4,978 research outputs found
Quantum Kinetic Theory VI: The Growth of a Bose-Einstein Condensate
A detailed analysis of the growth of a BEC is given, based on quantum kinetic
theory, in which we take account of the evolution of the occupations of lower
trap levels, and of the full Bose-Einstein formula for the occupations of
higher trap levels, as well as the Bose stimulated direct transfer of atoms to
the condensate level introduced by Gardiner et al. We find good agreement with
experiment at higher temperatures, but at lower temperatures the experimentally
observed growth rate is somewhat more rapid. We also confirm the picture of the
``kinetic'' region of evolution, introduced by Kagan et al., for the time up to
the initiation of the condensate. The behavior after initiation essentially
follows our original growth equation, but with a substantially increased rate
coefficient.
Our modelling of growth implicitly gives a model of the spatial shape of the
condensate vapor system as the condensate grows, and thus provides an
alternative to the present phenomenological fitting procedure, based on the sum
of a zero-chemical potential vapor and a Thomas-Fermi shaped condensate. Our
method may give substantially different results for condensate numbers and
temperatures obtained from phenomentological fits, and indicates the need for
more systematic investigation of the growth dynamics of the condensate from a
supersaturated vapor.Comment: TeX source; 29 Pages including 26 PostScript figure
Coupled dynamics of RNA folding and nanopore translocation
The translocation of structured RNA or DNA molecules through narrow pores
necessitates the opening of all base pairs. Here, we study the interplay
between the dynamics of translocation and base-pairing theoretically, using
kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and analytical methods. We find that the
transient formation of basepairs that do not occur in the ground state can
significantly speed up translocation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter
Disruption of reflecting Bose-Einstein condensates due to inter-atomic interactions and quantum noise
We perform fully three-dimensional simulations, using the truncated Wigner
method, to investigate the reflection of Bose-Einstein condensates from abrupt
potential barriers. We show that the inter-atomic interactions can disrupt the
internal structure of a cigar-shaped cloud with a high atom density at low
approach velocities, damping the center-of-mass motion and generating vortices.
Furthermore, by incorporating quantum noise we show that scattering halos form
at high approach velocities, causing an associated condensate depletion. We
compare our results to recent experimental observations.Comment: 5 figure
The Morphologies of the Small Magellanic Cloud
We compare the distribution of stars of different spectral types, and hence
mean age, within the central SMC and find that the asymmetric structures are
almost exclusively composed of young main sequence stars. Because of the
relative lack of older stars in these features, and the extremely regular
distribution of red giant and clump stars in the SMC central body, we conclude
that tides alone are not responsible for the irregular appearance of the
central SMC. The dominant physical mechanism in determining the current-day
appearance of the SMC must be star formation triggered by a hydrodynamic
interaction between gaseous components. These results extend the results of
population studies (cf. Gardiner and Hatzidimitriou) inward in radius and also
confirm the suggestion of the spheroidal nature of the central SMC based on
kinematic arguments (Dopita et al; Hardy, Suntzeff & Azzopardi). Finally, we
find no evidence in the underlying older stellar population for a ``bar'' or
``outer arm'', again supporting our classification of the central SMC as a
spheroidal body with highly irregular recent star formation.Comment: 8 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters (higher quality
figures available at http://ngala.as.arizona.edu/dennis/mcsurvey.html
Non-degenerate, three-wave mixing with the Josephson ring modulator
The Josephson ring modulator (JRM) is a device, based on Josephson tunnel
junctions, capable of performing non-degenerate mixing in the microwave regime
without losses. The generic scattering matrix of the device is calculated by
solving coupled quantum Langevin equations. Its form shows that the device can
achieve quantum-limited noise performance both as an amplifier and a mixer.
Fundamental limitations on simultaneous optimization of performance metrics
like gain, bandwidth and dynamic range (including the effect of pump depletion)
are discussed. We also present three possible integrations of the JRM as the
active medium in a different electromagnetic environment. The resulting
circuits, named Josephson parametric converters (JPC), are discussed in detail,
and experimental data on their dynamic range are found to be in good agreement
with theoretical predictions. We also discuss future prospects and requisite
optimization of JPC as a preamplifier for qubit readout applications.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, 4 table
Non-destructive cavity QED probe of Bloch oscillations in a gas of ultracold atoms
We describe a scheme for probing a gas of ultracold atoms trapped in an
optical lattice and moving in the presence of an external potential. The probe
is non-destructive and uses the existing lattice fields as the measurement
device. Two counter-propagating cavity fields simultaneously set up a
conservative lattice potential and a weak quantum probe of the atomic motion.
Balanced heterodyne detection of the probe field at the cavity output along
with integration in time and across the atomic cloud yield information about
the atomic dynamics in a single run. The scheme is applied to a measurement of
the Bloch oscillation frequency for atoms moving in the presence of the local
gravitational potential. Signal-to-noise ratios are estimated to be as high as
.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Isospin fluctuations in spinodal decomposition
We study the isospin dynamics in fragment formation within the framework of
an analytical model based on the spinodal decomposition scenario. We calculate
the probability to obtain fragments with given charge and neutron number,
focussing on the derivation of the width of the isotopic distributions. Within
our approach this is determined by the dispersion of N/Z among the leading
unstable modes, due to the competition between Coulomb and symmetry energy
effects, and by isovector-like fluctuations present in the matter that
undergoes the spinodal decomposition. Hence the widths exhibit a clear
dependence on the properties of the Equation of State. By comparing two systems
with different values of the charge asymmetry we find that the isotopic
distributions reproduce an isoscaling relationship.Comment: 18 RevTex4 pages, 6 eps figure
Quantum-limited force measurement with an optomechanical device
We study the detection of weak coherent forces by means of an optomechanical
device formed by a highly reflecting isolated mirror shined by an intense and
highly monochromatic laser field. Radiation pressure excites a vibrational mode
of the mirror, inducing sidebands of the incident field, which are then
measured by heterodyne detection. We determine the sensitivity of such a scheme
and show that the use of an entangled input state of the two sideband modes
improves the detection, even in the presence of damping and noise acting on the
mechanical mode.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Effects of Measurement back-action in the stabilization of a Bose-Einstein condensate through feedback
We apply quantum filtering and control to a particle in a harmonic trap under
continuous position measurement, and show that a simple static feedback law can
be used to cool the system. The final steady state is Gaussian and dependent on
the feedback strength and coupling between the system and probe. In the limit
of weak coupling this final state becomes the ground state. An earlier model by
Haine et. al. (PRA 69, 2004) without measurement back-action showed dark
states: states that did not display error signals, thus remaining unaffected by
the control. This paper shows that for a realistic measurement process this is
not true, which indicates that a Bose-Einstein condensate may be driven towards
the ground state from any arbitrary initial state.Comment: 1 Tex, 4 PS pictures, 1 bbl fil
Anharmonic effects on a phonon number measurement of a quantum mesoscopic mechanical oscillator
We generalize a proposal for detecting single phonon transitions in a single
nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) to include the intrinsic anharmonicity of
each mechanical oscillator. In this scheme two NEMS oscillators are coupled via
a term quadratic in the amplitude of oscillation for each oscillator. One NEMS
oscillator is driven and strongly damped and becomes a transducer for phonon
number in the other measured oscillator. We derive the conditions for this
measurement scheme to be quantum limited and find a condition on the size of
the anharmonicity. We also derive the relation between the phase diffusion
back-action noise due to number measurement and the localization time for the
measured system to enter a phonon number eigenstate. We relate both these time
scales to the strength of the measured signal, which is an induced current
proportional to the position of the readout oscillator.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
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