Quantum Observation Research Articles

Nonlinear optical second harmonic generation in ZnS quantum dots and observation on optical properties of ZnS/PMMA nanocomposites

ZnS quantum dots (QDs) of different sizes are synthesized by a simple chemical co-precipitation method at room temperature, by varying pH value of the reaction mixture. Samples are characterized by an X-ray diffractometer, transmission electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, etc. Linear optical properties, including UV–visible absorption and photoluminescence emission characteristics, of as-prepared QDs are measured. Size dependent nonlinear optical property, such as second harmonic generation (SHG) of 1064nm Nd:YAG laser fundamental radiation in the synthesized ZnS QDs, is reported for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, by using the standard Kurtz–Perry powder method. In order to study the possibility of the synthesized ZnS QDs in different device applications ZnS/PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) nanocomposites are also synthesized. The presence of weak chemical interaction between the polymer matrix and ZnS QDs is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the nanocomposites are studied by differential scanning calorimetry and thermo-gravimetric analysis techniques, which show that the composites are stable up to ~300°C temperature.

Conformal scalar propagation and Hawking radiation

The construction of the conformal scalar propagator which has been obtained in the preceding two projects as an analytic function of the Schwarzschild black-hole space-time is completed with a boundary condition imposed by the physical context through contour integration in the exterior vicinity of the event horizon. It is shown that, as a consequence of the semi-classical character which the emitted quanta have in that exterior vicinity, the particle production by the Schwarzschild black hole which was formally established in the preceding project is identical to thermal Hawking radiation. By extension, it is established that such a particle production corresponds to a spectrum which detracts from thermality by the amount predicted by Parikh and Wilczek if energy conservation is properly imposed as a constraint on scalar propagation. The results obtained herein support the case made by Hawking on the relation between quantum propagation and observation of particles produced by a black hole.

Improving Classical Authentication over a Quantum Channel

We propose a quantum protocol to authenticate classical messages that can be used to replace Wegman–Carter’s classical authentication scheme in quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols. We show that the proposed scheme achieves greater conditional entropy of the seed for the intruder given her (quantum) observation than the classical case. The proposed scheme is suitable for situations where the shared symmetric key used in authentication becomes dangerously short (due to noise or eavesdropping), and there is a threat that it might be completely consumed without being replaced. Our protocol is an improvement over a classical scheme by Brassard and takes advantage of quantum channel properties. It is motivated by information-theoretical results. We stress that the proposed authentication protocol can also be used as an independent authentication protocol that is not a part of a QKD. However by adopting it, QKD becomes a fully quantum protocol. We prove that quantum resources can improve both the secrecy of the key generated by the PRG and the secrecy of the tag obtained with a hidden hash function. We conclude that the proposed quantum encoding offers more security than the classical scheme and, by applying a classical result, we show that it can be used under noisy quantum channels.

The Expressional Limits of Formal Language in the Notion of Quantum Observation

In this article I deal with the notion of observation, from a phenomenologically motivated point of view, and its representation mainly by means of the formal language of quantum mechanics. In doing so, I have taken the notion of observation in two diverse contexts. In one context as a notion related with objects of a logical-mathematical theory taken as registered facts of phenomenological perception (Wahrnehmung) inasmuch as this phenomenological idea can also be linked with a process of measurement on the quantum-mechanical level. In another context I have taken it as connected with a notion of temporal constitution basically as it is described in E. Husserl’s texts on the phenomenology of temporal consciousness. Given that mathematical objects as formal-ontological objects can be thought of as abstractions of perceptual objects by means of categorial intuition, the question is whether and under what theoretical assumptions we can, in principle, include quantum objects in abstraction in the class of formal-ontological objects and thus inquire on the limits of their description within a formal-axiomatical theory. On the one hand, I derive an irreducibility on the level of individuals taken in formal representation as syntactical atoms-substrates without any further content and on the other hand a transcendental subjectivity of consciousness objectified as a self-constituted temporal unity upon which it is ultimately grounded the possibility of generation of an abstract predicative universe of discourse.

Towards a dynamical theory of observation

We introduce a model of classical and quantum observation based on contextuality and dynamically evolving apparatus. Power sets of classical bits model the four classical states of elementary detectors, viz. the two normal yes/no signal states, the faulty or decommissioned state and the non-existence state. Operators over power-set registers are used to describe various physical scenarios such as the construction and decommissioning of physical devices in otherwise empty laboratories, the dynamics of signal states over those detectors, the extraction of information from those states and multiple observers. We apply our quantum formalism to the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb-tester experiment and the Hardy paradox experiment.

Levels of Abstraction and the Turing Test

An important lesson that philosophy can learn from the Turing Test and computer science more generally concerns the careful use of the method of Levels of Abstraction (LoA). In this paper, the method is first briefly summarised. The constituents of the method are “observables”, collected together and moderated by predicates restraining their “behaviour”. The resulting collection of sets of observables is called a “gradient of abstractions” and it formalises the minimum consistency conditions that the chosen abstractions must satisfy. Two useful kinds of gradient of abstraction – disjoint and nested – are identified. It is then argued that in any discrete (as distinct from analogue) domain of discourse, a complex phenomenon may be explicated in terms of simple approximations organised together in a gradient of abstractions. Thus, the method replaces, for discrete disciplines, the differential and integral calculus, which form the basis for understanding the complex analogue phenomena of science and engineering. The result formalises an approach that is rather common in computer science but has hitherto found little application in philosophy. So the philosophical value of the method is demonstrated by showing how making the LoA of discourse explicit can be fruitful for phenomenological and conceptual analysis. To this end, the method is applied to the Turing Test, the concept of agenthood, the definition of emergence, the notion of artificial life, quantum observation and decidable observation. It is hoped that this treatment will promote the use of the method in certain areas of the humanities and especially in philosophy.

