Nesta tese abordamos o problema de transferência e manipulação de informação quântica em sistemas dissipativos. Inicialmente apresentamos uma técnica para construir, dentro de redes bosônicas dissipativas, canais livres de decoerência (CLD): um grupo de modos normais de osciladores com taxas de amortecimento efetivas nulas. Verificamos que os estados protegidos dentro do CLD definem subespaços livres de decoerência (SLD) quando mapeados de volta para a base dos osciladores naturais da rede. Portanto, a nossa técnica para obter canais protegidos formados por modos normais é uma forma alternativa para construir SLD, que oferece vantagens em relação ao método convencional. Nosso protocolo permite o cálculo de todos os estados da rede protegidos de uma só vez, assim como leva naturalmente ao conceito de subespaço quase livre de decoerência (SQLD), dentro do qual um estado de superposição é quase completamente protegido. O conceito de SQLD, é mais fraco do que a dos SLD, pode proporcionar um mecanismo mais manejável para controlar decoerência. Em seguida desenvolvemos um protocolo para transferência quase perfeita de estados de poláriton de um sistema emissor para um receptor, separados espacialmente, ambos acoplados por um canal de transmissão não ideal que é modelado por uma rede de cavidades dissipativas. Esse protocolo consiste no acoplamento dispersivo entre o estado de poláriton preparado no emissor com os modos normais da rede que forma o canal, o que possibilita que o estado tunele para o receptor. Após a obtenção de um Hamiltoniano efetivo para o acoplamento entre o emissor e receptor, calculamos a fidelidade para a transferência de alguns estados de poláriton, por exemplo, estados tipo gato de Schrödinger. Mostramos que as taxas de decaimento da fidelidade são proporcionais a cooperatividade, parâmetro esse que avalia a relação entre a taxa de dissipação e o acoplamento efetivo. Analisamos a dependência da fidelidade e do tempo de transferência em relação à topologia da rede. Por fim, propomos o mecanismo de tunelamento não local para transferência de estados bosônicos e fermiônicos com alta fidelidade. Demonstramos que a incoerência decorrente das não idealidades quânticas do canal é quase totalmente contornada pelo mecanismo de tunelamento que possibilita um processo de transferência de alta fidelidade. Aplicamos esse mecanismo para transferência e processamento de informações entre múltiplos circuitos quântico (CQs) não ideais. Um conjunto de saídas é simultaneamente acoplado ao conjunto correspondente de entradas de outro QC espacialmente separado do primeiro, através de um único canal quântico não ideal. Mostramos que além da transferência de estados, podemos realizar operações logicas entre qubits distantes e gerar uma pletora de estados quânticos emaranhados. / In this thesis we address the problem of transfer and manipulation of quantum information in dissipative systems. First we present a technique to build, within a dissipative bosonic network, decoherence-free channels (DFCs): a group of normal-mode oscillators with null effective damping rates. We verify that the states protected within the DFC define the wellknown decoherence-free subspaces (DFSs) when mapped back into the natural network oscillators. Therefore, our technique to build protected normal-mode channels turns out to be an alternative way to build DFSs, which offers advantages over the conventional method. It enables the computation of all the network-protected states at once, as well as leading naturally to the concept of the decoherence quasi-free subspace (DQFS), inside which a superposition state is quasi-completely protected against decoherence. The concept of the DQFS, weaker than that of the DFS, may provide a more manageable mechanism to control decoherence. Finally, as an application of the DQFSs, we show how to build them for quasi-perfect state transfer in networks of coupled quantum dissipative oscillators. Then we present a scheme for quasi perfect transfer of polariton states from a sender to a spatially separated receiver, both composed of high-quality cavities filled by atomic samples. The sender and the receiver are connected by a nonideal transmission channel the data bus modelled by a network of lossy empty cavities. In particular, we analyze the influence of a large class of data-bus topologies on the fidelity and transfer time of the polariton state. Moreover, we also assume dispersive couplings between the polariton fields and the data-bus normal modes in order to achieve a tunneling-like state transfer. Such a tunneling-transfer mechanism, by which the excitation energy of the polariton effectively does not populate the data-bus cavities, is capable of attenuating appreciably the dissipative effects of the data-bus cavities. After deriving a Hamiltonian for the effective coupling between the sender and the receiver, we show that the decay rate of the fidelity is proportional to a cooperativity parameter that weigh the cost of the dissipation rate against the benefit of the effective coupling strength. The increase of the fidelity of the transfer process can be achieved at the expense of longer transfer times. We also show that the dependence of both the fidelity and the transfer time on the network topology for distinct regimes of parameters. It follows that the data-bus topology can be explored to control the time of the state-transfer process. Finally we propose the nonlocal tunneling mechanism for high-fidelity state transfer between distant parties. We apply this mechanism for highfidelity information transfer and processing between remote multi-branch nonideal quantum circuits (QCs). We show that in addition to the transfer of states, we can perform logic operations between distant qubits and generate a plethora of entangled quantum states.

