151 research outputs found
All-optical versus electro-optical quantum-limited feedback
All-optical feedback can be effected by putting the output of a source cavity
through a Faraday isolator and into a second cavity which is coupled to the
source cavity by a nonlinear crystal. If the driven cavity is heavily damped,
then it can be adiabatically eliminated and a master equation or quantum
Langevin equation derived for the first cavity alone. This is done for an input
bath in an arbitrary state, and for an arbitrary nonlinear coupling. If the
intercavity coupling involves only the intensity (or one quadrature) of the
driven cavity, then the effect on the source cavity is identical to that which
can be obtained from electro-optical feedback using direct (or homodyne)
detection. If the coupling involves both quadratures, this equivalence no
longer holds, and a coupling linear in the source amplitude can produce a
nonclassical state in the source cavity. The analogous electro-optic scheme
using heterodyne detection introduces extra noise which prevents the production
of nonclassical light. Unlike the electro-optic case, the all-optical feedback
loop has an output beam (reflected from the second cavity). We show that this
may be squeezed, even if the source cavity remains in a classical state.Comment: 21 pages. This is an old (1994) paper, but one which I thought was
worth posting because in addition to what is described in abstract it has:
(1) the first formulation (to my knowledge) of quantum trajectories for an
arbitrary (i.e. squeezed, thermal etc.) broadband bath; (2) the prediction of
a periodic modification to the detuning and damping of an oscillator for the
simplest sort of all-optical feedback (i.e. a mirror) as seen in the recent
experiment "Forces between a Single Atom and Its Distant Mirror Image", P.
Bushev et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 223602 (2004
Adiabatic Elimination in Compound Quantum Systems with Feedback
Feedback in compound quantum systems is effected by using the output from one
sub-system (``the system'') to control the evolution of a second sub-system
(``the ancilla'') which is reversibly coupled to the system. In the limit where
the ancilla responds to fluctuations on a much shorter time scale than does the
system, we show that it can be adiabatically eliminated, yielding a master
equation for the system alone. This is very significant as it decreases the
necessary basis size for numerical simulation and allows the effect of the
ancilla to be understood more easily. We consider two types of ancilla: a
two-level ancilla (e.g. a two-level atom) and an infinite-level ancilla (e.g.
an optical mode). For each, we consider two forms of feedback: coherent (for
which a quantum mechanical description of the feedback loop is required) and
incoherent (for which a classical description is sufficient). We test the
master equations we obtain using numerical simulation of the full dynamics of
the compound system. For the system (a parametric oscillator) and feedback
(intensity-dependent detuning) we choose, good agreement is found in the limit
of heavy damping of the ancilla. We discuss the relation of our work to
previous work on feedback in compound quantum systems, and also to previous
work on adiabatic elimination in general.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures including two subplots as jpeg attachment
Student transitions to blended learning: an institutional case study
This paper examines the experiences of students transitioning to blended learning in the University of Glasgow as part of the
QAA Enhancement Themes work on Student Transitions. We draw here on exploratory, qualitative research to examine the
benefits, challenges and skills developed by students during transitions to blended learning as a means of advancing understanding,
and informing future curriculum design. Data from home undergraduate and international postgraduate students were collected
over two years through focus groups, individual interviews and end-of-course quality assurance surveys. We found that while
home/undergraduate and international/postgraduate students have similar transition experiences, international taught
postgraduates encounter additional challenges in terms of acclimatising to UK higher education (HE), especially within shorter
programmes of study and where pedagogical and language differences exist. The findings are integrated in a conceptual
framework highlighting the importance of access, acculturation (attitudes) and attributes (skills) to enable learner autonomy to
engage effectively in blended learning. The findings have implications for institutional infrastructure, curriculum design and learner
development. Further research is required to collect a larger data set as a means of developing the study’s conceptual
framework, in order to better understand and support diverse student transitions to blended learning
Phase measurements at the theoretical limit
It is well known that the result of any phase measurement on an optical mode
made using linear optics has an introduced uncertainty in addition to the
intrinsic quantum phase uncertainty of the state of the mode. The best
previously published technique [H. M. Wiseman and R.B. Killip, Phys. Rev. A 57,
2169 (1998)] is an adaptive technique that introduces a phase variance that
scales as n^{-1.5}, where n is the mean photon number of the state. This is far
above the minimum intrinsic quantum phase variance of the state, which scales
as n^{-2}. It has been shown that a lower limit to the phase variance that is
introduced scales as ln(n)/n^2. Here we introduce an adaptive technique that
attains this theoretical lower limit.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, updated with better feedback schem
Robust unravelings for resonance fluorescence
Monitoring the fluorescent radiation of an atom unravels the master equation
evolution by collapsing the atomic state into a pure state which evolves
stochastically. A robust unraveling is one that gives pure states that, on
average, are relatively unaffected by the master equation evolution (which
applies once the monitoring ceases). The ensemble of pure states arising from
the maximally robust unraveling has been suggested to be the most natural way
of representing the system [H.M. Wiseman and J.A. Vaccaro, Phys. Lett. A {\bf
250}, 241 (1998)]. We find that the maximally robust unraveling of a resonantly
driven atom requires an adaptive interferometric measurement proposed by
Wiseman and Toombes [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 60}, 2474 (1999)]. The resultant
ensemble consists of just two pure states which, in the high driving limit, are
close to the eigenstates of the driving Hamiltonian . This
ensemble is the closest thing to a classical limit for a strongly driven atom.
