Higher Gauge Theory and Gravity in (2+1) Dimensions

Non-abelian higher gauge theory has recently emerged as a generalization of standard gauge theory to higher dimensional (2-dimensional in the present context) connection forms, and as such, it has been successfully applied to the non-abelian generalizations of the Yang-Mills theory and 2-form electrodynamics. (2+1)-dimensional gravity, on the other hand, has been a fertile testing ground for many concepts related to classical and quantum gravity, and it is therefore only natural to investigate whether we can find an application of higher gauge theory in this latter context. In the present paper we investigate the possibility of applying the formalism of higher gauge theory to gravity in (2+1) dimensions, and we show that a nontrivial model of (2+1)-dimensional gravity coupled to scalar and tensorial matter fields - the $\Sigma\Phi EA$ model - can be formulated both as a standard gauge theory and as a higher gauge theory. Since the model has a very rich structure - it admits as solutions black-hole BTZ-like geometries, particle-like geometries as well as Robertson-Friedman-Walker cosmological-like expanding geometries - this opens a wide perspective for higher gauge theory to be tested and understood in a relevant gravitational context. Additionally, it offers the possibility of studying gravity in (2+1) dimensions coupled to matter in an entirely new framework.Comment: 22 page

Anisotropic Diffusion Limited Aggregation

Using stochastic conformal mappings we study the effects of anisotropic perturbations on diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) in two dimensions. The harmonic measure of the growth probability for DLA can be conformally mapped onto a constant measure on a unit circle. Here we map $m$ preferred directions for growth of angular width $\sigma$ to a distribution on the unit circle which is a periodic function with $m$ peaks in $[-\pi, \pi)$ such that the width $\sigma$ of each peak scales as $\sigma \sim 1/\sqrt{k}$, where $k$ defines the ``strength'' of anisotropy along any of the $m$ chosen directions. The two parameters $(m,k)$ map out a parameter space of perturbations that allows a continuous transition from DLA (for $m=0$ or $k=0$) to $m$ needle-like fingers as $k \to \infty$. We show that at fixed $m$ the effective fractal dimension of the clusters $D(m,k)$ obtained from mass-radius scaling decreases with increasing $k$ from $D_{DLA} \simeq 1.71$ to a value bounded from below by $D_{min} = 3/2$. Scaling arguments suggest a specific form for the dependence of the fractal dimension $D(m,k)$ on $k$ for large $k$, form which compares favorably with numerical results.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Recovery of entanglement lost in entanglement manipulation

When an entangled state is transformed into another one with probability one by local operations and classical communication, the quantity of entanglement decreases. This letter shows that entanglement lost in the manipulation can be partially recovered by an auxiliary entangled pair. As an application, a maximally entangled pair can be obtained from two partially entangled pairs with probability one. Finally, this recovery scheme reveals a fundamental property of entanglement relevant to the existence of incomparable states.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX; minor correction

Giant Spin Seebeck Effect through an Interface Organic Semiconductor

Interfacing an organic semiconductor C60 with a non-magnetic metallic thin film (Cu or Pt) has created a novel heterostructure that is ferromagnetic at ambient temperature, while its interface with a magnetic metal (Fe or Co) can tune the anisotropic magnetic surface property of the material. Here, we demonstrate that sandwiching C60 in between a magnetic insulator (Y3Fe5O12: YIG) and a non-magnetic, strong spin-orbit metal (Pt) promotes highly efficient spin current transport via the thermally driven spin Seebeck effect (SSE). Experiments and first principles calculations consistently show that the presence of C60 reduces significantly the conductivity mismatch between YIG and Pt and the surface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of YIG, giving rise to enhanced spin mixing conductance across YIG/C60/Pt interfaces. As a result, a 600% increase in the SSE voltage (VLSSE) has been realized in YIG/C60/Pt relative to YIG/Pt. Temperature-dependent SSE voltage measurements on YIG/C60/Pt with varying C60 layer thicknesses also show an exponential increase in VLSSE at low temperatures below 200 K, resembling the temperature evolution of spin diffusion length of C60. Our study emphasizes the important roles of the magnetic anisotropy and the spin diffusion length of the intermediate layer in the SSE in YIG/C60/Pt structures, providing a new pathway for developing novel spin-caloric materials

