Squeezing-Enhanced Phase-Shift-Keyed Binary Communication in Noisy Channels

We address the use of squeezing in binary phase-shift-keyed (PSK) channels at fixed energy. In particular, we assess homodyne receivers against the Helstrom bound in the presence of phase noise. We also take into account possible imperfections in the generation of squeezing and the effect of losses during propagation. We find that squeezing is a useful resource if its amplitude is below a given threshold depending on the energy of the signals and on the properties of the channel. Squeezing enhancement is present also when phase-noise becomes large

Dephasing due to Nuclear Spins in Large-Amplitude Electric Dipole Spin Resonance

We analyze effects of the hyperfine interaction on electric dipole spin resonance when the amplitude of the quantum-dot motion becomes comparable or larger than the quantum dot's size. Away from the well-known small-drive regime, the important role played by transverse nuclear fluctuations leads to a Gaussian decay with characteristic dependence on drive strength and detuning. A characterization of spin-flip gate fidelity, in the presence of such additional drive-dependent dephasing, shows that vanishingly small errors can still be achieved at sufficiently large amplitudes. Based on our theory, we analyze recent electric dipole spin resonance experiments relying on spin-orbit interactions or the slanting field of a micromagnet. We find that such experiments are already in a regime with significant effects of transverse nuclear fluctuations and the form of decay of the Rabi oscillations can be reproduced well by our theory

Vortex Loops and Majoranas

We investigate the role that vortex loops play in characterizing eigenstates of interacting Majoranas. We first give some general results, and then we focus on ladder Hamiltonian examples to test further ideas. Two methods yield exact results: i.) We utilize the mapping of spin Hamiltonians to quartic interactions of Majoranas and show under certain conditions the spectra of these two examples coincide. ii) In cases with reflection-symmetric Hamiltonians, we use reflection positivity for Majoranas to characterize vortices. Aside from these exact results, two additional methods suggest wider applicability of these results: iii.) Numerical evidence suggests similar behavior for certain systems without reflection symmetry. iv.) A perturbative analysis also suggests similar behavior without the assumption of reflection symmetry.Comment: 28 page

Fate of the Quasi-condensed State for Bias-driven Hard-Core Bosons in one Dimension

Bosons in one dimension display a phenomenon called quasi-condensation, where correlations decay in a powerlaw fashion. We study the fate of quasi-condensation in the non-equilibrium steady-state of a chain of hard-core bosons coupled to macroscopic leads which are held at different chemical potentials. It is found that a finite bias destroys the quasi-condensed state and the critical scaling function of the quasi-condensed fraction, near the zero bias transition, is determined. Associated critical exponents are determined and numerically verified. Away from equilibrium, the system exhibits exponentially decaying correlations that are characterized by a bias-dependent correlation length that diverges in equilibrium. In addition, power-law corrections are found, which are characterized by an exponent that depends on the chain-leads coupling and is non-analytic at zero bias. This exactly-solvable nonequilibrium strongly-interacting system has the remarkable property that, the near-equilibrium state at infinitesimal bias, cannot be obtained within linear response. These results aid in unraveling the intricate properties spawned by strong interactions once liberated from equilibrium constraints.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Motion Planning from Demonstrations and Polynomial Optimization for Visual Servoing Applications

Vision feedback control techniques are desirable for a wide range of robotics applications due to their robustness to image noise and modeling errors. However in the case of a robot-mounted camera, they encounter difficulties when the camera traverses large displacements. This scenario necessitates continuous visual target feedback during the robot motion, while simultaneously considering the robot's self- and external-constraints. Herein, we propose to combine workspace (Cartesian space) path-planning with robot teach-by-demonstration to address the visibility constraint, joint limits and “whole arm” collision avoidance for vision-based control of a robot manipulator. User demonstration data generates safe regions for robot motion with respect to joint limits and potential “whole arm” collisions. Our algorithm uses these safe regions to generate new feasible trajectories under a visibility constraint that achieves the desired view of the target (e.g., a pre-grasping location) in new, undemonstrated locations. Experiments with a 7-DOF articulated arm validate the proposed method.published_or_final_versio

Polaritonic stop-band transparency via exciton-biexciton coupling in CuCl

Radiation is almost completely reflected within the exciton-polariton stop band of a semiconductor, as in the typical case of CuCl. We predict, however, that a coherently driven exciton-biexciton transition allows for the propagation of a probe light beam within the stop band. The phenomenon is reminiscent of electromagnetically induced transparency effects occurring in three-level atomic systems, except that it here involves delocalized electronic excitations in a crystalline structure via a frequency and wave-vector selective polaritonic mechanism. A well-developed transparency, favored by the narrow linewidth of the biexciton, is established within the stop band where a probe pulse may propagate with significant delays. The transparency window can be controlled via the pump beam detuning and intensity