42 research outputs found
Coupled cavities for enhancing the cross-phase modulation in electromagnetically induced transparency
We propose an optical double-cavity resonator whose response to a signal is
similar to that of an Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) medium. A
combination of such a device with a four-level EIT medium can serve for
achieving large cross-Kerr modulation of a probe field by a signal field. This
would offer the possibility of building a quantum logic gate based on photonic
qubits. We discuss the technical requirements that are necessary for realizing
a probe-photon phase shift of Pi caused by a single-photon signal. The main
difficulty is the requirement of an ultra-low reflectivity beamsplitter and to
operate a sufficiently dense cool EIT medium in a cavity.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, REVTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev. A (v2 - minor
changes in discussion of experimental conditions
Generation of entangled coherent states via cross phase modulation in a double electromagnetically induced transparency regime
The generation of an entangled coherent state is one of the most important
ingredients of quantum information processing using coherent states. Recently,
numerous schemes to achieve this task have been proposed. In order to generate
travelling-wave entangled coherent states, cross phase modulation, optimized by
optical Kerr effect enhancement in a dense medium in an electromagnetically
induced transparency (EIT) regime, seems to be very promising. In this
scenario, we propose a fully quantized model of a double-EIT scheme recently
proposed [D. Petrosyan and G. Kurizki, {\sl Phys. Rev. A} {\bf 65}, 33833
(2002)]: the quantization step is performed adopting a fully Hamiltonian
approach. This allows us to write effective equations of motion for two
interacting quantum fields of light that show how the dynamics of one field
depends on the photon-number operator of the other. The preparation of a
Schr\"odinger cat state, which is a superposition of two distinct coherent
states, is briefly exposed. This is based on non-linear interaction via
double-EIT of two light fields (initially prepared in coherent states) and on a
detection step performed using a beam splitter and two photodetectors.
In order to show the entanglement of a generated entangled coherent state, we
suggest to measure the joint quadrature variance of the field. We show that the
entangled coherent states satisfy the sufficient condition for entanglement
based on quadrature variance measurement. We also show how robust our scheme is
against a low detection efficiency of homodyne detectors.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures; extensively revised version; added Section
Electromagnetically induced transparency and controlled group velocity in a multilevel system
Published versio
Quantum theory of resonantly enhanced four-wave mixing: mean-field and exact numerical solutions
We present a full quantum analysis of resonant forward four-wave mixing based
on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). In particular, we study the
regime of efficient nonlinear conversion with low-intensity fields that has
been predicted from a semiclassical analysis. We derive an effective nonlinear
interaction Hamiltonian in the adiabatic limit. In contrast to conventional
nonlinear optics this Hamiltonian does not have a power expansion in the fields
and the conversion length increases with the input power. We analyze the
stationary wave-mixing process in the forward scattering configuration using an
exact numerical analysis for up to input photons and compare the results
with a mean-field approach. Due to quantum effects, complete conversion from
the two pump fields into the signal and idler modes is achieved only
asymptotically for large coherent pump intensities or for pump fields in
few-photon Fock states. The signal and idler fields are perfectly quantum
correlated which has potential applications in quantum communication schemes.
We also discuss the implementation of a single-photon phase gate for continuous
quantum computation.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure
Full quantum solutions to the resonant four-wave mixing of two single-photon wave packets
We analyze both analytically and numerically the resonant four-wave mixing of
two co-propagating single-photon wave packets. We present analytic expressions
for the two-photon wave function and show that soliton-type quantum solutions
exist which display a shape-preserving oscillatory exchange of excitations
between the modes. Potential applications including quantum information
processing are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Clinical characteristics of women captured by extending the definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage with 'refractoriness to treatment': a cohort study
Background: The absence of a uniform and clinically relevant definition of severe postpartum haemorrhage
hampers comparative studies and optimization of clinical management. The concept of persistent postpartum
haemorrhage, based on refractoriness to initial first-line treatment, was proposed as an alternative to common
definitions that are either based on estimations of blood loss or transfused units of packed red blood cells
(RBC). We compared characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage captured
by these three types of definitions.
Methods: In this large retrospective cohort study in 61 hospitals in the Netherlands we included 1391 consecutive
women with postpartum haemorrhage who received either ≥4 units of RBC or a multicomponent transfusion. Clinical
characteristics and outcomes of women with severe postpartum haemorrhage defined as persistent postpartum
haemorrhage were compared to definitions based on estimated blood loss or transfused units of RBC within 24 h
following birth. Adverse maternal outcome was a composite of maternal mortality, hysterectomy, arterial embolisation
and intensive care unit admission.
Results: One thousand two hundred sixty out of 1391 women (90.6%) with postpartum haemorrhage fulfilled the
definition of persistent postpartum haemorrhage. The majority, 820/1260 (65.1%), fulfilled this definition within 1 h
following birth, compared to 819/1391 (58.7%) applying the definition of ≥1 L blood loss and 37/845 (4.4%) applying
the definition of ≥4 units of RBC. The definition persistent postpartum haemorrhage captured 430/471 adverse maternal
outcomes (91.3%), compared to 471/471 (100%) for ≥1 L blood loss and 383/471 (81.3%) for ≥4 units of RBC. Persistent
postpartum haemorrhage did not capture all adverse outcomes because of missing data on timing of initial, first-line
treatment.
Conclusion: The definition persistent postpartum haemo
Supplementary Material for: Dementia-Predicting Cognitive Risk Score and Its Correlation with Cortical Thickness in Parkinson Disease
<p><b><i>Background:</i></b> We developed a risk score system to predict
risks of developing dementia in individual Parkinson disease (PD)
patients using baseline neuropsychological tests. <b><i>Methods:</i></b>
A total of 216 nondemented PD patients underwent a baseline
neuropsychological evaluation and were followed up for a mean of 2.7
(±1.1) years. Univariate Cox regression models controlled for age,
gender, and education selected neuropsychological tests individually
predicting dementia risk. Then, a multivariate Cox regression model
combined them into a cognitive risk score system. Cortical areas
correlating with cognitive risk score were investigated using a separate
MRI data set from 207 nondemented PD patients. <b><i>Results:</i></b>
Fifty-two patients (23.9%) developed dementia. The univariate Cox
regression analyses identified the confrontational naming and semantic
fluency tests, frontal/executive function tests, immediate verbal memory
test, and visuospatial function test as predicting dementia risk. The
calculated cognitive risk score (range 53-188) predicted future dementia
with moderate accuracy (integrated area under the curve = 0.79; 95% CI:
0.73-0.85). A higher cognitive risk score correlated with cortical
thinning in the right anteromedial temporal cortex, bilateral posterior
cingulate cortex, right anterior cingulate cortex, left parahippocampal
gyrus, and right superior frontal cortex in a separate MRI data set. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The cognitive risk score system is a useful approach to predict the dementia risk among PD patients.</p