Table of contents

The thresholding of time series of activity or intensity is frequently used to define and differentiate events. This is either implicit, for example due to resolution limits, or explicit, in order to filter certain small scale physics from the supposed true asymptotic events. Thresholding the birth–death process, however, introduces a scaling region into the event size distribution, which is characterized by an exponent that is unrelated to the actual asymptote and is rather an artefact of thresholding. As a result, numerical fits of simulation data produce a range of exponents, with the true asymptote visible only in the tail of the distribution. This tail is increasingly difficult to sample as the threshold is increased. In the present case, the exponents and the spurious nature of the scaling region can be determined analytically, thus demonstrating the way in which thresholding conceals the true asymptote. The analysis also suggests a procedure for detecting the influence of the threshold by means of a data collapse involving the threshold-imposed scale.

We present a one-dimensional tight-binding chain of two-level systems coupled only through common dissipative Markovian reservoirs. This quantum chain can demonstrate anomalous thermodynamic behavior contradicting Fourier law. Population dynamics of individual systems of the chain is polynomial with the order determined by the initial state of the chain. The chain can simulate classically hard problems, such as multi-dimensional random walks.

Transport and the spread of heat in Hamiltonian one dimensional momentum conserving nonlinear systems is commonly thought to proceed anomalously. Notable exceptions, however, do exist of which the coupled rotator model is a prominent case. Therefore, the quest arises to identify the origin of manifest anomalous energy and momentum transport in those low dimensional systems. We develop the theory for both, the statistical densities for momentum- and energy-spread and particularly its momentum-/heat-diffusion behavior, as well as its corresponding momentum/heat transport features. We demonstrate that the second temporal derivative of the mean squared deviation of the momentum spread is proportional to the equilibrium correlation of the total momentum flux. Subtracting the part which corresponds to a ballistic momentum spread relates (via this integrated, subleading momentum flux correlation) to an effective viscosity, or equivalently, to the underlying momentum diffusivity. We next put forward the intriguing hypothesis: normal spread of this so adjusted excess momentum density causes normal energy spread and alike normal heat transport (Fourier Law). Its corollary being that an anomalous, superdiffusive broadening of this adjusted excess momentum density in turn implies an anomalous energy spread and correspondingly anomalous, superdiffusive heat transport. This hypothesis is successfully corroborated within extensive molecular dynamics simulations over large extended time scales. Our numerical validation of the hypothesis involves four distinct archetype classes of nonlinear pair-interaction potentials: (i) a globally bounded pair interaction (the noted coupled rotator model), (ii) unbounded interactions acting at large distances (the coupled rotator model amended with harmonic pair interactions), (iii) the case of a hard point gas with unbounded square-well interactions and (iv) a pair interaction potential being unbounded at short distances while displaying an asymptotic free part (Lennard–Jones model). We compare our findings with recent predictions obtained from nonlinear fluctuating hydrodynamics theory.

We establish the path integral approach for the time-dependent heat exchange of an externally driven quantum system coupled to a thermal reservoir. We derive the relevant influence functional and present an exact formal expression for the moment generating functional which carries all statistical properties of the heat exchange process for general linear dissipation. The method is applied to the time-dependent average heat transfer in the dissipative two-state system (TSS). We show that the heat can be written as a convolution integral which involves the population and coherence correlation functions of the TSS and additional correlations due to a polarization of the reservoir. The corresponding expression can be solved in the weak-damping limit both for white noise and for quantum mechanical coloured noise. The implications of pure quantum effects are discussed. Altogether a complete description of the dynamics of the average heat transfer ranging from the classical regime down to zero temperature is achieved.

We consider a simple Markovian class of the stochastic Wilson–Cowan type models of neuronal network dynamics, which incorporates stochastic delay caused by the existence of a refractory period of neurons. From the point of view of the dynamics of the individual elements, we are dealing with a network of non-Markovian stochastic two-state oscillators with memory, which are coupled globally in a mean-field fashion. This interrelation of a higher-dimensional Markovian and lower-dimensional non-Markovian dynamics is discussed in its relevance to the general problem of the network dynamics of complex elements possessing memory. The simplest model of this class is provided by a three-state Markovian neuron with one refractory state, which causes firing delay with an exponentially decaying memory within the two-state reduced model. This basic model is used to study critical avalanche dynamics (the noise sustained criticality) in a balanced feedforward network consisting of the excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Such avalanches emerge due to the network size dependent noise (mesoscopic noise). Numerical simulations reveal an intermediate power law in the distribution of avalanche sizes with the critical exponent around −1.16. We show that this power law is robust upon a variation of the refractory time over several orders of magnitude. However, the avalanche time distribution is biexponential. It does not reflect any genuine power law dependence.

