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At least 1,225 records · Page 68

Observation of Infrared Free-Induction Decay and Optical Nutation Signals from Nitrous Oxide Using a Current Modulated Quantum Cascade Laser

Free induction decay (FID), optical nutation and rapid passage induced (RP) signals in nitrous oxide, under both optically thin and optically thick conditions, have been observed using a rapid current pulse modulation, or chirp, applied to the slow current ramp of a quantum cascade (QC) laser. The variation in optical depth was achieved by increasing the pressure of nitrous oxide in a long pathlength multipass absorption cell. This allows the variation of optical depth to be achieved over a range of low gas pressures. Since, even at the highest gas pressure used in the cell, the chirp rate of the QC laser is faster than the collisional reorientation time of the molecules, there is minimal collisional damping, allowing a large macroscopic polarization of the molecular dipoles to develop. This is referred to as rapid passage induced gain. The resultant FID signals are enhanced due to the constructive interference between the field within the gas generated by the slow ramp of the laser (pump), and the fast chirp of the laser (probe) signal generated by pulse modulation of the continuously operating QC laser. The FID signals obtained at large 2 optical depth have not been observed previously in the mid-infrared regions, and unusual oscillatory signals have been observed at the highest gas pressures used.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Perfect control of photoelectron anisotropy for randomly oriented ensembles of molecules by XUV REMPI and polarization shaping

In this work, we report two schemes to generate perfect anisotropy in the photoelectron angular distribution of a randomly oriented ensemble of polyatomic molecules. In order to exert full control over the anisotropy of photoelectron emission, we exploit interferences between single-photon pathways and a manifold of resonantly enhanced two-photon pathways. These are shown to outperform nonsequential (ω, 2ω) bichromatic phase control for the example of CHFClBr molecules. We are able to optimize pulses that yield anisotropic photoelectron emission thanks to a very efficient calculation of photoelectron momentum distributions. Finally, this is accomplished by combining elements of quantum chemistry, variational scattering theory, and time-dependent perturbation theory.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Exotic looped trajectories via quantum marking

We provide an analytical theoretical study of exotic looped trajectories (ELTs) in a double-slit interferometer with quantum marking. We propose using an excited Rydberg-like atom and superconducting cavities as which-way detectors, just as in the Scully–Englert–Walther interferometer. We show that the resonant interaction between the atom and the field in the cavities can be used to eliminate the effect of non-exotic trajectories and exhibit only the effect of ELTs in the interference pattern. We quantitatively describe our results for Rubidium atoms and suggest this framework as a scheme to measure exotic looped paths and deviations from the standard superposition principle.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Mapping the unconventional orbital texture in topological crystalline insulators

The newly discovered topological crystalline insulators feature a complex band structure involving multiple Dirac cones, and are potentially highly tunable by external electric field, temperature or strain. Theoretically, it has been predicted that the various Dirac cones, which are offset in energy and momentum, might harbour vastly different orbital character. However, their orbital texture, which is of immense importance in determining a variety of a material’s properties remains elusive. Here, we unveil the orbital texture of Pb 1–x Sn x Se, a prototypical topological crystalline insulator. By using Fourier-transform scanning tunnelling spectroscopy we measure the interference patterns produced by the scattering of surface-state electrons. We discover that the intensity and energy dependences of the Fourier transforms show distinct characteristics, which can be directly attributed to orbital effects. Here, our experiments reveal a complex band topology involving two Lifshitz transitions and establish the orbital nature of the Dirac bands, which could provide an alternative pathway towards future quantum applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Enhanced cooperativity for quantum-nondemolition-measurement–induced spin squeezing of atoms coupled to a nanophotonic waveguide

