1,130 research outputs found
Quantum Noise and Superluminal Propagation
Causal "superluminal" effects have recently been observed and discussed in
various contexts. The question arises whether such effects could be observed
with extremely weak pulses, and what would prevent the observation of an
"optical tachyon." Aharonov, Reznik, and Stern (ARS) [Phys. Rev. Lett., vol.
81, 2190 (1998)] have argued that quantum noise will preclude the observation
of a superluminal group velocity when the pulse consists of one or a few
photons. In this paper we reconsider this question both in a general framework
and in the specific example, suggested by Chiao, Kozhekin, and Kurizki [Phys.
Rev. Lett., vol. 77, 1254 (1996)], of off-resonant, short-pulse propagation in
an optical amplifier. We derive in the case of the amplifier a signal-to-noise
ratio that is consistent with the general ARS conclusions when we impose their
criteria for distinguishing between superluminal propagation and propagation at
the speed c. However, results consistent with the semiclassical arguments of
CKK are obtained if weaker criteria are imposed, in which case the signal can
exceed the noise without being "exponentially large." We show that the quantum
fluctuations of the field considered by ARS are closely related to
superfluorescence noise. More generally we consider the implications of
unitarity for superluminal propagation and quantum noise and study, in addition
to the complete and truncated wavepackets considered by ARS, the residual
wavepacket formed by their difference. This leads to the conclusion that the
noise is mostly luminal and delayed with respect to the superluminal signal. In
the limit of a very weak incident signal pulse, the superluminal signal will be
dominated by the noise part, and the signal-to-noise ratio will therefore be
very small.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, eps
Quantum Nonlocality in Two-Photon Experiments at Berkeley
We review some of our experiments performed over the past few years on
two-photon interference. These include a test of Bell's inequalities, a study
of the complementarity principle, an application of EPR correlations for
dispersion-free time-measurements, and an experiment to demonstrate the
superluminal nature of the tunneling process. The nonlocal character of the
quantum world is brought out clearly by these experiments. As we explain,
however, quantum nonlocality is not inconsistent with Einstein causality.Comment: 16 pages including 24 figure
A comparison between matter wave and light wave interferometers for the detection of gravitational waves
We calculate and compare the response of light wave interferometers and
matter wave interferometers to gravitational waves. We find that metric matter
wave interferometers will not challenge kilometric light wave interferometers
such as Virgo or LIGO, but could be a good candidate for the detection of very
low frequency gravitational waves
Signal velocity, causality, and quantum noise in superluminal light pulse propagation
We consider pulse propagation in a linear anomalously dispersive medium where
the group velocity exceeds the speed of light in vacuum (c) or even becomes
negative. A signal velocity is defined operationally based on the optical
signal-to-noise ratio, and is computed for cases appropriate to the recent
experiment where such a negative group velocity was observed. It is found that
quantum fluctuations limit the signal velocity to values less than c.Comment: 4 Journal pages, 3 figure
Efficient Reactive Brownian Dynamics
We develop a Split Reactive Brownian Dynamics (SRBD) algorithm for particle
simulations of reaction-diffusion systems based on the Doi or volume reactivity
model, in which pairs of particles react with a specified Poisson rate if they
are closer than a chosen reactive distance. In our Doi model, we ensure that
the microscopic reaction rules for various association and disassociation
reactions are consistent with detailed balance (time reversibility) at
thermodynamic equilibrium. The SRBD algorithm uses Strang splitting in time to
separate reaction and diffusion, and solves both the diffusion-only and
reaction-only subproblems exactly, even at high packing densities. To
efficiently process reactions without uncontrolled approximations, SRBD employs
an event-driven algorithm that processes reactions in a time-ordered sequence
over the duration of the time step. A grid of cells with size larger than all
of the reactive distances is used to schedule and process the reactions, but
unlike traditional grid-based methods such as Reaction-Diffusion Master
Equation (RDME) algorithms, the results of SRBD are statistically independent
of the size of the grid used to accelerate the processing of reactions. We use
the SRBD algorithm to compute the effective macroscopic reaction rate for both
reaction- and diffusion-limited irreversible association in three dimensions.
