Exotic optics states and quantum groups

Roger McDermott

This subject of this thesis is the physical application of deformations of Lie algebras and their use in generalising some exotic quantum optical states. We begin by examining the theory of quantum groups and the q-boson algebras used in their representation theory. Following a review of the properties of conventional coherent states, we describe the extension of the theory to various deformed Heisenberg-Weyl algebras, as well as the q-deformations of su(2) and su(1,1). Using the Deformed Oscillator Algebra of Bonatsos and Daskaloyannis, we construct generalised deformed coherent states and investigate some of their quantum optical properties. We then demonstrate a resolution of unity for such states and suggest a way of investigating the geometric effects of the deformation. The formalism devised by Rembielinski et al is used to consider coherent states of the q-boson algebra over the quantum complex plane. We propose a new unitary operator which is a q-analogue of the displacement operator of conventional coherent state theory: This is used to construct q-displaced vacuum states which are eigenstates of the annihilation operator. Some quantum mechanical properties of these states are investigated and it is shown that they formally satisfy a Heisenberg-type minimum uncertainty relation. After briefly reviewing the theory of conventional squeezed states, we examine the various q-generalisations. We propose a q-analogue of the squeezed vacuum state, and use this in conjunction with the unitary q-displacement operator to construct a general q-squeezed state, parameterised by noncommuting variables.. It is shown that, like their conventional counterparts, such states satisfy the Robertson-Schrodinger Uncertainty Relation. We conclude with a brief discussion about the appearance of noncommuting variables in the states that have been considered.

Karl-Peter Marzlin

A. B. Klimov, Sergei Chumakov

Michel R. P. Planat, Raymond Aschheim, Marcelo M. Amaral +1 more

The authors previously found a model of universal quantum computation by making use of the coset structure of subgroups of a free group G with relations. A valid subgroup H of index d in G leads to a ‘magic’ state ψ in d-dimensional Hilbert space that encodes a minimal informationally complete quantum measurement (or MIC), possibly carrying a finite ‘contextual’ geometry. In the present work, we choose G as the fundamental group π 1 ( V ) of an exotic 4-manifold V, more precisely a ‘small exotic’ (space-time) R 4 (that is homeomorphic and isometric, but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean R 4 ). Our selected example, due to S. Akbulut and R. E. Gompf, has two remarkable properties: (a) it shows the occurrence of standard contextual geometries such as the Fano plane (at index 7), Mermin’s pentagram (at index 10), the two-qubit commutation picture G Q ( 2 , 2 ) (at index 15), and the combinatorial Grassmannian Gr ( 2 , 8 ) (at index 28); and (b) it allows the interpretation of MICs measurements as arising from such exotic (space-time) R 4 s. Our new picture relating a topological quantum computing and exotic space-time is also intended to become an approach of ‘quantum gravity’.

N. Bloembergen

Robert W. Boyd, John E. Heebner

We describe the exotic optical properties of a device consisting of a sequence of optical microresonators coupled to an optical waveguide. This device can display slow or fast group voelocities of propagation, large tailored dispersion, and the propagation of optical solitons.