Predominance of the Kitaev interaction in a three-dimensional honeycomb iridate: from ab-initio to spin model

The recently discovered three-dimensional hyperhoneycomb iridate, $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, has raised hopes for the realization of dominant Kitaev interaction between spin-orbit entangled local moments due to its near-ideal lattice structure. If true, this material may lie close to the sought-after quantum spin liquid phase in three dimensions. Utilizing ab-initio electronic structure calculations, we first show that the spin-orbit entangled basis, $j_{\rm eff}$=1/2, correctly captures the low energy electronic structure. The effective spin model derived in the strong coupling limit supplemented by the ab-initio results is shown to be dominated by the Kitaev interaction. We demonstrated that the possible range of parameters is consistent with a non-coplanar spiral magnetic order found in a recent experiment. All of these analyses suggest that $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ may be the closest among known materials to the Kitaev spin liquid regime.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Experimental verification of the commutation relation for Pauli spin operators using single-photon quantum interference

We report experimental verification of the commutation relation for Pauli spin operators using quantum interference of the single-photon polarization state. By superposing the quantum operations $\sigma_z \sigma_x$ and $\sigma_x \sigma_z$ on a single-photon polarization state, we have experimentally implemented the commutator, $[\sigma_{z}, \sigma_{x}]$, and the anticommutator, $\{\sigma_{z}, \sigma_{x}\}$, and have demonstrated the relative phase factor of $\pi$ between $\sigma_z \sigma_x$ and $\sigma_x \sigma_z$ operations. The experimental quantum operation corresponding to the commutator, $[\sigma_{z}, \sigma_{x}]=k\sigma_y$, showed process fidelity of 0.94 compared to the ideal $\sigma_y$ operation and $|k|$ is determined to be $2.12\pm0.18$.Comment: 4pages, 3 figure

Reversing the Weak Quantum Measurement for a Photonic Qubit

We demonstrate the conditional reversal of a weak (partial-collapse) quantum measurement on a photonic qubit. The weak quantum measurement causes a nonunitary transformation of a qubit which is subsequently reversed to the original state after a successful reversing operation. Both the weak measurement and the reversal operation are implemented linear optically. The state recovery fidelity, determined by quantum process tomography, is shown to be over 94% for partial-collapse strength up to 0.9. We also experimentally study information gain due to the weak measurement and discuss the role of the reversing operation as an information erasure

Suppressed Superconductivity of the Surface Conduction Layer in Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+x_{8+x} Single Crystals Probed by {\it c}-Axis Tunneling Measurements

We fabricated small-size stacks on the surface of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+x}$ (BSCCO-2212) single crystals with the bulk transition temperature $T_c$$\simeq$90 K, each containing a few intrinsic Josephson junctions. Below a critical temperature $T_c'$ ($\ll$ $T_c$), we have observed a weakened Josephson coupling between the CuO$_2$ superconducting double layer at the crystal surface and the adjacent one located deeper inside a stack. The quasiparticle branch in the $IV$ data of the weakened Josephson junction (WJJ) fits well to the tunneling characteristics of a d-wave superconductor($'$)/insulator/d-wave superconductor (D$'$ID) junction. Also, the tunneling resistance in the range $T_c'$$<$$T$$<$$T_c$ agrees well with the tunneling in a normal metal/insulator/d-wave superconductor (NID) junction. In spite of the suppressed superconductivity at the surface layer the symmetry of the order parameter appears to remain unaffected.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Realizing Physical Approximation of the Partial Transpose

The partial transpose by which a subsystem's quantum state is solely transposed is of unique importance in quantum information processing from both fundamental and practical point of view. In this work, we present a practical scheme to realize a physical approximation to the partial transpose using local measurements on individual quantum systems and classical communication. We then report its linear optical realization and show that the scheme works with no dependence on local basis of given quantum states. A proof-of-principle demonstration of entanglement detection using the physical approximation of the partial transpose is also reported.Comment: 5 pages with appendix, 3 figure

Design of three degrees-of-freedom motion stage for micro manipulation

A miniaturized translational motion stage has potentials to provide not only performances equivalent to conventional motion stages, but also additional features from its small form factor and low cost. These properties can be utilized in applications requiring a small space such as a vacuum chamber in a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), where hidden surface can decrease by manipulating objects to measure. However, existing miniaturized motion stages still have several cm3 level volumes and provide simple operations. In this dissertation, Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based motion stages are utilized to replace a miniaturized motion stage for micro-scale manipulation and possible applications. However, most MEMS fabrication methods remain in monolithic fabrication methods and a lot of MEMS based multiple degrees-of-freedom (DOFs) motion stage also remain for in-plane motions. In this dissertation, a nested structure based on a serial kinematic mechanism is implemented in order to overcome these constraints and implement out-of-plane motion, where one independent stage is embedded into the other individual stage with additional features for structurally and electrically isolations among the engaged stages. MEMS actuators and displacement amplifiers are also investigated for reasonable performance. 3-axis motions are divided into two in-plane motions and one out-of-plane motion; an in-plane 1 DOF motion stage (called an X-stage) and one out-of-plane 1 DOF motion stage (called a Z-stage) are designed and characterized experimentally. Based on the two stages, the XY-stage is designed by merging one X-stage into the motion platform of the other X-stage with a different orientation (called an XY-stage). With this nested approach, the fabricated XY-stage demonstrated in-plane motions larger than 50 µm with ignorable coupled motion errors. Based on this nested approach, the 3-axis motion stage is also implemented by utilizing the nested structure twice; integrating the Z-stage with the motion platform of the XY-stage (called an XYZ-stage). The XYZ-stage demonstrated out-of-plane motions about 23 µm as well as the in-plane motions. Two presented motion stages have been utilized in the manipulation of micro-scale object by the cooperation of the two XY-stages inside a SEM chamber. The large motion platform of the X-stage is also utilized in a parallel plate type rheometer to measure the material properties of viscoelastic materials