617 research outputs found
Mimicking a Squeezed Bath Interaction: Quantum Reservoir Engineering with Atoms
The interaction of an atomic two-level system and a squeezed vacuum leads to
interesting novel effects in atomic dynamics, including line narrowing in
resonance fluorescence and absorption spectra, and a suppressed (enhanced)
decay of the in-phase and out-of phase component of the atomic polarization. On
the experimental side these predictions have so far eluded observation,
essentially due to the difficulty of embedding atoms in a 4 pi squeezed vacuum.
In this paper we show how to ``engineer'' a squeezed-bath-type interaction for
an effective two-level system. In the simplest example, our two-level atom is
represented by the two ground levels of an atom with angular momentum J=1/2 ->
J=1/2 transition (a four level system) which is driven by (weak) laser fields
and coupled to the vacuum reservoir of radiation modes. Interference between
the spontaneous emission channels in optical pumping leads to a squeezed bath
type coupling, and thus to symmetry breaking of decay on the Bloch sphere. With
this system it should be possible to observe the effects predicted in the
context of squeezed bath - atom interactions. The laser parameters allow one to
choose properties of the squeezed bath interaction, such as the (effective)
photon number expectation number N and the squeezing phase phi. We present
results of a detailed analytical and numerical study.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figure
The influence of magnetic field geometry on magnetars X-ray spectra
Nowadays, the analysis of the X-ray spectra of magnetically powered neutron
stars or magnetars is one of the most valuable tools to gain insight into the
physical processes occurring in their interiors and magnetospheres. In
particular, the magnetospheric plasma leaves a strong imprint on the observed
X-ray spectrum by means of Compton up-scattering of the thermal radiation
coming from the star surface. Motivated by the increased quality of the
observational data, much theoretical work has been devoted to develop Monte
Carlo (MC) codes that incorporate the effects of resonant Compton scattering in
the modeling of radiative transfer of photons through the magnetosphere. The
two key ingredients in this simulations are the kinetic plasma properties and
the magnetic field (MF) configuration. The MF geometry is expected to be
complex, but up to now only mathematically simple solutions (self-similar
solutions) have been employed. In this work, we discuss the effects of new,
more realistic, MF geometries on synthetic spectra. We use new force-free
solutions in a previously developed MC code to assess the influence of MF
geometry on the emerging spectra. Our main result is that the shape of the
final spectrum is mostly sensitive to uncertain parameters of the
magnetospheric plasma, but the MF geometry plays an important role on the
angle-dependence of the spectra.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures To appear in Proceedings of II Iberian Nuclear
Astrophysics Meeting held in Salamanca, September 22-23, 201
Cooling to the Ground State of Axial Motion for One Atom Strongly Coupled to an Optical Cavity
Localization to the ground state of axial motion is demonstrated for a
single, trapped atom strongly coupled to the field of a high finesse optical
resonator. The axial atomic motion is cooled by way of coherent Raman
transitions on the red vibrational sideband. An efficient state detection
scheme enabled by strong coupling in cavity QED is used to record the Raman
spectrum, from which the state of atomic motion is inferred. We find that the
lowest vibrational level of the axial potential with zero-point energy 13uK is
occupied with probability P0~0.95.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Motion-light parametric amplifier and entanglement distributor
We propose a scheme for entangling the motional mode of a trapped atom with a
propagating light field via a cavity-mediated parametric interaction. We then
show that if this light field is subsequently coupled to a second distant atom
via a cavity-mediated linear-mixing interaction, it is possible to transfer the
entanglement from the light beam to the motional mode of the second atom to
create an EPR-type entangled state of the positions and momenta of two
distantly-separated atoms.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, REVTe
Deterministic cavity quantum electrodynamics with trapped ions
We have employed radio-frequency trapping to localize a single 40Ca+-ion in a high-finesse optical cavity. By means of laser Doppler cooling, the position spread of the ion's wavefunction along the cavity axis was reduced to 42 nm, a fraction of the resonance wavelength of ionized calcium (λ = 397 nm). By controlling the position of the ion in the optical field, continuous and completely deterministic coupling of ion and field was realized. The precise three-dimensional location of the ion in the cavity was measured by observing the fluorescent light emitted upon excitation in the cavity field. The single-ion system is ideally suited to implement cavity quantum electrodynamics under cw conditions. To this end we operate the cavity on the D3/2–P1/2 transition of 40Ca+ (λ = 866 nm). Applications include the controlled generation of single-photon pulses with high efficiency and two-ion quantum gates
