2,053 research outputs found
On the physical nature of photon and the modeling of its wave function of free propagation in space and time
In the framework of quantum mechanics the physical nature of the photon is discussed. It is substantiated that a photon is a quantum quasiparticle, the free propagation of which must be considered taking into account the processes in a physical vacuum at Planck distances. For practical purposes on a macroscopic scale, the photon propagation can be modeled using the wave function (wave packet) normalized to the unit probability in the coordinate representation
Level-rank duality via tensor categories
We give a new way to derive branching rules for the conformal embedding
(\asl_n)_m\oplus(\asl_m)_n\subset(\asl_{nm})_1. In addition, we show that
the category \Cc(\asl_n)_m^0 of degree zero integrable highest weight
(\asl_n)_m-representations is braided equivalent to \Cc(\asl_m)_n^0 with
the reversed braiding.Comment: 16 pages, to appear in Communications in Mathematical Physics.
Version 2 changes: Proof of main theorem made explicit, example 4.11 removed,
references update
Surface solitons in quasiperiodic nonlinear photonic lattices
We study discrete surface solitons in semi-infinite, one-dimensional,
nonlinear (Kerr), quasiperiodic waveguide arrays of the Fibonacci and
Aubry-Andr\'e types, and explore different families of localized surface modes,
as a function of optical power content (`nonlinearity') and quasiperiodic
strength (`disorder'). We find a strong asymmetry in the power content of the
mode as a function of the propagation constant, between the cases of focussing
and defocussing nonlinearity, in both models. We also examine the dynamical
evolution of a completely-localized initial excitation at the array surface. We
find that in general, for a given optical power, a smaller quasiperiodic
strength is required to effect localization at the surface than in the bulk.
Also, for fixed quasiperiodic strength, a smaller optical power is needed to
localize the excitation at the edge than inside the bulk.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, submitted for publicatio
Benchmarking calculations of excitonic couplings between bacteriochlorophylls
Excitonic couplings between (bacterio)chlorophyll molecules are necessary for
simulating energy transport in photosynthetic complexes. Many techniques for
calculating the couplings are in use, from the simple (but inaccurate)
point-dipole approximation to fully quantum-chemical methods. We compared
several approximations to determine their range of applicability, noting that
the propagation of experimental uncertainties poses a fundamental limit on the
achievable accuracy. In particular, the uncertainty in crystallographic
coordinates yields an uncertainty of about 20% in the calculated couplings.
Because quantum-chemical corrections are smaller than 20% in most biologically
relevant cases, their considerable computational cost is rarely justified. We
therefore recommend the electrostatic TrEsp method across the entire range of
molecular separations and orientations because its cost is minimal and it
generally agrees with quantum-chemical calculations to better than the
geometric uncertainty. We also caution against computationally optimizing a
crystal structure before calculating couplings, as it can lead to large,
uncontrollable errors. Understanding the unavoidable uncertainties can guard
against striving for unrealistic precision; at the same time, detailed
benchmarks can allow important qualitative questions--which do not depend on
the precise values of the simulation parameters--to be addressed with greater
confidence about the conclusions
A Variational Approach to Nonlocal Exciton-Phonon Coupling
In this paper we apply variational energy band theory to a form of the
Holstein Hamiltonian in which the influence of lattice vibrations (optical
phonons) on both local site energies (local coupling) and transfers of
electronic excitations between neighboring sites (nonlocal coupling) is taken
into account. A flexible spanning set of orthonormal eigenfunctions of the
joint exciton-phonon crystal momentum is used to arrive at a variational
estimate (bound) of the ground state energy for every value of the joint
crystal momentum, yielding a variational estimate of the lowest polaron energy
band across the entire Brillouin zone, as well as the complete set of polaron
Bloch functions associated with this band. The variation is implemented
numerically, avoiding restrictive assumptions that have limited the scope of
previous assaults on the same and similar problems. Polaron energy bands and
the structure of the associated Bloch states are studied at general points in
the three-dimensional parameter space of the model Hamiltonian (electronic
tunneling, local coupling, nonlocal coupling), though our principal emphasis
lay in under-studied area of nonlocal coupling and its interplay with
electronic tunneling; a phase diagram summarizing the latter is presented. The
common notion of a "self-trapping transition" is addressed and generalized.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figure
Non-Markovian quantum state diffusion for absorption spectra of molecular aggregates
In many molecular systems one encounters the situation where electronic
excitations couple to a quasi-continuum of phonon modes. That continuum may be
highly structured e.g. due to some weakly damped high frequency modes. To
handle such a situation, an approach combining the non-Markovian quantum state
diffusion (NMQSD) description of open quantum systems with an efficient but
abstract approximation was recently applied to calculate energy transfer and
absorption spectra of molecular aggregates [Roden, Eisfeld, Wolff, Strunz, PRL
103 (2009) 058301]. To explore the validity of the used approximation for such
complicated systems, in the present work we compare the calculated
(approximative) absorption spectra with exact results. These are obtained from
the method of pseudomodes, which we show to be capable of determining the exact
spectra for small aggregates and a few pseudomodes. It turns out that in the
cases considered, the results of the two approaches mostly agree quite well.
The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are discussed
Topological constraints on spiral wave dynamics in spherical geometries with inhomogeneous excitability
We analyze the way topological constraints and inhomogeneity in the
excitability influence the dynamics of spiral waves on spheres and punctured
spheres of excitable media. We generalize the definition of an index such that
it characterizes not only each spiral but also each hole in punctured,
oriented, compact, two-dimensional differentiable manifolds and show that the
sum of the indices is conserved and zero. We also show that heterogeneity and
geometry are responsible for the formation of various spiral wave attractors,
in particular, pairs of spirals in which one spiral acts as a source and a
second as a sink -- the latter similar to an antispiral. The results provide a
basis for the analysis of the propagation of waves in heterogeneous excitable
media in physical and biological systems.Comment: 5 pages, 6 Figures, major revisions, accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
Evidence for a Quasi-1D Topological-Excitation Liquid in Bi2212 by Tunneling Spectroscopy
Tunneling measurements have been carried out on heavily underdoped and
slightly overdoped Bi2212 single crystals by using a break-junction technique.
We find that in-plane tunneling spectra below Tc are the combination of
incoherent part from the pseudogap and coherent quasiparticle peaks. There is a
correlation between the magnitude of the pseudogap and the magnitude of the
superconducting gap in Bi2212. We find that the quasiparticle conductance peaks
are caused by condensed solitonlike excitations.Comment: Europysics Lett. (in press
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