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Thomas Fink

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Fink.

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Rebricking frames and bases

In 1949, Denis Gabor introduced the ``complex signal'' (nowadays called ``analytic signal'') by combining a real function $f$ with its Hilbert transform $Hf$ to a complex function $f+ iHf$. His aim was to extract phase information, an idea that has inspired techniques as the monogenic signal and the complex dual tree wavelet transform. In this manuscript, we consider two questions: When do two real-valued bases or frames $\{f_{n} : n\in\mathbb{N}\}$ and $\{g_{n} : n\in\mathbb{N}\}$ form a complex basis or frame of the form $\{f_{n} + i g_{n}: n\in\mathbb{N}\}$? And for which bounded linear operators $A$ forms $\{f_{n} + i A f_{n} : n\in\mathbb{N}\}$ a complex-valued orthonormal basis, Riesz basis or frame, when $\{f_{n} : n\in\mathbb{N}\}$ is a real-valued orthonormal basis, Riesz basis or frame? We call this approach \emph{rebricking}. It is well-known that the analytic signals don't span the complex vector space $L^{2}(\mathbb{R}; \mathbb{C})$, hence $H$ is not a rebricking operator. We give a full characterization of rebricking operators for bases, in particular orthonormal and Riesz bases, Parseval frames, and frames in general. We also examine the special case of finite dimensional vector spaces and show that we can use any real, invertible matrix for rebricking if we allow for permutations in the imaginary part.

math.FA

Flowers of immortality

There has been a recent surge of interest in what causes aging. This has been matched by unprecedented research investment in the field from tech companies. But, despite considerable effort from a broad range of researchers, we do not have a rigorous mathematical theory of programmed aging. To address this, we recently derived a mortality equation that governs the transition matrix of an evolving population with a given maximum age. Here, we characterize the spectrum of eigenvalues of the solution to this equation. The eigenvalues fall into two classes. The complex and negative real eigenvalues, which we call the flower, are always contained in the unit circle in the complex plane. They play a negligible role in controlling the dynamics of an aging population. The positive real eigenvalues, which we call the stem, are the only eigenvalues which can exceed the unit circle. They control the most important properties of the dynamics. In particular, the spectral radius increases with the maximum allowed age. This suggests that programmed aging confers no advantage in a constant environment. However, the spectral gap, which governs the rate of convergence to equilibrium, decreases with the maximum allowed age. This opens the door to an evolutionary advantage in a changing environment.

q-bio.PE

Mortality equation characterizes the dynamics of an aging population

Aging is thought to be a consequence of intrinsic breakdowns in how genetic information is processed. But mounting experimental evidence suggests that aging can be slowed. To help resolve this mystery, I derive a mortality equation which characterizes the dynamics of an evolving population with a given maximum age. Remarkably, while the spectrum of eigenvalues that govern the evolution depends on the fitness, how they change with the maximum age is independent of fitness. This makes it possible to establish the conditions under which programmed aging can provide an evolutionary benefit.

q-bio.PE

Impact of Facial Tattoos and Paintings on Face Recognition Systems

In the past years, face recognition technologies have shown impressive recognition performance, mainly due to recent developments in deep convolutional neural networks. Notwithstanding those improvements, several challenges which affect the performance of face recognition systems remain. In this work, we investigate the impact that facial tattoos and paintings have on current face recognition systems. To this end, we first collected an appropriate database containing image-pairs of individuals with and without facial tattoos or paintings. The assembled database was used to evaluate how facial tattoos and paintings affect the detection, quality estimation, as well as the feature extraction and comparison modules of a face recognition system. The impact on these modules was evaluated using state-of-the-art open-source and commercial systems. The obtained results show that facial tattoos and paintings affect all the tested modules, especially for images where a large area of the face is covered with tattoos or paintings. Our work is an initial case-study and indicates a need to design algorithms which are robust to the visual changes caused by facial tattoos and paintings.

cs.CV

Recursively abundant and recursively perfect numbers

The divisor function $\sigma(n)$ sums the divisors of $n$. We call $n$ abundant when $\sigma(n) - n > n$ and perfect when $\sigma(n) - n = n$. I recently introduced the recursive divisor function $a(n)$, the recursive analog of the divisor function. It measures the extent to which a number is highly divisible into parts, such that the parts are highly divisible into subparts, so on. Just as the divisor function motivates the abundant and perfect numbers, the recursive divisor function motivates their recursive analogs, which I introduce here. A number is recursively abundant, or ample, if $a(n) > n$ and recursively perfect, or pristine, if $a(n) = n$. There are striking parallels between abundant and perfect numbers and their recursive counterparts. The product of two ample numbers is ample, and ample numbers are either abundant or odd perfect numbers. Odd ample numbers exist but are rare, and I conjecture that there are such numbers not divisible by the first $k$ primes -- which is known to be true for the abundant numbers. There are infinitely many pristine numbers, but that they cannot be odd, apart from 1. Pristine numbers are the product of a power of two and odd prime solutions to certain Diophantine equations, reminiscent of how perfect numbers are the product of a power of two and a Mersenne prime. The parallels between these kinds of numbers hint at deeper links between the divisor function and its recursive analog, worthy of further investigation.

