A single structured light beam as an atomic cloud splitter

We propose a scheme to split a cloud of cold non-interacting neutral atoms based on their dipole interaction with a single structured light beam which exhibits parabolic cylindrical symmetry. Using semiclassical numerical simulations, we establish a direct relationship between the general properties of the light beam and the relevant geometric and kinematic properties acquired by the atomic cloud as its passes through the beam.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Entanglement enhancement and postselection for two atoms interacting with thermal light

The evolution of entanglement for two identical two-level atoms coupled to a resonant thermal field is studied for two different families of input states. Entanglement enhancement is predicted for a well defined region of the parameter space of one of these families. The most intriguing result is the possibility of probabilistic production of maximally entangled atomic states even if the input atomic state is factorized and the corresponding output state is separable.Comment: accepted for publication in J. Phys.

Measurement of the thorium-228 activity in solutions cavitated by ultrasonic sound

We show that cavitation of a solution of thorium-228 in water does not induce its transformation at a faster rate than the natural radioactive decay. We measured the activity of a thorium-228 solution in water before, and after, it was subjected to a cavitation at 44 kHz and $250$W for 90 minutes in order to observe any change in the thorium half-life. The results were compared to the original activity of the sample and we observed no change. Our results and conclusions conflict with those in a recent paper by F. Cardone et. al. [Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 1956-1958].Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, v1 submitted to Physics Letters A. v2: minor corrections, change caption for tables (include comment for counter efficiency with uncertainty) and symbols for beta-alph

Comment on "Fermionic entanglement ambiguity in noninertial frames"

In this comment we show that the ambiguity of entropic quantities calculated in Physical Review A 83, 062323 (2011) for fermionic fields in the context of Unruh effect is not related to the properties of anticommuting fields, as claimed in Physical Review A 83, 062323 (2011), but rather to wrong mathematical manipulations with them and not taking into account a fundamental superselection rule of quantum field theory.Comment: To appear in Physical Review A. Some of the problems discussed in this comment can also be found in other previously published papers studying the Unruh effect for fermions (in the context of quantum information theory). An extended version of the comment can be found here http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.555

Quantum Mechanical Properties of Bessel Beams

Bessel beams are studied within the general framework of quantum optics. The two modes of the electromagnetic field are quantized and the basic dynamical operators are identified. The algebra of these operators is analyzed in detail; it is shown that the operators that are usually associated to linear momentum, orbital angular momentum and spin do not satisfy the algebra of the translation and rotation group. In particular, what seems to be the spin is more similar to the helicity. Some physical consequences of these results are examined.Comment: 17 pages, no figures. New versio

Optical scalar beam propagation in nontrivial spacetime backgrounds

We study the propagation of structured optical scalar beams in a spacetime background parameterized by a second-rank symmetric tensor. An analytic expression for the Green's function in a cylindrical coordinate system is obtained for particular choices of such a tensor. This facilitates the numerical exploration of the propagation of apertured Gaussian beams in this nontrivial background. Unusual focusing properties are found along with a decrease in the Gouy phase compared to that in standard vacuum. In the case of apertured Bessel beams, the medium allows to overcome finite aperture effects so that the corresponding diffraction length is increased; besides, the central spot of a zero order Bessel concentrates an increased fraction of the energy of the beam. Multiple scenarios beyond an electromagnetic field in the presence of an anisotropic medium could support the results reported here. They include a bosonic field in a weak gravitational field or a nontrivial spacetime background arising from Lorentz symmetry breaking. In particular, our results could illustrate how optically transparent multiferroic materials offer unprecedented opportunities to tailor structured beam propagation, as well as to simulate nontrivial spacetime backgrounds.Comment: 15 pages, 24 figure

Rotational Effects of Twisted Light on Atoms Beyond the Paraxial Approximation

The transition probability for the emission of a Bessel photon by an atomic system is calculated within first order perturbation theory. We derive a closed expression for the electromagnetic potentials beyond the paraxial approximation that permits a systematic multipole approximation . The matrix elements between center of mass and internal states are evaluated for some specially relevant cases. This permits to clarify the feasibility of observing the rotational effects of twisted light on atoms predicted by the calculations. It is shown that the probability that the internal state of an atom acquires orbital angular momentum from light is, in general, maximum for an atom located at the axis of a Bessel mode. For a Gaussian packet, the relevant parameter is the ratio of the spread of the atomic center of mass wave packet to the transversal wavelength of the photon.Comment: 10 pages, no figure

Capacities of Grassmann channels

A new class of quantum channels called Grassmann channels is introduced and their classical and quantum capacity is calculated. The channel class appears in a study of the two-mode squeezing operator constructed from operators satisfying the fermionic algebra. We compare Grassmann channels with the channels induced by the bosonic two-mode squeezing operator. Among other results, we challenge the relevance of calculating entanglement measures to assess or compare the ability of bosonic and fermionic states to send quantum information to uniformly accelerated frames.Comment: 33 pages, Accepted in Journal of Mathematical Physics; The role of the (fermionic) braided tensor product for quantum Shannon theory, namely capacity formulas, elucidated; The conclusion on the equivalence of Unruh effect for bosons and fermions for quantum communication purposes made clear and even more precis

Hermenéutica histórica de la formación del individuo

La hermenéutica histórica de Gadamer ha aportado elementos para la comprensión-interpretación de la situación desde la que se ven en horizonte los hilos de la tradición. El presente trabajo pretende aportar precisamente una interpretación de la formación epocal del individuo, la situación histórica en que estamos y que se ha visto frecuentemente como consecuencia inmediata de la descomposición de la época moderna. Se describe la tradición que nos ha traído a la posibilidad de ser ahora individuos, a través de un ducto histórico que es el relato. En esta propuesta se describen las tres formaciones epocales en que han devenido los relatos de la tradición cristiana. Los relatos son el medio a través del cual se pretende estudiar la formación de cada época, asumiendo que hay una analogía entre la forma general de la época y la forma tramática del relato que está legitimado en esa misma época. Así, se asume que estas formas las produce una institución a la que tienden los sentidos y es desde esa institución desde la que legitiman los relatos. En la reubicación formal de la institución, se rehacen los sentidos para nuevas formaciones epocales donde se posibilitan las formas de ser y hacer para una época. Se busca el relato que legitima al individuo en esta formación epocal que nos sitúa en la historia como individuos. En la transformación de las épocas se propone la formación epocal del individuo como punta y fin de las transformaciones de los relatos de la tradición cristiana que han quedado sin fuerza, sin posibilidades suficientes para la reformación epocal