Coherent backscattering of Bose-Einstein condensates in two-dimensional disorder potentials

We study quantum transport of an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate in a two-dimensional disorder potential. In the limit of vanishing atom-atom interaction, a sharp cone in the angle-resolved density of the scattered matter wave is observed, arising from constructive interference between amplitudes propagating along reversed scattering paths. Weak interaction transforms this coherent backscattering peak into a pronounced dip, indicating destructive instead of constructive interference. We reproduce this result, obtained from the numerical integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, by a diagrammatic theory of weak localization in presence of a nonlinearity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Optimal Lewenstein-Sanpera Decomposition for some Biparatite Systems

It is shown that for a given bipartite density matrix and by choosing a suitable separable set (instead of product set) on the separable-entangled boundary, optimal Lewenstein-Sanpera (L-S) decomposition can be obtained via optimization for a generic entangled density matrix. Based on this, We obtain optimal L-S decomposition for some bipartite systems such as $2\otimes 2$ and $2\otimes 3$ Bell decomposable states, generic two qubit state in Wootters basis, iso-concurrence decomposable states, states obtained from BD states via one parameter and three parameters local operations and classical communications (LOCC), $d\otimes d$ Werner and isotropic states, and a one parameter $3\otimes 3$ state. We also obtain the optimal decomposition for multi partite isotropic state. It is shown that in all $2\otimes 2$ systems considered here the average concurrence of the decomposition is equal to the concurrence. We also show that for some $2\otimes 3$ Bell decomposable states the average concurrence of the decomposition is equal to the lower bound of the concurrence of state presented recently in [Buchleitner et al, quant-ph/0302144], so an exact expression for concurrence of these states is obtained. It is also shown that for $d\otimes d$ isotropic state where decomposition leads to a separable and an entangled pure state, the average I-concurrence of the decomposition is equal to the I-concurrence of the state. Keywords: Quantum entanglement, Optimal Lewenstein-Sanpera decomposition, Concurrence, Bell decomposable states, LOCC} PACS Index: 03.65.UdComment: 31 pages, Late

Diagrammatic approach to coherent backscattering of laser light by cold atoms: Double scattering revisited

We present a diagrammatic derivation of the coherent backscattering spectrum from two two-level atoms using the pump-probe approach, wherein the multiple scattering signal is deduced from single-atom responses, and provide a physical interpretation of the single-atom building blocks.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figure

Universality of residence-time distributions in non-adiabatic stochastic resonance

We present mathematically rigorous expressions for the residence-time and first-passage-time distributions of a periodically forced Brownian particle in a bistable potential. For a broad range of forcing frequencies and amplitudes, the distributions are close to periodically modulated exponential ones. Remarkably, the periodic modulations are governed by universal functions, depending on a single parameter related to the forcing period. The behaviour of the distributions and their moments is analysed, in particular in the low- and high-frequency limits.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure New version includes distinction between first-passage-time and residence-time distribution

Experimental observation of second-harmonic generation and diffusion inside random media

We have experimentally measured the distribution of the second-harmonic intensity that is generated inside a highly-scattering slab of porous gallium phosphide. Two complementary techniques for determining the distribution are used. First, the spatial distribution of second-harmonic light intensity at the side of a cleaved slab has been recorded. Second, the total second-harmonic radiation at each side of the slab has been measured for several samples at various wavelengths. By combining these measurements with a diffusion model for second-harmonic generation that incorporates extrapolated boundary conditions, we present a consistent picture of the distribution of the second-harmonic intensity inside the slab. We find that the ratio $\ell_{2\omega}/L_c$ of the mean free path at the second-harmonic frequency to the coherence length, which was suggested by some earlier calculations, cannot describe the second-harmonic yield in our samples. For describing the total second-harmonic yield, our experiments show that the scattering parameter at the fundamental frequency \k_{1\omega}\ell_{1\omega} is the most relevant parameter in our type of samples.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Separable approximations of density matrices of composite quantum systems

We investigate optimal separable approximations (decompositions) of states rho of bipartite quantum systems A and B of arbitrary dimensions MxN following the lines of Ref. [M. Lewenstein and A. Sanpera, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2261 (1998)]. Such approximations allow to represent in an optimal way any density operator as a sum of a separable state and an entangled state of a certain form. For two qubit systems (M=N=2) the best separable approximation has a form of a mixture of a separable state and a projector onto a pure entangled state. We formulate a necessary condition that the pure state in the best separable approximation is not maximally entangled. We demonstrate that the weight of the entangled state in the best separable approximation in arbitrary dimensions provides a good entanglement measure. We prove in general for arbitrary M and N that the best separable approximation corresponds to a mixture of a separable and an entangled state which are both unique. We develop also a theory of optimal separable approximations for states with positive partial transpose (PPT states). Such approximations allow to decompose any density operator with positive partial transpose as a sum of a separable state and an entangled PPT state. We discuss procedures of constructing such decompositions.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Brillouin propagation modes in optical lattices: Interpretation in terms of nonconventional stochastic resonance

We report the first direct observation of Brillouin-like propagation modes in a dissipative periodic optical lattice. This has been done by observing a resonant behavior of the spatial diffusion coefficient in the direction corresponding to the propagation mode with the phase velocity of the moving intensity modulation used to excite these propagation modes. Furthermore, we show theoretically that the amplitude of the Brillouin mode is a nonmonotonic function of the strength of the noise corresponding to the optical pumping, and discuss this behavior in terms of nonconventional stochastic resonance