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Showing papers in "New Journal of Physics in 2015"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A proof-of-principle experiment that indicates the feasibility of high-dimensional QKD based on the transverse structure of the light field allowing for the transfer of more than 1 bit per photon and demonstrates that, in addition to having an increased information capacity, multilevel QK D systems based on spatial-mode encoding can be more resilient against intercept-resend eavesdropping attacks.
Abstract: Quantum key distribution (QKD) systems often rely on polarization of light for encoding, thus limiting the amount of information that can be sent per photon and placing tight bounds on the error rates that such a system can tolerate. Here we describe a proof-of-principle experiment that indicates the feasibility of high-dimensional QKD based on the transverse structure of the light field allowing for the transfer of more than 1 bit per photon. Our implementation uses the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photons and the corresponding mutually unbiased basis of angular position (ANG). Our experiment uses a digital micro-mirror device for the rapid generation of OAM and ANG modes at 4 kHz, and a mode sorter capable of sorting single photons based on their OAM and ANG content with a separation efficiency of 93%. Through the use of a seven-dimensional alphabet encoded in the OAM and ANG bases, we achieve a channel capacity of 2.05 bits per sifted photon. Our experiment demonstrates that, in addition to having an increased information capacity, multilevel QKD systems based on spatial-mode encoding can be more resilient against intercept-resend eavesdropping attacks.

571 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the collider phenomenology of neutrino physics and the synergetic aspects at energy, intensity and cosmic frontiers to test the new physics behind the neutrinos mass mechanism and discuss the future experimental prospects of testing the seesaw mechanism at colliders and in related low-energy searches for rare processes, such as lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay.
Abstract: We review the collider phenomenology of neutrino physics and the synergetic aspects at energy, intensity and cosmic frontiers to test the new physics behind the neutrino mass mechanism. In particular, we focus on seesaw models within the minimal setup as well as with extended gauge and/or Higgs sectors, and on supersymmetric neutrino mass models with seesaw mechanism and with R-parity violation. In the simplest type-I seesaw scenario with sterile neutrinos, we summarize and update the current experimental constraints on the sterile neutrino mass and its mixing with the active neutrinos. We also discuss the future experimental prospects of testing the seesaw mechanism at colliders and in related low-energy searches for rare processes, such as lepton flavor violation and neutrinoless double beta decay. The implications of the discovery of lepton number violation at the Large Hadron Collider for leptogenesis are also studied.

439 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a high-frequency expansion for the effective Hamiltonian and the micromotion operator of periodically driven quantum systems is derived based on the block diagonalization of the quasienergy operator in the extended Floquet Hilbert space.
Abstract: We derive a systematic high-frequency expansion for the effective Hamiltonian and the micromotion operator of periodically driven quantum systems. Our approach is based on the block diagonalization of the quasienergy operator in the extended Floquet Hilbert space by means of degenerate perturbation theory. The final results are equivalent to those obtained within a different approach [Phys.\ Rev.\ A {\bf 68}, 013820 (2003), Phys.\ Rev.\ X {\bf 4}, 031027 (2014)] and can also be related to the Floquet-Magnus expansion [J.\ Phys.\ A {\bf 34}, 3379 (2000)]. We discuss that the dependence on the driving phase, which plagues the latter, can lead to artifactual symmetry breaking. The high-frequency approach is illustrated using the example of a periodically driven Hubbard model. Moreover, we discuss the nature of the approximation and its limitations for systems of many interacting particles.

383 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The need for fine-tuning for most of the causal mechanisms that have been proposed to underlie Bell correlations, including superluminal causal influences, superdeterminism (that is, a denial of freedom of choice of settings), and retrocausal influences which do not introduce causal cycles are demonstrated.
Abstract: An active area of research in the fields of machine learning and statistics is the development of causal discovery algorithms, the purpose of which is to infer the causal relations that hold among a set of variables from the correlations that these exhibit . We apply some of these algorithms to the correlations that arise for entangled quantum systems. We show that they cannot distinguish correlations that satisfy Bell inequalities from correlations that violate Bell inequalities, and consequently that they cannot do justice to the challenges of explaining certain quantum correlations causally. Nonetheless, by adapting the conceptual tools of causal inference, we can show that any attempt to provide a causal explanation of nonsignalling correlations that violate a Bell inequality must contradict a core principle of these algorithms, namely, that an observed statistical independence between variables should not be explained by fine-tuning of the causal parameters. In particular, we demonstrate the need for such fine-tuning for most of the causal mechanisms that have been proposed to underlie Bell correlations, including superluminal causal influences, superdeterminism (that is, a denial of freedom of choice of settings), and retrocausal influences which do not introduce causal cycles.

