Stephen Rand
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199574872
- eISBN:
- 9780191722219
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199574872.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
This book attempts to bridge the enormous gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light in one step. Hence, while it ...
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This book attempts to bridge the enormous gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light in one step. Hence, while it is suitable as a reference for the specialist in quantum optics, it also targets the nonspecialists from other disciplines who need to understand light and its uses in research. With a unique approach it introduces a single analytic tool, namely the density matrix, to analyze complex optical phenomena encountered in traditional as well as cross‐disciplinary research. It moves swiftly in a tight sequence from elementary to sophisticated topics in quantum optics, including laser tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), squeezed light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). A systematic approach is used that starts with the simplest systems – stationary two‐level atoms – then introduces atomic motion, adds more energy levels, and moves on to discuss first‐, second‐, and third‐order coherence effects that are the basis for analyzing new optical phenomena in incompletely characterized systems. Unconventional examples and original problems are used to engage even seasoned researchers in exploring a mathematical methodology with which they can tackle virtually any new problem involving light. An extensive bibliography makes connections with mathematical techniques and subject areas which can extend the benefit of each section to guide readers further. The steady progression from “simple” to “elaborate” makes the book accessible not only to students from traditional subject areas that make use of light (physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and materials science), but also to researchers from the “hyphenated” subjects of modern science and engineering: the biophysicists using mechanical effects of light, photochemists developing coherent control for rare species detection, biomedical engineers imaging through scattering media, electromechanical engineers working on molecular design of materials for electronics and space, electrical and computer engineers developing schemes for quantum computation, cryptography, frequency references, and so on. To try to identify techniques and ideas that are universal enough to be applied across the bewildering landscape of research on intersecting boundaries of emerging modern disciplines is a great challenge of out time. “Lectures on Light” offers selected insights on quantum dynamics and quantum theory of light for exactly this purpose.Less
This book attempts to bridge the enormous gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light in one step. Hence, while it is suitable as a reference for the specialist in quantum optics, it also targets the nonspecialists from other disciplines who need to understand light and its uses in research. With a unique approach it introduces a single analytic tool, namely the density matrix, to analyze complex optical phenomena encountered in traditional as well as cross‐disciplinary research. It moves swiftly in a tight sequence from elementary to sophisticated topics in quantum optics, including laser tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), squeezed light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). A systematic approach is used that starts with the simplest systems – stationary two‐level atoms – then introduces atomic motion, adds more energy levels, and moves on to discuss first‐, second‐, and third‐order coherence effects that are the basis for analyzing new optical phenomena in incompletely characterized systems. Unconventional examples and original problems are used to engage even seasoned researchers in exploring a mathematical methodology with which they can tackle virtually any new problem involving light. An extensive bibliography makes connections with mathematical techniques and subject areas which can extend the benefit of each section to guide readers further. The steady progression from “simple” to “elaborate” makes the book accessible not only to students from traditional subject areas that make use of light (physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, and materials science), but also to researchers from the “hyphenated” subjects of modern science and engineering: the biophysicists using mechanical effects of light, photochemists developing coherent control for rare species detection, biomedical engineers imaging through scattering media, electromechanical engineers working on molecular design of materials for electronics and space, electrical and computer engineers developing schemes for quantum computation, cryptography, frequency references, and so on. To try to identify techniques and ideas that are universal enough to be applied across the bewildering landscape of research on intersecting boundaries of emerging modern disciplines is a great challenge of out time. “Lectures on Light” offers selected insights on quantum dynamics and quantum theory of light for exactly this purpose.
Heinz-Peter Breuer and Francesco Petruccione
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199213900
- eISBN:
- 9780191706349
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199213900.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Theoretical, Computational, and Statistical Physics
This book treats the central physical concepts and mathematical techniques used to investigate the dynamics of open quantum systems. To provide a self-contained presentation, the text begins with a ...
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This book treats the central physical concepts and mathematical techniques used to investigate the dynamics of open quantum systems. To provide a self-contained presentation, the text begins with a survey of classical probability theory and with an introduction to the foundations of quantum mechanics, with particular emphasis on its statistical interpretation and on the formulation of generalized measurement theory through quantum operations and effects. The fundamentals of density matrix theory, quantum Markov processes, and completely positive dynamical semigroups are developed. The most important master equations used in quantum optics and condensed matter theory are derived and applied to the study of many examples. Special attention is paid to the Markovian and non-Markovian theory of environment induced decoherence, its role in the dynamical description of the measurement process, and to the experimental observation of decohering electromagnetic field states. The book includes the modern formulation of open quantum systems in terms of stochastic processes in Hilbert space. Stochastic wave function methods and Monte Carlo algorithms are designed and applied to important examples from quantum optics and atomic physics. The fundamentals of the treatment of non-Markovian quantum processes in open systems are developed on the basis of various mathematical techniques, such as projection superoperator methods and influence functional techniques. In addition, the book expounds the relativistic theory of quantum measurements and the density matrix theory of relativistic quantum electrodynamics.Less
This book treats the central physical concepts and mathematical techniques used to investigate the dynamics of open quantum systems. To provide a self-contained presentation, the text begins with a survey of classical probability theory and with an introduction to the foundations of quantum mechanics, with particular emphasis on its statistical interpretation and on the formulation of generalized measurement theory through quantum operations and effects. The fundamentals of density matrix theory, quantum Markov processes, and completely positive dynamical semigroups are developed. The most important master equations used in quantum optics and condensed matter theory are derived and applied to the study of many examples. Special attention is paid to the Markovian and non-Markovian theory of environment induced decoherence, its role in the dynamical description of the measurement process, and to the experimental observation of decohering electromagnetic field states. The book includes the modern formulation of open quantum systems in terms of stochastic processes in Hilbert space. Stochastic wave function methods and Monte Carlo algorithms are designed and applied to important examples from quantum optics and atomic physics. The fundamentals of the treatment of non-Markovian quantum processes in open systems are developed on the basis of various mathematical techniques, such as projection superoperator methods and influence functional techniques. In addition, the book expounds the relativistic theory of quantum measurements and the density matrix theory of relativistic quantum electrodynamics.
