Exponential improvement in photon storage fidelities using subradiance and "selective radiance" in atomic arrays

A central goal within quantum optics is to realize efficient interactions between photons and atoms. A fundamental limit in nearly all applications based on such systems arises from spontaneous emission, in which photons are absorbed by atoms and then re-scattered into undesired channels. In typical treatments of atomic ensembles, it is assumed that this re-scattering occurs independently, and at a rate given by a single isolated atom, which in turn gives rise to standard limits of fidelity in applications such as quantum memories or quantum gates. However, this assumption can be violated. In particular, spontaneous emission of a collective atomic excitation can be significantly suppressed through strong interference in emission. Thus far the physics underlying the phenomenon of subradiance and techniques to exploit it have not been well-understood. In this work, we provide a comprehensive treatment of this problem. First, we show that in ordered atomic arrays in free space, subradiant states acquire an interpretation in terms of optical modes that are guided by the array, which only emit due to scattering from the ends of the finite chain. We also elucidate the properties of subradiant states in the many-excitation limit. Finally, we introduce the new concept of selective radiance. Whereas subradiant states experience a reduced coupling to all optical modes, selectively radiant states are tailored to simultaneously radiate efficiently into a desired channel while scattering into undesired channels is suppressed, thus enabling an enhanced atom-light interface. We show that these states naturally appear in chains of atoms coupled to nanophotonic structures, and we analyze the performance of photon storage exploiting such states. We find that selectively radiant states allow for a photon storage error that scales exponentially better with number of atoms than previously known bounds.Comment: Fixed minor typos, is now analogous to published versio

Self-modulation of nonlinear Alfven waves in a strongly magnetized relativistic electron-positron plasma

We study the self-modulation of a circularly polarized Alfven wave in a strongly magnetized relativistic electron-positron plasma with finite temperature. This nonlinear wave corresponds to an exact solution of the equations, with a dispersion relation that has two branches. For a large magnetic field, the Alfven branch has two different zones, which we call the normal dispersion zone (where d omega/dk > 0) and the anomalous dispersion zone (where d omega/dk < 0). A nonlinear Schrodinger equation is derived in the normal dispersion zone of the Alfven wave, where the wave envelope can evolve as a periodic wave train or as a solitary wave, depending on the initial condition. The maximum growth rate of the modulational instability decreases as the temperature is increased. We also study the Alfven wave propagation in the anomalous dispersion zone, where a nonlinear wave equation is obtained. However, in this zone the wave envelope can evolve only as a periodic wave train.CONICyT 21100839 74110049FONDECyT 1110135 1110729 1080658 1121144CNPqEuropean Commission for a Marie Curie International Incoming FellowshipInstitute for Fusion Studie

Effect of mould inoculation on formation of chunky graphite in heavy section spheroidal graphite cast iron parts

The manufacturing process of heavy section ductile iron castings is strongly influenced by the risk of graphite degeneration under slow cooling rates. Appearance of this kind of defect is commonly linked to significant reductions in the mechanical properties of large castings. Studies on the effect of inoculation on chunky graphite formation in heavy sections have led to contradictory results in the literature and this triggered the present work. New experimental data are presented on the effect of mould inoculation on chunky graphite appearance during solidification of nodular irons which clearly demonstrate that mould inoculation increases the risk of chunky graphite formation in heavy sections. This is in agreement with some previous works which are reviewed, and it is suggested that the contradiction with other results could relate to the fact that these latter works dealt with chill casting

Atmospheric-Pressure Non-thermal Plasma-JET effects on PS and PE surfaces

https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84938125206&partnerID=40&md5=c2325a28f944e7e3e20b601b8d9a73efThe Atmospheric-Pressure Non-Thermal Plasma (APNTP) has become a topic of a great interest for a wide spectrum of applications in different industry branches, including the surface of treatment processes. In this work we evaluate the effect of an argon APNTP exposure to determine changes suffered by a polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE) polymer surface through RAMAN spectroscopy and SEM. It was determined that the hydrophilic change in energetic terms, i.e. surface activation in the PS and PE polymers is addition of oxygen by surface activation when the samples with jet plasma are exposed with the inert argon gas. It was possible to characterize the hydrophilic shift based on the change in intensity of the spectra. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.Ad Astra Rocket Company,Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica,International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),Universidad Nacional de Costa Ric

Self-modulation of nonlinear waves in a weakly magnetized relativistic electron-positron plasma with temperature

We develop a nonlinear theory for self-modulation of a circularly polarized electromagnetic wave in a relativistic hot weakly magnetized electron-positron plasma. The case of parallel propagation along an ambient magnetic field is considered. A nonlinear Schrodinger equation is derived for the complex wave amplitude of a self-modulated wave packet. We show that the maximum growth rate of the modulational instability decreases as the temperature of the pair plasma increases. Depending on the initial conditions, the unstable wave envelope can evolve nonlinearly to either periodic wave trains or solitary waves. This theory has application to high-energy astrophysics and high-power laser physics.CONICyTFONDECyT 1110135 1080658Brazilian agency CNPqBrazilian agency FAPESPMarie Curie International Incoming Fellowshiphospitality of Paris ObservatoryInstitute for Fusion Studie