Effect of dissipation on quantum coherence

The effect of dissipation on a macroscopic superposition of quantum states is studied with use of a Markovian master-equation approach. It is shown that a superposition of two states is reduced to a mixture at a rate proportional to the separation between the two states. This underlines the difficulty of observing a superposition of macroscopic quantum states in practice

Quantum information processing via a lossy bus

We describe a method to perform two qubit measurements and logic operations on pairs of qubits which each interact with a harmonic oscillator degree of freedom (the \emph{bus}), but do not directly interact with one another. Our scheme uses only weak interactions between the qubit and the bus, homodyne measurements, and single qubit operations. In contrast to earlier schemes, the technique presented here is extremely robust to photon loss in the bus mode, and can function with high fidelity even when the rate of photon loss is comparable to the strength of the qubit-bus coupling.Comment: Added more discussion on effects of noise. Typos correcte

Coherent state LOQC gates using simplified diagonal superposition resource states

In this paper we explore the possibility of fundamental tests for coherent state optical quantum computing gates [T. C. Ralph, et. al, Phys. Rev. A \textbf{68}, 042319 (2003)] using sophisticated but not unrealistic quantum states. The major resource required in these gates are state diagonal to the basis states. We use the recent observation that a squeezed single photon state ($\hat{S}(r) \ket{1}$) approximates well an odd superposition of coherent states ($\ket{\alpha} - \ket{-\alpha}$) to address the diagonal resource problem. The approximation only holds for relatively small $\alpha$ and hence these gates cannot be used in a scaleable scheme. We explore the effects on fidelities and probabilities in teleportation and a rotated Hadamard gate.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figure

Noise in an SSET-resonator driven by an external field

We investigate the noise properties of a superconducting single electron transistor (SSET) coupled to an harmonically driven resonator. Using a Langevin equation approach, we calculate the frequency spectrum of the SSET charge and calculate its effect on the resonator field. We find that the heights of the peaks in the frequency spectra depend sensitively on the amplitude of the resonator oscillation and hence suggest that the heights of these peaks could act as a sensitive signal for detecting the small changes in the amplitude of the drive. The previously known results for the effective amplitude-dependent damping and temperature provided by the SSET for the case of a low frequency resonator are generalized for all resonator frequencies.Comment: 11 pages. Accepted for PR

Quantum entanglement between a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator and a microwave field

We consider a theoretical model for a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator coupled to a superconducting microwave resonator. The nanomechanical resonator is driven parametrically at twice its resonance frequency, while the superconducting microwave resonator is driven with two tones that differ in frequency by an amount equal to the parametric driving frequency. We show that the semi-classical approximation of this system has an interesting fixed point bifurcation structure. In the semi-classical dynamics a transition from stable fixed points to limit cycles is observed as one moves from positive to negative detuning. We show that signatures of this bifurcation structure are also present in the full dissipative quantum system and further show that it leads to mixed state entanglement between the nanomechanical resonator and the microwave cavity in the dissipative quantum system that is a maximum close to the semi-classical bifurcation. Quantum signatures of the semi-classical limit-cycles are presented.Comment: 36 pages, 18 figure

Improved fidelity of triggered entangled photons from single quantum dots

We demonstrate the on-demand emission of polarisation-entangled photon pairs from the biexciton cascade of a single InAs quantum dot embedded in a GaAs/AlAs planar microcavity. Improvements in the sample design blue shifts the wetting layer to reduce the contribution of background light in the measurements. Results presented show that >70% of the detected photon pairs are entangled. The high fidelity of the (|HxxHx>+|VxxVx>)/2^0.5 state that we determine is sufficient to satisfy numerous tests for entanglement. The improved quality of entanglement represents a significant step towards the realisation of a practical quantum dot source compatible with applications in quantum information.Comment: 9 pages. Paper is available free of charge at http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/1367-2630/8/2/029/, see also 'A semiconductor source of triggered entangled photon pairs', R. M. Stevenson et al., Nature 439, 179 (2006

Analysis of a Quantum Measurement

A specific measurement model based on quantum nondemolition monitoring of oscillator quanta is used to illustrate the essential elements of the quantum theory of measurement, viz., state reduction and existence of a ‘‘pointer basis,’’ recently discussed by Zurek. The form of the interaction between the meter and its environment determines the system observable recorded by the meter. In our model this quantity is the square of the oscillator’s quanta. The corresponding pointer basis states are the meter coherent states. The more accurate the measurement the more excited (and classical) these states become. We show explicitly that the state reduction of the system during measurement is due to nonunitary evolution resulting from the meter-environment coupling. A particular realization of the environment as a photoelectron counter is discussed

Synchronization of many nano-mechanical resonators coupled via a common cavity field

Using amplitude equations, we show that groups of identical nano-mechanical resonators, interacting with a common mode of a cavity microwave field, synchronize to form a single mechanical mode which couples to the cavity with a strength dependent on the square sum of the individual mechanical-microwave couplings. Classically this system is dominated by periodic behaviour which, when analyzed using amplitude equations, can be shown to exhibit multi-stability. In contrast groups of sufficiently dissimilar nano-mechanical oscillators may lose synchronization and oscillate out of phase at significantly higher amplitudes. Further the method by which synchronization is lost resembles that for large amplitude forcing which is not of the Kuramoto form.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figure

Quantum nondemolition measurements in optical cavities

We analyze schemes for performing quantum nondemolition (QND) measurements in optical cavities. We consider three schemes: (1) measurement of a quadrature phase amplitude using a parametric process, (2) measurement of a quadrature phase amplitude using the optical Kerr effect in a nonlinear fiber, and (3) measurement of the photon number also using the Kerr effect in a fiber. We show that in the second scheme an enhancement of the QND effect may be obtained by making the cavity finesse for the signal larger than that for the probe