We also study long-time tails in the time correlation functions for reversible
association at thermodynamic equilibrium. Finally, we compare different
particle and continuum methods on a model exhibiting a Turing-like instability
and pattern formation. We find that for models in which particles diffuse off
lattice, such as the Doi model, reactions lead to a spurious enhancement of the
effective diffusion coefficients.Comment: To appear in J. Chem. Phy
Theory of vortex lattice effects on STM spectra in d-wave superconductors
Theory of scanning tunneling spectroscopy of low energy quasiparticle (QP)
states in vortex lattices of d-wave superconductors is developed taking account
of the effects caused by an extremely large extension of QP wavefunctions in
the nodal directions and the band structure in the QP spectrum. The oscillatory
structures in STM spectra, which correspond to van Hove singularities are
analysed. Theoretical calculations carried out for finite temperatures and
scattering rates are compared with recent experimental data for high
temperature cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, M2S-HTSC-VI conference paper, using Elsevier
style espcrc2.st
Manifestation of classical wave delays in a fully quantized model of the scattering of a single photon
We consider a fully quantized model of spontaneous emission, scattering, and
absorption, and study propagation of a single photon from an emitting atom to a
detector atom both with and without an intervening scatterer. We find an exact
quantum analog to the classical complex analytic signal of an electromagnetic
wave scattered by a medium of charged oscillators. This quantum signal exhibits
classical phase delays. We define a time of detection which, in the appropriate
limits, exactly matches the predictions of a classically defined delay for
light propagating through a medium of charged oscillators. The fully quantized
model provides a simple, unambiguous, and causal interpretation of delays that
seemingly imply speeds greater than c in the region of anomalous dispersion.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, revised for clarity, typos corrrecte
Quasiparticle-quasiparticle Scattering in High Tc Superconductors
The quasiparticle lifetime and the related transport relaxation times are the
fundamental quantities which must be known in order to obtain a description of
the transport properties of the high T_c superconductors. Studies of these
quantities have been undertaken previously for the d-wave, high T_c
superconductors for the case of temperature-independent elastic impurity
scattering. However, much less is known about the temperature-dependent
inelastic scattering. Here we give a detailed description of the
characteristics of the temperature-dependent quasiparticle-quasiparticle
scattering in d-wave superconductors, and find that this process gives a
natural explanation of the rapid variation with temperature of the electrical
transport relaxation rate.Comment: 4 page
Angle Dependence of the Transverse Thermal Conductivity in YBaCuO single crystals: Doppler Effect vs. Andreev scattering
We have measured the transverse thermal conductivity of twinned
and untwinned YBaCuO single crystals as a function of angle
between the magnetic field applied parallel to the CuO planes and
the heat current direction, at different magnetic fields and temperatures. For
both crystals we observed a clear twofold variation in the field-angle
dependence of . We
have found that the oscillation amplitude depends on
temperature and magnetic field. Our results show that with the temperature- and sample-dependent parameters and .
We discuss our results in terms of Andreev scattering of quasiparticles by
vortices and a recently proposed theory based on the Doppler shift in the
quasiparticle spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Time-resolved broadband analysis of slow-light propagation and superluminal transmission of electromagnetic waves in three-dimensional photonic crystals
A time-resolved analysis of the amplitude and phase of THz pulses propagating
through three-dimensional photonic crystals is presented. Single-cycle pulses
of THz radiation allow measurements over a wide frequency range, spanning more
than an octave below, at and above the bandgap of strongly dispersive photonic
crystals. Transmission data provide evidence for slow group velocities at the
photonic band edges and for superluminal transmission at frequencies in the
gap. Our experimental results are in good agreement with
finite-difference-time-domain simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figure
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