Dynamic generation of spin-squeezed states in bosonic Josephson junctions

We analyze the formation of squeezed states in a condensate of ultracold bosonic atoms confined by a double-well potential. The emphasis is set on the dynamical formation of such states from initially coherent many-body quantum states. Two cases are described: the squeezing formation in the evolution of the system around the stable point, and in the short time evolution in the vicinity of an unstable point. The latter is shown to produce highly squeezed states on very short times. On the basis of a semiclassical approximation to the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian, we are able to predict the amount of squeezing, its scaling with $N$ and the speed of coherent spin formation with simple analytical formulas which successfully describe the numerical Bose-Hubbard results. This new method of producing highly squeezed spin states in systems of ultracold atoms is compared to other standard methods in the literature.Comment: 12 pages, revised discussion + added reference

Spin-Waves in the Mid-Infrared Spectrum of Antiferromagnetic YBa2_2Cu3_3O6.0_{6.0}

The mid-infrared spin-wave spectrum of antiferromagnetic YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.0}$\ was determined by infrared transmission and reflection measurements (\bbox{k} \!\! \parallel c) at $T\!=\!10\!$~K.\@ Excitation of single magnons of the optical branch was observed at $E_{\text{op}}\!=\!178.0\!$~meV.\@ Two further peaks at $346\!$~meV ($\approx\!1.94\,E_{\text{op}}$) and $470\!$~meV ($\approx\!2.6\,E_{\text{op}}$) both belong to the two-magnon spectrum. Linear spin wave theory is in good agreement with the measured two-magnon spectrum, and allows to determine the exchange constant $J$ to be about $120\!$~meV, whereas the intrabilayer coupling $J_{12}$ is approximately $0.55\,J$.Comment: 3 figures in uuencoded for

Theory of semiconductor quantum-wire based single- and two-qubit gates

A GaAs/AlGaAs based two-qubit quantum device that allows the controlled generation and straightforward detection of entanglement by measuring a stationary current-voltage characteristic is proposed. We have developed a two-particle Green's function method of open systems and calculate the properties of three-dimensional interacting entangled systems non-perturbatively. We present concrete device designs and detailed, charge self-consistent predictions. One of the qubits is an all-electric Mach-Zehnder interferometer that consists of two electrostatically defined quantum wires with coupling windows, whereas the second qubit is an electrostatically defined double quantum dot located in a second two-dimensional electron gas beneath the quantum wires. We find that the entanglement of the device can be controlled externally by tuning the tunneling coupling between the two quantum dots.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, RevTex4 two-column format, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Systematics of c-axis Phonons in the Thallium and Bismuth Based Cuprate Superconductors

We present grazing incidence reflectivity measurements in the far infrared region at temperatures above and below Tc for a series of thallium (Tl2Ba2CuO6, Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8) and bismuth (Bi2Sr2CuO6, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, and Bi(2-x)Pb(x)Sr2CaCu2O8) based cuprate superconductors. From the spectra, which are dominated by the c-axis phonons, longitudinal frequencies (LO) are directly obtained. The reflectivity curves are well fitted by a series of Lorentz oscillators. In this way the transverse (TO) phonon frequencies were accurately determined. On the basis of the comparative study of the Bi and Tl based cuprates with different number of CuO2 layers per unit cell, we suggest modifications of the assignment of the main oxygen modes. We compare the LO frequencies in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 obtained from intrinsic Josephson junction characteristics with our measurements, and explain the discrepancy in LO frequencies obtained by the two different methods.Comment: 8 pages Revtex, 6 eps figures, 3 tables, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Nonlinear atom interferometer surpasses classical precision limit

