14,785 research outputs found
Quantum levitation by left-handed metamaterials
Left-handed metamaterials make perfect lenses that image classical
electromagnetic fields with significantly higher resolution than the
diffraction limit. Here we consider the quantum physics of such devices. We
show that the Casimir force of two conducting plates may turn from attraction
to repulsion if a perfect lens is sandwiched between them. For optical
left-handed metamaterials this repulsive force of the quantum vacuum may
levitate ultra-thin mirrors
Quantum Breathing of an Impurity in a One-dimensional Bath of Interacting Bosons
By means of time-dependent density-matrix renormalization-group (TDMRG) we
are able to follow the real-time dynamics of a single impurity embedded in a
one-dimensional bath of interacting bosons. We focus on the impurity breathing
mode, which is found to be well-described by a single oscillation frequency and
a damping rate. If the impurity is very weakly coupled to the bath, a
Luttinger-liquid description is valid and the impurity suffers an
Abraham-Lorentz radiation-reaction friction. For a large portion of the
explored parameter space, the TDMRG results fall well beyond the
Luttinger-liquid paradigm.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, main text and supplementary material merged in a
single PRB style documen
Boundary element method for resonances in dielectric microcavities
A boundary element method based on a Green's function technique is introduced
to compute resonances with intermediate lifetimes in quasi-two-dimensional
dielectric cavities. It can be applied to single or several optical resonators
of arbitrary shape, including corners, for both TM and TE polarization. For
cavities with symmetries a symmetry reduction is described. The existence of
spurious solutions is discussed. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated
by calculating resonances in two coupled hexagonal cavities.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures (quality reduced
Optical Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rules
The Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule is a fundamental consequence of the position-momentum commutation relation for an atomic electron and it provides an important constraint on the transition matrix elements for an atom. Analogously, the commutation relations for the electromagnetic field operators in a magnetodielectric medium constrain the properties of the dispersion relations for the medium through four sum rules for the allowed phase and group velocities for polaritons propagating through the medium. These rules apply to all bulk media including the metamaterials designed to provide negative refractive indices. An immediate consequence of this is that it is not possible to construct a medium in which all the polariton modes for a given wavelength lie in the negative-index region
Quadrupole collective modes in trapped finite-temperature Bose-Einstein condensates
Finite temperature simulations are used to study quadrupole excitations of a
trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. We focus specifically on the m=0 mode, where
a long-standing theoretical problem has been to account for an anomalous
variation of the mode frequency with temperature. We explain this behavior in
terms of the excitation of two separate modes, corresponding to coupled motion
of the condensate and thermal cloud. The relative amplitudes of the modes
depends sensitively on the temperature and on the frequency of the harmonic
drive used to excite them. Good agreement with experiment is found for
appropriate drive frequencies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Dynamics of light propagation in spatiotemporal dielectric structures
Propagation, transmission and reflection properties of linearly polarized
plane waves and arbitrarily short electromagnetic pulses in one-dimensional
dispersionless dielectric media possessing an arbitrary space-time dependence
of the refractive index are studied by using a two-component, highly symmetric
version of Maxwell's equations. The use of any slow varying amplitude
approximation is avoided. Transfer matrices of sharp nonstationary interfaces
are calculated explicitly, together with the amplitudes of all secondary waves
produced in the scattering. Time-varying multilayer structures and
spatiotemporal lenses in various configurations are investigated analytically
and numerically in a unified approach. Several new effects are reported, such
as pulse compression, broadening and spectral manipulation of pulses by a
spatiotemporal lens, and the closure of the forbidden frequency gaps with the
subsequent opening of wavenumber bandgaps in a generalized Bragg reflector
Alternative Fourier Expansions for Inverse Square Law Forces
Few-body problems involving Coulomb or gravitational interactions between
pairs of particles, whether in classical or quantum physics, are generally
handled through a standard multipole expansion of the two-body potentials. We
discuss an alternative based on a compact, cylindrical Green's function
expansion that should have wide applicability throughout physics. Two-electron
"direct" and "exchange" integrals in many-electron quantum systems are
evaluated to illustrate the procedure which is more compact than the standard
one using Wigner coefficients and Slater integrals.Comment: 10 pages, latex/Revtex4, 1 figure
Extended Classical Over-Barrier Model for Collisions of Highly Charged Ions with Conducting and Insulating Surfaces
We have extended the classical over-barrier model to simulate the
neutralization dynamics of highly charged ions interacting under grazing
incidence with conducting and insulating surfaces. Our calculations are based
on simple model rates for resonant and Auger transitions. We include effects
caused by the dielectric response of the target and, for insulators, localized
surface charges. Characteristic deviations regarding the charge transfer
processes from conducting and insulating targets to the ion are discussed. We
find good agreement with previously published experimental data for the image
energy gain of a variety of highly charged ions impinging on Au, Al, LiF and KI
crystals.Comment: 32 pages http://pikp28.uni-muenster.de/~ducree
Coulomb field of an accelerated charge: physical and mathematical aspects
The Maxwell field equations relative to a uniformly accelerated frame, and
the variational principle from which they are obtained, are formulated in terms
of the technique of geometrical gauge invariant potentials. They refer to the
transverse magnetic (TM) and the transeverse electric (TE) modes. This gauge
invariant "2+2" decomposition is used to see how the Coulomb field of a charge,
static in an accelerated frame, has properties that suggest features of
electromagnetism which are different from those in an inertial frame. In
particular, (1) an illustrative calculation shows that the Larmor radiation
reaction equals the electrostatic attraction between the accelerated charge and
the charge induced on the surface whose history is the event horizon, and (2) a
spectral decomposition of the Coulomb potential in the accelerated frame
suggests the possibility that the distortive effects of this charge on the
Rindler vacuum are akin to those of a charge on a crystal lattice.Comment: 27 pages, PlainTex. Related papers available at
http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~gerlac
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