8,003 research outputs found
The H.E.S.S. multi-messenger program
Based on fundamental particle physics processes like the production and
subsequent decay of pions in interactions of high-energy particles, close
connections exist between the acceleration sites of high-energy cosmic rays and
the emission of high-energy gamma rays and high-energy neutrinos. In most cases
these connections provide both spatial and temporal correlations of the
different emitted particles. The combination of the complementary information
provided by these messengers allows to lift ambiguities in the interpretation
of the data and enables novel and highly sensitive analyses. In this
contribution the H.E.S.S. multi-messenger program is introduced and described.
The current core of this newly installed program is the combination of
high-energy neutrinos and high-energy gamma rays. The search for gamma-ray
emission following gravitational wave triggers is also discussed. Furthermore,
the existing program for following triggers in the electromagnetic regime was
extended by the search for gamma-ray emission from Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). An
overview over current and planned analyses is given and recent results are
presented.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherland
Pooling quantum states obtained by indirect measurements
We consider the pooling of quantum states when Alice and Bob both have one
part of a tripartite system and, on the basis of measurements on their
respective parts, each infers a quantum state for the third part S. We denote
the conditioned states which Alice and Bob assign to S by alpha and beta
respectively, while the unconditioned state of S is rho. The state assigned by
an overseer, who has all the data available to Alice and Bob, is omega. The
pooler is told only alpha, beta, and rho. We show that for certain classes of
tripartite states, this information is enough for her to reconstruct omega by
the formula omega \propto alpha rho^{-1} beta. Specifically, we identify two
classes of states for which this pooling formula works: (i) all pure states for
which the rank of rho is equal to the product of the ranks of the states of
Alice's and Bob's subsystems; (ii) all mixtures of tripartite product states
that are mutually orthogonal on S.Comment: Corrected a mistake regarding the scope of our original result. This
version to be published in Phys. Rev. A. 6 pages, 1 figur
Quantum State Diffusion and Time Correlation Functions
In computing the spectra of quantum mechanical systems one encounters the
Fourier transforms of time correlation functions, as given by the quantum
regression theorem for systems described by master equations. Quantum state
diffusion (QSD) gives a useful method of solving these problems by unraveling
the master equation into stochastic trajectories; but there is no generally
accepted definition of a time correlation function for a single QSD trajectory.
In this paper we show how QSD can be used to calculate these spectra directly;
by formally solving the equations which arise, we arrive at a natural
definition for a two-time correlation function in QSD, which depends explicitly
on both the stochastic noise of the particular trajectory and the time of
measurement, and which agrees in the mean with the ensemble average definition
of correlation functions.Comment: 16 pages standard LaTeX + 1 figure (uuencoded postscript) Numerous
minor revisions and clarifications. To appear in J. Mod. Optic
The power of random measurements: measuring Tr(\rho^n) on single copies of \rho
While it is known that Tr(\rho^n) can be measured directly (i.e., without
first reconstructing the density matrix) by performing joint measurements on n
copies of the same state rho, it is shown here that random measurements on
single copies suffice, too. Averaging over the random measurements directly
yields estimates of Tr(\rho^n), even when it is not known what measurements
were actually performed (so that one cannot reconstruct \rho)
Quantum Walks driven by many coins
Quantum random walks have been much studied recently, largely due to their
highly nonclassical behavior. In this paper, we study one possible route to
classical behavior for the discrete quantum random walk on the line: the use of
multiple quantum ``coins'' in order to diminish the effects of interference
between paths. We find solutions to this system in terms of the single coin
random walk, and compare the asymptotic limit of these solutions to numerical
simulations. We find exact analytical expressions for the time-dependence of
the first two moments, and show that in the long time limit the ``quantum
mechanical'' behavior of the one-coin walk persists. We further show that this
is generic for a very broad class of possible walks, and that this behavior
disappears only in the limit of a new coin for every step of the walk.Comment: 36 pages RevTeX 4.0 + 5 figures (encapsulated Postscript). Submitted
to Physical Review
NP-hardness of decoding quantum error-correction codes
Though the theory of quantum error correction is intimately related to the
classical coding theory, in particular, one can construct quantum error
correction codes (QECCs) from classical codes with the dual containing
property, this does not necessarily imply that the computational complexity of
decoding QECCs is the same as their classical counterparts. Instead, decoding
QECCs can be very much different from decoding classical codes due to the
degeneracy property. Intuitively, one expect degeneracy would simplify the
decoding since two different errors might not and need not be distinguished in
order to correct them. However, we show that general quantum decoding problem
is NP-hard regardless of the quantum codes being degenerate or non-degenerate.