Self-trapping mechanisms in the dynamics of three coupled Bose-Einstein condensates
We formulate the dynamics of three coupled Bose-Einstein condensates within a
semiclassical scenario based on the standard boson coherent states. We compare
such a picture with that of Ref. 1 and show how our approach entails a simple
formulation of the dimeric regime therein studied. This allows to recognize the
parameters that govern the bifurcation mechanism causing self-trapping, and
paves the way to the construction of analytic solutions. We present the results
of a numerical simulation showing how the three-well dynamics has, in general,
a cahotic behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Analysis of dynamical tunnelling experiments with a Bose-Einstein condensate
Dynamical tunnelling is a quantum phenomenon where a classically forbidden
process occurs, that is prohibited not by energy but by another constant of
motion. The phenomenon of dynamical tunnelling has been recently observed in a
sodium Bose-Einstein condensate. We present a detailed analysis of these
experiments using numerical solutions of the three dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii
equation and the corresponding Floquet theory. We explore the parameter
dependency of the tunnelling oscillations and we move the quantum system
towards the classical limit in the experimentally accessible regime.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review
Two-Level Atom in an Optical Parametric Oscillator: Spectra of Transmitted and Fluorescent Fields in the Weak Driving Field Limit
We consider the interaction of a two-level atom inside an optical parametric
oscillator. In the weak driving field limit, we essentially have an atom-cavity
system driven by the occasional pair of correlated photons, or weakly squeezed
light. We find that we may have holes, or dips, in the spectrum of the
fluorescent and transmitted light. This occurs even in the strong-coupling
limit when we find holes in the vacuum-Rabi doublet. Also, spectra with a
sub-natural linewidth may occur. These effects disappear for larger driving
fields, unlike the spectral narrowing obtained in resonance fluorescence in a
squeezed vacuum; here it is important that the squeezing parameter tends to
zero so that the system interacts with only one correlated pair of photons at a
time. We show that a previous explanation for spectral narrowing and spectral
holes for incoherent scattering is not applicable in the present case, and
propose a new explanation. We attribute these anomalous effects to quantum
interference in the two-photon scattering of the system.Comment: 10 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Perceptions of climate change across the Canadian forest sector: the key factors of institutional and geographical environment
Assessing the perception of key stakeholders within the forest sector is critical to evaluating their readiness to engage in adapting to climate change. Here, we report the results of the most comprehensive survey carried out in the Canadian forestry sector to date regarding perceptions of climate change. A total of 1158 individuals, representing a wide range of stakeholders across the five most important forestry provinces in Canada, were asked about climate change, its impact on forest ecosystems, and the suitability of current forest management for addressing future impacts. Overall, we found that respondents were more concerned about climate change than the general population. More than 90% of respondents agreed with the anthropogenic origins of climate change, and > 50% considered it a direct threat to their welfare. Political view was the main driver of general beliefs about the causes of climate change and its future consequences, while the province of origin proved to be the best predictor of perceived current impacts on forest ecosystems and its associated risks; and type of stakeholder was the main driver of perceived need for adaptation. Industrial stakeholders were the most skeptical about the anthropogenic cause(s) of climate change (18% disagreed with this statement, compared to an average of 8% in the other stakeholders), its impacts on forest ecosystems (28% for industry vs. 10% for other respondents), and the need for new management practices (18% vs. 7%). Although the degree of awareness and the willingness to implement adaptive practices were high even for the most skeptical groups, our study identified priority sectors or areas for action when designing awareness campaigns. We suggest that the design of a strategic framework for implementing climate adaptation within the Canadian forest sector should focus on the relationship between climate change and changes in disturbance regimes, and above all on the economic consequences of these changes, but it should also take into account the positions shown by each of the actors in each province.This project was funded by the Natural
Sciences and Engineering Research Council of
Canada (NSERC) through a strategic grant 430393-
12. The funders had no role in study design, data
collection and analysis, decision to publish, or
preparation of the manuscrip
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