Self-Interacting Electromagnetic Fields and a Classical Discussion on the Stability of the Electric Charge

The present work proposes a discussion on the self-energy of charged particles in the framework of nonlinear electrodynamics. We seek magnet- ically stable solutions generated by purely electric charges whose electric and magnetic fields are computed as solutions to the Born-Infeld equa- tions. The approach yields rich internal structures that can be described in terms of the physical fields with explicit analytic solutions. This suggests that the anomalous field probably originates from a magnetic excitation in the vacuum due to the presence of the very intense electric field. In addition, the magnetic contribution has been found to exert a negative pressure on the charge. This, in turn, balances the electric repulsion, in such a way that the self-interaction of the field appears as a simple and natural classical mechanism that is able to account for the stability of the electron charge.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Evaluation of Born and local effective charges in unoriented materials from vibrational spectra

We present an application of the Lorentz model in which fits to vibrational spectra or a Kramers Kronig analysis are employed along with several useful formalisms to quantify microscopic charge in unoriented (powdered) materials. The conditions under which these techniques can be employed are discussed, and we analyze the vibrational response of a layered transition metal dichalcogenide and its nanoscale analog to illustrate the utility of this approach.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

Biexcitons in two-dimensional systems with spatially separated electrons and holes

The binding energy and wavefunctions of two-dimensional indirect biexcitons are studied analytically and numerically. It is proven that stable biexcitons exist only when the distance between electron and hole layers is smaller than a certain critical threshold. Numerical results for the biexciton binding energies are obtained using the stochastic variational method and compared with the analytical asymptotics. The threshold interlayer separation and its uncertainty are estimated. The results are compared with those obtained by other techniques, in particular, the diffusion Monte-Carlo method and the Born-Oppenheimer approximation.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

On the Relationship between Resolution Enhancement and Multiphoton Absorption Rate in Quantum Lithography

The proposal of quantum lithography [Boto et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 2733 (2000)] is studied via a rigorous formalism. It is shown that, contrary to Boto et al.'s heuristic claim, the multiphoton absorption rate of a ``NOON'' quantum state is actually lower than that of a classical state with otherwise identical parameters. The proof-of-concept experiment of quantum lithography [D'Angelo et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 013602 (2001)] is also analyzed in terms of the proposed formalism, and the experiment is shown to have a reduced multiphoton absorption rate in order to emulate quantum lithography accurately. Finally, quantum lithography by the use of a jointly Gaussian quantum state of light is investigated, in order to illustrate the trade-off between resolution enhancement and multiphoton absorption rate.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, submitted, v2: rewritten in response to referees' comments, v3: rewritten and extended, v4: accepted by Physical Review

Huygens-Fresnel-Kirchhoff construction for quantum propagators with application to diffraction in space and time

We address the phenomenon of diffraction of non-relativistic matter waves on openings in absorbing screens. To this end, we expand the full quantum propagator, connecting two points on the opposite sides of the screen, in terms of the free particle propagator and spatio-temporal properties of the opening. Our construction, based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle, describes the quantum phenomena of diffraction in space and diffraction in time, as well as the interplay between the two. We illustrate the method by calculating diffraction patterns for localized wave packets passing through various time-dependent openings in one and two spatial dimensions

The temperature dependence of the isothermal bulk modulus at 1 bar pressure

It is well established that the product of the volume coefficient of thermal expansion and the bulk modulus is nearly constant at temperatures higher than the Debye temperature. Using this approximation allows predicting the values of the bulk modulus. The derived analytical solution for the temperature dependence of the isothermal bulk modulus has been applied to ten substances. The good correlations to the experiments indicate that the expression may be useful for substances for which bulk modulus data are lacking

Giant radiation heat transfer through the micron gaps

Near-field heat transfer between two closely spaced radiating media can exceed in orders radiation through the interface of a single black body. This effect is caused by exponentially decaying (evanescent) waves which form the photon tunnel between two transparent boundaries. However, in the mid-infrared range it holds when the gap between two media is as small as few tens of nanometers. We propose a new paradigm of the radiation heat transfer which makes possible the strong photon tunneling for micron thick gaps. For it the air gap between two media should be modified, so that evanescent waves are transformed inside it into propagating ones. This modification is achievable using a metamaterial so that the direct thermal conductance through the metamaterial is practically absent and the photovoltaic conversion of the transferred heat is not altered by the metamaterial.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Atomic decay near a quantized medium of absorbing scatterers

The decay of an excited atom in the presence of a medium that both scatters and absorbs radiation is studied with the help of a quantum-electrodynamical model. The medium is represented by a half space filled with a randomly distributed set of non-overlapping spheres, which consist of a linear absorptive dielectric material. The absorption effects are described by means of a quantized damped-polariton theory. It is found that the effective susceptibility of the bulk does not fully account for the medium-induced change in the atomic decay rate. In fact, surface effects contribute to the modification of the decay properties as well. The interplay of scattering and absorption in the total decay rate is discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur

Quantum mechanical Carnot engine

A cyclic thermodynamic heat engine runs most efficiently if it is reversible. Carnot constructed such a reversible heat engine by combining adiabatic and isothermal processes for a system containing an ideal gas. Here, we present an example of a cyclic engine based on a single quantum-mechanical particle confined to a potential well. The efficiency of this engine is shown to equal the Carnot efficiency because quantum dynamics is reversible. The quantum heat engine has a cycle consisting of adiabatic and isothermal quantum processes that are close analogues of the corresponding classical processes.Comment: 10 page

Non-equilibrium Green's function approach to inhomogeneous quantum many-body systems using the Generalized Kadanoff Baym Ansatz

In non-equilibrium Green's function calculations the use of the Generalized Kadanoff-Baym Ansatz (GKBA) allows for a simple approximate reconstruction of the two-time Green's function from its time-diagonal value. With this a drastic reduction of the computational needs is achieved in time-dependent calculations, making longer time propagation possible and more complex systems accessible. This paper gives credit to the GKBA that was introduced 25 years ago. After a detailed derivation of the GKBA, we recall its application to homogeneous systems and show how to extend it to strongly correlated, inhomogeneous systems. As a proof of concept, we present results for a 2-electron quantum well, where the correct treatment of the correlated electron dynamics is crucial for the correct description of the equilibrium and dynamic properties