As ideias fundamentais sobre entropia de emaranhamento e fluxos de renormalização são expostas, assim como uma introdução a CFTs e sua ligacão com a estrutura do espaco de parâmetros. A anomalia de traço é calculada em uma abordagem semi-clássica usando o método de heat kernel\" e regularização por função zeta . Mostramos que os coeficientes de Seeley-DeWitt são responsáveis pela quebra de simetria conforme em um espaço-tempo curvo de dimensão par, com isso alcançamos uma definição geométrica para as cargas centrais. A inexistência de anomalias no caso de dimensões ímpares também e mostrado. O C-theorem\", que prova a monotonicidade das cargas centrais sob o fluxo de renormalização, é demonstrado como feito por Zamolodchikov por meio de uma abordagem euclideana assumindo unitariedade, positividade por reflexão e condições de renormalizabilidade. A análise feita por Cardy também e demonstrada, nela considera-se os mesmos ingredientes. Por fim, a prova tecida por Casini & Huerta é demonstrada com detalhes, essa prova utiliza das propriedades de strong subadditivity da entropia de emaranhamento, unitariedade e invariância sob o grupo de Poincaré. Com isso, uma conexão com informação quântica é feita naturalmente. No último capítulo generalizamos o conceito de carga central para dimensões ímpares as definindo como o termo universal na entropia de emarahamento de uma esfera. As considerações geométricas feitas para provar o C-theorem\" são estendidas para um espaço-tempo de Minkowski com três dimensões. Como consequência temos a prova do F-theorem\" que é o analogo em três dimensões do C-theorem\". / The fundamental ideas of entanglement entropy and RG flows are laid out, as well as the basics of CFTs and its connection to the framework of RG flows. The trace anomaly is calculated in a semi-classical fashion by using the heat kernel method and zeta-function regularization. It is shown that the Seeley-DeWitt coefficients are responsible for the breaking of conformal symmetry in a curved even-dimensional background, which also achieves a geometrical definition of a central charge. The absence of anomalies in odd space-time dimensions is also contemplated. The C-theorem, which proves the monotonicity of the two dimensional central charge under RG flows, is demonstrated as first done by Zamolodchikov in an euclidean approach assuming unitarity, reflection positivity, and renormalizability conditions. Cardy\'s analysis is also demonstrated by considering the same conditions as Zamolodchikovs . And at last the proof via entanglement entropy by Casini & Huerta which relies on the strong subadditivity property of EE, unitarity and Poincaré invariance is explained in detail, providing a quantum information approach to the problem. In the last chapter a generalization of central charges to odd dimensional space-times is given through the universal term of the EE of a sphere. We provide the extension of the geometrical setup considered in the proof of the C-theorem to a three dimensional Minkowski space-time, which ultimately yields the F-theorem, constituting the three dimensional analog of the C-theorem.

