10,002 research outputs found
High-sensitivity imaging with multi-mode twin beams
Twin entangled beams produced by single-pass parametric down-conversion (PDC)
offer the opportunity to detect weak amount of absorption with an improved
sensitivity with respect to standard techniques which make use of classical
light sources. We propose a differential measurement scheme which exploits the
spatial quantum correlation of type II PDC to image a weak amplitude object
with a sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit imposed by shot-noise.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure
Triggering Active Galactic Nuclei in Hierarchical Galaxy Formation: Disk instability vs. Interactions
Using a semi analytic model for galaxy formation we investigate the effects
of Black Hole accretion triggered by disk instabilities (DI) in isolated
galaxies on the evolution of AGN. Specifically, we took on, developed and
expanded the Hopkins & Quataert (2011) model for the mass inflow following disk
perturbations, and compare the corresponding evolution of the AGN population
with that arising in a scenario where galaxy interactions trigger AGN (IT
mode). We extended and developed the DI model by including different disk
surface density profiles, to study the maximal contribution of DI to the
evolution of the AGN population. We obtained the following results: i) for
luminosities corresponding to the DI mode can provide the
BH accretion needed to match the observed AGN luminosity functions up to ; in such a luminosity range and redshift, it can compete with the
IT scenario as the main driver of cosmological evolution of AGN; ii) The DI
scenario cannot provide the observed abundance of high-luminosity QSO with
AGN, as well as the abundance of high-redhshift QSOs with , while the IT scenario provides
an acceptable match up to , as found in our earliest works; iii)
The dispersion of the distributions of Eddington ratio for low- and
intermediate-luminosity AGN (bolometric = -
erg/s) is predicted to be much smaller in the DI scenario compared to the IT
mode; iv) The above conclusions are robust with respect to the explored
variants of the Hopkins & Quataert (2011) model. We discuss the physical origin
of our findings, and how it is possible to pin down the dominant fueling
mechanism in the low-intermediate luminosity range where
both the DI and the IT modes are viable candidates as drivers for the AGN
evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 24 pages, 8
figures; updated reference
Coherent imaging of a pure phase object with classical incoherent light
By using the ghost imaging technique, we experimentally demonstrate the
reconstruction of the diffraction pattern of a {\em pure phase} object by using
the classical correlation of incoherent thermal light split on a beam splitter.
The results once again underline that entanglement is not a necessary feature
of ghost imaging. The light we use is spatially highly incoherent with respect
to the object (m speckle size) and is produced by a
pseudo-thermal source relying on the principle of near-field scattering. We
show that in these conditions no information on the phase object can be
retrieved by only measuring the light that passed through it, neither in a
direct measurement nor in a Hanbury Brown-Twiss (HBT) scheme. In general, we
show a remarkable complementarity between ghost imaging and the HBT scheme when
dealing with a phase object.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures. Published in Physical Review A. Replaced
version fixes some problems with Figs. 1, 4 and 1
Spatial entanglement of twin quantum images
We show that spatial entanglement of two twin images obtained by parametric
down-conversion is complete, i.e. concerns both amplitude and phase. This is
realised through a homodyne detection of these images which allows for
measurement of the field quadrature components. EPR correlations are shown to
exist between symmetrical pixels of the two images. The best possible
correlation is obtained by adjusting the phase of the local oscillator field
(LO) in the area of maximal amplification. The results for quadrature
components hold unchanged even in absence of any input image i.e. for pure
parametric fluorescence. In this case they are not related to intensity and
phase fluctuations.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
Dimensionality of the spatio-temporal entanglement of PDC photon pairs
In this work the Schmidt number of the two-photon state generated by
parametric-down conversion (PDC) is evaluated in the framework of a fully
spatio-temporal model for PDC. A comparison with the results obtained in either
purely spatial or purely temporal models shows that the degree of entanglement
of the PDC state cannot be trivially reduced to the product of the Schmidt
numbers obtained in models with lower dimensionality, unless the detected
bandwidth is very narrow. This result is a consequence of the non-factorability
of the state in the spatial and temporal degrees of freedoms of twin photons.
In the limit of a broad pump beam, we provide a geometrical interpretation of
the Schmidt number, as the ratio between the volume of the phase matching
region and of a correlation volume.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Experimental observation of the X-shaped near field spatio-temporal correlation of ultra-broadband twin beams
In this work we present the experimental observation of the non factorable
near field spatio-temporal correlation of ultra-broadband twin beams generated
by parametric down conversion (PDC), in an interferometric-type experiment
using sum frequency generation, where both the temporal and spatial degrees of
freedom of PDC light are controlled with very high resolution. The revealed
X-structure of the correlation is in accordance with the predictions of the
theory.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Spatio\u2013temporal entanglement of twin photons: An intuitive picture
We draw an intuitive picture of the spatio\u2013temporal properties of the entangled state of twin
photons, where they are described as classical wave-packets. This picture predicts a precise
relation between their temporal and transverse spatial separations at the crystal output. The
space-time coupling described by classical arguments turns out to determine in a precise way the
spatio\u2013temporal structure of the quantum entanglement, analyzed by means of the biphotonic
correlation and of the Schmidt dimensionality of the entanglement
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