A quantum violation of the second law?

An apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics occurs when an atom coupled to a zero-temperature bath, being necessarily in an excited state, is used to extract work from the bath. Here the fallacy is that it takes work to couple the atom to the bath and this work must exceed that obtained from the atom. For the example of an oscillator coupled to a bath described by the single relaxation time model, the mean oscillator energy and the minimum work required to couple the oscillator to the bath are both calculated explicitly and in closed form. It is shown that the minimum work always exceeds the mean oscillator energy, so there is no violation of the second law.     

On the relation of Manin’s quantum plane and quantum Clifford algebras

In a recent work we have shown that quantum Clifford algebras — i.e. Clifford algebras of an arbitrary bilinear form — are closely related to the deformed structures asq-spin groups, Hecke algebras,q-Young operators and deformed tensor products. The question to relate Manin’s approach to quantum Clifford algebras is addressed here. Explicit computations using the CLIFFORD Maple package are exhibited. The meaning of non-commutative geometry is reexamined and interpreted in Clifford algebraic terms. Presented at the 9th Colloquium “Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems”, Prague, 22–24 June 2000.     

Description of the evolution of the state of “josephson atoms” in the context of the informational interpretation of quantum mechanics

The evolution of a quantum system is informationally interpreted and used to describe decay in the coherent states of Josephson atoms, including qubits based on two- and three-junction superconducting quantum interferometers. The reduced Lindblad equation is employed to examine the measurement procedure of the Josephson qubit state and the influence of a measuring device on its coherent-state decay.     

Critical assessment of the Schrödinger picture of quantum mechanics

We provide an example in which the Heisenberg and the Schrödinger pictures of quantum mechanics give different results, thus confirming the statement of P.A.M. Dirac that the two pictures may lead to inequivalent results. We consider a one-dimensional nonrelativistic charged harmonic oscillator (frequency ω₀ and mass m), and take into account the action of the radiation reaction and the vacuum electromagnetic forces on the charged oscillator. We show that the Heisenberg picture gives the correct value, ℏω₀/2, for the ground state energy of the harmonic oscillator in both cases of classical and quantized vacuum fields. In the case of the Schrödinger picture, considering classical vacuum fields, and using a simple calculation for the classical radiation reaction force that is valid in the limit of large mass (mc²⪢ℏω₀), we obtain the value ℏω₀ for the ground state energy of the harmonic oscillator. We show that the vacuum electromagnetic forces play a very important role in the understanding of this discrepancy.     

Application of step-scan FTIR to the research of quantum cascade lasers

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has moreadvantages over many other techniques for high resolu-tion studies in the mid-infrared and far-infrared spectralranges. In addition to the high frequency resolution, itexhibits a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), high through-put, and broad band range. There are two ways forthe spectrometer to implement the scan process, i.e.,the rapid-scan (continuous-scan) mode and the step-scan mode. Although many relatively simple rapid-scanFTIRs h…     

Renormalization group treatment of the quantum nonlinear σ-model

The quantum nonlinear -model in (d+1)-dimensional space-time is investigated by a renormalization group approach. The beta-functions for the couplingg and the temperaturet are given. The renormalisation group equations of theN-point functions are derived for finite coupling and finite temperature. It is known that the model shows a phase transition at zero temperature at some critical couplingg _c . The behaviour near this critical point is investigated. The crossover exponent , describing the crossover between different regimes near the critical point is calculated, verifying a conjecture by Chakravarty, Halperin and Nelson, who have argued that ind dimensions should have the same value as the critical exponent of the correlation length in a (d+1)-dimensional classical system. A subtraction scheme appropriate to calculate the renormalisation factors and from these the beta-functions at finite temperature and finite coupling constant will be introduced. Using this method the beta-functions will be calculated to order two loops. The exponents obtained this way are in good agreement with the values found on other ways.     

Nonrelativistic quantum effects of the Lorentz symmetry violation on the Morse potential

We search for Lorentz symmetry violation effects at low-energy regime by exploring the Dirac equation in(1 + 1)-dimensions and the possibility of dealing with quantum systems with spherical symmetry. We bring a discussion about the influence of the Lorentz symmetry violation effects on the spectrum of molecular vibrations caused by the coupling between a fixed vector field and the derivative of the fermionic field. Further, we discuss the influence of this Lorentz symmetry violation background o...     

The geometry of the quantum correction for topological σ-models

The ring (Frobenius algebra) of local observables for topological -models on ¹ with values in the grassmannianG(s, n) is known to be the same as the quotient of the homology ring of the target space by the (inhomogeneous) ideal generated by the so-called quantum correction. While the need for a quantum correction comes from algebraic motivations in field theory, the aim of this paper is to understand its geometric meaning. The simple examples of ^{1 n} models tell us that the quantum correction comes by restriction on the boundary of the moduli spaces which allows to compute intersections on moduli spaces of lower degrees. We will check this point of view for the case of ¹ G(s,n) models, yielding a proof of the algebraic result from physics in terms of the geometry of the -model itself.Work partially supported by National Project 40% Probabilistic and geometrical methods in Mathematical Physics and by CNR-Gruppo Nazionale di Fisica Matematica.     

Pseudo Hermitian formulation of the quantum Black–Scholes Hamiltonian

We show that the non-Hermitian Black–Scholes Hamiltonian and its various generalizations are η$\eta$-pseudo Hermitian. The metric operator η$\eta$ is explicitly constructed for this class of Hamiltonians. It is also shown that the effective Black–Scholes Hamiltonian and its partner form a pseudo supersymmetric system.     

