1,800 research outputs found
Unbounded violations of bipartite Bell Inequalities via Operator Space theory
In this work we show that bipartite quantum states with local Hilbert space
dimension n can violate a Bell inequality by a factor of order (up
to a logarithmic factor) when observables with n possible outcomes are used. A
central tool in the analysis is a close relation between this problem and
operator space theory and, in particular, the very recent noncommutative
embedding theory. As a consequence of this result, we obtain better Hilbert
space dimension witnesses and quantum violations of Bell inequalities with
better resistance to noise
High-resolution ice nucleation spectra of sea-ice bacteria: implications for cloud formation and life in frozen environments
International audienceEven though studies of Arctic ice forming particles suggest that a bacterial or viral source derived from open leads could be important for cloud formation in the Arctic (Bigg and Leck, 2001), the ice nucleation potential of most polar marine psychrophiles or viruses has not been examined under conditions more closely resembling those in the atmosphere. In this paper, we examined the ice nucleation activity (INA) of several representative Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice bacterial isolates and a polar Colwellia phage virus. High-resolution ice nucleation spectra were obtained for droplets containing bacterial cells or virus particles using a free-fall freezing tube technique. The fraction of frozen droplets at a particular droplet temperature was determined by measuring the depolarized light scattering intensity from solution droplets in free-fall. Our experiments revealed that all sea-ice isolates and the virus nucleated ice at temperatures very close to the homogeneous nucleation temperature for the nucleation medium ? which for artificial seawater was ?42.2±0.3°C. Our results indicated that these marine psychro-active bacteria and viruses are not important for heterogeneous ice nucleation processes in sea ice or polar clouds. These results also suggested that avoidance of ice formation in close proximity to cell surfaces might be one of the cold-adaptation and survival strategies for sea-ice bacteria. The fact that INA occurs at such low temperature could constitute one factor that explains the persistence of metabolic activities at temperatures far below the freezing point of seawater
Large violation of Bell inequalities with low entanglement
In this paper we obtain violations of general bipartite Bell inequalities of
order with inputs, outputs and
-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Moreover, we construct explicitly, up to a
random choice of signs, all the elements involved in such violations: the
coefficients of the Bell inequalities, POVMs measurements and quantum states.
Analyzing this construction we find that, even though entanglement is necessary
to obtain violation of Bell inequalities, the Entropy of entanglement of the
underlying state is essentially irrelevant in obtaining large violation. We
also indicate why the maximally entangled state is a rather poor candidate in
producing large violations with arbitrary coefficients. However, we also show
that for Bell inequalities with positive coefficients (in particular, games)
the maximally entangled state achieves the largest violation up to a
logarithmic factor.Comment: Reference [16] added. Some typos correcte
Optical diode based on the chirality of guided photons
Photons are nonchiral particles: their handedness can be both left and right.
However, when light is transversely confined, it can locally exhibit a
transverse spin whose orientation is fixed by the propagation direction of the
photons. Confined photons thus have chiral character. Here, we employ this to
demonstrate nonreciprocal transmission of light at the single-photon level
through a silica nanofibre in two experimental schemes. We either use an
ensemble of spin-polarised atoms that is weakly coupled to the nanofibre-guided
mode or a single spin-polarised atom strongly coupled to the nanofibre via a
whispering-gallery-mode resonator. We simultaneously achieve high optical
isolation and high forward transmission. Both are controlled by the internal
atomic state. The resulting optical diode is the first example of a new class
of nonreciprocal nanophotonic devices which exploit the chirality of confined
photons and which are, in principle, suitable for quantum information
processing and future quantum optical networks
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