344 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, an analytical optimal protocol for the case of a single qubit was proposed and extended to an array of N qubits, and it was shown that an N-fold advantage in power per qubit can be achieved when global operations are permitted.
Abstract: We study the problem of charging a quantum battery in finite time. We demonstrate an analytical optimal protocol for the case of a single qubit. Extending this analysis to an array of N qubits, we demonstrate that an N-fold advantage in power per qubit can be achieved when global operations are permitted. The exemplary analytic argument for this quantum advantage in the charging power is backed up by numerical analysis using optimal control techniques. It is demonstrated that the quantum advantage for power holds when, with cyclic operation in mind, initial and final states are required to be separable.

296 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a short review of the current constraints in this picture, as well as the perspectives from future experiments, are discussed, and a wellmotivated phenomenological approach to search for new physics, in the neutrino sector, is that of non-standard interactions.
Abstract: Neutrino oscillations have become well-known phenomenon; the measurements of neutrino mixing angles and mass squared dierences are continuously improving. Future oscillation experiments will eventually determine the remaining unknown neutrino parameters, namely, the mass ordering, normal or inverted, and the CP-violating phase. On the other hand, the absolute mass scale of neutrinos could be probed by cosmological observations, single beta decay as well as by neutrinoless double beta decay experiments. Furthermore, the last one may shed light on the nature of neutrinos, Dirac or Majorana, by measuring the eective Majorana mass of neutrinos. However, the neutrino mass generation mechanism remains unknown. A well-motivated phenomenological approach to search for new physics, in the neutrino sector, is that of non-standard interactions. In this short review, the current constraints in this picture, as well as the perspectives from future experiments, are discussed.

223 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparative analysis of three leading models used to study synchronization dynamics in power-grid networks is presented, showing that each of these models can be derived from first principles within a common framework based on the classical model of a generator, thereby clarifying all assumptions involved.
Abstract: The dynamics of power-grid networks is becoming an increasingly active area of research within the physics and network science communities. The results from such studies are typically insightful and illustrative, but are often based on simplifying assumptions that can be either difficult to assess or not fully justified for realistic applications. Here we perform a comprehensive comparative analysis of three leading models recently used to study synchronization dynamics in power-grid networks—a fundamental problem of practical significance given that frequency synchronization of all power generators in the same interconnection is a necessary condition for a power grid to operate. We show that each of these models can be derived from first principles within a common framework based on the classical model of a generator, thereby clarifying all assumptions involved. This framework allows us to view power grids as complex networks of coupled second-order phase oscillators with both forcing and damping terms. Using simple illustrative examples, test systems, and real power-grid datasets, we study the inherent frequencies of the oscillators as well as their coupling structure, comparing across the different models. We demonstrate, in particular, that if the network structure is not homogeneous, generators with identical parameters need to be modeled as non-identical oscillators in general. We also discuss an approach to estimate the required (dynamical) system parameters that are unavailable in typical power-grid datasets, their use for computing the constants of each of the three models, and an open-source MATLAB toolbox that we provide for these computations.

220 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, phonon induced electronic dynamics in the ground and excited states of the negatively charged silicon-vacancy center in diamond were investigated for the temperature range 4 K?350 K. The ground state orbital relaxation rates were measured using time-resolved fluorescence techniques.
Abstract: We investigate phonon induced electronic dynamics in the ground and excited states of the negatively charged silicon-vacancy () centre in diamond. Optical transition line widths, transition wavelength and excited state lifetimes are measured for the temperature range 4 K?350 K. The ground state orbital relaxation rates are measured using time-resolved fluorescence techniques. A microscopic model of the thermal broadening in the excited and ground states of the centre is developed. A vibronic process involving single-phonon transitions is found to determine orbital relaxation rates for both the ground and the excited states at cryogenic temperatures. We discuss the implications of our findings for coherence of qubits in the ground states and propose methods to extend coherence times of qubits.

