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Biomedical subjects

J I Cirac

Publications and source records attributed to J I Cirac.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Optimal conversion of nonlocal unitary operations.

We study when a nonlocal unitary operation acting on two d-level systems can probabilistically simulate another one when arbitrary local operations and classical communication are allowed. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the simulation to be possible. Probabilistic interconvertability is used to define an equivalence relation between gates. We show that this relation induces a finite number of classes that we identify. In the case of two qubits, two classes of nonlocal operations exist. We show how the representatives of these classes, CNOT and SWAP, can be deterministically converted into any operation of its class and calculate the optimal probability of the reverse process.

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Creation of a molecular condensate by dynamically melting a Mott insulator.

We propose the creation of a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate by loading an atomic condensate into an optical lattice and driving it into a Mott insulator with exactly two atoms per site. Molecules in a Mott insulator state are then created under well defined conditions by photoassociation with essentially unit efficiency. Finally, the Mott insulator is melted and a superfluid state of the molecules is created. We study the dynamics of this process and photoassociation of tightly trapped atoms.

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Entanglement cost of bipartite mixed states.

We compute the entanglement cost of several families of bipartite mixed states, including arbitrary mixtures of two Bell states. This is achieved by developing a technique that allows us to ascertain the additivity of the entanglement of formation for any state supported on specific subspaces. As a side result, the proof of the irreversibility in asymptotic local manipulations of entanglement is extended to two-qubit systems.

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Interaction cost of nonlocal gates.

We introduce the interaction cost of a nonlocal gate as the minimal time of interaction required to perform the gate when assisting the process with fast local unitaries. This cost, of interest both in the areas of quantum control and quantum information, depends on the specific interaction, and allows one to compare in an operationally meaningful manner any two nonlocal gates. In the case of a two-qubit system, an analytical expression for the interaction cost of any unitary operation given any coupling Hamiltonian is obtained. One gate may be more time consuming than another for any possible interaction. This defines a partial order structure in the set of nonlocal gates, that compares their degree of nonlocality. We analytically characterize this partial order in a region of the set of two-qubit gates.

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Catalysis in nonlocal quantum operations.

We show how entanglement can be used, without being consumed, to accomplish unitary operations that could not be performed without it. When applied to infinitesimal transformations, our method makes equivalent, in the sense of Hamiltonian simulation, a whole class of otherwise inequivalent two-qubit interactions. The new catalysis effect also implies the asymptotic equivalence of all such interactions.

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Storing quantum dynamics in quantum states: a stochastic programmable gate.

We show how to encode quantum dynamics in the state of a quantum system, in such a way that the system can be used to stochastically perform, at a later time, the stored transformation on some other quantum system. The probability of failure decreases exponentially with the number of qubits that store the transformation. We discuss optimality of this scheme, whose applications include viability of a (stochastic) programmable quantum gate and the teleportation of quantum transformations using entanglement and unidirectional classical communication.

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Long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics.

Quantum communication holds promise for absolutely secure transmission of secret messages and the faithful transfer of unknown quantum states. Photonic channels appear to be very attractive for the physical implementation of quantum communication. However, owing to losses and decoherence in the channel, the communication fidelity decreases exponentially with the channel length. Here we describe a scheme that allows the implementation of robust quantum communication over long lossy channels. The scheme involves laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, beam splitters, and single-photon detectors with moderate efficiencies, and is therefore compatible with current experimental technology. We show that the communication efficiency scales polynomially with the channel length, and hence the scheme should be operable over very long distances.

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Entanglement criteria for all bipartite Gaussian states.

We provide a necessary and sufficient condition for separability of Gaussian states of bipartite systems of arbitrarily many modes. The condition provides an operational criterion since it can be checked by simple computation. Moreover, it allows us to find a pure product-state decomposition of any given separable Gaussian state. We also show that all bipartite Gaussian states with nonpositive partial transpose are distillable.

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Entanglement capabilities of nonlocal Hamiltonians.

We quantify the capability of creating entanglement for a general physical interaction acting on two qubits. We give a procedure for optimizing the generation of entanglement. We also show that a Hamiltonian can create more entanglement if one uses auxiliary systems.

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Dipole blockade and quantum information processing in mesoscopic atomic ensembles.

We describe a technique for manipulating quantum information stored in collective states of mesoscopic ensembles. Quantum processing is accomplished by optical excitation into states with strong dipole-dipole interactions. The resulting "dipole blockade" can be used to inhibit transitions into all but singly excited collective states. This can be employed for a controlled generation of collective atomic spin states as well as nonclassical photonic states and for scalable quantum logic gates. An example involving a cold Rydberg gas is analyzed.

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Irreversibility in asymptotic manipulations of entanglement.

We show that the process of entanglement distillation is irreversible by showing that the entanglement cost of a bound entangled state is finite. Such irreversibility remains even if extra pure entanglement is loaned to assist the distillation process.

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1/2-anyons in small atomic Bose-Einstein condensates.

We discuss a way of creating, manipulating, and detecting anyons in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates consisting of a small number of atoms. By achieving a quasidegeneracy in the atomic motional states we drive the system into a 1/2-Laughlin state for fractional quantum Hall bosons. Localized 1/2-quasiholes can be created by focusing lasers at the desired positions. We show how to manipulate these quasiholes in order to probe directly their 1/2-statistics.

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Geometric manipulation of trapped ions for quantum computation.

We propose an experimentally feasible scheme to achieve quantum computation based solely on geometric manipulations of a quantum system. The desired geometric operations are obtained by driving the quantum system to undergo appropriate adiabatic cyclic evolutions. Our implementation of the all-geometric quantum computation is based on laser manipulation of a set of trapped ions. An all-geometric approach, apart from its fundamental interest, offers a possible method for robust quantum computation.

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Uniting Bose-Einstein condensates in optical resonators.

The relative phase of two initially independent Bose-Einstein condensates can be laser cooled to unite the two condensates by putting them into a ring cavity and coupling them with an internal Josephson junction. First, we show that this phase cooling process already appears within a semiclassical model. We calculate the stationary states, find regions of bistable behavior, and suggest a Ramsey-type experiment to measure the buildup of phase coherence between the condensates. We also study quantum effects and imperfections of the system.

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Many-particle entanglement with Bose-Einstein condensates.

The possibility of creating and manipulating entangled states of systems of many particles is of significant interest for quantum information processing; such a capability could lead to new applications that rely on the basic principles of quantum mechanics. So far, up to four atoms have been entangled in a controlled way. A crucial requirement for the production of entangled states is that they can be considered pure at the single-particle level. Bose-Einstein condensates fulfil this requirement; hence it is natural to investigate whether they can also be used in some applications of quantum information. Here we propose a method to achieve substantial entanglement of a large number of atoms in a Bose-Einstein condensate. A single resonant laser pulse is applied to all the atoms in the condensate, which is then allowed to evolve freely; in this latter stage, collisional interactions produce entanglement between the atoms. The technique should be realizable with present technology.

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Quantum communication between atomic ensembles using coherent light.

Protocols for quantum communication between massive particles, such as atoms, are usually based on making use of nonclassical light, and/or superhigh finesse optical cavities are normally needed to enhance interaction between atoms and photons. We demonstrate a remarkable result: by using only coherent light, entanglement can be generated between distant free space atomic ensembles, and an unknown quantum state can thus be teleported from one to another. Neither nonclassical light nor cavities are needed in the scheme, which greatly simplifies its experimental implementation.

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