874 research outputs found
Coupled multimode optomechanics in the microwave regime
The motion of micro- and nanomechanical resonators can be coupled to
electromagnetic fields. This allows to explore the mutual interaction and
introduces new means to manipulate and control both light and mechanical
motion. Such optomechanical systems have recently been implemented in
nanoelectromechanical systems involving a nanomechanical beam coupled to a
superconducting microwave resonator. Here, we propose optomechanical systems
that involve multiple, coupled microwave resonators. In contrast to similar
systems in the optical realm, the coupling frequency governing photon exchange
between microwave modes is naturally comparable to typical mechanical
frequencies. For instance this enables new ways to manipulate the microwave
field, such as mechanically driving coherent photon dynamics between different
modes. In particular we investigate two setups where the electromagnetic field
is coupled either linearly or quadratically to the displacement of a
nanomechanical beam. The latter scheme allows to perform QND Fock state
detection. For experimentally realistic parameters we predict the possibility
to measure an individual quantum jump from the mechanical ground state to the
first excited state.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Effective non-adiabatic Hamiltonians for the quantum nuclear motion over coupled electronic states
The quantum mechanical motion of the atomic nuclei is considered over a
single- or a multi-dimensional subspace of electronic states which is separated
by a gap from the rest of the electronic spectrum over the relevant range of
nuclear configurations. The electron-nucleus Hamiltonian is block-diagonalized
up to through a unitary transformation of the
electronic subspace and the corresponding th-order effective Hamiltonian is
derived for the quantum nuclear motion. Explicit but general formulae are given
for the second- and the third-order corrections. As a special case, the
second-order Hamiltonian corresponding to an isolated electronic state is
recovered which contains the coordinate-dependent mass-correction terms in the
nuclear kinetic energy operator. For a multi-dimensional, explicitly coupled
electronic band, the second-order Hamiltonian contains the usual BO terms and
non-adiabatic corrections but generalized mass-correction terms appear as well.
These, earlier neglected terms, perturbatively account for the outlying
(discrete and continuous) electronic states not included in the explicitly
coupled electronic subspace
State Transfer Between a Mechanical Oscillator and Microwave Fields in the Quantum Regime
Recently, macroscopic mechanical oscillators have been coaxed into a regime
of quantum behavior, by direct refrigeration [1] or a combination of
refrigeration and laser-like cooling [2, 3]. This exciting result has
encouraged notions that mechanical oscillators may perform useful functions in
the processing of quantum information with superconducting circuits [1, 4-7],
either by serving as a quantum memory for the ephemeral state of a microwave
field or by providing a quantum interface between otherwise incompatible
systems [8, 9]. As yet, the transfer of an itinerant state or propagating mode
of a microwave field to and from a mechanical oscillator has not been
demonstrated owing to the inability to agilely turn on and off the interaction
between microwave electricity and mechanical motion. Here we demonstrate that
the state of an itinerant microwave field can be coherently transferred into,
stored in, and retrieved from a mechanical oscillator with amplitudes at the
single quanta level. Crucially, the time to capture and to retrieve the
microwave state is shorter than the quantum state lifetime of the mechanical
oscillator. In this quantum regime, the mechanical oscillator can both store
and transduce quantum information
Effective dynamics for particles coupled to a quantized scalar field
We consider a system of N non-relativistic spinless quantum particles
(``electrons'') interacting with a quantized scalar Bose field (whose
excitations we call ``photons''). We examine the case when the velocity v of
the electrons is small with respect to the one of the photons, denoted by c
(v/c= epsilon << 1). We show that dressed particle states exist (particles
surrounded by ``virtual photons''), which, up to terms of order (v/c)^3, follow
Hamiltonian dynamics. The effective N-particle Hamiltonian contains the kinetic
energies of the particles and Coulomb-like pair potentials at order (v/c)^0 and
the velocity dependent Darwin interaction and a mass renormalization at order
(v/c)^{2}. Beyond that order the effective dynamics are expected to be
dissipative.
The main mathematical tool we use is adiabatic perturbation theory. However,
in the present case there is no eigenvalue which is separated by a gap from the
rest of the spectrum, but its role is taken by the bottom of the absolutely
continuous spectrum, which is not an eigenvalue.
