2,317 research outputs found
Entanglement between Collective Operators in a Linear Harmonic Chain
We investigate entanglement between collective operators of two blocks of
oscillators in an infinite linear harmonic chain. These operators are defined
as averages over local operators (individual oscillators) in the blocks. On the
one hand, this approach of "physical blocks" meets realistic experimental
conditions, where measurement apparatuses do not interact with single
oscillators but rather with a whole bunch of them, i.e., where in contrast to
usually studied "mathematical blocks" not every possible measurement is
allowed. On the other, this formalism naturally allows the generalization to
blocks which may consist of several non-contiguous regions. We quantify
entanglement between the collective operators by a measure based on the
Peres-Horodecki criterion and show how it can be extracted and transferred to
two qubits. Entanglement between two blocks is found even in the case where
none of the oscillators from one block is entangled with an oscillator from the
other, showing genuine bipartite entanglement between collective operators.
Allowing the blocks to consist of a periodic sequence of subblocks, we verify
that entanglement scales at most with the total boundary region. We also apply
the approach of collective operators to scalar quantum field theory.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, significantly revised version with new results,
journal reference adde
Experimenter's Freedom in Bell's Theorem and Quantum Cryptography
Bell's theorem states that no local realistic explanation of quantum
mechanical predictions is possible, in which the experimenter has a freedom to
choose between different measurement settings. Within a local realistic picture
the violation of Bell's inequalities can only be understood if this freedom is
denied. We determine the minimal degree to which the experimenter's freedom has
to be abandoned, if one wants to keep such a picture and be in agreement with
the experiment. Furthermore, the freedom in choosing experimental arrangements
may be considered as a resource, since its lacking can be used by an
eavesdropper to harm the security of quantum communication. We analyze the
security of quantum key distribution as a function of the (partial) knowledge
the eavesdropper has about the future choices of measurement settings which are
made by the authorized parties (e.g. on the basis of some quasi-random
generator). We show that the equivalence between the violation of Bell's
inequality and the efficient extraction of a secure key - which exists for the
case of complete freedom (no setting knowledge) - is lost unless one adapts the
bound of the inequality according to this lack of freedom.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, incorporated referee comment
Addressing the clumsiness loophole in a Leggett-Garg test of macrorealism
The rise of quantum information theory has lent new relevance to experimental
tests for non-classicality, particularly in controversial cases such as
adiabatic quantum computing superconducting circuits. The Leggett-Garg
inequality is a "Bell inequality in time" designed to indicate whether a single
quantum system behaves in a macrorealistic fashion. Unfortunately, a violation
of the inequality can only show that the system is either (i)
non-macrorealistic or (ii) macrorealistic but subjected to a measurement
technique that happens to disturb the system. The "clumsiness" loophole (ii)
provides reliable refuge for the stubborn macrorealist, who can invoke it to
brand recent experimental and theoretical work on the Leggett-Garg test
inconclusive. Here, we present a revised Leggett-Garg protocol that permits one
to conclude that a system is either (i) non-macrorealistic or (ii)
macrorealistic but with the property that two seemingly non-invasive
measurements can somehow collude and strongly disturb the system. By providing
an explicit check of the invasiveness of the measurements, the protocol
replaces the clumsiness loophole with a significantly smaller "collusion"
loophole.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Mitochondrial DNA mutations in renal cell carcinomas revealed no general impact on energy metabolism
Previously, renal cell carcinoma tissues were reported to display a marked reduction of components of the respiratory chain. To elucidate a possible relationship between tumourigenesis and alterations of oxidative phosphorylation, we screened for mutations of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in renal carcinoma tissues and patient-matched normal kidney cortex. Seven of the 15 samples investigated revealed at least one somatic heteroplasmic mutation as determined by denaturating HPLC analysis (DHPLC). No homoplasmic somatic mutations were observed. Actually, half of the mutations presented a level of heteroplasmy below 25%, which could be easily overlooked by automated sequence analysis. The somatic mutations included four known D-loop mutations, four so far unreported mutations in ribosomal genes, one synonymous change in the ND4 gene and four nonsynonymous base changes in the ND2, COI, ND5 and ND4L genes. One renal cell carcinoma tissue showed a somatic A3243G mutation, which is a known frequent cause of MELAS syndrome (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, stroke-like episode) and specific compensatory alterations of enzyme activities of the respiratory chain in the tumour tissue. No difference between histopathology and clinical progression compared to the other tumour tissues was observed. In conclusion, the low abundance as well as the frequently observed low level of heteroplasmy of somatic mtDNA mutations indicates that the decreased aerobic energy capacity in tumour tissue seems to be mediated by a general nuclear regulated mechanism
