215 research outputs found
Resonant Energy Exchange between Atoms in Dispersing and Absorbing Surroundings
Within the framework of quantization of the macroscopic electromagnetic
field, a master equation describing both the resonant dipole-dipole interaction
(RDDI) and the resonant atom-field interaction (RAFI) in the presence of
dispersing and absorbing macroscopic bodies is derived, with the relevant
couplings being expressed in terms of the surroundings-assisted Green tensor.
It is shown that under certain conditions the RDDI can be regarded as being
governed by an effective Hamiltonian. The theory, which applies to both weak
and strong atom-field coupling, is used to study the resonant energy exchange
between two (two-level) atoms sharing initially a single excitation. In
particular, it is shown that in the regime of weak atom-field coupling there is
a time window, where the energy transfer follows a transfer-rate law of the
type obtained by ordinary second-order perturbation theory. Finally, the
spectrum of the light emitted during the energy transfer is studied and the
line splittings are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figs, Proceedings of ICQO'2002, Raubichi, to appear in
Optics and Spectroscop
Quantum state conversion by cross-Kerr interaction
A generalized Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer equipped with cross-Kerr
elements is proposed to convert N-photon truncated single-mode quantum states
into (N+1)-mode single-photon states, which are suitable for further state
manipulation by means of beam splitter arrays and ON/OFF-detections, and vice
versa. Applications to the realization of unitary and non-unitary
transformations, quantum state reconstruction, and quantum telemanipulation are
studied.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, using a4.st
Van-der-Waals potentials of paramagnetic atoms
We study single- and two-atom van der Waals interactions of ground-state
atoms which are both polarizable and paramagnetizable in the presence of
magneto-electric bodies within the framework of macroscopic quantum
electrodynamics. Starting from an interaction Hamiltonian that includes
particle spins, we use leading-order perturbation theory for the van der Waals
potentials expressed in terms of the polarizability and magnetizability of the
atom(s). To allow for atoms embedded in media, we also include local-field
corrections via the real-cavity model. The general theory is applied to the
potential of a single atom near a half space and that of two atoms embedded in
a bulk medium or placed near a sphere, respectively.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Cavity-assisted spontaneous emission as a single-photon source: Pulse shape and efficiency of one-photon Fock state preparation
Within the framework of exact quantum electrodynamics in dispersing and
absorbing media, we have studied the quantum state of the radiation emitted
from an initially in the upper state prepared two-level atom in a high-
cavity, including the regime where the emitted photon belongs to a wave packet
that simultaneously covers the areas inside and outside the cavity. For both
continuing atom--field interaction and short-term atom--field interaction, we
have determined the spatio-temporal shape of the excited outgoing wave packet
and calculated the efficiency of the wave packet to carry a one-photon Fock
state. Furthermore, we have made contact with quantum noise theories where the
intracavity field and the field outside the cavity are regarded as
approximately representing independent degrees of freedom such that two
separate Hilbert spaces can be introduced.Comment: 16 pages, 7 eps figures; improved version as submitted to Phys. Rev.
Casimir Forces and Graphene Sheets
The Casimir force between two infinitely thin parallel sheets in a setting of
such sheets is found. The finite two-dimensional conductivities, which
describe the dispersive and absorptive properties of each sheet, are taken into
account, whereupon the theory is applied to interacting graphenes. By exploring
similarities with in-plane optical spectra for graphite, the conductivity of
graphene is modeled as a combination of Lorentz type oscillators. We find that
the graphene transparency and the existence of a universal constant
conductivity result in graphene/graphene Casimir interaction at
large separations to have the same distance dependence as the one for perfect
conductors but with much smaller magnitude
Atomic decay near a quantized medium of absorbing scatterers
The decay of an excited atom in the presence of a medium that both scatters
and absorbs radiation is studied with the help of a quantum-electrodynamical
model. The medium is represented by a half space filled with a randomly
distributed set of non-overlapping spheres, which consist of a linear
absorptive dielectric material. The absorption effects are described by means
of a quantized damped-polariton theory. It is found that the effective
susceptibility of the bulk does not fully account for the medium-induced change
in the atomic decay rate. In fact, surface effects contribute to the
modification of the decay properties as well. The interplay of scattering and
absorption in the total decay rate is discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur
Stress and streets: How the network structure of streets is associated with stress-related brain activation
Previous research has examined the relation between urban design factors and mental health, but the impact of street networks is underrepresented. This exploratory, cross-sectional study examines the association between street network variables based on the Space Syntax theory and whole-brain activation during a social stress paradigm. Forty-two individuals who lived in Berlin participated in an fMRI study during which acute social stress was induced. Saliva cortisol concentrations, subjective stress ratings, and mean heart rate were assessed as proxies for a successful stress induction. Space Syntax was used as a tool to objectively measure street network characteristics including global integration (‘proximity’ of a street to all the other streets in a network), local integration (‘proximity’ of a street to a certain number of streets within a walkable area), connectivity (‘direct street connections’ a street has), and normalized angular choice (NACH) (‘straightest and shortest’ route for a street in a street network). They were analyzed within a 1500 m radius of participants' address (i.e., neighborhood) as well as for the street closest to their address (i.e., point address). Higher mean neighborhood global and local integration, which equate to better integrated streets in the network, were associated with less activation during stress provocation in several brain regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, insula, and thalamus, which play a role in the detection of salient stimuli and threats. No association was found between brain activity and global and local integration for the point address. There was also no association between brain activity and connectivity or NACH for any conditions. The study indicates that Space Syntax is a useful tool for measuring macro-scale urban space (e.g., street networks) in neuro-urbanistic studies. The results underline the need to explore the potential of optimizing street networks to better understand pathways to urban mental health.</p
Strong exciton-plasmon coupling in semiconducting carbon nanotubes
We study theoretically the interactions of excitonic states with surface
electromagnetic modes of small-diameter (~1 nm) semiconducting single-walled
carbon nanotubes. We show that these interactions can result in strong
exciton-surface-plasmon coupling. The exciton absorption line shape exhibits
Rabi splitting ~0.1 eV as the exciton energy is tuned to the nearest interband
surface plasmon resonance of the nanotube. We also show that the quantum
confined Stark effect may be used as a tool to control the exciton binding
energy and the nanotube band gap in carbon nanotubes in order, e.g., to bring
the exciton total energy in resonance with the nearest interband plasmon mode.
The exciton-plasmon Rabi splitting we predict here for an individual carbon
nanotube is close in its magnitude to that previously reported for hybrid
plasmonic nanostructures artificially fabricated of organic semiconductors on
metallic films. We expect this effect to open up paths to new tunable
optoelectronic device applications of semiconducting carbon nanotubes.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, accepted for PR
- …