Realization of Zero-Refractive-Index Lens with Ultralow Spherical Aberration

Optical complex materials offer unprecedented opportunity to engineer fundamental band dispersion which enables novel optoelectronic functionality and devices. Exploration of photonic Dirac cone at the center of momentum space has inspired an exceptional characteristic of zero-index, which is similar to zero effective mass in fermionic Dirac systems. Such all-dielectric zero-index photonic crystals provide an in-plane mechanism such that the energy of the propagating waves can be well confined along the chip direction. A straightforward example is to achieve the anomalous focusing effect without longitudinal spherical aberration, when the size of zero-index lens is large enough. Here, we designed and fabricated a prototype of zero-refractive-index lens by comprising large-area silicon nanopillar array with plane-concave profile. Near-zero refractive index was quantitatively measured near 1.55 um through anomalous focusing effect, predictable by effective medium theory. The zero-index lens was also demonstrated to perform ultralow longitudinal spherical aberration. Such IC compatible device provides a new route to integrate all-silicon zero-index materials into optical communication, sensing, and modulation, and to study fundamental physics on the emergent fields of topological photonics and valley photonics.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Tired Light Denies the Big Bang

More and more problems related to Big Bang have been appeared in recent years. All the problems are due to the Doppler interpretation of redshift. The “tired light” theory, proposed in 1929 by Zwicky and most recently developed by Shao in 2013, gives a new explanation for redshift. The theory has shown that the redshift is induced from the energy loss of photons by the interaction with material particles on their journey through cosmological space. The basic principles related to the energy transfer are mainly the mass-energy equivalence and the Lorentz theory. Problems, such as super velocity, the horizon problem, the cosmological microwave background radiation, and Olbers’ paradox, vanish in the cosmological model of “tired light” theory. The model describes a boundless and timeless Cosmos

An improved plating assay for determination of phage titer

Phage is a virus that is parasitic on bacteria. It is very important to determine the titer of test sample in the study of phage. In this study, an improved plating assay was developed for detection of the number of recombinant phage Cap-T7 present in a test solution at a certain dilution point by counting the plaque forming units. The data demonstrated that the improved plating assay is fast, useful, and convenient for the determination of the phage titer in a sample.Keywords: Phage Cap-T7, detection method, plaque forming unit

Discrimination of Coherent States via Atom-Field Interaction without Rotation Wave Approximation

The quantum state discrimination is an important part of quantum information processing. We investigate the discrimination of coherent states through Jaynes-Cummings (JC) model interaction between the field and the ancilla without rotation wave approximation (RWA). We show that the minimum failure probability can be reduced as RWA is eliminated from JC model and the non-RWA terms accompanied by the quantum effects of fields (e.g. the virtual photon process in the JC model without RWA) can enhance the state discrimination. The JC model without RWA for unambiguous state discrimination is superior to ambiguous state discrimination, particularly when the number of sequential measurements increases. Unambiguous state discrimination implemented via the non-RWA JC model is beneficial to saving resource cost.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Communications in Theoretical Physic

Discriminating bipartite mixed states by local operations

Unambiguous state discrimination of two mixed bipartite states via local operations and classical communications (LOCC) is studied and compared with the result of a scheme realized via global measurement. We show that the success probability of a global scheme for mixed-state discrimination can be achieved perfectly by the local scheme. In addition, we simulate this discrimination via a pair of pure entangled bipartite states. This simulation is perfect for local rather than global schemes due to the existence of entanglement and global coherence in the pure states. We also prove that LOCC protocol and the sequential state discrimination (SSD) can be interpreted in a unified view. We then hybridize the LOCC protocol with three protocols (SSD, reproducing and broadcasting) relying on classical communications. Such hybridizations extend the gaps between the optimal success probability of global and local schemes, which can be eliminated only for the SSD rather than the other two protocols