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P. L. Knight

Publications and source records attributed to P. L. Knight.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2001

Entanglement by a beam splitter: nonclassicality as a prerequisite for entanglement

A beam splitter is a simple, readily available device which can act to entangle the output optical fields. We show that a necessary condition for the fields at the output of the beam splitter to be entangled is that the pure input states exhibit nonclassical behavior. We generalize this proof for arbitrary (pure or impure) Gaussian input states. Specifically, nonclassicality of the input Gaussian fields is a necessary condition for entanglement of the field modes with the help of the beam splitter. We conjecture that this is a general property of the beam splitter: Nonclassicality of the inputs is a necessary condition for entangling fields in the beam splitter.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2000

Coherent Phenomena in Photonic Crystals

We study the spontaneous emission, the absorption and dispersion properties of a ${\bf Λ}$-type atom where one transition interacts near resonantly with a double-band photonic crystal. Assuming an isotropic dispersion relation near the band edges, we show that two distinct coherent phenomena can occur. First, the spontaneous emission spectrum of the adjacent free space transition obtains `dark lines' (zeroes in the spectrum). Second, the atom can become transparent to a probe laser field coupling to the adjacent free space transition.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2000

Entangling Atoms and Ions in Dissipative Environments

Quantum information processing rests on our ability to manipulate quantum superpositions through coherent unitary transformations, and to establish entanglement between constituent quantum components of the processor. The quantum information processor (a linear ion trap, or a cavity confining the radiation field for example) exists in a dissipative environment. We discuss ways in which entanglement can be established within such dissipative environments. We can even make use of a strong interaction of the system with its environment to produce entanglement in a controlled way.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2000

Fast quantum gates for cold trapped ions

We present an alternative scheme for the generation of a 2-qubit quantum gate interaction between laser-cooled trapped ions. The scheme is based on the AC Stark shift (lightshift) induced by laser light resonant with the ionic transition frequency. At {\it specific} laser intensities, the shift of the ionic levels allows the resonant excitation of transitions involving the exchange of motional quanta. We compare the performance of this scheme with respect to that of related ion-trap proposals and find that, for an experimental realisation using travelling-wave radiation and working in the Lamb-Dicke regime, an improvement of over an order of magnitude in the gate switching rate is possible.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2000

Transient properties of modified reservoir-induced transparency

We investigate the transient response of a $Λ$-type system with one transition decaying to a modified radiation reservoir with an inverse square-root singular density of modes at threshold, under conditions of transparency. We calculate the time evolution of the linear susceptibility for the probe laser field and show that, depending on the strength of the coupling to the modified vacuum and the background decay, the probe transmission can exhibit behaviour ranging from underdamped to overdamped oscillations. Transient gain without population inversion is also possible depending on the system's parameters.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1999

Proposal for teleportation of an atomic state via cavity decay

We show how the state of an atom trapped in a cavity can be teleported to a second atom trapped in a distant cavity simply by detecting photon decays from the cavities. This is a rare example of a decay mechanism playing a constructive role in quantum information processing. The scheme is comparatively easy to implement, requiring only the ability to trap a single three level atom in a cavity.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1999

The influence of density of modes on dark lines in spontaneous emission

We study two distinct multi-level atomic models in which one transition is coupled to a Markovian reservoir, while another linked transition is coupled to a non-Markovian reservoir. We show that by choosing appropriately the density of modes of the non-Markovian reservoir the spontaneous emission to the Markovian reservoir is greatly altered. The existence of `dark lines' in the spontaneous emission spectrum in the Markovian reservoir due to the coupling to specific density of modes of the non-Markovian reservoir is also predicted.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1999

Transparency Near a Photonic Band Edge

We study the absorption and dispersion properties of a ${\bf Λ}$-type atom which decays spontaneously near the edge of a photonic band gap (PBG). Using an isotropic PBG model, we show that the atom can become transparent to a probe laser field, even when other dissipative channels are present. This transparency originates from the square root singularity of the density of modes of the PBG material at threshold.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1999

A Scheme to Probe the Decoherence of a Macroscopic Object

We propose a quantum optical version of Schrödinger's famous gedanken experiment in which the state of a microscopic system (a cavity field) becomes entangled with and disentangled from the state of a massive object (a movable mirror). Despite the fact that a mixture of Schrödinger cat states is produced during the evolution (due to the fact that the macroscopic mirror starts off in a thermal state), this setup allows us to systematically probe the rules by which a superposition of spatially separated states of a macroscopic object decoheres. The parameter regime required to test environment-induced decoherence models is found to be close to those currently realizable, while that required to detect gravitationally induced collapse is well beyond current technology.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1999

