1,621 research outputs found
A compact design for the Josephson mixer: the lumped element circuit
We present a compact and efficient design in terms of gain, bandwidth and
dynamical range for the Josephson mixer, the superconducting circuit performing
three-wave mixing at microwave frequencies. In an all lumped-element based
circuit with galvanically coupled ports, we demonstrate non degenerate
amplification for microwave signals over a bandwidth up to 50 MHz for a power
gain of 20 dB. The quantum efficiency of the mixer is shown to be about 70
and its saturation power reaches dBm.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Generating Entangled Microwave Radiation Over Two Transmission Lines
Using a superconducting circuit, the Josephson mixer, we demonstrate the
first experimental realization of spatially separated two-mode squeezed states
of microwave light. Driven by a pump tone, a first Josephson mixer generates,
out of quantum vacuum, a pair of entangled fields at different frequencies on
separate transmission lines. A second mixer, driven by a -phase shifted
copy of the first pump tone, recombines and disentangles the two fields. The
resulting output noise level is measured to be lower than for vacuum state at
the input of the second mixer, an unambiguous proof of entanglement. Moreover,
the output noise level provides a direct, quantitative measure of entanglement,
leading here to the demonstration of 6 Mebit.s (Mega entangled bits per
second) generated by the first mixer.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary Information can be found here as an
ancillary fil
The Dynamical State of Barnard 68: A Thermally Supported, Pulsating Dark Cloud
We report sensitive, high resolution molecular-line observations of the dark
cloud Barnard 68 obtained with the IRAM 30-m telescope. We analyze
spectral-line observations of C18O, CS(2--1), C34S(2--1), and N2H+(1--0) in
order to investigate the kinematics and dynamical state of the cloud. We find
extremely narrow linewidths in the central regions of the cloud. These narrow
lines are consistent with thermally broadened profiles for the measured gas
temperature of 10.5 K. We determine the thermal pressure to be a factor 4 -- 5
times greater than the non-thermal (turbulent) pressure in the central regions
of the cloud, indicating that thermal pressure is the primary source of support
against gravity in this cloud. This confirms the inference of a thermally
supported cloud drawn previously from deep infrared extinction measurements.
The rotational kinetic energy is found to be only a few percent of the
gravitational potential energy, indicating that the contribution of rotation to
the overall stability of the cloud is insignificant. Finally, our observations
show that CS line is optically thick and self-reversed across nearly the entire
projected surface of the cloud. The shapes of the self-reversed profiles are
asymmetric and are found to vary across the cloud in such a manner that the
presence of both inward and outward motions are observed within the cloud.
Moreover, these motions appear to be globally organized in a clear and
systematic alternating spatial pattern which is suggestive of a small
amplitude, non-radial oscillation or pulsation of the outer layers of the cloud
about an equilibrium configuration.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal; 23 pages, 8 figures;
Manuscript and higher resolution images can be obtained at
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~ebergin/pubs_html/b68_vel.htm
Effect of Magnetic Impurities on Energy Exchange between Electrons
In order to probe quantitatively the effect of Kondo impurities on energy
exchange between electrons in metals, we have compared measurements on two
silver wires with dilute magnetic impurities (manganese) introduced in one of
them. The measurement of the temperature dependence of the electron phase
coherence time on the wires provides an independent determination of the
impurity concentration. Quantitative agreement on the energy exchange rate is
found with a theory by G\"{o}ppert et al. that accounts for Kondo scattering of
electrons on spin-1/2 impurities.Comment: 4 page
Using Spontaneous Emission of a Qubit as a Resource for Feedback Control
Persistent control of a transmon qubit is performed by a feedback protocol
based on continuous heterodyne measurement of its fluorescence. By driving the
qubit and cavity with microwave signals whose amplitudes depend linearly on the
instantaneous values of the quadratures of the measured fluorescence field, we
show that it is possible to stabilize permanently the qubit in any targeted
state. Using a Josephson mixer as a phase-preserving amplifier, it was possible
to reach a total measurement efficiency =35%, leading to a maximum of 59%
of excitation and 44% of coherence for the stabilized states. The experiment
demonstrates multiple-input multiple-output analog Markovian feedback in the
quantum regime.Comment: Supplementary material can be found as an ancillary objec
Measuring the distribution of current fluctuations through a Josephson junction with very short current pulses
We propose to probe the distribution of current fluctuations by means of the
escape probability histogram of a Josephson junction (JJ), obtained using very
short bias current pulses in the adiabatic regime, where the low-frequency
component of the current fluctuations plays a crucial role. We analyze the
effect of the third cumulant on the histogram in the small skewness limit, and
address two concrete examples assuming realistic parameters for the JJ. In the
first one we study the effects due to fluctuations produced by a tunnel
junction, finding that the signature of higher cumulants can be detected by
taking the derivative of the escape probability with respect to current. In
such a realistic situation, though, the determination of the whole distribution
of current fluctuations requires an amplification of the cumulants. As a second
example we consider magnetic flux fluctuations acting on a SQUID produced by a
random telegraph source of noise.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures; final versio
Widely tunable, non-degenerate three-wave mixing microwave device operating near the quantum limit
We present the first experimental realization of a widely frequency tunable,
non-degenerate three-wave mixing device for quantum signals at GHz frequency.