215 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the divergence angle increases with the value of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) at the transmitter and the larger the aperture required at the receiving optical system if the efficiency of detection is to be maintained.
Abstract: There is recent interest in the use of light beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) for creating multiple channels within free-space optical communication systems. One crucial issue is that, for a given beam size at the transmitter, the beam divergence angle increases with increasing OAM. Therefore the larger the value of OAM, the larger the aperture required at the receiving optical system if the efficiency of detection is to be maintained. Confusion exists as to whether this divergence scales linearly with, or with the square root of, the beam's OAM. We clarify how both these scaling laws are valid, depending upon whether it is the radius of the waist of the beam's Gaussian term or the radius of rms intensity of the beam that is kept constant while varying the OAM.

211 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed a new paradigm for the topological classification of Floquet-Bloch bands, based on the time-dependent spectrum of the driven system's evolution operator throughout one driving period, and showed that this spectrum may host topologically protected degeneracies at intermediate times, which control the topology of the Floquet bands of the full driving cycle.
Abstract: Recent works have demonstrated that the Floquet–Bloch bands of periodically-driven systems feature a richer topological structure than their non-driven counterparts. The additional structure in the driven case arises from the periodicity of quasienergy, the energy-like quantity that defines the spectrum of a periodically-driven system. Here we develop a new paradigm for the topological classification of Floquet–Bloch bands, based on the time-dependent spectrum of the driven system's evolution operator throughout one driving period. Specifically, we show that this spectrum may host topologically-protected degeneracies at intermediate times, which control the topology of the Floquet bands of the full driving cycle. This approach provides a natural framework for incorporating the role of symmetries, enabling a unified and complete classification of Floquet–Bloch bands and yielding new insight into the topological features that distinguish driven and non-driven systems.

209 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a brief account on the history of the Rashba effect including material that was previously not easily accessible before summarizing the key results of the present focus issue as a guidance to the reader.
Abstract: The Rashba effect, discovered in 1959, continues to supply fertile ground for fundamental research and applications. It provided the basis for the proposal of the spin transistor by Datta and Das in 1990, which has largely inspired the broad and dynamic field of spintronics. More recent developments include new materials for the Rashba effect such as metal surfaces, interfaces and bulk materials. It has also given rise to new phenomena such as spin currents and the spin Hall effect, including its quantized version, which has led to the very active field of topological insulators. The Rashba effect plays a crucial role in yet more exotic fields of physics such as the search for Majorana fermions at semiconductor-superconductor interfaces and the interaction of ultracold atomic Bose and Fermi gases. Advances in our understanding of Rashba-type spin-orbit couplings, both qualitatively and quantitatively, can be obtained in many different ways. This focus issue brings together the wide range of research activities on Rashba physics to further promote the development of our physical pictures and concepts in this field. The present Editorial gives a brief account on the history of the Rashba effect including material that was previously not easily accessible before summarizing the key results of the present focus issue as a guidance to the reader.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work demonstrates entanglement-based QKD with high-dimensional encoding whose security against collective Gaussian attacks is provided by a high-visibility Franson interferometer, and achieves unprecedented key capacity and throughput for an entanglements-basedQKD system.
Abstract: Conventional quantum key distribution (QKD) typically uses binary encoding based on photon polarization or time-bin degrees of freedom and achieves a key capacity of at most one bit per photon. Under photon-starved conditions the rate of detection events is much lower than the photon generation rate, because of losses in long distance propagation and the relatively long recovery times of available single-photon detectors. Multi-bit encoding in the photon arrival times can be beneficial in such photon-starved situations. Recent security proofs indicate high-dimensional encoding in the photon arrival times is robust and can be implemented to yield high secure throughput. In this work we demonstrate entanglement-based QKD with high-dimensional encoding whose security against collective Gaussian attacks is provided by a high-visibility Franson interferometer. We achieve unprecedented key capacity and throughput for an entanglement-based QKD system because of four principal factors: Franson interferometry that does not degrade with loss; error correction coding that can tolerate high error rates; optimized time–energy entanglement generation; and highly efficient WSi superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. The secure key capacity yields as much as 8.7 bits per coincidence. When optimized for throughput we observe a secure key rate of 2.7 Mbit s−1 after 20 km fiber transmission with a key capacity of 6.9 bits per photon coincidence. Our results demonstrate a viable approach to high-rate QKD using practical photonic entanglement and single-photon detection technologies.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a two-qubit quantum heat engine with Cooper-pair boxes and flux qubits is presented. But the authors focus on the thermodynamic properties of the two qubits and do not consider the energy exchange between them.
