8,050 research outputs found
Three-dimensional Roton-Excitations and Supersolid formation in Rydberg-excited Bose-Einstein Condensates
We study the behavior of a Bose-Einstein condensate in which atoms are weakly
coupled to a highly excited Rydberg state. Since the latter have very strong
van der Waals interactions, this coupling induces effective, nonlocal
interactions between the dressed ground state atoms, which, opposed to dipolar
interactions, are isotropically repulsive. Yet, one finds partial attraction in
momentum space, giving rise to a roton-maxon excitation spectrum and a
transition to a supersolid state in three-dimensional condensates. A detailed
analysis of decoherence and loss mechanisms suggests that these phenomena are
observable with current experimental capabilities.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Strong-coupling effects in the relaxation dynamics of ultracold neutral plasmas
We describe a hybrid molecular dynamics approach for the description of
ultracold neutral plasmas, based on an adiabatic treatment of the electron gas
and a full molecular dynamics simulation of the ions, which allows us to follow
the long-time evolution of the plasma including the effect of the strongly
coupled ion motion. The plasma shows a rather complex relaxation behavior,
connected with temporal as well as spatial oscillations of the ion temperature.
Furthermore, additional laser cooling of the ions during the plasma evolution
drastically modifies the expansion dynamics, so that crystallization of the ion
component can occur in this nonequilibrium system, leading to lattice-like
structures or even long-range order resulting in concentric shells
Deterministic spatio-temporal control of nano-optical fields in optical antennas and nano transmission lines
We show that pulse shaping techniques can be applied to tailor the ultrafast
temporal response of the strongly confined and enhanced optical near fields in
the feed gap of resonant optical antennas (ROAs). Using finite-difference
time-domain (FDTD) simulations followed by Fourier transformation, we obtain
the impulse response of a nano structure in the frequency domain, which allows
obtaining its temporal response to any arbitrary pulse shape. We apply the
method to achieve deterministic optimal temporal field compression in ROAs with
reduced symmetry and in a two-wire transmission line connected to a symmetric
dipole antenna. The method described here will be of importance for experiments
involving coherent control of field propagation in nanophotonic structures and
of light-induced processes in nanometer scale volumes.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Enhanced transmission versus localization of a light pulse by a subwavelength metal slit: Can the pulse have both characteristics?
The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light
waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et
al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820
(2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light be enhanced and simultaneously
localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question,
the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond)
wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by
using the conventional approach based on the Neerhoff and Mur solution of
Maxwell's equations. The results show that a light can be enhanced by orders of
magnitude and simultaneously localized in the near-field diffraction zone at
the nm- and fs-scales. Possible applications in nanophotonics are discussed.Comment: 5 figure
Higher dimensional abelian Chern-Simons theories and their link invariants
The role played by Deligne-Beilinson cohomology in establishing the relation
between Chern-Simons theory and link invariants in dimensions higher than three
is investigated. Deligne-Beilinson cohomology classes provide a natural abelian
Chern-Simons action, non trivial only in dimensions , whose parameter
is quantized. The generalized Wilson -loops are observables of the
theory and their charges are quantized. The Chern-Simons action is then used to
compute invariants for links of -loops, first on closed
-manifolds through a novel geometric computation, then on
through an unconventional field theoretic computation.Comment: 40 page
Kinetic modelling and molecular dynamics simulation of ultracold neutral plasmas including ionic correlations
A kinetic approach for the evolution of ultracold neutral plasmas including
interionic correlations and the treatment of ionization/excitation and
recombination/deexcitation by rate equations is described in detail. To assess
the reliability of the approximations inherent in the kinetic model, we have
developed a hybrid molecular dynamics method. Comparison of the results reveals
that the kinetic model describes the atomic and ionic observables of the
ultracold plasma surprisingly well, confirming our earlier findings concerning
the role of ion-ion correlations [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 68}, 010703]. In addition,
the molecular dynamics approach allows one to study the relaxation of the ionic
plasma component towards thermodynamical equilibrium
On the ring nebulae around runaway Wolf-Rayet stars
Wolf-Rayet stars are advanced evolutionary stages of massive stars. Despite
their large mass-loss rates and high wind velocities, none of them display a
bow shock, although a fraction of them are classified as runaway. Our 2.5-D
numerical simulations of circumstellar matter around a 60Mo runaway star show
that the fast Wolf-Rayet stellar wind is released into a wind-blown cavity
filled with various shocks and discontinuities generated throughout the
precedent evolutionary phases. The resulting fast-wind slow-wind interaction
leads to the formation of spherical shells of swept-up dusty material similar
to those observed in near infrared 24 micron with Spitzer, and which appear to
be co-moving with the runaway massive stars, regardless of their proper motion
and/or the properties of the local ambient medium. We interpret bright infrared
rings around runaway Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galactic plane, like WR138a, as
indication of their very high initial masses and a complex evolutionary
history. Stellar-wind bow shocks become faint as stars run in diluted media,
therefore, our results explain the absence of detected bow shocks around
Galactic Wolf-Rayet stars such as the high-latitude, very fast-moving objects
WR71, WR124 and WR148. Our results show that the absence of a bow shock is
consistent with a runaway nature of some Wolf-Rayet stars. This questions the
in-situ star formation scenario of high-latitude Wolf-Rayet stars in favor of
dynamical ejection from birth sites in the Galactic plane.Comment: 6 pages, accepted to MNRA
Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation
Nanoantennas for visible and infrared radiation can strongly enhance the
interaction of light with nanoscale matter by their ability to efficiently link
propagating and spatially localized optical fields. This ability unlocks an
enormous potential for applications ranging from nanoscale optical microscopy
and spectroscopy over solar energy conversion, integrated optical
nanocircuitry, opto-electronics and density-ofstates engineering to
ultra-sensing as well as enhancement of optical nonlinearities. Here we review
the current understanding of optical antennas based on the background of both
well-developed radiowave antenna engineering and the emerging field of
plasmonics. In particular, we address the plasmonic behavior that emerges due
to the very high optical frequencies involved and the limitations in the choice
of antenna materials and geometrical parameters imposed by nanofabrication.
Finally, we give a brief account of the current status of the field and the
major established and emerging lines of investigation in this vivid area of
research.Comment: Review article with 76 pages, 21 figure
Deformation of a nearly hemispherical conducting drop due to an electric field: theory and experiment
We consider, both theoretically and experimentally, the deformation due to an electric field of a pinned nearly-hemispherical static sessile drop of an ionic fluid with a high conductivity resting on the lower substrate of a parallel plate capacitor. Using both numerical and asymptotic approaches we find solutions to the coupled electrostatic and augmented YoungâLaplace equations which agree very well with the experimental results. Our asymptotic solution for the drop interface extends previous work in two ways, namely to drops that have zero-field contact angles that are not exactly Ï/2 and to higher order in the applied electric field, and provides useful predictive equations for the changes in the height, contact angle and pressure as functions of the zero-field contact angle, drop radius, surface tension and applied electric field. The asymptotic solution requires some numerical computations, and so a surprisingly accurate approximate analytical asymptotic solution is also obtained
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