We study the enhancement of cooperativity in the atom-light interface near a nanophotonic waveguide for application to QND measurement of atomic spins. Here the cooperativity per atom is determined by the ratio between the measurement strength and the decoherence rate. Counterintuitively, we find that by placing the atoms at an azimuthal position where the guided probe mode has the lowest intensity, we increase the cooperativity. This arises because the QND measurement strength depends on the interference between the probe and scattered light guided into an orthogonal polarization mode, while the decoherence rate depends on the local intensity of the probe. Thus, by proper choice of geometry, the ratio of good to bad scattering can be strongly enhanced for highly anisotropic modes. We apply this to study spin squeezing resulting from QND measurement of spin projection noise via the Faraday effect in two nanophotonic geometries, a cylindrical nano fiber and a square waveguide. We nd, with about 2500 atoms using realistic experimental parameters, ~ 6:3 dB and ~ 13 dB of squeezing can be achieved on the nano fiber and square waveguide, respectively.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Condensation of indirect excitons

An indirect exciton (IX), also known as an interlayer exciton, is a bound pair of an electron and a hole confi ned in spatially separated layers. Due to their long lifetimes, IXs can cool below the temperature of quantum degeneracy. This provides an opportunity to experimentally study cold composite bosons. This article provides an overview of our studies of cold IXs, presenting spontaneous coherence and Bose–Einstein condensation of IXs and phenomena observed in the IX condensate, including the spatially ordered exciton state, commensurability effect of exciton density wave, spin textures, Pancharatnam–Berry phase, long-range coherent spin transport, and interference dislocations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Ultrathin film lasing

Technologies are described for methods to fabricate lasers to amplify light. The methods may comprise depositing nanoparticles on a substrate. The length, width, and height of the nanoparticles may be less than 100 nm. The methods may further comprise distributing the nanoparticles on the substrate to produce a film. The nanoparticles in the film may be coupled nanoparticles. The coupled nanoparticles may be in disordered contact with each other within the film. The distribution may be performed such that constructive interference of the light occurs by multiple scattering at the boundaries of the coupled nanoparticles within the film. The methods may comprise exposing the film to a power source.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Hydrazine Detection with a Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer

Several instruments have been developed to measure low concentrations of hydrazine but none completely meet the sensitivity requirements while satisfying additional criteria such as quick response, stable calibration, interference free operation, online operation, reasonable cost, etc. A brief review is presented of the current technology including the electrochemical cell, the ion mobility spectrometer, the mass spectrometer, and the gas chromatograph. A review of the advantages and disadvantages of these instruments are presented here. The review also includes commercially unavailable technology such as the electronic nose and the Tunable Diode Laser (TDL) IR Spectrometer. It was found that the TDL could meet the majority of these criteria including fast response, minimum maintenance, portability, and reasonable cost. An experiment was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of such a system using an existing (non-portable) instrument. A lead-salt tunable diode laser, cooled to 85 degrees Kelvin was used to record direct absorption and second-derivative spectra of Hydrazine at several pressures to study the sensitivity to low levels of Hydrazine. Spectra of NH3 and CO2 were used for wavelength identification of the scanned region. With a pathlength of 80 m, detection sensitivities of about 1 ppb were achieved for hydrazine in dry nitrogen at a cell pressure of 100 mbar. For spectroscopic detection of Hydrazine, spectral regions including strong Ammonia or Carbon Dioxide lines must be avoided. Strong Hydrazine absorption features were identified at 940/cm showing minimal contribution from Ammonia interferences as suitable candidates for Hydrazine gas detection. For the studies reported here, the particular laser diode could only cover the narrow regions near 962/cm and 965/cm where strong Ammonia interferences were expected. However, the high resolution (0.001/cm) of the TDL spectrometer allowed individual lines of Hydrazine to be identified away from interferences from either Ammonia or Carbon Dioxide, especially at lower pressures. A Hydrazine line was identified at 961.75/cm which was free from Ammonia absorption and would be suitable to monitor hydrazine levels. This paper also shows data on the degradation of the detectivity of Hydrazine with increasing pressure. Several design options for a portable unit are presented, including designs with near IR and Quantum Cascade laser components which do not require liquid nitrogen cooling.

