Deterministic entanglement between a propagating photon and a singlet--triplet qubit in an optically active quantum dot molecule

Two-electron charged self-assembled quantum dot molecules exhibit a decoherence-avoiding singlet-triplet qubit subspace and an efficient spin-photon interface. We demonstrate quantum entanglement between emitted photons and the spin-qubit after the emission event. We measure the overlap with a fully entangled state to be $69.5\pm2.7\,\%$, exceeding the threshold of $50\,\%$ required to prove the non-separability of the density matrix of the system. The photonic qubit is encoded in two photon states with an energy difference larger than the timing resolution of existing detectors. We devise a novel heterodyne detection method, enabling projective measurements of such photonic color qubits along any direction on the Bloch sphere

Geometric matrix midranges

We define geometric matrix midranges for positive definite Hermitian matrices and study the midrange problem from a number of perspectives. Special attention is given to the midrange of two positive definite matrices before considering the extension of the problem to $N > 2$ matrices. We compare matrix midrange statistics with the scalar and vector midrange problem and note the special significance of the matrix problem from a computational standpoint. We also study various aspects of geometric matrix midrange statistics from the viewpoint of linear algebra, differential geometry and convex optimization.ECH2020 EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC) (670645

Quantum nature of a strongly-coupled single quantum dot-cavity system

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) studies the interaction between a quantum emitter and a single radiation-field mode. When an atom is in strong coupling with a cavity mode1,2, it is possible to realize key quantum information processing (QIP) tasks, such as controlled coherent coupling and entanglement of distinguishable quantum systems. Realizing these tasks in the solid state is clearly desirable, and coupling semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) to monolithic optical cavities is a promising route to this end. However, validating the efficacy of QDs in QIP applications requires confirmation of the quantum nature of the QD-cavity system in the strong coupling regime. Here we find a confirmation by observing quantum correlations in photoluminescence (PL) from a photonic crystal (PC) nanocavity3-5 interacting with one, and only one, QD located precisely at the cavity electric field maximum. When off-resonance, photon emission from the cavity mode and QD excitons is anti-correlated at the level of single quanta, proving that the mode is driven solely by the QD despite an energy mis-match between cavity and excitons. When tuned into resonance, the exciton and photon enter the strong-coupling regime of cavity-QED and the QD lifetime reduces by a factor of 120. The photon stream from the cavity becomes anti-bunched, proving that the coupled exciton/photon system is in the quantum anharmonic regime. Our observations unequivocally show that QIP tasks requiring the quantum nonlinear regime are achievable in the solid state.Comment: 14 pages 4 figure

Dioxin Induces Genomic Instability in Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts

Ionizing radiation and certain other exposures have been shown to induce genomic instability (GI), i.e., delayed genetic damage observed many cell generations later in the progeny of the exposed cells. The aim of this study was to investigate induction of GI by a nongenotoxic carcinogen, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (C3H10T1/2) were exposed to 1, 10 or 100 nM TCDD for 2 days. Micronuclei (MN) and expression of selected cancer-related genes were assayed both immediately and at a delayed point in time (8 days). For comparison, similar experiments were done with cadmium, a known genotoxic agent. TCDD treatment induced an elevated frequency of MN at 8 days, but not directly after the exposure. TCDD-induced alterations in gene expression were also mostly delayed, with more changes observed at 8 days than at 2 days. Exposure to cadmium produced an opposite pattern of responses, with pronounced effects immediately after exposure but no increase in MN and few gene expression changes at 8 days. Although all responses to TCDD alone were delayed, menadione-induced DNA damage (measured by the Comet assay), was found to be increased directly after a 2-day TCDD exposure, indicating that the stability of the genome was compromised already at this time point. The results suggested a flat dose-response relationship consistent with dose-response data reported for radiation-induced GI. These findings indicate that TCDD, although not directly genotoxic, induces GI, which is associated with impaired DNA damage response

Heterogeneity of islet pathology in two infants with recent onset diabetes mellitus

The mechanisms by which the beta cells of pancreatic islets are destroyed in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) are poorly understood. In this report the pancreatic histo- and immunopathology of two children, both HLA-DR 3/4, DQ 2/8 positive and who both died from cerebral oedema within a day of clinical diagnosis of IDDM, were investigated. Patient 1, a 14-month-old girl, had a 4-week history of polydipsia and polyuria. Patient 2, a 3-year-old boy, had 2 days of illness. Both patients had a similarly severe loss of insulin cells but differed markedly as to the extent of lymphocytic islet infiltration (insulitis). Apart from insulitis, marked islet macrophage infiltration was demonstrated in both patients with the HAM-56 monoclonal antibody. Neither patient showed aberrant expression of HLA class II antigens on insulin-immunoreactive cells, but allele-specific HLA-DQ8 expression was evident on endothelial cells. Glutamic acid decarboxylase immunoreactivity was detected in both insulin- and glucagon-immunoreactive cells. It is concluded that the heterogeneity of islet pathology, especially insulitis, may reflect different dynamics and extent rather than different pathomechanisms of immune destruction of islets in IDDM