Excitonic entanglement of protected states in quantum dot molecules

The entanglement of an optically generated electron-hole pair in artificial quantum dot molecules is calculated considering the effects of decoherence by interaction with environment. Since the system evolves into a mixed states and due to the complexity of energy level structure, we use the negativity as entanglement quantifier, which is well defined in $d \otimes d^\prime$ composite vector spaces. By a numerical analysis of the non-unitary dynamics of the exciton states, we establish the feasibility of producing protected entangled superpositions by an appropriate tuning of bias electric field, $F$. A stationary state with a high value of negativity (high degree of entanglement) is obtained by fine tuning of $F$ close to a resonant condition between indirect excitons. We also found that when the optical excitation is set approximately equal to the electron tunneling coupling, $\Omega/T_e \sim 1$, the entanglement reaches a maximum value. In front of the experimental feasibility of the specific condition mentioned before, our proposal becomes an useful strategy to find robust entangled states in condensed matter systems.Comment: 4 figure

Framing bias : the effect of figure presentation on seismic interpretation

The authors thank all the participants in the survey, and those who helped to distribute it. We thank Prof. Christopher Jackson and co-authors for allowing the use of their published images in this experiment. Juan Alcalde is funded by NERC grant NE/M007251/1, on interpretational uncertainty.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Exchange interaction and tunneling induced transparency in coupled quantum dots

We investigate the optical response of quantum dot molecules coherently driven by polarized laser light. Our description includes the splitting in excitonic levels caused by isotropic and anisotropic exchange interactions. We consider interdot transitions mediated by hole tunneling between states with the same total angular momentum and between bright and dark exciton states, as allowed by spin-flip hopping between the dots in the molecule. Using realistic experimental parameters we demonstrate that the excitonic states coupled by tunneling exhibit a rich and controllable optical response. We show that through the appropriate control of an external electric field and light polarization, the tunneling coupling establishes an efficient destructive quantum interference path that creates a transparency window in the absorption spectra, whenever states of appropriate symmetry are mixed by the carrier tunneling. We explore the relevant parameter space that allows probing this phenomenon in experiments. Controlled variation of applied field and laser detuning would allow the optical characterization of spin-preserving and spin-flip hopping amplitudes in such systems, by measuring the width of the tunneling-induced transparency windows.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Using quantum state protection via dissipation in a quantum-dot molecule to solve the Deutsch problem

The wide set of control parameters and reduced size scale make semiconductor quantum dots attractive candidates to implement solid-state quantum computation. Considering an asymmetric double quantum dot coupled by tunneling, we combine the action of a laser field and the spontaneous emission of the excitonic state to protect an arbitrary superposition state of the indirect exciton and ground state. As a by-product we show how to use the protected state to solve the Deutsch problem.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, 2 table

SHARDS: Constraints on the dust attenuation law of star-forming galaxies at z~2

We make use of SHARDS, an ultra-deep (<26.5AB) galaxy survey that provides optical photo-spectra at resolution R~50, via medium band filters (FWHM~150A). This dataset is combined with ancillary optical and NIR fluxes to constrain the dust attenuation law in the rest-frame NUV region of star-forming galaxies within the redshift window 1.5<z<3. We focus on the NUV bump strength (B) and the total-to-selective extinction ratio (Rv), targeting a sample of 1,753 galaxies. By comparing the data with a set of population synthesis models coupled to a parametric dust attenuation law, we constrain Rv and B, as well as the colour excess, E(B-V). We find a correlation between Rv and B, that can be interpreted either as a result of the grain size distribution, or a variation of the dust geometry among galaxies. According to the former, small dust grains are associated with a stronger NUV bump. The latter would lead to a range of clumpiness in the distribution of dust within the interstellar medium of star-forming galaxies. The observed wide range of NUV bump strengths can lead to a systematic in the interpretation of the UV slope ($\beta$) typically used to characterize the dust content. In this study we quantify these variations, concluding that the effects are $\Delta\beta$~0.4.Comment: 13 pages, 11+2 figures, 3 tables. MNRAS, in pres