Observation of Lasing Mediated by Collective Atomic Recoil

We observe the buildup of a frequency-shifted reverse light field in a unidirectionally pumped high-$Q$ optical ring cavity serving as a dipole trap for cold atoms. This effect is enhanced and a steady state is reached, if via an optical molasses an additional friction force is applied to the atoms. We observe the displacement of the atoms accelerated by momentum transfer in the backscattering process and interpret our observations in terms of the collective atomic recoil laser. Numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Phase-sensitive detection of Bragg scattering at 1D optical lattices

We report on the observation of Bragg scattering at 1D atomic lattices. Cold atoms are confined by optical dipole forces at the antinodes of a standing wave generated by the two counter-propagating modes of a laser-driven high-finesse ring cavity. By heterodyning the Bragg-scattered light with a reference beam, we obtain detailed information on phase shifts imparted by the Bragg scattering process. Being deep in the Lamb-Dicke regime, the scattered light is not broadened by the motion of individual atoms. In contrast, we have detected signatures of global translatory motion of the atomic grating.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Multiple Reflections and Diffuse Scattering in Bragg Scattering at Optical Lattices

We study Bragg scattering at 1D atomic lattices. Cold atoms are confined by optical dipole forces at the antinodes of a standing wave generated inside a laser-driven cavity. The atoms arrange themselves into an array of lens-shaped layers located at the antinodes of the standing wave. Light incident on this array at a well-defined angle is partially Bragg-reflected. We measure reflectivities as high as 30%. In contrast to a previous experiment devoted to the thin grating limit [S. Slama, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 193901 (2005)] we now investigate the thick grating limit characterized by multiple reflections of the light beam between the atomic layers. In principle multiple reflections give rise to a photonic stop band, which manifests itself in the Bragg diffraction spectra as asymmetries and minima due to destructive interference between different reflection paths. We show that close to resonance however disorder favors diffuse scattering, hinders coherent multiple scattering and impedes the characteristic suppression of spontaneous emission inside a photonic band gap

Self-synchronization and dissipation-induced threshold in collective atomic recoil lasing

Networks of globally coupled oscillators exhibit phase transitions from incoherent to coherent states. Atoms interacting with the counterpropagating modes of a unidirectionally pumped high-finesse ring cavity form such a globally coupled network. The coupling mechanism is provided by collective atomic recoil lasing, i.e., cooperative Bragg scattering of laser light at an atomic density grating, which is self-induced by the laser light. Under the rule of an additional friction force, the atomic ensemble is expected to undergo a phase transition to a state of synchronized atomic motion. We present the experimental investigation of this phase transition by studying the threshold behavior of this lasing process

Dimensional Crossover in Bragg Scattering from an Optical Lattice

We study Bragg scattering at 1D optical lattices. Cold atoms are confined by the optical dipole force at the antinodes of a standing wave generated inside a laser-driven high-finesse cavity. The atoms arrange themselves into a chain of pancake-shaped layers located at the antinodes of the standing wave. Laser light incident on this chain is partially Bragg-reflected. We observe an angular dependence of this Bragg reflection which is different to what is known from crystalline solids. In solids the scattering layers can be taken to be infinitely spread (3D limit). This is not generally true for an optical lattice consistent of a 1D linear chain of point-like scattering sites. By an explicit structure factor calculation we derive a generalized Bragg condition, which is valid in the intermediate regime. This enables us to determine the aspect ratio of the atomic lattice from the angular dependance of the Bragg scattered light.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Boosting Performance of Data-intensive Analysis Workflows with Distributed Coordinated Caching