La mécanique quantique présente des propriétés étonnantes qui n'ont pas d'équivalent en physique classique. Ces propriétés sont au cœur des applications possibles de la mécanique quantique. Le thème principal de cette thèse est l'étude de deux des propriétés fondamentales de la mécanique quantique: la non-localité et la contextualité. Dans ce cadre, nous poursuivrons deux objectifs: premièrement, nous étudierons comment certains résultats obtenus pour les systèmes discrets peuvent être étendus aux systèmes décrits par des variables continues; deuxièmement nous étudierons comment il est possible de tester ces deux propriétés dans les systèmes quantiques décrits par des variables continues.Dans une première partie, nous étudions l'ensemble des distributions de probabilités locales et ``no-signaling'', c'est à dire qui ne permettent pas de transmettre d'information. Nous commençons par traduire le problème en terme de contraintes sur des espaces de mesures de probabilité. Nous introduisons ensuite un ensemble de mesures de probabilité qui sont les analogues en variables continues des probabilités découvertes par Popescu et Rohrlich dans le cas discret. Enfin, nous caractérisons l'ensemble des mesures de probabilité ``no-signaling''. Plus précisément, nous montrons que les mesures introduites sont des points extrémaux de l'ensemble des mesures de probabilité ``no-signaling'' et que leur enveloppe convexe est dense dans l'ensemble des mesures de probabilité ``no-signaling''. Dans une seconde partie nous nous intéressons à une preuve de la contextualité de la mécanique quantique dans une formulation qui ne dépend pas de l'état. Plus particulièrement, concernant l'inégalité de non-contextualité de Peres-Mermin, nous montrons qu'il est possible de la généraliser pour des observables définies sur des espaces de Hilbert de dimension arbitraire, voire infinie. Cette généralisation nous permet d'identifier les propriétés communes des observables qui conduisent à une violation maximale de l'inégalité de Peres-Mermin.En dernier lieu, nous nous intéressons à des états intriqués du champ électromagnétique de deux cavités. Ces états sont non-locaux et violent une inégalité de Bell formée de mesures de la parité déplacée. Nous étudions comment ces états peuvent être préparés et mesurés expérimentalement. Enfin, nous analysons l'effet des imperfections expérimentales et des pertes / Quantum mechanics has many intriguing properties that have no-classical analogs. These properties are at the heart of many quantum information protocols which offer the possibility to outperform their classical counterparts. This thesis is devoted to an investigation of two of the fundamental properties of quantum mechanics: non-locality and contextuality. The goal of this thesis is twofold. Firstly we will study how known results for discrete systems can be extended to continuous variables systems. Secondly, we will investigate how these properties can be tested in quantum systems characterized by continuous variables.Our work starts with an investigation of the set of local and no-signaling probability distributions. We develop a formalism for generic no-signaling black-box measurement devices with continuous outputs in terms of probability measures. We introduce the continuous-variable version of the famous Popescu-Rohrlich boxes and show that they violate the Tsirelson bound of an adequate continuous-variable Bell inequality. Finally, we perform a characterization of the geometry of the set of continuous-variable no-signaling correlations. More precisely, we show that the convex hull of those boxes is dense in the no-signaling set.We then study the contextuality of Quantum Mechanics in a state independent formulation. In particular, we study the Peres-Mermin state independent non-contextuality inequality, and show how it is possible to generalize the Peres-Mermin inequality to scenarios involving observables with an arbitrary number of outcomes. Specifically, we identify general conditions on the spectral decomposition of observables demonstrating state independent contextuality of quantum mechanics in this scenario.Lastly, we explore the non-local properties of entangled cat states, made of superpositions of coherent states stored in two spatially separated cavities. We show that even when taking into account the experimental imperfections such as the losses, a violation of local-realism is still possible, in the form of a violation of an appropriate Bell inequality

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an application of quantum mechanics that allowstwo parties to communicate with perfect secrecy. Traditional QKD uses polarization of individual photons, but the development of energy-time entanglement could lead to QKD protocols robust against environmental effects. The security proofs of energy-time entangled QKD rely on a violation of the Bell inequality to certify the system as secure. This thesis shows that the Bell violation can be faked in energy-time entangled QKD protocols that involve a postselection step, such as Franson-based setups. Using pulsed and phase-modulated classical light, it is possible to circumvent the Bell test which allows for a local hidden-variable model to give the same predictions as the quantum-mechanical description. We show that this attack works experimentally and also how energy-time-entangled systems can be strengthened to avoid our attack.

