Superglass formation in an atomic BEC with competing long-range interactions

The complex dynamical phases of quantum systems are dictated by atomic interactions that usually evoke an emergent periodic order. Here, we study a quantum many-body system with two competing and substantially different long-range interaction potentials where the dynamical instability towards density order can give way to a superglass phase, i. e., a superfluid disordered amorphous solid, which exhibits local density modulations but no long-range periodic order. We consider a two-dimensional BEC in the Rydberg-dressing regime coupled to an optical standing wave resonator. The dynamic pattern formation in this system is governed by the competition between the two involved interaction potentials: repulsive soft-core interactions arising due to Rydberg dressing and infinite-range sign changing interactions induced by the cavity photons. The superglass phase is found when the two interaction potentials introduce incommensurate length scales. The dynamic formation of this peculiar phase without any externally added disorder is driven by quantum fluctuations and can be attributed to frustration induced by the two competing interaction energies and length scales.Comment: new title, added reference

Characterizing superradiant dynamics in atomic arrays via a cumulant expansion approach

Ordered atomic arrays with subwavelength lattice spacing emit light collectively. For fully inverted atomic arrays, this results in an initial burst of radiation and a fast build up of coherences between the atoms at initial times. Based on a cumulant expansion of the equations of motion, we derive exact analytical expressions for the emission properties and numerically analyze the full many-body problem resulting in the collective decay process for unprecedented system sizes of up to a few hundred atoms. We benchmark the cumulant expansion approach and show that it correctly captures the cooperative dynamics resulting in superradiance. For fully inverted arrays, this allows us to extract the scaling of the superradiant peak with particle number. For partially excited arrays where no coherences are shared among atoms, we also determine the critical number of excitations required for the emergence of superradiance in one- and two-dimensional geometries. In addition, we study the robustness of superradiance in the case of non-unit filling and position disorder.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Modifying cooperative decay via disorder in atom arrays

Atomic arrays can exhibit collective light emission when the transition wavelength exceeds their lattice spacing. Subradiant states take advantage of this phenomenon to drastically reduce their overall decay rate, allowing for long-lived states in dissipative open systems. We build on previous work to investigate whether or not disorder can further decrease the decay rate of a singly-excited atomic array. More specifically, we consider spatial disorder of varying strengths in a 1D half waveguide and in 1D, 2D, and 3D atomic arrays in free space and analyze the effect on the most subradiant modes. While we confirm that the dilute half waveguide exhibits an analog of Anderson localization, the dense half waveguide and free space systems can be understood through the creation of close-packed, few-body subradiant states similar to those found in the Dicke limit. In general, we find that disorder provides little advantage in generating darker subradiant states in free space on average and will often accelerate decay. However, one could potentially change interatomic spacing within the array to engineer specific subradiant states.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

Harnessing quantum emitter rings for efficient energy transport and trapping

Efficient transport and harvesting of excitation energy under low light conditions is an important process in nature and quantum technologies alike. Here we formulate a quantum optics perspective to excitation energy transport in configurations of two-level quantum emitters with a particular emphasis on efficiency and robustness against disorder. We study a periodic geometry of emitter rings with subwavelength spacing, where collective electronic states emerge due to near-field dipole-dipole interactions. The system gives rise to collective subradiant states that are particularly suited to excitation transport and are protected from energy disorder and radiative decoherence. Comparing ring geometries with other configurations shows that that the former are more efficient in absorbing, transporting, and trapping incident light. Because our findings are agnostic as to the specific choice of quantum emitters, they indicate general design principles for quantum technologies with superior photon transport properties and may elucidate potential mechanisms resulting in the highly efficient energy transport efficiencies in natural light-harvesting systems.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

A tissue-specific landscape of sense/antisense transcription in the mouse intestine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The intestinal mucosa is characterized by complex metabolic and immunological processes driven highly dynamic gene expression programs. With the advent of next generation sequencing and its utilization for the analysis of the RNA sequence space, the level of detail on the global architecture of the transcriptome reached a new order of magnitude compared to microarrays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report the ultra-deep characterization of the polyadenylated transcriptome in two closely related, yet distinct regions of the mouse intestinal tract (small intestine and colon). We assessed tissue-specific transcriptomal architecture and the presence of novel transcriptionally active regions (nTARs). In the first step, signatures of 20,541 NCBI RefSeq transcripts could be identified in the intestine (74.1% of annotated genes), thereof 16,742 are common in both tissues. Although the majority of reads could be linked to annotated genes, 27,543 nTARs not consistent with current gene annotations in RefSeq or ENSEMBL were identified. By use of a second independent strand-specific RNA-Seq protocol, 20,966 of these nTARs were confirmed, most of them in vicinity of known genes. We further categorized our findings by their relative adjacency to described exonic elements and investigated regional differences of novel transcribed elements in small intestine and colon.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The current study demonstrates the complexity of an archetypal mammalian intestinal mRNA transcriptome in high resolution and identifies novel transcriptionally active regions at strand-specific, single base resolution. Our analysis for the first time shows a strand-specific comparative picture of nTARs in two tissues and represents a resource for further investigating the transcriptional processes that contribute to tissue identity.</p

Low‐Coordinated Iron(II) Siloxide Complexes – Structural Diversity and Reactivity Towards O2 and Oxygen Atom Transfer Reagents