Quantum entanglement can be simulated without communication

It has recently been shown that all causal correlations between two parties which output each one bit, a and b, when receiving each one bit, x and y, can be expressed as convex combinations of local correlations (i.e., correlations that can be simulated with local random variables) and non-local correlations of the form a+b=xy mod 2. We show that a single instance of the latter elementary non-local correlation suffices to simulate exactly all possible projective measurements that can be performed on the singlet state of two qubits, with no communication needed at all. This elementary non-local correlation thus defines some unit of non-locality, which we call a nl-bit.Comment: 4 pages RevTex, 3 eps figure

Generalized quantum measurements and local realism

The structure of a local hidden variable model for experiments involving sequences of measurements rigorously is analyzed. Constraints imposed by local realism on the conditional probabilities of the outcomes of such measurement schemes are explicitly derived. The violation of local realism in the case of ``hidden nonlocality'' is illustrated by an operational example.Comment: Revtex, 12 pages; Some modifications of introduction has been made; a note stating that part of results had been obtained earlier by other authors, has been added; one postscript figure available at request from [email protected]

On the volume of the set of mixed entangled states

A natural measure in the space of density matrices describing N-dimensional quantum systems is proposed. We study the probability P that a quantum state chosen randomly with respect to the natural measure is not entangled (is separable). We find analytical lower and upper bounds for this quantity. Numerical calculations give P = 0.632 for N=4 and P=0.384 for N=6, and indicate that P decreases exponentially with N. Analysis of a conditional measure of separability under the condition of fixed purity shows a clear dualism between purity and separability: entanglement is typical for pure states, while separability is connected with quantum mixtures. In particular, states of sufficiently low purity are necessarily separable.Comment: 10 pages in LaTex - RevTex + 4 figures in eps. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Processing and Linking Audio Events in Large Multimedia Archives: The EU inEvent Project

In the inEvent EU project [1], we aim at structuring, retrieving, and sharing large archives of networked, and dynamically changing, multimedia recordings, mainly consisting of meetings, videoconferences, and lectures. More specifically, we are developing an integrated system that performs audiovisual processing of multimedia recordings, and labels them in terms of interconnected “hyper-events ” (a notion inspired from hyper-texts). Each hyper-event is composed of simpler facets, including audio-video recordings and metadata, which are then easier to search, retrieve and share. In the present paper, we mainly cover the audio processing aspects of the system, including speech recognition, speaker diarization and linking (across recordings), the use of these features for hyper-event indexing and recommendation, and the search portal. We present initial results for feature extraction from lecture recordings using the TED talks. Index Terms: Networked multimedia events; audio processing: speech recognition; speaker diarization and linking; multimedia indexing and searching; hyper-events. 1

Are the laws of entanglement theory thermodynamical?

We argue that on its face, entanglement theory satisfies laws equivalent to thermodynamics if the theory can be made reversible by adding certain bound entangled states as a free resource during entanglement manipulation. Subject to plausible assumptions, we prove that this is not the case in general, and discuss the implications of this for the thermodynamics of entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, Revtex4; to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Mixed-state entanglement and distillation: is there a ``bound'' entanglement in nature?

It is shown that if a mixed state can be distilled to the singlet form, it must violate partial transposition criterion [A. Peres, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1413 (1996)]. It implies that there are two qualitatively different types of entanglement: ``free'' entanglement which is distillable, and ``bound'' entanglement which cannot be brought to the singlet form useful for quantum communication purposes. Possible physical meaning of the result is discussed.Comment: RevTeX, 4 page