Equilibration by quantum observation

We consider an unexplored regime of open quantum systems that relax via coupling to a bath while being monitored by an energy meter. We show that any such system inevitably reaches an equilibrium (quasi-steady) state controllable by the effective rate of monitoring. In the non-Markovian regime, this approach suggests the possible ‘freezing’ of states, by choosing monitoring rates that set a non-thermal equilibrium state to be the desired one. For measurement rates high enough to cause the quantum Zeno effect, the only steady state is the fully mixed state, due to the breakdown of the rotating wave approximation. Regardless of the monitoring rate, all the quasi-steady states of an observed open quantum system live only as long as the Born approximation holds, namely the bath entropy does not change. Otherwise, both the system and the bath converge to their fully mixed states.

QUANTUM MEASUREMENT AND CHARGE DENSITY OSCILLATIONS IN DOUBLE QUANTUM DOTS

In this work, we have studied the post-measurement dynamics of several electrons in a double quantum dot system using a new method of calculation. We have solved the effective-mass non-linear Schrödinger equation for two electron wave packets in a double quantum well taking into account the different number of projected electrons in each quantum well after an observation. It is found the existence of a critical density that reduces strongly the tunneling dynamics between both quantum wells. In addition, we have shown the possibility of having a new kind of electromagnetic radiation emerging from a semiconductor device after a quantum observation.

Hidden variables in quantum mechanics: Generic models, set-theoretic forcing, and the appearance of probability

The hidden-variables premise is shown to be equivalent to the existence of generic filters for systems of commuting observables of a quantum system. The significance of this equivalence is interpreted in light of the theory of generic filters and boolean-valued models in set theory. The apparent stochastic nature of quantum observation is derived for these hidden-variables models.

A general theory of quantum relativity

The geometric form of standard quantum mechanics is compatible with the two postulates: (1) the laws of physics are invariant under the choice of experimental setup and (2) every quantum observation or event is intrinsically statistical. These postulates remain compatible within a background independent extension of quantum theory with a local intrinsic time implying the relativity of the concept of a quantum event. In this extension the space of quantum events becomes dynamical and only individual quantum events make sense observationally. At the core of such a general theory of quantum relativity is the three-way interplay between the symplectic form, the dynamical metric and non-integrable almost complex structure of the space of quantum events. Such a formulation provides a missing conceptual ingredient in the search for a background independent quantum theory of gravity and matter. The crucial new technical element in our scheme derives from a set of recent mathematical results on certain infinite-dimensional almost Kahler manifolds which replace the complex projective spaces of standard quantum mechanics.

Photoacoustic measurement of internal quantum efficiency and observation of the exciton effect in GaSe with photoacoustic phase spectra

We studied the room temperature photoacoustic spectra of GaSe single crystals in the vicinity of the energy gap. Exciton formation was observed in both amplitude and phase spectra. The thermal source that arises in the illuminated sample because of optical absorption without free-carrier generation was incorporated in the heat diffusion equation in order to extend the theoretical approach of photoacoustic signal generation. We calculated the optical absorption coefficient, which shows the exciton formation, and the electron-hole generation quantum efficiency eta(G) using an extended model from the phase and amplitude photoacoustic spectra, respectively.

437 Glycosaminoglycans are required for Aβ-induced toxicity of cultured fetal rat cerebral cortical neurons

In the present contribution, the ultrafast excited state dynamics of thioflavin T (ThT) has been investigated in methanol and chloroform. The first hand data of 30 times higher fluorescence quantum yield and observation of slow rise time in fluorescence intensity of ThT in chloroform compared to methanol indicate the complicated photophysics of the molecule. Time resolved fluorescence data along with temperature dependence on fluorescence quantum yield, TD-DFT calculations and femtosecond transient absorption study vividly suggest the involvement of one more twisted intramolecular charge transfer state (TICT-2) along with the TICT-1 state, in the excited state manifold of ThT, which was not identified earlier. It was also established that the depletion of the molecule from the locally excited state to the TICT-1 state probably barrierless in nature, however, an inherent activation energy barrier is present between LE and TICT-2 states. This activation energy barrier in methanol (0.59 kcal mol−1) was found to be exactly same as that available at room temperature, whereas the same in chloroform is found to be quite high (1.58 kcal mol−1). This barrier is proposed to be responsible for the high quantum yield of ThT in chlorinated solvents and we demand a revisit to the mechanism of fibril sensing by ThT.

Quantum size effects and observation of microcrystallites in colored filter glasses

The CdSxSe1−x microcrystallites contained in colored filter glasses have been considered to be spherical. This letter demonstrates that in fact they are hexagonal columns, implying a wurtzite structure. Microcrystallite grain growth is observed in real time using an electron beam annealing method. Each grain is confirmed by energy dispersive spectrometry to be CdSxSe1−x. The grain size difference produces different optical transmission spectra due to quantum size effects. On the optical transmission spectrum of a sample with grains of 30 Å, a new absorption band appears. This band can be explained by size quantization of the valence band.