1,257 research outputs found
Quantum Interference of Photon Pairs from Two Trapped Atomic Ions
We collect the fluorescence from two trapped atomic ions, and measure quantum
interference between photons emitted from the ions. The interference of two
photons is a crucial component of schemes to entangle atomic qubits based on a
photonic coupling. The ability to preserve the generated entanglement and to
repeat the experiment with the same ions is necessary to implement entangling
quantum gates between atomic qubits, and allows the implementation of protocols
to efficiently scale to larger numbers of atomic qubits.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Entanglement of single-atom quantum bits at a distance
Quantum information science involves the storage, manipulation and communication of information encoded in quantum systems, where the phenomena of superposition and entanglement can provide enhancements over what is possible classically(1,2). Large-scale quantum information processors require stable and addressable quantum memories, usually in the form of fixed quantum bits ( qubits), and a means of transferring and entangling the quantum information between memories that may be separated by macroscopic or even geographic distances. Atomic systems are excellent quantum memories, because appropriate internal electronic states can coherently store qubits over very long timescales. Photons, on the other hand, are the natural platform for the distribution of quantum information between remote qubits, given their ability to traverse large distances with little perturbation. Recently, there has been considerable progress in coupling small samples of atomic gases through photonic channels(2,3), including the entanglement between light and atoms(4,5) and the observation of entanglement signatures between remotely located atomic ensembles(6) (-8). In contrast to atomic ensembles, single-atom quantum memories allow the implementation of conditional quantum gates through photonic channels2,9, a key requirement for quantum computing. Along these lines, individual atoms have been coupled to photons in cavities(2,10-12), and trapped atoms have been linked to emitted photons in free space(13-17). Here we demonstrate the entanglement of two fixed single-atom quantum memories separated by one metre. Two remotely located trapped atomic ions each emit a single photon, and the interference and detection of these photons signals the entanglement of the atomic qubits. We characterize the entangled pair by directly measuring qubit correlations with near-perfect detection efficiency. Although this entanglement method is probabilistic, it is still in principle useful for subsequent quantum operations and scalable quantum information applications(18-20).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62780/1/nature06118.pd
An Elementary Quantum Network of Single Atoms in Optical Cavities
Quantum networks are distributed quantum many-body systems with tailored
topology and controlled information exchange. They are the backbone of
distributed quantum computing architectures and quantum communication. Here we
present a prototype of such a quantum network based on single atoms embedded in
optical cavities. We show that atom-cavity systems form universal nodes capable
of sending, receiving, storing and releasing photonic quantum information.
Quantum connectivity between nodes is achieved in the conceptually most
fundamental way: by the coherent exchange of a single photon. We demonstrate
the faithful transfer of an atomic quantum state and the creation of
entanglement between two identical nodes in independent laboratories. The
created nonlocal state is manipulated by local qubit rotation. This efficient
cavity-based approach to quantum networking is particularly promising as it
offers a clear perspective for scalability, thus paving the way towards
large-scale quantum networks and their applications.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Familial adenomatous polyposis is associated with a marked decrease in alkaline sphingomyelinase activity: a key factor to the unrestrained cell proliferation?
The hydrolysis of sphingomyelin generates key molecules regulating cell growth and inducing apoptosis. Data from animal cancer models support an inhibitory role for this pathway in the malignant transformation of the colonic mucosa. In the intestinal tract, a sphingomyelinase with an optimum alkaline pH has been identified. We recently found that the activity of alkaline sphingomyelinase is significantly decreased in colorectal adenocarcinomas, indicating a potential anticarcinogenic role of this enzyme. To further examine whether the reduction of sphingomyelinase is present already in the premalignant state of neoplastic transformation, we measured sphingomyelinase activities in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and in sporadic colorectal tubulovillous adenomas. Tissue samples were taken from adenomas and surrounding macroscopically normal mucosa from 11 FAP patients operated with ileorectal anastomosis, from three FAP patients with intact colon, from 13 patients with sporadic colorectal adenomas and from 12 controls. Activities of acid, neutral and alkaline sphingomyelinase were measured together with alkaline phosphatase. In FAP adenoma tissue, alkaline sphingomyelinase activity was reduced by 90% compared to controls (P < 0.0001), acid sphingomyelinase by 66% (P < 0.01) and neutral sphingomyelinase by 54% (P < 0.05). Similar reductions were found in the surrounding mucosa. In sporadic adenoma tissue, only alkaline sphingomyelinase was reduced significantly, by 57% (P < 0.05). Alkaline phosphatase was not changed in FAP adenomas, but decreased in the sporadic adenomas. We conclude that the markedly reduced levels of alkaline sphingomyelinase activities in FAP adenomas and in the surrounding mucosa may be a pathogenic factor that can lead to unrestrained cell proliferation and neoplastic transformation. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig
Mathematical Modelling of Optical Coherence Tomography
In this chapter a general mathematical model of Optical Coherence Tomography
(OCT) is presented on the basis of the electromagnetic theory. OCT produces
high resolution images of the inner structure of biological tissues. Images are
obtained by measuring the time delay and the intensity of the backscattered
light from the sample considering also the coherence properties of light. The
scattering problem is considered for a weakly scattering medium located far
enough from the detector. The inverse problem is to reconstruct the
susceptibility of the medium given the measurements for different positions of
the mirror. Different approaches are addressed depending on the different
assumptions made about the optical properties of the sample. This procedure is
applied to a full field OCT system and an extension to standard (time and
frequency domain) OCT is briefly presented.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, book chapte
Experimental demonstration of a BDCZ quantum repeater node
Quantum communication is a method that offers efficient and secure ways for
the exchange of information in a network. Large-scale quantum communication (of
