216 research outputs found
Poynting's theorem and energy conservation in the propagation of light in bounded media
Starting from the Maxwell-Lorentz equations, Poynting's theorem is
reconsidered. The energy flux vector is introduced as S_e=(E x B)/mu_0 instead
of E x H, because only by this choice the energy dissipation can be related to
the balance of the kinetic energy of the matter subsystem. Conservation of the
total energy as the sum of kinetic and electromagnetic energy follows. In our
discussion, media and their microscopic nature are represented exactly by their
susceptibility functions, which do not necessarily have to be known. On this
footing, it can be shown that energy conservation in the propagation of light
through bounded media is ensured by Maxwell's boundary conditions alone, even
for some frequently used approximations. This is demonstrated for approaches
using additional boundary conditions and the dielectric approximation in
detail, the latter of which suspected to violate energy conservation for
decades.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX4, changes: complete rewrit
Persistent Current of Free Electrons in the Plane
Predictions of Akkermans et al. are essentially changed when the Krein
spectral displacement operator is regularized by means of zeta function.
Instead of piecewise constant persistent current of free electrons on the plane
one has a current which varies linearly with the flux and is antisymmetric with
regard to all time preserving values of including . Different
self-adjoint extensions of the problem and role of the resonance are discussed.Comment: (Comment on "Relation between Persistent Currents and the Scattering
Matrix", Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 66}, 76 (1991)) plain latex, 4pp., IPNO/TH
94-2
Propagation of Nonclassical Radiation through a Semiconductor Slab
Based on a microscopic derivation of the emission spectra of a bulk
semiconductor we arrive at a clear physical interpretation of the noise current
operators in macroscopic quantum electrodynamics. This opens the possibility to
study medium effects on nonclassical radiation propagating through an absorbing
or amplifying semiconductor. As an example, the propagation of an incident
squeezed vacuum is analyzed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
A quantum measure of coherence and incompatibility
The well-known two-slit interference is understood as a special relation
between observable (localization at the slits) and state (being on both slits).
Relation between an observable and a quantum state is investigated in the
general case. It is assumed that the amount of ceherence equals that of
incompatibility between observable and state. On ground of this, an argument is
peresented that leads to a natural quantum measure of coherence, called
"coherence or incompatibility information". Its properties are studied in
detail making use of 'the mixing property of relative entropy' derived in this
article. A precise relation between the measure of coherence of an observable
and that of its coarsening is obtained and discussed from the intutitive point
of view. Convexity of the measure is proved, and thus the fact that it is an
information entity is established. A few more detailed properties of coherence
information are derived with a view to investigate final-state entanglement in
general repeatable measurement, and, more importantly, general bipartite
entanglement in follow ups of this study.Comment: 19 GS pages; supercedes quant-ph/030921
Mixed-state twin observables
Twin observables, i.e. opposite subsystem observables A+ and A- that are
indistinguishable in measurement in a given mixed or pure state W, are
investigated in detail algebraicly and geometrically. It is shown that there is
a far-reaching correspondence between the detectable (in W) spectral entities
of the two operators. Twin observables are state-dependently quantum-logically
equivalent, and direct subsystem measurement of one of them ipso facto gives
rise to the indirect (i.e. distant) measurement of the other. Existence of
nontrivial twins requires singularity of W. Systems in thermodynamic
equilibrium do not admit subsystem twins. These observables may enable one to
simplify the matrix representing W.Comment: 13 page
Classical Scattering for a driven inverted Gaussian potential in terms of the chaotic invariant set
We study the classical electron scattering from a driven inverted Gaussian
potential, an open system, in terms of its chaotic invariant set. This chaotic
invariant set is described by a ternary horseshoe construction on an
appropriate Poincare surface of section. We find the development parameters
that describe the hyperbolic component of the chaotic invariant set. In
addition, we show that the hierarchical structure of the fractal set of
singularities of the scattering functions is the same as the structure of the
chaotic invariant set. Finally, we construct a symbolic encoding of the
hierarchical structure of the set of singularities of the scattering functions
and use concepts from the thermodynamical formalism to obtain one of the
measures of chaos of the fractal set of singularities, the topological entropy.Comment: accepted in Phy. Rev.
Generalized gradient expansions in quantum transport equations
Gradient expansions in quantum transport equations of a Kadanoff-Baym form
have been reexamined. We have realized that in a consistent approach the
expansion should be performed also inside of the self-energy in the scattering
integrals of these equations. In the first perturbation order this internal
expansion gives new correction terms to the generalized Boltzman equation.
These correction terms are found here for several typical systems. Possible
corrections to the theory of a linear response to weak electric fields are also
discussed.Comment: 20 pages, latex, to appear in Journal of Statistical Physics, March
(1997
Coherent phenomena in semiconductors
A review of coherent phenomena in photoexcited semiconductors is presented.
In particular, two classes of phenomena are considered: On the one hand the
role played by optically-induced phase coherence in the ultrafast spectroscopy
of semiconductors; On the other hand the Coulomb-induced effects on the
coherent optical response of low-dimensional structures.
All the phenomena discussed in the paper are analyzed in terms of a
theoretical framework based on the density-matrix formalism. Due to its
generality, this quantum-kinetic approach allows a realistic description of
coherent as well as incoherent, i.e. phase-breaking, processes, thus providing
quantitative information on the coupled ---coherent vs. incoherent--- carrier
dynamics in photoexcited semiconductors.
The primary goal of the paper is to discuss the concept of quantum-mechanical
phase coherence as well as its relevance and implications on semiconductor
physics and technology. In particular, we will discuss the dominant role played
by optically induced phase coherence on the process of carrier photogeneration
and relaxation in bulk systems. We will then review typical field-induced
coherent phenomena in semiconductor superlattices such as Bloch oscillations
and Wannier-Stark localization. Finally, we will discuss the dominant role
played by Coulomb correlation on the linear and non-linear optical spectra of
realistic quantum-wire structures.Comment: Topical review in Semiconductor Science and Technology (in press)
(Some of the figures are not available in electronic form
Theory and simulation of quantum photovoltaic devices based on the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism
This article reviews the application of the non-equilibrium Green's function
formalism to the simulation of novel photovoltaic devices utilizing quantum
confinement effects in low dimensional absorber structures. It covers
well-known aspects of the fundamental NEGF theory for a system of interacting
electrons, photons and phonons with relevance for the simulation of
optoelectronic devices and introduces at the same time new approaches to the
theoretical description of the elementary processes of photovoltaic device
operation, such as photogeneration via coherent excitonic absorption,
phonon-mediated indirect optical transitions or non-radiative recombination via
defect states. While the description of the theoretical framework is kept as
general as possible, two specific prototypical quantum photovoltaic devices, a
single quantum well photodiode and a silicon-oxide based superlattice absorber,
are used to illustrated the kind of unique insight that numerical simulations
based on the theory are able to provide.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures; invited review pape
Theory of Circle Maps and the Problem of One-Dimensional Optical Resonator with a Periodically Moving Wall
We consider the electromagnetic field in a cavity with a periodically
oscillating perfectly reflecting boundary and show that the mathematical theory
of circle maps leads to several physical predictions. Notably, well-known
results in the theory of circle maps (which we review briefly) imply that there
are intervals of parameters where the waves in the cavity get concentrated in
wave packets whose energy grows exponentially. Even if these intervals are
dense for typical motions of the reflecting boundary, in the complement there
is a positive measure set of parameters where the energy remains bounded.Comment: 34 pages LaTeX (revtex) with eps figures, PACS: 02.30.Jr, 42.15.-i,
42.60.Da, 42.65.Y
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