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DOE OSTI2011

Weak measurements beyond the Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman formalism

We extend the idea of weak measurements to the general case, provide a complete treatment, and obtain results for both the regime when the preselected and postselected states (PPS) are almost orthogonal and the regime when they are exactly orthogonal. We surprisingly find that for a fixed interaction strength, there may exist a maximum signal amplification and a corresponding optimum overlap of PPS to achieve it. For weak measurements in the orthogonal regime, we find interesting quantities that play the same role that weak values play in the nonorthogonal regime.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Experimental realization of a nondeterministic optical noiseless amplifier

Linear amplifiers are necessarily affected by a minimal amount of noise, which is needed in order to preserve the linearity and the unitarity prescribed by quantum mechanics. Such a limitation might be partially overcome if the process is realized by conditioning its operation on a trigger event, for instance, the result of a measurement. Here we present a detailed analysis of a noiseless amplifier, implemented using linear optics, a down-conversion-based single-photon source, and single-photon detection. Our results demonstrate an amplification adding a level of noise lower than the minimum allowed by quantum mechanics for deterministic amplifiers. This is made possible by the nondeterministic character of our device, whose success rate is sufficiently low not to violate any fundamental limit. We compare our experimental data to a model taking into account the main imperfections of the setup and find a good agreement.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Experimental study of active LRC circuits with PT symmetries

Mutually coupled modes of a pair of active LRC circuits, one with amplification and another with an equivalent amount of attenuation, provide an experimental realization of a wide class of systems where gain and loss mechanisms break the Hermiticity while preserving parity-time PT symmetry. For a value {gamma}{sub PT} of the gain and loss strength parameter the eigenfrequencies undergo a spontaneous phase transition from real to complex values, while the normal modes coalesce, acquiring a definite chirality. The consequences of the phase transition in the spatiotemporal energy evolution are also presented.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Amplifying single impurities immersed in a gas of ultracold atoms

We present a method for amplifying a single or scattered impurities immersed in a background gas of ultracold atoms so that they can be optically imaged and spatially resolved. Our approach relies on a Raman transfer between two stable atomic hyperfine states that is conditioned on the presence of an impurity atom. The amplification is based on the strong interaction among atoms excited to Rydberg states. We perform a detailed analytical study of the performance of the proposed scheme with particular emphasis on the influence of inevitable many-body effects.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Quantum measurements with preselection and postselection

We study quantum measurement with preselection and postselection, and derive the precise expressions of the measurement results without any restriction on the coupling strength between the system and the measuring device. For a qubit system, we derive the maximum pointer shifts by choosing appropriate initial and finial states. A significant amplification effect is obtained when the interaction between the system and the measuring device is very weak, and typical ideal quantum measurement results are obtained when the interaction is strong. The improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the enhancement of the measurement sensitivity (MS) by weak measurements are studied. Without considering the probability decrease due to postselection, the SNR and the MS can be both significantly improved by weak measurements; however, neither SNR nor MS can be effectively improved when the probability decrease is considered.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Quantum correlations by four-wave mixing in an atomic vapor in a nonamplifying regime: Quantum beam splitter for photons

We study the generation of intensity quantum correlations using four-wave mixing in a rubidium vapor. The absence of cavities in these experiments allows to deal with several spatial modes simultaneously. In the standard amplifying configuration, we measure relative intensity squeezing up to 9.2 dB below the standard quantum limit. We also theoretically identify and experimentally demonstrate an original regime where, despite no overall amplification, quantum correlations are generated. In this regime, a four-wave mixing setup can play the role of a photonic beam splitter with nonclassical properties, that is, a device that splits a coherent state input into two quantum-correlated beams.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

