195 research outputs found
Grassmann phase space methods for fermions. II. Field theory
In both quantum optics and cold atom physics, the behaviour of bosonic photons and atoms is often treated using phase space methods, where mode annihilation and creation operators are represented by c-number phase space variables, with the density operator equivalent to a distribution function of these variables. The anti-commutation rules for fermion annihilation, creation operators suggests the possibility of using anti-commuting Grassmann variables to represent these operators. However, in spite of the seminal work by Cahill and Glauber and a few applications, the use of Grassmann phase space methods in quantum-atom optics to treat fermionic systems is rather rare, though fermion coherent states using Grassmann variables are widely used in particle physics.
This paper presents a phase space theory for fermion systems based on distribution functionals, which replace the density operator and involve Grassmann fields representing anti-commuting fermion field annihilation, creation operators. It is an extension of a previous phase space theory paper for fermions (Paper I) based on separate modes, in which the density operator is replaced by a distribution function depending on Grassmann phase space variables which represent the mode annihilation and creation operators. This further development of the theory is important for the situation when large numbers of fermions are involved, resulting in too many modes to treat separately. Here Grassmann fields, distribution functionals, functional Fokker–Planck equations and Ito stochastic field equations are involved. Typical applications to a trapped Fermi gas of interacting spin 1/2 fermionic atoms and to multi-component Fermi gases with non-zero range interactions are presented, showing that the Ito stochastic field equations are local in these cases. For the spin 1/2 case we also show how simple solutions can be obtained both for the untrapped case and for an optical lattice trapping potential
Synchronized pulse control of decoherence
We present a new strategy for multipulse control over decoherence. When a
two-level system interacts with a reservoir characterized by a specific
frequency, we find that the decoherence is effectively suppressed by
synchronizing the pulse-train application with the dynamical motion of the
reservoir.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Non-Markovian Decay of a Three Level Cascade Atom in a Structured Reservoir
We present a formalism that enables the study of the non-Markovian dynamics
of a three-level ladder system in a single structured reservoir. The
three-level system is strongly coupled to a bath of reservoir modes and two
quantum excitations of the reservoir are expected. We show that the dynamics
only depends on reservoir structure functions, which are products of the mode
density with the coupling constant squared. This result may enable pseudomode
theory to treat multiple excitations of a structured reservoir. The treatment
uses Laplace transforms and an elimination of variables to obtain a formal
solution. This can be evaluated numerically (with the help of a numerical
inverse Laplace transform) and an example is given. We also compare this result
with the case where the two transitions are coupled to two separate structured
reservoirs (where the example case is also analytically solvable)
Field quantization for open optical cavities
We study the quantum properties of the electromagnetic field in optical
cavities coupled to an arbitrary number of escape channels. We consider both
inhomogeneous dielectric resonators with a scalar dielectric constant
and cavities defined by mirrors of arbitrary shape. Using
the Feshbach projector technique we quantize the field in terms of a set of
resonator and bath modes. We rigorously show that the field Hamiltonian reduces
to the system--and--bath Hamiltonian of quantum optics. The field dynamics is
investigated using the input--output theory of Gardiner and Collet. In the case
of strong coupling to the external radiation field we find spectrally
overlapping resonator modes. The mode dynamics is coupled due to the damping
and noise inflicted by the external field. For wave chaotic resonators the mode
dynamics is determined by a non--Hermitean random matrix. Upon including an
amplifying medium, our dynamics of open-resonator modes may serve as a starting
point for a quantum theory of random lasing.Comment: 16 pages, added references, corrected typo
Grassmann Variables and the Jaynes-Cummings Model
This paper shows that phase space methods using a positive P type
distribution function involving both c-number variables (for the cavity mode)
and Grassmann variables (for the two level atom) can be used to treat the
Jaynes-Cummings model. Although it is a Grassmann function, the distribution
function is equivalent to six c-number functions of the two bosonic variables.
Experimental quantities are given as bosonic phase space integrals involving
the six functions. A Fokker-Planck equation involving both left and right
Grassmann differentiation can be obtained for the distribution function, and is
equivalent to six coupled equations for the six c-number functions.
The approach used involves choosing the canonical form of the (non-unique)
positive P distribution function, where the correspondence rules for bosonic
operators are non-standard and hence the Fokker-Planck equation is also
unusual. Initial conditions, such as for initially uncorrelated states, are
used to determine the initial distribution function. Transformations to new
bosonic variables rotating at the cavity frequency enables the six coupled
equations for the new c-number functions (also equivalent to the canonical
Grassmann distribution function) to be solved analytically, based on an ansatz
from a 1980 paper by Stenholm. It is then shown that the distribution function
is the same as that determined from the well-known solution based on coupled
equations for state vector amplitudes of atomic and n-photon product states.
The treatment of the simple two fermion mode Jaynes-Cummings model is a
useful test case for the future development of phase space Grassmann
distribution functional methods for multi-mode fermionic applications in
quantum-atom optics.Comment: 57 pages, 0 figures. Version
Density matrix operatorial solution of the non--Markovian Master Equation for Quantum Brownian Motion
An original method to exactly solve the non-Markovian Master Equation
describing the interaction of a single harmonic oscillator with a quantum
environment in the weak coupling limit is reported. By using a superoperatorial
approach we succeed in deriving the operatorial solution for the density matrix
of the system. Our method is independent of the physical properties of the
environment. We show the usefulness of our solution deriving explicit
expressions for the dissipative time evolution of some observables of physical
interest for the system, such as, for example, its mean energy.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
Multipole interaction between atoms and their photonic environment
Macroscopic field quantization is presented for a nondispersive photonic
dielectric environment, both in the absence and presence of guest atoms.
Starting with a minimal-coupling Lagrangian, a careful look at functional
derivatives shows how to obtain Maxwell's equations before and after choosing a
suitable gauge. A Hamiltonian is derived with a multipolar interaction between
the guest atoms and the electromagnetic field. Canonical variables and fields
are determined and in particular the field canonically conjugate to the vector
potential is identified by functional differentiation as minus the full
displacement field. An important result is that inside the dielectric a dipole
couples to a field that is neither the (transverse) electric nor the
macroscopic displacement field. The dielectric function is different from the
bulk dielectric function at the position of the dipole, so that local-field
effects must be taken into account.Comment: 17 pages, to be published in Physical Review
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