93 research outputs found
Atom Lasers, Coherent States, and Coherence:II. Maximally Robust Ensembles of Pure States
As discussed in Wiseman and Vaccaro [quant-ph/9906125], the stationary state
of an optical or atom laser far above threshold is a mixture of coherent field
states with random phase, or, equivalently, a Poissonian mixture of number
states. We are interested in which, if either, of these descriptions of
, is more natural. In the preceding paper we concentrated upon
whether descriptions such as these are physically realizable (PR). In this
paper we investigate another relevant aspect of these ensembles, their
robustness. A robust ensemble is one for which the pure states that comprise it
survive relatively unchanged for a long time under the system evolution. We
determine numerically the most robust ensembles as a function of the parameters
in the laser model: the self-energy of the bosons in the laser mode, and
the excess phase noise . We find that these most robust ensembles are PR
ensembles, or similar to PR ensembles, for all values of these parameters. In
the ideal laser limit (), the most robust states are coherent
states. As the phase noise or phase dispersion is increased, the
most robust states become increasingly amplitude-squeezed. We find scaling laws
for these states. As the phase diffusion or dispersion becomes so large that
the laser output is no longer quantum coherent, the most robust states become
so squeezed that they cease to have a well-defined coherent amplitude. That is,
the quantum coherence of the laser output is manifest in the most robust PR
states having a well-defined coherent amplitude. This lends support to the idea
that robust PR ensembles are the most natural description of the state of the
laser mode. It also has interesting implications for atom lasers in particular,
for which phase dispersion due to self-interactions is expected to be large.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures included. To be published in Phys. Rev. A, as
Part II of a two-part paper. The original version of quant-ph/9906125 is
shortly to be replaced by a new version which is Part I of the two-part
paper. This paper (Part II) also contains some material from the original
version of quant-ph/990612
Adiabatic Elimination in Compound Quantum Systems with Feedback
Feedback in compound quantum systems is effected by using the output from one
sub-system (``the system'') to control the evolution of a second sub-system
(``the ancilla'') which is reversibly coupled to the system. In the limit where
the ancilla responds to fluctuations on a much shorter time scale than does the
system, we show that it can be adiabatically eliminated, yielding a master
equation for the system alone. This is very significant as it decreases the
necessary basis size for numerical simulation and allows the effect of the
ancilla to be understood more easily. We consider two types of ancilla: a
two-level ancilla (e.g. a two-level atom) and an infinite-level ancilla (e.g.
an optical mode). For each, we consider two forms of feedback: coherent (for
which a quantum mechanical description of the feedback loop is required) and
incoherent (for which a classical description is sufficient). We test the
master equations we obtain using numerical simulation of the full dynamics of
the compound system. For the system (a parametric oscillator) and feedback
(intensity-dependent detuning) we choose, good agreement is found in the limit
of heavy damping of the ancilla. We discuss the relation of our work to
previous work on feedback in compound quantum systems, and also to previous
work on adiabatic elimination in general.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures including two subplots as jpeg attachment
Robust unravelings for resonance fluorescence
Monitoring the fluorescent radiation of an atom unravels the master equation
evolution by collapsing the atomic state into a pure state which evolves
stochastically. A robust unraveling is one that gives pure states that, on
average, are relatively unaffected by the master equation evolution (which
applies once the monitoring ceases). The ensemble of pure states arising from
the maximally robust unraveling has been suggested to be the most natural way
of representing the system [H.M. Wiseman and J.A. Vaccaro, Phys. Lett. A {\bf
250}, 241 (1998)]. We find that the maximally robust unraveling of a resonantly
driven atom requires an adaptive interferometric measurement proposed by
Wiseman and Toombes [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 60}, 2474 (1999)]. The resultant
ensemble consists of just two pure states which, in the high driving limit, are
close to the eigenstates of the driving Hamiltonian . This
ensemble is the closest thing to a classical limit for a strongly driven atom.
We also find that it is possible to reasonably approximate this ensemble using
just homodyne detection, an example of a continuous Markovian unraveling. This
has implications for other systems, for which it may be necessary in practice
to consider only continuous Markovian unravelings.Comment: 12 pages including 5 .eps figures, plus one .jpg figur
Spin squeezing via quantum feedback
We propose a quantum feedback scheme for producing deterministically
reproducible spin squeezing. The results of a continuous nondemolition atom
number measurement are fed back to control the quantum state of the sample. For
large samples and strong cavity coupling, the squeezing parameter minimum
scales inversely with atom number, approaching the Heisenberg limit.
