122 research outputs found
PPM demodulation: On approaching fundamental limits of optical communications
We consider the problem of demodulating M-ary optical PPM (pulse-position
modulation) waveforms, and propose a structured receiver whose mean probability
of symbol error is smaller than all known receivers, and approaches the quantum
limit. The receiver uses photodetection coupled with optimized phase-coherent
optical feedback control and a phase-sensitive parametric amplifier. We present
a general framework of optical receivers known as the conditional pulse nulling
receiver, and present new results on ultimate limits and achievable regions of
spectral versus photon efficiency tradeoffs for the single-spatial-mode
pure-loss optical communication channel.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, IEEE ISIT, Austin, TX (2010
Single-shot discrimination of quantum unitary processes
We formulate minimum-error and unambiguous discrimination problems for
quantum processes in the language of process positive operator valued measures
(PPOVM). In this framework we present the known solution for minimum-error
discrimination of unitary channels. We derive a "fidelity-like" lower bound on
the failure probability of the unambiguous discrimination of arbitrary quantum
processes. This bound is saturated (in a certain range of apriori
probabilities) in the case of unambiguous discrimination of unitary channels.
Surprisingly, the optimal solution for both tasks is based on the optimization
of the same quantity called completely bounded process fidelity.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur
Discrimination of Optical Coherent States using a Photon Number Resolving Detector
The discrimination of non-orthogonal quantum states with reduced or without
errors is a fundamental task in quantum measurement theory. In this work, we
investigate a quantum measurement strategy capable of discriminating two
coherent states probabilistically with significantly smaller error
probabilities than can be obtained using non-probabilistic state
discrimination. We find that appropriate postselection of the measurement data
of a photon number resolving detector can be used to discriminate two coherent
states with small error probability. We compare our new receiver to an optimal
intermediate measurement between minimum error discrimination and unambiguous
state discrimination.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Decision problems with quantum black boxes
We examine how to distinguish between unitary operators, when the exact form
of the possible operators is not known. Instead we are supplied with "programs"
in the form of unitary transforms, which can be used as references for
identifying the unknown unitary transform. All unitary transforms should be
used as few times as possible. This situation is analoguous to programmable
state discrimination. One difference, however, is that the quantum state to
which we apply the unitary transforms may be entangled, leading to a richer
variety of possible strategies. By suitable selection of an input state and
generalized measurement of the output state, both unambiguous and minimum-error
discrimination can be achieved. Pairwise comparison of operators, comparing
each transform to be identified with a program transform, is often a useful
strategy. There are, however, situations in which more complicated strategies
perform better. This is the case especially when the number of allowed
applications of program operations is different from the number of the
transforms to be identified
Random qubit-states and how best to measure them
We consider the problem of measuring a single qubit, known to have been prepared in either a randomly selected pure state or a randomly selected real pure state. We seek the measurements that provide either the best estimate of the state prepared or maximise the accessible information. Surprisingly, any sensible measurement turns out to be optimal. We discuss the application of these ideas to multiple qubits and higher-dimensional systems
Quantum uniqueness
In the classical world one can construct two identical systems which have
identical behavior and give identical measurement results. We show this to be
impossible in the quantum domain. We prove that after the same quantum
measurement two different quantum systems cannot yield always identical
results, provided the possible measurement results belong to a non orthogonal
set. This is interpreted as quantum uniqueness - a quantum feature which has no
classical analog. Its tight relation with objective randomness of quantum
measurements is discussed.Comment: Presented at 4th Feynman festival, June 22-26, 2009, in Olomouc,
Czech Republic
General framework for estimating the ultimate precision limit in noisy quantum-enhanced metrology
The estimation of parameters characterizing dynamical processes is central to
science and technology. The estimation error changes with the number N of
resources employed in the experiment (which could quantify, for instance, the
number of probes or the probing energy). Typically, it scales as 1/N^(1/2).
Quantum strategies may improve the precision, for noiseless processes, by an
extra factor 1/N^(1/2). For noisy processes, it is not known in general if and
when this improvement can be achieved. Here we propose a general framework for
obtaining attainable and useful lower bounds for the ultimate limit of
precision in noisy systems. We apply this bound to lossy optical interferometry
and atomic spectroscopy in the presence of dephasing, showing that it captures
the main features of the transition from the 1/N to the 1/N^(1/2) behaviour as
N increases, independently of the initial state of the probes, and even with
use of adaptive feedback.Comment: Published in Nature Physics. This is the revised submitted version.
The supplementary material can be found at
http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v7/n5/extref/nphys1958-s1.pd
Many-body localization in a quantum simulator with programmable random disorder
When a system thermalizes it loses all local memory of its initial
conditions. This is a general feature of open systems and is well described by
equilibrium statistical mechanics. Even within a closed (or reversible) quantum
system, where unitary time evolution retains all information about its initial
state, subsystems can still thermalize using the rest of the system as an
effective heat bath. Exceptions to quantum thermalization have been predicted
and observed, but typically require inherent symmetries or noninteracting
particles in the presence of static disorder. The prediction of many-body
localization (MBL), in which disordered quantum systems can fail to thermalize
in spite of strong interactions and high excitation energy, was therefore
surprising and has attracted considerable theoretical attention. Here we
experimentally generate MBL states by applying an Ising Hamiltonian with
long-range interactions and programmably random disorder to ten spins
initialized far from equilibrium. We observe the essential signatures of MBL:
memory retention of the initial state, a Poissonian distribution of energy
level spacings, and entanglement growth in the system at long times. Our
platform can be scaled to higher numbers of spins, where detailed modeling of
MBL becomes impossible due to the complexity of representing such entangled
quantum states. Moreover, the high degree of control in our experiment may
guide the use of MBL states as potential quantum memories in naturally
disordered quantum systems.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves
Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity
levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections
by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with
detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study
the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis
methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we
consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for
physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.Comment: 137 pages, 16 figures, Published version
<http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2009-2
Frontiers of open quantum system dynamics
We briefly examine recent developments in the field of open quantum system
theory, devoted to the introduction of a satisfactory notion of memory for a
quantum dynamics. In particular, we will consider a possible formalization of
the notion of non-Markovian dynamics, as well as the construction of quantum
evolution equations featuring a memory kernel. Connections will be drawn to the
corresponding notions in the framework of classical stochastic processes, thus
pointing to the key differences between a quantum and classical formalization
of the notion of memory effects.Comment: 15 pages, contribution to "Quantum Physics and Geometry", Lecture
Notes of the Unione Matematica Italiana 25,E. Ballico et al. (eds.
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