We report on total-energy electronic structure calculations in the density-functional theory performed for the ultra-thin atomic layers of Si on Ag(111) surfaces. We find several distinct stable silicene structures: $\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$, 3 × 3, $\sqrt{7}\times \sqrt{7}$ with the thickness of Si increasing from monolayer to quad-layer. The structural bistability and tristability of the multilayer silicene structures on Ag surfaces are obtained, where the calculated transition barriers infer the occurrence of the flip-flop motion at low temperature. The calculated scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images agree well with the experimental observations. We also find the stable existence of 2 × 1 π-bonded chain and 7 × 7 dimer-adatom-stacking fault Si(111)-surface structures on Ag(111), which clearly shows the crossover of silicene-silicon structures for the multilayer Si on Ag surfaces. We further find the absence of the Dirac states for multilayer silicene on Ag(111) due to the covalent interactions of the silicene-Ag interface and Si-Si interlayer. Instead, we find a new state near the Fermi level composed of π orbitals located on the surface layer of $\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$ multilayer silicene, which satisfies the hexagonal symmetry and exhibits the linear energy dispersion. By examining the electronic properties of 2 × 1 π-bonded chain structures, we find that the surface-related π states of multilayer Si structures are robust on Ag surfaces.

We consider an isolated autonomous quantum machine, where an explicit quantum clock is responsible for performing all transformations on an arbitrary quantum system (the engine), via a time-independent Hamiltonian. In a general context, we show that this model can exactly implement any energy-conserving unitary on the engine, without degrading the clock. Furthermore, we show that when the engine includes a quantum work storage device we can approximately perform completely general unitaries on the remainder of the engine. This framework can be used in quantum thermodynamics to carry out arbitrary transformations of a system, with accuracy and extracted work as close to optimal as desired, while obeying the first and second laws of thermodynamics. We thus show that autonomous thermal machines suffer no intrinsic thermodynamic cost compared to externally controlled ones.

We report a technique for experimental characterization of an M-mode quantum optical process, generalizing the single-mode coherent-state quantum-process tomography method [1, 2]. By measuring the effect of the process on multi-mode coherent states via balanced homodyne tomography, we obtain the process tensor in the Fock basis. This rank-$4M$ tensor, which predicts the effect of the process on an arbitrary density matrix, is iteratively reconstructed directly from the experimental data via the maximum-likelihood method. We demonstrate the capabilities of our method using the example of a beam splitter, reconstructing its process tensor within the subspace spanned by the first three Fock states. In spite of using purely classical probe states, we recover quantum properties of this optical element, in particular the Hong–Ou–Mandel effect.

We investigated the metallicity of Ag-$\sqrt{3}$ ordered atomic wires close to one monolayer (ML) coverage, which are formed on Si(557) via self assembly. For this purpose we combined high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy with tunneling microscopy. By extending the excess Ag coverage up to 0.6 ML on samples annealed at high temperatures where partial desorption occurs, we demonstrate that one-dimensional metallicity in the Ag-$\sqrt{3}\times \sqrt{3}$ R30° ordered atomic wires on the (111) mini-terraces originates only from Ag atoms in excess of (local) monolayer coverage, which are adsorbed and localized at the highly stepped parts of the Si(557) surface. Thus these Ag atoms act as extrinsic dopants on the atomic scale, causing coverage dependent subband filling and increasing localization as a function of doping concentration. The second layer lattice gas as well as Ag islands on the (111) terraces turn out not to be relevant as dopants. We simulated the peculiar saturation behavior within a modified lattice gas model and give evidence that the preparation dependent saturation of doping is due to changes of average terrace size and step morphology induced by high temperature treatment.