Houseman, John↗

Towards fully self-consistent optoelectronic simulation of planar devices

Photon recycling plays an important role in various optoelectronic devices, such as thin-film solar cells and intracavity double-diode structures presently studied for electroluminescent cooling. However, a complete description of photon recycling requires developing fully self-consistent simulation tools of photon and electronic charge transport in realistic device structures. In this paper, we describe a possible route towards such simulation tools in planar devices by combining the radiative transfer (RT) equation of photon transport with the drift-diffusion (DD) equations of electron and hole dynamics. We investigate the feasibility of the approach by selected proof-of-principle device studies. The results indicate that combining the RT and DD models not only yields the expected device characteristics, but also produces new insight into the pertinent local emission and absorption properties within the device structures. In particular, the model allows to accurately investigate how emission directivity and saturation affect the coupling coefficient in the double diode structures, showing that the main contribution to the coupling coefficient arises from the reflectivity of the top contact. For completeness, we also discuss how interference affects photon transport in resonant devices by an example calculation using the quantized fluctuational electrodynamics framework, paving way for self-consistent modeling tools that also account for wave-optical effects.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Renormalization group approach to spinor Bose-Fermi mixtures in a shallow optical lattice

We study a mixture of ultracold spin-half fermionic and spin-one bosonic atoms in a shallow optical lattice where the bosons are coupled to the fermions via both density-density and spin-spin interactions. We consider the parameter regime where the bosons are in a superfluid ground state, integrate them out, and obtain an effective action for the fermions. We carry out a renormalization group analysis of this effective fermionic action at low temperatures, show that the presence of the spinor bosons may lead to a separation of Fermi surfaces of the spin-up and spin-down fermions, and investigate the parameter range where this phenomenon occurs. We also calculate the susceptibilities corresponding to the possible superfluid instabilities of the fermions and obtain their possible broken-symmetry ground states at low temperatures and weak interactions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

GaN directional couplers for integrated quantum photonics

Large cross-section GaN waveguides are proposed as a suitable architecture to achieve integrated quantum photonic circuits. Directional couplers with this geometry have been designed with aid of the beam propagation method and fabricated using inductively coupled plasma etching. Scanning electron microscopy inspection shows high quality facets for end coupling and a well defined gap between rib pairs in the coupling region. Optical characterization at 800 nm shows single-mode operation and coupling-length-dependent splitting ratios. Two photon interference of degenerate photon pairs has been observed in the directional coupler by measurement of the Hong-Ou-Mandel dip [C. K. Hong, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2044 (1987)] with 96% visibility.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Cosmic axions revealed via amplified modulation of the ellipticity of a laser

We propose a new axion dark matter detection strategy that employs optical readout of laser beam ellipticity modulations caused by axion-induced electric fields in a microwave cavity, using electro-optic (EO) crystals, enhanced by externally injected radio-frequency (rf) power. Building upon the variance-based probing method [Phys. Rev. D 107, 103005 (2023).], we extend this concept to the optical domain: A weak probe laser interacts with an EO crystal coupled to the resonant microwave cavity field at cryogenic temperatures, and the axion-induced electric field is revealed through induced ellipticity. The injected rf signal coherently interferes with that of the axion field, amplifying the optical response and significantly improving sensitivity. While our EO-based method employs a Fabry-Pérot resonator, we do not require Michelson interferometers. Our method, hence, enables compact, high-frequency axion searches, across the 0.5–50 GHz range. Operating at cryogenic temperatures not only suppresses thermal backgrounds, but, critically, allows the probing method to mitigate the quantum noise. This approach offers a scalable path forward for axion detection over the ∼(few−200) μ⁢eV mass range—covering the preferred parameter space for the postinflationary Peccei-Quinn axion dark matter—using compact, tunable systems.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Line Interference Effects Using a Refined Robert-Bonamy Formalism: the Test Case of the Isotropic Raman Spectra of Autoperturbed N2

