14 research outputs found
Atmospheric Channel Characteristics for Quantum Communication with Continuous Polarization Variables
We investigate the properties of an atmospheric channel for free space
quantum communication with continuous polarization variables. In our
prepare-and-measure setup, coherent polarization states are transmitted through
an atmospheric quantum channel of 100m length on the roof of our institute's
building. The signal states are measured by homodyne detection with the help of
a local oscillator (LO) which propagates in the same spatial mode as the
signal, orthogonally polarized to it. Thus the interference of signal and LO is
excellent and atmospheric fluctuations are autocompensated. The LO also acts as
spatial and spectral filter, which allows for unrestrained daylight operation.
Important characteristics for our system are atmospheric channel influences
that could cause polarization, intensity and position excess noise. Therefore
we study these influences in detail. Our results indicate that the channel is
suitable for our quantum communication system in most weather conditions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Applied Physics B following an
invitation for the special issue "Selected Papers Presented at the 2009
Spring Meeting of the Quantum Optics and Photonics Section of the German
Physical Society
Exact uncertainty relations: physical significance
The Heisenberg inequality \Delta X \Delta P \geq \hbar/2 can be replaced by
an exact equality, for suitably chosen measures of position and momentum
uncertainty, which is valid for all wavefunctions. The statistics of
complementary observables are thus connected by an ``exact'' uncertainty
relation.Comment: Latex, 24 pages. This a substantially shortened version of
quant-ph/0103072, with less technical detail and focusing on physical conten