Abstract: We study stochastic energetic exchanges in quantum heat engines. Due to microreversibility, these obey a fluctuation relation, called the heat engine fluctuation relation, which implies the Carnot bound: no machine can have an efficiency greater than Carnot?s efficiency. The stochastic thermodynamics of a quantum heat engine (including the joint statistics of heat and work and the statistics of efficiency) are illustrated by means of an optimal two-qubit heat engine, where each qubit is coupled to a thermal bath and a two-qubit gate determines energy exchanges between the two qubits. We discuss possible solid-state implementations with Cooper-pair boxes and flux qubits, quantum gate operations, and fast calorimetric on-chip measurements of single stochastic events.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an acoustic topological structure was proposed by creating an effective gauge magnetic field for sound using circularly flowing air in the designed acoustic ring resonators. But topological states cannot be simply reproduced due to the absence of similar magnetics-related sound-matter interactions in naturally available materials.
Abstract: Recent explorations of topology in physical systems have led to a new paradigm of condensed matters characterized by topologically protected states and phase transition, for example, topologically protected photonic crystals enabled by magneto-optical effects. However, in other wave systems such as acoustics, topological states cannot be simply reproduced due to the absence of similar magnetics-related sound–matter interactions in naturally available materials. Here, we propose an acoustic topological structure by creating an effective gauge magnetic field for sound using circularly flowing air in the designed acoustic ring resonators. The created gauge magnetic field breaks the time-reversal symmetry, and therefore topological properties can be designed to be nontrivial with non-zero Chern numbers and thus to enable a topological sonic crystal, in which the topologically protected acoustic edge-state transport is observed, featuring robust one-way propagation characteristics against a variety of topological defects and impurities. Our results open a new venue to non-magnetic topological structures and promise a unique approach to effective manipulation of acoustic interfacial transport at will.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a unified theory for different kinds of light beams exhibiting classical entanglement is presented, and several possible extensions of the concept are discussed. But the authors do not discuss the physics underlying this intriguing aspect of classical optics.
Abstract: When two or more degrees of freedom become coupled in a physical system, a number of observables of the latter cannot be represented by mathematical expressions separable with respect to the different degrees of freedom. In recent years it appeared clear that these expressions may display the same mathematical structures exhibited by multiparty entangled states in quantum mechanics. In this work, we investigate the occurrence of such structures in optical beams, a phenomenon that is often referred to as ‘classical entanglement’. We present a unified theory for different kinds of light beams exhibiting classical entanglement and we indicate several possible extensions of the concept. Our results clarify and shed new light upon the physics underlying this intriguing aspect of classical optics.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the group of transversal gates of color codes is optimal and only depends on the spatial dimension, not the local geometry, and a generalized, subsystem version of color code was introduced.
Abstract: Color codes are topological stabilizer codes with unusual transversality properties. Here I show that their group of transversal gates is optimal and only depends on the spatial dimension, not the local geometry. I also introduce a generalized, subsystem version of color codes. In 3D they allow the transversal implementation of a universal set of gates by gauge fixing, while error-dectecting measurements involve only four or six qubits.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a spin transfer nano-oscillators (STNOs) using magnetic skyrmions is proposed, which can be excited into oscillation by a spin-polarized current.
Abstract: Spin transfer nano-oscillators (STNOs) are nanoscale devices which are promising candidates for on-chip microwave signal sources. For application purposes, they are expected to be nano-sized, to have broad working frequency, narrow spectral linewidth, high output power and low power consumption. In this paper, we demonstrate by micromagnetic simulation that magnetic skyrmions, topologically stable nanoscale magnetization configurations, can be excited into oscillation by a spin-polarized current. Thus, we propose a new kind of STNO using magnetic skyrmions. It is found that the working frequency of this oscillator can range from nearly 0 Hz to gigahertz. The linewidth can be smaller than 1 MHz. Furthermore, this device can work at a current density magnitude as small as 108 A m−2, and it is also expected to improve the output power. Our studies may contribute to the development of skyrmion-based microwave generators.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a generalization of the Rosenzweig-porter random matrix model is suggested that possesses two transitions, Anderson localization transition from the localized to the extended states and ergodic transition from non-ergodic (multifractal) states to the ergodics.