Alexey V. Kavokin and Jeremy J. Baumberg
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199228942
- eISBN:
- 9780191711190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199228942.003.0003
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
This chapter presents the basic principles of quantum optics. It starts from recalling the main elements of quantum mechanics in Heisenberg and Schroedinger interpretations, then the creation and ...
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This chapter presents the basic principles of quantum optics. It starts from recalling the main elements of quantum mechanics in Heisenberg and Schroedinger interpretations, then the creation and annihilation operators are introduced, and bosonic and fermionic commutation rules are discussed. The secondary quantization theory is used to show differences between coherent, thermal, and Fock states of light; introduce squeezing and antisqueezing; and discuss the statistics of photons. Finally, the polarization and second-order coherence of light are discussed from the point of view of the quantum optics.Less
This chapter presents the basic principles of quantum optics. It starts from recalling the main elements of quantum mechanics in Heisenberg and Schroedinger interpretations, then the creation and annihilation operators are introduced, and bosonic and fermionic commutation rules are discussed. The secondary quantization theory is used to show differences between coherent, thermal, and Fock states of light; introduce squeezing and antisqueezing; and discuss the statistics of photons. Finally, the polarization and second-order coherence of light are discussed from the point of view of the quantum optics.
Stephen Barnett and Paul Radmore
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198563617
- eISBN:
- 9780191714245
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198563617.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Theoretical, Computational, and Statistical Physics
This book provides a firm grounding in those techniques needed to derive analytic solutions to relevant model problems. The book begins with a brief review of the mathematical foundations of quantum ...
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This book provides a firm grounding in those techniques needed to derive analytic solutions to relevant model problems. The book begins with a brief review of the mathematical foundations of quantum theory, especially those relevant to the description of atoms and optical fields and their coherent interactions. The following chapters treat the operators and states required, the rules for manipulating these, and the techniques commonly employed for calculating their statistical properties. A chapter is devoted to the important topic of dissipative processes and to the effects that these have on quantum optical systems. The final chapter discusses dressed states, that is, the eigenstates of interacting systems, including those that are dissipative. Fourteen short appendices summarize the more important topics in mathematics required in the book or present the lengthier calculations not included in the chapters. A selective bibliography is given at the end of the book.Less
This book provides a firm grounding in those techniques needed to derive analytic solutions to relevant model problems. The book begins with a brief review of the mathematical foundations of quantum theory, especially those relevant to the description of atoms and optical fields and their coherent interactions. The following chapters treat the operators and states required, the rules for manipulating these, and the techniques commonly employed for calculating their statistical properties. A chapter is devoted to the important topic of dissipative processes and to the effects that these have on quantum optical systems. The final chapter discusses dressed states, that is, the eigenstates of interacting systems, including those that are dissipative. Fourteen short appendices summarize the more important topics in mathematics required in the book or present the lengthier calculations not included in the chapters. A selective bibliography is given at the end of the book.
F. Rohde and J. Eschner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199603657
- eISBN:
- 9780191729515
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199603657.003.0005
- Subject:
- Physics, Theoretical, Computational, and Statistical Physics
This chapter reviews the basic experimental techniques which enable quantum information processing (QIP) with trapped ions and, more briefly, with trapped atoms. In particular, it is explained how ...