We propose a statistical model defined on tetravalent three-dimensional lattices in general and the three-dimensional diamond network in particular where the splitting of randomly selected nodes leads to a spatially disordered network, with decreasing degree of connectivity. The terminal state, that is reached when all nodes have been split, is a dense configuration of self-avoiding walks on the diamond network. Starting from the crystallographic diamond network, each of the four-coordinated nodes is replaced with probability p by a pair of two edges, each connecting a pair of the adjacent vertices. For all values $0\leqslant p\leqslant 1$ the network percolates, yet the fraction f_p of the system that belongs to a percolating cluster drops sharply at p_c = 1 to a finite value $f_{p}^{c}$. This transition is reminiscent of a percolation transition yet with distinct differences to standard percolation behaviour, including a finite mass $f_{p}^{c}\gt 0$ of the percolating clusters at the critical point. Application of finite size scaling approach for standard percolation yields scaling exponents for $p\to {{p}_{c}}$ that are different from the critical exponents of the second-order phase transition of standard percolation models. This transition significantly affects the mechanical properties of linear-elastic realizations (e.g. as custom-fabricated models for artificial bone scaffolds), obtained by replacing edges with solid circular struts to give an effective density ϕ. Finite element methods demonstrate that, as a low-density cellular structure, the bulk modulus K shows a cross-over from a compression-dominated behaviour, $K(\phi )\propto {{\phi }^{\kappa }}$ with $\kappa \approx 1$, at p = 0 to a bending-dominated behaviour with $\kappa \approx 2$ at p = 1.

We experimentally investigate the non-equilibrium steady-state distribution of the work done by an external force on a mesoscopic system with many coupled degrees of freedom: a colloidal crystal mechanically driven across a commensurate periodic light field. Since this system mimics the spatiotemporal dynamics of a crystalline surface moving on a corrugated substrate, our results show general properties of the work distribution for atomically flat surfaces undergoing friction. We address the role of several parameters which can influence the shape of the work distribution, e.g. the number of particles used to locally probe the properties of the system and the time interval to measure the work. We find that, when tuning the control parameters to induce particle depinning from the substrate, there is an abrupt change of the shape of the work distribution. While in the completely static and sliding friction regimes the work distribution is Gaussian, non-Gaussian tails show up due to the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the particle dynamics during the transition between these two regimes.

We analyze the temporal evolution of the population of ultracold polar molecules in a microwave (mw) field with a circular polarization. The molecules are in their ground $^{1}\Sigma$ state and treated as rigid rotors with a permanent dipole moment which interact with each other via the dipole–dipole (DD) interaction V_dd. The mw field mixes states with different quantum and photon numbers and the collisional dynamics in the mw field is mostly controlled by the ratios of the mw field frequency versus the rotational constant, and mw field Rabi frequency versus the rotational constant. There exists a special scattering process which is elastic by nature and due to a rotational energy exchange between the ground and the first excited rotational states. To analyze dynamics of polar molecules system in the mw field the equation of motion for the bare and dressed states is solved under different mw field parameters and molecular gas characteristics. Depending on the ratio of the Rabi frequency of a mw field and the magnitude of the DD interaction, beatings and oscillations occur in the bare and dressed states time-development. At a certain relation between the magnitudes of the mw detuning δ and the DD interaction $\delta =\pm {{V}_{{\rm dd}}}$, peak structures appear in the population of the excited bare state. Each peak is associated with an avoided crossing between the dressed states adiabatic curves at the same position of mw detuning.

From a viewpoint of stochastic thermodynamics, we derive equations that describe the collective dynamics near the order-disorder transition in the globally coupled XY model and near the synchronization–desynchronization transition in the Kuramoto model. A new way of thinking is to interpret the deterministic time evolution of a macroscopic variable as an external operation to a thermodynamic system. We then find that the irreversible work determines the equation for the collective dynamics. When analyzing the Kuramoto model, we employ a generalized concept of irreversible work which originates from a non-equilibrium identity associated with steady state thermodynamics.

We consider a correlated Bose gas tightly confined into a ring shaped lattice, in the presence of an artificial gauge potential inducing a persistent current through it. A weak link painted on the ring acts as a source of coherent back-scattering for the propagating gas, interfering with the forward scattered current. This system defines an atomic counterpart of the rf-SQUID: the atomtronics quantum interference device. The goal of the present study is to corroborate the emergence of an effective two-level system in such a setup and to assess its quality, in terms of its inner resolution and its separation from the rest of the many-body spectrum, across the different physical regimes. In order to achieve this aim, we examine the dependence of the qubit energy gap on the bosonic density, the interaction strength, and the barrier depth, and we show how the superposition between current states appears in the momentum distribution (time-of-flight) images. A mesoscopic ring lattice with intermediate-to-strong interactions and weak barrier depth is found to be a favorable candidate for setting up, manipulating and probing a qubit in the next generation of atomic experiments.

