Measurement of the parity violating 6S-7S transition amplitude in cesium achieved within 2 \times 10^{-13} atomic-unit accuracy by stimulated-emission detection

We exploit the process of asymmetry amplification by stimulated emission which provides an original method for parity violation (PV) measurements in a highly forbidden atomic transition. The method involves measurements of a chiral, transient, optical gain of a cesium vapor on the 7S-6P_{3/2} transition, probed after it is excited by an intense, linearly polarized, collinear laser, tuned to resonance for one hyperfine line of the forbidden 6S-7S transition in a longitudinal electric field. We report here a 3.5 fold increase, of the one-second-measurement sensitivity, and subsequent reduction by a factor of 3.5 of the statistical accuracy compared with our previous result [J. Gu\'ena et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 143001 (2003)]. Decisive improvements to the set-up include an increased repetition rate, better extinction of the probe beam at the end of the probe pulse and, for the first time to our knowledge, the following: a polarization-tilt magnifier, quasi-suppression of beam reflections at the cell windows, and a Cs cell with electrically conductive windows. We also present real-time tests of systematic effects, consistency checks on the data, as well as a 1% accurate measurement of the electric field seen by the atoms, from atomic signals. PV measurements performed in seven different vapor cells agree within the statistical error. Our present result is compatible with the more precise Boulder result within our present relative statistical accuracy of 2.6%, corresponding to a 2 \times 10^{-13} atomic-unit uncertainty in E_1^{pv}. Theoretical motivations for further measurements are emphasized and we give a brief overview of a recent proposal that would allow the uncertainty to be reduced to the 0.1% level by creating conditions where asymmetry amplification is much greater.Comment: Article 21 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables Typos, addition of few comments and little more data (1 week) leading to a slight reduction of the error bar Accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

A linear Stark shift in dressed atoms as a signal to measure a nuclear anapole moment with a cold atom fountain or interferometer

We demonstrate theoretically the existence of a linear dc Stark shift of the individual substates of an alkali atom in its ground state, dressed by a circularly polarized laser field. It arises from the electroweak nuclear anapole moment violating P but not T. It is characterized by the pseudoscalar equal to the mixed product formed with the photon angular momentum and static electric and magnetic fields. We derive the relevant left-right asymmetry with its complete signature in a field configuration selected for a precision measurement with cold atom beams. The 3,3 to 4,3 Cs hyperfine-transition frequency shift amounts to 7 $\mu$Hz for a laser power of about 1 kW at 877 nm, E=100 kV/cm and B larger than 0.5 G.Comment: Article, 4 pages, 2 figure

A new Manifestation of Atomic Parity Violation in Cesium: a Chiral Optical Gain induced by linearly polarized 6S-7S Excitation

We have detected, by using stimulated emission, an Atomic Parity Violation (APV) in the form of a chiral optical gain of a cesium vapor on the 7S - 6P$_{3/2}$ transition,consecutive to linearly polarized 6S-7S excitation. We demonstrate the validity of this detection method of APV, by presenting a 9% accurate measurement of expected sign and magnitude. We underline several advantages of this entirely new approach in which the cylindrical symmetry of the set-up can be fully exploited. Future measurements at the percent level will provide an important cross-check of an existing more precise result obtained by a different method.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Tunable Superconducting Phase Transition in Metal-Decorated Graphene Sheets

Using typical experimental techniques it is difficult to separate the effects of carrier density and disorder on the superconducting transition in two dimensions. Using a simple fabrication procedure based on metal layer dewetting, we have produced graphene sheets decorated with a non-percolating network of nanoscale tin clusters. These metal clusters both efficiently dope the graphene substrate and induce long-range superconducting correlations. This allows us to study the superconducting transition at fixed disorder and variable carrier concentration. We find that despite structural inhomogeneity on mesoscopic length scales (10-100 nm), this material behaves electronically as a homogenous dirty superconductor. Our simple self-assembly method establishes graphene as an ideal tunable substrate for studying induced two-dimensional electronic systems at fixed disorder and our technique can readily be extended to other order parameters such as magnetism

QED corrections to the parity-nonconserving 6s-7s amplitude in 133^{133}Cs

The complete gauge-invariant set of the one-loop QED corrections to the parity-nonconserving 6s-7s amplitude in $^{133}$Cs is evaluated to all orders in $\alpha Z$ using a local version of the Dirac-Hartree-Fock potential. The calculations are peformed in both length and velocity gauges for the absorbed photon. The total binding QED correction is found to be -0.27(3)%, which differs from previous evaluations of this effect. The weak charge of $^{133}$Cs, derived using two most accurate values of the vector transition polarizability $\beta$, is $Q_W=-72.57(46)$ for $\beta = 26.957(51) a_{\rm B}^3$ and $Q_W=-73.09(54)$ for $\beta= 27.15(11)a_{\rm B}^3$. The first value deviates by $1.1\sigma$ from the prediction of the Standard Model, while the second one is in perfect agreement with it.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, 2 table

Scalable quantum computing with Josephson charge qubits

A goal of quantum information technology is to control the quantum state of a system, including its preparation, manipulation, and measurement. However, scalability to many qubits and controlled connectivity between any selected qubits are two of the major stumbling blocks to achieve quantum computing (QC). Here we propose an experimental method, using Josephson charge qubits, to efficiently solve these two central problems. The proposed QC architecture is scalable since any two charge qubits can be effectively coupled by an experimentally accessible inductance. More importantly, we formulate an efficient and realizable QC scheme that requires only one (instead of two or more) two-bit operation to implement conditional gates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Demonstration of an optical polarization magnifier with low birefringence

In any polarimetric measurement technique, enhancing the laser polarization change of a laser beam before it reaches the analyzer can help in improving the sensitivity. This can be performed using an optical component having a large linear dichroism, the enhancement factor being equal to the square root of the ratio of the two transmission factors. A pile of parallel plates at Brewster incidence looks appropriate for realizing such a polarization magnifier. In this paper, we address the problem raised by the interference in the plates and between the plates, which affects the measurement by giving rise to birefringence. We demonstrate that wedged plates provide a convenient and efficient way to avoid this interference. We have implemented and characterized devices with 4 and 6 wedged plates at Brewster incidence which have led to a decisive improvement of the signal to noise ratio in our ongoing Parity Violation measurement.Comment: 08 october 200

A quantitative study of quasiparticle traps using the single-Cooper-pair-transistor

We use radio-frequency reflectometry to measure quasiparticle tunneling rates in the single-Cooper-pair-transistor. Devices with and without quasiparticle traps in proximity to the island are studied. A $10^2$ to $10^3$-fold reduction in the quasiparticle tunneling rate onto the island is observed in the case of quasiparticle traps. In the quasiparticle trap samples we also measure a commensurate decrease in quasiparticle tunneling rate off the island.Comment: 4 pages, 4 fig