As with classical information processing, a quantum information processor requires bits (qubits) that can be independently addressed and read out, long-term memory elements to store arbitrary quantum ...states, and the ability to transfer quantum information through a coherent communication bus accessible to a large number of qubits. Superconducting qubits made with scalable microfabrication techniques are a promising candidate for the realization of a large-scale quantum information processor. Although these systems have successfully passed tests of coherent coupling for up to four qubits, communication of individual quantum states between superconducting qubits via a quantum bus has not yet been realized. Here, we perform an experiment demonstrating the ability to coherently transfer quantum states between two superconducting Josephson phase qubits through a quantum bus. This quantum bus is a resonant cavity formed by an open-ended superconducting transmission line of length 7 mm. After preparing an initial quantum state with the first qubit, this quantum information is transferred and stored as a nonclassical photon state of the resonant cavity, then retrieved later by the second qubit connected to the opposite end of the cavity. Beyond simple state transfer, these results suggest that a high-quality-factor superconducting cavity could also function as a useful short-term memory element. The basic architecture presented here can be expanded, offering the possibility for the coherent interaction of a large number of superconducting qubits.
We have acquired a deep i-band image of the BL Lacertae object S5 0716+714 while the target was in an low optical state. Due to the faintness of the nucleus, we were able to detect the underlying ...host galaxy. The host galaxy is measured to have an I-band magnitude of $17.5 \pm 0.5$ and an effective radius of ($2.7 \pm 0.8$) arcsec. Using the host galaxy as a “standard candle”, we derive $z = 0.31 \pm 0.08$ (1σ error) for the host galaxy of S5 0716+714. This redshift is consistent with the redshift $z = 0.26$ determined by spectroscopy for 3 galaxies close to S5 0716+714. The effective radius at $z = 0.31$ would be $12 \pm 4$ kpc, which is consistent with values obtained for BL Lac host galaxies. An optical spectrum acquired during the same epoch shows no identifiable spectral lines.
Tests of Einstein's general theory of relativity have mostly been carried out in weak gravitational fields where the space-time curvature effects are first-order deviations from Newton's theory. ...Binary pulsars provide a means of probing the strong gravitational field around a neutron star, but strong-field effects may be best tested in systems containing black holes. Here we report such a test in a close binary system of two candidate black holes in the quasar OJ 287. This quasar shows quasi-periodic optical outbursts at 12-year intervals, with two outburst peaks per interval. The latest outburst occurred in September 2007, within a day of the time predicted by the binary black-hole model and general relativity. The observations confirm the binary nature of the system and also provide evidence for the loss of orbital energy in agreement (within 10 per cent) with the emission of gravitational waves from the system. In the absence of gravitational wave emission the outburst would have happened 20 days later.
MAGIC is a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes located in the Canary island of La Palma. Since autumn 2009 both telescopes have been working together in stereoscopic mode, ...providing a significant improvement with respect to the previous single-telescope observations. We use observations of the Crab Nebula taken at low zenith angles to assess the performance of the MAGIC stereo system. The trigger threshold of the MAGIC telescopes is 50−60GeV. Advanced stereo analysis techniques allow MAGIC to achieve a sensitivity as good as (0.76±0.03)% of the Crab Nebula flux in 50h of observations above 290GeV. The angular resolution at those energies is better than ∼0.07°. We also perform a detailed study of possible systematic effects which may influence the analysis of the data taken with the MAGIC telescopes.
PRECURSOR FLARES IN OJ 287 PIHAJOKI, P; Valtonen, M; Zola, S ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
02/2013, Volume:
764, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We have studied three most recent precursor flares in the light curve of the blazar OJ 287 while invoking the presence of a processing binary black hole in the system to explain the nature of these ...flares. Precursor flare timings from the historical light curves are compared with theoretical predictions from our model that incorporate effects of an accretion disk and post-Newtonian description for the binary black hole orbit. We find that the precursor flares coincide with the secondary black hole descending toward the accretion disk of the primary black hole from the observed side, with a mean z-component of approximately z sub(c) = 4000 AU. We use this model of precursor flares to predict that precursor flare of similar nature should happen around 2020.96 before the next major outburst in 2022.
Aims. The radio galaxy NGC 1275, recently identified as a very high energy (VHE, >100 GeV) γ-ray emitter by MAGIC, is one of the few non-blazar active galactic nuclei detected in the VHE regime. The ...purpose of this work is to better understand the origin of the γ-ray emission and locate it within the galaxy. Methods. We studied contemporaneous multifrequency observations of NGC 1275 and modeled the overall spectral energy distribution. We analyzed unpublished MAGIC observations carried out between October 2009 and February 2010, and the previously published observations taken between August 2010 and February 2011. We studied the multiband variability and correlations by analyzing data of Fermi-LAT in the 100 MeV–100 GeV energy band, as well as Chandra (X-ray), KVA (optical), and MOJAVE (radio) data taken during the same period. Results. Using customized Monte Carlo simulations corresponding to early MAGIC stereoscopic data, we detect NGC 1275 also in the earlier MAGIC campaign. The flux level and energy spectra are similar to the results of the second campaign. The monthly light curve above 100 GeV shows a hint of variability at the 3.6σ level. In the Fermi-LAT band, both flux and spectral shape variabilities are reported. The optical light curve is also variable and shows a clear correlation with the γ-ray flux above 100 MeV. In radio, three compact components are resolved in the innermost part of the jet. One of these components shows a similar trend as the Fermi-LAT and KVA light curves. The γ-ray spectra measured simultaneously with MAGIC and Fermi-LAT from 100 MeV to 650 GeV can be well fitted either by a log-parabola or by a power-law with a subexponential cutoff for the two observation campaigns. A single-zone synchrotron-self-Compton model, with an electron spectrum following a power-law with an exponential cutoff, can explain the broadband spectral energy distribution and the multifrequency behavior of the source. However, this model suggests an untypical low bulk-Lorentz factor or a velocity alignment closer to the line of sight than the parsec-scale radio jet.
Context. The international Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) consortium planned and carried out three days of intensive micro-variability observations of S5 0716 + 714 from February 22, 2009 to ...February 25, 2009. This object was chosen due to its bright apparent magnitude range, its high declination, and its very large duty cycle for micro-variations. Aims. We report here on the long continuous optical micro-variability light curve of 0716+714 obtained during the multi-site observing campaign during which the Blazar showed almost constant variability over a 0.5 mag range. The resulting light curve is presented here for the first time. Observations from participating observatories were corrected for instrumental differences and combined to construct the overall smoothed light curve. Methods. Thirty-six observatories in sixteen countries participated in this continuous monitoring program and twenty of them submitted data for compilation into a continuous light curve. The light curve was analyzed using several techniques including Fourier transform, Wavelet and noise analysis techniques. Those results led us to model the light curve by attributing the variations to a series of synchrotron pulses. Results. We have interpreted the observed microvariations in this extended light curve in terms of a new model consisting of individual stochastic pulses due to cells in a turbulent jet which are energized by a passing shock and cool by means of synchrotron emission. We obtained an excellent fit to the 72-hour light curve with the synchrotron pulse model.
We report on the results from the observations in the very high energy band (VHE; unk greater than or equal to 100 GeV) of the black hole X-ray binary (BHXB) Cygnus X-1. The observations were ...performed with the MAGIC telescope, for a total of 40 hr during 26 nights, spanning the period between 2006 June and November. Searches for steady Y-ray signals yielded no positive result, and upper limits to the integral flux ranging between 1% and 2% of the Crab Nebula flux, depending on the energy, have been established. We also analyzed each observation night independently, obtaining evidence of Y-ray signals at the 4.0 sigma significance level (3.2 sigma after trial correction) for 154 minutes of effective on-time (EOT) on September 24 between 20:58 and 23:41 UTC, coinciding with an X-ray flare seen by RXTE, Swift, and INTEGRAL. A search for faster-varying signals within a night resulted in an excess with a significance of 4.9 sigma (4.1 sigma after trial correction) for 79 minutes EOT between 22:17 and 23:41 UTC. The measured excess is compatible with a pointlike source at the position of Cygnus X-1 and excludes the nearby radio nebula powered by its relativistic jet. The differential energy spectrum is well fitted by an unbroken power law described as dN/(dA dt dE) = (2.3 plus or minus 0.6) x 10- super(12)(E/1TeV) super(-3.2 plus or minus 0.6). This is the first experimental evidence of VHE emission from a stellar mass black hole and therefore from a confirmed accreting X-ray binary.
PG 1553+113 is a very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) γ-ray emitter classified as a BL Lac object. Its redshift is constrained by intergalactic absorption lines in the range 0.4 < z < 0.58. The MAGIC ...telescopes have monitored the source's activity since 2005. In early 2012, PG 1553+113 was found in a high state, and later, in April of the same year, the source reached its highest VHE flux state detected so far. Simultaneous observations carried out in X-rays during 2012 April show similar flaring behaviour. In contrast, the γ-ray flux at E < 100 GeV observed by Fermi-LAT is compatible with steady emission. In this paper, a detailed study of the flaring state is presented. The VHE spectrum shows clear curvature, being well fitted either by a power law with an exponential cut-off or by a log-parabola. A simple power-law fit hypothesis for the observed shape of the PG 1553+113 VHE γ-ray spectrum is rejected with a high significance (fit probability P = 2.6 × 10−6). The observed curvature is compatible with the extragalactic background light (EBL) imprint predicted by current generation EBL models assuming a redshift z ∼ 0.4. New constraints on the redshift are derived from the VHE spectrum. These constraints are compatible with previous limits and suggest that the source is most likely located around the optical lower limit, z = 0.4, based on the detection of Lyα absorption. Finally, we find that the synchrotron self-Compton model gives a satisfactory description of the observed multiwavelength spectral energy distribution during the flare.
The BL Lac object 1ES 1011+496 was discovered at very high energy (VHE, E > 100GeV) γ-rays by Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) in Spring 2007. Before that the source was little ...studied in different wavelengths. Therefore, a multiwavelength (MWL) campaign was organized in Spring 2008. Along MAGIC, the MWL campaign included the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Bell and Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien (KVA) optical telescopes and the Swift and AGILE satellites. MAGIC observations span from 2008 March to May for a total of 27.9 h, of which 19.4 h remained after quality cuts. The light curve showed no significant variability yielding an integral flux above 200 GeV of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10−11 photons cm−2 s−1. The differential VHE spectrum could be described with a power-law function with a spectral index of 3.3 ± 0.4. Both results were similar to those obtained during the discovery. Swift X-ray Telescope observations revealed an X-ray flare, characterized by a harder-when-brighter trend, as is typical for high synchrotron peak BL Lac objects (HBL). Strong optical variability was found during the campaign, but no conclusion on the connection between the optical and VHE γ-ray bands could be drawn. The contemporaneous spectral energy distribution shows a synchrotron-dominated source, unlike concluded in previous work based on non-simultaneous data, and is well described by a standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model. We also performed a study on the source classification. While the optical and X-ray data taken during our campaign show typical characteristics of an HBL, we suggest, based on archival data, that 1ES 1011+496 is actually a borderline case between intermediate and high synchrotron peak frequency BL Lac objects.
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