Data-intensive end-user analyses in high energy physics require high data throughput to reach short turnaround cycles. This leads to enormous challenges for storage and network infrastructure, especially when facing the tremendously increasing amount of data to be processed during High-Luminosity LHC runs. Including opportunistic resources with volatile storage systems into the traditional HEP computing facilities makes this situation more complex. Bringing data close to the computing units is a promising approach to solve throughput limitations and improve the overall performance. We focus on coordinated distributed caching by coordinating workows to the most suitable hosts in terms of cached files. This allows optimizing overall processing efficiency of data-intensive workows and efficiently use limited cache volume by reducing replication of data on distributed caches. We developed a NaviX coordination service at KIT that realizes coordinated distributed caching using XRootD cache proxy server infrastructure and HTCondor batch system. In this paper, we present the experience gained in operating coordinated distributed caches on cloud and HPC resources. Furthermore, we show benchmarks of a dedicated high throughput cluster, the Throughput-Optimized Analysis-System (TOpAS), which is based on the above-mentioned concept

Federation of compute resources available to the German CMS community

The German CMS community (DCMS) as a whole can benefit from the various compute resources, available to its different institutes. While Grid-enabled and National Analysis Facility resources are usually shared within the community, local and recently enabled opportunistic resources like HPC centers and cloud resources are not. Furthermore, there is no shared submission infrastructure available. Via HTCondor\u27s [1] mechanisms to connect resource pools, several remote pools can be connected transparently to the users and therefore used more efficiently by a multitude of user groups. In addition to the statically provisioned resources, also dynamically allocated resources from external cloud providers as well as HPC centers can be integrated. However, the usage of such dynamically allocated resources gives rise to additional complexity. Constraints on access policies of the resources, as well as workflow necessities have to be taken care of. To maintain a well-defined and reliable runtime environment on each resource, virtualization and containerization technologies such as virtual machines, Docker, and Singularity, are used

Quantum-Spillover-Enhanced Surface-Plasmonic Absorption at the Interface of Silver and High-Index Dielectrics

We demonstrate an unexpectedly strong surface-plasmonic absorption at the interface of silver and high-index dielectrics based on electron and photon spectroscopy. The measured bandwidth and intensity of absorption deviate significantly from the classical theory. Our density-functional calculation well predicts the occurrence of this phenomenon. It reveals that due to the low metal-to-dielectric work function at such interfaces, conduction electrons can display a drastic quantum spillover, causing the interfacial electron-hole pair production to dominate the decay of surface plasmons. This finding can be of fundamental importance in understanding and designing quantum nanoplasmonic devices that utilize noble metals and high-index dielectrics.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMMI-1120724)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Grant FA9550-12-1-0488

HEP Analyses on Dynamically Allocated Opportunistic Computing Resources

The current experiments in high energy physics (HEP) have a huge data rate. To convert the measured data, an enormous number of computing resources is needed and will further increase with upgraded and newer experiments. To fulfill the ever-growing demand the allocation of additional, potentially only temporary available non-HEP dedicated resources is important. These so-called opportunistic resources cannot only be used for analyses in general but are also well-suited to cover the typical unpredictable peak demands for computing resources. For both use cases, the temporary availability of the opportunistic resources requires a dynamic allocation, integration, and management, while their heterogeneity requires optimization to maintain high resource utilization by allocating best matching resources. To find the best matching resources which should be allocated is challenging due to the unpredictable submission behavior as well as an ever-changing mixture of workflows with different requirements. Instead of predicting the best matching resource, we base our decisions on the utilization of resources. For this reason, we are developing the resource manager TARDIS (Transparent Adaptive Resource Dynamic Integration System) which manages and dynamically requests or releases resources. The decision of how many resources TARDIS has to request is implemented in COBalD (COBald - The Opportunistic Balancing Daemon) to ensure further allocation of well-used resources while reducing the amount of insufficiently used ones. TARDIS allocates and manages resources from various resource providers such as HPC centers or commercial and public clouds while ensuring a dynamic allocation and efficient utilization of these heterogeneous opportunistic resources. Furthermore, TARDIS integrates the allocated opportunistic resources into one overlay batch system which provides a single point of entry for all users. In order to provide the dedicated HEP software environment, we use virtualization and container technologies. In this contribution, we give an overview of the dynamic integration of opportunistic resources via TARDIS/COBalD in our HEP institute as well as how user analyses benefit from these additional resources