Dark-State Polaritons in Single- and Double-Λ\Lambda Media

We derive the properties of polaritons in single-$\Lambda$ and double-$\Lambda$ media using a microscopic equation-of-motion technique. In each case, the polaritonic dispersion relation and composition arise from a matrix eigenvalue problem for arbitrary control field strengths. We show that the double-$\Lambda$ medium can be used to up- or down-convert single photons while preserving quantum coherence. The existence of a dark-state polariton protects this single-photon four-wave mixing effect against incoherent decay of the excited atomic states. The efficiency of this conversion is limited mainly by the sample size and the lifetime of the metastable state.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Screening effect on the optical absorption in graphene and metallic monolayers

Screening is one of the fundamental concepts in solid state physics. It has a great impact on the electronic properties of graphene where huge mobilities were observed in spite of the large concentration of charged impurities. While static screening has successfully explained DC mobilities, screening properties can be significantly changed at infrared or optical frequencies. In this paper we discuss the influence of dynamical screening on the optical absorption of graphene and other 2D electron systems like metallic monolayers. This research is motivated by recent experimental results which pointed out that graphene plasmon linewidths and optical scattering rates can be much larger than scattering rates determined by DC mobilities. Specifically we discuss a process where a photon incident on a graphene plane can excite a plasmon by scattering from an impurity, or surface optical phonon of the substrate.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure

From Turing instability to fractals

Complexity focuses on commonality across subject areas and forms a natural platform for multidisciplinary activities. Typical generic signatures of complexity include: (i) spontaneous occurrence of simple patterns (e.g. stripes, squares, hexagons) emerging as dominant nonlinear modes [1], and (ii) the formation of a highly complex pattern in the form of a fractal (with comparable levels of detail spanning decades of scale). Recently, a firm connection was established between these two signatures, and a generic mechanism was proposed for predicting the fractal generating capacity of any nonlinear system [2]. The mechanism for fractal formation is of a very general nature: any system whose Turing threshold curves exhibit a large number of comparable spatial-frequency instability minima are potentially capable of generating fractal patterns. Spontaneous spatial fractals were first reported for a very simple nonlinear system: the diffusive Kerr slice with a single feedback mirror [3]. These Kerr-slice fractals are distinct from both the transverse fractal eigenmodes of unstable-cavity lasers [4], and also from the fractals found in optical soliton-supporting systems [5,6]. On the one hand, unstable-cavity fractals may be regarded as a linear superposition of diffraction patterns with different scale lengths, each of which arises from successive round-trip magnifications of an initial diffractive seed. On the other hand, fractals formed in the Kerr slice result entirely from intrinsic nonlinear dynamics (i.e. light-matter coupling leading to harmonic generation and/or four-wave mixing cascades). These processes conspire to generate new spatial frequencies that, in turn, can produce optical structure on smaller and smaller scales, down to the order of the optical wavelength. Here we report the first predictions of spontaneous fractal patterns inside driven damped ring cavities containing a thin slice of nonlinear material. Both dispersive (i.e. diffusive-relaxing Kerr [3]) and absorptive (i.e. Maxwell- Bloch saturable absorber [7]) are considered. New linear analyses have shown that the transverse instability spectra of these two cavity systems possess the requisite comparable minima that predict the capacity for the spontaneous generation of fractal patterns. Extensive numerical simulations, in both one and two transverse dimensions, have verified that both the dispersive and absorptive cavities do indeed give rise to nonlinear optical fractals in the transverse plane. Our results confirm that the mechanism for fractal formation has independence with respect to the details of the nonlinearity. An essential ingredient for the generation of fractals is the presence of a feedback mechanism [2]. Feedback drives the cascade process that is responsible for the creation of higher spatial wavenumbers, and which ultimately leads to the “structure across decades of scale” character of the fractal pattern. Cavity geometries are therefore ideal candidates as potential optical fractal generators. The simplest dispersive nonlinearity is provided by the relaxing-diffusing Kerr effect. The threshold curves possess the qualitative features necessary for the generation of spontaneous fractal patterns: successive and comparable spatial frequency minima. Rigorous simulations have shown that the Kerr cavity is indeed capable of generating fractal patterns. In a single-K configuration, where the filter attenuates all those spatial wavenumbers outside the first instability band, it is found that simple stripe patterns emerge. Once this stationary pattern has been reached, the spatial filter is removed to allow all waves to propagate. Energy is transferred to higher spatial frequencies, and the simple strip pattern acquires successive level of fine detail at a rate that depends upon the system parameters. By analysing the power spectrum P(K) it can be seen that a fractal pattern emerges relatively rapidly. Eventually, the system enters a dynamic equilibrium (within typically less than a hundred transits) where the average power spectrum remains unchanged even though the pattern continues to evolve in real space. When this statistically invariant state is attained, the pattern is referred to as a scale-dependent fractal. An appreciable portion of the dynamic state is well described by a linear relationship ln P(K) = a + bK, where a and b are constants, and this type of behaviour is one of the characteristics of a fractal pattern [2]. We have recently found that a thin-slice Maxwell-Bloch saturable absorber [7] can also generate fractal patterns. This system can be either purely absorptive or purely dispersive. Linear analysis, together with a generalized boundary condition (which allows for attenuation), yields the threshold condition for Turing instability. One finds that the threshold spectrum comprises a series of adjacent instability islands. Simulations have revealed that the Maxwell-Bloch system can also support fractals. The single-K patterns turn out to be hexagonal arrays, familiar from conventional pattern formation [1,3]. Once this state has been reached, the spatial filter is removed and one can observe a rapid transition toward a fractal pattern. The qualitative behaviour of fractals patterns in both dispersive and absorptive systems are found to be the same, confirming the assertion of independence with respect to nonlinearity. References: [1] J. B. Geddes et al., “Hexagons and squares in a passive nonlinear optical system,” Phys. Rev. A 5, 3471-3485 (1994). [2] J. G. Huang and G. S. McDonald, “Spontaneous optical fractal pattern formation,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 174101 (2005). [3] G. D’Alessandro and W. J. Firth, “Hexagonal spatial patterns for a Kerr slice with a feedback mirror,” Phys. Rev. A 46, 537-548 (1992). [4] J. G. Huang et al., “Fresnel diffraction and fractal patterns from polygonal apertures,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 23, 2768-2774 (2006). [5] M. Soljacic and M. Segev, “Self-similarity and fractals in soliton-supporting systems,” Phys. Rev. E 61, R1048-R1051 (2000). [6] S. Sears et al., “Cantor set fractals from solitons,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 1902-1905 (2000). [7] A. S. Patrascu et al., “Multi-conical instability in the passive ring cavity: linear analysis,” Opt. Commun. 91, 433-443 (1992)