This thesis contains several theoretical studies on optomechanical systems, i.e. physical devices where mechanical degrees of freedom are coupled with optical cavity modes. This optomechanical interaction, mediated by radiation pressure, can be exploited for cooling and controlling mechanical resonators in a quantum regime. The goal of this thesis is to propose several new ideas for preparing meso- scopic mechanical systems (of the order of 10^15 atoms) into highly non-classical states. In particular we have shown new methods for preparing optomechani-cal pure states, squeezed states and entangled states. At the same time, proce-dures for experimentally detecting these quantum effects have been proposed. In particular, a quantitative measure of non classicality has been defined in terms of the negativity of phase space quasi-distributions. An operational al- gorithm for experimentally estimating the non-classicality of quantum states has been proposed and successfully applied in a quantum optics experiment. The research has been performed with relatively advanced mathematical tools related to differential equations with periodic coefficients, classical and quantum Bochner’s theorems and semidefinite programming. Nevertheless the physics of the problems and the experimental feasibility of the results have been the main priorities. / Die vorliegende Arbeit besteht aus verschiedenen theoretischen Untersuchungen von optomechanischen Systemen, das heißt physikalische Bauteile bei denen mechanische Freiheitsgrade mit Lichtmoden in optischen Kavitäten gekoppelt sind. Diese optimechanischen Wechselwirkungen, die über den Strahlungsdruck vermittelt werden, lassen sich zur Kühlung und Kontrolle von mechanischen Resonatoren im Quantenregime verwenden. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, verschiedene neue Ideen für Methoden vorzuschlagen, mit denen sich mesoskopische mechanische Systeme (bestehend aus etwa 10^15 Atomen) in sehr nicht-klassischen Zuständen präparieren lassen. Außerdem werden Techniken beschrieben, mit denen sich diese Quateneffekte experimentell beobachten lassen. Insbesondere wird ein quantitatives Maß für Nichtklassizität auf der Basis von Quasiwahrscheinlichkeitsverteilungen im Phasenraum definiert und ein operationeller Algorithmus zu dessen experimenteller Beschrieben, der bereits erfolgreich in einem quantenoptischen Experiment eingesetzt wurde.

Entanglement is a key resource in many quantum information schemes and in the last years the research on multi-qubit entanglement has drawn lots of attention. In this thesis the experimental generation and characterisation of multi-qubit entanglement is presented. Specifically we have prepared entangled states of up to six qubits. The qubits were implemented in the polarisation degree of freedom of single photons. We emphasise that one type of states that we produce are rotationally invariant states, remaining unchanged under simultaneous identical unitary transformations of all their individual constituents. Such states can be applied to e.g. decoherence-free encoding, quantum communication without sharing a common reference frame, quantum telecloning, secret sharing and remote state preparation schemes. They also have properties which are interesting in studies of foundations of quantum mechanics. In the experimental implementation we use a single source of entangled photon pairs, based on parametric down-conversion, and extract the first, second and third order events. Our experimental setup is completely free from interferometric overlaps, making it robust and contributing to a high fidelity of the generated states. To our knowledge, the achieved fidelity is the highest that has been observed for six-qubit entangled states and our measurement results are in very good agreement with predictions of quantum theory. We have also performed another novel test of the foundations of quantum mechanics. It is based on an inequality that is fulfilled by any non-contextual hidden variable theory, but can be violated by quantum mechanics. This test is similar to Bell inequality tests, which rule out local hidden variable theories as possible completions of quantum mechanics. Here, however, we show that non-contextual hidden variable theories cannot explain certain experimental results, which are consistent with quantum mechanics. Hence, neither of these theories can be used to make quantum mechanics complete.

We investigate the geometric phase (GP) acquired by the states of a spin-1/2 nucleus which is subject to a static magnetic field. This nucleus as the carrier system of GP, is taken as coupled to a dissipative environment, so that it evolves non-unitarily. We study the effects of different characteristics of different environments on GP as nucleus evolves in time. We showed that magnetic field strength is the primary physical parameter that determines the stability of GP / its stability decreases as the magnetic field strength increases. (By decrease in stability what we mean is the increase in the time rate of change of GP.) We showed that this decrease can be very rapid, and so it could be impossible to make use of it as a quantum logic gate in quantum information theory (QIT). To see if these behaviors differ in different environments, we analyze the same system for a fixed temperature environment which is under the influence of an electromagnetic field in a squeezed state. We find that the general dependence of GP on magnetic field does not change, but this time the effects are smoother. Namely, increase in magnetic field decreases the stability of GP also for in this environment / but this decrease is slower in comparison with the former case, and furthermore it occurs gradually. As a second problem we examine the entanglement of two atoms, which can be used as a two-qubit system in QIT. The entanglement is induced by an external quantum system. Both two-level atoms are coupled to a third two-level system by dipole-dipole interaction. The two atoms are assumed to be in ordinary vacuum and the third system is taken as influenced by a certain environment. We examined different types of environments. We show that the steady-state bipartite entanglement can be achieved in case the environment is a strongly fluctuating, that is a squeezed-vacuum, while it is not possible for a thermalized environment.

