Demonstration of a programmable source of two-photon multiqubit entangled states

We suggest and demonstrate a novel source of two-photon multipartite entangled states which exploits the transverse spatial structure of spontaneous parametric downconversion together with a programmable spatial light modulator (SLM). The 1D SLM is used to perform polarization entanglement purification and to realize arbitrary phase-gates between polarization and momentum degrees of freedom of photons. We experimentally demonstrate our scheme by generating two-photon three qubit linear cluster states with high fidelity using a diode laser pump with a limited coherence time and power on the crystal as low as 2.5$mW.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear on PR

Nonlocal compensation of pure phase objects with entangled photons

We suggest and demonstrate a scheme for coherent nonlocal compensation of pure phase objects based on two-photon polarization and momentum entangled states. The insertion of a single phase object on one of the beams reduces the purity of the state and the amount of shared entanglement, whereas the original entanglement can be retrieved by adding a suitable phase object on the other beam. In our setup polarization and momentum entangled states are generated by spontaneous parametric downconversion and then purified using a programmable spatial light modulator, which may be also used to impose arbitrary space dependent phase functions to the beams. As a possible application, we suggest and demonstrate a quantum key distribution protocol based on nonlocal phase compensation.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Programmable entanglement oscillations in a non Markovian channel

We suggest and demonstrate an all-optical experimental setup to observe and engineer entanglement oscillations of a pair of polarization qubits in a non-Markovian channel. We generate entangled photon pairs by spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), and then insert a programmable spatial light modulator in order to impose a polarization dependent phase-shift on the spatial domain of the SPDC output and to create an effective non-Markovian environment. Modulation of the enviroment spectrum is obtained by inserting a spatial grating on the signal arm. In our experiment, programmable oscillations of entanglement are achieved, with the maximally revived state that violates Bell's inequality by 17 standard deviations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Programmable purification of type-I polarization-entanglement

We suggest and demonstrate a scheme to compensate spatial and spectral decoherence effects in the generation of polarization entangled states by type-I parametric downconversion. In our device a programmable spatial light modulator imposes a polarization dependent phase-shift on different spatial sections of the overall downconversion output and this effect is exploited to realize an effective purification technique for polarization entanglement.Comment: published versio

Modification of magnetic and transport properties of manganite layers in Au/La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3/SrTiO_3 interfaces

The effect of gold capping on magnetic and transport properties of optimally doped manganite thin films is studied. An extraordinary suppression of conductivity and magnetic properties occurs in epitaxial (001) La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO_3 (LSMO) films grown on SrTiO_3 upon deposition of 2 nm of Au: in the case of ultrathin films of LSMO (4 nm thick) the resistivity increases by four orders of magnitude while the Curie temperature decreases by 180 K. Zero-field 55Mn nuclear magnetic resonance reveals a significant reduction of ferromagnetic double-exchange mechanism in manganite films upon the gold capping. We find evidence for the formation of a 1.9-nm thick magnetic "dead-layer" at the Au/LSMO interface, associated with the creation of interfacial non double-exchange insulating phases.Comment: 4 figure

Kinetic study of an on-chip isocyanate derivatization reaction by on-line nano-esi ms

A high-throughput method is presented for the study of reaction kinetics by nano- electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nano-ESI MS). The reaction of propyl isocyanate (2), benzyl isocyanate (3), and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (4) with 4-nitro-7- piperazino-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBDPZ) (1) to yield the corresponding urea derivatives (5) was carried out in a continuous flow glass microchip. Real-time monitoring of the reactions was done by nano-ESI MS. Rate constants of 1.6 ␣ 104 M-1 min-1, 5.2 ␣ 104 M-1 min-1, and 2.5 ␣ 104 M-1 min-1 were determined for isocyanate 2, 3 and 4, respectively

Heat Capacity Mapping Mission (HCMM) program: Study of geological structure of Sicily and other Italian areas

The usefulness of thermal inertia mapping in discriminating geolithological units was investigated using Sardinia and the Gulf of Orosei as test sites. Software designed for LANDSAT data were modified and improved for HCMM tapes. A first attempt was made to compare the geological cross section, the topography, the IR radiance, and the thermal inertia along selected profiles of the test site. Thermal inertia profiles appear smoothed in comparison with the thermal radiance. The lowest apparent thermal inertia (ATI) was found on granitic and basaltic outcrops where their image is of sufficient extent, while ATI is higher on carbonatic and dolomitic or moist deposits. Almost every fault is marked by a jump of ATI, the interval being sometimes of the order of one pixel. This seems to demonstrate the ability of ATI to detect contacts or tectonically disturbed zones with a good resolution. It seems more difficult to measure the differences in ATI between homogeneous materials having different lithology. Ground surveys conducted and a simulation model of diurnal temperatures of rocks having different thermal inertia are discussed

Ultrathin MoS2 membranes and their characterization through HRTEM and electron diffraction studies

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, July 29 - August 2, 201

Coverage-dependent electronic and optical properties of H- or F-passivated Si/Ag(111) from first principles

Chemical functionalization of silicene can be devised to tune the intrinsic properties for optoelectronic applications of this material, as well as for optimizing the interface formed by ultrathin Si and a substrate. This work is focused on the (2 1a3 72 1a3)R30 18 phase of silicene grown on Ag(111), and the adsorption of H or F atoms, at half and full coverage, is simulated within density functional theory. The optical response is constructed through the independent particle\u2013random-phase approximation and analyzed thoroughly. The connection between the electronic structure and the features in the optical absorption and reflection is therefore investigated in order to highlight either the role of the adatoms or the effect of the metallic surface. As the coverage is increased, the silicene phases are effectively decoupled from Ag by H or F adatoms and the freestanding properties of the corresponding systems are recovered, for which a coverage-dependent band gap is opened in the states of the overlayer. However, despite being effectively decoupled from the substrate, the properties of functionalized silicene do not show the peculiar characteristics expected from the ideal freestanding Si layer