The coordination chemistry of Fe2+ ions in combination with a monodentate siloxide ligand Ph3SiO− (L) was investigated. Using a Fe/L stoichiometry of 1 : 3 the complex [Na(DME)][FeL3], 2, with the iron center in a trigonal ligand environment was isolated and through decreasing the siloxide amount fraction 2 was shown to form via a unique example of a dinuclear complex, where one of the iron ions has a quasi-trigonal and the other one a tetrahedral coordination sphere, namely [Na(DME)][Fe2L5], 1. If, however, 4 equivalents of L are employed, the tetrasiloxido ferrate(II) anion with a tetrahedral structure is generated, so that the product [Na(DME)]2[FeL4], 3, can be isolated. 2 reacts instantly with O-atom transfer reagents, also at low temperatures, but no reaction intermediate could be identified. From the product mixture the iron(III) siloxide complex [Na(DME)3][FeL4], 4, could isolated by crystallization as the main product. Likewise, the reaction with dioxygen proceeded rather fast and added substrates did not intercept any intermediate upon its formation. However, in the presence of cyclohexene oxidation products were observed. They correspond to the typical radical-chain-derived products of cyclohexene suggesting, that initially a reactive FeOx species is generated that via an H atom abstraction from cyclohexene triggers its autoxidation.Peer Reviewe

Effect of photon propagation on a zero refractive index medium

We present a model describing the transmission of light through atomic media with a vanishing index of refraction. Zero index materials are of particular interest as the infinite phase velocity of light within the material offers the potential to manipulate electromagnetic waves to mediate dipole-dipole interactions over extended distances. We focus on the preparation of zero-index conditions based on atomic coherence using two distinct atomic media as exemplary of generic zero-index materials. We establish a model based on the Maxwell-Bloch equations to describe the propagation of a light pulse through these media. To investigate the sustainability of the zero index under minimal light conditions, we assume single-photon intensity of the propagating pulse. Specifically, we examine whether the spatial phase change of the photon remains zero as it traverses the medium. We employ a finite-element numerical approach to solve the coupled Maxwell-Bloch equations describing the photon propagation. Our results indicate that the presence of a photon within the medium will disrupt the zero-index state, thus disallowing the establishment of enhanced dipole-dipole interactions over large distances

High-Surface-Area Porous Platinum Electrodes for Enhanced Charge Transfer

Cobalt-based electrolytes are highly tunable and have pushed the limits of dye-sensitized solar cells, enabling higher open-circuit voltages and new record efficiencies. However, the performance of these electrolytes and a range of other electrolytes suffer from slow electron transfer at platinum counter electrodes. High surface area platinum would enhance catalysis, but pure platinum structures are too expensive in practice. Here, a material-efficient host-guest architecture is developed that uses an ultrathin layer of platinum deposited upon an electrically conductive scaffold, niobium-doped tin oxide (NTO). This nanostructured composite enhances the counter electrode performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) using a (CoBPY3)-B-(II/III) electrolyte with an increased fill factor and power conversion efficiency (11.26%), compared to analogous flat films. The modular strategy is elaborated by integrating a light scattering layer onto the counter electrode to reflect unabsorbed light back to the photoanode to improve the short-circuit current density and power conversion efficiency

Optimized geometries for cooperative photon storage in an impurity coupled to a two-dimensional atomic array

The collective modes of two-dimensional ordered atomic arrays can modify the radiative environment of embedded atomic impurities. We analyze the role of the lattice geometry on the impurity's emission linewidth by comparing the effective impurity decay rate obtained for all non-centered Bravais lattices and an additional honeycomb lattice. We demonstrate that the lattice geometry plays a crucial role in determining the effective decay rate for the impurity. In particular, we find that the minimal effective decay rate appears in lattices where the number of the impurity's nearest neighbours is maximal and the number of distinct distances among nearest neighbours is minimal. We further show that, in the choice between interstitial and substitutional placement of the impurity, the former always wins by exhibiting a lower decay rate and longer photon storage. For interstitial placements, we determine the optimal impurity position in the lattice plane, which is not necessarily found in the center of the lattice plaquette.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

High‐spin square planar iron(II) alkali metal siloxide complexes – influence of the alkali metal and reactivity towards O 2

Complexes [L2Fe][Li(DME)]2, 1(DME), {[L2Fe][Na2(DME)3]}∞, 2(DME) and [L2Fe][K(DME)2]2, 3(DME) were synthesized by deprotonation of LH2 (LH2=O(SiPh2OH)2) with the respective alkali metal tert-butoxides followed by recrystallization from DME. It turned out that upon crossing over from Li+ via Na+ to K+ counterions the structures of the high-spin iron(II) complexes are increasingly distorted from a square planar towards a tetrahedral structure so that 3(DME) represents a borderline case, as indicated by the τ-values. The distortions are also reflected in the Mössbauer spectra through the quadrupole splittings. The compounds behave inert in contact with O atom transfer reagents but react rapidly with dioxygen. The reaction rates are too high to be determined even by stopped-flow measurements quantitatively, but qualitatively it emerged that the rates increase from Li to Na to K. Using NO as an O2 surrogate an NO adduct with an S = 3/2 ground state was isolated where NO is coordinated in an end-on binding mode, formally as a NO− ligand, with a significantly weakened NO bond.Peer Reviewe