28 research outputs found
Time-Resolved Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy for selected photon paths beyond 300 transport mean free paths
This paper is devoted to the theoretical and experimental demonstration of
the possibility to perform time-resolved diffusing wave spectroscopy: we
successfully registered field fluctuations for selected photon path lengths
that can overpass 300 transport mean free paths. Such a performance opens new
possibilities for biomedical optics applications.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Time-resolved diffusing wave spectroscopy applied to dynamic heterogeneity imaging
We report in this paper what is to our knowledge the first observation of a
time-resolved diffusing wave spectroscopy signal recorded by transillumination
through a thick turbid medium: the DWS signal is measured for a fixed photon
transit time, which opens the possibility of improving the spatial resolution.
This technique could find biomedical applications, especially in mammography.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
On the distillation and purification of phase-diffused squeezed states
Recently it was discovered that non-Gaussian decoherence processes, such as
phase-diffusion, can be counteracted by purification and distillation protocols
that are solely built on Gaussian operations. Here, we make use of this
experimentally highly accessible regime, and provide a detailed experimental
and theoretical analysis of several strategies for purification/distillation
protocols on phase-diffused squeezed states. Our results provide valuable
information for the optimization of such protocols with respect to the choice
of the trigger quadrature, the trigger threshold value and the probability of
generating a distilled state
Improvement of continuous-variable quantum key distribution systems by using optical preamplifiers
Continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols, based on Gaussian
modulation of the quadratures of coherent states, have been implemented in
recent experiments. A present limitation of such systems is the finite
efficiency of the detectors, which can in principle be compensated for by the
use of classical optical preamplifiers. Here we study this possibility in
detail, by deriving the modified secret key generation rates when an optical
parametric amplifier is placed at the output of the quantum channel. After
presenting a general set of security proofs, we show that the use of
preamplifiers does compensate for all the imperfections of the detectors when
the amplifier is optimal in terms of gain and noise. Imperfect amplifiers can
also enhance the system performance, under conditions which are generally
satisfied in practice.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys. B (special issue on Few
Atoms Optics
Distribution of Husimi Zeroes in Polygonal Billiards
The zeroes of the Husimi function provide a minimal description of individual
quantum eigenstates and their distribution is of considerable interest. We
provide here a numerical study for pseudo- integrable billiards which suggests
that the zeroes tend to diffuse over phase space in a manner reminiscent of
chaotic systems but nevertheless contain a subtle signature of
pseudo-integrability. We also find that the zeroes depend sensitively on the
position and momentum uncertainties with the classical correspondence best when
the position and momentum uncertainties are equal. Finally, short range
correlations seem to be well described by the Ginibre ensemble of complex
matrices.Comment: includes 13 ps figures; Phys. Rev. E (in press
Experimental open air quantum key distribution with a single photon source
We present a full implementation of a quantum key distribution (QKD) system
with a single photon source, operating at night in open air. The single photon
source at the heart of the functional and reliable setup relies on the pulsed
excitation of a single nitrogen-vacancy color center in diamond nanocrystal. We
tested the effect of attenuation on the polarized encoded photons for inferring
longer distance performance of our system. For strong attenuation, the use of
pure single photon states gives measurable advantage over systems relying on
weak attenuated laser pulses. The results are in good agreement with
theoretical models developed to assess QKD security
Field test of a continuous-variable quantum key distribution prototype
We have designed and realized a prototype that implements a
continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocol based on coherent states
and reverse reconciliation. The system uses time and polarization multiplexing
for optimal transmission and detection of the signal and phase reference, and
employs sophisticated error-correction codes for reconciliation. The security
of the system is guaranteed against general coherent eavesdropping attacks. The
performance of the prototype was tested over preinstalled optical fibres as
part of a quantum cryptography network combining different quantum key
distribution technologies. The stable and automatic operation of the prototype
over 57 hours yielded an average secret key distribution rate of 8 kbit/s over
a 3 dB loss optical fibre, including the key extraction process and all quantum
and classical communication. This system is therefore ideal for securing
communications in metropolitan size networks with high speed requirements.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, submitted to New Journal of Physics (Special
issue on Quantum Cryptography
Localization properties of groups of eigenstates in chaotic systems
In this paper we study in detail the localized wave functions defined in
Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 76}, 1613 (1994), in connection with the scarring effect
of unstable periodic orbits in highly chaotic Hamiltonian system. These
functions appear highly localized not only along periodic orbits but also on
the associated manifolds. Moreover, they show in phase space the hyperbolic
structure in the vicinity of the orbit, something which translates in
configuration space into the structure induced by the corresponding self--focal
points. On the other hand, the quantum dynamics of these functions are also
studied. Our results indicate that the probability density first evolves along
the unstable manifold emanating from the periodic orbit, and localizes
temporarily afterwards on only a few, short related periodic orbits. We believe
that this type of studies can provide some keys to disentangle the complexity
associated to the quantum mechanics of these kind of systems, which permits the
construction of a simple explanation in terms of the dynamics of a few
classical structures.Comment: 9 pages, 8 Postscript figures (low resolution). For high resolution
versions of figs http://www.tandar.cnea.gov.ar/~wisniack/ To appear in Phys.
Rev.
Anatomy of quantum chaotic eigenstates
The eigenfunctions of quantized chaotic systems cannot be described by
explicit formulas, even approximate ones. This survey summarizes (selected)
analytical approaches used to describe these eigenstates, in the semiclassical
limit. The levels of description are macroscopic (one wants to understand the
quantum averages of smooth observables), and microscopic (one wants
informations on maxima of eigenfunctions, "scars" of periodic orbits, structure
of the nodal sets and domains, local correlations), and often focusses on
statistical results. Various models of "random wavefunctions" have been
introduced to understand these statistical properties, with usually good
agreement with the numerical data. We also discuss some specific systems (like
arithmetic ones) which depart from these random models.Comment: Corrected typos, added a few references and updated some result