1,049 research outputs found
Sub-picosecond compression by velocity bunching in a photo-injector
We present an experimental evidence of a bunch compression scheme that uses a
traveling wave accelerating structure as a compressor. The bunch length issued
from a laser-driven radio-frequency electron source was compressed by a factor
>3 using an S-band traveling wave structure located immediately downstream from
the electron source. Experimental data are found to be in good agreement with
particle tracking simulations.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Spec. Topics A&
Decoherence of number states in phase-sensitive reservoirs
The non-unitary evolution of initial number states in general Gaussian
environments is solved analytically. Decoherence in the channels is quantified
by determining explicitly the purity of the state at any time. The influence of
the squeezing of the bath on decoherence is discussed. The behavior of coherent
superpositions of number states is addressed as well.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, minor changes, references adde
Non-Markovian entanglement dynamics of quantum continuous variable systems in thermal environments
We study two continuous variable systems (or two harmonic oscillators) and
investigate their entanglement evolution under the influence of non-Markovian
thermal environments. The continuous variable systems could be two modes of
electromagnetic fields or two nanomechanical oscillators in the quantum domain.
We use quantum open system method to derive the non-Markovian master equations
of the reduced density matrix for two different but related models of the
continuous variable systems. The two models both consist of two interacting
harmonic oscillators. In model A, each of the two oscillators is coupled to its
own independent thermal reservoir, while in model B the two oscillators are
coupled to a common reservoir. To quantify the degrees of entanglement for the
bipartite continuous variable systems in Gaussian states, logarithmic
negativity is used. We find that the dynamics of the quantum entanglement is
sensitive to the initial states, the oscillator-oscillator interaction, the
oscillator-environment interaction and the coupling to a common bath or to
different, independent baths.Comment: 10 two-column pages, 8 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
On the optimal feedback control of linear quantum systems in the presence of thermal noise
We study the possibility of taking bosonic systems subject to quadratic
Hamiltonians and a noisy thermal environment to non-classical stationary states
by feedback loops based on weak measurements and conditioned linear driving. We
derive general analytical upper bounds for the single mode squeezing and
multimode entanglement at steady state, depending only on the Hamiltonian
parameters and on the number of thermal excitations of the bath. Our findings
show that, rather surprisingly, larger number of thermal excitations in the
bath allow for larger steady-state squeezing and entanglement if the efficiency
of the optimal continuous measurements conditioning the feedback loop is high
enough. We also consider the performance of feedback strategies based on
homodyne detection and show that, at variance with the optimal measurements, it
degrades with increasing temperature.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. v2: minor changes to the letter; better
explanation of the necessary and sufficient conditions to achieve the bounds
(in the supplemental material); v3: title changed; comparison between optimal
general-dyne strategy and homodyne strategy is discussed; supplemental
material included in the manuscript and few references added. v4: published
versio
Ensemble averaged entanglement of two-particle states in Fock space
Recent results, extending the Schmidt decomposition theorem to wavefunctions
of identical particles, are reviewed. They are used to give a definition of
reduced density operators in the case of two identical particles. Next, a
method is discussed to calculate time averaged entanglement. It is applied to a
pair of identical electrons in an otherwise empty band of the Hubbard model,
and to a pair of bosons in the the Bose-Hubbard model with infinite range
hopping. The effect of degeneracy of the spectrum of the Hamiltonian on the
average entanglement is emphasised.Comment: 19 pages Latex, changed title, references added in the conclusion
Design considerations for table-top, laser-based VUV and X-ray free electron lasers
A recent breakthrough in laser-plasma accelerators, based upon ultrashort
high-intensity lasers, demonstrated the generation of quasi-monoenergetic
GeV-electrons. With future Petawatt lasers ultra-high beam currents of ~100 kA
in ~10 fs can be expected, allowing for drastic reduction in the undulator
length of free-electron-lasers (FELs). We present a discussion of the key
aspects of a table-top FEL design, including energy loss and chirps induced by
space-charge and wakefields. These effects become important for an optimized
table-top FEL operation. A first proof-of-principle VUV case is considered as
well as a table-top X-ray-FEL which may open a brilliant light source also for
new ways in clinical diagnostics.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Appl. Phys.
Quantifying decoherence in continuous variable systems
We present a detailed report on the decoherence of quantum states of
continuous variable systems under the action of a quantum optical master
equation resulting from the interaction with general Gaussian uncorrelated
environments. The rate of decoherence is quantified by relating it to the decay
rates of various, complementary measures of the quantum nature of a state, such
as the purity, some nonclassicality indicators in phase space and, for two-mode
states, entanglement measures and total correlations between the modes.
Different sets of physically relevant initial configurations are considered,
including one- and two-mode Gaussian states, number states, and coherent
superpositions. Our analysis shows that, generally, the use of initially
squeezed configurations does not help to preserve the coherence of Gaussian
states, whereas it can be effective in protecting coherent superpositions of
both number states and Gaussian wave packets.Comment: Review article; 36 pages, 19 figures; typos corrected, references
adde
Optical implementation and entanglement distribution in Gaussian valence bond states
We study Gaussian valence bond states of continuous variable systems,
obtained as the outputs of projection operations from an ancillary space of M
infinitely entangled bonds connecting neighboring sites, applied at each of
sites of an harmonic chain. The entanglement distribution in Gaussian valence
bond states can be controlled by varying the input amount of entanglement
engineered in a (2M+1)-mode Gaussian state known as the building block, which
is isomorphic to the projector applied at a given site. We show how this
mechanism can be interpreted in terms of multiple entanglement swapping from
the chain of ancillary bonds, through the building blocks. We provide optical
schemes to produce bisymmetric three-mode Gaussian building blocks (which
correspond to a single bond, M=1), and study the entanglement structure in the
output Gaussian valence bond states. The usefulness of such states for quantum
communication protocols with continuous variables, like telecloning and
teleportation networks, is finally discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Optics and Spectroscopy, special
issue for ICQO'2006 (Minsk). This preprint contains extra material with
respect to the journal versio
Quantum memory for entangled two-mode squeezed states
A quantum memory for light is a key element for the realization of future
quantum information networks. Requirements for a good quantum memory are (i)
versatility (allowing a wide range of inputs) and (ii) true quantum coherence
(preserving quantum information). Here we demonstrate such a quantum memory for
states possessing Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglement. These
multi-photon states are two-mode squeezed by 6.0 dB with a variable orientation
of squeezing and displaced by a few vacuum units. This range encompasses
typical input alphabets for a continuous variable quantum information protocol.
The memory consists of two cells, one for each mode, filled with cesium atoms
at room temperature with a memory time of about 1msec. The preservation of
quantum coherence is rigorously proven by showing that the experimental memory
fidelity 0.52(2) significantly exceeds the benchmark of 0.45 for the best
possible classical memory for a range of displacements.Comment: main text 5 pages, supplementary information 3 page
Minimum decoherence cat-like states in Gaussian noisy channels
We address the evolution of cat-like states in general Gaussian noisy
channels, by considering superpositions of coherent and squeezed-coherent
states coupled to an arbitrarily squeezed bath. The phase space dynamics is
solved and decoherence is studied keeping track of the purity of the evolving
state. The influence of the choice of the state and channel parameters on
purity is discussed and optimal working regimes that minimize the decoherence
rate are determined. In particular, we show that squeezing the bath to protect
a non squeezed cat state against decoherence is equivalent to orthogonally
squeezing the initial cat state while letting the bath be phase insensitive.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, references added, submitted to J. Opt.
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