Sub-Poissonian atom number fluctuations by three-body loss in mesoscopic ensembles

We show that three-body loss of trapped atoms leads to sub-Poissonian atom number fluctuations. We prepare hundreds of dense ultracold ensembles in an array of magnetic microtraps which undergo rapid three-body decay. The shot-to-shot fluctuations of the number of atoms per trap are sub-Poissonian, for ensembles comprising 50--300 atoms. The measured relative variance or Fano factor $F=0.53\pm 0.22$ agrees very well with the prediction by an analytic theory ($F=3/5$) and numerical calculations. These results will facilitate studies of quantum information science with mesoscopic ensembles.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Improved detection of small atom numbers through image processing

We demonstrate improved detection of small trapped atomic ensembles through advanced post-processing and optimal analysis of absorption images. A fringe removal algorithm reduces imaging noise to the fundamental photon-shot-noise level and proves beneficial even in the absence of fringes. A maximum-likelihood estimator is then derived for optimal atom-number estimation and is applied to real experimental data to measure the population differences and intrinsic atom shot-noise between spatially separated ensembles each comprising between 10 and 2000 atoms. The combined techniques improve our signal-to-noise by a factor of 3, to a minimum resolvable population difference of 17 atoms, close to our ultimate detection limit.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

A dissipative quantum reservoir for microwave light using a mechanical oscillator

Engineered dissipation can be used for quantum state preparation. This is achieved with a suitably engineered coupling to a dissipative cold reservoir usually formed by an electromagnetic mode. In the field of cavity electro- and optomechanics, the electromagnetic cavity naturally serves as a cold reservoir for the mechanical mode. Here, we realize the opposite scenario and engineer a mechanical oscillator cooled close to its ground state into a cold dissipative reservoir for microwave photons in a superconducting circuit. By tuning the coupling to this dissipative mechanical reservoir, we demonstrate dynamical backaction control of the microwave field, leading to stimulated emission and maser action. Moreover, the reservoir can function as a useful quantum resource, allowing the implementation of a near-quantum-limited phase-preserving microwave amplifier. Such engineered mechanical dissipation extends the toolbox of quantum manipulation techniques of the microwave field and constitutes a new ingredient for optomechanical protocols.This work was funded by the SNF, the NCCR Quantum Science and Technology (QSIT), and the European Union Seventh Framework Program through iQUOEMS (grant no. 323924). L.D.T. is supported by Marie Curie ITN cQOM (grant no. 290161). T.J.K. acknowledges financial support from an ERC AdG (QuREM). A.N. holds a University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society and acknowledges support from the Winton Programme for the Physics of Sustainability

The ARID1B spectrum in 143 patients: from nonsyndromic intellectual disability to Coffin–Siris syndrome

Purpose: Pathogenic variants in ARID1B are one of the most frequent causes of intellectual disability (ID) as determined by large-scale exome sequencing studies. Most studies published thus far describe clinically diagnosed Coffin–Siris patients (ARID1B-CSS) and it is unclear whether these data are representative for patients identified through sequencing of unbiased ID cohorts (ARID1B-ID). We therefore sought to determine genotypic and phenotypic differences between ARID1B-ID and ARID1B-CSS. In parallel, we investigated the effect of different methods of phenotype reporting. Methods: Clinicians entered clinical data in an extensive web-based survey. Results: 79 ARID1B-CSS and 64 ARID1B-ID patients were included. CSS-associated dysmorphic features, such as thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, thick alae nasi, long and/or broad philtrum, small nails and small or absent fifth distal phalanx and hypertrichosis, were observed significantly more often (p < 0.001) in ARID1B-CSS patients. No other significant differences were identified. Conclusion: There are only minor differences between ARID1B-ID and ARID1B-CSS patients. ARID1B-related disorders seem to consist of a spectrum, and patients should be managed similarly. We demonstrated that data collection methods without an explicit option to report the absence of a feature (such as most Human Phenotype Ontology-based methods) tended to underestimate gene-related features

Theory of phase-mixing amplification in an optomechanical system

The investigation of the ultimate limits imposed by quantum mechanics on amplification represents an important topic both on a fundamental level and from the perspective of potential applications. We discuss here a novel regime for bosonic linear amplifiers—beside phase-insensitive and phase-sensitive amplification—which we term here phase-mixing amplification. Furthermore, we show that phase-mixing amplification can be realised in a cavity optomechanical setup, constituted by a mechanical resonator which is dispersively coupled to an optomechanical cavity asymmetrically driven around both mechanical sidebands. While, in general, this amplifier is phase-mixing, for a suitable choice of parameters, the amplifier proposed here operates as a phase-sensitive amplifier. We show that both configurations allow amplification with an added noise below the quantum limit of (phase-insensitive) amplification in a parameter range compatible with current experiments in microwave circuit optomechanics. In particular, we show that introducing phase-mixing amplification typically allows for a significant reduction of the added noise.peerReviewe

Optomechanical measurement of a millimeter-sized mechanical oscillator approaching the quantum ground state

Cavity optomechanics is a tool to study the interaction between light and micromechanical motion. Here we observe optomechanical physics in a truly macroscopic oscillator close to the quantum ground state. As the mechanical system, we use a mm-sized piezoelectric quartz disk oscillator. Its motion is coupled to a charge qubit which translates the piezo-induced charge into an effective radiation-pressure interaction between the disk and a microwave cavity. We measure the thermal motion of the lowest mechanical shear mode at 7 MHz down to 30 mK, corresponding to roughly 10 2 quanta in a 20 mg oscillator. We estimate that with realistic parameters, it is possible to utilize the back-action cooling by the qubit in order to control macroscopic motion by a single Cooper pair. The work opens up opportunities for macroscopic quantum experiments.Peer reviewe