In this thesis, entanglement under fully relativistic settings are discussed. The thesis starts with a brief review of the relativistic quantum mechanics. In order to describe the effects of Lorentz transformations on the entangled states, quantum mechanics and special relativity are merged by construction of the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar&eacute / group on the infinite dimensional Hilbert space of state vectors. In this framework, the issue of finding the unitary irreducible representations of Poincar&eacute / group is reduced to that of the little group. Wigner rotation for the massive particles plays a crucial role due to its effect on the spin polarization directions. Furthermore, the physical requirements for constructing the correct relativistic spin operator is also studied. Then, the entanglement and Bell type inequalities are reviewed. The special attention has been devoted to two historical papers, by EPR in 1935 and by J.S. Bell in 1964. The main part of the thesis is based on the Lorentz transformation of the Bell states and the Bell inequalities on these transformed states. It is shown that entanglement is a Lorentz invariant quantity. That is, no inertial observer can see the entangled state as a separable one. However, it was shown that the Bell inequality may be satisfied for the Wigner angle dependent transformed entangled states. Since the Wigner rotation changes the spin polarization direction with the increased velocity, initial dichotomous operators can satisfy the Bell inequality for those states. By choosing the dichotomous operators taking into consideration the Wigner angle, it is always possible to show that Bell type inequalities can be violated for the transformed entangled states.

Entangled polymeric fluids subjected to shear display a stress plateau through a range of shear rates. The formation of this plateau is often attributed to an entanglement-disentanglement transition in scientific literature. However, to our best knowledge in situ studies recovering the intermediate scattering function of polymer dynamics under shear have until now never been performed. This thesis documents the successful development of a high viscosity shear device whose interaction with polarized neutrons is small enough to allow use for Neutron Spin Echo spectroscopy. Further, first measurements towards the direct observation of the variation of the degree of entanglement throughout increasing shear are documented, albeit yet for too short Fourier times to measure beyond Rouse dynamics.

Στην παρούσα εργασία μελετάται το φαινόμενο της Κβαντικής Αποσυνοχής (Decoherence) υπό την επίδραση εξωτερικού θορύβου. Στο πρώτο μέρος της εργασίας γίνεται ανασκόπηση των βασικών εννοιών της Κβαντικής Πληροφορικής, της Θεωρίας Αποσυνοχής και του Στοχαστικού Λογισμού. Στο δεύτερο-ερευνητικό μέρος μελετάται η Decoherence δύο qubits, τα οποία ανήκουν στην Αλυσίδα XY του Heisenberg. Τα qubits αυτά μελετώνται τόσο εντός ομογενούς μαγνητικού πεδίου όσο και εντός μαγνητικού πεδίου στοχαστικού χαρακτήρα. Επίσης, παρουσιάζονται και κάποια αριθμητικά αποτελέσματα στην περίπτωση που έχουμε θόρυβο στο μαγνητικό πεδίο και στη σταθερά συζεύξεως Jx. Στις δύο τελευταίες περιπτώσεις (όπου έχουμε θόρυβο) ευρίσκουμε Decoherence Free Subspaces. Τέλος, προτείνεται τρόπος ανάκτησης της Entanglement στην περίπτωση μικτής αρχικής κατάστασης του συστήματος των qubits. / In the current Master Thesis, the phenomenon of the Quantum Decoherence under the influence of external noise is examined. The first part is a review of the basic elements of Quantum Information Theory, Decoherence Theory, and Stochastic Calculus. In the second part, the Decoherence of two qubits that belong to the XY Heisenberg Chain is studied. The first case is where these qubits are placed in a constant magnetic field, while the second one is where the magnetic field has stochastic behavior. Furthermore, some arithmetic results, in the case of external noise in both the magnetic field and the coupling constant Jx are presented. In the last two cases (where we have noise), we find Decoherence Free Subspaces. Finally, we propose a way to rebound the Entanglement of these two qubits, if they are prepared in a mixed initial state.