Silvio De Siena

Multiphoton quantum optics and quantum state engineering

Abstract We present a review of theoretical and experimental aspects of multiphoton quantum optics. Multiphoton processes occur and are important for many aspects of matter–radiation interactions that include the efficient ionization of atoms and molecules, and, more generally, atomic transition mechanisms; system-environment couplings and dissipative quantum dynamics; laser physics, optical parametric processes, and interferometry. A single review cannot account for all aspects of such an enormously vast subject. Here we choose to concentrate our attention on parametric processes in nonlinear media, with special emphasis on the engineering of nonclassical states of photons and atoms that are relevant for the conceptual investigations as well as for the practical applications of forefront aspects of modern quantum mechanics. We present a detailed analysis of the methods and techniques for the production of genuinely quantum multiphoton processes in nonlinear media, and the corresponding models of multiphoton effective interactions. We review existing proposals for the classification, engineering, and manipulation of nonclassical states, including Fock states, macroscopic superposition states, and multiphoton generalized coherent states. We introduce and discuss the structure of canonical multiphoton quantum optics and the associated one- and two-mode canonical multiphoton squeezed states. This framework provides a consistent multiphoton generalization of two-photon quantum optics and a consistent Hamiltonian description of multiphoton processes associated to higher-order nonlinearities. Finally, we discuss very recent advances that by combining linear and nonlinear optical devices allow to realize multiphoton entangled states of the electromagnetic field, either in discrete or in continuous variables, that are relevant for applications to efficient quantum computation, quantum teleportation, and related problems in quantum communication and information.

Symplectic invariants, entropic measures and correlations of Gaussian states

We present a derivation of the Von Neumann entropy and mutual information of arbitrary two-mode Gaussian states, based on the explicit determination of the symplectic eigenvalues of a generic covariance matrix. The key role of the symplectic invariants in such a determination is pointed out. We show that the Von Neumann entropy depends on two symplectic invariants, while the purity (or the linear entropy) is determined by only one invariant, so that the two quantities provide two different hierarchies of mixed Gaussian states. A comparison between mutual information and entanglement of formation for symmetric states is considered, taking note of the crucial role of the symplectic eigenvalues in qualifying and quantifying the correlations present in a generic state.

Entanglement and purity of two-mode Gaussian states in noisy channels

We study the evolution of purity, entanglement, and total correlations of general two-mode continuous variable Gaussian states in arbitrary uncorrelated Gaussian environments. The time evolution of purity, von Neumann entropy, logarithmic negativity, and mutual information is analyzed for a wide range of initial conditions. In general, we find that a local squeezing of the bath leads to a faster degradation of purity and entanglement, while it can help to preserve the mutual information between the modes.

Purity of Gaussian states: Measurement schemes and time evolution in noisy channels

We present a systematic study of the purity for Gaussian states of single-mode continuous variable systems. We prove the connection of purity to observable quantities for these states, and show that the joint measurement of two conjugate quadratures is necessary and sufficient to determine the purity at any time. The statistical reliability and the range of applicability of the proposed measurement scheme are tested by means of Monte Carlo simulated experiments. We then consider the dynamics of purity in noisy channels. We derive an evolution equation for the purity of general Gaussian states both in thermal and in squeezed thermal baths. We show that purity is maximized at any given time for an initial coherent state evolving in a thermal bath, or for an initial squeezed state evolving in a squeezed thermal bath whose asymptotic squeezing is orthogonal to that of the input state.

NON-NEWTONIAN GRAVITY, FLUCTUATIVE HYPOTHESIS AND THE SIZES OF ASTROPHYSICAL STRUCTURES

We show that the characteristic sizes of astrophysical and cosmological structures, where gravity is the only overall relevant interaction assembling the system, have a phenomenological relation to the microscopic scales whose order of magnitude is essentially ruled by the Compton wavelength of the proton. This result agrees with the absence of screening mechanisms for the gravitational interaction and could be connected to the presence of Yukawa correcting terms in the Newtonian potential which introduces typical interaction lengths. Furthermore, we are able to justify, in a straightforward way, the Sanders-postulated mass of a vector boson considered in order to obtain the characteristic sizes of galaxies.

A field-theoretical approach to entanglement in neutrino mixing and oscillations

The phenomena of particle mixing and flavor oscillations in elementary-particle physics can be addressed from the point of view of quantum information theory, and described in terms of multi-mode entanglement of single-particle states. In this paper we show that such a description can be extended to the domain of quantum field theory, where we uncover a fine structure of quantum correlations associated with multi-mode, multi-particle entanglement. By means of an entanglement measure based on the linear entropies associated with all the possible bipartitions, we analyze the entanglement in the states of flavor neutrinos and antineutrinos. Remarkably, we show that the entanglement is connected with experimentally measurable quantities, i.e. the variances of the lepton numbers and charges.

Characterizing entanglement with global and marginal entropic measures

We qualify the entanglement of arbitrary mixed states of bipartite quantum systems by comparing global and marginal mixednesses quantified by different entropic measures. For systems of two qubits we discriminate the class of maximally entangled states with fixed marginal mixednesses, and determine an analytical upper bound relating the entanglement of formation to the marginal linear entropies. This result partially generalizes to mixed states the quantification of entanglement with marginal mixednesses holding for pure states. We identify a class of entangled states that, for fixed marginals, are globally more mixed than product states when measured by the linear entropy. Such states cannot be discriminated by the majorization criterion.

Exact solutions of Fokker-Planck equations associated to quantum wave functions

Abstract We analyse the non-stationary solutions of the Fokker-Planck equations associated to quantum states by stochastic mechanics. In particular we study the exact solutions for the stationary states of the harmonic oscillator and the potentials which realize new possible evolutions ruled by the same equations.

Stochastic-hydrodynamic model of halo formation in charged particle beams

The formation of the beam halo in charged particle accelerators is studied in the framework of a stochastic-hydrodynamic model for the collective motion of the particle beam. In such a stochastic- hydrodynamic theory the density and the phase of the charged beam obey a set of coupled nonlinear hydrodynamic equations with explicit time-reversal invariance. This leads to a linearized theory that describes the collective dynamics of the beam in terms of a classical Schrodinger equation. Taking into account space-charge effects, we derive a set of coupled nonlinear hydrodynamic equations. These equations define a collective dynamics of self-interacting systems much in the same spirit as in the Gross-Pitaevskii and Landau-Ginzburg theories of the collective dynamics for interacting quantum many-body systems. Self-consistent solutions of the dynamical equations lead to quasistationary beam configurations with enhanced transverse dispersion and transverse emittance growth. In the limit of a frozen space-charge core it is then possible to determine and study the properties of stationary, stable core-plus-halo beam distributions. In this scheme the possible reproduction of the halo after its elimination is a consequence of the stationarity of the transverse distribution which plays the role of an attractor for every other distribution.

Controlled quantum evolutions and transitions

We study the nonstationary solutions of Fokker-Planck equations associated to either stationary or non stationary quantum states. In particular, we discuss the stationary states of quantum systems with singular velocity fields. We introduce a technique that allows arbitrary evolutions ruled by these equations to account for controlled quantum transitions. As a first signficant application we present a detailed treatment of the transition probabilities and of the controlling time-dependent potentials associated to the transitions between the stationary, the coherent, and the squeezed states of the harmonic oscillator.