We reconsider the recently proposed nonlinear quantum electrodynamics effect of quantum reflection of photons off an inhomogeneous strong-field region. We present new results for strong fields varying both in space and time. While such configurations can give rise to new effects such as frequency mixing, estimated reflection rates based on previous one-dimensional studies are corroborated. On a conceptual level, we critically re-examine the validity regime of the conventional locally-constant-field approximation and identify kinematic configurations which can be treated reliably. Our results further underline the discovery potential of quantum reflection as a new signature of the nonlinearity of the quantum vacuum.

The use of mesoporous silica films for the production and study of positronium (Ps) atoms has become increasingly important in recent years, providing a robust source of free Ps in vacuum that may be used for a wide variety of experiments, including precision spectroscopy and the production of antihydrogen. The ability of mesoporous materials to cool and confine Ps has also been utilized to conduct measurements of Ps–Ps scattering and Ps₂ molecule formation, and this approach offers the possibility of making a sufficiently dense and cold Ps ensemble to realize a Ps Bose–Einstein condensate. As a result there is great interest in studying the dynamics of Ps atoms inside such mesoporous structures, and how their morphology affects Ps cooling, diffusion and emission into vacuum. It is now well established that Ps atoms are initially created in the bulk of such materials and are subsequently ejected into the internal voids with energies of the order of 1 eV, whereupon they rapidly cool via hundreds of thousands of wall collisions. This process can lead to thermalisation to the ambient sample temperature, but will be arrested when the Ps deBroglie wavelength approaches the size of the confining mesopores. At this point diffusion through the pore network can only proceed via tunneling, at a much slower rate. An important question then becomes, how long does it take for the Ps atoms to cool and escape into vacuum? In a direct measurement of this process, conducted using laser-enhanced positronium time-of-flight spectroscopy, we show that cooling to the quantum confinement regime in a film with approximately 5 nm diameter pores is nearly complete within 5 ns, and that emission into vacuum takes ∼10 ns when the incident positron beam energy is 5 keV. The observed dependence of the Ps emission time on the positron implantation energy supports the idea that quantum confined Ps does not sample all of the available pore volume, but rather is limited to a subset of the mesoporous network.

When the level separation of a qubit is modulated periodically across an avoided crossing, tunneling to the excited state—and consequently Landau–Zener–Stückelberg interference—can occur. The types of modulation studied so far correspond to a continuous change of the level separation. Here we study periodic latching modulation, in which the level separation is switched abruptly between two values and is kept constant otherwise. In this case, the conventional approach based on the asymptotic Landau–Zener formula for transition probabilities is not applicable. We develop a novel adiabatic-impulse model for the evolution of the system and derive the resonance conditions. Additionally, we derive analytical results based on the rotating-wave approximation (RWA). The adiabatic-impulse model and the RWA results are compared with those of a full numerical simulation. These theoretical predictions are tested in an experimental setup consisting of a transmon whose flux bias is modulated with a square wave form. A rich spectrum is observed, with distinctive features correspoding to two regimes: slow-modulation and fast-modulation. These experimental results are shown to be in very good agreement with the theoretical models. Also, differences with respect to the well known case of sinusoidal modulation are discussed, both theoretically and experimentally.

An on-demand single-photon source is a key requirement for scaling many optical quantum technologies. A promising approach to realize an on-demand single-photon source is to multiplex an array of heralded single-photon sources using an active optical switching network. However, the performance of multiplexed sources is degraded by photon loss in the optical components and the non-unit detection efficiency of the heralding detectors. We provide a theoretical description of a general multiplexed single-photon source with lossy components and derive expressions for the output probabilities of single-photon emission and multi-photon contamination. We apply these expressions to three specific multiplexing source architectures and consider their tradeoffs in design and performance. To assess the effect of lossy components on near- and long-term experimental goals, we simulate the multiplexed sources when used for many-photon state generation under various amounts of component loss. We find that with a multiplexed source composed of switches with $\sim 0.2-0.4$ dB loss and high efficiency number-resolving detectors, a single-photon source capable of efficiently producing 20–40 photon states with low multi-photon contamination is possible, offering the possibility of unlocking new classes of experiments and technologies.

