Engineering Entanglement: The Fast-Approach Phase Gate

Optimal-control techniques and a fast-approach scheme are used to implement a collisional control phase gate in a model of cold atoms in an optical lattice, significantly reducing the gate time as compared to adiabatic evolution while maintaining high fidelity. New objective functionals are given for which optimal paths are obtained for evolution that yields a control-phase gate up to single-atom Rabi shifts. Furthermore, the fast-approach procedure is used to design a path to significantly increase the fidelity of non-adiabatic transport in a recent experiment. Also, the entanglement power of phase gates is quantified.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Phys. Rev. A (in press

Using subthreshold events to characterize the functional architecture of the electrically coupled inferior olive network

The electrical connectivity in the inferior olive (IO) nucleus plays an important role in generating well-timed spiking activity. Here we combined electrophysiological and computational approaches to assess the functional organization of the IO nucleus in mice. Spontaneous fast and slow subthreshold events were commonly encountered during in vitro recordings. We show that whereas the fast events represent intrinsic regenerative activity, the slow events reflect the electrical connectivity between neurons ('spikelets'). Recordings from cell pairs revealed the synchronized occurrence of distinct groups of spikelets; their rate and distribution enabled an accurate estimation of the number of connected cells and is suggestive of a clustered organization. This study thus provides a new perspective on the functional and structural organization of the olivary nucleus and a novel experimental and theoretical approach to study electrically coupled networks

Pattern Competition in the Photorefractive Semiconductors

We analytically study the photorefractive Gunn effect in n-GaAs subjected to two external laser beams which form a moving interference pattern (MIP) in the semiconductor. When the intensity of the spatially independent part of the MIP, denoted by $I_0$, is small, the system has a periodic domain train (PDT), consistent with the results of linear stability analysis. When $I_0$ is large, the space-charge field induced by the MIP will compete with the PDT and result in complex dynamics, including driven chaos via quasiperiodic route

Suppression of geometrical barrier in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δBi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} crystals by Josephson vortex stacks

Differential magneto-optics are used to study the effect of dc in-plane magnetic field on hysteretic behavior due to geometrical barriers in $Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}$ crystals. In absence of in-plane field a vortex dome is visualized in the sample center surrounded by barrier-dominated flux-free regions. With in-plane field, stacks of Josephson vortices form vortex chains which are surprisingly found to protrude out of the dome into the vortex-free regions. The chains are imaged to extend up to the sample edges, thus providing easy channels for vortex entry and for drain of the dome through geometrical barrier, suppressing the magnetic hysteresis. Reduction of the vortex energy due to crossing with Josephson vortices is evaluated to be about two orders of magnitude too small to account for the formation of the protruding chains. We present a model and numerical calculations that qualitatively describe the observed phenomena by taking into account the demagnetization effects in which flux expulsion from the pristine regions results in vortex focusing and in the chain protrusion. Comparative measurements on a sample with narrow etched grooves provide further support to the proposed model.Comment: 12 figures (low res.) Higher resolution figures are available at the Phys Rev B version. Typos correcte

Duretovo krvarenje: rijetka komplikacija ishemijskog moždanog udara u području središnje moždane arterije - Prikaz slučaja

We report on an unusual case of brainstem Duret hemorrhage after ischemic stroke in the anterior circulation. The patient showed a clinical and neuroradiological picture of an acute and malignant middle cerebral artery infarct with increased intracranial pressure followed by a brainstem hemorrhage. The report suggests that the descending transtentorial herniation of any etiology might be complicated by a Duret hemorrhage.Opisuje se rijedak slučaj Duretova krvarenja moždanoga debla nakon ishemijskog moždanog udara u prednjem krvotoku. Bolesnik je pokazivao kliničku i neuroradiološku sliku akutnog i zloćudnog infarkta središnje moždane arterije uz povišen intrakranijski tlak, nakon čega je uslijedilo krvarenje u moždanom deblu. Ovaj prikaz ukazuje na to da se Duretovo krvarenje može pojaviti kao komplikacija kod silazne transtentorijske hernijacije bilo koje etiologije

Signal velocity, causality, and quantum noise in superluminal light pulse propagation

We consider pulse propagation in a linear anomalously dispersive medium where the group velocity exceeds the speed of light in vacuum (c) or even becomes negative. A signal velocity is defined operationally based on the optical signal-to-noise ratio, and is computed for cases appropriate to the recent experiment where such a negative group velocity was observed. It is found that quantum fluctuations limit the signal velocity to values less than c.Comment: 4 Journal pages, 3 figure