This finding implies that no considerably fast decoding algorithm exists for
the general quantum decoding problems, and suggests the existence of a quantum
cryptosystem based on the hardness of decoding QECCs.Comment: 5 pages, no figure. Final version for publicatio
Hitting time for quantum walks on the hypercube
Hitting times for discrete quantum walks on graphs give an average time
before the walk reaches an ending condition. To be analogous to the hitting
time for a classical walk, the quantum hitting time must involve repeated
measurements as well as unitary evolution. We derive an expression for hitting
time using superoperators, and numerically evaluate it for the discrete walk on
the hypercube. The values found are compared to other analogues of hitting time
suggested in earlier work. The dependence of hitting times on the type of
unitary ``coin'' is examined, and we give an example of an initial state and
coin which gives an infinite hitting time for a quantum walk. Such infinite
hitting times require destructive interference, and are not observed
classically. Finally, we look at distortions of the hypercube, and observe that
a loss of symmetry in the hypercube increases the hitting time. Symmetry seems
to play an important role in both dramatic speed-ups and slow-downs of quantum
walks.Comment: 8 pages in RevTeX format, four figures in EPS forma
Classical Dynamics of the Quantum Harmonic Chain
The origin of classical predictability is investigated for the one
dimensional harmonic chain considered as a closed quantum mechanical system. By
comparing the properties of a family of coarse-grained descriptions of the
chain, we conclude that local coarse-grainings in this family are more useful
for prediction than nonlocal ones. A quantum mechanical system exhibits
classical behavior when the probability is high for histories having the
correlations in time implied by classical deterministic laws. But approximate
classical determinism holds only for certain coarse-grainings and then only if
the initial state of the system is suitably restricted. Coarse-grainings by the
values of the hydrodynamic variables (integrals over suitable volumes of
densities of approximately conserved quantities) define the histories usually
used in classical physics. But what distinguishes this coarse-graining from
others? This paper approaches this question by analyzing a family of
coarse-grainings for the linear harmonic chain. At one extreme in the family
the chain is divided into local groups of atoms. At the other extreme the
atoms are distributed nonlocally over the whole chain. Each coarse-graining
follows the average (center of mass) positions of the groups and ignores the
``internal'' coordinates within each group, these constituting a different
environment for each coarse-graining. We conclude that noise, decoherence, and
computational complexity favor locality over nonlocality for deterministic
predictability.Comment: 38 pages RevTeX 3.0 + 4 figures (postscript). Numerous minor
corrections. Submitted to Physical Review
High Metallicity Mg II Absorbers in the z < 1 Lyman alpha Forest of PKS 0454+039: Giant LSB Galaxies?
We report the discovery of two iron-group enhanced high-metallicity Mg II
absorbers in a search through 28 Lyman Alpha forest clouds along the PKS
0454+039 sight line. Based upon our survey and the measured redshift number
densities of W_r(MgII) <= 0.3 A absorbers and Lyman Alpha absorbers at z ~ 1,
we suggest that roughly 5% of Lyman Alpha absorbers at z < 1 will exhibit
"weak" Mg II absorption to a 5-sigma W_r(2796) detection limit of 0.02 A. The
two discovered absorbers, at redshifts z = 0.6248 and z = 0.9315, have W_r(Lya)
= 0.33 and 0.15 A, respectively. Based upon photoionization modeling, the H I
column densities are inferred to be in the range 15.8 <= log N(HI) <= 16.8
cm^-2. For the z = 0.6428 absorber, if the abundance pattern is solar, then the
cloud has [Fe/H] > -1; if its gas-phase abundance follows that of depleted
clouds in our Galaxy, then [Fe/H] > 0 is inferred. For the z = 0.9315 absorber,
the metallicity is [Fe/H] > 0, whether the abundance pattern is solar or
suffers depletion. Imaging and spectroscopic studies of the PKS 0454+039 field
reveal no candidate luminous objects at these redshifts. We discuss the
possibility that these Mg II absorbers may arise in the class of "giant" low
surface brightness galaxies, which have [Fe/H] >= -1, and even [Fe/H] >= 0, in
their extended disks. We tentatively suggest that a substantial fraction of
these "weak" Mg II absorbers may select low surface brightness galaxies out to
z ~ 1.Comment: Accepted The Astrophysical Journal; 25 pages; 6 encapsulated figure
Gaussian approximation and single-spin measurement in OSCAR MRFM with spin noise
A promising technique for measuring single electron spins is magnetic
resonance force microscopy (MRFM), in which a microcantilever with a permanent
magnetic tip is resonantly driven by a single oscillating spin. If the quality
factor of the cantilever is high enough, this signal will be amplified over
time to the point that it can be detected by optical or other techniques. An
important requirement, however, is that this measurement process occur on a
time scale short compared to any noise which disturbs the orientation of the
measured spin. We describe a model of spin noise for the MRFM system, and show
how this noise is transformed to become time-dependent in going to the usual
rotating frame. We simplify the description of the cantilever-spin system by
approximating the cantilever wavefunction as a Gaussian wavepacket, and show
that the resulting approximation closely matches the full quantum behavior. We
then examine the problem of detecting the signal for a cantilever with thermal
noise and spin with spin noise, deriving a condition for this to be a useful
measurement.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures in EPS format, RevTeX 4.
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