A symmetrized version of the recently developed refined Robert-Bonamy formalism [Q. Ma, C. Boulet, and R. H. Tipping, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 034305 (2013)] is proposed. This model takes into account line coupling effects and hence allows the calculation of the off-diagonal elements of the relaxation matrix, without neglecting the rotational structure of the perturbing molecule. The formalism is applied to the isotropic Raman spectra of autoperturbed N2 for which a benchmark quantum relaxation matrix has recently been proposed. The consequences of the classical path approximation are carefully analyzed. Methods correcting for effects of inelasticity are considered. While in the right direction, these corrections appear to be too crude to provide off diagonal elements which would yield, via the sum rule, diagonal elements in good agreement with the quantum results. In order to overcome this difficulty, a re-normalization procedure is applied, which ensures that the off-diagonal elements do lead to the exact quantum diagonal elements. The agreement between the (re-normalized) semi-classical and quantum relaxation matrices is excellent, at least for the Raman spectra of N2, opening the way to the analysis of more complex molecular systems.

nitrogen↗

Integrated photonic Galton board and its application for photon counting

The Galton board is a desktop probability machine traditionally used to visualize the principles of statistical physics from classical particles. Here, we demonstrate a photonic Galton board that enables on-chip observation of statistics from single-photon interference. The photonic Galton board consists of a directional coupler matrix terminated by an array of superconducting nanowire detectors to provide spatiotemporal resolution. This design also allows for photon-number-resolving capability, making it suitable for high-speed photon counting. Our results demonstrate the compatibility between single-photon detector array and photonic integrated circuits, paving the way for implementing on-chip large-scale quantum optics experiments and photonic quantum computing.

Qin, Hezheng (ORCID:0009000139348800)↗

PHOTOPRODUCTION OF np^0 BY DOUBLE-REGGE EXCHANGE

The GlueX experiment is a photoproduction experiment based at Jeferson Lab in Newport News, Virginia. A major aim of GlueX is to look for hybrid mesons, which are a quark and an anti-quark bound by an excited gluonic field that contributes to the quantum numbers. The reaction ¿p ¿ ¿e0p is of particular interest since ¿e is a potential decay mode of states with exotic quantum numbers JPC =1¿+, which are forbidden in the constituent quark model. Finding such a resonance would be a clear sign of non-quark model physics. In concert with the Joint Physics Analysis Center we have developed a model for double-Regge interactions in this channel. These non-resonant processes generate asymmetries in the distributions of decay angles, which could be falsely attributed to the interference between exotic odd partial waves and even partial waves. In previous searches for light exotics we have seen evidence for the necessity of accounting for the presence of these non-resonant productions. We present a double-Regge model for photoproduction of ¿e0 and the application of it by measuring the asymmetry of ¿e0 production in the double Regge limit, as well as a comparison of the measured results to current theoretical predictions.

Barsotti, Rebecca [Indiana Univ. Southeast, New Al↗

Probing the interplay between geometric and electronic-structure features via high-harmonic spectroscopy

We present molecular-frame measurements of the recombination dipole matrix element (RDME) in CO 2 , N 2 O, and carbonyl sulfide (OCS) molecules using high-harmonic spectroscopy. Both the amplitudes and phases of the RDMEs exhibit clear imprints of a two-center interference minimum, which moves in energy with the molecular alignment angle relative to the laser polarization. Here, we find that whereas the angle dependence of this minimum is consistent with the molecular geometry in CO 2 and N 2 O, it behaves very differently in OCS; in particular, the phase shift which accompanies the two-center minimum changes sign for different alignment angles. Our results suggest that two interfering structural features contribute to the OCS RDME, namely, (i) the geometrical two-center minimum and (ii) a Cooper-like, electronic-structure minimum associated with the sulfur end of the molecule. We compare our results to ab initio calculations using time-dependent density functional theory and present an empirical model that captures both the two-center and the Cooper-like interferences. We also show that the yield from unaligned samples of two-center molecules is, in general, reduced at high photon energies compared to aligned samples, due to the destructive interference between molecules with different alignments.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