procedure presented here ensures physicality by placing physical constraints on the nature of quantum processes. This allows quantum process tomography to be performed using a smaller experimental data set, and produces parameters with a direct physical interpretation. The approach is demonstrated by example of mode-matching in an all-optical controlled-NOT gate. The techniques described are non-specific and could be applied to other optical circuits or quantum computing architectures.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX (published version

Elements of rings with equal spectral idempotents

In this paper we define and study a generalized Drazin inverse $x^D$ for ring elements $x$, and give a characterization of elements $a, b$ for which $aa^D = bb^D$. We apply our results to the study of EP elements of a ring with involution.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Programa Operacional "Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação" (POCTI)