1,241 research outputs found
Polarization squeezing of intense pulses with a fiber Sagnac interferometer
We report on the generation of polarization squeezing of intense, short light
pulses using an asymmetric fiber Sagnac interferometer. The Kerr nonlinearity
of the fiber is exploited to produce independent amplitude squeezed pulses. The
polarization squeezing properties of spatially overlapped amplitude squeezed
and coherent states are discussed. The experimental results for a single
amplitude squeezed beam are compared to the case of two phase-matched,
spatially overlapped amplitude squeezed pulses. For the latter, noise variances
of -3.4dB below shot noise in the S0 and the S1 and of -2.8dB in the S2 Stokes
parameters were observed, which is comparable to the input squeezing magnitude.
Polarization squeezing, that is squeezing relative to a corresponding
polarization minimum uncertainty state, was generated in S1.Comment: v4: 2 small typos corrected v3: misc problems with Tex surmounted -
mysteriously missing text returned to results - vol# for Korolkova et al. PRA
v2: was a spelling change in author lis
Entangled light in transition through the generation threshold
We investigate continuous variable entangling resources on the base of
two-mode squeezing for all operational regimes of a nondegenerate optical
parametric oscillator with allowance for quantum noise of arbitrary level. The
results for the quadrature variances of a pair of generated modes are obtained
by using the exact steady-state solution of Fokker-Planck equation for the
complex P-quasiprobability distribution function. We find a simple expression
for the squeezed variances in the near-threshold range and conclude that the
maximal two-mode squeezing reaches 50% relative to the level of vacuum
fluctuations and is achieved at the pump field intensity close to the
generation threshold. The distinction between the degree of two-mode squeezing
for monostable and bistable operational regimes is cleared up.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; Content changed: more details added to the
discussion. To be published in Phys. Rev.
Von Bezold assimilation effect reverses in stereoscopic conditions
Lightness contrast and lightness assimilation are opposite phenomena: in contrast,
grey targets appear darker when bordering bright surfaces (inducers) rather than dark ones; in
assimilation, the opposite occurs. The question is: which visual process favours the occurrence
of one phenomenon over the other? Researchers provided three answers to this question. The
first asserts that both phenomena are caused by peripheral processes; the second attributes their
occurrence to central processes; and the third claims that contrast involves central processes,
whilst assimilation involves peripheral ones. To test these hypotheses, an experiment on an IT
system equipped with goggles for stereo vision was run. Observers were asked to evaluate the
lightness of a grey target, and two variables were systematically manipulated: (i) the apparent
distance of the inducers; and (ii) brightness of the inducers. The retinal stimulation was kept
constant throughout, so that the peripheral processes remained the same. The results show that
the lightness of the target depends on both variables. As the retinal stimulation was kept constant, we
conclude that central mechanisms are involved in both lightness contrast and lightness assimilation
Bowel associated dermatosis – arthritis syndrome: a case report
We report a rare case of Bowel Associated Dermatosis – Arthritis Syndrome in a young patient with complex Crohn's disease who presented with fever, arthritis, rash and worsening of diarrhea with abdominal pain, who promptly responded to a short course of steroids
Quantum capacity of an amplitude-damping channel with memory
We calculate the quantum capacity of an amplitude-damping channel with time
correlated Markov noise, for two channel uses. Our results show that memory of
the channel increases it's ability to transmit quantum information
significantly. We analyze and compare our findings with earlier numerical
results on amplitude-damping channel with memory. An upper bound on the amount
of quantum information transmitted over the channel in presence of memory, for
an arbitrary number of channel uses is also presented.Comment: 17 Pages, 5 Figure
Stable nondegenerate optical parametric oscillation at degenerate frequencies in Na:KTP
We report the realization of a light source specifically designed for the
generation of bright continuous-variable entangled beams and for
Heisenberg-limited inteferometry. The source is a nondegenerate, single-mode,
continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator in Na:KTP, operated at frequency
degeneracy and just above threshold, which is also of interest for the study of
critical fluctuations at the transition point. The residual
frequency-difference jitter is 150 kHz for a 3 MHz cold cavity half-width
at half maximum. We observe 4 dB of photon-number-difference squeezing at 200
kHz. The Na:KTP crystal is noncritically phase-matched for a 532 nm pump and
polarization crosstalk is therefore practically nonexistent
Quantum-Dense Metrology
Quantum metrology utilizes entanglement for improving the sensitivity of
measurements. Up to now the focus has been on the measurement of just one out
of two non-commuting observables. Here we demonstrate a laser interferometer
that provides information about two non-commuting observables, with
uncertainties below that of the meter's quantum ground state. Our experiment is
a proof-of-principle of quantum dense metrology, and uses the additional
information to distinguish between the actual phase signal and a parasitic
signal due to scattered and frequency shifted photons. Our approach can be
readily applied to improve squeezed-light enhanced gravitational-wave detectors
at non-quantum noise limited detection frequencies in terms of a sub shot-noise
veto-channel.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; includes supplementary material
Intrathecal delivery of PDGF produces tactile allodynia through its receptors in spinal microglia
Neuropathic pain is a debilitating pain condition that occurs after nerve damage. Such pain is considered to be a reflection of the aberrant excitability of dorsal horn neurons. Emerging lines of evidence indicate that spinal microglia play a crucial role in neuronal excitability and the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain, but the mechanisms underlying neuron-microglia communications in the dorsal horn remain to be fully elucidated. A recent study has demonstrated that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) expressed in dorsal horn neurons contributes to neuropathic pain after nerve injury, yet how PDGF produces pain hypersensitivity remains unknown. Here we report an involvement of spinal microglia in PDGF-induced tactile allodynia. A single intrathecal delivery of PDGF B-chain homodimer (PDGF-BB) to naive rats produced a robust and long-lasting decrease in paw withdrawal threshold in a dose-dependent manner. Following PDGF administration, the immunofluorescence for phosphorylated PDGF β-receptor (p-PDGFRβ), an activated form, was markedly increased in the spinal dorsal horn. Interestingly, almost all p-PDGFRβ-positive cells were double-labeled with an antibody for the microglia marker OX-42, but not with antibodies for other markers of neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. PDGF-stimulated microglia in vivo transformed into a modest activated state in terms of their cell number and morphology. Furthermore, PDGF-BB-induced tactile allodynia was prevented by a daily intrathecal administration of minocycline, which is known to inhibit microglia activation. Moreover, in rats with an injury to the fifth lumbar spinal nerve (an animal model of neuropathic pain), the immunofluorescence for p-PDGFRβ was markedly enhanced exclusively in microglia in the ipsilateral dorsal horn. Together, our findings suggest that spinal microglia critically contribute to PDGF-induced tactile allodynia, and it is also assumed that microglial PDGF signaling may have a role in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain
Platelet-derived growth factor-B gene delivery sustains gingival fibroblast signal transduction
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65871/1/j.1600-0765.2008.01089.x.pd
Experimental characterization of continuous-variable entanglement
We present an experimental analysis of quadrature entanglement produced from a pair of amplitude squeezed beams. The correlation matrix of the state is characterized within a set of reasonable assumptions, and the strength of the entanglement is gauged using measures of the degree of inseparability and the degree of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox. We introduce controlled decoherence in the form of optical loss to the entangled state, and demonstrate qualitative differences in the response of the degrees of inseparability and EPR paradox to this loss. The entanglement is represented on a photon number diagram that provides an intuitive and physically relevant description of the state. We calculate efficacy contours for several quantum information protocols on this diagram, and use them to predict the effectiveness of our entanglement in those protocols
- …