Nevertheless we construct approximate dressed electrons subspaces, which are
adiabatically invariant for the dynamics up to order (v/c)\sqrt{\ln
(v/c)^{-1}}. We also give an explicit expression for the non adiabatic
transitions corresponding to emission of free photons. For the radiated energy
we obtain the quantum analogue of the Larmor formula of classical
electrodynamics.Comment: 67 pages, 2 figures, version accepted for publication in
Communications in Mathematical Physic
Another proof of Gell-Mann and Low's theorem
The theorem by Gell-Mann and Low is a cornerstone in QFT and zero-temperature
many-body theory. The standard proof is based on Dyson's time-ordered expansion
of the propagator; a proof based on exact identities for the time-propagator is
here given.Comment: 5 page
Coupling carbon nanotube mechanics to a superconducting circuit
The quantum behaviour of mechanical resonators is a new and emerging field
driven by recent experiments reaching the quantum ground state. The high
frequency, small mass, and large quality-factor of carbon nanotube resonators
make them attractive for quantum nanomechanical applications. A common element
in experiments achieving the resonator ground state is a second quantum system,
such as coherent photons or superconducting device, coupled to the resonators
motion. For nanotubes, however, this is a challenge due to their small size.
Here, we couple a carbon nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) device to a
superconducting circuit. Suspended carbon nanotubes act as both superconducting
junctions and moving elements in a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device
(SQUID). We observe a strong modulation of the flux through the SQUID from
displacements of the nanotube. Incorporating this SQUID into superconducting
resonators and qubits should enable the detection and manipulation of nanotube
mechanical quantum states at the single-phonon level
Control of microwave signals using circuit nano-electromechanics
Waveguide resonators are crucial elements in sensitive astrophysical
detectors [1] and circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) [2]. Coupled to
artificial atoms in the form of superconducting qubits [3, 4], they now provide
a technologically promising and scalable platform for quantum information
processing tasks [2, 5-8]. Coupling these circuits, in situ, to other quantum
systems, such as molecules [9, 10], spin ensembles [11, 12], quantum dots [13]
or mechanical oscillators [14, 15] has been explored to realize hybrid systems
with extended functionality. Here, we couple a superconducting coplanar
waveguide resonator to a nano-coshmechanical oscillator, and demonstrate
all-microwave field controlled slowing, advancing and switching of microwave
signals. This is enabled by utilizing electromechanically induced transparency
[16-18], an effect analogous to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)
in atomic physics [19]. The exquisite temporal control gained over this
phenomenon provides a route towards realizing advanced protocols for storage of
both classical and quantum microwave signals [20-22], extending the toolbox of
control techniques of the microwave field.Comment: 9 figure
Quantum nondemolition measurement of mechanical motion quanta
The fields of opto- and electromechanics have facilitated numerous advances
in the areas of precision measurement and sensing, ultimately driving the
studies of mechanical systems into the quantum regime. To date, however, the
quantization of the mechanical motion and the associated quantum jumps between
phonon states remains elusive. For optomechanical systems, the coupling to the
environment was shown to preclude the detection of the mechanical mode
occupation, unless strong single photon optomechanical coupling is achieved.
Here, we propose and analyse an electromechanical setup, which allows to
overcome this limitation and resolve the energy levels of a mechanical
oscillator. We find that the heating of the membrane, caused by the interaction
with the environment and unwanted couplings, can be suppressed for carefully
designed electromechanical systems. The results suggest that phonon number
measurement is within reach for modern electromechanical setups.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures plus 24 pages, 11 figures supplemental materia
What we observe is biased by what other people tell us: beliefs about the reliability of gaze behavior modulate attentional orienting to gaze cues
For effective social interactions with other people, information about the physical environment must be integrated with information about the interaction partner. In order to achieve this, processing of social information is guided by two components: a bottom-up mechanism reflexively triggered by stimulus-related information in the social scene and a top-down mechanism activated by task-related context information. In the present study, we investigated whether these components interact during attentional orienting to gaze direction. In particular, we examined whether the spatial specificity of gaze cueing is modulated by expectations about the reliability of gaze behavior. Expectations were either induced by instruction or could be derived from experience with displayed gaze behavior. Spatially specific cueing effects were observed with highly predictive gaze cues, but also when participants merely believed that actually non-predictive cues were highly predictive. Conversely, cueing effects for the whole gazed-at hemifield were observed with non-predictive gaze cues, and spatially specific cueing effects were attenuated when actually predictive gaze cues were believed to be non-predictive. This pattern indicates that (i) information about cue predictivity gained from sampling gaze behavior across social episodes can be incorporated in the attentional orienting to social cues, and that (ii) beliefs about gaze behavior modulate attentional orienting to gaze direction even when they contradict information available from social episodes
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