math.NT

Recursively divisible numbers

We introduce and study the recursive divisor function, a recursive analog of the usual divisor function: $\kappa_x(n) = n^x + \sum_{d\lfloor n} \kappa_x(d)$, where the sum is over the proper divisors of $n$. We give a geometrical interpretation of $\kappa_x(n)$, which we use to derive a relation between $\kappa_x(n)$ and $\kappa_0(n)$. For $x \geq 2$, we observe that $\kappa_x(n)/n^x < 1/(2-\zeta(x))$. We show that, for $n \geq 2$, $\kappa_0(n)$ is twice the number of ordered factorizations, a problem much studied in its own right. By computing those numbers that are more recursively divisible than all of their predecessors, we recover many of the numbers prevalent in design and technology, and suggest new ones which have yet to be adopted.

math.NT

Second-order photon correlation measurement with picosecond resolution

The second-order correlation function of light $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ constitutes a pivotal tool to quantify the quantum behavior of an emitter and in turn its potential for quantum information applications. The experimentally accessible time resolution of $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ is usually limited by the jitter of available single photon detectors. Here, we present a versatile technique allowing to measure $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ from a large variety of light signals with a time resolution given by the pulse length of a mode-locked laser. The technique is based on frequency upconversion in a nonlinear waveguide, and we analyze its properties and limitations by modeling the pulse propagation and the frequency conversion process .We measure $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ from various signals including light from a quantum emitter - a confined exciton-polariton structure - revealing its quantum signatures at a scale of a few picoseconds and demonstrating the capability of the technique.

quant-ph

Quantum correlations of confined exciton-polaritons

Cavity-polaritons in semiconductor microstructures have emerged as a promising system for exploring nonequilibrium dynamics of many-body systems. Key advances in this field, including the observation of polariton condensation, superfluidity, realization of topological photonic bands, and dissipative phase transitions, generically allow for a description based on a mean-field Gross-Pitaevskii formalism. While observation of polariton intensity squeezing and decoherence of a polarization entangled photon pair by a polariton condensate provide counter-examples, quantum effects in these experiments show up at high polariton occupancy. Going beyond into the regime of strongly correlated polaritons requires the observation of a photon blockade effect where interactions are strong enough to suppress double occupancy of a photonic lattice site. Here, we report the observation of quantum correlations between polaritons in a fiber cavity which spatially confines polaritons into an area of 3 $\mu$m$^2$. Photon correlation measurements show that careful tuning of the coupled system allows for a modest photon blockade effect as evidenced by a reduction of simultaneous two-polariton generation probability by 5 %. Concurrently, our experiments provide an unequivocal measurement of the polariton interaction strength, thereby resolving the controversy stemming from recent experimental reports. Our findings constitute a first essential step towards the realization of strongly interacting photonic systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall

A space-based method for the generation of a Schwartz function with infinitely many generalized vanishing moments with applications in image processing

In this article we construct a function with infinitely many vanishing (generalized) moments. This is motivated by an application to the Taylorlet transform which is based on the continuous shearlet transform. It can detect curvature and other higher order geometric information of singularities in addition to their position and the direction. For a robust detection of these features a function with higher order vanishing moments, $\int_\mathbb{R} g(x^k)x^m dx = 0$, is needed. We show that the presented construction produces an explicit formula of a function with infinitely many vanishing moments of arbitrary order and thus allows for a robust detection of certain geometric features. The construction has an inherent connection to q-calculus, the Euler function and the partition function.

math.NA

Robust nano-fabrication of an integrated platform for spin control in a tunable microcavity

Coupling nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond to optical cavities is a promising way to enhance the efficiency of diamond based quantum networks. An essential aspect of the full toolbox required for the operation of these networks is the ability to achieve microwave control of the electron spin associated with this defect within the cavity framework. Here, we report on the fabrication of an integrated platform for microwave control of an NV center electron spin in an open, tunable Fabry-Perot microcavity. A critical aspect of the measurements of the cavity's finesse reveals that the presented fabrication process does not compromise its optical properties. We provide a method to incorporate a thin diamond slab into the cavity architecture and demonstrate control of the NV center spin. These results show the promise of this design for future cavity-enhanced NV center spin-photon entanglement experiments.

quant-ph

Signatures of a dissipative phase transition in photon correlation measurements

Understanding and characterizing phase transitions in driven-dissipative systems constitutes a new frontier for many-body physics. A generic feature of dissipative phase transitions is a vanishing gap in the Liouvillian spectrum, which leads to long-lived deviations from the steady-state as the system is driven towards the transition. Here, we show that photon correlation measurements can be used to characterize the corresponding critical slowing down of nonequilibrium dynamics. We focus on the extensively studied phenomenon of optical bistability in GaAs cavity-polaritons, which can be described as a first-order dissipative phase transition. Increasing the excitation strength towards the bistable range results in an increasing photon-bunching signal along with a decay time that is prolonged by more than nine orders of magnitude as compared to that of low density polaritons. In the limit of strong polariton interactions leading to pronounced quantum fluctuations, the mean-field bistability threshold is washed out. Nevertheless, the scaling of the Liouvillian gap closing as thermodynamic limit is approached provides a signature of the emerging dissipative phase transition. Our results establish photon correlation measurements as an invaluable tool for studying dynamical properties of dissipative phase transitions without requiring phase-sensitive interferometric measurements.

