7,513 research outputs found
Berry's phase and the anomalous velocity of Bloch wavepackets
The semiclassical equations of motion for a Bloch electron include an
anomalous velocity term analogous to a -space "Lorentz force", with the
Berry connection playing the role of a vector potential. By examining the
adiabatic evolution of Bloch states in a monotonically-increasing vector
potential, I show that the anomalous velocity can be explained as the
difference in the Berry's phase acquired by adjacent Bloch states within a
wavepacket.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur
Coherent optical control of polarization with a critical metasurface
We describe the mechanism by which a metamaterial surface can act as an ideal
phase-controlled rotatable linear polarizer. With equal-power linearly
polarized beams incident on each side of the surface, varying the relative
phase rotates the polarization angles of the output beams, while keeping the
polarization exactly linear. The explanation is based on coupled-mode theory
and the idea of coherent perfect absorption into auxiliary polarization
channels. The polarization-rotating behavior occurs at a critical point of the
coupled-mode theory, which can be associated with the exceptional point of a
parity-time (PT) symmetric effective Hamiltonian
Dark-State Polaritons in Single- and Double- Media
We derive the properties of polaritons in single- and
double- media using a microscopic equation-of-motion technique. In
each case, the polaritonic dispersion relation and composition arise from a
matrix eigenvalue problem for arbitrary control field strengths. We show that
the double- medium can be used to up- or down-convert single photons
while preserving quantum coherence. The existence of a dark-state polariton
protects this single-photon four-wave mixing effect against incoherent decay of
the excited atomic states. The efficiency of this conversion is limited mainly
by the sample size and the lifetime of the metastable state.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians Generating Waveguide Mode Evolution
We study the properties of Hamiltonians defined as the generators of transfer
matrices in quasi- one-dimensional waveguides. For single- or multi-mode
waveguides obeying flux conservation and time-reversal invariance, the
Hamiltonians defined in this way are non-Hermitian, but satisfy symmetry
properties that have previously been identified in the literature as "pseudo
Hermiticity" and "anti-PT symmetry". We show how simple one-channel and
two-channel models exhibit transitions between real, imaginary, and complex
eigenvalue pairs.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Optical Resonator Analog of a Two-Dimensional Topological Insulator
A lattice of optical ring resonators can exhibit a topological insulator
phase, with the role of spin played by the direction of propagation of light
within each ring. Unlike the system studied by Hafezi et al., topological
protection is achieved without fine-tuning the inter-resonator couplings, which
are given the same periodicity as the underlying lattice. The topological
insulator phase occurs for strong couplings, when the tight-binding method is
inapplicable. Using the transfer matrix method, we derive the bandstructure and
phase diagram, and demonstrate the existence of robust edge states. When gain
and loss are introduced, the system functions as a diode for coupled resonator
modes.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Hidden Black: Coherent Enhancement of Absorption in Strongly-scattering Media
We show that a weakly absorbing, strongly scattering (white) medium can be
made very strongly absorbing at any frequency within its strong-scattering
bandwidth by optimizing the input electromagnetic field. For uniform
absorption, results from random matrix theory imply that the reflectivity of
the medium can be suppressed by a factor ~(l_a/lN^2), where N is the number of
incident channels and l,l_a are the elastic and absorption mean free paths
respectively. It is thus possible to increase absorption from a few percent to
> 99%. For a localized weak absorber buried in a non-absorbing scattering
medium, we find a large but bounded enhancement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Constrained Variation Method in Molecular Quantum Mechanics. Comparison of Different Approaches
Constrained variation method in molecular quantum mechanics and results for lithium hydrid
Directional excitation of graphene surface plasmons
We propose a scheme to directionally couple light into graphene plasmons by
placing a graphene sheet on a magneto-optical substrate. When a magnetic field
is applied parallel to the surface, the graphene plasmon dispersion relation
becomes asymmetric in the forward and backward directions. It is possible to
achieve unidirectional excitation of graphene plasmons with normally incident
illumination by applying a grating to the substrate. The directionality can be
actively controlled by electrically gating the graphene, or by varying the
magnetic bias. This scheme may have applications in graphene-based
opto-electronics and sensing
The FLAME-slab method for electromagnetic wave scattering in aperiodic slabs
The proposed numerical method, "FLAME-slab," solves electromagnetic wave
scattering problems for aperiodic slab structures by exploiting short-range
regularities in these structures. The computational procedure involves special
difference schemes with high accuracy even on coarse grids. These schemes are
based on Trefftz approximations, utilizing functions that locally satisfy the
governing differential equations, as is done in the Flexible Local
Approximation Method (FLAME). Radiation boundary conditions are implemented via
Fourier expansions in the air surrounding the slab. When applied to ensembles
of slab structures with identical short-range features, such as amorphous or
quasicrystalline lattices, the method is significantly more efficient, both in
runtime and in memory consumption, than traditional approaches. This efficiency
is due to the fact that the Trefftz functions need to be computed only once for
the whole ensemble.Comment: Various typos were corrected. Minor inconsistencies throughout the
manuscript were fixed. In Section II B. Additional description regarding
choice of Trefftz cell, was added. In Section III A. Detailed description
about units (used in our calculation) was adde
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