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This chapter reviews the basic experimental techniques which enable quantum information processing (QIP) with trapped ions and, more briefly, with trapped atoms. In particular, it is explained how the fundamental concepts of quantum computing, such as quantum bits (qubits), qubit rotations, and quantum gates, translate into experimental procedures in a quantum optics laboratory. Furthermore, the recent progress of quantum computing with ions and atoms is summarised, and new approaches to meet the future challenges of scaling up QIP and of atom-photon qubit interfacing are discussed. The chapter is intended to provide an intuitive understanding of the subject and enable the non-specialist student to appreciate the paradigmatic role and the potential of trapped single ions and atoms in the field of quantum computation or, more generally, of quantum optical information technology.Less
This chapter reviews the basic experimental techniques which enable quantum information processing (QIP) with trapped ions and, more briefly, with trapped atoms. In particular, it is explained how the fundamental concepts of quantum computing, such as quantum bits (qubits), qubit rotations, and quantum gates, translate into experimental procedures in a quantum optics laboratory. Furthermore, the recent progress of quantum computing with ions and atoms is summarised, and new approaches to meet the future challenges of scaling up QIP and of atom-photon qubit interfacing are discussed. The chapter is intended to provide an intuitive understanding of the subject and enable the non-specialist student to appreciate the paradigmatic role and the potential of trapped single ions and atoms in the field of quantum computation or, more generally, of quantum optical information technology.
Alain Aspect
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198837190
- eISBN:
- 9780191873973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198837190.003.0012
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
The second quantum revolution is based on the concept of entanglement and the ability to observe and manipulate individual quantum objects. This notion was prompted by celebrated quantum optics ...
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The second quantum revolution is based on the concept of entanglement and the ability to observe and manipulate individual quantum objects. This notion was prompted by celebrated quantum optics landmark experiments. The author’s group has endeavored to revisit these experiments with atoms instead of photons, more precisely metastable helium atoms (He*), which can be detected one by one, as photons. The first landmark that announced the beginning of modern quantum optics was the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect: it has been studied not only with 4He* atoms, which are bosons, but also with 3He* atoms, which are fermions. The group has then observed the atomic Hong Ou and Mandel effect, and, more recently, shown the possibility to use a slightly generalized scheme to test Bell’s inequalities with atoms entangled in momentum.Less
The second quantum revolution is based on the concept of entanglement and the ability to observe and manipulate individual quantum objects. This notion was prompted by celebrated quantum optics landmark experiments. The author’s group has endeavored to revisit these experiments with atoms instead of photons, more precisely metastable helium atoms (He*), which can be detected one by one, as photons. The first landmark that announced the beginning of modern quantum optics was the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect: it has been studied not only with 4He* atoms, which are bosons, but also with 3He* atoms, which are fermions. The group has then observed the atomic Hong Ou and Mandel effect, and, more recently, shown the possibility to use a slightly generalized scheme to test Bell’s inequalities with atoms entangled in momentum.
Jagdish Mehra and Kimball Milton
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198527459
- eISBN:
- 9780191709593
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198527459.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
Julian Schwinger was one of the leading theoretical physicists of the 20th century. His contributions are as important, and as pervasive, as those of Richard Feynman, with whom he shared the 1965 ...
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Julian Schwinger was one of the leading theoretical physicists of the 20th century. His contributions are as important, and as pervasive, as those of Richard Feynman, with whom he shared the 1965 Nobel Prize for Physics (along with Sin-itiro Tomonaga). Yet, while Feynman is universally recognised as a cultural icon, Schwinger is little known to many even within the physics community. In his youth, Schwinger was a nuclear physicist, turning to classical electrodynamics after World War II. In the years after the war, he was the first to renormalise quantum electrodynamics. Subsequently, he presented the most complete formulation of quantum field theory and laid the foundations for the electroweak synthesis of Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg, and Abdus Salam, and he made fundamental contributions to the theory of nuclear magnetic resonance as well as many-body theory and quantum optics. Schwinger also developed a unique approach to quantum mechanics, measurement algebra, and a general quantum action principle. His discoveries include ‘Feynman's’ parameters and ‘Glauber's’ coherent states; in later years he also developed an alternative to operator quantum field theory which he called source theory, reflecting his profound phenomenological bent. His late work on the Thomas-Fermi model of atoms and on the Casimir effect continues to be an inspiration to a new generation of physicists. This first full-length biography describes the many strands of his research life, while tracing the personal life of this private and gentle genius.Less
Julian Schwinger was one of the leading theoretical physicists of the 20th century. His contributions are as important, and as pervasive, as those of Richard Feynman, with whom he shared the 1965 Nobel Prize for Physics (along with Sin-itiro Tomonaga). Yet, while Feynman is universally recognised as a cultural icon, Schwinger is little known to many even within the physics community. In his youth, Schwinger was a nuclear physicist, turning to classical electrodynamics after World War II. In the years after the war, he was the first to renormalise quantum electrodynamics. Subsequently, he presented the most complete formulation of quantum field theory and laid the foundations for the electroweak synthesis of Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg, and Abdus Salam, and he made fundamental contributions to the theory of nuclear magnetic resonance as well as many-body theory and quantum optics. Schwinger also developed a unique approach to quantum mechanics, measurement algebra, and a general quantum action principle. His discoveries include ‘Feynman's’ parameters and ‘Glauber's’ coherent states; in later years he also developed an alternative to operator quantum field theory which he called source theory, reflecting his profound phenomenological bent. His late work on the Thomas-Fermi model of atoms and on the Casimir effect continues to be an inspiration to a new generation of physicists. This first full-length biography describes the many strands of his research life, while tracing the personal life of this private and gentle genius.