It is based on a new superconducting building-block consisting of a ring of
four Josephson junctions shunted by a cross of four linear inductances. The
phase configuration of the ring remains unique over a wide range of magnetic
fluxes threading the loop. It is thus possible to vary the inductance of the
ring with flux while retaining a strong, dissipation-free, and noiseless
non-linearity. The device has been operated in amplifier mode and its noise
performance has been evaluated by using the noise spectrum emitted by a voltage
biased tunnel junction at finite frequency as a test signal. The unprecedented
accuracy with which the crossover between zero-point-fluctuations and shot
noise has been measured provides an upper-bound for the noise and dissipation
intrinsic to the device.Comment: Accepted for Physical Review Letters. Supplementary material can be
found in the source packag
The Spitzer c2d Survey of Large, Nearby, Interstellar Clouds. XI. Lupus Observed With IRAC and MIPS
We present c2d Spitzer/IRAC observations of the Lupus I, III and IV dark
clouds and discuss them in combination with optical and near-infrared and c2d
MIPS data. With the Spitzer data, the new sample contains 159 stars, 4 times
larger than the previous one. It is dominated by low- and very-low mass stars
and it is complete down to M 0.1M. We find 30-40 % binaries
with separations between 100 to 2000 AU with no apparent effect in the disk
properties of the members. A large majority of the objects are Class II or
Class III objects, with only 20 (12%) of Class I or Flat spectrum sources. The
disk sample is complete down to ``debris''-like systems in stars as small as M
0.2 M and includes sub-stellar objects with larger IR
excesses. The disk fraction in Lupus is 70 -- 80%, consistent with an age of 1
-- 2 Myr. However, the young population contains 20% optically thick accretion
disks and 40% relatively less flared disks. A growing variety of inner disk
structures is found for larger inner disk clearings for equal disk masses.
Lupus III is the most centrally populated and rich, followed by Lupus I with a
filamentary structure and by Lupus IV, where a very high density core with
little star-formation activity has been found. We estimate star formation rates
in Lupus of 2 -- 10 M Myr and star formation efficiencies of a
few percent, apparently correlated with the associated cloud masses.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJS. Contains 101 pages, 23 figures,
and 13 tables. A version with full resolution figures can be found at
http://peggysue.as.utexas.edu/SIRTF/PAPERS/pap102.pub.pd
Ice and Dust in the Quiescent Medium of Isolated Dense Cores
The relation between ices in the envelopes and disks surrounding YSOs and
those in the quiescent interstellar medium is investigated. For a sample of 31
stars behind isolated dense cores, ground-based and Spitzer spectra and
photometry in the 1-25 um wavelength range are combined. The baseline for the
broad and overlapping ice features is modeled, using calculated spectra of
giants, H2O ice and silicates. The adopted extinction curve is derived
empirically. Its high resolution allows for the separation of continuum and
feature extinction. The extinction between 13-25 um is ~50% relative to that at
2.2 um. The strengths of the 6.0 and 6.85 um absorption bands are in line with
those of YSOs. Thus, their carriers, which, besides H2O and CH3OH, may include
NH4+, HCOOH, H2CO and NH3, are readily formed in the dense core phase, before
stars form. The 3.53 um C-H stretching mode of solid CH3OH was discovered. The
CH3OH/H2O abundance ratios of 5-12% are larger than upper limits in the Taurus
molecular cloud. The initial ice composition, before star formation occurs,
therefore depends on the environment. Signs of thermal and energetic processing
that were found toward some YSOs are absent in the ices toward background
stars. Finally, the peak optical depth of the 9.7 um band of silicates relative
to the continuum extinction at 2.2 um is significantly shallower than in the
diffuse interstellar medium. This extends the results of Chiar et al. (2007) to
a larger sample and higher extinctions.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
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