Atomic hydrogen cleaning of GaSb(001) surfaces

We show that the (001) surface of GaSb can be cleaned efficiently by exposure to atomic hydrogen at substrate temperatures in the range 400–470 °C. This treatment removes carbon and oxygen contamination, leaving a clean, ordered surface with a symmetric (1 × 3) reconstruction after a total H2 dose of approximately 150 kL. An ordered but partially oxidized surface is generated during cleaning, and the removal of this residual oxide is the most difficult part of the process. Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction were used to monitor the chemical cleanliness and the ordering of the surface during the cleaning process, whereas high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy was used to probe the electronic structure in the near-surface region. The results obtained indicates that this cleaning procedure leaves no residual electronic damage in the near-surface region of the Te-doped (n ~ 5 × 1017 cm – 3) samples of GaSb(001) studied

The statistical strength of experiments to reject local realism with photon pairs and inefficient detectors

Because of the fundamental importance of Bell's theorem, a loophole-free demonstration of a violation of local realism (LR) is highly desirable. Here, we study violations of LR involving photon pairs. We quantify the experimental evidence against LR by using measures of statistical strength related to the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence, as suggested by van Dam et al. [W. van Dam, R. Gill and P. Grunwald, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory. 51, 2812 (2005)]. Specifically, we analyze a test of LR with entangled states created from two independent polarized photons passing through a polarizing beam splitter. We numerically study the detection efficiency required to achieve a specified statistical strength for the rejection of LR depending on whether photon counters or detectors are used. Based on our results, we find that a test of LR free of the detection loophole requires photon counters with efficiencies of at least 89.71%, or photon detectors with efficiencies of at least 91.11%. For comparison, we also perform this analysis with ideal unbalanced Bell states, which are known to allow rejection of LR with detector efficiencies above 2/3.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, minor changes (add more references, replace the old plots, etc.)

On separability of quantum states and the violation of Bell-type inequalities

In contrast to the wide-spread opinion that any separable quantum state satisfies every classical probabilistic constraint, we present a simple example where a separable quantum state does not satisfy the original Bell inequality although the latter inequality, in its perfect correlation form, is valid for all joint classical measurements. In a very general setting, we discuss inequalities for joint experiments upon a bipartite quantum system in a separable state. We derive quantum analogues of the original Bell inequality and specify the conditions sufficient for a separable state to satisfy the original Bell inequality. We introduce the extended CHSH inequality and prove that, for any separable quantum state, this inequality holds for a variety of linear combinations.Comment: 13 pages, extended versio

The Structure of the Outer Halo of the Galaxy and its Relationship to Nearby Large-Scale Structure

We present evidence to support an earlier indication that the Galaxy is embedded in an extended, highly inclined, triaxial halo outlined by the spatial distribution of companion galaxies to the Milky Way. Signatures of this spatial distribution are seen in 1) the angular variation of the radial-velocity dispersion of the companion galaxies, 2) the spatial distribution of the M~31 sub-group of galaxies, 3) the spatial distribution of the isolated, mainly dwarf irregular, galaxies of the Local Group, 4) the velocity anisotropy quadrupole of a sub-group of high-velocity clouds, and 5) the spatial distribution of galaxies in the Coma-Sculptor cloud. Tidal effects of M~31 and surrounding galaxies on the Galaxy are not strong enough to have affected the observed structure. We conclude that this distribution is a reflection of initial conditions. A simple galaxy formation scenario is proposed which ties together the results found here with those of Holmberg (1969) and Zaritsky et al. (1997) on the peculiar distribution of satellites around a large sample of spiral galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astron J., March 2000, 12 pages with 1 figur