Non-resonant light interacting with diatomics via the polarizability anisotropy couples different rotational states and may lead to strong hybridization of the motion. The modification of shape resonances and low-energy scattering states due to this interaction can be fully captured by an asymptotic model, based on the long-range properties of the scattering (Crubellier et al 2015 New J. Phys.17 045020). Remarkably, the properties of the field-dressed shape resonances in this asymptotic multi-channel description are found to be approximately linear in the field intensity up to fairly large intensity. This suggests a perturbative single-channel approach to be sufficient to study the control of such resonances by the non-resonant field. The multi-channel results furthermore indicate the dependence on field intensity to present, at least approximately, universal characteristics. Here we combine the nodal line technique to solve the asymptotic Schrödinger equation with perturbation theory. Comparing our single channel results to those obtained with the full interaction potential, we find nodal lines depending only on the field-free scattering length of the diatom to yield an approximate but universal description of the field-dressed molecule, confirming universal behavior.

The multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT) in combination with the frame transformation (FT) approach is applied to model the Fano–Feshbach resonances measured for ⁷Li⁸⁷Rb and ⁶Li⁸⁷Rb Marzok et al (2009 Phys. Rev. A 79 012717). The MQDT results show a level of accuracy comparable to that of previous models based on direct, fully numerical solutions of the the coupled channel Schrödinger equations. Here, energy levels deduced from 2-photon photoassociation (PA) spectra for ⁷Li⁸⁵Rb are assigned by applying the MQDT approach, obtaining the bound state energies for the coupled channel problem. Our results confirm that MQDT yields a compact description of PA observables as well as the Fano–Feshbach resonance positions and widths.

We derive a universal model for atom pairs interacting with non-resonant light via the polarizability anisotropy, based on the long range properties of the scattering. The corresponding dynamics can be obtained using a nodal line technique to solve the asymptotic Schrödinger equation. It consists of imposing physical boundary conditions at long range and vanishing the wavefunction at a position separating the inner zone and the asymptotic region. We show that nodal lines which depend on the intensity of the non-resonant light can satisfactorily account for the effect of the polarizability at short range. The approach allows to determine the resonance structure, energy, width, channel mixing and hybridization even for narrow resonances.

We investigate the behaviour of single-channel theoretical models of cold and ultracold collisions that take account of inelastic and reactive processes using a single parameter to represent short-range loss. We present plots of the resulting energy-dependence of elastic and inelastic or reactive cross-sections over the full parameter space of loss parameters and short-range phase shifts. We then test the single-channel model by comparing it with the results of coupled-channel calculations of rotationally inelastic collisions between LiH molecules and Li atoms. We find that the range of cross-sections predicted by the single-channel model becomes increasingly accurate as the initial LiH rotational quantum number increases, with a corresponding increase in the number of open loss channels. The results suggest that coupled-channel calculations at very low energy (in the s-wave regime) could in some cases be used to estimate a loss parameter and then to predict the range of possible loss rates at higher energy, without the need for explicit coupled-channel calculations for higher partial waves.

Using a stabilizing quadrature-feedback scheme the thermal motion of an on-chip opto-electromechanical resonator is squeezed far beyond the limit of classical parametric squeezing. It is shown that feedback on the Y quadrature by itself can already squeeze the thermal motion of the resonator, but the maximum achievable squeezing level is limited by the imprecision noise. By combining the feedback and parametric pumping a record of 15.1 dB of classical noise squeezing is demonstrated. This not only largely exceeds the 3 dB limit for regular squeezing, but is also deeper than ever can be achieved with feedback cooling. The detector-resonator interaction is analyzed within the semi-classical framework and it is shown that using this feedback-stabilized parametric pumping technique true quantum-squeezed states can be prepared when the resonator starts off close to its ground state, and that the ultimate amount of squeezing depends on the minimum detuning that can be achieved.

Reaction-diffusion mechanics (RDM) systems describe a wide range of practically important phenomena where deformation substantially affects wave and vortex dynamics. Here, we develop the first theory to describe the dynamics of rotating spiral waves in RDM systems, combining response function theory with a mechanical Green's function. This theory explains the mechanically-induced drift of spiral waves as a resonance phenomenon, and it can predict the drift trajectories and the final attractors from measurable characteristics of the system. Theoretical predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations. The results can be applied to cardiac tissue, where the drift of spiral waves is an important factor in determining different types of cardiac arrhythmias.