We also find that it is possible to reasonably approximate this ensemble using
just homodyne detection, an example of a continuous Markovian unraveling. This
has implications for other systems, for which it may be necessary in practice
to consider only continuous Markovian unravelings.Comment: 12 pages including 5 .eps figures, plus one .jpg figur
Complete parameterization, and invariance, of diffusive quantum trajectories for Markovian open systems
The state matrix for an open quantum system with Markovian evolution
obeys a master equation. The master equation evolution can be unraveled into
stochastic nonlinear trajectories for a pure state , such that on average
reproduces . Here we give for the first time a complete
parameterization of all diffusive unravelings (in which evolves
continuously but non-differentiably in time). We give an explicit measurement
theory interpretation for these quantum trajectories, in terms of monitoring
the system's environment. We also introduce new classes of diffusive
unravelings that are invariant under the linear operator transformations under
which the master equation is invariant. We illustrate these invariant
unravelings by numerical simulations. Finally, we discuss generalized gauge
transformations as a method of connecting apparently disparate descriptions of
the same trajectories by stochastic Schr\"odinger equations, and their
invariance properties.Comment: 10 pages, including 5 figures, submitted to J. Chem Phys special
issue on open quantum system
Squeezing via feedback
We present the quantum theory of optical cavity feedback mediated by homodyne detection, with an arbitrary time delay. We apply this theory to a system with nonclassical dynamics, a sub-Poissonian pumped laser. By using the feedback to phase lock the laser it is possible to produce output light which exhibits perfect quadrature squeezing on resonance, rather than just sub-Poissonian intensity statistics. However, we also show that feedback mediated by homodyne detection (or any other extracavity measurement) cannot produce nonclassical light unless the cavity dynamics can do so without feedback. Furthermore, in systems which already exhibit squeezing, such feedback can only degrade the squeezing in the output. With feedback mediated by an intracavity measurement, these theorems do not apply. We show that an (admittedly unrealistic) intracavity quantum nondemolition quadrature measurement allows arbitrary squeezing to be produced by controlling the amplitude of a coherent driving field
Feedback-control of quantum systems using continuous state-estimation
We present a formulation of feedback in quantum systems in which the best
estimates of the dynamical variables are obtained continuously from the
measurement record, and fed back to control the system. We apply this method to
the problem of cooling and confining a single quantum degree of freedom, and
compare it to current schemes in which the measurement signal is fed back
directly in the manner usually considered in existing treatments of quantum
feedback. Direct feedback may be combined with feedback by estimation, and the
resulting combination, performed on a linear system, is closely analogous to
classical LQG control theory with residual feedback.Comment: 12 pages, multicol revtex, revised and extende
Quantum Kinetic Theory III: Quantum kinetic master equation for strongly condensed trapped systems
We extend quantum kinetic theory to deal with a strongly Bose-condensed
atomic vapor in a trap. The method assumes that the majority of the vapor is
not condensed, and acts as a bath of heat and atoms for the condensate. The
condensate is described by the particle number conserving Bogoliubov method
developed by one of the authors. We derive equations which describe the
fluctuations of particle number and phase, and the growth of the Bose-Einstein
condensate. The equilibrium state of the condensate is a mixture of states with
different numbers of particles and quasiparticles. It is not a quantum
superposition of states with different numbers of particles---nevertheless, the
stationary state exhibits the property of off-diagonal long range order, to the
extent that this concept makes sense in a tightly trapped condensate.Comment: 3 figures submitted to Physical Review
Optomechanical scheme for the detection of weak impulsive forces
We show that a cooling scheme and an appropriate quantum nonstationary
strategy can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio for the
optomechanical detection of weak impulsive forces.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, 1 figur
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