104 research outputs found
Anharmonic parametric excitation in optical lattices
We study both experimentally and theoretically the losses induced by
parametric excitation in far-off-resonance optical lattices. The atoms confined
in a 1D sinusoidal lattice present an excitation spectrum and dynamics
substantially different from those expected for a harmonic potential. We
develop a model based on the actual atomic Hamiltonian in the lattice and we
introduce semiempirically a broadening of the width of lattice energy bands
which can physically arise from inhomogeneities and fluctuations of the
lattice, and also from atomic collisions. The position and strength of the
parametric resonances and the evolution of the number of trapped atoms are
satisfactorily described by our model.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Cooling atoms in an optical trap by selective parametric excitation
We demonstrate the possibility of energy-selective removal of cold atoms from
a tight optical trap by means of parametric excitation of the trap vibrational
modes. Taking advantage of the anharmonicity of the trap potential, we
selectively remove the most energetic trapped atoms or excite those at the
bottom of the trap by tuning the parametric modulation frequency. This process,
which had been previously identified as a possible source of heating, also
appears to be a robust way for forcing evaporative cooling in anharmonic traps.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Nonperturbative and perturbative treatments of parametric heating in atom traps
We study the quantum description of parametric heating in harmonic potentials
both nonperturbatively and perturbatively, having in mind atom traps. The first
approach establishes an explicit connection between classical and quantum
descriptions; it also gives analytic expressions for properties such as the
width of fractional frequency parametric resonances. The second approach gives
an alternative insight into the problem and can be directly extended to take
into account nonlinear effects. This is specially important for shallow traps.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Nonergodic Behavior of Interacting Bosons in Harmonic Traps
We study the time evolution of a system of interacting bosons in a harmonic
trap. In the low-energy regime, the quantum system is not ergodic and displays
rather large fluctuations of the ground state occupation number. In the high
energy regime of classical physics we find nonergodic behavior for modest
numbers of trapped particles. We give two conditions that assure the ergodic
behavior of the quantum system even below the condensation temperature.Comment: 11 pages, 3 PS-figures, uses psfig.st
Trapping and cooling single atoms with far-off resonance intracavity doughnut modes
We investigate cooling and trapping of single atoms inside an optical cavity
using a quasi-resonant field and a far-off resonant mode of the Laguerre-Gauss
type. The far-off resonant doughnut mode provides an efficient trapping in the
case when it shifts the atomic internal ground and excited state in the same
way, which is particularly useful for quantum information applications of
cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) systems. Long trapping times can be
achieved, as shown by full 3-D simulations of the quasi-classical motion inside
the resonator.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, RevTe
Chaos in a double driven dissipative nonlinear oscillator
We propose an anharmonic oscillator driven by two periodic forces of
different frequencies as a new time-dependent model for investigating quantum
dissipative chaos. Our analysis is done in the frame of statistical ensemble of
quantum trajectories in quantum state diffusion approach. Quantum dynamical
manifestation of chaotic behavior, including the emergence of chaos, properties
of strange attractors, and quantum entanglement are studied by numerical
simulation of ensemble averaged Wigner function and von Neumann entropy.Comment: 9 pages, 18 figure
Cold atmospheric plasma-activated composite hydrogel for an enhanced and on-demand delivery of antimicrobials
We present the concept of a versatile drug-loaded composite hydrogel that can be activated using an argon-based cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet to deliver both a drug and CAP-generated molecules, concomitantly, in a tissue target. To demonstrate this concept, we utilized the antibiotic gentamicin that is encapsulated in sodium polyacrylate (PAA) particles, which are dispersed within a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel matrix. The final product is a gentamicin-PAA-PVA composite hydrogel suitable for an on-demand triggered release using CAP. We show that by activating using CAP, we can effectively release gentamicin from the hydrogel and also eradicate the bacteria effectively, both in the planktonic state and within a biofilm. Besides gentamicin, we also successfully demonstrate the applicability of the CAP-activated composite hydrogel loaded with other antimicrobial agents such as cetrimide and silver. This concept of a composite hydrogel is potentially adaptable to a range of therapeutics (such as antimicrobials, anticancer agents, and nanoparticles) and activatable using any dielectric barrier discharge CAP device
Quantum Computing and Quantum Simulation with Group-II Atoms
Recent experimental progress in controlling neutral group-II atoms for
optical clocks, and in the production of degenerate gases with group-II atoms
has given rise to novel opportunities to address challenges in quantum
computing and quantum simulation. In these systems, it is possible to encode
qubits in nuclear spin states, which are decoupled from the electronic state in
the S ground state and the long-lived P metastable state on the
clock transition. This leads to quantum computing scenarios where qubits are
stored in long lived nuclear spin states, while electronic states can be
accessed independently, for cooling of the atoms, as well as manipulation and
readout of the qubits. The high nuclear spin in some fermionic isotopes also
offers opportunities for the encoding of multiple qubits on a single atom, as
well as providing an opportunity for studying many-body physics in systems with
a high spin symmetry. Here we review recent experimental and theoretical
progress in these areas, and summarise the advantages and challenges for
quantum computing and quantum simulation with group-II atoms.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, review for special issue of "Quantum Information
Processing" on "Quantum Information with Neutral Particles
Stochastic Phase Space Localization for a Single Particle
We propose a feedback scheme to control the vibrational motion of a single
trapped particle based on indirect measurements of its position. It results the
possibility of a motional phase space uncertainty contraction, correponding to
cool the particle close to the motional ground state.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure. Concluding section and figure revised. In press on
Phys. rev.
Magnetic Field Amplification in Galaxy Clusters and its Simulation
We review the present theoretical and numerical understanding of magnetic
field amplification in cosmic large-scale structure, on length scales of galaxy
clusters and beyond. Structure formation drives compression and turbulence,
which amplify tiny magnetic seed fields to the microGauss values that are
observed in the intracluster medium. This process is intimately connected to
the properties of turbulence and the microphysics of the intra-cluster medium.
Additional roles are played by merger induced shocks that sweep through the
intra-cluster medium and motions induced by sloshing cool cores. The accurate
simulation of magnetic field amplification in clusters still poses a serious
challenge for simulations of cosmological structure formation. We review the
current literature on cosmological simulations that include magnetic fields and
outline theoretical as well as numerical challenges.Comment: 60 pages, 19 Figure
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