Quantum Theory of a Resonant Photonic Crystal

We present a quantum model of two-level atoms localized in a 3D lattice, based on the Hopfield theory of exciton polaritons. In addition to a polaritonic gap at the exciton energy, a photonic bandgap opens up at the Brillouin zone boundary. Upon tuning the lattice period or angle of incidence to match the photonic gap with the exciton energy, one obtains a combined polaritonic and photonic gap as a generalization of Rabi splitting. For typical experimental parameters, the size of the combined gap is on the order of 25 cm^{-1}, up to 10^5 times the detuned gap size. The dispersion curve contains a branch supporting slow-light modes with vanishing exciton probability density.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Migrating Knowledge between Physical Scenarios based on Artificial Neural Networks

Deep learning is known to be data-hungry, which hinders its application in many areas of science when datasets are small. Here, we propose to use transfer learning methods to migrate knowledge between different physical scenarios and significantly improve the prediction accuracy of artificial neural networks trained on a small dataset. This method can help reduce the demand for expensive data by making use of additional inexpensive data. First, we demonstrate that in predicting the transmission from multilayer photonic film, the relative error rate is reduced by 46.8% (26.5%) when the source data comes from 10-layer (8-layer) films and the target data comes from 8-layer (10-layer) films. Second, we show that the relative error rate is decreased by 22% when knowledge is transferred between two very different physical scenarios: transmission from multilayer films and scattering from multilayer nanoparticles. Finally, we propose a multi-task learning method to improve the performance of different physical scenarios simultaneously in which each task only has a small dataset

Modulation Instability and Pattern Formation in Spatially Incoherent Light Beams

We present the first experimental observation of modulation instability of partially spatially incoherent light beams in non-instantaneous nonlinear media. We show that even in such a nonlinear partially coherent system (of weakly-correlated particles) patterns can form spontaneously. Incoherent MI occurs above a specific threshold that depends on the beams' coherence properties (correlation distance), and leads to a periodic train of one-dimensional (1D) filaments. At a higher value of nonlinearity, incoherent MI displays a two-dimensional (2D) instability and leads to self-ordered arrays of light spots.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure