Context: XMM-Newton was launched on 10 December 1999 and has been operational since early 2000. One of the instruments onboard XMM-Newton is the reflection grating spectrometer (RGS). Two identical RGS instruments are available, with each RGS combini
ng a reflection grating assembly (RGA) and a camera with CCDs to record the spectra. Aims: We describe the calibration and in-orbit performance of the RGS instrument. By combining the preflight calibration with appropriate inflight calibration data including the changes in detector performance over time, we aim at profound knowledge about the accuracy in the calibration. This will be crucial for any correct scientific interpretation of spectral features for a wide variety of objects. Methods: Ground calibrations alone are not able to fully characterize the instrument. Dedicated inflight measurements and constant monitoring are essential for a full understanding of the instrument and the variations of the instrument response over time. Physical models of the instrument are tuned to agree with calibration measurements and are the basis from which the actual instrument response can be interpolated over the full parameter space. Results: Uncertainties in the instrument response have been reduced to < 10% for the effective area and < 6 mA for the wavelength scale (in the range from 8 A to 34 A. The remaining systematic uncertainty in the detection of weak absorption features has been estimated to be 1.5%. Conclusions: Based on a large set of inflight calibration data and comparison with other instruments onboard XMM-Newton, the calibration accuracy of the RGS instrument has been improved considerably over the preflight calibrations.
Cluster states are an essential component in one-way quantum computation protocols. We present two schemes to generate addressable continuous-variable cluster states from quadrature squeezed cylindrically polarized modes. By including polarization in
addition to the transverse spatial degree of freedom, elementary cluster states can be created in which four cluster nodes co-propagate within one paraxial vector beam. This approach is fundamentally compatible with existing time-multiplexed schemes that have been used to create the largest cluster states to date. We implement a proof-of-principle experiment of one of the proposed schemes and verify its feasibility by measuring the quantum correlations between the different nodes of the cluster state.
We reconstruct the polarization sector of a bright polarization squeezed beam starting from a complete set of Stokes measurements. Given the symmetry that underlies the polarization structure of quantum fields, we use the unique SU(2) Wigner distribu
tion to represent states. In the limit of localized and bright states, the Wigner function can be approximated by an inverse three-dimensional Radon transform. We compare this direct reconstruction with the results of a maximum likelihood estimation, finding an excellent agreement.
Entanglement is one of the most fascinating features arising from quantum-mechanics and of great importance for quantum information science. Of particular interest are so-called hybrid-entangled states which have the intriguing property that they con
tain entanglement between different degrees of freedom (DOFs). However, most of the current continuous variable systems only exploit one DOF and therefore do not involve such highly complex states. We break this barrier and demonstrate that one can exploit squeezed cylindrically polarized optical modes to generate continuous variable states exhibiting entanglement between the spatial and polarization DOF. We show an experimental realization of these novel kind of states by quantum squeezing an azimuthally polarized mode with the help of a specially tailored photonic crystal fiber.
Squeezing experiments which are capable of creating a minimum uncertainty state during the nonlinear process, for example optical parametric amplification, are commonly used to produce light far below the quantum noise limit. This report presents a m
ethod with which one can characterize this minimum uncertainty state and gain valuable knowledge of the experimental setup.
