Affine Maps of the Polarization Vector for Quantum Systems of Arbitrary Dimension

The operator-sum decomposition (OS) of a mapping from one density matrix to another has many applications in quantum information science. To this mapping there corresponds an affine map which provides a geometric description of the density matrix in terms of the polarization vector representation. This has been thoroughly explored for qubits since the components of the polarization vector are measurable quantities (corresponding to expectation values of Hermitian operators) and also because it enables the description of map domains geometrically. Here we extend the OS-affine map correspondence to qudits, briefly discuss general properties of the map, the form for particular important cases, and provide several explicit results for qutrit maps. We use the affine map and a singular-value-like decomposition, to find positivity constraints that provide a symmetry for small polarization vector magnitudes (states which are closer to the maximally mixed state) which is broken as the polarization vector increases in magnitude (a state becomes more pure). The dependence of this symmetry on the magnitude of the polarization vector implies the polar decomposition of the map can not be used as it can for the qubit case. However, it still leads us to a connection between positivity and purity for general d-state systems.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX2e, TOC include

85% efficiency for cw frequency doubling from 1.08 to 0.54 μm

Conversion efficiency of 85% has been achieved in cw second-harmonic generation from 1.08 to 0.54 μm with a potassium titanyl phosphate crystal inside an external ring cavity. An absolute comparison between the experimental data and a simple theory is made and shows good agreement

High Fidelity State Transfer Over an Unmodulated Linear XY Spin Chain

We provide a class of initial encodings that can be sent with a high fidelity over an unmodulated, linear, XY spin chain. As an example, an average fidelity of ninety-six percent can be obtained using an eleven-spin encoding to transmit a state over a chain containing ten-thousand spins. An analysis of the magnetic field dependence is given, and conditions for field optimization are provided.Comment: Replaced with published version. 8 pages, 5 figure

Comparisons and Applications of Four Independent Numerical Approaches for Linear Gyrokinetic Drift Modes

To help reveal the complete picture of linear kinetic drift modes, four independent numerical approaches, based on integral equation, Euler initial value simulation, Euler matrix eigenvalue solution and Lagrangian particle simulation, respectively, are used to solve the linear gyrokinetic electrostatic drift modes equation in Z-pinch with slab simplification and in tokamak with ballooning space coordinate. We identify that these approaches can yield the same solution with the difference smaller than 1\%, and the discrepancies mainly come from the numerical convergence, which is the first detailed benchmark of four independent numerical approaches for gyrokinetic linear drift modes. Using these approaches, we find that the entropy mode and interchange mode are on the same branch in Z-pinch, and the entropy mode can have both electron and ion branches. And, at strong gradient, more than one eigenstate of the ion temperature gradient mode (ITG) can be unstable and the most unstable one can be on non-ground eigenstates. The propagation of ITGs from ion to electron diamagnetic direction at strong gradient is also observed, which implies that the propagation direction is not a decisive criterion for the experimental diagnosis of turbulent mode at the edge plasmas.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accept by Physics of Plasma

Quantum correlations of twophoton polarization states in the parametric down-conversion process

We consider correlation properties of twophoton polarization states in the parametric down-conversion process. In our description of polarization states we take into account the simultaneous presence of colored and white noise in the density matrix. Within the considered model we study the dependence of the von Neumann entropy on the noise amount in the system and derive the separability condition for the density matrix of twophoton polarization state, using Perec-Horodecki criterion and majorization criterion. Then the dependence of the Bell operator (in CHSH form) on noise is studied. As a result, we give a condition for determining the presence of quantum correlation states in experimental measurements of the Bell operator. Finally, we compare our calculations with experimental data [doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.73.062110] and give a noise amount estimation in the photon polarization state considered there.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures; corrected typo

Instability and Periodic Deformation in Bilayer Membranes Induced by Freezing

The instability and periodic deformation of bilayer membranes during freezing processes are studied as a function of the difference of the shape energy between the high and the low temperature membrane states. It is shown that there exists a threshold stability condition, bellow which a planar configuration will be deformed. Among the deformed shapes, the periodic curved square textures are shown being one kind of the solutions of the associated shape equation. In consistency with recent expe rimental observations, the optimal ratio of period and amplitude for such a texture is found to be approximately equal to (2)^{1/2}\pi.Comment: 8 pages in Latex form, 1 Postscript figure. To be appear in Mod. Phys. Lett. B. 199

The super-oscillating superlens

We demonstrate a lens that creates a sub-wavelength focal spot beyond the near-field by exploiting the phenomenon of super-oscillation