37 research outputs found
Two-dimensional optomechanical crystal resonator in gallium arsenide
In the field of quantum computation and communication there is a compelling
need for quantum-coherent frequency conversion between microwave electronics
and infra-red optics. A promising platform for this is an optomechanical
crystal resonator that uses simultaneous photonic and phononic crystals to
create a co-localized cavity coupling an electromagnetic mode to an acoustic
mode, which then via electromechanical interactions can undergo direct
transduction to electronics. The majority of work in this area has been on
one-dimensional nanobeam resonators which provide strong optomechanical
couplings but, due to their geometry, suffer from an inability to dissipate
heat produced by the laser pumping required for operation. Recently, a
quasi-two-dimensional optomechanical crystal cavity was developed in silicon
exhibiting similarly strong coupling with better thermalization, but at a
mechanical frequency above optimal qubit operating frequencies. Here we adapt
this design to gallium arsenide, a natural thin-film single-crystal
piezoelectric that can incorporate electromechanical interactions, obtaining a
mechanical resonant mode at f_m ~ 4.5 GHz ideal for superconducting qubits, and
demonstrating optomechanical coupling g_om/(2pi) ~ 650 kHz
Bidirectional multi-photon communication between remote superconducting nodes
Quantum communication testbeds provide a useful resource for experimentally
investigating a variety of communication protocols. Here we demonstrate a
superconducting circuit testbed with bidirectional multi-photon state transfer
capability using time-domain shaped wavepackets. The system we use to achieve
this comprises two remote nodes, each including a tunable superconducting
transmon qubit and a tunable microwave-frequency resonator, linked by a 2
m-long superconducting coplanar waveguide, which serves as a transmission line.
We transfer both individual and superposition Fock states between the two
remote nodes, and additionally show that this bidirectional state transfer can
be done simultaneously, as well as used to entangle elements in the two nodes.Comment: Main Paper has 6 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary has 14 pages, 16
figures, 2 table
Quantum erasure using entangled surface acoustic phonons
Using the deterministic, on-demand generation of two entangled phonons, we
demonstrate a quantum eraser protocol in a phononic interferometer where the
which-path information can be heralded during the interference process.
Omitting the heralding step yields a clear interference pattern in the
interfering half-quanta pathways; including the heralding step suppresses this
pattern. If we erase the heralded information after the interference has been
measured, the interference pattern is recovered, thereby implementing a
delayed-choice quantum erasure. The test is implemented using a closed
surface-acoustic-wave communication channel into which one superconducting
qubit can emit itinerant phonons that the same or a second qubit can later
re-capture. If the first qubit releases only half of a phonon, the system
follows a superposition of paths during the phonon propagation: either an
itinerant phonon is in the channel, or the first qubit remains in its excited
state. These two paths are made to constructively or destructively interfere by
changing the relative phase of the two intermediate states, resulting in a
phase-dependent modulation of the first qubit's final state, following
interaction with the half-phonon. A heralding mechanism is added to this
construct, entangling a heralding phonon with the signalling phonon. The first
qubit emits a phonon herald conditioned on the qubit being in its excited
state, with no signaling phonon, and the second qubit catches this heralding
phonon, storing which-path information which can either be read out, destroying
the signaling phonon's self-interference, or erased.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Developing a platform for linear mechanical quantum computing
Linear optical quantum computing provides a desirable approach to quantum
computing, with a short list of required elements. The similarity between
photons and phonons points to the interesting potential for linear mechanical
quantum computing (LMQC), using phonons in place of photons. While
single-phonon sources and detectors have been demonstrated, a phononic
beamsplitter element remains an outstanding requirement. Here we demonstrate
such an element, using two superconducting qubits to fully characterize a
beamsplitter with single phonons. We further use the beamsplitter to
demonstrate two-phonon interference, a requirement for two-qubit gates,
completing the toolbox needed for LMQC. This advance brings linear quantum
computing to a fully solid-state system, along with straightforward conversion
between itinerant phonons and superconducting qubits
The Formation and Evolution of Virgo Cluster Galaxies - II. Stellar Populations
We use a combination of deep optical and near-infrared light profiles for a
morphologically diverse sample of Virgo cluster galaxies to study the
radially-resolved stellar populations of cluster galaxies over a wide range of
galaxy structure. We find that, in the median, the age gradients of Virgo
galaxies are either flat (lenticulars and Sa-Sb spirals) or positive
(ellipticals, Sbc+Sc spirals, gas-rich dwarfs, and irregulars), while all
galaxy types have a negative median metallicity gradient. Comparison of the
galaxy stellar population diagnostics (age, metallicity, and gradients thereof)
against structural and environmental parameters also reveals that the ages of
gas-rich systems depend mainly on their atomic gas deficiencies. Conversely,
the metallicities of Virgo gas-poor galaxies depend on their concentrations,
luminosities, and surface brightnesses. The stellar population gradients of all
Virgo galaxies exhibit no dependence on either their structure or environment.
We interpret these stellar population data for Virgo galaxies in the context of
popular formation and evolution scenarios, and suggest that gas-poor giants
grew hierarchically (through dissipative starbursts), gas-poor dwarfs have
descended from at least two different production channels (e.g., environmental
transformation and merging), while spirals formed inside-out, but with star
formation in the outskirts of a significant fraction of the population having
been quenched due to ram pressure stripping. (Abridged)Comment: 54 pages, 16 figures, 3 tables, re-submitted to MNRAS (edited to
reflect the referee's suggestions
The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic
data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data
release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median
z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar
spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra
were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009
December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which
determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and
metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in
temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates
for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars
presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed
as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2).
The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been
corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be
in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point
Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of
data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at
http://www.sdss3.org/dr
The Eighth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Data from SDSS-III
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with
new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical
evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of
galaxies and the quasar Ly alpha forest, and a radial velocity search for
planets around ~8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of
SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release
includes five-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg^2 in the Southern Galactic Cap,
bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg^2, or over a
third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with
an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent photometric
recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data
from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of spectroscopy of approximately 118,000 stars
at both high and low Galactic latitudes. All the more than half a million
stellar spectra obtained with the SDSS spectrograph have been reprocessed
through an improved stellar parameters pipeline, which has better determination
of metallicity for high metallicity stars.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Supplements, in press (minor updates from
submitted version
Cosmology: small scale issues
The abundance of dark matter satellites and subhalos, the existence of
density cusps at the centers of dark matter halos, and problems producing
realistic disk galaxies in simulations are issues that have raised concerns
about the viability of the standard cold dark matter (LambdaCDM) scenario for
galaxy formation. This talk reviews these issues, and considers the
implications for cold vs. various varieties of warm dark matter (WDM). The
current evidence appears to be consistent with standard LambdaCDM, although
improving data may point toward a rather tepid version of LambdaWDM - tepid
since the dark matter cannot be very warm without violating observational
constraints.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the 8th UCLA Dark
Matter Symposium, Marina del Rey, USA, 20-22 February 200