Furthermore, ceasing the measurement and feedback when this minimum has been
reached will leave the sample in the maximally squeezed spin state.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, revtex
Removal of a single photon by adaptive absorption
We present a method to remove, using only linear optics, exactly one photon
from a field-mode. This is achieved by putting the system in contact with an
absorbing environment which is under continuous monitoring. A feedback
mechanism then decouples the system from the environment as soon as the first
photon is absorbed. We propose a possible scheme to implement this process and
provide the theoretical tools to describe it
Visible and Near-IR Reflectance Spectra for Smectite, Sulfate And Perchlorate under Dry Conditions for Interpretation of Martian Surface Mineralogy
Visible and near-IR (VNIR) spectral data for the martian surface obtained from orbit by the MRO-CRISM and OMEGA instruments are interpreted as having spectral signatures of H2O/OH-bearing phases, including smectites and other phyllosilicates, sulfates, and high-SiO2 phases [e.g., 1-4]. Interpretations of martian spectral signatures are based on and constrained by spectra that are obtained in the laboratory on samples with known mineralogical compositions and other physicochemical characteristics under, as appropriate, Mars-like environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, and humidity). With respect to environmental conditions, differences in the absolute concentration of atmospheric H2O can effect the hydration state and therefore the spectra signatures of smectite phyllosilicates (solvation H2O) and certain sulfates (hydration H2O) [e.g., 5-7]. We report VNIR spectral data acquired under humid (laboratory air) and dry (dry N2 gas) environments for two natural smectites (nontronite API-33A and saponite SapCa-1) to characterize the effect of solvation H2O on spectral properties. We also report spectral data for the thermal dehydration products of (1) melanterite (FeSO4.7H2O) in both air and dry N2 gas and (2) Mg-perchlorate (Mg(ClO4)2.6H2O) in dry N2 environments. Spectral measurements for samples dehydrated in dry N2 were made without exposing them to humid laboratory air
Entanglement and purity of two-mode Gaussian states in noisy channels
We study the evolution of purity, entanglement and total correlations of
general two--mode Gaussian states of continuous variable systems in arbitrary
uncorrelated Gaussian environments. The time evolution of purity, Von Neumann
entropy, logarithmic negativity and mutual information is analyzed for a wide
range of initial conditions. In general, we find that a local squeezing of the
bath leads to a faster degradation of purity and entanglement, while it can
help to preserve the mutual information between the modes.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Adaptive phase estimation is more accurate than non-adaptive phase estimation for continuous beams of light
We consider the task of estimating the randomly fluctuating phase of a
continuous-wave beam of light. Using the theory of quantum parameter
estimation, we show that this can be done more accurately when feedback is used
(adaptive phase estimation) than by any scheme not involving feedback
(non-adaptive phase estimation) in which the beam is measured as it arrives at
the detector. Such schemes not involving feedback include all those based on
heterodyne detection or instantaneous canonical phase measurements. We also
demonstrate that the superior accuracy adaptive phase estimation is present in
a regime conducive to observing it experimentally.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PR
Afshar's Experiment does not show a Violation of Complementarity
A recent experiment performed by S. Afshar [first reported by M. Chown, New
Scientist {\bf 183}, 30 (2004)] is analyzed. It was claimed that this
experiment could be interpreted as a demonstration of a violation of the
principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics. Instead, it is shown here
that it can be understood in terms of classical wave optics and the standard
interpretation of quantum mechanics. Its performance is quantified and it is
concluded that the experiment is suboptimal in the sense that it does not fully
exhaust the limits imposed by quantum mechanics.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Quantum interference in the fluorescence of a molecular system
It has been observed experimentally [H.R. Xia, C.Y. Ye, and S.Y. Zhu, Phys.
Rev. Lett. {\bf 77}, 1032 (1996)] that quantum interference between two
molecular transitions can lead to a suppression or enhancement of spontaneous
emission. This is manifested in the fluorescent intensity as a function of the
detuning of the driving field from the two-photon resonance condition. Here we
present a theory which explains the observed variation of the number of peaks
with the mutual polarization of the molecular transition dipole moments. Using
master equation techniques we calculate analytically as well as numerically the
steady-state fluorescence, and find that the number of peaks depends on the
excitation process. If the molecule is driven to the upper levels by a
two-photon process, the fluorescent intensity consists of two peaks regardless
of the mutual polarization of the transition dipole moments. If the excitation
process is composed of both a two-step one-photon process and a one-step,
two-photon process, then there are two peaks on transitions with parallel
dipole moments and three peaks on transitions with antiparallel dipole moments.
This latter case is in excellent agreement with the experiment.Comment: 11 pages, including 8 figure
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