Pulsed source of spectrally uncorrelated and indistinguishable photons at telecom wavelengths

We report on the generation of indistinguishable photon pairs at telecom wavelengths based on a type-II parametric down conversion process in a periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP) crystal. The phase matching, pump laser characteristics and coupling geometry are optimised to obtain spectrally uncorrelated photons with high coupling efficiencies. Four photons are generated by a counter- propagating pump in the same crystal and anlysed via two photon interference experiments between photons from each pair source as well as joint spectral and g^(2) measurements. We obtain a spectral purity of 0.91 and coupling efficiencies around 90% for all four photons without any filtering. These pure indistinguishable photon sources at telecom wavelengths are perfectly adapted for quantum network demonstrations and other multi-photon protocols

Fuzzy Mass Relations for the Higgs

The non-commutative approach of the standard model produces a relation between the top and the Higgs masses. We show that, for a given top mass, the Higgs mass is constrained to lie in an interval. The length of this interval is of the order of $m_\tau^2/m_t$.Comment: 26 pages, LaTe

A complete characterisation of the heralded noiseless amplification of photons

Heralded noiseless amplifcation of photons has recently been shown to provide a means to overcome losses in complex quantum communication tasks. In particular, to overcome transmission losses that could allow for the violation of a Bell inequality free from the detection loophole, for Device Independent Quantum Key Distribution (DI-QKD). Several implementations of a heralded photon amplifier have been proposed and the first proof of principle experiments realised. Here we present the first full characterisation of such a device to test its functional limits and potential for DI-QKD. This device is tested at telecom wavelengths and is shown to be capable of overcoming losses corresponding to a transmission through $20\, \rm km$ of single mode telecom fibre. We demonstrate heralded photon amplifier with a gain $>100$ and a heralding probability $>83$, required by DI-QKD protocols that use the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality. The heralded photon amplifier clearly represents a key technology for the realisation of DI-QKD in the real world and over typical network distances.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Kondo Quantum Criticality of Magnetic Adatoms in Graphene

We examine the exchange Hamiltonian for magnetic adatoms in graphene with localized inner shell states. On symmetry grounds, we predict the existence of a class of orbitals that lead to a distinct class of quantum critical points in graphene, where the Kondo temperature scales as $T_{K}\propto|J-J_{c}|^{1/3}$ near the critical coupling $J_{c}$, and the local spin is effectively screened by a \emph{super-ohmic} bath. For this class, the RKKY interaction decays spatially with a fast power law $\sim1/R^{7}$. Away from half filling, we show that the exchange coupling in graphene can be controlled across the quantum critical region by gating. We propose that the vicinity of the Kondo quantum critical point can be directly accessed with scanning tunneling probes and gating.Comment: 4.1 pages, 3 figures. Added erratum correcting exponent nu=1/3. All the other results remain vali