591 research outputs found
Complete and Deterministic discrimination of polarization Bell state assisted by momentum entanglement
A complete and deterministic Bell state measurement was realized by a simple
linear optics experimental scheme which adopts 2-photon polarization-momentum
hyperentanglement. The scheme, which is based on the discrimination among the
single photon Bell states of the hyperentangled state, requires the adoption of
standard single photon detectors. The four polarization Bell states have been
measured with average fidelity by using the linear momentum
degree of freedom as the ancilla. The feasibility of the scheme has been
characterized as a function of the purity of momentum entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, v2, comments adde
Quantum control in foundational experiments
We describe a new class of experiments designed to probe the foundations of
quantum mechanics. Using quantum controlling devices, we show how to attain a
freedom in temporal ordering of the control and detection of various phenomena.
We consider wave-particle duality in the context of quantum-controlled and the
entanglement-assisted delayed-choice experiments. Then we discuss a
quantum-controlled CHSH experiment and measurement of photon's transversal
position and momentum in a single set-up.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the workshop Horizons of Quantum
Physics, Taipei, 14-18.10.2012. Published version: two new authors, modified
and streamlined presentation, new section on quantum control in complementary
position/momentum measurement
Characterization of A Novel Avalanche Photodiode for Single Photon Detection in VIS-NIR Range
In this work we investigate operation in the Geiger mode of the new single
photon avalanche photo diode (SPAD) SAP500 manufactured by Laser Components.
This SPAD is sensitive in the range 400-1000nm and has a conventional
reach-through structure which ensures good quantum efficiency at the long end
of the spectrum. By use of passive and active quenching schemes we investigate
detection efficiency, timing jitter, dark counts, afterpulsing, gain and other
important parameters and compare them to the "standard" low noise SPAD C30902SH
from Perkin Elmer. We conclude that SAP500 offers better combination of
detection efficiency, low noise and timing precision
Practical Quantum Key Distribution with Polarization-Entangled Photons
We present an entangled-state quantum cryptography system that operated for
the first time in a real world application scenario. The full key generation
protocol was performed in real time between two distributed embedded hardware
devices, which were connected by 1.45 km of optical fiber, installed for this
experiment in the Vienna sewage system. The generated quantum key was
immediately handed over and used by a secure communication application.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Divergent evolution of protein conformational dynamics in dihydrofolate reductase.
Molecular evolution is driven by mutations, which may affect the fitness of an organism and are then subject to natural selection or genetic drift. Analysis of primary protein sequences and tertiary structures has yielded valuable insights into the evolution of protein function, but little is known about the evolution of functional mechanisms, protein dynamics and conformational plasticity essential for activity. We characterized the atomic-level motions across divergent members of the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) family. Despite structural similarity, Escherichia coli and human DHFRs use different dynamic mechanisms to perform the same function, and human DHFR cannot complement DHFR-deficient E. coli cells. Identification of the primary-sequence determinants of flexibility in DHFRs from several species allowed us to propose a likely scenario for the evolution of functionally important DHFR dynamics following a pattern of divergent evolution that is tuned by cellular environment
Experimental delayed-choice entanglement swapping
Motivated by the question, which kind of physical interactions and processes
are needed for the production of quantum entanglement, Peres has put forward
the radical idea of delayed-choice entanglement swapping. There, entanglement
can be "produced a posteriori, after the entangled particles have been measured
and may no longer exist". In this work we report the first realization of
Peres' gedanken experiment. Using four photons, we can actively delay the
choice of measurement-implemented via a high-speed tunable bipartite state
analyzer and a quantum random number generator-on two of the photons into the
time-like future of the registration of the other two photons. This effectively
projects the two already registered photons onto one definite of two mutually
exclusive quantum states in which either the photons are entangled (quantum
correlations) or separable (classical correlations). This can also be viewed as
"quantum steering into the past"
A Fast and Compact Quantum Random Number Generator
We present the realization of a physical quantum random number generator
based on the process of splitting a beam of photons on a beam splitter, a
quantum mechanical source of true randomness. By utilizing either a beam
splitter or a polarizing beam splitter, single photon detectors and high speed
electronics the presented devices are capable of generating a binary random
signal with an autocorrelation time of 11.8 ns and a continuous stream of
random numbers at a rate of 1 Mbit/s. The randomness of the generated signals
and numbers is shown by running a series of tests upon data samples. The
devices described in this paper are built into compact housings and are simple
to operate.Comment: 23 pages, 6 Figs. To appear in Rev. Sci. Inst
Conditioned Unitary Transformation on biphotons
A conditioned unitary transformation ( polarization rotation) is
performed at single-photon level. The transformation is realized by rotating
polarization for one of the photons of a polarization-entangled biphoton state
(signal photon) by means of a Pockel's cell triggered by the detection of the
other (idler) photon after polarization selection. As a result, polarization
degree for the signal beam changes from zero to the value given by the idler
detector quantum efficiency. This result is relevant to practical realization
of various quantum information schemes and can be used for developing a new
method of absolute quantum efficiency calibration
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