quant-ph

Higher order analysis of the geometry of singularities using the Taylorlet transform

We consider an extension of the continuous shearlet transform which additionally uses higher order shears. This extension, called the Taylorlet transform, allows for a detection of the position, the orientation, the curvature and other higher order geometric information of singularities. Employing the novel vanishing moment conditions of higher order, $\int_\mathbb{R} g(t^k)t^m dt=0$, on the analyzing function, we can show that the Taylorlet transform exhibits different decay rates for decreasing scales depending on the choice of the higher order shearing variables. This enables a more robust detection of the geometric information of singularities. Furthermore, we present a construction that yields analyzing functions which fulfill vanishing moment conditions of different orders simultaneously.

math.FA

Fermi polaron-polaritons in charge-tunable atomically thin semiconductors

The dynamics of a mobile quantum impurity in a degenerate Fermi system is a fundamental problem in many-body physics. The interest in this field has been renewed due to recent ground-breaking experiments with ultra-cold Fermi gases. Optical creation of an exciton or a polariton in a two-dimensional electron system embedded in a microcavity constitutes a new frontier for this field due to an interplay between cavity-coupling favoring ultra-low mass polariton formation and exciton-electron interactions leading to polaron or trion formation. Here, we present cavity spectroscopy of gate-tunable monolayer MoSe$_2$ exhibiting strongly bound trion and polaron resonances, as well as non-perturbative coupling to a single microcavity mode. As the electron density is increased, the oscillator strength determined from the polariton splitting is gradually transferred from the higher-energy repulsive-exciton-polaron resonance to the lower-energy attractive-polaron manifold. Simultaneous observation of polariton formation in both attractive and repulsive branches indicate a new regime of polaron physics where the polariton impurity mass is much smaller than that of the electrons. Our findings shed new light on optical response of semiconductors in the presence of free carriers by identifying the Fermi polaron nature of excitonic resonances and constitute a first step in investigation of a new class of degenerate Bose-Fermi mixtures.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Distinguishing Quantum and Classical Baths via Correlation Measurements

Investigations of quantum mechanical effects in macroscopic systems are of great interest to shed light onto the question where and how the transition to the classical world appears. It is also of practical relevance to determine if a bath dephasing a qubit can be described classically or requires a quantum mechanical treatment. We propose a measurement scheme to detect quantum backaction via correlation measurements to answer this question for a bath coupled to a single qubit. The presence of backaction leads to a dependence of correlations of subsequent initialization-evolution-readout cycles on how the qubit is manipulated in between. We compute the autocorrelation function for both an instructive spin model and the realistic case of an electron spin coupled to a bath of $10^6$ nuclear spins, as found in gated GaAs quantum dots, and show that backaction from the qubit onto the nuclear spin bath should be detectable even in such a large system.

quant-ph

Noise Spectroscopy Using Correlations of Single-Shot Qubit Readout

A better understanding of the noise causing qubit decoherence is crucial for improving qubit performance. The noise spectrum affecting the qubit may be extracted by measuring dephasing under the application of pulse sequences but requires accurate qubit control and sufficiently long relaxation times, which are not always available. Here, we describe an alternative method to extract the spectrum from correlations of single-shot measurement outcomes of successive free induction decays. This method only requires qubit initialization and readout with a moderate fidelity and also allows independent tuning of both the overall sensitivity and the frequency region over which it is sensitive. Thus, it is possible to maintain a good detection contrast over a very wide frequency range. We discuss using our method for measuring both $1/f$ noise and the fluctuation spectrum of the nuclear bath of GaAs spin qubits.

quant-ph

How much non-coding DNA do eukaryotes require?

Despite tremendous advances in the field of genomics, the amount and function of the large non-coding part of the genome in higher organisms remains poorly understood. Here we report an observation, made for 37 fully sequenced eukaryotic genomes, which indicates that eukaryotes require a certain minimum amount of non-coding DNA (ncDNA). This minimum increases quadratically with the amount of DNA located in exons. Based on a simple model of the growth of regulatory networks, we derive a theoretical prediction of the required quantity of ncDNA and find it to be in excellent agreement with the data. The amount of additional ncDNA (in basepairs) which eukaryotes require obeys Ndef = 1/2 (Nc / Np) (Nc - Np), where Nc is the amount of exonic DNA, and Np is a constant of about 10Mb. This value Ndef corresponds to a few percent of the genome in Homo sapiens and other mammals, and up to half the genome in simpler eukaryotes. Thus our findings confirm that eukaryotic life depends on a substantial fraction of ncDNA and also make a prediction of the size of this fraction, which matches the data closely.

q-bio.GN