XUV frequency-comb metrology on the ground state of helium

The operation of a frequency comb at extreme ultraviolet (xuv) wavelengths based on pairwise amplification and nonlinear upconversion to the 15th harmonic of pulses from a frequency-comb laser in the near-infrared range is reported. It is experimentally demonstrated that the resulting spectrum at 51 nm is fully phase coherent and can be applied to precision metrology. The pulses are used in a scheme of direct-frequency-comb excitation of helium atoms from the ground state to the 1s4p and 1s5p {sup 1} P{sub 1} states. Laser ionization by auxiliary 1064 nm pulses is used to detect the excited-state population, resulting in a cosine-like signal as a function of the repetition rate of the frequency comb with a modulation contrast of up to 55%. Analysis of the visibility of this comb structure, thereby using the helium atom as a precision phase ruler, yields an estimated timing jitter between the two upconverted-comb laser pulses of 50 attoseconds, which is equivalent to a phase jitter of 0.38 (6) cycles in the xuv at 51 nm. This sets a quantitative figure of merit for the operation of the xuv comb and indicates that extension to even shorter wavelengths should be feasible. The helium metrology investigation results in transition frequencies of 5 740 806 993 (10) and 5 814 248 672 (6) MHz for excitation of the 1s4p and 1s5p {sup 1} P{sub 1} states, respectively. This constitutes an important frequency measurement in the xuv, attaining high accuracy in this windowless part of the electromagnetic spectrum. From the measured transition frequencies an eight-fold-improved {sup 4}He ionization energy of 5 945 204 212 (6) MHz is derived. Also, a new value for the {sup 4}He ground-state Lamb shift is found of 41 247 (6) MHz. This experimental value is in agreement with recent theoretical calculations up to order m{alpha}{sup 6} and m{sup 2}/M{alpha}{sup 5}, but with a six-times-higher precision, therewith providing a stringent test of quantum electrodynamics in bound two-electron systems.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Coherent control of refractive index in far-detuned {Lambda} systems

Enhancement and control of the index of refraction in a mixture of two three-level atomic species that form a pair of far-detuned {Lambda} schemes under two-photon resonance has been studied. We employ the density-matrix approach to properly take population relaxation into account and to describe the interaction of each {Lambda} system with the electromagnetic fields. Both {Lambda} systems are driven by a corresponding far-detuned coherent field at one atomic transition and are probed by the same weak field. In the dressed-state basis, it represents a superposition of effective two-level subsystems with the positions, widths, and amplitudes of the resonances controlled by the driving fields and allows for efficient control of the susceptibility of the total system; leading to refractive index (RI) enhancement with vanishing absorption in the absence of amplification. We analyze the experimental implementation of such a system in a cell of Rb atoms with a natural abundance of isotopes. An upper limit estimate of the RI enhancement is obtained.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Fiske-amplified superfluid interferometry

We report an experimental demonstration of signal amplification for a superfluid {sup 4}He interferometer by allowing the matter waves from two Josephson mass current sources to interact with the resonances within the experimental cell. We characterize the interferometer using an external phase shift and demonstrate a 30-fold enhancement in intrinsic phase sensitivity. We also demonstrate a truly continuous operation of this interference device.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2010

Evolution of dark energy perturbations in scalar-tensor cosmologies

We solve analytically and numerically the generalized Einstein equations in scalar-tensor cosmologies to obtain the evolution of dark energy and matter linear perturbations. We compare our results with the corresponding results for minimally coupled quintessence perturbations. We find that scalar-tensor dark energy density perturbations are amplified by a factor of about 10{sup 4} compared to minimally coupled quintessence perturbations on scales less than about 1000 h{sup -1} Mpc (sub-Hubble scales). On these scales dark energy perturbations constitute a fraction of about 10% compared to matter density perturbations. Scalar-tensor dark energy density perturbations are anticorrelated with matter linear perturbations on sub-Hubble scales. This anticorrelation of matter with negative pressure perturbations induces a mild amplification of matter perturbations by about 10% on sub-Hubble scales. The evolution of scalar field perturbations on sub-Hubble scales is scale independent and therefore corresponds to a vanishing effective speed of sound (c{sub s{Phi}=}0). We briefly discuss the observational implications of our results, which may include predictions for galaxy and cluster halo profiles that are modified compared to {Lambda}CDM. The observed properties of these profiles are known to be in some tension with the predictions of {Lambda}CDM.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Classical radiation by free-falling charges in de Sitter spacetime

We study the classical radiation emitted by free-falling charges in de Sitter spacetime coupled to different kinds of fields. Specifically we consider the cases of the electromagnetic field, linearized gravity, and scalar fields with arbitrary mass and curvature coupling. Given an arbitrary set of such charges, there is a generic result for sufficiently late times which corresponds to each charge being surrounded by a field zone with negligible influence from the other charges. Furthermore, we explicitly find a static solution in the static patch adapted to a charge (implying no energy loss by the charge) which can be regularly extended beyond the horizon to the full de Sitter spacetime, and show that any other solution decays at late times to this one. On the other hand, for nonconformal scalar fields the inertial observers naturally associated with spatially flat coordinates will see a nonvanishing flux far from the horizon, which will fall off more slowly than the inverse square of the distance for sufficiently light fields (m{sup 2}+{xi}R<5H{sup 2}/4) and give rise to a total integrated flux that grows unboundedly with the radius. This can be qualitatively interpreted as a consequence of a classical parametric amplification of the field generated by the charge due to the time-dependent background spacetime. Most of these results do not hold for massless minimally coupled scalar fields, whose special behavior is analyzed separately.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Spectral properties of acoustic black hole radiation: Broadening the horizon

