Characterization of classical Gaussian processes using quantum probes

We address the use of a single qubit as a quantum probe to characterize the properties of classical noise. In particular, we focus on the characterization of classical noise arising from the interaction with a stochastic field described by Gaussian processes. The tools of quantum estimation theory allow us to find the optimal state preparation for the probe, the optimal interaction time with the external noise, and the optimal measurement to effectively extract information on the noise parameter. We also perform a set of simulated experiments to assess the performances of maximum likelihood estimator, showing that the asymptotic regime, where the estimator is unbiased and efficient, is approximately achieved after few thousands repeated measurements on the probe system.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Public perceptions of the favelas in Rio de Janeiro: a post World Cup 2014 and pre 2016 Olympics Assessment

This research assesses public perception of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro following the awarding of the bids for both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. In preparation of these mega sports events, Rio has been challenged to improve infrastructure, build Olympic venues and reduce crime in the favelas. The purpose of the research is to collect data on the perceptions of potential visitors to Brazil, specifically, Rio de Janeiro to determine if the preparation for and hosting of the mega sports events is changing the image of the favelas

Measuring the growth rate of structure with Type IA Supernovae from LSST

We investigate measuring the peculiar motions of galaxies up to $z=0.5$ using Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from LSST, and predict the subsequent constraints on the growth rate of structure. We consider two cases. Our first is based on measurements of the volumetric SNe Ia rate and assumes we can obtain spectroscopic redshifts and light curves for varying fractions of objects that are detected pre-peak luminosity by LSST (some of which may be obtained by LSST itself and others which would require additional follow-up). We find that these measurements could produce growth rate constraints at $z<0.5$ that significantly outperform those using Redshift Space Distortions (RSD) with DESI or 4MOST, even though there are $\sim4\times$ fewer objects. For our second case, we use semi-analytic simulations and a prescription for the SNe Ia rate as a function of stellar mass and star formation rate to predict the number of LSST SNe IA whose host redshifts may already have been obtained with the Taipan+WALLABY surveys, or with a future multi-object spectroscopic survey. We find $\sim 18,000$ and $\sim 160,000$ SN Ia with host redshifts for these cases respectively. Whilst this is only a fraction of the total LSST-detected SNe Ia, they could be used to significantly augment and improve the growth rate constraints compared to only RSD. Ultimately, we find that combining LSST SNe Ia with large numbers of galaxy redshifts will provide the most powerful probe of large scale gravity in the $z<0.5$ regime over the coming decades.Comment: 12 pages, 1 table, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. The Fisher matrix forecast code used in this paper can be found at: https://github.com/CullanHowlett/PV_fisher. Updated to fix error in Eq. 1 (thanks to Eric Linder for pointing this out

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in the Central Region of the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC1808

We present mid infrared (MIR) spectra of the Seyfert 2 (Sy 2) galaxy NGC 1808, obtained with the Gemini's Thermal-Region Camera Spectrograph (T-ReCS) at a spatial resolution of 26 pc. The high spatial resolution allowed us to detect bright polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emissions at 8.6micron and 11.3micron in the galaxy centre (26 pc) up to a radius of 70 pc from the nucleus. The spectra also present [Ne ii]12.8micron ionic lines, and H2 S(2)12.27micron molecular gas line. We found that the PAHs profiles are similar to Peeters's A class, with the line peak shifted towards the blue. The differences in the PAH line profiles also suggests that the molecules in the region located 26 pc NE of the nucleus are more in the neutral than in the ionised state, while at 26 pc SW of the nucleus, the molecules are mainly in ionised state. After removal of the underlying galaxy contribution, the nuclear spectrum can be represented by a Nenkova's clumpy torus model, indicating that the nucleus of NGC 1808 hosts a dusty toroidal structure with an angular cloud distribution of sigma = 70degree, observer's view angle i = 90degree, and an outer radius of R0 = 0.55 pc. The derived column density along the line of sight is NH = 1.5 x 10^24 cm-2, which is sufficient to block the hard radiation from the active nucleus, and would explain the presence of PAH molecules near to the NGC 1808's active nucleus.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS 2012 December

Non-Markovian continuous-time quantum walks on lattices with dynamical noise

We address the dynamics of continuous-time quantum walks on one-dimensional disordered lattices inducing dynamical noise in the system. Noise is described as time-dependent fluctuations of the tunneling amplitudes between adjacent sites, and attention is focused on non-Gaussian telegraph noise, going beyond the usual assumption of fast Gaussian noise. We observe the emergence of two different dynamical behaviors for the walker, corresponding to two opposite noise regimes: slow noise (i.e. strong coupling with the environment) confines the walker into few lattice nodes, while fast noise (weak coupling) induces a transition between quantum and classical diffusion over the lattice. A phase transition between the two dynamical regimes may be observed by tuning the ratio between the autocorrelation time of the noise and the coupling between the walker and the external environment generating the noise. We also address the non-Markovianity of the quantum map by assessing its memory effects, as well as evaluating the information backflow to the system. Our results suggest that the non-Markovian character of the evolution is linked to the dynamical behavior in the slow noise regime, and that fast noise induces a Markovian dynamics for the walker.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Continuous-time quantum walks on dynamical percolation graphs

We address continuous-time quantum walks on graphs in the presence of time- and space-dependent noise. Noise is modeled as generalized dynamical percolation, i.e. classical time-dependent fluctuations affecting the tunneling amplitudes of the walker. In order to illustrate the general features of the model, we review recent results on two paradigmatic examples: the dynamics of quantum walks on the line and the effects of noise on the performances of quantum spatial search on the complete and the star graph. We also discuss future perspectives, including extension to many-particle quantum walk, to noise model for on-site energies and to the analysis of different noise spectra. Finally, we address the use of quantum walks as a quantum probe to characterize defects and perturbations occurring in complex, classical and quantum, networks.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in EPL Perspective