Gapped spectrum in pair-superfluid bosons

We study the ground state of a bilayer system of dipolar bosons with dipoles oriented by an external field perpendicularly to the two parallel planes. By decreasing the interlayer distance, for a fixed value of the strength of the dipolar interaction, the system undergoes a quantum phase transition from an atomic to a pair superfluid. We investigate the excitation spectrum on both sides of this transition by using two microscopic approaches. Quantum Monte Carlo methods are employed to obtain the static structure factors and intermediate scattering functions in imaginary time. The dynamic response is calculated using both the correlated basis functions (CBF) method and the approximate inversion of the Laplace transform of the quantum Monte Carlo imaginary time data. In the atomic phase, both the density and spin excitations are gapless. However, in the pair-superfluid phase a gap opens in the excitation energy of the spin mode. For small separation between layers, the minimal spin excitation energy equals the binding energy of a dimer and is twice the gap value.Postprint (author's final draft

Self-bound Bose mixtures

Recent experiments confirmed that fluctuations beyond the mean-field approximation can lead to self-bound liquid droplets of ultra-dilute binary Bose mixtures. We proceed beyond the beyond-mean-field approximation, and study liquid Bose mixtures using the variational hypernetted-chain Euler Lagrange method, which accounts for correlations non-perturbatively. Focusing on the case of a mixture of uniform density, as realized inside large saturated droplets, we study the conditions for stability against evaporation of one of the components (both chemical potentials need to be negative) and against liquid-gas phase separation (spinodal instability), the latter being accompanied by a vanishing speed of sound. Dilute Bose mixtures are stable only in a narrow range near an optimal ratio $\rho_1/\rho_2$ and near the total energy minimum. Deviations from a universal dependence on the s-wave scattering lengths are significant despite the low density.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Electronically excited rubidium atom in a helium cluster or film.

International audienceWe present theoretical studies of helium droplets and films doped with one electronically excited rubidium atom Rb( *) ((2)P). Diffusion and path integral Monte Carlo approaches are used to investigate the energetics and the structure of clusters containing up to 14 helium atoms. The surface of large clusters is approximated by a helium film. The nonpair additive potential energy surface is modeled using a diatomic in molecule scheme. Calculations show that the stable structure of Rb( *)He(n) consists of a seven helium atom ring centered at the rubidium, surrounded by a tirelike second solvation shell. A very different structure is obtained when performing a "vertical Monte Carlo transition." In this approach, a path integral Monte Carlo equilibration starts from the stable configuration of a rubidium atom in the electronic ground state adsorbed to the helium surface after switching to the electronically excited surface. In this case, Rb( *)He(n) relaxes to a weakly bound metastable state in which Rb( *) sits in a shallow dimple. The interpretation of the results is consistent with the recent experimental observations [G. Aubock et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 035301 (2008)]

Extrapolated High-Order Propagators for Path Integral Monte Carlo Simulations

We present a new class of high-order imaginary time propagators for path-integral Monte Carlo simulations by subtracting lower order propagators. By requiring all terms of the extrapolated propagator be sampled uniformly, the subtraction only affects the potential part of the path integral. The negligible violation of positivity of the resulting path integral at small time steps has no discernable affect on the accuracy of our method. Thus in principle arbitrarily high order algorithms can be devised for path-integral Monte Carlo simulations. We verify this claim is by showing that fourth, sixth, and eighth order convergence can indeed be achieved in solving for the ground state of strongly interacting quantum many-body systems such as bulk liquid $^4$He.Comment: 9 pages and 3 figures. Submitted to J. Chem. Phy

Time-dependent variational Monte Carlo study of the dynamic response of bosons in an optical lattice

We study the dynamics of a one-dimensional Bose gas at unit filling in both shallow and deep optical lattices and obtain the dynamic structure factor S(k,¿) by monitoring the linear response to a weak probe pulse. We introduce a new procedure, based on the time-dependent variational Monte Carlo method (tVMC), which allows to evolve the system in real time, using as a variational model a Jastrow-Feenberg wave function that includes pair correlations. Comparison with exact diagonalization results of S(k,¿) obtained on a lattice in the Bose-Hubbard limit shows good agreement of the dispersion relation for sufficiently deep optical lattices, while for shallow lattices we observe the influence of higher Bloch bands. We also investigate non-linear response to strong pulses. From the power spectrum of the density fluctuations we obtain the excitation spectrum, albeit broadened, by higher harmonic generation after a strong pulse with a single low wave number. As a remarkable feature of our simulations we furthermore demonstrate that the full excitation spectrum can be retrieved from the power spectrum of the density fluctuations due to the stochastic noise inherent in any Monte Carlo method, without applying an actual perturbation.Postprint (published version

Laser-induced rotation of iodine molecules in He-nanodroplets: revivals and breaking-free

Rotation of molecules embedded in He nanodroplets is explored by a combination of fs laser-induced alignment experiments and angulon quasiparticle theory. We demonstrate that at low fluence of the fs alignment pulse, the molecule and its solvation shell can be set into coherent collective rotation lasting long enough to form revivals. With increasing fluence, however, the revivals disappear -- instead, rotational dynamics as rapid as for an isolated molecule is observed during the first few picoseconds. Classical calculations trace this phenomenon to transient decoupling of the molecule from its He shell. Our results open novel opportunities for studying non-equilibrium solute-solvent dynamics and quantum thermalization.Comment: 6+7 pages; 4+1 figures; 1 tabl

Communication: Dopant-induced solvation of alkalis in liquid helium nanodroplets

Alkali metal atoms and small alkali clusters are classic heliophobes and when in contact with liquid helium they reside in a dimple on the surface. Here we show that alkalis can be induced to submerge into liquid helium when a highly polarizable co-solute, C60, is added to a helium nanodroplet. Evidence is presented that shows that all sodium clusters, and probably single Na atoms, enter the helium droplet in the presence of C60. Even clusters of cesium, an extreme heliophobe, dissolve in liquid helium when C60 is added. The sole exception is atomic Cs, which remains at the surface

Rotational coherence spectroscopy of molecules in helium nanodroplets: Reconciling the time and the frequency domains

Alignment of OCS, CS$_2$ and I$_2$ molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets is measured as a function of time following rotational excitation by a non-resonant, comparatively weak ps laser pulse. The distinct peaks in the power spectra, obtained by Fourier analysis, are used to determine the rotational, B, and centrifugal distortion, D, constants. For OCS, B and D match the values known from IR spectroscopy. For CS$_2$ and I$_2$, they are the first experimental results reported. The alignment dynamics calculated from the gas-phase rotational Schr\"{o}dinger equation, using the experimental in-droplet B and D values, agree in detail with the measurement for all three molecules. The rotational spectroscopy technique for molecules in helium droplets introduced here should apply to a range of molecules and complexes.Comment: ASC and LC contributed equally. 7 pages, 3 figure