What’s really going on in housing markets?

Most of the public concern about housing markets is based on claims that house prices have increased at historically anomalous rates and that house prices have outpaced incomes. The first claim is based on inaccurate historical data. The second is linked to relaxed credit constraints. House prices are likely to fall further, but not for the reasons usually proposed.Housing - Prices

Heralded phase-contrast imaging using an orbital angular momentum phase-filter

We utilise the position and orbital angular momentum (OAM) correlations between the signal and idler photons generated in the down-conversion process to obtain ghost images of a phase object. By using an OAM phase filter, which is non-local with respect to the object, the images exhibit isotropic edge-enhancement. This imaging technique is the first demonstration of a full-field, phase-contrast imaging system with non-local edge enhancement, and enables imaging of phase objects using significantly fewer photons than standard phase-contrast imaging techniques

Imaging with a small number of photons

Low-light-level imaging techniques have application in many diverse fields, ranging from biological sciences to security. We demonstrate a single-photon imaging system based on a time-gated inten- sified CCD (ICCD) camera in which the image of an object can be inferred from very few detected photons. We show that a ghost-imaging configuration, where the image is obtained from photons that have never interacted with the object, is a useful approach for obtaining images with high signal-to-noise ratios. The use of heralded single-photons ensures that the background counts can be virtually eliminated from the recorded images. By applying techniques of compressed sensing and associated image reconstruction, we obtain high-quality images of the object from raw data comprised of fewer than one detected photon per image pixel.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Properties of Hot Stars in the Wolf-Rayet galaxy NGC5253 from ISO Spectroscopy

ISO-SWS spectroscopy of the WR galaxy NGC5253 is presented, and analysed to provide estimates of its hot young star population. Our approach differs from previous investigations in that we are able to distinguish between the regions in which different infrared fine-structure lines form, using complementary ground-based observations. The high excitation nebular [SIV] emission is formed in a very compact region, which we attribute to the central super-star-nucleus, and lower excitation [NeII] nebular emission originates in the galactic core. We use photo-ionization modelling coupled with the latest theoretical O-star flux distributions to derive effective stellar temperatures and ionization parameters of Teff>38kK, logQ=8.25 for the compact nucleus, with Teff=35kK, logQ<8 for the larger core. Results are supported by more sophisticated calculations using evolutionary synthesis models. We assess the contribution that Wolf-Rayet stars may make to highly ionized nebular lines (e.g. [OIV]). From our Br(alpha) flux, the 2" nucleus contains the equivalent of approximately 1000 O7V star equivalents and the starburst there is 2-3Myr old; the 20" core contains about 2500 O7V star equivalents, with a representative age of 5Myr. The Lyman ionizing flux of the nucleus is equivalent to the 30 Doradus region. These quantities are in good agreement with the observed mid-IR dust luminosity of 7.8x10^8 L(sun) Since this structure of hot clusters embedded in cooler emission may be common in dwarf starbursts, observing a galaxy solely with a large aperture may result in confusion. Neglecting the spatial distribution of nebular emission in NGC5253, implies `global' stellar temperatures (or ages) of 36kK (4.8Myr) and 39kK (2.9 or 4.4Myr) from the observed [NeIII/II] and [SIV/III] line ratios, assuming logQ=8.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, uses mn.sty, to appear in MNRA

Static and dynamic traversable wormhole geometries satisfying the Ford-Roman constraints

It was shown by Ford and Roman in 1996 that quantum field theory severely constrains wormhole geometries on a macroscopic scale. The first part of this paper discusses a wide class of wormhole solutions that meet these constraints. The type of shape function used is essentially generic. The constraints are then discussed in conjunction with various redshift functions. Violations of the weak energy condition and traversability criteria are also considered. The second part of the paper analyzes analogous time-dependent (dynamic) wormholes with the aid of differential forms. It is shown that a violation of the weak energy condition is not likely to be avoidable even temporarily.Comment: 16 pages AMSTe

Resolution limits of quantum ghost imaging

Quantum ghost imaging uses photon pairs produced from parametric downconversion to enable an alternative method of image acquisition. Information from either one of the photons does not yield an image, but an image can be obtained by harnessing the correlations between them. Here we present an examination of the resolution limits of such ghost imaging systems. In both conventional imaging and quantum ghost imaging the resolution of the image is limited by the point-spread function of the optics associated with the spatially resolving detector. However, whereas in conventional imaging systems the resolution is limited only by this point spread function, in ghost imaging we show that the resolution can be further degraded by reducing the strength of the spatial correlations inherent in the downconversion process

