139 research outputs found
First-order interference of nonclassical light emitted spontaneously at different times
We study first-order interference in spontaneous parametric down-conversion
generated by two pump pulses that do not overlap in time. The observed
modulation in the angular distribution of the signal detector counting rate can
only be explained in terms of a quantum mechanical description based on
biphoton states. The condition for observing interference in the signal channel
is shown to depend on the parameters of the idler radiation.Comment: 5 pages, two-column, submitted to PR
Experimental Entanglement Concentration and Universal Bell-state Synthesizer
We report a novel Bell-state synthesizer in which an interferometric
entanglement concentration scheme is used. An initially mixed polarization
state from type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion becomes entangled
after the interferometric entanglement concentrator. This Bell-state
synthesizer is universal in the sense that the output polarization state is not
affected by spectral filtering, crystal thickness, and, most importantly, the
choice of pump source. It is also robust against environmental disturbance and
a more general state, partially mixedpartially entangled state, can be
readily generated as well.Comment: Minor update (Newer data
One-Way Entangled-Photon Autocompensating Quantum Cryptography
A new quantum cryptography implementation is presented that combines one-way
operation with an autocompensating feature that has hitherto only been
available in implementations that require the signal to make a round trip
between the users. Using the concept of advanced waves, it is shown that this
new implementation is related to the round-trip implementations in the same way
that Ekert's two-particle scheme is related to the original one-particle scheme
of Bennett and Brassard. The practical advantages and disadvantages of the
proposed implementation are discussed in the context of existing schemes.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; Minor edits--conclusions unchanged; accepted for
publication in Physical Review
Quantum interference with beamlike type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion
We implement experimentally a method to generate photon-numberpath and
polarization entangled photon pairs using ``beamlike'' type-II spontaneous
parametric down-conversion (SPDC), in which the signal-idler photon pairs are
emitted as two separate circular beams with small emission angles rather than
as two diverging cones.Comment: 4 pages, two-colum
Small-scale solar magnetic fields
As we resolve ever smaller structures in the solar atmosphere, it has become
clear that magnetism is an important component of those small structures.
Small-scale magnetism holds the key to many poorly understood facets of solar
magnetism on all scales, such as the existence of a local dynamo, chromospheric
heating, and flux emergence, to name a few. Here, we review our knowledge of
small-scale photospheric fields, with particular emphasis on quiet-sun field,
and discuss the implications of several results obtained recently using new
instruments, as well as future prospects in this field of research.Comment: 43 pages, 18 figure
Reliability of the beamsplitter based Bell-state measurement
A linear 50/50 beamsplitter, together with a coincidence measurement, has
been widely used in quantum optical experiments, such as teleportation, dense
coding, etc., for interferometrically distinguishing, measuring, or projecting
onto one of the four two-photon polarization Bell-states . In
this paper, we demonstrate that the coincidence measurement at the output of a
beamsplitter cannot be used as an absolute identifier of the input state
nor as an indication that the input photons have projected to
the state.Comment: 4 pages, two-colum
Multi-parameter Entanglement in Quantum Interferometry
The role of multi-parameter entanglement in quantum interference from
collinear type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion is explored using a
variety of aperture shapes and sizes, in regimes of both ultrafast and
continuous-wave pumping. We have developed and experimentally verified a theory
of down-conversion which considers a quantum state that can be concurrently
entangled in frequency, wavevector, and polarization. In particular, we
demonstrate deviations from the familiar triangular interference dip, such as
asymmetry and peaking. These findings improve our capacity to control the
quantum state produced by spontaneous parametric down-conversion, and should
prove useful to those pursuing the many proposed applications of down-converted
light.Comment: submitted to Physical Review
Solar Intranetwork Magnetic Elements: bipolar flux appearance
The current study aims to quantify characteristic features of bipolar flux
appearance of solar intranetwork (IN) magnetic elements. To attack such a
problem, we use the Narrow-band Filter Imager (NFI) magnetograms from the Solar
Optical Telescope (SOT) on board \emph{Hinode}; these data are from quiet and
an enhanced network areas. Cluster emergence of mixed polarities and IN
ephemeral regions (ERs) are the most conspicuous forms of bipolar flux
appearance within the network. Each of the clusters is characterized by a few
well-developed ERs that are partially or fully co-aligned in magnetic axis
orientation. On average, the sampled IN ERs have total maximum unsigned flux of
several 10^{17} Mx, separation of 3-4 arcsec, and a lifetime of 10-15 minutes.
The smallest IN ERs have a maximum unsigned flux of several 10^{16} Mx,
separations less than 1 arcsec, and lifetimes as short as 5 minutes. Most IN
ERs exhibit a rotation of their magnetic axis of more than 10 degrees during
flux emergence. Peculiar flux appearance, e.g., bipole shrinkage followed by
growth or the reverse, is not unusual. A few examples show repeated
shrinkage-growth or growth-shrinkage, like magnetic floats in the dynamic
photosphere. The observed bipolar behavior seems to carry rich information on
magneto-convection in the sub-photospheric layer.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figure
Interferometric Bell-state preparation using femtosecond-pulse-pumped Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion
We present theoretical and experimental study of preparing maximally
entangled two-photon polarization states, or Bell states, using femtosecond
pulse pumped spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). First, we show how
the inherent distinguishability in femtosecond pulse pumped type-II SPDC can be
removed by using an interferometric technique without spectral and amplitude
post-selection. We then analyze the recently introduced Bell state preparation
scheme using type-I SPDC. Theoretically, both methods offer the same results,
however, type-I SPDC provides experimentally superior methods of preparing Bell
states in femtosecond pulse pumped SPDC. Such a pulsed source of highly
entangled photon pairs is useful in quantum communications, quantum
cryptography, quantum teleportation, etc.Comment: 11 pages, two-column format, to appear in PR
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