Multiplex primer extension analysis for rapid detection of major European mitochondrial haplogroups
The evolution of the human mitochondrial genome is reflected in the existence of eth- nically distinct lineages or haplogroups. Alterations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been instrumental in studies of human phylogeny, in population genetics, and in molecular medicine to link pathological mutations to a variety of human diseases of complex etiology. For each of these applications, rapid and cost effective assays for mtDNA haplogrouping are invaluable. Here we describe a hierarchical system for mtDNA haplogrouping that combines multiplex PCR amplifications, multiplex single- base primer extensions, and CE for analyzing ten haplogroup-diagnostic mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms. Using this rapid and cost-effective mtDNA geno- typing method, we were able to show that within a large, randomly selected cohort of healthy Austrians ( n = 1172), mtDNAs could be assigned to all nine major European haplogroups. Forty-four percent belonged to haplogroup H, the most frequent hap- logroup in European Caucasian populations. The other major haplogroups identified were U (15.4%), J (11.8%), T (8.2%) and K (5.1%). The frequencies of haplogroups in Austria is within the range observed for other European countries. Our method may be suitable for mitochondrial genotyping of samples from large-scale epidemiology stud- ies and for identifying markers of genetic susceptibility
Entanglement between smeared field operators in the Klein-Gordon vacuum
Quantum field theory is the application of quantum physics to fields. It
provides a theoretical framework widely used in particle physics and condensed
matter physics. One of the most distinct features of quantum physics with
respect to classical physics is entanglement or the existence of strong
correlations between subsystems that can even be spacelike separated. In
quantum fields, observables restricted to a region of space define a subsystem.
While there are proofs on the existence of local observables that would allow a
violation of Bell's inequalities in the vacuum states of quantum fields as well
as some explicit but technically demanding schemes requiring an extreme
fine-tuning of the interaction between the fields and detectors, an
experimentally accessible entanglement witness for quantum fields is still
missing. Here we introduce smeared field operators which allow reducing the
vacuum to a system of two effective bosonic modes. The introduction of such
collective observables is motivated by the fact that no physical probe has
access to fields in single spatial (mathematical) points but rather smeared
over finite volumes. We first give explicit collective observables whose
correlations reveal vacuum entanglement in the Klein-Gordon field. We then show
that the critical distance between the two regions of space above which two
effective bosonic modes become separable is of the order of the Compton
wavelength of the particle corresponding to the massive Klein-Gordon field.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure
Logical independence and quantum randomness
We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We
demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators
are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum
measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is
logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical
proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured
state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes.
This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it
also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed
in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum
theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not
subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, published version plus additional experimental
appendi
Quantum models of classical mechanics: maximum entropy packets
In a previous paper, a project of constructing quantum models of classical
properties has been started. The present paper concludes the project by turning
to classical mechanics. The quantum states that maximize entropy for given
averages and variances of coordinates and momenta are called ME packets. They
generalize the Gaussian wave packets. A non-trivial extension of the
partition-function method of probability calculus to quantum mechanics is
given. Non-commutativity of quantum variables limits its usefulness. Still, the
general form of the state operators of ME packets is obtained with its help.
The diagonal representation of the operators is found. A general way of
calculating averages that can replace the partition function method is
described. Classical mechanics is reinterpreted as a statistical theory.
Classical trajectories are replaced by classical ME packets. Quantum states
approximate classical ones if the product of the coordinate and momentum
variances is much larger than Planck constant. Thus, ME packets with large
variances follow their classical counterparts better than Gaussian wave
packets.Comment: 26 pages, no figure. Introduction and the section on classical limit
are extended, new references added. Definitive version accepted by Found.
Phy
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