14,720 research outputs found
Symmetry breaking and clustering in a vibrated granular gas with several macroscopically connected compartments
The spontaneous symmetry breaking in a vibro-fluidized low-density granular
gas in three connected compartments is investigated. When the total number of
particles in the system becomes large enough, particles distribute themselves
unequally among the three compartments. Particles tend to concentrate in one of
the compartments, the other two having the (relatively small) same average
number of particles. A hydrodynamical model that accurately predicts the
bifurcation diagram of the system is presented. The theory can be easily
extended to the case of an arbitrary number of connected compartments
Optimization of the fermentation conditions of musts from Pedro Ximenez grapes grown in Southern Spain. Production of higher alcohols and esters
Musts from Vitis vinifera Pedro Ximenez grapes with sugar contents of 191, 241, 300 and 342 g/l were fermented at controlled temperatures of 15, 20, 25 and 30°C. The fraction of higher alcohols and esters was determined by GLC in a capillary column. By variance analysis significant differences (p~0,01) were obtained in the production of isoamyl alcohols and 2-phenylethanol at the different fermentation temperatures, while the hexanol-1 content was found to depend on the degree of ripeness of the grapes. Only the contents in 2-phenylethyl acetate and ethyl octanoate among the esters assayed were found to depend significantly on the fermentation temperature, and only that of hexyl acetate was found to depend on the degree of ripeness (p~0,01). Taking into account the production of ethanol, higher alcohols and esters, the best results were obtained at fermentation temperatures between 20° and 25°C, for both white table wines (12% v/v ethanol) and sherry type fine wines (15% v/v ethanol)
Exponential improvement in photon storage fidelities using subradiance and "selective radiance" in atomic arrays
A central goal within quantum optics is to realize efficient interactions
between photons and atoms. A fundamental limit in nearly all applications based
on such systems arises from spontaneous emission, in which photons are absorbed
by atoms and then re-scattered into undesired channels. In typical treatments
of atomic ensembles, it is assumed that this re-scattering occurs
independently, and at a rate given by a single isolated atom, which in turn
gives rise to standard limits of fidelity in applications such as quantum
memories or quantum gates. However, this assumption can be violated. In
particular, spontaneous emission of a collective atomic excitation can be
significantly suppressed through strong interference in emission. Thus far the
physics underlying the phenomenon of subradiance and techniques to exploit it
have not been well-understood. In this work, we provide a comprehensive
treatment of this problem. First, we show that in ordered atomic arrays in free
space, subradiant states acquire an interpretation in terms of optical modes
that are guided by the array, which only emit due to scattering from the ends
of the finite chain. We also elucidate the properties of subradiant states in
the many-excitation limit. Finally, we introduce the new concept of selective
radiance. Whereas subradiant states experience a reduced coupling to all
optical modes, selectively radiant states are tailored to simultaneously
radiate efficiently into a desired channel while scattering into undesired
channels is suppressed, thus enabling an enhanced atom-light interface. We show
that these states naturally appear in chains of atoms coupled to nanophotonic
structures, and we analyze the performance of photon storage exploiting such
states. We find that selectively radiant states allow for a photon storage
error that scales exponentially better with number of atoms than previously
known bounds.Comment: Fixed minor typos, is now analogous to published versio
Optimization of photon storage fidelity in ordered atomic arrays
A major application for atomic ensembles consists of a quantum memory for
light, in which an optical state can be reversibly converted to a collective
atomic excitation on demand. There exists a well-known fundamental bound on the
storage error, when the ensemble is describable by a continuous medium governed
by the Maxwell-Bloch equations. The validity of this model can break down,
however, in systems such as dense, ordered atomic arrays, where strong
interference in emission can give rise to phenomena such as subradiance and
"selective" radiance. Here, we develop a general formalism that finds the
maximum storage efficiency for a collection of atoms with discrete, known
positions, and a given spatial mode in which an optical field is sent. As an
example, we apply this technique to study a finite two-dimensional square array
of atoms. We show that such a system enables a storage error that scales with
atom number like ,
and that, remarkably, an array of just atoms in principle allows
for an efficiency comparable to a disordered ensemble with optical depth of
around 600.Comment: paper is now identical to published versio
Entanglement of two qubits mediated by one-dimensional plasmonic waveguides
We investigate qubit-qubit entanglement mediated by plasmons supported by
one-dimensional waveguides. We explore both the situation of spontaneous
formation of entanglement from an unentangled state and the emergence of driven
steady-state entanglement under continuous pumping. In both cases, we show that
large values for the concurrence are attainable for qubit-qubit distances
larger than the operating wavelength by using plasmonic waveguides that are
currently available.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Minor Changes. Journal Reference added.
Highlighted in Physic
Geometrically induced modification of surface plasmons in the optical and telecom regimes
We demonstrate that the introduction of a subwavelength periodic modulation
into a metallic structure strongly modifies the guiding characteristics of the
surface plasmon modes supported by the system. Moreover, it is also shown how a
new type of a tightly confined surface plasmon polariton mode can be created by
just milling a periodic corrugation into a metallic ridge placed on top of a
metal surface
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