Hannover, Universiẗat, Diss., 2000.

Hannover, University, Diss., 2004.

In the 1990¡¦s, the research of quantum information attracts many people¡¦s attention. In this period of time, Shor find a new method to demonstrate that a quantum computer could factor very large numbers super-efficiently. The method also shows that quantum computer has more potential than classical computer. Beside, quantum information contains many different new fields, such as quantum computation, quantum entanglement, quantum searching, etc. We believe the most fundamental physics of the applications of quantum information is quantum entanglement. In order to understand the physical meaning of entanglement, we choose entanglement as the goal of our thesis.

In this thesis, we propose a new microstructural model to describe the rheology of entangled linear polymers. In order to reduce the number of non-linear adjustable parameters, we develop a model capable of predicting both the linear and the non-linear response, using a single set of material parameters. In a first step, a linear differential formulation of the thermal constraint release mechanism is introduced and validated against experimental results for linear polystyrene melts. In a second step, we extend the linear model to the non-linear regime by generalizing the state variables to conformation tensors and accounting for the relevant non-linear relaxation phenomena. The numerical predictions of the resulting model are then compared to experimental data for entangled polymer melts and solutions in different flow regimes. Finally, we show, on a simple reptation model, how the single generator bracket formalism of non-equilibrium thermodynamics can be used for the phenomenological improvement of microstructural constitutive models.

No description available.

High quality entangled photon sources are a key requirement for many promising quantum optical technologies. However, the production of multi-photon entangled states with good fidelity is challenging. Current sources of multi-photon entanglement require the use of post-selection, which limits their usefulness for some applications. It has been an open challenge to create a source capable of directly producing three-photon entanglement. An important step in this direction was achieved with the demonstration of photon triplets produced by a new process called cascaded downconversion, but these previous measurements were not sufficient to show whether these photons were in an entangled state and only had detection rates of five triplets per hour. In this thesis, we show the first demonstration of a direct source of three-photon entanglement. Our source is based on cascaded downconversion, and we verify that it produces genuine tripartite entanglement in two degrees of freedom: energy-time and polarization. The energy-time entanglement is similar to a three-particle generalization of an Einstein-Podolski-Rosen state; the three photons are created simultaneously, yet the sum of their energies is well defined, which is an indication of energy-time entanglement. To prove it, we use time-bandwidth inequalities which check for genuine tripartite entanglement. Our measurements show that the state violates the inequalities with what constitute, to the best of our knowledge, the strongest violation of time-bandwidth inequalities in a tripartite continuous-variable system to date. We create polarization entanglement by modifying our experimental setup so that two downconversion processes producing orthogonally polarized triplets interfere to create Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states. By using highly efficient superconducting nanowire single photon detectors, we improve the detected triplet rate by 2 orders of magnitude to 660 triplets per hour. We characterize the state using quantum state tomography, and find a fidelity of 86\% with the ideal state, beating the previous best value for a three-photon entangled state fidelity measured by tomography. We also use the state to perform two tests of local realism. We violate the Mermin and Svetlichny inequalities by 10 and 5 standard deviations respectively, the latter being the strongest violation to date. Finally, we show that, unlike previous sources of tree-photon entanglement, our source can be used as a source of heralded Bell pairs. We demonstrate this by measuring a CHSH inequality with the heralded Bell pairs, and by reconstructing their state using quantum state tomography.

Realization of linear quantum computation and establishing secure quantum communication among interacting parties demand for triggered quantum sources delivering genuine single and entangled photons. However, the intrinsic energy level spectrum of nanostructures made by the nature or developed under a random growth process energetically lacks the expected figures of merit to produce such quantized states of photons. Here, I present the semi-empirical modeling and experimental investigation on the spin fine structure of strongly confining quantum dots embedded in III-V nanowires. To this end, the quantum dot is numerically modeled via the Configuration Interaction method at two different levels: 1) single-particle level, where its pure energy level structure is resolved in the presence of strain and spin-orbit interaction. 2) Few-particle level, at which the few-body interactions appear as perturbative energy corrections and orbital correlations. I demonstrate the influence of quantum confinement on the binding energies and spin fine structure of excitons in the absence of hyperfine interaction. Importantly, the high-symmetry character of excitonic orbitals in nanowire quantum dots restore the degeneracy of optically-active ground-state excitons, offering an ideal spectrum for the entangled photon pair generation. To experimentally verify the idea, we design and fabricate defect-free nanowire quantum dots with ultra-clean excitonic spectrum, and construct the time correlation function of emitted photons through performing a series of low-temperature statistical quantum optics measurements. We observe a decent performance in terms of single photon generation under low excitation powers. Moreover, photon pairs emitted from the biexciton-exciton cascade of nanowire quantum dots exhibit color indistinguishability and polarization entanglement owing to the trivial fine structure splitting of the ground-state excitons. We further extend the idea by proposing the hybridized states of a nanowire-based quantum dot molecule as the potential source of higher-order entangled states. Tracing the field-dependent spectrum suggests the appearance of dominant features under the weak localization of electrons and coherent tunneling of holes. In addition to their Coulomb correlation, excitons also remain spatially correlated, opening new transition channels normally forbidden in the ground state of a single dot. The proposed structure can be exploited to create tripartite hybrid, GHZ and W-entangled states.

