1,554 research outputs found
Open system dynamics with non-Markovian quantum jumps
We discuss in detail how non-Markovian open system dynamics can be described
in terms of quantum jumps [J. Piilo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 180402
(2008)]. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to have a jump description
contained in the physical Hilbert space of the reduced system. The developed
non-Markovian quantum jump (NMQJ) approach is a generalization of the Markovian
Monte Carlo Wave Function (MCWF) method into the non-Markovian regime. The
method conserves both the probabilities in the density matrix and the norms of
the state vectors exactly, and sheds new light on non-Markovian dynamics. The
dynamics of the pure state ensemble illustrates how local-in-time master
equation can describe memory effects and how the current state of the system
carries information on its earlier state. Our approach solves the problem of
negative jump probabilities of the Markovian MCWF method in the non-Markovian
regime by defining the corresponding jump process with positive probability.
The results demonstrate that in the theoretical description of non-Markovian
open systems, there occurs quantum jumps which recreate seemingly lost
superpositions due to the memory.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures. V2: Published version. Discussion section
shortened and some other minor changes according to the referee's suggestion
Angiogenesis is associated with vascular endothelial growth factor expression in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix (SCC) is preceded by a premalignant condition known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The majority of cases of CIN regress spontaneously; however, methods are needed to identify those lesions likely to progress. Increased blood vessel density, signifying angiogenesis, is an independent prognostic indicator in a number of cancers, although little is known about its significance in premalignant lesions. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between vessel density, expression of the potent angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and CIN grade. Using immunohistochemistry, mean vessel density (MVD) and VEGF expression were assessed in samples from 54 patients who had undergone cone biopsy for CIN or hysterectomy for SCC and from 16 patients with no cervical pathology. There were significant increases in MVD and VEGF expression from normal cervix through CIN I to CIN III to invasive SCC, but no difference in mean vessel diameter between groups. There was a strong correlation between mean vessel density and VEGF expression, and both were associated with histological grade of CIN. The original MVDs for a small group of patients later presenting with recurrent disease were found to be equal to or greater than the mean for their histological grade. We conclude that the onset of angiogenesis is an early event in premalignant changes of the cervix due, in part, to enhanced expression of VEGF by the abnormal epithelium
Qubits as devices to detect the third moment of current fluctuations
Under appropriate conditions controllable two-level systems can be used to
detect the third moment of current fluctuations. We derive a Master Equation
for a quantum system coupled to a bath valid to the third order in the coupling
between the system and the environment. In this approximation the reduced
dynamics of the quantum system depends on the frequency dependent third moment.
Specializing to the case of a controllable two-level system (a qubit) and in
the limit in which the splitting between the levels is much smaller than the
characteristic frequency of the third moment, it is possible to show that the
decay of the qubit has additional oscillations whose amplitude is directly
proportional to the value of the third moment. We discuss an experimental setup
where this effect can be seen.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Two-Level Atom in an Optical Parametric Oscillator: Spectra of Transmitted and Fluorescent Fields in the Weak Driving Field Limit
We consider the interaction of a two-level atom inside an optical parametric
oscillator. In the weak driving field limit, we essentially have an atom-cavity
system driven by the occasional pair of correlated photons, or weakly squeezed
light. We find that we may have holes, or dips, in the spectrum of the
fluorescent and transmitted light. This occurs even in the strong-coupling
limit when we find holes in the vacuum-Rabi doublet. Also, spectra with a
sub-natural linewidth may occur. These effects disappear for larger driving
fields, unlike the spectral narrowing obtained in resonance fluorescence in a
squeezed vacuum; here it is important that the squeezing parameter tends to
zero so that the system interacts with only one correlated pair of photons at a
time. We show that a previous explanation for spectral narrowing and spectral
holes for incoherent scattering is not applicable in the present case, and
propose a new explanation. We attribute these anomalous effects to quantum
interference in the two-photon scattering of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Quantum trajectory approach to circuit QED: Quantum jumps and the Zeno effect
We present a theoretical study of a superconducting charge qubit dispersively
coupled to a transmission line resonator. Starting from a master equation
description of this coupled system and using a polaron transformation, we
obtain an exact effective master equation for the qubit. We then use quantum
trajectory theory to investigate the measurement of the qubit by continuous
homodyne measurement of the resonator out-field. Using the same porlaron
transformation, a stochastic master equation for the conditional state of the
qubit is obtained. From this result, various definitions of the measurement
time are studied. Furthermore, we find that in the limit of strong homodyne
measurement, typical quantum trajectories for the qubit exhibit a crossover
from diffusive to jump-like behavior. Finally, in the presence of Rabi drive on
the qubit, the qubit dynamics is shown to exhibit quantum Zeno behavior.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure
Experimental observation of spatial antibunching of photons
We report an interference experiment that shows transverse spatial
antibunching of photons. Using collinear parametric down-conversion in a
Young-type fourth-order interference setup we show interference patterns that
violate the classical Schwarz inequality and should not exist at all in a
classical description.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Observation of squeezed light from one atom excited with two photons
Single quantum emitters like atoms are well-known as non-classical light
sources which can produce photons one by one at given times, with reduced
intensity noise. However, the light field emitted by a single atom can exhibit
much richer dynamics. A prominent example is the predicted ability for a single
atom to produce quadrature-squeezed light, with sub-shot-noise amplitude or
phase fluctuations. It has long been foreseen, though, that such squeezing
would be "at least an order of magnitude more difficult" to observe than the
emission of single photons. Squeezed beams have been generated using
macroscopic and mesoscopic media down to a few tens of atoms, but despite
experimental efforts, single-atom squeezing has so far escaped observation.
Here we generate squeezed light with a single atom in a high-finesse optical
resonator. The strong coupling of the atom to the cavity field induces a
genuine quantum mechanical nonlinearity, several orders of magnitude larger
than for usual macroscopic media. This produces observable quadrature squeezing
with an excitation beam containing on average only two photons per system
lifetime. In sharp contrast to the emission of single photons, the squeezed
light stems from the quantum coherence of photon pairs emitted from the system.
The ability of a single atom to induce strong coherent interactions between
propagating photons opens up new perspectives for photonic quantum logic with
single emittersComment: Main paper (4 pages, 3 figures) + Supplementary information (5 pages,
2 figures). Revised versio
Decoherence, Autler-Townes effect, and dark states in two-tone driving of a three-level superconducting system
We present a detailed theoretical analysis of a multi-level quantum system
coupled to two radiation fields and subject to decoherence. We concentrate on
an effect known from quantum optics as the Autler-Townes splitting, which has
been recently demonstrated experimentally [M. A. Sillanpaa et al., Phys. Rev.
Lett. 103, 193601 (2009)] in a superconducting phase qubit. In the three-level
approximation, we derive analytical solutions and describe how they can be used
to extract the decoherence rates and to account for the measurement data.
Better agreement with the experiment can be obtained by extending this model to
five levels. Finally, we investigate the stationary states created in the
experiment and show that their structure is close to that of dark states.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
- …