Quantum ghost imaging

The process of image recording is arguably one of the most prevalent technology in modern society and continues to inspire vast swathes of research due to its widespread applications spanning military, medical and consumer spheres. The danger present in a field so broad is that separate niches of research can become isolated with critical advancements struggling to traverse the gulfs between. Unifying the field is the omnipresent drive to acquire an ever increasing quality of images at the lowest possible cost, a goal which warrants continual fundamental research. Quantum entanglement exhibits many intriguing characteristics which make it a suitable tool for such fundamental investigations. The process of spontaneous parametric down- conversion has offered a yet unbeaten strength of photon correlations with the quantum nature of their production providing a reliable and controllable source of single-photons. Arising from these attributes is the technique known as ghost imaging. Though now known to be classically possible, the strength of entanglement generated correlations is yet to be surpassed. This thesis implemented this technique in tandem with the cutting edge detector technology in order to probe the fundamentals of image formation. This form of imaging allowed us to subject an object to a known number of photons whilst acquiring structural information from spatially separate, correlated photons which never interact with the object. The strength of the produced correlations allow us to acquire low background, high resolution images with far less light than traditional techniques and affords many novel benefits. The possibility of incorporating this technique with pre-existent regimes allowed me to draw from advancements made across the landscape of imaging research. Although referred to as “quantum ghost imaging” throughout this work, it should be noted that the intrinsic quantum nature of the correlations was not directly relied upon but provided an ideal source of strongly correlated photons. In order to determine the limits of a traditional imaging system this thesis first sought to answer the question: “can an image of an object be reconstructed from fewer photons than ii pixels in the image?” In chapter 3 I approached this from the perspective of compression, which minimises redundant information within a signal. This lead to the development of an imaging regime capable of imaging with far fewer photons than pixels in the image. By employing assumptions about the sparsity of natural images I was able to reconstruct an image of a biological sample containing an average of less than one photon per image pixel. Having reduced the number of photons necessary to form an image I then considered alternative methods for reducing the optical energy impinging on a sample. I sought to answer the question: “can non-degenerate ghost imaging reduce the optical energy impinged upon an object during imaging”. The photons produced in SPDC need not be of similar wavelengths, however may be chosen far from degeneracy, i.e. non-degenerate. In Chapter 4 I presented a ghost imaging system which illuminated the object with infrared light whilst recording the structural information via entangled visible photons. This allowed for objects opaque to visible light to be imaged in high quality without the need for a spatially resolving infrared detector, the state of the art of which lags behind their silicon based visible counterparts. I presented the systems capabilities by imaging objects which were etched into a gold substrate layered on to silicon, both of which are opaque to visible light. Not only did a reduction in energy deposition arise from the lower energy probe wavelength but applying the reconstruction techniques from the previous chapter brought that down to as low as ≈16 nJcm−2s−1. Seeking to expand the repertoire of applications, the low-light capabilities of my ghost imaging were applied to the technique of phase-contrast microscopy in chapter 5. Typically applied to translucent objects, phase-contrast imaging transfers phase information, i.e. the refractive index changed within the object, into an intensity distribution through the use of a phase-filter. In many of these applications the objects tend to be biological in nature, where high optical exposure can result in bleaching or damage. By applying the phase-filter non- locally, i.e. to the photons correlated to those probing the object, I acquired edge-enhanced images of a phase object whilst illuminating with significantly fewer photons than standard phase-contrast techniques. Having displayed the broad applicability of our low-light ghost imaging system, I then sought to determine the optical resolution in chapter 6. The resolution limits of ghost imaging are not clear at first glance owing to the resolutions dependence upon the strength of spatial correlations. As the length over which the spatial correlations are produced can be brought below the standard diffraction limit, it would seem the resolution of the system could be brought similarly low. To clarify this I artificially restricted the number of spatial modes in each of the correlated beams to uncover the physically realisable resolution. I show that although the resolution of a ghost imaging system to be fundamentally determined by the strength of the correlations, this can never be reached due to the inherent limitations of the intervening imaging system

Experimental limits of ghost diffraction: Popper’s thought experiment

Quantum ghost diffraction harnesses quantum correlations to record diffraction or interference features using photons that have never interacted with the diffractive element. By designing an optical system in which the diffraction pattern can be produced by double slits of variable width either through a conventional diffraction scheme or a ghost diffraction scheme, we can explore the transition between the case where ghost diffraction behaves as conventional diffraction and the case where it does not. For conventional diffraction the angular extent increases as the scale of the diffracting object is reduced. By contrast, we show that no matter how small the scale of the diffracting object, the angular extent of the ghost diffraction is limited (by the transverse extent of the spatial correlations between beams). Our study is an experimental realisation of Popper’s thought experiment on the validity of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. We discuss the implication of our results in this context and explain that it is compatible with, but not proof of, the Copenhagen interpretation