Sources of entangled pairs of photons can be used for encoding signals in quantum-encrypted communications, allowing a sender, Alice, and a receiver, Bob, to exchange keys without the possibility of eavesdropping. In fact, any quantum information system would require single and entangled photons to serve as qubits. For this purpose, semiconductor quantum dots (QD) have been extensively studied for their ability to produce entangled light and function as single photon sources. The quality of such sources is evaluated based on three criteria: high efficiency, small multi-photon probability, and quantum indistinguishability. In this work, a simple quantum dot-based LED (E-LED) was used as a quantum light source for on-demand emission, indicating the potential for use as quantum information devices. Limitations of the device include the fine-structure splitting of the quantum dot excitons, their coherence lengths and charge carrier interactions in the structure. The quantum dot-based light emitting diode was initially shown to operate in pulsed mode under AC bias frequencies of up to several hundreds of MHz, without compromising the quality of emission. In a Hong-ou-Mandel interference type experiment, the quantum dot photons were shown to interfere with dissimilar photons from a laser, achieving high two-photon interference (TPI) visibilities. Quantum entanglement from a QD photon pair was also measured in pulsed mode, where the QD-based entangled-LED (E-LED) was electrically injected at a frequency of 203 MHz. After verifying indistinguishability and good entanglement properties from the QD photons under the above conditions, a quantum relay over 1km of fibre was demonstrated, using input qubits from a laser source. The average relay fidelity was high enough to allow for error correction for this BB84-type scheme. To improve the properties of the QD emission, an E-LED was developed based on droplet epitaxy (D-E) QDs, using a different QD growth technique. The relevant chapter outlines the process of QD growth and finally demonstration of quantum entanglement from an electrically injected diode, yielding improvements compared to previous E-LED devices. For the same reason, an alternative method of E-LED operation based on resonant two-photon excitation of the QD was explored. Analysis of Rabi oscillations in a quantum dot with a bound exciton state demonstrated coupling of the ground state and the biexciton state by the external oscillating field of a laser, therefore allowing the transition between the two states. The results include a considerable improvement in the coherence length of the QD emission, which is crucial for future quantum network applications. We believe that extending this research can find application in quantum cryptography and in realising the interface of a quantum network, based on semiconductor nanotechnology.

No / Flows of complex fluids need to be understood at both macroscopic and molecular scales, because it is the macroscopic response that controls the fluid behavior, but the molecular scale that ultimately gives rise to rheological and solid-state properties. Here the flow field of an entangled polymer melt through an extended contraction, typical of many polymer processes, is imaged optically and by small-angle neutron scattering. The dual-probe technique samples both the macroscopic stress field in the flow and the microscopic configuration of the polymer molecules at selected points. The results are compared with a recent "tube model" molecular theory of entangled melt flow that is able to calculate both the stress and the single-chain structure factor from first principles. The combined action of the three fundamental entangled processes of reptation, contour length fluctuation, and convective constraint release is essential to account quantitatively for the rich rheological behavior. The multiscale approach unearths a new feature: Orientation at the length scale of the entire chain decays considerably more slowly than at the smaller entanglement length.

Στην παρούσα εργασία μελετάμε τη λειτουργία των διαχωριστών δέσμης, καθώς και τη στατιστική κατανομή ενός και δύο σωματιδίων σε απλό και διπλό πηγάδι δυναμικού. Εξετάζουμε υπό ποιες συνθήκες τα δύο αυτά συστήματα μας δίνουν σύμπλεκτες καταστάσεις. Για τους διαχωριστές δέσμης καταλήγουμε στο συμπέρασμα ότι η καταλληλότερη διάταξή τους για να έχουμε μέγιστη απόδοση σύμπλεκτων καταστάσεων, είναι αυτοί να βρίσκονται σε διαδοχική σειρά μεταξύ τους. Από την άλλη μεριά, η μελέτη πηγαδιών δυναμικού, που έγινε γραφικά και αριθμητικά, μας έδειξε ότι τα γεωμετρικά χαρακτηριστικά τού κάθε πηγαδιού, δηλαδή το πάχος και το ύψος του, καθορίζουν τις ιδιοενέργειες τού συστήματος, τις πυκνότητες πιθανότητας των κυματοπακέτων και τελικά την πιθανότητα δημιουργίας σύμπλεκτων καταστάσεων. Γνωρίζοντας τη στατιστική κατανομή των σωματιδίων, ελέγχουμε τη συμπεριφορά τους άρα και την πληροφορία που αυτά μεταφέρουν. Τα παραπάνω βρίσκουν εφαρμογή στα qubits και τους κβαντικούς υπολογιστές. / In the current project we study the function of the beam splitters as well as the statistical behavior of one and two particles in a single and a double quantum well. We examine the conditions under which these two systems provide us with entangled states. For the beam splitters we come to the conclusion that the most appropriate array for having entangled states, is to put them in successive line. On the other hand, the graphical and numerical study of the quantum wells showed that the geometrical characteristics of a quantum well, that is to say thickness and height, define the energy of the system, the density probability of the wave packets and finally the probability for having entangled states. Having knowledge of the statistical behavior of the particles, we may then control the informations that they carry. All the above have many applications in qubits and quantum computers.