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S. J. Jones

Publications and source records attributed to S. J. Jones.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Phase diffusion in graphene-based Josephson junctions

We report on graphene-based Josephson junctions with contacts made from lead. The high transition temperature of this superconductor allows us to observe the supercurrent branch at temperatures up to $\sim 2$ K, at which point we can detect a small, but non-zero, resistance. We attribute this resistance to the phase diffusion mechanism, which has not been yet identified in graphene. By measuring the resistance as a function of temperature and gate voltage, we can further characterize the nature of electromagnetic environment and dissipation in our samples.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Nonlocality of a single photon: paths to an EPR-steering experiment

A single photon incident on a beam splitter produces an entangled field state, and in principle could be used to violate a Bell-inequality, but such an experiment (without post-selection) is beyond the reach of current experiments. Here we consider the somewhat simpler task of demonstrating EPR-steering with a single photon (also without post-selection). That is, of demonstrating that Alice's choice of measurement on her "half" of a single photon can affect the other "half" of the photon in Bob's lab, in a sense rigorously defined by us and Doherty [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 140402 (2007)]. Previous work by Lvovsky and co-workers [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 047903 (2004)] has addressed this phenomenon (which they called "remote preparation") experimentally using homodyne measurements on a single photon. Here we show that, unfortunately, their experimental parameters do not meet the bounds necessary for a rigorous demonstration of EPR-steering with a single photon. However, we also show that modest improvements in the experimental parameters, and the addition of photon counting to the arsenal of Alice's measurements, would be sufficient to allow such a demonstration.

quant-ph

Experimental EPR-Steering of Bell-local States

Entanglement is the defining feature of quantum mechanics, and understanding the phenomenon is essential at the foundational level and for future progress in quantum technology. The concept of steering was introduced in 1935 by Schrödinger as a generalization of the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox. Surprisingly, it has only recently been formalized as a quantum information task with arbitrary bipartite states and measurements, for which the existence of entanglement is necessary but not sufficient. Previous experiments in this area have been restricted to the approach of Reid [PRA 40, 913], which followed the original EPR argument in considering only two different measurement settings per side. Here we implement more than two settings so as to be able to demonstrate experimentally, for the first time, that EPR-steering occurs for mixed entangled states that are Bell-local (that is, which cannot possibly demonstrate Bell-nonlocality). Unlike the case of Bell inequalities, increasing the number of measurement settings beyond two--we use up to six--dramatically increases the robustness of the EPR-steering phenomenon to noise.

quant-ph

Experimental criteria for steering and the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox

We formally link the concept of steering (a concept created by Schrodinger but only recently formalised by Wiseman, Jones and Doherty [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 140402 (2007)] and the criteria for demonstrations of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox introduced by Reid [Phys. Rev. A, 40, 913 (1989)]. We develop a general theory of experimental EPR-steering criteria, derive a number of criteria applicable to discrete as well as continuous-variables observables, and study their efficacy in detecting that form of nonlocality in some classes of quantum states. We show that previous versions of EPR-type criteria can be rederived within this formalism, thus unifying these efforts from a modern quantum-information perspective and clarifying their conceptual and formal origin. The theory follows in close analogy with criteria for other forms of quantum nonlocality (Bell-nonlocality, entanglement), and because it is a hybrid of those two, it may lead to insights into the relationship between the different forms of nonlocality and the criteria that are able to detect them.

quant-ph

Entanglement, EPR-correlations, Bell-nonlocality, and Steering

In a recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 140402 (2007)] we defined ``steering'', a type of quantum nonlocality that is logically distinct from both nonseparability and Bell-nonlocality. In the bipartite setting, it hinges on the question of whether Alice can affect Bob's state at a distance through her choice of measurement. More precisely and operationally, it hinges on the question of whether Alice, with classical communication, can convince Bob that they share an entangled state, under the circumstances that Bob trusts nothing that Alice says. We argue that if she can, then this demonstrates the nonlocal effect first identified in the famous EPR paper [Phys. Rev. {\bf 47}, 777 (1935)] as a universal effect for pure entangled states. This ability of Alice to remotely prepare Bob's state was subsequently called steering by Schrödinger, whose terminology we adopt. The phenomenon of steering has been largely overlooked, and prior to our work had not even been given a rigorous definition that is applicable to mixed states as well as pure states. Armed with our rigorous definition, we proved that steerable states are a strict subset of the entangled states, and a strict superset of the states that can exhibit Bell-nonlocality. In this work we expand on these results and provide further examples of steerable states. We also elaborate on the connection with the original EPR paradox.

quant-ph

Steering, Entanglement, Nonlocality, and the EPR Paradox

The concept of steering was introduced by Schrodinger in 1935 as a generalization of the EPR paradox for arbitrary pure bipartite entangled states and arbitrary measurements by one party. Until now, it has never been rigorously defined, so it has not been known (for example) what mixed states are steerable (that is, can be used to exhibit steering). We provide an operational definition, from which we prove (by considering Werner states and Isotropic states) that steerable states are a strict subset of the entangled states, and a strict superset of the states that can exhibit Bell-nonlocality. For arbitrary bipartite Gaussian states we derive a linear matrix inequality that decides the question of steerability via Gaussian measurements, and we relate this to the original EPR paradox.

quant-ph

Entanglement and Symmetry: A Case Study in Superselection Rules, Reference Frames, and Beyond

This paper concentrates on a particular example of a constraint imposed by superselection rules (SSRs): that which applies when the parties (Alice and Bob) cannot distinguish among certain quantum objects they have. This arises naturally in the context of ensemble quantum information processing such as in liquid NMR. We discuss how a SSR for the symmetric group can be applied, and show how the extractable entanglement can be calculated analytically in certain cases, with a maximum bipartite entanglement in an ensemble of N Bell-state pairs scaling as log(N) as N goes to infinity . We discuss the apparent disparity with the asymptotic (N >> 1) recovery of unconstrained entanglement for other sorts of superselection rules, and show that the disparity disappears when the correct notion of applying the symmetric group SSR to multiple copies is used. Next we discuss reference frames in the context of this SSR, showing the relation to the work of von Korff and Kempe [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 260502 (2004)]. The action of a reference frame can be regarded as the analog of activation in mixed-state entanglement. We also discuss the analog of distillation: there exist states such that one copy can act as an imperfect reference frame for another copy. Finally we present an example of a stronger operational constraint, that operations must be non-collective as well as symmetric. Even under this stronger constraint we nevertheless show that Bell-nonlocality (and hence entanglement) can be demonstrated for an ensemble of N Bell-state pairs no matter how large N is. This last work is a generalization of that of Mermin [Phys. Rev. D 22, 356 (1980)].

quant-ph

Entanglement distribution by an arbitrarily inept delivery service

We consider the scenario where a company C manufactures in bulk pure entangled pairs of particles, each pair intended for a distinct pair of distant customers. Unfortunately, its delivery service is inept - the probability that any given customer pair receives its intended particles is S, and the customers cannot detect whether an error has occurred. Remarkably, no matter how small S is, it is still possible for C to distribute entanglement by starting with non-maximally entangled pairs. We determine the maximum entanglement distributable for a given S, and also determine the ability of the parties to perform nonlocal tasks with the qubits they receive.

quant-ph