53 research outputs found
High resolution measurements of the switching current in a Josephson tunnel junction: Thermal activation and macroscopic quantum tunneling
We have developed a scheme for a high resolution measurement of the switching
current distribution of a current biased Josephson tunnel junction using a
timing technique. The measurement setup is implemented such that the digital
control and read-out electronics are optically decoupled from the analog bias
electronics attached to the sample. We have successfully used this technique to
measure the thermal activation and the macroscopic quantum tunneling of the
phase in a small Josephson tunnel junction with a high experimental resolution.
This technique may be employed to characterize current-biased Josephson tunnel
junctions for applications in quantum information processing.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl
Toward Quantum-Limited Position Measurements Using Optically Levitated Microspheres
We describe the use of optically levitated microspheres as test masses in
experiments aimed at reaching and potentially exceeding the standard quantum
limit for position measurements. Optically levitated microspheres have low mass
and are essentially free of suspension thermal noise, making them well suited
for reaching the quantum regime. Table-top experiments using microspheres can
bridge the gap between quantum-limited position measurements of single atoms
and measurements with multi-kg test masses like those being used in
interferometric gravitational wave detectors
Perturbation of Tunneling Processes by Mechanical Degrees of Freedom in Mesoscopic Junctions
We investigate the perturbation in the tunneling current caused by
non-adiabatic mechanical motion in a mesoscopic tunnel junction. A theory
introduced by Caroli et al. \cite{bi1,bi2,bi3} is used to evaluate second order
self-energy corrections for this non-equilibrium situation lacking
translational invariance. Inelastic signatures of the mechanical degrees of
freedom are found in the current-voltage characteristics. These give
rise to sharp features in the derivative spectrum, .Comment: 22 pages LaTeX + 3 uuencoded PS picture
Single and double qubit gates by manipulating degeneracy
A novel mechanism is proposed for single and double qubit state manipulations
in quantum computation with four-fold degenerate energy levels. The principle
is based on starting with a four fold degeneracy, lifting it stepwise
adiabatically by a set of control parameters and performing the quantum gate
operations on non-degenerate states. A particular realization of the proposed
mechanism is suggested by using inductively coupled rf-squid loops in the
macroscopic quantum tunnelling regime where the energy eigen levels are
directly connected with the measurable flux states. The one qubit and two qubit
controlled operations are demonstrated explicitly. The appearance of the flux
states also allows precise read-in and read-out operations by the measurement
of flux.Comment: 6 pages + 5 figures (separately included
Quantum Dissipative Dynamics of the Magnetic Resonance Force Microscope in the Single-Spin Detection Limit
We study a model of a magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM) based on the
cyclic adiabatic inversion technique as a high-resolution tool to detect single
electron spins. We investigate the quantum dynamics of spin and cantilever in
the presence of coupling to an environment. To obtain the reduced dynamics of
the combined system of spin and cantilever, we use the Feynman-Vernon influence
functional and get results valid at any temperature as well as at arbitrary
system-bath coupling strength. We propose that the MRFM can be used as a
quantum measurement device, i.e., not only to detect the modulus of the spin
but also its direction
Stochastic Collapse and Decoherence of a Non-Dissipative Forced Harmonic Oscillator
Careful monitoring of harmonically bound (or as a limiting case, free) masses
is the basis of current and future gravitational wave detectors, and of
nanomechanical devices designed to access the quantum regime. We analyze the
effects of stochastic localization models for state vector reduction, and of
related models for environmental decoherence, on such systems, focusing our
analysis on the non-dissipative forced harmonic oscillator, and its free mass
limit. We derive an explicit formula for the time evolution of the expectation
of a general operator in the presence of stochastic reduction or
environmentally induced decoherence, for both the non-dissipative harmonic
oscillator and the free mass. In the case of the oscillator, we also give a
formula for the time evolution of the matrix element of the stochastic
expectation density matrix between general coherent states. We show that the
stochastic expectation of the variance of a Hermitian operator in any
unraveling of the stochastic process is bounded by the variance computed from
the stochastic expectation of the density matrix, and we develop a formal
perturbation theory for calculating expectation values of operators within any
unraveling. Applying our results to current gravitational wave interferometer
detectors and nanomechanical systems, we conclude that the deviations from
quantum mechanics predicted by the continuous spontaneous localization (CSL)
model of state vector reduction are at least five orders of magnitude below the
relevant standard quantum limits for these experiments. The proposed LISA
gravitational wave detector will be two orders of magnitude away from the
capability of observing an effect.Comment: TeX; 34 page
Two-electron quantum dots as scalable qubits
We show that two electrons confined in a square semiconductor quantum dot
have two isolated low-lying energy eigenstates, which have the potential to
form the basis of scalable computing elements (qubits). Initialisation,
one-qubit and two-qubit universal gates, and readout are performed using
electrostatic gates and magnetic fields. Two-qubit transformations are
performed via the Coulomb interaction between electrons on adjacent dots.
Choice of initial states and subsequent asymmetric tuning of the tunnelling
energy parameters on adjacent dots control the effect of this interaction.Comment: Revised version, accepted by PR
Arbitrary rotation and entanglement of flux SQUID qubits
We propose a new approach for the arbitrary rotation of a three-level SQUID
qubit and describe a new strategy for the creation of coherence transfer and
entangled states between two three-level SQUID qubits. The former is succeeded
by exploring the coupled-uncoupled states of the system when irradiated with
two microwave pulses, and the latter is succeeded by placing the SQUID qubits
into a microwave cavity and used adiabatic passage methods for their
manipulation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Mirror quiescence and high-sensitivity position measurements with feedback
We present a detailed study of how phase-sensitive feedback schemes can be
used to improve the performance of optomechanical devices. Considering the case
of a cavity mode coupled to an oscillating mirror by the radiation pressure, we
show how feedback can be used to reduce the position noise spectrum of the
mirror, cool it to its quantum ground state, or achieve position squeezing.
Then, we show that even though feedback is not able to improve the sensitivity
of stationary position spectral measurements, it is possible to design a
nonstationary strategy able to increase this sensitivity.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure
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