Claude Fabre, Vahid Sandoghdar, Nicolas Treps, and Leticia F. Cugliandolo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198768609
- eISBN:
- 9780191822353
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198768609.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Over the last few decades, the quantum aspects of light have been explored and major progress has been made in understanding the specific quantum aspects of the interaction between light and matter. ...
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Over the last few decades, the quantum aspects of light have been explored and major progress has been made in understanding the specific quantum aspects of the interaction between light and matter. Single photons are now routinely produced by single molecules on surfaces, vacancies in crystals, and quantum dots. The micrometre and nanometre scale is also the privileged range where fluctuations of electromagnetic fields manifest themselves through the Casimir force. The domain of classical optics has recently seen many exciting new developments, especially in the areas of nano-optics, nano-antennas, metamaterials, and optical cloaking. Approaches based on single-molecule detection and plasmonics have provided new avenues for exploring light–matter interaction at the nanometre scale. All these topics have in common a trend to consider and use smaller and smaller objects, down to the micrometre, nanometre, and even atomic range, a region where one gradually passes from classical physics to quantum physics. The summer school held in Les Houches in July 2013 treated all these subjects lying at the frontier between nanophotonics and quantum optics, in a series of lectures given by world experts in the domain and gathered together in the present volume.Less
Over the last few decades, the quantum aspects of light have been explored and major progress has been made in understanding the specific quantum aspects of the interaction between light and matter. Single photons are now routinely produced by single molecules on surfaces, vacancies in crystals, and quantum dots. The micrometre and nanometre scale is also the privileged range where fluctuations of electromagnetic fields manifest themselves through the Casimir force. The domain of classical optics has recently seen many exciting new developments, especially in the areas of nano-optics, nano-antennas, metamaterials, and optical cloaking. Approaches based on single-molecule detection and plasmonics have provided new avenues for exploring light–matter interaction at the nanometre scale. All these topics have in common a trend to consider and use smaller and smaller objects, down to the micrometre, nanometre, and even atomic range, a region where one gradually passes from classical physics to quantum physics. The summer school held in Les Houches in July 2013 treated all these subjects lying at the frontier between nanophotonics and quantum optics, in a series of lectures given by world experts in the domain and gathered together in the present volume.
Alp Sipahigil and Mikhail D. Lukin
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198837190
- eISBN:
- 9780191873973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198837190.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Chapter 1 reviews recent advances towards the realization of quantum networks based on atom-like solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic devices. Specifically, focus is on experiments ...
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Chapter 1 reviews recent advances towards the realization of quantum networks based on atom-like solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic devices. Specifically, focus is on experiments involving the negatively charged silicon-vacancy color center in diamond. These emitters combine homogeneous, coherent optical transitions and a long-lived electronic spin quantum memory. Optical and spin properties of this system at cryogenic temperatures and experiments where silicon-vacancy centers are coupled to nanophotonic cavities are discussed. Finally, the chapter discusses experiments demonstrating quantum nonlinearities at the single-photon level and two-emitter entanglement in a single nanophotonic device.Less
Chapter 1 reviews recent advances towards the realization of quantum networks based on atom-like solid-state quantum emitters coupled to nanophotonic devices. Specifically, focus is on experiments involving the negatively charged silicon-vacancy color center in diamond. These emitters combine homogeneous, coherent optical transitions and a long-lived electronic spin quantum memory. Optical and spin properties of this system at cryogenic temperatures and experiments where silicon-vacancy centers are coupled to nanophotonic cavities are discussed. Finally, the chapter discusses experiments demonstrating quantum nonlinearities at the single-photon level and two-emitter entanglement in a single nanophotonic device.
Jelena Vučković
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198768609
- eISBN:
- 9780191822353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198768609.003.0008
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Quantum dots in optical nanocavities are interesting as a test-bed for fundamental studies of light–matter interaction (cavity quantum electrodynamics, QED), as well as an integrated platform for ...
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Quantum dots in optical nanocavities are interesting as a test-bed for fundamental studies of light–matter interaction (cavity quantum electrodynamics, QED), as well as an integrated platform for information processing. As a result of the strong field localization inside sub-cubic-wavelength volumes, these dots enable very large emitter–field interaction strengths. In addition to their use in the study of new regimes of cavity QED, they can also be employed to build devices for quantum information processing, such as ultrafast quantum gates, non-classical light sources, and spin–photon interfaces. Beside quantum information systems, many classical information processing devices, such as lasers and modulators, benefit greatly from the enhanced light–matter interaction in such structures. This chapter gives an introduction to quantum dots, photonic crystal resonators, cavity QED, and quantum optics on this platform, as well as possible device applications.Less
Quantum dots in optical nanocavities are interesting as a test-bed for fundamental studies of light–matter interaction (cavity quantum electrodynamics, QED), as well as an integrated platform for information processing. As a result of the strong field localization inside sub-cubic-wavelength volumes, these dots enable very large emitter–field interaction strengths. In addition to their use in the study of new regimes of cavity QED, they can also be employed to build devices for quantum information processing, such as ultrafast quantum gates, non-classical light sources, and spin–photon interfaces. Beside quantum information systems, many classical information processing devices, such as lasers and modulators, benefit greatly from the enhanced light–matter interaction in such structures. This chapter gives an introduction to quantum dots, photonic crystal resonators, cavity QED, and quantum optics on this platform, as well as possible device applications.
