This thesis is concerned with retrodiction and measurement in quantum optics. The latter of these two concepts is studied in particular form with a general optical multiport device, consisting of an arbitrary array of beam-splitters and phase-shifters. I show how such an apparatus generalizes the original projection synthesis technique, introduced as an in principle technique to measure the canonical phase distribution. Just as for the original projection synthesis, it is found that such a generalised device can synthesize any general projection onto a state in a finite dimensional Hilbert space. One of the important findings of this thesis is that, unlike the original projection synthesis technique, the general apparatus described here only requires a classical, that is a coherent, reference field at the input of the device. Such an apparatus lends itself much more readily to practical implementation and would find applications in measurement and predictive state engineering. If we relax the above condition to allow for just a single non-classical reference field, we show that the apparatus is capable of producing a single-shot measure of canonical phase. That is, the apparatus can project onto any one of an arbitrarily large subset of phase eigenstates, with a probability proportional to the overlap of the phase state and the input field. Unlike the original projection synthesis proposal, this proposal requires a binomial reference state as opposed to a reciprocal binomial state. We find that such a reference state can be obtained, to an excellent approximation, from a suitably squeezed state. The analysis of these measurement apparatuses is performed in the less usual, but completely rigorous, retrodictive formalism of quantum mechanics.

<p>This Master  thesis considers certain aspects of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics in the context of Path integral approach. First we state all the basic mathematical structure involved, and carry out some basic Gaussian integrals for both commutative and non-commutative variables. Later in the thesis these simple results obtained are generalized to study the Supersymmetric sigma models on flat and curved space. And we will recover the beautiful relationship between the supersymmetric sigma  model and the geometry of the  target manifold in the form of topological invariants of the manifold, for the models on curved space.</p>

Arising out of the EPR debate, the Bell and Wigner inequalities of quantum theory are experimentally testable relations which address the question of quantum completeness. This thesis provides feasibility results for a fermionic test of the Bell inequality, and the first known attempt to investigate the completeness question through the Wigner relation. Such a test is made possible by the production of an entangled p-p singlet at the KVI research facility in Groningen, the Netherlands, through the reactions 12C(d,2He)12B and p(d,2He)n. The p-p spin-correlations are analyzable via the KVI's 2-pi polarimeter acceptance, which eliminates loopholes common to previous experiments. The results distinguish between a hidden variables and quantum mechanical description of the universe. Also presented is a critique of the GHZ argument against the existence of local hidden variables.

Arising out of the EPR debate, the Bell and Wigner inequalities of quantum theory are experimentally testable relations which address the question of quantum completeness. This thesis provides feasibility results for a fermionic test of the Bell inequality, and the first known attempt to investigate the completeness question through the Wigner relation. Such a test is made possible by the production of an entangled p-p singlet at the KVI research facility in Groningen, the Netherlands, through the reactions 12C(d,2He)12B and p(d,2He)n. The p-p spin-correlations are analyzable via the KVI's 2-pi polarimeter acceptance, which eliminates loopholes common to previous experiments. The results distinguish between a hidden variables and quantum mechanical description of the universe. Also presented is a critique of the GHZ argument against the existence of local hidden variables.

This Master  thesis considers certain aspects of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics in the context of Path integral approach. First we state all the basic mathematical structure involved, and carry out some basic Gaussian integrals for both commutative and non-commutative variables. Later in the thesis these simple results obtained are generalized to study the Supersymmetric sigma models on flat and curved space. And we will recover the beautiful relationship between the supersymmetric sigma  model and the geometry of the  target manifold in the form of topological invariants of the manifold, for the models on curved space.

Thesis--Leiden. / Curriculum vitae. Includes bibliographical references.

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Josh Folk explains how the traditional rules of physics don't make sense at the quantum-mechanical level - and how those discrepancies can be turned into opportunities.

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