Abstract: Motivated by the problem of many-body localization and the recent numerical results for the level and eigenfunction statistics on the random regular graphs, a generalization of the Rosenzweig–Porter random matrix model is suggested that possesses two transitions. One of them is the Anderson localization transition from the localized to the extended states. The other one is the ergodic transition from the extended non-ergodic (multifractal) states to the extended ergodic states. We confirm the existence of both transitions by computing the two-level spectral correlation function, the spectrum of multifractality and the wave function overlap which consistently demonstrate these two transitions.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, it was shown that the quantum switch does not violate any causal inequality and is a genuine example of a "indefinite causal order" for quantum computation, which can detect the causal nonseparability of any quantum resource that is incompatible with a definite causal order.
Abstract: Our common understanding of the physical world deeply relies on the notion that events are ordered with respect to some time parameter, with past events serving as causes for future ones. Nonetheless, it was recently found that it is possible to formulate quantum mechanics without any reference to a global time or causal structure. The resulting framework includes new kinds of quantum resources that allow performing tasks—in particular, the violation of causal inequalities—which are impossible for events ordered according to a global causal order. However, no physical implementation of such resources is known. Here we show that a recently demonstrated resource for quantum computation—the quantum switch—is a genuine example of 'indefinite causal order'. We do this by introducing a new tool—the causal witness—which can detect the causal nonseparability of any quantum resource that is incompatible with a definite causal order. We show however that the quantum switch does not violate any causal inequality.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a two-dimensional large-gap quantum spin Hall (QSH) insulator with a bulk gap as large as 0.22 eV in stanene film functionalized with the organic molecule ethynyl (SnC2H).
Abstract: Quantum spin Hall (QSH) effect is promising for achieving dissipationless transport devices which can be achieved only at extremely low temperature presently. The research for new large-gap QSH insulators is critical for their realistic applications at room temperature. Based on first-principles calculations, we propose a QSH insulator with a sizable bulk gap as large as ~0.22 eV in stanene film functionalized with the organic molecule ethynyl (SnC2H), whose topological electronic properties are highly tunable by the external strain. This large-gap is mainly due to the result of the strong spin–orbit coupling related to the pxy orbitals at the Γ point of the honeycomb lattice, significantly different from that consisting of the pz orbital as in free-standing group IV ones. The topological characteristic of SnC2H film is confirmed by the Z2 topological order and an explicit demonstration of the topological helical Dirac type edge states. The SnC2H film on BN substrate is observed to support a nontrivial large-gap QSH, which harbors a Dirac cone lying within the band gap. Owing to their high structural stability, this two-dimensional large-gap QSH insulator is promising platforms for topological phenomena and new quantum devices operating at room temperature in spintronics.

Journal ArticleDOI
Markus Ternes1
TL;DR: In this article, perturbation theory enables one to describe the tunneling transport, reproducing the differential conductance with surprisingly high accuracy, and the emergence of correlations between spins and, in particular, between localized spins and the supporting bath electrons are discussed and related to experimentally tunable parameters.
Abstract: In recent years inelastic spin-flip spectroscopy using a low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope has been a very successful tool for studying not only individual spins but also complex coupled systems. When these systems interact with the electrons of the supporting substrate correlated many-particle states can emerge, making them ideal prototypical quantum systems. The spin systems, which can be constructed by arranging individual atoms on appropriate surfaces or embedded in synthesized molecular structures, can reveal very rich spectral features. Up to now the spectral complexity has only been partly described. This manuscript shows that perturbation theory enables one to describe the tunneling transport, reproducing the differential conductance with surprisingly high accuracy. Well established scattering models, which include Kondo-like spin–spin and potential interactions, are expanded to enable calculation of arbitrary complex spin systems in reasonable time scale and the extraction of important physical properties. The emergence of correlations between spins and, in particular, between the localized spins and the supporting bath electrons are discussed and related to experimentally tunable parameters. These results might stimulate new experiments by providing experimentalists with an easily applicable modeling tool.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the feasibility of continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) in dense-wavelength-division multiplexing networks (DWDM) was demonstrated experimentally.
