A modular spiral phase plate design for orbital angular momentum generation at millimetre wavelengths

Proof of concept measurements of a modular spiral phase plate design able to generate millimetre wavelength beams with an azimuthal mode number of l = ±10 are presented. The plate is comprised of ten single modules that interlock to create the full plate assembly, allowing improved machining accuracy compared to standard techniques. Therefore, this design could be used in millimetre wavelength systems that require the manipulation of large OAM modes. The plate was manufactured from polypropylene (index of refraction n ≈ 1.5), and was measured at 100GHz. A three dimensional field scanner was used to measure three near field surfaces behind the plate. Intensity measurements showed the expected OAM intensity ring, and phase measurements showed ten phase dislocations, implying proper functionality

Dynamical moments reveal a topological quantum transition in a photonic quantum walk

Many phenomena in solid-state physics can be understood in terms of their topological properties. Recently, controlled protocols of quantum walks are proving to be effective simulators of such phenomena. Here we report the realization of a photonic quantum walk showing both the trivial and the non-trivial topologies associated with chiral symmetry in one-dimensional periodic systems, as in the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model of polyacetylene. We find that the probability distribution moments of the walker position after many steps behave differently in the two topological phases and can be used as direct indicators of the quantum transition: while varying a control parameter, these moments exhibit a slope discontinuity at the transition point, and remain constant in the non-trivial phase. Extending this approach to higher dimensions, different topological classes, and other typologies of quantum phases may offer new general instruments for investigating quantum transitions in such complex systems

Two-dimensional topological quantum walks in the momentum space of structured light

Quantum walks are powerful tools for quantum applications and for designing topological systems. Although they are simulated in a variety of platforms, genuine two-dimensional realizations are still challenging. Here we present an innovative approach to the photonic simulation of a quantum walk in two dimensions, where walker positions are encoded in the transverse wavevector components of a single light beam. The desired dynamics is obtained by means of a sequence of liquid-crystal devices, which apply polarization-dependent transverse "kicks" to the photons in the beam. We engineer our quantum walk so that it realizes a periodically-driven Chern insulator, and we probe its topological features by detecting the anomalous displacement of the photonic wavepacket under the effect of a constant force. Our compact, versatile platform offers exciting prospects for the photonic simulation of two-dimensional quantum dynamics and topological systems.Comment: Published version of the manuscrip

High performance WR-1.5 corrugated horn based on stacked rings

We present the development and characterisation of a high frequency (500-750 GHz) corrugated horn based on stacked rings. A previous horn design, based on a Winston profile, has been adapted for the purpose of this manufacturing process without noticeable RF degradation. A subset of experimental results obtained using a vector network analyser are presented and compared to the predicted performance. These first results demonstrate that this technology is suitable for most commercial applications and also astronomical receivers in need of horn arrays at high frequencies.Comment: 9 page

Topological features of vector vortex beams perturbed with uniformly polarized light

Optical singularities manifesting at the center of vector vortex beams are unstable, since their topological charge is higher than the lowest value permitted by Maxwell’s equations. Inspired by conceptually similar phenomena occurring in the polarization pattern characterizing the skylight, we show how perturbations that break the symmetry of radially symmetric vector beams lead to the formation of a pair of fundamental and stable singularities, i.e. points of circular polarization. We prepare a superposition of a radial (or azimuthal) vector beam and a uniformly linearly polarized Gaussian beam; by varying the amplitudes of the two elds, we control the formation of pairs of these singular points and their spatial separation. We complete this study by applying the same analysis to vector vortex beams with higher topological charges, and by investigating the features that arise when increasing the intensity of the Gaussian term. Our results can nd application in the context of singularimetry, where weak elds are measured by considering them as perturbations of unstable optical beams

Observing CMB polarisation through ice

Ice crystal clouds in the upper troposphere can generate polarisation signals at the uK level. This signal can seriously affect very sensitive ground based searches for E- and B-mode of Cosmic Microwave Background polarisation. In this paper we estimate this effect within the ClOVER experiment observing bands (97, 150 and 220 GHz) for the selected observing site (Llano de Chajnantor, Atacama desert, Chile). The results show that the polarisation signal from the clouds can be of the order of or even bigger than the CMB expected polarisation. Climatological data suggest that this signal is fairly constant over the whole year in Antarctica. On the other hand the stronger seasonal variability in Atacama allows for a 50% of clean observations during the dry season.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 figure

HI intensity mapping with FAST

We discuss the detectability of large-scale HI intensity fluctuations using the FAST telescope. We present forecasts for the accuracy of measuring the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations and constraining the properties of dark energy. The FAST $19$-beam L-band receivers ($1.05$--$1.45$ GHz) can provide constraints on the matter power spectrum and dark energy equation of state parameters ($w_{0},w_{a}$) that are comparable to the BINGO and CHIME experiments. For one year of integration time we find that the optimal survey area is $6000\,{\rm deg}^2$. However, observing with larger frequency coverage at higher redshift ($0.95$--$1.35$ GHz) improves the projected errorbars on the HI power spectrum by more than $2~\sigma$ confidence level. The combined constraints from FAST, CHIME, BINGO and Planck CMB observations can provide reliable, stringent constraints on the dark energy equation of state.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to "Frontiers in Radio Astronomy and FAST Early Sciences Symposium 2015" conference proceedin

Energy-efficient quantum non-demolition measurement with a spin-photon interface

Spin-photon interfaces (SPIs) are key devices of quantum technologies, aimed at coherently transferring quantum information between spin qubits and propagating pulses of polarized light. We study the potential of a SPI for quantum non demolition (QND) measurements of a spin state. After being initialized and scattered by the SPI, the state of a light pulse depends on the spin state. It thus plays the role of a pointer state, information being encoded in the light's temporal and polarization degrees of freedom. Building on the fully Hamiltonian resolution of the spin-light dynamics, we show that quantum superpositions of zero and single photon states outperform coherent pulses of light, producing pointer states which are more distinguishable with the same photon budget. The energetic advantage provided by quantum pulses over coherent ones is maintained when information on the spin state is extracted at the classical level by performing projective measurements on the light pulses. The proposed schemes are robust against imperfections in state of the art semi-conducting devices.Comment: Accepted for publication in Quantu