The results obtained in an inter-laboratory evaluation of theoretical modelling methods for single-mode optical fibres, developed in the framework of the COST 217 project, are presented. Values of transmission parameters computed from four different fibre designs are compared with the experimental values obtained in a previous interlaboratory measurement campaign. The consistency of the results obtained with different calculation methods and the accuracy of theoretical predictions are analysed for every one of the usual characterisation parameters of the fibres. The accuracy of the refractive index profile data appears to be the main factor affecting the agreement between theoretically predicted and measured values of the transmission parameters.
Networks have advanced the study of nonlocality beyond Bell's theorem. Here, we introduce the concept of full network nonlocality, which describes correlations that necessitate all links in a network to distribute nonlocal resources. Showcasing that this notion is stronger than standard network nonlocality, we prove that the most well-known network Bell test does not witness full network nonlocality. In contrast, we demonstrate that its generalization to star networks is capable of detecting full network nonlocality in quantum theory. More generally, we point out that established methods for analyzing local and theory-independent correlations in networks can be combined in order to systematically deduce sufficient conditions for full network nonlocality in any network and input-output scenario. We demonstrate the usefulness of these methods by constructing polynomial witnesses of full network nonlocality for the bilocal scenario. Then, we show that these inequalities can be violated via quantum elegant joint measurements.
We consider alternative models to quantum mechanics, that have been proposed in the recent years in order to explain the EPR correlations between two particles. Moving to the case of three particles, we show that these models violate the no-signaling condition. This shows that superluminal hidden communication (or influences) alone cannot explain the correlations between entangled quantum particles.
The human eye can detect optical signals containing only a few photons. We investigate the possibility to demonstrate entanglement with such biological detectors. While one person could not detect entanglement by simply observing photons, we discuss the possibility for several observers to demonstrate entanglement in a Bell-type experiment, in which standard detectors are replaced by human eyes. Using a toy model for biological detectors that captures their main characteristic, namely, a detection threshold, we show that Bell inequalities can be violated, thus demonstrating entanglement. Remarkably, when the response function of the detector is close to a step function, quantum nonlocality can be demonstrated without any further assumptions. For smoother response functions, as for the human eye, postselection is required.
The author has considered a nonlinear dissipative evolution equation that generalises the Schrodinger equation. In the corresponding evolution all the stationary states of the usual Schrodinger equation have a behaviour of semistable limit cycles, except the ground state which is stable. The model is applied to the spin-1/2 and to the damped harmonic oscillator. For the latter it is shown that the coherent states remain coherent and evolve as in the corresponding classical problem.
We present a generalized Bell inequality for two entangled quNits. On one quNit the choice is between two standard von Neumann measurements, whereas for the other quNit there are N^2 different binary measurements. These binary measurements are related to the intermediate states known from eavesdropping in quantum cryptography. The maximum violation by \sqrt{N} is reached for the maximally entangled state. Moreover, for N=2 it coincides with the familiar CHSH-inequality.
Quantum physics is well known for being counter-intuitive, or even bizarre. Quantum correlations have no equivalence in classical physics. This was all well known for years. But several discoveries in the 1990's changed the world. First, in 1991 Artur Ekert, from Oxford University, discovered that quantum correlations could be used to distribute cryptographic keys. Suddenly physicists realized that quantum correlations and its associated bizarre non-locality, could be exploited to achieve a useful task that would be impossible without quantum physics. What a revolution! And this was not the end. Three years later, Peter Shor, from the AT&T Laboratories, discovered an algorithm that breaks the most used public key crypto-systems. Shor's algorithm requires a quantum computer, yet another bizarre quantum device, a kind of computer that heavily exploits the quantum superposition principle. The following year, in 1995, a collaboration between six physicists and computer scientists from three continents led to the discovery of quantum teleportation, a process with a science-fiction flavour.
The mathematical framework of quantum theory, though fundamentally distinct from classical physics, raises the question of whether quantum processes can be efficiently simulated using classical resources. For instance, a sender (Alice) possessing the classical description of a qubit state can simulate the action of a qubit channel through finite classical communication with a receiver (Bob), enabling Bob to reproduce measurement statistics for any observable on the state. Here, we contend that a more general simulation requires reproducing statistics of joint measurements, potentially involving entangled effects, on Alice's system and an additional system held by Bob, even when Bob's system state is unknown or entangled with a larger system. We establish a no-go result, demonstrating that such a general simulation for the perfect qubit channel is impossible with finite classical communication. Furthermore, we show that entangled effects render classical simulation significantly more challenging compared to unentangled effects. On the other hand, for noisy qubit channels, such as those with depolarizing noise, we demonstrate that general simulation is achievable with finite communication. Notably, the required communication increases as the noise decreases, revealing an intricate relationship between the noise in the channel and the resources necessary for its classical simulation.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Two polarisation mode dispersion measurement methods are experimentally compared. The first is based on theory of the principal state of polarisation and the second on the measurement of the autocorrelation function of the light at the output of the fibre. The results agree with each other, within experimental accuracy.
In this paper the typical performance of the InGaAs/InP APDs used as single-photon counters in the telecom wavelength region and their application in quantum cryptography is described.