Christian Brand, Sandra Eibenberger, Ugur Sezer, and Markus Arndt
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198837190
- eISBN:
- 9780191873973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198837190.003.0010
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
The chapter discusses advances in matter-wave optics with complex molecules, generalizing Young’s double slit to high masses. The quantum wave-particle duality is visualized by monitoring the arrival ...
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The chapter discusses advances in matter-wave optics with complex molecules, generalizing Young’s double slit to high masses. The quantum wave-particle duality is visualized by monitoring the arrival patterns of molecules diffracted at nanomechanical masks. Each molecule displays particle behavior when it is localized on the detector; however, the overall interference pattern requires their delocalization in free flight. Internal particle properties influence the de Broglie waves in the presence of surfaces or fields—even in interaction with atomically thin gratings. To probe the quantum nature of high-mass molecules, universal beam splitters are combined in a multi-grating interferometer to observe high-contrast matter-wave fringes even for 500 K hot molecules, containing 810 atoms with a mass of 10 000 amu. The high sensitivity of the nanoscale interference fringes to deflection in external fields enables non-invasive measurements of molecular properties. The chapter concludes by discussing research on beam techniques that extend molecular quantum optics to large biomolecules.Less
The chapter discusses advances in matter-wave optics with complex molecules, generalizing Young’s double slit to high masses. The quantum wave-particle duality is visualized by monitoring the arrival patterns of molecules diffracted at nanomechanical masks. Each molecule displays particle behavior when it is localized on the detector; however, the overall interference pattern requires their delocalization in free flight. Internal particle properties influence the de Broglie waves in the presence of surfaces or fields—even in interaction with atomically thin gratings. To probe the quantum nature of high-mass molecules, universal beam splitters are combined in a multi-grating interferometer to observe high-contrast matter-wave fringes even for 500 K hot molecules, containing 810 atoms with a mass of 10 000 amu. The high sensitivity of the nanoscale interference fringes to deflection in external fields enables non-invasive measurements of molecular properties. The chapter concludes by discussing research on beam techniques that extend molecular quantum optics to large biomolecules.
Steven M. Girvin
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198837190
- eISBN:
- 9780191873973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198837190.003.0011
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
Circuit quantum electrodynamics (‘circuit QED’) describes the quantum mechanics and quantum optics of superconducting electrical circuits operating in the microwave regime near absolute zero ...
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Circuit quantum electrodynamics (‘circuit QED’) describes the quantum mechanics and quantum optics of superconducting electrical circuits operating in the microwave regime near absolute zero temperature. It is the analog of cavity QED in quantum optics with the role of the atoms being played by superconducting qubits. The present lecture notes present a brief overview of circuit QED and then focus on some of the novel quantum states that can be produced and measured (via photon number parity and the Wigner function) using the strong coupling between an artificial atom and one or more cavities. Of particular importance are Schrödinger cat states of photons. Despite long being considered exemplars of frail quantum superpositions that quickly decohere, such states have recently been used as the basis for quantum error correction codes which have reached the long-sought goal of enhancing the lifetime of quantum information through active quantum error correction.Less
Circuit quantum electrodynamics (‘circuit QED’) describes the quantum mechanics and quantum optics of superconducting electrical circuits operating in the microwave regime near absolute zero temperature. It is the analog of cavity QED in quantum optics with the role of the atoms being played by superconducting qubits. The present lecture notes present a brief overview of circuit QED and then focus on some of the novel quantum states that can be produced and measured (via photon number parity and the Wigner function) using the strong coupling between an artificial atom and one or more cavities. Of particular importance are Schrödinger cat states of photons. Despite long being considered exemplars of frail quantum superpositions that quickly decohere, such states have recently been used as the basis for quantum error correction codes which have reached the long-sought goal of enhancing the lifetime of quantum information through active quantum error correction.
Peter W. Milonni
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199215614
- eISBN:
- 9780191868689
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199215614.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This book is an introduction to quantum optics for students who have studied electromagnetism and quantum mechanics at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level. It provides detailed expositions of ...