Coherent manipulation of two dipole-dipole interacting ions

We investigate to what extent two trapped ions can be manipulated coherently when their coupling is mediated by a dipole-dipole interaction. We will show how the resulting level shift induced by this interaction can be used to create entanglement, while the decay of the states remains nearly negligible. This will allow us to implement conditional dynamics (a CNOT gate) and single qubit operations. We propose two different experimental realisations where a large level shift can be achieved and discuss both the strengths and weaknesses of this scheme from the point of view of a practical realization.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1998

Numerical simulations of fundamental processes in cavity QED: Atomic decay

We present results of numerical investigation of a microscopic dynamics of a two-level atom embedded into a ``linear crystal'' of other two-level atoms. These additional atoms play a role of a material media. All atoms interact with a multimode cavity field. We study how the decay of the initially excited atom is affected by the presence of material media and spectral properties of the cavity field.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1998

Fluorescence control through multiple interference mechanisms

We discuss the spontaneous emission from a coherently prepared and microwave driven doublet of potentially closely spaced excited states to a common ground level. Multiple interference mechanisms are identified which may lead to fluorescence inhibition in well-separated regions of the spectrum or act jointly in cancelling the spontaneous emission. In addition to phase independent quantum interferences due to combined absorptions and emissions of driving field photons, we distinguish two competing phase dependent interference mechanisms as means of controlling the fluorescence. The indistinguishable quantum paths may involve the spontaneous emission from the same state of the doublet, originating from the two different components of the initial coherent superposition. Alternatively the paths involve a different spontaneous photon from each of two decaying states, necessarily with the same polarization. This makes these photons indistinguishable in principle within the uncertainty of the two decay rates. The phase dependence arises for both mechanisms because the interfering paths differ by an unequal number of stimulated absorptions and emissions of the microwave field photons.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1998

High-order nonlinearities in the motion of a trapped atom

We study the counterpart to the multi-photon down conversion in the quantised motion of a trapped atom. The Lamb-Dicke approximation leads to a divergence of the mean motional excitation in a finite interaction time for k-quantum down conversions with k>=3, analogous to the situation in the parametric approximation of nonlinear optics. We show that, in contrast to the Lamb-Dicke approximation, the correct treatment of the overlap of the atomic center-of-mass wave function and the driving laser waves leads to a proper dynamics without any divergence problem. That is, the wavy nature of both matter and light is an important physical property which cannot be neglected for describing the motional dynamics of a trapped atom, even for small Lamb-Dicke parameters.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1998

Decoherence in nonclassical motional states of a trapped ion

The decoherence of nonclassical motional states of a trapped $^9 {\rm Be^+}$ ion in a recent experiment is investigated theoretically. Sources of decoherence considered here destroy the characteristic coherent quantum dynamics of the system but do not cause energy dissipation. Here they are first introduced phenomenologically and then described using a microscopic Hamiltonian formulation. Theoretical predictions are compared to experimental results.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1997

Multi-Particle Entanglement Purification Protocols

Purification schemes for multi-particle entangled states cannot be treated as straightforward extensions of those for two particles because of the lack of symmetry they possess. We propose purification protocols for a wide range of mixed entangled states of many particles. These are useful for understanding entanglement, and will be of practical significance in multi-user cryptographic schemes or distributed quantum computation and communication. We show that operating locally on multi-particle entangled states directly is more efficient than relying on two-particle purification.

quant-ph↗
arXiv1997

Implementations of Quantum Logic: Fundamental and Experimental Limits

Quantum information processing rests on our ability to manipulate quantum superpositions through coherent unitary transformations. In reality the quantum information processor (a linear ion trap, or cavity qed implementation for example) exists in a dissipative environment. Dephasing, and other technical sources of noise, as well as more fundamental sources of dissipation severely restrict quantum processing capabilities. The strength of the coherent coupling needed to implement quantum logic is not always independent of dissipation. The limitations these dissipative influences present will be described and the need for efficient error correction noted. Even if long and involved quantum computations turn out to be hard to realize, one can perform interesting manipulations of entanglement involving only a few gates and qubits, of which we give examples. Quantum communication also involves manipulations of entanglement which are simpler to implement than elaborate computations. We briefly analyse the notion of the capacity of a quantum communication channel.

quant-ph↗