Atom Lithography with Near-Resonant Light Masks: Quantum Optimization Analysis

We study the optimal focusing of two-level atoms with a near resonant standing wave light, using both classical and quantum treatments of the problem. Operation of the focusing setup is considered as a nonlinear spatial squeezing of atoms in the thin- and thick-lens regimes. It is found that the near-resonant standing wave focuses the atoms with a reduced background in comparison with far-detuned light fields. For some parameters, the quantum atomic distribution shows even better localization than the classical one. Spontaneous emission effects are included via the technique of quantum Monte Carlo wave function simulations. We investigate the extent to which non-adiabatic and spontaneous emission effects limit the achievable minimal size of the deposited structures.Comment: 10 pages including 11 figures in Revte

Translated tori in the characteristic varieties of complex hyperplane arrangements

We give examples of complex hyperplane arrangements for which the top characteristic variety contains positive-dimensional irreducible components that do not pass through the origin of the character torus. These examples answer several questions of Libgober and Yuzvinsky. As an application, we exhibit a pair of arrangements for which the resonance varieties of the Orlik-Solomon algebra are (abstractly) isomorphic, yet whose characteristic varieties are not isomorphic. The difference comes from translated components, which are not detected by the tangent cone at the origin.Comment: Revised and expanded; 16 pages, 10 figures; to appear in Topology and its Application

Characteristic varieties of arrangements

The k-th Fitting ideal of the Alexander invariant B of an arrangement A of n complex hyperplanes defines a characteristic subvariety, V_k(A), of the complex algebraic n-torus. In the combinatorially determined case where B decomposes as a direct sum of local Alexander invariants, we obtain a complete description of V_k(A). For any arrangement A, we show that the tangent cone at the identity of this variety coincides with R^1_k(A), one of the cohomology support loci of the Orlik-Solomon algebra. Using work of Arapura and Libgober, we conclude that all positive-dimensional components of V_k(A) are combinatorially determined, and that R^1_k(A) is the union of a subspace arrangement in C^n, thereby resolving a conjecture of Falk. We use these results to study the reflection arrangements associated to monomial groups.Comment: LaTeX2e, 20 pages. A reference to Libgober's recent work in math.AG/9801070 is added. Several points are clarified, a new example is include