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This book is an introduction to quantum optics for students who have studied electromagnetism and quantum mechanics at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level. It provides detailed expositions of theory with emphasis on general physical principles. Foundational topics in classical and quantum electrodynamics, including the semiclassical theory of atom-field interactions, the quantization of the electromagnetic field in dispersive and dissipative media, uncertainty relations, and spontaneous emission, are addressed in the first half of the book. The second half begins with a chapter on the Jaynes-Cummings model, dressed states, and some distinctly quantum-mechanical features of atom-field interactions, and includes discussion of entanglement, the no-cloning theorem, von Neumann’s proof concerning hidden variable theories, Bell’s theorem, and tests of Bell inequalities. The last two chapters focus on quantum fluctuations and fluctuation-dissipation relations, beginning with Brownian motion, the Fokker-Planck equation, and classical and quantum Langevin equations. Detailed calculations are presented for the laser linewidth, spontaneous emission noise, photon statistics of linear amplifiers and attenuators, and other phenomena. Van der Waals interactions, Casimir forces, the Lifshitz theory of molecular forces between macroscopic media, and the many-body theory of such forces based on dyadic Green functions are analyzed from the perspective of Langevin noise, vacuum field fluctuations, and zero-point energy. There are numerous historical sidelights throughout the book, and approximately seventy exercises.Less
This book is an introduction to quantum optics for students who have studied electromagnetism and quantum mechanics at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level. It provides detailed expositions of theory with emphasis on general physical principles. Foundational topics in classical and quantum electrodynamics, including the semiclassical theory of atom-field interactions, the quantization of the electromagnetic field in dispersive and dissipative media, uncertainty relations, and spontaneous emission, are addressed in the first half of the book. The second half begins with a chapter on the Jaynes-Cummings model, dressed states, and some distinctly quantum-mechanical features of atom-field interactions, and includes discussion of entanglement, the no-cloning theorem, von Neumann’s proof concerning hidden variable theories, Bell’s theorem, and tests of Bell inequalities. The last two chapters focus on quantum fluctuations and fluctuation-dissipation relations, beginning with Brownian motion, the Fokker-Planck equation, and classical and quantum Langevin equations. Detailed calculations are presented for the laser linewidth, spontaneous emission noise, photon statistics of linear amplifiers and attenuators, and other phenomena. Van der Waals interactions, Casimir forces, the Lifshitz theory of molecular forces between macroscopic media, and the many-body theory of such forces based on dyadic Green functions are analyzed from the perspective of Langevin noise, vacuum field fluctuations, and zero-point energy. There are numerous historical sidelights throughout the book, and approximately seventy exercises.
Antoine Heidmann and Pierre-Francois Cohadon
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- April 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198828143
- eISBN:
- 9780191866920
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198828143.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
In its simplest form, optomechanics amounts to two complementary coupling effects: mechanical motion changes the path followed by light, but light (through radiation pressure) can drive the ...
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In its simplest form, optomechanics amounts to two complementary coupling effects: mechanical motion changes the path followed by light, but light (through radiation pressure) can drive the mechanical resonator into motion as well. Optomechanics allows one to control resonator motion by laser cooling down to the quantum ground state, or to control light by using back-action in optical measurements and in quantum optics. Its main applications are optomechanical sensors to detect tiny mechanical motions and weak forces, cold damping and laser cooling, and quantum optics. The objectives of this chapter are to provide a brief account of the history of the field, together with its fundamentals. We will in particular review both classical and quantum aspects of optomechanics, together with its applications to high-sensitivity measurements and to control or cool mechanical resonators down to their ground state, with possible applications for tests of quantum theory or for quantum information.Less
In its simplest form, optomechanics amounts to two complementary coupling effects: mechanical motion changes the path followed by light, but light (through radiation pressure) can drive the mechanical resonator into motion as well. Optomechanics allows one to control resonator motion by laser cooling down to the quantum ground state, or to control light by using back-action in optical measurements and in quantum optics. Its main applications are optomechanical sensors to detect tiny mechanical motions and weak forces, cold damping and laser cooling, and quantum optics. The objectives of this chapter are to provide a brief account of the history of the field, together with its fundamentals. We will in particular review both classical and quantum aspects of optomechanics, together with its applications to high-sensitivity measurements and to control or cool mechanical resonators down to their ground state, with possible applications for tests of quantum theory or for quantum information.
Aephraim M. Steinberg
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198768609
- eISBN:
- 9780191822353
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198768609.003.0007
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics, Particle Physics / Astrophysics / Cosmology
This chapter introduces the theory and practice of various approaches to measuring quantum systems, focusing on quantum-optical settings, including monitored spontaneous emission, the quantum eraser, ...
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This chapter introduces the theory and practice of various approaches to measuring quantum systems, focusing on quantum-optical settings, including monitored spontaneous emission, the quantum eraser, and unambiguous state discrimination. Beginning with a review of classical probability and update rules, it explains the motivation for the consideration of density matrices and generalized quantum measurements, treats the connection with decoherence, and goes on to introduce and discuss retrodiction, including ‘interaction-free measurement’, Hardy’s paradox, and ‘weak measurement’.Less
This chapter introduces the theory and practice of various approaches to measuring quantum systems, focusing on quantum-optical settings, including monitored spontaneous emission, the quantum eraser, and unambiguous state discrimination. Beginning with a review of classical probability and update rules, it explains the motivation for the consideration of density matrices and generalized quantum measurements, treats the connection with decoherence, and goes on to introduce and discuss retrodiction, including ‘interaction-free measurement’, Hardy’s paradox, and ‘weak measurement’.
H. Mabuchi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199681181
- eISBN:
- 9780191761454
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199681181.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials
This chapter discusses a novel aspect of quantum control, namely quantum feedback. It explains the crucial distinction between measurement-based feedback and autonomous feedback. In the former, a ...
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This chapter discusses a novel aspect of quantum control, namely quantum feedback. It explains the crucial distinction between measurement-based feedback and autonomous feedback. In the former, a detector performs a measurement of the variable to be controlled, and information passes from the quantum system to a classical system, which processes it to produce a correction signal sent to an actuator acting back on the quantum system. In the latter, the detector-processor-actuator part of the controller is another quantum system coupled to the controlled system, and no information need pass through classical channels. The chapter treats the useful formalism of the quantum stochastic master equation, a basic element of knowledge essential to the detailed understanding of measurement-based feedback, and the design of the filters for the corresponding controller. The autonomous aspect of quantum feedback is illustrated by a discussion of analog, continuous error correction of a qubit by quantum optics elements.Less
This chapter discusses a novel aspect of quantum control, namely quantum feedback. It explains the crucial distinction between measurement-based feedback and autonomous feedback. In the former, a detector performs a measurement of the variable to be controlled, and information passes from the quantum system to a classical system, which processes it to produce a correction signal sent to an actuator acting back on the quantum system. In the latter, the detector-processor-actuator part of the controller is another quantum system coupled to the controlled system, and no information need pass through classical channels. The chapter treats the useful formalism of the quantum stochastic master equation, a basic element of knowledge essential to the detailed understanding of measurement-based feedback, and the design of the filters for the corresponding controller. The autonomous aspect of quantum feedback is illustrated by a discussion of analog, continuous error correction of a qubit by quantum optics elements.
Stephen C. Rand
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198757450
- eISBN:
- 9780191817830
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198757450.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
This book bridges the gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light. While suitable as a reference for the specialist ...
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This book bridges the gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light. While suitable as a reference for the specialist in quantum optics, it also targets non-specialists from other disciplines who need to understand light and its uses in research. It introduces a single analytic tool, the density matrix, to analyze complex optical phenomena encountered in traditional as well as cross-disciplinary research. It moves swiftly in a tight sequence from elementary to sophisticated topics in quantum optics, including optical tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency, squeezed light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. A systematic approach starts with the simplest systems—stationary two-level atoms—then introduces atomic motion, adds more energy levels, and moves on to discuss first-, second-, and third-order coherence effects that are the basis for analyzing new optical phenomena in incompletely characterized systems. Unconventional examples and original problems are used in exploring a mathematical methodology which can tackle virtually any new problem involving light. The steady progression from “simple” to “elaborate” makes the book accessible not only to students from traditional subject areas that make use of light, but also to researchers such as biophysicists using mechanical effects of light; photochemists developing coherent control for rare species detection; biomedical engineers imaging through scattering media; electromechanical engineers working on molecular design of materials for electronics and space; electrical and computer engineers developing schemes for quantum computation, cryptography, frequency references, and the like.Less
This book bridges the gap between introductory quantum mechanics and the research front of modern optics and scientific fields that make use of light. While suitable as a reference for the specialist in quantum optics, it also targets non-specialists from other disciplines who need to understand light and its uses in research. It introduces a single analytic tool, the density matrix, to analyze complex optical phenomena encountered in traditional as well as cross-disciplinary research. It moves swiftly in a tight sequence from elementary to sophisticated topics in quantum optics, including optical tweezers, laser cooling, coherent population transfer, optical magnetism, electromagnetically induced transparency, squeezed light, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. A systematic approach starts with the simplest systems—stationary two-level atoms—then introduces atomic motion, adds more energy levels, and moves on to discuss first-, second-, and third-order coherence effects that are the basis for analyzing new optical phenomena in incompletely characterized systems. Unconventional examples and original problems are used in exploring a mathematical methodology which can tackle virtually any new problem involving light. The steady progression from “simple” to “elaborate” makes the book accessible not only to students from traditional subject areas that make use of light, but also to researchers such as biophysicists using mechanical effects of light; photochemists developing coherent control for rare species detection; biomedical engineers imaging through scattering media; electromechanical engineers working on molecular design of materials for electronics and space; electrical and computer engineers developing schemes for quantum computation, cryptography, frequency references, and the like.
Alexey V. Kavokin, Jeremy J. Baumberg, Guillaume Malpuech, and Fabrice P. Laussy
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198782995
- eISBN:
- 9780191826221
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198782995.003.0003
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
In this chapter we present a selection of important issues, concepts and tools of quantum mechanics, which we investigate up to the level of details required for the rest of the exposition, ...
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In this chapter we present a selection of important issues, concepts and tools of quantum mechanics, which we investigate up to the level of details required for the rest of the exposition, disregarding at the same time other elementary and basic topics that have less relevance to microcavities. In the next chapter we will also need to quantize the material excitation, but for now we limit the discussion to light, which allows us to lay down the general formalism for two special cases—the harmonic oscillator and the two-level system.Less
In this chapter we present a selection of important issues, concepts and tools of quantum mechanics, which we investigate up to the level of details required for the rest of the exposition, disregarding at the same time other elementary and basic topics that have less relevance to microcavities. In the next chapter we will also need to quantize the material excitation, but for now we limit the discussion to light, which allows us to lay down the general formalism for two special cases—the harmonic oscillator and the two-level system.
Massimo Inguscio and Leonardo Fallani
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780198525844
- eISBN:
- 9780191780059
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198525844.003.0004
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
This chapter starts with the spectrum of helium, which has qualitatively different properties from hydrogen and alkali atoms, owing to the presence of two electrons. It discuses important ...
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This chapter starts with the spectrum of helium, which has qualitatively different properties from hydrogen and alkali atoms, owing to the presence of two electrons. It discuses important applications of helium, from high-precision spectroscopy for the determination of fundamental constants (e.g., nuclear charge radii) to the investigation of quantum degenerate metastable helium gases for experiments involving quantum atom optics. Moving on from the spectroscopy of the helium fine structure, the last part of the chapter focuses on experimental techniques for the determination of the fine structure constant, including the measurement of the electron gyromagnetic anomaly and the measurement of the atomic recoil which follows the absorption of photons.Less
This chapter starts with the spectrum of helium, which has qualitatively different properties from hydrogen and alkali atoms, owing to the presence of two electrons. It discuses important applications of helium, from high-precision spectroscopy for the determination of fundamental constants (e.g., nuclear charge radii) to the investigation of quantum degenerate metastable helium gases for experiments involving quantum atom optics. Moving on from the spectroscopy of the helium fine structure, the last part of the chapter focuses on experimental techniques for the determination of the fine structure constant, including the measurement of the electron gyromagnetic anomaly and the measurement of the atomic recoil which follows the absorption of photons.
Pierre-François Cohadon, Jack Harris, Florian Marquardt, and Leticia Cugliandolo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- April 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198828143
- eISBN:
- 9780191866920
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198828143.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Atomic, Laser, and Optical Physics
The Les Houches Summer School 2015 covered the emerging fields of cavity optomechanics and quantum nanomechanics. Optomechanics is flourishing and its concepts and techniques are now applied to a ...
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The Les Houches Summer School 2015 covered the emerging fields of cavity optomechanics and quantum nanomechanics. Optomechanics is flourishing and its concepts and techniques are now applied to a wide range of topics. Modern quantum optomechanics was born in the late 70s in the framework of gravitational wave interferometry, initially focusing on the quantum limits of displacement measurements. Carlton Caves, Vladimir Braginsky, and others realized that the sensitivity of the anticipated large-scale gravitational-wave interferometers (GWI) was fundamentally limited by the quantum fluctuations of the measurement laser beam. After tremendous experimental progress, the sensitivity of the upcoming next generation of GWI will effectively be limited by quantum noise. In this way, quantum-optomechanical effects will directly affect the operation of what is arguably the world’s most impressive precision experiment. However, optomechanics has also gained a life of its own with a focus on the quantum aspects of moving mirrors. Laser light can be used to cool mechanical resonators well below the temperature of their environment. After proof-of-principle demonstrations of this cooling in 2006, a number of systems were used as the field gradually merged with its condensed matter cousin (nanomechanical systems) to try to reach the mechanical quantum ground state, eventually demonstrated in 2010 by pure cryogenic techniques and a year later by a combination of cryogenic and radiation-pressure cooling. The book covers all aspects—historical, theoretical, experimental—of the field, with its applications to quantum measurement, foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum information. Essential reading for any researcher in the field.Less
The Les Houches Summer School 2015 covered the emerging fields of cavity optomechanics and quantum nanomechanics. Optomechanics is flourishing and its concepts and techniques are now applied to a wide range of topics. Modern quantum optomechanics was born in the late 70s in the framework of gravitational wave interferometry, initially focusing on the quantum limits of displacement measurements. Carlton Caves, Vladimir Braginsky, and others realized that the sensitivity of the anticipated large-scale gravitational-wave interferometers (GWI) was fundamentally limited by the quantum fluctuations of the measurement laser beam. After tremendous experimental progress, the sensitivity of the upcoming next generation of GWI will effectively be limited by quantum noise. In this way, quantum-optomechanical effects will directly affect the operation of what is arguably the world’s most impressive precision experiment. However, optomechanics has also gained a life of its own with a focus on the quantum aspects of moving mirrors. Laser light can be used to cool mechanical resonators well below the temperature of their environment. After proof-of-principle demonstrations of this cooling in 2006, a number of systems were used as the field gradually merged with its condensed matter cousin (nanomechanical systems) to try to reach the mechanical quantum ground state, eventually demonstrated in 2010 by pure cryogenic techniques and a year later by a combination of cryogenic and radiation-pressure cooling. The book covers all aspects—historical, theoretical, experimental—of the field, with its applications to quantum measurement, foundations of quantum mechanics and quantum information. Essential reading for any researcher in the field.