1,521 research outputs found
Four-photon orbital angular momentum entanglement
Quantum entanglement shared between more than two particles is essential to
foundational questions in quantum mechanics, and upcoming quantum information
technologies. So far, up to 14 two-dimensional qubits have been entangled, and
an open question remains if one can also demonstrate entanglement of
higher-dimensional discrete properties of more than two particles. A promising
route is the use of the photon orbital angular momentum (OAM), which enables
implementation of novel quantum information protocols, and the study of
fundamentally new quantum states. To date, only two of such multidimensional
particles have been entangled albeit with ever increasing dimensionality. Here
we use pulsed spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) to produce photon
quadruplets that are entangled in their OAM, or transverse-mode degrees of
freedom; and witness genuine multipartite Dicke-type entanglement. Apart from
addressing foundational questions, this could find applications in quantum
metrology, imaging, and secret sharing.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Ensemble versus individual system in quantum optics
Modern techniques allow experiments on a single atom or system, with new
phenomena and new challenges for the theoretician. We discuss what quantum
mechanics has to say about a single system. The quantum jump approach as well
as the role of quantum trajectories are outlined and a rather sophisticated
example is given.Comment: Fundamental problems in quantum theory workshop, invited lecture. 11
pages Latex + 7 figures. To appear in Fortschr. d. Physi
Multi-dimensional laser spectroscopy of exciton-polaritons with spatial light modulators
We describe an experimental system that allows one to easily access the
dispersion curve of exciton-polaritons in a microcavity. Our approach is based
on two spatial light modulators (SLM), one for changing the excitation angles
(momenta), and the other for tuning the excitation wavelength. We show that
with this setup, an arbitrary number of states can be excited accurately and
that re-configuration of the excitation scheme can be done at high speed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Spontaneously Localized Photonic Modes Due to Disorder in the Dielectric Constant
We present the first experimental evidence for the existence of strongly
localized photonic modes due to random two dimensional fluctuations in the
dielectric constant. In one direction, the modes are trapped by ordered Bragg
reflecting mirrors of a planar, one wavelength long, microcavity. In the cavity
plane, they are localized by disorder, which is due to randomness in the
position, composition and sizes of quantum dots located in the anti-node of the
cavity. We extend the theory of disorder induced strong localization of
electron states to optical modes and obtain quantitative agreement with the
main experimental observations.Comment: 6 page
Therapy of intracellular Staphylococcus aureus by tigecyclin
BACKGROUND: In the fields of traumatology and orthopaedics staphylococci are the most frequently isolated pathogens. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are known to be the major causative agents of osteomyelitis. The increasing number of multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus and resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci as a trigger of complicated osteomyelitis and implant-associated infections is a major problem. Antibiotic therapy fails in 20% of cases. Therefore the development of novel antibiotics becomes necessary. METHODS: This study analyses tigecyclin, the first antibiotic of the glycylines, as a potential therapy for osteomyelitis caused by multiresistant Staphylococcus aureus. Therefore its intracellular activity and the potential use in polymethylmetacrylate-bone cement are examined. The intracellular activity of tigecyclin is determined by a human osteoblast infection model. The investigation of the biomechanical characteristics is conducted concerning the ISO 5833-guidelines. RESULTS: Tigecyclin shows in vitro an intracellular activity that ranges between the antimicrobial activity of gentamicin and rifampicin. A significant negative effect on the biomechanical characteristics with an impaired stability is detected after adding tigecyclin to polymethylmetacrylate-bone cement with a percentage of 1.225% per weight. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that tigecyclin might be a potent alternative for the systemic therapy of osteomyelitis and implant-associated infections whereas the local application has to be reconsidered individually
Assessing polymer-surface adhesion with a polymer collection
Polymer modification plays an important role in the construction of devices, but the lack of fundamental understanding on polymer-surface adhesion limits the development of miniaturized devices. In this work, a thermoplastic polymer collection was established using the combinatorial laser-induced forward transfer technique as a research platform, to assess the adhesion of polymers to substrates of different wettability. Furthermore, it also revealed the influence of adhesion on dewetting phenomena during the laser transfer and relaxation process, resulting in polymer spots of various morphologies. This gives a general insight into polymer-surface adhesion and connects it with the generation of defined polymer microstructures, which can be a valuable reference for the rational use of polymers
Most vital segment barriers
We study continuous analogues of "vitality" for discrete network flows/paths,
and consider problems related to placing segment barriers that have highest
impact on a flow/path in a polygonal domain. This extends the graph-theoretic
notion of "most vital arcs" for flows/paths to geometric environments. We give
hardness results and efficient algorithms for various versions of the problem,
(almost) completely separating hard and polynomially-solvable cases
A Complexity View of Rainfall
We show that rain events are analogous to a variety of nonequilibrium
relaxation processes in Nature such as earthquakes and avalanches. Analysis of
high-resolution rain data reveals that power laws describe the number of rain
events versus size and number of droughts versus duration. In addition, the
accumulated water column displays scale-less fluctuations. These statistical
properties are the fingerprints of a self-organized critical process and may
serve as a benchmark for models of precipitation and atmospheric processes.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
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