Interference is fundamental to wave dynamics and quantum mechanics. The quantum wave properties of particles are exploited in metrology using atom interferometers, allowing for high-precision inertia measurements [1, 2]. Furthermore, the state-of-the-art time standard is based on an interferometric technique known as Ramsey spectroscopy. However, the precision of an interferometer is limited by classical statistics owing to the finite number of atoms used to deduce the quantity of interest [3]. Here we show experimentally that the classical precision limit can be surpassed using nonlinear atom interferometry with a Bose-Einstein condensate. Controlled interactions between the atoms lead to non-classical entangled states within the interferometer; this represents an alternative approach to the use of non-classical input states [4-8]. Extending quantum interferometry [9] to the regime of large atom number, we find that phase sensitivity is enhanced by 15 per cent relative to that in an ideal classical measurement. Our nonlinear atomic beam splitter follows the "one-axis-twisting" scheme [10] and implements interaction control using a narrow Feshbach resonance. We perform noise tomography of the quantum state within the interferometer and detect coherent spin squeezing with a squeezing factor of -8.2dB [11-15]. The results provide information on the many-particle quantum state, and imply the entanglement of 170 atoms [16]

Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering from Valence Excitations in Insulating Copper-Oxides

We report resonant inelastic x-ray measurements of insulating La$_2$CuO$_4$ and Sr$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$ taken with the incident energy tuned near the Cu K absorption edge. We show that the spectra are well described in a shakeup picture in 3rd order perturbation theory which exhibits both incoming and outgoing resonances, and demonstrate how to extract a spectral function from the raw data. We conclude by showing {\bf q}-dependent measurements of the charge transfer gap.Comment: minor notational changes, discussion of anderson impurity model fixed, references added; accepted by PR

Electron interference and entanglement in coupled 1D systems with noise

We estimate the role of noise in the formation of entanglement and in the appearance of single- and two-electron interference in systems of coupled one-dimensional channels semiconductors. Two cases are considered: a single-particle interferometer and a two-particle interferometer exploiting Coulomb interaction. In both of them, environmental noise yields a randomization of the carrier phases. Our results assess how that the complementarity relation linking single-particle behavior to nonlocal quantities, such as entanglement and environment-induced decoherence, acts in electron interferometry. We show that, in a experimental implementation of the setups examined, one- and two-electron detection probability at the output drains can be used to evaluate the decoherence phenomena and the degree of entanglement.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. v2: added some references and corrected tex

Optical studies of gap, hopping energies and the Anderson-Hubbard parameter in the zigzag-chain compound SrCuO2

We have investigated the electronic structure of the zigzag ladder (chain) compound SrCuO2 combining polarized optical absorption, reflection, photoreflectance and pseudo-dielectric function measurements with the model calculations. These measurements yield an energy gap of 1.42 eV (1.77 eV) at 300 K along (perpendicular) to the Cu-O chains. We have found that the lowest energy gap, the correlation gap, is temperature independent. The electronic structure of this oxide is calculated using both the local-spin-density-approximation with gradient correction method, and the tight-binding theory for the correlated electrons. The calculated density of electronic states for non-correlated and correlated electrons shows quasi-one-dimensional character. The correlation gap values of 1.42 eV (indirect transition) and 1.88 eV (direct transition) have been calculated with the electron hopping parameters t = 0.30 eV (along a chain), t_yz = 0.12 eV (between chains) and the Anderson-Hubbard repulsion on copper sites U= 2.0 eV. We concluded that SrCuO_2 belongs to the correlated-gap insulators.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, to be published in Phys.Rev.

Resonant Two-Magnon Raman Scattering in Cuprate Antiferromagnetic Insulators

We present results of low-temperature two-magnon resonance Raman excitation profile measurements for single layer Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 and bilayer YBa_2Cu_3O_{6 + \delta} antiferromagnets over the excitation region from 1.65 to 3.05 eV. These data reveal composite structure of the two-magnon line shape and strong nonmonotic dependence of the scattering intensity on excitation energy. We analyze these data using the triple resonance theory of Chubukov and Frenkel (Phys. Rev. Lett., 74, 3057 (1995)) and deduce information about magnetic interaction and band parameters in these materials.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages + 2 PostScript (compressed) figure

Rabi flopping induces spatial demixing dynamics

We experimentally investigate the mixing/demixing dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in the presence of a linear coupling between two internal states. The observed amplitude reduction of the Rabi oscillations can be understood as a result of demixing dynamics of dressed states as experimentally confirmed by reconstructing the spatial profile of dressed state amplitudes. The observations are in quantitative agreement with numerical integration of coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations without free parameters, which also reveals the criticality of the dynamics on the symmetry of the system. Our observations demonstrate new possibilities for changing effective atomic interactions and studying critical phenomena.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure