Showing papers by "Ping Koy Lam published in 2015"

Multipartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering and genuine tripartite entanglement with optical networks

Abstract: This research was conducted by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology (project number CE110001029) and has been supported by the Australian Research Council DECRA and Discovery Project Grants schemes. S.A. is grateful for funding from the Australia–Asia Prime Minister‘s Award. R.Y.T. thanks Swinburne University for a Research SUPRA Award, and Q.H. thanks National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 11121091 and 11274025. This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant No. PHYS-1066293 and the hospitality of the Aspen Center for Physics.

Maximization of Extractable Randomness in a Quantum Random-Number Generator

Abstract: Quantum random-number generators (QRNGs) play a decisive role in protocols for encrypted communication. Unfortunately, classical noise often spoils both the integrity and speed of such quantum devices. The authors demonstrate a new framework to harness maximum randomness without compromising security, and which allows for more cost-effective and smaller units. This work paves the way toward a reliable, high-bit-rate, and environmentally immune QRNG for information-security applications.

Optomechanical magnetometry with a macroscopic resonator

Abstract: We demonstrate a centimeter-scale optomechanical magnetometer based on a crystalline whispering gallery mode resonator. The large size of the resonator allows high magnetic field sensitivity to be achieved in the hertz to kilohertz frequency range. A peak sensitivity of 131 pT per root Hz is reported, in a magnetically unshielded non-cryogenic environment and using optical power levels beneath 100 microWatt. Femtotesla range sensitivity may be possible in future devices with further optimization of laser noise and the physical structure of the resonator, allowing applications in high-performance magnetometry.

Laser Actuation of Cantilevers for Picometre Amplitude Dynamic Force Microscopy

Abstract: As nanoscale and molecular devices become reality, the ability to probe materials on these scales is increasing in importance. To address this, we have developed a dynamic force microscopy technique where the flexure of the microcantilever is excited using an intensity modulated laser beam to achieve modulation on the picoscale. The flexure arises from thermally induced bending through differential expansion and the conservation of momentum when the photons are reflected and absorbed by the cantilever. In this study, we investigated the photothermal and photon pressure responses of monolithic and layered cantilevers using a modulated laser in air and immersed in water. The developed photon actuation technique is applied to the stretching of single polymer chains.

Nonlinear entanglement and its application to generating cat States.

Abstract: The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox, which was formulated to argue for the incompleteness of quantum mechanics, has since metamorphosed into a resource for quantum information. The EPR entanglement describes the strength of linear correlations between two objects in terms of a pair of conjugate observables in relation to the Heisenberg uncertainty limit. We propose that entanglement can be extended to include nonlinear correlations. We examine two driven harmonic oscillators that are coupled via third-order nonlinearity can exhibit quadraticlike nonlinear entanglement which, after a projective measurement on one of the oscillators, collapses the other into a cat state of tunable size.

Replicating the benefits of Deutschian closed timelike curves without breaking causality

Abstract: In general relativity, closed timelike curves can break causality with remarkable and unsettling consequences. At the classical level, they induce causal paradoxes disturbing enough to motivate conjectures that explicitly prevent their existence. At the quantum level such problems can be resolved through the Deutschian formalism, however this induces radical benefits—from cloning unknown quantum states to solving problems intractable to quantum computers. Instinctively, one expects these benefits to vanish if causality is respected. Here we show that in harnessing entanglement, we can efficiently solve NP-complete problems and clone arbitrary quantum states—even when all time-travelling systems are completely isolated from the past. Thus, the many defining benefits of Deutschian closed timelike curves can still be harnessed, even when causality is preserved. Our results unveil a subtle interplay between entanglement and general relativity, and significantly improve the potential of probing the radical effects that may exist at the interface between relativity and quantum theory. Sending messages back in time can be remarkably powerful, even if no one ever reads them, says an international research team. Peculiarities of general relativity called ‘closed timelike curves’ (CTCs) effectively allow particles to travel backwards in time, and are consistent with current quantum theory. However, CTCs break causality, the fundamental notion that cause must precede effect, and thus their existence remains highly controversial. Mile Gu at Tsinghua University in China and colleagues in Australia, Singapore, the UK and Canada investigated ‘open timelike curves’ (OTCs), which keep all time-travelling particles isolated from the past and thus respect causality. The researchers showed that despite such restrictions, OTCs allow quantum computers to clone quantum states, defy Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, and efficiently solve previously intractable mathematical problems. This greatly improves prospects for relativistically enhanced quantum computation.

A mirrorless spinwave resonator.

Abstract: Optical resonance is central to a wide range of optical devices and techniques. In an optical cavity, the round-trip length and mirror reflectivity can be chosen to optimize the circulating optical power, linewidth, and free-spectral range (FSR) for a given application. In this paper we show how an atomic spinwave system, with no physical mirrors, can behave in a manner that is analogous to an optical cavity. We demonstrate this similarity by characterising the build-up and decay of the resonance in the time domain, and measuring the effective optical linewidth and FSR in the frequency domain. Our spinwave is generated in a 20 cm long Rb gas cell, yet it facilitates an effective FSR of 83 kHz, which would require a round-trip path of 3.6 km in a free-space optical cavity. Furthermore, the spinwave coupling is controllable enabling dynamic tuning of the effective cavity parameters.

A mirrorless spinwave resonator

Abstract: Optical resonance is central to a wide range of optical devices and techniques. In an optical cavity, the round-trip length and mirror reflectivity can be chosen to optimize the circulating optical power, linewidth, and free-spectral range (FSR) for a given application. In this paper we show how an atomic spinwave system, with no physical mirrors, can behave in a manner that is analogous to an optical cavity. We demonstrate this similarity by characterising the build-up and decay of the resonance in the time domain, and measuring the effective optical linewidth and FSR in the frequency domain. Our spinwave is generated in a 20 cm long Rb gas cell, yet it facilitates an effective FSR of 83 kHz, which would require a round-trip path of 3.6 km in a free-space optical cavity. Furthermore, the spinwave coupling is controllable enabling dynamic tuning of the effective cavity parameters.

Dual-rail optical gradient echo memory.

Abstract: We introduce a scheme for the parallel storage of frequency separated signals in an optical memory and demonstrate that this dual-rail storage is a suitable memory for high fidelity frequency qubits. The two signals are stored simultaneously in the Zeeman-split Raman absorption lines of a cold atom ensemble using gradient echo memory techniques. Analysis of the split-Zeeman storage shows that the memory can be configured to preserve the relative amplitude and phase of the frequency separated signals. In an experimental demonstration dual-frequency pulses are recalled with 35% efficiency, 82% interference fringe visibility, and 6° phase stability. The fidelity of the frequency-qubit memory is limited by frequency-dependent polarisation rotation and ambient magnetic field fluctuations, our analysis describes how these can be addressed in an alternative configuration.