Aφ factory to investigate the foundations of quantum mechanics

A bound on theK oscillating parameter has been obtained by some models of nonlocality. In this paper we stress the fact that aø factory to test the CP-violating parameters in theK system can also probe, through correlated observations of two ⁰, the incompatibility between the quantum mechanics and these formulations of the local realism.     

Opening the Pandora’s box of quantum spinor fields

Lounesto’s classification of spinors is a comprehensive and exhaustive algorithm that, based on the bilinears covariants, discloses the possibility of a large variety of spinors, comprising regular and singular spinors and their unexpected applications in physics and including the cases of Dirac, Weyl, and Majorana as very particular spinor fields. In this paper we pose the problem of an analogous classification in the framework of second quantization. We first discuss in general the nature of the problem. Then we start the analysis of two basic bilinear covariants, the scalar and pseudoscalar, in the second quantized setup, with expressions applicable to the quantum field theory extended to all types of spinors. One can see that an ampler set of possibilities opens up with respect to the classical case. A quantum reconstruction algorithm is also proposed. The Feynman propagator is extended for spinors in all classes.     

Does ignorance of the whole imply ignorance of the parts? Large violations of noncontextuality in quantum theory

A central question in our understanding of the physical world is how our knowledge of the whole relates to our knowledge of the individual parts. One aspect of this question is the following: to what extent does ignorance about a whole preclude knowledge of at least one of its parts? Relying purely on classical intuition, one would certainly be inclined to conjecture that a strong ignorance of the whole cannot come without significant ignorance of at least one of its parts. Indeed, we show that this reasoning holds in any noncontextual (NC) hidden-variable model (HV). Curiously, however, such a conjecture is false in quantum theory: we provide an explicit example where a large ignorance about the whole can coexist with an almost perfect knowledge of each of its parts. More specifically, we provide a simple information-theoretic inequality satisfied in any NC HV, but which can be arbitrarily violated by quantum mechanics.     

A quantum Hamilton–Jacobi proof of the nodal structure of the wave functions of supersymmetric partner potentials

Quantum Hamilton–Jacobi formalism is used to give a proof for Gozzi’s criterion, which states that for eigenstates of the supersymmetric partners, corresponding to the same energy, the difference in the number of nodes is equal to one when supersymmetry (SUSY) is unbroken and is zero when SUSY is broken. We also show that this proof is also applicable to the case, where isospectral deformation is involved.     

NMR probing of the spin polarization of the ν=5/2 quantum Hall state

Resistively detected nuclear magnetic resonance is used to measure the Knight shift of the 75As nuclei and determine the electron spin polarization of the fractional quantum Hall states of the second Landau level. We show that the 5/2 state is fully polarized within experimental error, thus confirming a fundamental assumption of the Moore-Read theory. We measure the electron heating under radio frequency excitation and show that we are able to detect NMR at electron temperatures down to 30 mK.     

On the derivation of the entropy of ideal quantum gases confined in a three-dimensional harmonic potential

In this work,the entropy functions of ideal quantum gases in a three-dimensional harmonic trap are analytically calculated using temperature as an explicit variable.Afterward,the applicability of the analytical formulas is validated by comparison with the numerical calculation.The results illustrate that the obtained functions could be applied for the whole temperature regime with a maximum relative deviation of less than 7.5%in the vicinity of the critical temperature Tcin the case of Bose gases.Meanwhile,for Fermi gases,although the analytical formula fits well at very low-and high-temperature regimes,it cannot be applied at temperature in the range[0.3-0.5]T_F,where T_F is the Fermi temperature.In addition,the consistency between our formulas and classical ones at significantly high temperatures is also discussed.     

Enhancement of the shot noise of a quantum dot–Luttinger lead system

We investigate the joint effects of the intralead electron interaction and Coulombic dot–lead interaction on the shot noise of a quantum dot coupled to Luttinger liquid leads. A formula of the shot noise is derived by applying the nonequilibrium Green function technique. The shot noise is enhanced by the dot–lead interaction. For a weak or moderately strong interaction the differential shot noise demonstrates resonant-like behavior as a function of bias and gate voltages. In the limit of strong interaction resonant behavior disappears and the differential shot noise and Fano factor scale as a power law in bias voltage. Under some parameters, the differential shot noise may become negative around resonant peaks, and the physical reason is analyzed.     

Generation of the nonlocal quantum entanglement of three three-level particles by local operations

We propose a scheme to realize the nonlocal quantum entanglement of three three-level particles by using a three-particle entangled state of three levels as a quantum channel with the aid of some local unitary transformations. This scheme can be directly generalized to the nonlocal quantum entanglement of N three-level particles.     

Relation between quantum NOT gate speed and asymmetry of the potential of RF-SQUID

This paper investigates the relationship between the speed of a quantum not gate and the asymmetry of the potential in an interactive system formed by a two-level RF-SQUID qubit and a classical microwave pulse. The RFSQUID is characterized by an asymmetric double well potential which gives rise to diagonal matrix elements that describe the interaction of the SQUID with the microwave pulse. And the diagonal matrix elements account for the interaction of the microwave pulse with the SQUID. The results indicate that, when the angular frequency of the microwave field is chosen as near resonate with the transition （0） ←→ （1）, i.e. ω1 -ω0 ≈ ωm, （1） the gate speed is decided by three factors, the Rabi frequency, the difference of the diagonal matrix elements between the two levels, and the angular frequency of the applied microwave pulse ωm; （2） the gate speed descends when the asymmetry of the potential is considered.