Abstract: We demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) in dense-wavelength-division multiplexing networks (DWDM), where QKD will typically have to coexist with several co-propagating (forward or backward) C-band classical channels whose launch power is around 0 dBm. We have conducted experimental tests of the coexistence of CV-QKD multiplexed with an intense classical channel, for different input powers and different DWDM wavelengths. Over a 25 km fiber, a CV-QKD operated over the 1530.12 nm channel can tolerate the noise arising from up to 11.5 dBm classical channel at 1550.12 nm in the forward direction (9.7 dBm in backward). A positive key rate (0.49 kbits s−1) can be obtained at 75 km with classical channel power of respectively −3 and −9 dBm in forward and backward. Based on these measurements, we have also simulated the excess noise and optimized channel allocation for the integration of CV-QKD in some access networks. We have, for example, shown that CV-QKD could coexist with five pairs of channels (with nominal input powers: 2 dBm forward and 1 dBm backward) over a 25 km WDM-PON network. The obtained results demonstrate the outstanding capacity of CV-QKD to coexist with classical signals of realistic intensity in optical networks.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors develop a percolation framework to analytically and numerically study the robustness of complex networks against localized attacks, and investigate this robustness in Erd?s?R?nyi networks, random-regular networks, and scale-free networks.
Abstract: The robustness of complex networks against node failure and malicious attack has been of interest for decades, while most of the research has focused on random attack or hub-targeted attack. In many real-world scenarios, however, attacks are neither random nor hub-targeted, but localized, where a group of neighboring nodes in a network are attacked and fail. In this paper we develop a percolation framework to analytically and numerically study the robustness of complex networks against such localized attack. In particular, we investigate this robustness in Erd?s?R?nyi networks, random-regular networks, and scale-free networks. Our results provide insight into how to better protect networks, enhance cybersecurity, and facilitate the design of more robust infrastructures.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the influence of dephasing-type interactions with a background bath of phonons, critically depends on the nature of the bath modes, i.e., elastic collisions with phonons.
Abstract: We develop a quantum mechanical formalism to treat the strong coupling between an electromagnetic mode and a vibrational excitation of an ensemble of organic molecules. By employing a Bloch–Redfield–Wangsness approach, we show that the influence of dephasing-type interactions, i.e., elastic collisions with a background bath of phonons, critically depends on the nature of the bath modes. In particular, for long-range phonons corresponding to a common bath, the dynamics of the 'bright state' (the collective superposition of molecular vibrations coupling to the cavity mode) is effectively decoupled from other system eigenstates. For the case of independent baths (or short-range phonons), incoherent energy transfer occurs between the bright state and the uncoupled dark states. However, these processes are suppressed when the Rabi splitting is larger than the frequency range of the bath modes, as achieved in a recent experiment (Shalabney et al 2015 Nat. Commun. 6 5981). In both cases, the dynamics can thus be described through a single collective oscillator coupled to a photonic mode, making this system an ideal candidate to explore cavity optomechanics at room temperature.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the reproducible generation of quasi-static magnetic fields at the kT-level with laser pulses was investigated. But the authors focused on the early stages of the target charging, up to ns, and then are disturbed by radiation and plasma effects.
Abstract: Quasi-static magnetic-fields up to 800 T are generated in the interaction of intense laser pulses (500 J, 1 ns, ) with capacitor-coil targets of different materials. The reproducible magnetic-field peak and rise-time, consistent with the laser pulse duration, were accurately inferred from measurements with GHz-bandwidth inductor pickup coils (B-dot probes). Results from Faraday rotation of polarized optical laser light and deflectometry of energetic proton beams are consistent with the B-dot probe measurements at the early stages of the target charging, up to ns, and then are disturbed by radiation and plasma effects. The field has a dipole-like distribution over a characteristic volume of 1 mm3, which is consistent with theoretical expectations. These results demonstrate a very efficient conversion of the laser energy into magnetic fields, thus establishing a robust laser-driven platform for reproducible, well characterized, generation of quasi-static magnetic fields at the kT-level, as well as for magnetization and accurate probing of high-energy-density samples driven by secondary powerful laser or particle beams.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied entanglement harvested from a quantum field through local interaction with Unruh-DeWitt detectors undergoing linear acceleration and found an enhancement in the entangler harvesting by two detectors with anti-parallel acceleration over those with inertial motion.
