Susceptibility of a two-level atom near an isotropic photonic band edge: transparency and band edge profile reconstruction

We discuss the necessary conditions for a two-level system in the presence of an isotropic band edge to be transparent to a probe laser field. The two-level atom is transparent whenever it is coupled to a reservoir constituted of two parts - a flat and a non-flat density of modes representing a PBG structure. A proposal on the reconstruction of the band edge profile from the experimentally measured susceptibility is also presented.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure

Characterization and quantification of symmetric Gaussian state entanglement through a local classicality criterion

A necessary and sufficient condition for characterization and quantification of entanglement of any bipartite Gaussian state belonging to a special symmetry class is given in terms of classicality measures of one-party states. For Gaussian states whose local covariance matrices have equal determinants it is shown that separability of a two-party state and classicality of one party state are completely equivalent to each other under a nonlocal operation, allowing entanglement features to be understood in terms of any available classicality measure.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Replaced with final published versio

Numerical study of a model for non-equilibrium wetting

We revisit the scaling properties of a model for non-equilibrium wetting [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2710 (1997)], correcting previous estimates of the critical exponents and providing a complete scaling scheme. Moreover, we investigate a special point in the phase diagram, where the model exhibits a roughening transition related to directed percolation. We argue that in the vicinity of this point evaporation from the middle of plateaus can be interpreted as an external field in the language of directed percolation. This analogy allows us to compute the crossover exponent and to predict the form of the phase transition line close to its terminal point.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Corrections to Finite Size Scaling in Percolation

A 1/L-expansion for percolation problems is proposed, where L is the lattice finite length. The square lattice with 27 different sizes L = 18, 22 ... 1594 is considered. Certain spanning probabilities were determined by Monte Carlo simulations, as continuous functions of the site occupation probability p. We estimate the critical threshold pc by applying the quoted expansion to these data. Also, the universal spanning probability at pc for an annulus with aspect ratio r=1/2 is estimated as C = 0.876657(45)

Generation of Superposition States and Charge-Qubit Relaxation Probing in a Circuit

We demonstrate how a superposition of coherent states can be generated for a microwave field inside a coplanar transmission line coupled to a single superconducting charge qubit, with the addition of a single classical magnetic pulse for chirping of the qubit transition frequency. We show how the qubit dephasing induces decoherence on the field superposition state, and how it can be probed by the qubit charge detection. The character of the charge qubit relaxation process itself is imprinted in the field state decoherence profile.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Unravelling the non-classicality role in Gaussian heat engines

At the heart of quantum thermodynamics lies a fundamental question about what is genuine "quantum" in quantum heat engines. With the help of the P-representability expression of classicality, the degree of non-classicality of a bosonic thermal engine - a quantum heat engine consisting of a single bosonic mode as a working substance coupled to a cold thermal and a hot squeezed thermal bath - is quantified. For two specific protocols, i.e., a quantum Otto and a generalized cycle, we show that the non-classicality is a fundamental resource for genuinely quantum heat engines.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure