Partial Measurements and the Realization of Quantum-Mechanical Counterfactuals

We propose partial measurements as a conceptual tool to understand how to operate with counterfactual claims in quantum physics. Indeed, unlike standard von Neumann measurements, partial measurements can be reversed probabilistically. We first analyze the consequences of this rather unusual feature for the principle of superposition, for the complementarity principle, and for the issue of hidden variables. Then we move on to exploring non-local contexts, by reformulating the EPR paradox, the quantum teleportation experiment, and the entanglement-swapping protocol for the situation in which one uses partial measurements followed by their stochastic reversal. This leads to a number of counter-intuitive results, which are shown to be resolved if we give up the idea of attributing reality to the wavefunction of a single quantum system.     

Interaction-free measurements with superconducting qubits

An interaction-free measurement protocol is described for a quantum circuit consisting of a superconducting qubit and a readout Josephson junction. By measuring the state of the qubit, one can ascertain the presence of a current pulse through the circuit at a previous time without any energy exchange between the qubit and the pulse.     

Shape resonances in slow electron scattering by aromatic molecules. I. Anthraquinone derivatives

A series of anthraquinone (C(14)O(2)H(8)) derivatives has been studied by means of electron capture negative ion mass spectrometry (ECNI-MS), photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and AM1 quantum chemical calculations. Mean lifetimes of molecular negative ions M(-.) (MNI) have been measured. The mechanism of long-lived MNI formation in the epithermal energy region of incident electrons has been investigated. A simple model of a molecule (a spherical potential well with the repulsive centrifugal term) has been applied for the analysis of the energy dependence of cross sections at the first stage of the electron capture process. It has been shown that a temporary resonance of MNI at the energy approximately 0.5 eV corresponds to a shape resonance with lifetime 1-2.10(-13) s in the f-partial wave (l = 3) of the incident electron. The next resonant state of MNI at the energy approximately 1.7 eV has been associated with the electron excited Feshbach resonance (whose parent state is a triplet npi* transition). In all cases the initial electron state of the MNI relaxes into the ground state by means of a radiationless transition, and the final state of the MNI is a nuclear excited resonance with a lifetime measurable on the mass spectrometry timescale. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vortices in trapped superfluid fermi gases

We consider a superfluid of trapped fermionic atoms and study the single vortex solution in the Ginzburg-Landau regime. We define simple analytical estimates for the main characteristics of the system, such as the vortex core size, temperature regimes for the existence of a vortex, and the effects of rotation and interactions with normal fermions. The parameter dependence of the vortex core size (healing length) is found to be essentially different from that of the healing length in metallic superconductors or in trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensation in the Thomas-Fermi limit. This is an indication of the importance of the confining geometry for the properties of fermionic superfluids.     

Realism and Single-Quanta Nonlocality

We show that local realism applied to states characterized by a single quantum equally and coherently shared between a number of qubits (so-called W states) produces predictions incompatible with quantum theory. The origin of this incompatibility is shown to originate from the destructive interference of amplitude probabilities associated with nonlocal states, a phenomenon that has no classical analog.     

A finite element formulation for global linear stability analysis of a nominally two‐dimensional base flow

A stabilized finite element method, to carry out the linear stability analysis of a two‐dimensional base flow to three‐dimensional perturbations that are periodic along span, is presented. The resulting equations for the time evolution of the disturbance requires a solution to the generalized eigenvalue problem. The analysis is global in nature and is also applicable to non‐parallel flows. Equal‐order‐interpolation functions for velocity and pressure are utilized. Stabilization terms are added to the Galerkin formulation to admit the use of equal‐order‐interpolation functions and to eliminate node‐to‐node oscillations that might arise in advection‐dominated flows. The proposed formulation is tested on two flow problems. First, the mode transitions in the circular Couette flow are investigated. Two scenarios are considered. In the first one, the outer cylinder is at rest, while the inner one spins. Two linearly unstable modes are identified. The primary mode is real and represents the axisymmetric Taylor vortices. The second mode is complex and consists of spiral vortices. For the counter‐rotating cylinders, the primary transition is via the appearance of spiral vortices. Excellent agreement with results from earlier studies is observed. The formulation is also utilized to investigate the parallel and oblique modes of vortex shedding past a cylinder for the Re = 100 flow. It is found that the flow is associated with a large number of unstable oblique shedding modes. The parallel mode of vortex shedding is a special case of this family of modes and is associated with the largest growth rate. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlocal Appearance of a Macroscopic Angular Momentum

We discuss a type of measurement in which a macroscopically large angular momentum (spin) is “created” nonlocally by the measurement of just a few atoms from a double Fock state. This procedure apparently leads to a blatant nonconservation of a macroscopic variable—the local angular momentum. We argue that while this gedankenexperiment provides a striking illustration of several counter-intuitive features of quantum mechanics, it does not imply a non-local violation of the conservation of angular momentum.     

Spin-asymmetric Josephson effect

We propose that with ultracold Fermi gases one can realize a spin-asymmetric Josephson effect in which the two spin components of a Cooper pair are driven asymmetrically--corresponding to driving a Josephson junction of two superconductors with different voltages V(↑) and V(↓) for spin up and down electrons, respectively. We predict that the spin up and down components oscillate at the same frequency but with different amplitudes. Furthermore our results reveal that the standard interpretation of the Josephson supercurrent in terms of coherent bosonic pair tunneling is insufficient. We provide an intuitive interpretation of the Josephson supercurrent as interference in Rabi oscillations of pairs and single particles, the latter causing the asymmetry.