Abstract: We study entanglement harvested from a quantum field through local interaction with Unruh–DeWitt detectors undergoing linear acceleration. The interactions allow entanglement to be swapped locally from the field to the detectors. We find an enhancement in the entanglement harvesting by two detectors with anti-parallel acceleration over those with inertial motion. This enhancement is characterized by the presence of entanglement between two detectors that would otherwise maintain a separable state in the absence of relativistic motion (with the same distance of closest approach in both cases). We also find that entanglement harvesting is degraded for two detectors undergoing parallel acceleration in the same way as for two static, comoving detectors in a de Sitter universe. This degradation is known to be different from that of two inertial detectors in a thermal bath. We comment on the physical origin of the harvested entanglement and present three methods for determining distance between two detectors using properties of the harvested entanglement. Information about the separation is stored nonlocally in the joint state of the accelerated detectors after the interaction; a single detector alone contains none. We also find an example of entanglement sudden death exhibited in parameter space.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the set of correlations that are compatible with a definite causal order forms a polytope, whose facets define causal inequalities, which can be violated in the recently introduced framework of process matrices.
Abstract: In a scenario where two parties share, act on and exchange some physical resource, the assumption that the parties' actions are ordered according to a definite causal structure yields constraints on the possible correlations that can be established. We show that the set of correlations that are compatible with a definite causal order forms a polytope, whose facets define causal inequalities. We fully characterize this causal polytope in the simplest case of bipartite correlations with binary inputs and outputs. We find two families of nonequivalent causal inequalities; both can be violated in the recently introduced framework of process matrices, which extends the standard quantum formalism by relaxing the implicit assumption of a fixed causal structure. Our work paves the way to a more systematic investigation of causal inequalities in a theory-independent way, and of their violation within the framework of process matrices.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the potential to probe new physics with neutrinoless double beta decay was reviewed and the standard long-range light neutrino mechanism as well as non-standard long range and short-range mechanisms mediated by heavy particles were discussed.
Abstract: We review the potential to probe new physics with neutrinoless double beta decay $(A,Z)\to (A,Z+2)+2{e}^{-}.$ Both the standard long-range light neutrino mechanism as well as non-standard long-range and short-range mechanisms mediated by heavy particles are discussed. We also stress aspects of the connection to lepton number violation at colliders and the implications for baryogenesis.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is shown that the coherence of a noise source can be quantified by the unitarity, which relates to the average change in purity averaged over input pure states and provides a lower bound on the optimal achievable gate infidelity under a given noisy process.
Abstract: Noise mechanisms in quantum systems can be broadly characterized as either coherent (i.e., unitary) or incoherent. For a given fixed average error rate, coherent noise mechanisms will generally lead to a larger worst-case error than incoherent noise. We show that the coherence of a noise source can be quantified by the unitarity, which we relate to the average change in purity averaged over input pure states. We then show that the unitarity can be efficiently estimated using a protocol based on randomized benchmarking that is efficient and robust to state-preparation and measurement errors. We also show that the unitarity provides a lower bound on the optimal achievable gate infidelity under a given noisy process.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a generalized "input-output" formalism is proposed for quantum information processing with photons or quantum many-body states of light, but treating such systems generally remains a difficult task theoretically.
Abstract: There has been rapid development of systems that yield strong interactions between freely propagating photons in one-dimension via controlled coupling to quantum emitters. This raises interesting possibilities such as quantum information processing with photons or quantum many-body states of light, but treating such systems generally remains a difficult task theoretically. Here, we describe a novel technique in which the dynamics and correlations of a few photons can be exactly calculated, based upon knowledge of the initial photonic state and the solution of the reduced effective dynamics of the quantum emitters alone. We show that this generalized 'input–output' formalism allows for a straightforward numerical implementation regardless of system details, such as emitter positions, external driving, and level structure. As a specific example, we apply our technique to show how atomic systems with infinite-range interactions and under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency enable the selective transmission of correlated multi-photon states.