Conditional linear-optical measurement schemes generate effective photon nonlinearities

We provide a general approach for the analysis of optical state evolution under conditional measurement schemes, and identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for such schemes to simulate unitary evolution on the freely propagating modes. If such unitary evolution holds, an effective photon nonlinearity can be identified. Our analysis extends to conditional measurement schemes more general than those based solely on linear optics.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure

Nanocalorimetric Evidence for Nematic Superconductivity in the Doped Topological Insulator Sr0.1_{0.1}Bi2_{2}Se3_{3}

Spontaneous rotational-symmetry breaking in the superconducting state of doped $\mathrm{Bi}_2\mathrm{Se}_3$ has attracted significant attention as an indicator for topological superconductivity. In this paper, high-resolution calorimetry of the single-crystal $\mathrm{Sr}_{0.1}\mathrm{Bi}_2\mathrm{Se}_3$ provides unequivocal evidence of a two-fold rotational symmetry in the superconducting gap by a \emph{bulk thermodynamic} probe, a fingerprint of nematic superconductivity. The extremely small specific heat anomaly resolved with our high-sensitivity technique is consistent with the material's low carrier concentration proving bulk superconductivity. The large basal-plane anisotropy of $H_{c2}$ is attributed to a nematic phase of a two-component topological gap structure $\vec{\eta} = (\eta_{1}, \eta_{2})$ and caused by a symmetry-breaking energy term $\delta (|\eta_{1}|^{2} - |\eta_{2}|^{2}) T_{c}$. A quantitative analysis of our data excludes more conventional sources of this two-fold anisotropy and provides the first estimate for the symmetry-breaking strength $\delta \approx 0.1$, a value that points to an onset transition of the second order parameter component below 2K

The apparent roughness of a sand surface blown by wind from an analytical model of saltation

We present an analytical model of aeolian sand transport. The model quantifies the momentum transfer from the wind to the transported sand by providing expressions for the thickness of the saltation layer and the apparent surface roughness. These expressions are derived from basic physical principles and a small number of assumptions. The model further predicts the sand transport rate (mass flux) and the impact threshold (the smallest value of the wind shear velocity at which saltation can be sustained). We show that, in contrast to previous studies, the present model's predictions are in very good agreement with a range of experiments, as well as with numerical simulations of aeolian saltation. Because of its physical basis, we anticipate that our model will find application in studies of aeolian sand transport on both Earth and Mars

Effective field theory of 3He

3He and the triton are studied as three-body bound states in the effective field theory without pions. We study 3He using the set of integral equations developed by Kok et al. which includes the full off-shell T-matrix for the Coulomb interaction between the protons. To leading order, the theory contains: two-body contact interactions whose renormalized strengths are set by the NN scattering lengths, the Coulomb potential, and a three-body contact interaction. We solve the three coupled integral equations with a sharp momentum cutoff, Lambda, and find that a three-body interaction is required in 3He at leading order, as in the triton. It also exhibits the same limit-cycle behavior as a function of Lambda, showing that the Efimov effect remains in the presence of the Coulomb interaction. We also obtain the difference between the strengths of the three-body forces in 3He and the triton.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures; further discussion and references adde

Efficient optical quantum information processing

Quantum information offers the promise of being able to perform certain communication and computation tasks that cannot be done with conventional information technology (IT). Optical Quantum Information Processing (QIP) holds particular appeal, since it offers the prospect of communicating and computing with the same type of qubit. Linear optical techniques have been shown to be scalable, but the corresponding quantum computing circuits need many auxiliary resources. Here we present an alternative approach to optical QIP, based on the use of weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities and homodyne measurements. We show how this approach provides the fundamental building blocks for highly efficient non-absorbing single photon number resolving detectors, two qubit parity detectors, Bell state measurements and finally near deterministic control-not (CNOT) gates. These are essential QIP devicesComment: Accepted to the Journal of optics B special issue on optical quantum computation; References update

Overcoming phonon-induced dephasing for indistinguishable photon sources

Reliable single photon sources constitute the basis of schemes for quantum communication and measurement based quantum computing. Solid state single photon sources based on quantum dots are convenient and versatile but the electronic transitions that generate the photons are subject to interactions with lattice vibrations. Using a microscopic model of electron-phonon interactions and a quantum master equation, we here examine phonon-induced decoherence and assess its impact on the rate of production, and indistinguishability, of single photons emitted from an optically driven quantum dot system. We find that, above a certain threshold of desired indistinguishability, it is possible to mitigate the deleterious effects of phonons by exploiting a three-level Raman process for photon production

Influence of the bias voltage on the structure and the tribological performance of nanoscale multilayer C/Cr PVD coatings

Nanoscale multilayer C/Cr coatings have been deposited by utilising the combined steered cathodic arc/unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The coating microstructure and tribological performance have been investigated as a function of the bias voltage, ranging from U-b=-65 to -350 V. The XRD results revealed that C/Cr coatings are amorphous at low U-b, but became more crystalline when the Ub increased to -350 V. High-resolution XTEM analysis indicated coating densification and smoothening as well as formation of novel amorphous nanostructure, in which carbon-rich clusters are surrounded by a Cr-rich matrix, leading to the formation of self-organised multilayer structure as the bias voltage was increased from -65 to -350 V. An increase of the bias voltage from -65 to -350 V resulted in an increase in the hardness from 8 to 25 CiPa and Young's modulus, E from 186 to 319 GPa. A pin-on-disc test showed that the friction coefficient was reduced from 0.22 to 0.16 when the bias voltage was increased from -65 to -95 V However, a further increase in the bias voltage to -350 V led to an increase in the friction coefficient to 0.31. The lowest wear coefficient K(c)similar to6.25 x 10(-17) m(3) N-1 m(-1) was achieved at U-b = - 120 V. Standard HSS drills, 8 mm in diameter, coated with C/Cr have been tested using solution annealed AISI 304 stainless steel as the work piece material. An improvement of the lifetime by a factor of similar to9 has been achieved as compared to the uncoated tools. In this test, the C/Cr coating outperformed a number of commercially available PVD coatings, such as TiCN, TiAlCrN and showed similar performance to TiAlCrYN. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Weak nonlinearities: A new route to optical quantum computation

Quantum information processing (QIP) offers the promise of being able to do things that we cannot do with conventional technology. Here we present a new route for distributed optical QIP, based on generalized quantum non-demolition measurements, providing a unified approach for quantum communication and computing. Interactions between photons are generated using weak non-linearities and intense laser fields--the use of such fields provides for robust distribution of quantum information. Our approach requires only a practical set of resources, and it uses these very efficiently. Thus it promises to be extremely useful for the first quantum technologies, based on scarce resources. Furthermore, in the longer term this approach provides both options and scalability for efficient many-qubit QIP.Comment: 7 Pages, 4 Figure

Universal continuous-variable quantum computation: Requirement of optical nonlinearity for photon counting

Although universal continuous-variable quantum computation cannot be achieved via linear optics (including squeezing), homodyne detection and feed-forward, inclusion of ideal photon counting measurements overcomes this obstacle. These measurements are sometimes described by arrays of beam splitters to distribute the photons across several modes. We show that such a scheme cannot be used to implement ideal photon counting and that such measurements necessarily involve nonlinear evolution. However, this requirement of nonlinearity can be moved "off-line," thereby permitting universal continuous-variable quantum computation with linear optics.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, replaced with published versio