215 research outputs found
Should the wave-function be a part of the quantum ontological state?
We analyze the recent no go theorem by Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph (PBR)
concerning ontic and epistemic hidden variables. We define two fundamental
requirements for the validity of the result. We finally compare the models
satisfying the theorem with the historical hidden variable approach proposed by
de Broglie and Bohm.Comment: Progress in Physics, vol 4 (October 2012
Brownian motion in the pilot wave interpretation of de Broglie and relaxation to quantum equilibrium
The pilot wave interpretation proposed by de Broglie and later by Bohm
contains not only a dynamical ontology but also relies on a statistical
assumption known as quantum equilibrium. In this work which follows our recent
article [1] we develop a Langevin force description of the relaxation process
which leads to quantum equilibrium. Based on a application of the
Caldera-Leggett model for a thermal bath we show how a Brownian motion leads
naturally to quantum relaxation.Comment: to appear in Annales de la Fondation de Broglie (2018
Remote optical addressing of single nano-objects
We present a scheme for remotely addressing single nano-objects by means of
near-field optical microscopy that makes only use of one of the most
fundamental properties of electromagnetic radiation: its polarization. A medium
containing optically active nano-objects is covered with a thin metallic film
presenting sub-wavelength holes. When the optical tip is positioned some
distance away from a hole, surface plasmons in the metal coating are generated
which, by turning the polarization plane of the excitation light, transfer the
excitation towards a chosen hole and induce emission from the underlying
nano-objects. The method, easily applicable to other systems, is demonstrated
for single quantum dots (QDs) at low temperature. It may become a valuable tool
for future optical applications in the nanoworld
Wave Particle Duality and the Afshar Experiment
We analyze the experiment realized in 2003-2004 by S. Afshar et al. in order to refute the principle of complementarity. We discuss the general meaning of this principle and show that contrarily to the claim of the authors Bohr's complementarity is not in danger in this experiment
Comment on "Far-field microscopy with a nanometer-scale resolution based on the in-plane image magnification by surface plasmon polaritons"
This is a small comment concerning the work by Smolyaninov et al. in Phys.
Rev. Lett.94, 057401 (2005)
Large variation in the boundary-condition slippage for a rarefied gas flowing between two surfaces
We study the slippage of a gas along mobile rigid walls in the sphere-plane
confined geometry and find that it varies considerably with pressure. The
classical no-slip boundary condition valid at ambient pressure changes
continuously to an almost perfect slip condition in a primary vacuum. Our study
emphasizes the key role played by the mean free-path of the gas molecules on
the interaction between a confined fluid and solid surfaces and further
demonstrates that the macroscopic hydrodynamics approach can be used with
confidence even in a primary vacuum environment where it is intuitively
expected to fail
Near-field microscopy with a scanning nitrogen-vacancy color center in a diamond nanocrystal: A brief review
We review our recent developments of near-field scanning optical microscopy
(NSOM) that uses an active tip made of a single fluorescent nanodiamond (ND)
grafted onto the apex of a substrate fiber tip. The ND hosting a limited number
of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color centers, such a tip is a scanning quantum source
of light. The method for preparing the ND-based tips and their basic properties
are summarized. Then we discuss theoretically the concept of spatial resolution
that is achievable in this special NSOM configuration and find it to be only
limited by the scan height over the imaged system, in contrast with the
standard aperture-tip NSOM whose resolution depends critically on both the scan
height and aperture diameter. Finally, we describe a scheme we have introduced
recently for high-resolution imaging of nanoplasmonic structures with ND-based
tips that is capable of approaching the ultimate resolution anticipated by
theory.Comment: AD, AC, OM, MB and SH wish to dedicate this brief review article to
their co-author and colleague Yannick Sonnefraud who passed away in September
2014. Yannick initiated this research in 200
- …