Work

Experimental investigation of initial system-environment correlations via trace-distance evolution

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: The trace distance between two states of an open quantum system quantifies their distinguishability and, for a fixed environmental state, can increase above its initial value only in the presence of initial system-environment correlations. We provide experimental evidence of such a behavior. In our all-optical apparatus, we exploit spontaneous parametric down conversion as a source of polarization entangled states and a spatial light modulator to introduce in a general fashion correlations between the polarization and the momentum degrees of freedom, which act as environment.

Source: Physical Review A

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.84.032112

Authors: Andrea Smirne, Davide Brivio, Simone Cialdi, Bassano Vacchini, Matteo G. A. Paris

Institutions: University of Milan, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano, National Interuniversity Consortium for the Physical Sciences of Matter

Language: English

Topic: Quantum Information and Cryptography

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca

Award: G1999574413