Measurability of vacuum fluctuations and dark energy

Vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field induce current fluctuations in resistively shunted Josephson junctions that are measurable in terms of a physically relevant power spectrum. In this paper we investigate under which conditions vacuum fluctuations can be gravitationally active, thus contributing to the dark energy density of the universe. Our central hypothesis is that vacuum fluctuations are gravitationally active if and only if they are measurable   in terms of a physical power spectrum in a suitable macroscopic or mesoscopic detector. This hypothesis is consistent with the observed dark energy density in the universe and offers a resolution of the cosmological constant problem. Using this hypothesis we show that the observable vacuum energy density _ρvac${\rho }_{\mathit{vac}}$ in the universe is related to the largest possible critical temperature _Tc$T_c$ of superconductors through _ρvac=σ·(_kTc)⁴/?³c³${\rho }_{\mathit{vac}}=\sigma ·({\mathit{kT}}_c{)}^4/{?}^3{c}^3$, where σ$\sigma$ is a small constant of the order 10^-3${10}^{-3}$. This relation can be regarded as an analog of the Stefan–Boltzmann law for dark energy. Our hypothesis is testable in Josephson junctions where we predict there should be a cutoff in the measured spectrum at 1.7 THz if the hypothesis is true.     

T型量子点结构中的自旋极化输运过程

我们利用单杂质Anderson模型及运动方程等理论,通过求解格林函数的方法研究了通过T型量子点结构(耦合于铁磁电极和介观环量子点结构)的自旋极化输运过程.研究结果表明,与量子点相耦合的铁磁电极中的极化强度是控制量子点电子输运的重要参数,由此可以达到自旋阀效应.另外我们还发现与量子点相耦合的介观环中的磁通会影响电子自旋向上和自旋向下近藤共振峰的分裂程度,但若加入适当的外磁场,那么这样的分裂将被抵消。     

Multiparty quantum secret sharing with Bell states and Bell measurements

We present a multiparty quantum secret sharing scheme and analyze its security. In this scheme, the sender Alice takes EPR pairs in Bell states as quantum resources. In order to obtain the shared key, all participants only need to perform Bell measurements, not to perform any local unitary operation. The total efficiency in this scheme approaches 100% as the classical information exchanged is not necessary except for the eavesdropping checks.     

Fault tolerant three-party quantum secret sharing against collective noise

We present two robust three-party quantum secret sharing protocols against two kinds of collective noise. Each logical qubit is made up of two physical qubits and is invariant under a collective noise. The two agents encode their message on each logical qubit with two unitary physical operations on two physical qubits. As each logical qubit received by each agent can carry two bits of information and the classical information exchanged is reduced largely, these protocols have a high intrinsic efficiency. Moreover, the boss Alice can read out her agents' information with two Bell-state measurements on each four-qubit system, not four-photon joint measurements.     

A Volume Inequality for Quantum Fisher Information and the Uncertainty Principle

Let A ₁,…,A _N be complex self-adjoint matrices and let ρ be a density matrix. The Robertson uncertainty principle

基于量子级联激光器和长光程气室的甲烷传感器

根据中红外光谱吸收原理,利用甲烷(CH₄)气体分子在7.5 μm处的基频吸收特性,设计了一种基于量子级联激光器(QCL)和新型多反射长光程气体吸收气室(MPC)的甲烷气体传感器。该仪器使用了可进行热电冷却、工作在脉冲方式下、中心波长为7.5 μm的QCL,通过在室温条件下调节其注入电流(500 mA～1.6 A调节范围),其出射光波长可以扫过CH₄(1 332.8 cm-1)气体吸收线。同时使用了一种紧凑型MPC(40 cm长,800 mL采样容积),使得系统有效总光程达到16 m。此外,系统中使用了参考气室,并加入了空间滤波光学结构以满足MPC对入射光束的要求,配合差分吸收光谱检测原理,有效地改善了光束质量,降低了由光源波动引起的噪声,提高了仪器的检测灵敏度。通过对不同浓度的甲烷气体进行多次检测,该仪器的稳定性能良好,按信噪比为1计算,可实现对甲烷气体的检测下限为1 μmol·mol-1。     

Hopf-algebraic renormalization of QED in the linear covariant gauge

In the context of massless quantum electrodynamics (QED) with a linear covariant gauge fixing, the connection between the counterterm and the Hopf-algebraic approach to renormalization is examined. The coproduct formula of Green’s functions contains two invariant charges, which give rise to different renormalization group functions. All formulas are tested by explicit computations to third loop order. The possibility of a finite electron self-energy by fixing a generalized linear covariant gauge is discussed. An analysis of subdivergences leads to the conclusion that such a gauge only exists in quenched QED.     

Quantum Zeno dynamics in atoms and cavities

Quantum Zeno Dynamics restricts the evolution of a system in a tailorable subspace of the Hilbert space by repeated measurements of a proper observable. This restricted dynamics can be counterintuitive and lead to the generation of interesting nonclassical states. We describe an experiment implementing the Zeno dynamics in an atomic Rydberg level manifold, and we propose an implementation in the cavity quantum electrodynamics context. Both systems open promising perspectives for quantum-enabled metrology and decoherence studies.     

Detecting itinerant single microwave photons

Single-photon detectors are fundamental tools of investigation in quantum optics and play a central role in measurement theory and quantum informatics. Photodetectors based on different technologies exist at optical frequencies and much effort is currently being spent on pushing their efficiencies to meet the demands coming from the quantum computing and quantum communication proposals. In the microwave regime, however, a single-photon detector has remained elusive, although several theoretical proposals have been put forth. In this article, we review these recent proposals, especially focusing on non-destructive detectors of propagating microwave photons. These detection schemes using superconducting artificial atoms can reach detection efficiencies of 90% with the existing technologies and are ripe for experimental investigations.