1,078 research outputs found
Hidden gauge structure and derivation of microcanonical ensemble theory of bosons from quantum principles
Microcanonical ensemble theory of bosons is derived from quantum mechanics by
making use of a hidden gauge structure. The relative phase interaction
associated with this gauge structure, described by the Pegg-Barnett formalism,
is shown to lead to perfect decoherence in the thermodynamics limit and the
principle of equal a priori probability, simultaneously.Comment: 10 page
On the measure of nonclassicality of field states
The degree of nonclassicality of states of a field mode is analysed
considering both phase-space and distance-type measures of nonclassicality. By
working out some general examples, it is shown explicitly that the phase-space
measure is rather sensitive to superposition of states, with finite
superpositions possessing maximum nonclassical depth (the highest degree of
nonclassicality) irrespective to the nature of the component states. Mixed
states are also discussed and examples with nonclassical depth varying between
the minimum and the maximum allowed values are exhibited. For pure Gaussian
states, it is demonstrated that distance-type measures based on the
Hilbert-Schmidt metric are equivalent to the phase-space measure. Analyzing
some examples, it is shown that distance-type measures are efficient to
quantify the degree of nonclassicality of non-Gaussian pure states.Comment: Latex, 21 pages, 1 figur
Single-shot measurement of quantum optical phase
Although the canonical phase of light, which is defined as the complement of
photon number, has been described theoretically by a variety of distinct
approaches, there have been no methods proposed for its measurement. Indeed
doubts have been expressed about whether or not it is measurable. Here we show
how it is possible, at least in principle, to perform a single-shot measurement
of canonical phase using beam splitters, mirrors, phase shifters and
photodetectors.Comment: This paper was published in PRL in 2002 but, at the time, was not
placed on the archive. It is included now to make accessing this paper easie
Schwinger, Pegg and Barnett and a relationship between angular and Cartesian quantum descriptions
From a development of an original idea due to Schwinger, it is shown that it
is possible to recover, from the quantum description of a degree of freedom
characterized by a finite number of states (\QTR{it}{i.e}., without classical
counterpart) the usual canonical variables of position/momentum \QTR{it}{and}
angle/angular momentum, relating, maybe surprisingly, the first as a limit of
the later.Comment: 7 pages, revised version, to appear on J. Phys. A: Math and Ge
Retrodictive quantum optical state engineering
Although it has been known for some time that quantum mechanics can be
formulated in a way that treats prediction and retrodiction on an equal
footing, most attention in engineering quantum states has been devoted to
predictive states, that is, states associated with the a preparation event.
Retrodictive states, which are associated with a measurement event and
propagate backwards in time, are also useful, however. In this paper we show
how any retrodictive state of light that can be written to a good approximation
as a finite superposition of photon number states can be generated by an
optical multiport device. The composition of the state is adjusted by
controlling predictive coherent input states. We show how the probability of
successful state generation can be optimised by adjusting the multiport device
and also examine a versatile configuration that is useful for generating a
range of states.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur
Measurement master equation
We derive a master equation describing the evolution of a quantum system
subjected to a sequence of observations. These measurements occur randomly at a
given rate and can be of a very general form. As an example, we analyse the
effects of these measurements on the evolution of a two-level atom driven by an
electromagnetic field. For the associated quantum trajectories we find Rabi
oscillations, Zeno-effect type behaviour and random telegraph evolution spawned
by mini quantum jumps as we change the rates and strengths of measurement.Comment: 14 pages and 8 figures, Optics Communications in pres
Constraints for quantum logic arising from conservation laws and field fluctuations
We explore the connections between the constraints on the precision of
quantum logical operations that arise from a conservation law, and those
arising from quantum field fluctuations. We show that the conservation-law
based constraints apply in a number of situations of experimental interest,
such as Raman excitations, and atoms in free space interacting with the
multimode vacuum. We also show that for these systems, and for states with a
sufficiently large photon number, the conservation-law based constraint
represents an ultimate limit closely related to the fluctuations in the quantum
field phase.Comment: To appear in J. Opt. B: Quantum Semiclass. Opt., special issue on
quantum contro
Large-uncertainty intelligent states for angular momentum and angle
The equality in the uncertainty principle for linear momentum and position is
obtained for states which also minimize the uncertainty product. However, in
the uncertainty relation for angular momentum and angular position both sides
of the inequality are state dependent and therefore the intelligent states,
which satisfy the equality, do not necessarily give a minimum for the
uncertainty product. In this paper, we highlight the difference between
intelligent states and minimum uncertainty states by investigating a class of
intelligent states which obey the equality in the angular uncertainty relation
while having an arbitrarily large uncertainty product. To develop an
understanding for the uncertainties of angle and angular momentum for the
large-uncertainty intelligent states we compare exact solutions with analytical
approximations in two limiting cases.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, submitted to J. Opt. B special issue in
connection with ICSSUR 2005 conferenc
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