1,525 research outputs found
Dynamics of quantum correlations in colored environments
We address the dynamics of entanglement and quantum discord for two non
interacting qubits initially prepared in a maximally entangled state and then
subjected to a classical colored noise, i.e. coupled with an external
environment characterized by a noise spectrum of the form . More
specifically, we address systems where the Gaussian approximation fails, i.e.
the sole knowledge of the spectrum is not enough to determine the dynamics of
quantum correlations. We thus investigate the dynamics for two different
configurations of the environment: in the first case the noise spectrum is due
to the interaction of each qubit with a single bistable fluctuator with an
undetermined switching rate, whereas in the second case we consider a
collection of classical fluctuators with fixed switching rates. In both cases
we found analytical expressions for the time dependence of entanglement and
quantum discord, which may be also extended to a collection of flcutuators with
random switching rates. The environmental noise is introduced by means of
stochastic time-dependent terms in the Hamiltonian and this allows us to
describe the effects of both separate and common environments. We show that the
non-Gaussian character of the noise may lead to significant effects, e.g.
environments with the same power spectrum, but different configurations, give
raise to opposite behavior for the quantum correlations. In particular,
depending on the characteristics of the environmental noise considered, both
entanglement and discord display either a monotonic decay or the phenomena of
sudden death and revivals. Our results show that the microscopic structure of
environment, besides its noise spectrum, is relevant for the dynamics of
quantum correlations, and may be a valid starting point for the engineering of
non-Gaussian colored environments.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure
Non-Markovian continuous-time quantum walks on lattices with dynamical noise
We address the dynamics of continuous-time quantum walks on one-dimensional
disordered lattices inducing dynamical noise in the system. Noise is described
as time-dependent fluctuations of the tunneling amplitudes between adjacent
sites, and attention is focused on non-Gaussian telegraph noise, going beyond
the usual assumption of fast Gaussian noise. We observe the emergence of two
different dynamical behaviors for the walker, corresponding to two opposite
noise regimes: slow noise (i.e. strong coupling with the environment) confines
the walker into few lattice nodes, while fast noise (weak coupling) induces a
transition between quantum and classical diffusion over the lattice. A phase
transition between the two dynamical regimes may be observed by tuning the
ratio between the autocorrelation time of the noise and the coupling between
the walker and the external environment generating the noise. We also address
the non-Markovianity of the quantum map by assessing its memory effects, as
well as evaluating the information backflow to the system. Our results suggest
that the non-Markovian character of the evolution is linked to the dynamical
behavior in the slow noise regime, and that fast noise induces a Markovian
dynamics for the walker.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Physical realizations of quantum operations
Quantum operations (QO) describe any state change allowed in quantum
mechanics, such as the evolution of an open system or the state change due to a
measurement. We address the problem of which unitary transformations and which
observables can be used to achieve a QO with generally different input and
output Hilbert spaces. We classify all unitary extensions of a QO, and give
explicit realizations in terms of free-evolution direct-sum dilations and
interacting tensor-product dilations. In terms of Hilbert space dimensionality
the free-evolution dilations minimize the physical resources needed to realize
the QO, and for this case we provide bounds for the dimension of the ancilla
space versus the rank of the QO. The interacting dilations, on the other hand,
correspond to the customary ancilla-system interaction realization, and for
these we derive a majorization relation which selects the allowed unitary
interactions between system and ancilla.Comment: 8 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.
Quantum teleportation of electrons in quantum wires with surface acoustic waves
We propose and numerically simulate a semiconductor device based on coupled
quantum wires, suitable for deterministic quantum teleportation of electrons
trapped in the minima of surface acoustic waves.We exploit a network of
interacting semiconductor quantum wires able to provide the universal set of
gates for quantum information processing, with the qubit defined by the
localization of a single electron in one of two coupled channels.The numerical
approach is based on a time-dependent solution of the three-particle
Schr\"odinger equation. First, a maximally entangled pair of electrons is
obtained via Coulomb interaction between carriers in different channels. Then,
a complete Bell-state measurement involving one electron from this pair and a
third electron is performed. Finally, the teleported state is reconstructed by
means of local one-qubit operations. The large estimated fidelity explicitely
suggests that an efficient teleportation process could be reached in an
experimental setup.Comment: 7 pages,4 figures, 1 tabl
Distilling entanglement from arbitrary resources
We obtain the general formula for the optimal rate at which singlets can be
distilled from any given noisy and arbitrarily correlated entanglement
resource, by means of local operations and classical communication (LOCC). Our
formula, obtained by employing the quantum information spectrum method, reduces
to that derived by Devetak and Winter, in the special case of an i.i.d.
resource. The proofs rely on a one-shot version of the so-called "hashing
bound," which in turn provides bounds on the one-shot distillable entanglement
under general LOCC.Comment: 24 pages, article class, no figure. v2: references added, published
versio
Intraoperative measurement of parathyroid hormone: A Copernican revolution in the surgical treatment of hyperparathyroidism
Intraoperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) monitoring in the setting of the operating room represents a valuable example of the rationale use of the laboratory diagnostic in a patient-oriented approach. Rapid intraoperative PTH (ioPTH) assay is a valid tool for an accurate evaluation of the success of parathyroid surgery. The reliability of the user-friendly portable systems as well as the collaboration between operators and surgical staff allow the one-site monitoring of the ioPTH decrements on the course of the surgical management of hyperparathyroidism.The rapid answer provided by an effective decrement of PTH during parathyroidectomy contributes dramatically to the efficacy of parathyroid surgery and the reduction of the number of re-operations. Therefore the dose of ioPTH is a valid and reliable support for the success of the intervention of parathyroidectomy at controlled costs
Reoperation for persistent or recurrent secondary hyperparathyroidism
Background: Secondary hyperparathyroidism is a common acquired disorder seen in chronic renal failure. Its pathophysiology is mainly due to hyperphosphatemia and vitamin D deficiency and resistance. When medical treatment fails, subtotal and total parathyroidectomy with autotransplantation are the standard procedures, although both are associated with high recurrence rates.Methods and Results: 4 patients experienced
persistence and 9 relapse. The first 4 were subjected to reoperation after 6 months for the persistence of symptoms due to the finding of a supernumerary adenomatous gland while the remaining patients at the reoperation showed in 5 cases 2 more glands in over thymic position, and 4 an hyperplasia of the residual glandular tissue. A classic cervicotomy was sufficient to remove the residual parathyroid in patients with persistent hyperparathyroidism. For cases of recurrent hyperparathyroidism it was enough a medial approach and sometimes lateral for the complete excision of the hyperplastic tissue. The advent of the intraoperative technique of parathyroid hormone dosage allowed a better performance of the surgical technique for the last 3 patients undergoing reoperation. After reoperation all patients had immediate regression of clinical symptoms with normalization of serum calcium and PTH levels. Conclusions: On the basis of these considerations, diagnostic imaging has a not negligible role because during the first intervention helps to have an idea of the possible location of the glands and thus to avoid the risk of recurrence and relapse due to ectopic or supernumerary tissue
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