The sensitivity of the black hole spectrum when introducing short distance dispersion is studied in the context of atomic Bose condensates. By considering flows characterized by several length scales, we show that, while the spectrum remains remarkably Planckian, the temperature is no longer fixed by the surface gravity. Rather it is determined by the average of the flow gradient across the horizon over an interval fixed by the healing length and the surface gravity, as if the horizon were broadened. This remains valid as long as the flow does not induce nonadiabatic effects that produce oscillations or some parametric amplification of the flux.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Excitation of parasitic waves near cutoff in forward-wave amplifiers

In this paper, excitation of parasitic waves near cutoff in forward-wave amplifiers is studied in a rather general form. This problem is important for developing high-power sources of coherent, phase controlled short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation because just the waves which can be excited near cutoff have low group velocities. Since the wave coupling to an electron beam is inversely proportional to the group velocity, these waves are the most dangerous parasitic waves preventing stable amplification of desired signal waves. Two effects are analyzed in the paper. The first one is the effect of signal wave parameters on the self-excitation conditions of such parasitic waves. The second effect is the role of the beam geometry on excitation of these parasitic waves in forward-wave amplifiers with spatially extended interaction space, such as sheet-beam devices. It is shown that a large-amplitude signal wave can greatly influence the self-excitation conditions of the parasitic waves which define stability of operation. Therefore the effect described is important for accurate designing of high-power amplifiers of electromagnetic waves.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2016

Beyond nonlinear saturation of backward Raman amplifiers

Backward Raman amplification is limited by relativistic nonlinear dephasing resulting in saturation of the leading spike of the amplified pulse. We employed pump detuning in order to mitigate the relativistic phase mismatch and to overcome the associated saturation. In an amplified pulse can then be reshaped into a monospike pulse with little precursory power ahead of it, with the maximum intensity increasing by a factor of two. Finally, this detuning can be employed advantageously both in regimes where the group velocity dispersion is unimportant and where the dispersion is important but small.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2010

Dynamic Formation of a Hot Field Reversed Configuration with Improved Confinement by Supersonic Merging of Two Colliding High-{beta} Compact Toroids

A hot stable field-reversed configuration (FRC) has been produced in the C-2 experiment by colliding and merging two high-{beta} plasmoids preformed by the dynamic version of field-reversed {theta}-pinch technology. The merging process exhibits the highest poloidal flux amplification obtained in a magnetic confinement system (over tenfold increase). Most of the kinetic energy is converted into thermal energy with total temperature (T{sub i}+T{sub e}) exceeding 0.5 keV. The final FRC state exhibits a record FRC lifetime with flux confinement approaching classical values. These findings should have significant implications for fusion research and the physics of magnetic reconnection.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Mass Redistribution Causes the Structural Richness of Ion-Irradiated Surfaces

We show that the 'sputter patterning' topographical instability is determined by the effects of ion impact-induced prompt atomic redistribution and that erosion - the consensus predominant cause - is essentially irrelevant. We use grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering to measure in situ the damping of noise or its amplification into patterns via the linear dispersion relation. A model based on the effects of impact-induced redistribution of those atoms that are not sputtered away explains both the observed ultrasmoothening at low angles from normal incidence and the instability at higher angles.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2011

Wavefront Analysis of Nonlinear Self-Amplified Spontaneous-Emission Free-Electron Laser Harmonics in the Single-Shot Regime

The single-shot spatial characteristics of the vacuum ultraviolet self-amplified spontaneous emission of a free electron laser (FEL) is measured at different stages of amplification up to saturation with a Hartmann wavefront sensor. We show that the fundamental radiation at 61.5 nm tends towards a single-mode behavior as getting closer to saturation. The measurements are found in good agreement with simulations and theory. A near diffraction limited wavefront was measured. The analysis of Fresnel diffraction through the Hartmann wavefront sensor hole array also provides some further insight for the evaluation of the FEL transverse coherence, of high importance for various applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2012

Analysis of Shot Noise Suppression for Electron Beams

Shot noise can affect the performance of free-electron lasers (FELs) by driving instabilities (e.g., the microbunching instability) or by competing with seeded density modulations. Recent papers have proposed suppressing shot noise to enhance FEL performance. In this paper we use a one-dimensional (1D) model to calculate the noise amplification from an energy modulation (e.g., electron interactions from space charge or undulator radiation) followed by a dispersive section. We show that, for a broad class of interactions, selecting the correct dispersive strength suppresses shot noise across a wide range of frequencies. The final noise level depends on the beam's energy spread and the properties of the interaction potential. We confirm and illustrate our analytical results with 1D simulations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