Optimal Quantum Clocks

A quantum clock must satisfy two basic constraints. The first is a bound on the time resolution of the clock given by the difference between its maximum and minimum energy eigenvalues. The second follows from Holevo's bound on how much classical information can be encoded in a quantum system. We show that asymptotically, as the dimension of the Hilbert space of the clock tends to infinity, both constraints can be satisfied simultaneously. The experimental realization of such an optimal quantum clock using trapped ions is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 1 figure, revision contains some new result

The casuality and/or energy-momentum conservation constraints on QCD amplitudes in small x regime

The causality and/or the energy-momentum constraints on the amplitudes of high energy processes are generalized to QCD. The constraints imply that the energetic parton may experience at most one inelastic collision only and that the number of the constituents in the light cone wave function of the projectile is increasing with the collision energy and the atomic number.Comment: 24 pages,8 figures. The paper is streamlined, some references are changed and misprints are eliminate

Speed limits for quantum gates in multi-qubit systems

We use analytical and numerical calculations to obtain speed limits for various unitary quantum operations in multiqubit systems under typical experimental conditions. The operations that we consider include single-, two-, and three-qubit gates, as well as quantum-state transfer in a chain of qubits. We find in particular that simple methods for implementing two-qubit gates generally provide the fastest possible implementations of these gates. We also find that the three-qubit Toffoli gate time varies greatly depending on the type of interactions and the system's geometry, taking only slightly longer than a two-qubit controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate for a triangle geometry. The speed limit for quantum-state transfer across a qubit chain is set by the maximum spin-wave speed in the chain.Comment: 7 pages (two-column), 2 figures, 2 table

Product Integral Formalism and Non-Abelian Stokes Theorem

We make use of the properties of product integrals to obtain a surface product integral representation for the Wilson loop operator. The result can be interpreted as the non-abelian version of Stokes' theorem.Comment: Latex; condensed version of hep-th/9903221, to appear in Jour. Math. Phy

The role of entanglement in dynamical evolution

Entanglement or entanglement generating interactions permit to achieve the maximum allowed speed in the dynamical evolution of a composite system, when the energy resources are distributed among subsystems. The cases of pre-existing entanglement and of entanglement-building interactions are separately addressed. The role of classical correlations is also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Revised versio

Configurations of Handles and the Classification of Divergences in the String Partition Function

The divergences that arise in the regularized partition function for closed bosonic string theory in flat space lead to three types of perturbation series expansions, distinguished by their genus dependence. This classification of infinities can be traced to geometrical characteristics of the string worldsheet. Some categories of divergences may be eliminated in string theories formulated on compact manifolds.Comment: 24 pages, DAMTP-R/94/1

Electrons as quasi-bosons in magnetic white dwarfs

A white dwarf star achieves its equilibrium from the balancing of the gravitational compression against the Fermi degeneracy pressure of the electron gas. In field theory there are examples (e.g. the monopole-charge system) where a strong magnetic field can transform a boson into a fermion or a fermion into a boson. In some condensed matter systems (e.g. fractional quantum Hall systems) a strong magnetic field can transform electrons into effective fermions, or effective anyons. Based on these examples we investigate the possibility that the strong magnetic fields of some white dwarfs may transform some fraction of the electrons into effective bosons. This could have consequences for the structure of highly magnetized white dwarfs. It would alter the mass-radius relationship, and in certain instances one could envision a scenario where a white dwarf below the Chandrasekhar limit could nevertheless collapse into a neutron star due to a weakening of the electron degeneracy pressure. In addition the transformation of electrons into effective bosons could result in the electrons Bose condensing, which could speed up the cooling rate of white dwarfs.Comment: 10 pages. To be published IJMP

Shear and bulk viscosities for pure glue matter

Shear $\eta$ and bulk $\zeta$ viscosities are calculated in a quasiparticle model within a relaxation time approximation for pure gluon matter. Below $T_c$ the confined sector is described within a quasiparticle glueball model. Particular attention is paid to behavior of the shear and bulk viscosities near $T_c$. The constructed equation of state reproduces the first-order phase transition for the glue matter. It is shown that with this equation of state it is possible to describe the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity to entropy ratio $\eta/s$ and the bulk viscosity to entropy ratio $\zeta/s$ in reasonable agreement with available lattice data but absolute values of the $\zeta/s$ ratio underestimate the upper limits of this ratio in the lattice measurements typically by an order of magnitude.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; the published versio

Fundamental Limits on the Speed of Evolution of Quantum States

This paper reports on some new inequalities of Margolus-Levitin-Mandelstam-Tamm-type involving the speed of quantum evolution between two orthogonal pure states. The clear determinant of the qualitative behavior of this time scale is the statistics of the energy spectrum. An often-overlooked correspondence between the real-time behavior of a quantum system and the statistical mechanics of a transformed (imaginary-time) thermodynamic system appears promising as a source of qualitative insights into the quantum dynamics.Comment: 6 pages, 1 eps figur

Permutation combinatorics of worldsheet moduli space

52 pages, 21 figures52 pages, 21 figures; minor corrections, "On the" dropped from title, matches published version52 pages, 21 figures; minor corrections, "On the" dropped from title, matches published versio