the order of 100 km) has been achieved; however, serious problems occur beyond
this distance scale, mainly due to inevitable photon loss in the transmission
channel. Quantum communication eventually fails when the probability of a dark
count in the photon detectors becomes comparable to the probability that a
photon is correctly detected. To overcome this problem, Briegel, D\"{u}r, Cirac
and Zoller (BDCZ) introduced the concept of quantum repeaters, combining
entanglement swapping and quantum memory to efficiently extend the achievable
distances. Although entanglement swapping has been experimentally demonstrated,
the implementation of BDCZ quantum repeaters has proved challenging owing to
the difficulty of integrating a quantum memory. Here we realize entanglement
swapping with storage and retrieval of light, a building block of the BDCZ
quantum repeater. We follow a scheme that incorporates the strategy of BDCZ
with atomic quantum memories. Two atomic ensembles, each originally entangled
with a single emitted photon, are projected into an entangled state by
performing a joint Bell state measurement on the two single photons after they
have passed through a 300-m fibre-based communication channel. The entanglement
is stored in the atomic ensembles and later verified by converting the atomic
excitations into photons. Our method is intrinsically phase insensitive and
establishes the essential element needed to realize quantum repeaters with
stationary atomic qubits as quantum memories and flying photonic qubits as
quantum messengers.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Converting Layered Zinc Acetate Nanobelts to One-dimensional Structured ZnO Nanoparticle Aggregates and their Photocatalytic Activity
We were successful in synthesizing periodic layered zinc acetate nanobelts through a hydrothermal solution process. One-dimensional structured ZnO nanoparticle aggregate was obtained by simple thermal annealing of the above-mentioned layered ZnO acetate nanobelts at 300 °C. The morphology, microstructure, and composition of the synthesized ZnO and its precursors were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Low angle X-ray diffraction spectra reveal that as-synthesized zinc acetate has a layered structure with two interlayer d-spacings (one is 1.32 nm and the other is 1.91 nm). SEM and TEM indicate that nanobelt precursors were 100–200 nm in width and possesses length up to 30 μm. Calcination of precursor in air results in the formation of one-dimensional structured ZnO nanoparticle aggregates. In addition, the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticle aggregates exhibit high photocatalytic activity for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO)
Heralded quantum entanglement between two crystals
Quantum networks require the crucial ability to entangle quantum nodes. A
prominent example is the quantum repeater which allows overcoming the distance
barrier of direct transmission of single photons, provided remote quantum
memories can be entangled in a heralded fashion. Here we report the observation
of heralded entanglement between two ensembles of rare-earth-ions doped into
separate crystals. A heralded single photon is sent through a 50/50
beamsplitter, creating a single-photon entangled state delocalized between two
spatial modes. The quantum state of each mode is subsequently mapped onto a
crystal, leading to an entangled state consisting of a single collective
excitation delocalized between two crystals. This entanglement is revealed by
mapping it back to optical modes and by estimating the concurrence of the
retrieved light state. Our results highlight the potential of rare-earth-ions
doped crystals for entangled quantum nodes and bring quantum networks based on
solid-state resources one step closer.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Heralded single photon absorption by a single atom
The emission and absorption of single photons by single atomic particles is a
fundamental limit of matter-light interaction, manifesting its quantum
mechanical nature. At the same time, as a controlled process it is a key
enabling tool for quantum technologies, such as quantum optical information
technology [1, 2] and quantum metrology [3, 4, 5, 6]. Controlling both emission
and absorption will allow implementing quantum networking scenarios [1, 7, 8,
9], where photonic communication of quantum information is interfaced with its
local processing in atoms. In studies of single-photon emission, recent
progress includes control of the shape, bandwidth, frequency, and polarization
of single-photon sources [10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17], and the
demonstration of atom-photon entanglement [18, 19, 20]. Controlled absorption
of a single photon by a single atom is much less investigated; proposals exist
but only very preliminary steps have been taken experimentally such as
detecting the attenuation and phase shift of a weak laser beam by a single atom
[21, 22], and designing an optical system that covers a large fraction of the
full solid angle [23, 24, 25]. Here we report the interaction of single
heralded photons with a single trapped atom. We find strong correlations of the
detection of a heralding photon with a change in the quantum state of the atom
marking absorption of the quantum-correlated heralded photon. In coupling a
single absorber with a quantum light source, our experiment demonstrates
previously unexplored matter-light interaction, while opening up new avenues
towards photon-atom entanglement conversion in quantum technology.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
The Teleost Retina as a Model for Developmental and Regeneration Biology
Retinal development in teleosts can broadly be divided into three epochs. The first is the specification of cellular domains in the larval forebrain that give rise to the retinal primordia and undergo early morphogenetic movements. The second is the neurogenic events within the retina proper—proliferation, cell fate determination, and pattern formation—that establish neuronal identities and form retinal laminae and cellular mosaics. The third, which is unique to teleosts and occurs in the functioning eye, is stretching of the retina and persistent neurogenesis that allows the growth of the retina to keep pace with the growth of the eye and other tissues. The first two events are rapid, complete by about 3 days postfertilization in the zebrafish embryo. The third is life-long and accounts for the bulk of retinal growth and the vast majority of adult retinal neurons. In addition, but clearly related to the retina's developmental history, lesions that kill retinal neurons elicit robust neuronal regeneration that originates from cells intrinsic to the retina. This paper reviews recent studies of retinal development in teleosts, focusing on those that shed light on the genetic and molecular regulation of retinal specification and morphogenesis in the embryo, retinal neurogenesis in larvae and adults, and injury-induced neuronal regeneration.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63365/1/zeb.2004.1.257.pd
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