Isotope effects in two-photon two-color photoionization are investigated by a combined theoretical and experimental study of the ionization of xenon atoms. A combination of variable polarization synchrotron and laser radiations are used to excite the $5{{{\rm p}}^{5}}{{(}^{2}}{{{\rm P}}_{1/2}})4{\rm f}{{[\frac{5}{2}]}_{2}}$ autoionizing resonance via the intermediate $5{{{\rm p}}^{5}}{{(}^{2}}{{{\rm P}}_{3/2}})5{\rm d}{{[\frac{3}{2}]}_{1}}$ state. Electrons and ions are detected in coincidence in order to extract the photoelectron angular distributions and the values of the linear and circular dichroism and to determine how these depend on the isotope. A complete theoretical model of the two-photon process in atoms is given in order to describe these parameters as a function of the polarization of the exciting light sources (both linear and circular polarization). Furthermore, the hyperfine depolarization due to the coupling of the electronic and nuclear angular momenta in the intermediate state is taken into account. The results of the theoretical model are in agreement with the experimental results and allow estimation of the previously unknown hyperfine structure (HFS) constant for the case of overlapping HFS levels.

We develop a population and flux landscape theory for general non-equilibrium quantum systems. We illustrate our theory by modelling the quantum transport of donor-acceptor energy transfer. We find two driving forces for the non-equilibrium quantum dynamics. The symmetric part of the driving force corresponds to the population landscape contribution which mainly governs the equilibrium part of dynamics while the anti-symmetric part of the driving force generates the non-equilibrium curl quantum flux which leads to the detailed-balance-breaking and time-irreversibility. The multi-loop structure of the flux emerges forms the flux-landscape. We study the trend of changes in population and flux-landscape with respect to the voltage (temperature difference induced by environments) and electronic coupling. Improving the voltage and electronic coupling in general facilitates the quantum transport by reducing the population landscape barriers between major states and increasing the mean value of the flux. A limit-cycle mode emerges when the underlying flux-landscape becomes funnelled with a significant gap between the largest flux loop and the rest of them. On the kinetic level, we find that multiple kinetic paths between quantum states emerge and illustrate the interference effects. The degree of interference is determined by the landscape and flux. Furthermore, we quantify kinetic rate which strongly correlates with the population landscape and flux. For quantum transport, we demonstrate that as the coherence or the quantum entanglement is enhanced, the flux and energy transfer efficiency are increased. Finally it is surprising that the non-equilibriumness quantified by voltage has a non-trivial contribution on strengthening the entanglement, which is attributed to the non-local feature of the quantum curl flux.

In this paper we discuss the magnetic field self generation, via the so-called Biermann battery effect, and its diffusion for a blast wave (BW) expanding in a perturbed background medium. A series of simulations verify the bi-linear behavior of the Biermann battery source term both in amplitude and in wavenumber. Such a behavior is valid in the limit of no diffusivity. When diffusivity is also considered, we observe an inverse proportionality with the wavenumber: for large wavenumber perturbation magnetic diffusivity plays a key role. Writing the induction equation in a dimensionless form we discuss how, in terms of magnetic properties, the BW can be subdivided into three main regions: the remnant where the frozen-in-flow approximation holds, the thin shell where the magnetic field is in fact generated but at the same time begins to diffuse, and the shock front where the magnetic field diffuses away. A possible experimental scenario that could induce magnetic fields of about 100 gauss is finally investigated. Simulations have been performed with the code DUED.

We propose a method to produce, in a pulsed or continuous way, cold samples of highly polar molecules. Using a pulsed or continuous standard (supersonic) beam of these molecules, our idea consists of transforming the molecules into their anionic counterparts, which are decelerated to a standstill by a well-controlled external electric field and ultimately neutralized. The neutral-to-anion transformation occurs through collisions with Rydberg atoms coming from an additional atomic beam. This Rydberg electron transfer process is possible provided that the molecular species has a sufficiently strong electric dipole ($\gt 2.5$ D, i.e., $\gt 8.3\times {{10}^{-30}}$ cm). Whatever the mass of the species, the deceleration stage is realized by a temporally and spatially controlled electric field within a range of less than one centimeter, which is much shorter than in current deceleration experiments of neutral molecules. Once stopped, the molecular anions are neutralized by laser photodetachment or a pulsed electric field process. The resulting molecules might be held and accumulated, for instance, in a magnetic trap.

We show that congruent electric, magnetic and non-resonant optical fields acting concurrently on a polar paramagnetic (and polarizable) molecule offer possibilities to both amplify and control the directionality of the ensuing molecular states that surpass those available in double-field combinations or in single fields alone. At the core of these triple-field effects is the lifting of the degeneracy of the projection quantum number M by the magnetic field superimposed on the optical field and a subsequent coupling of the members of the 'doubled' (for states with $M\ne 0$) tunneling doublets due to the optical field by even a weak electrostatic field.

With the aid of large-scale three-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED)-particle-in-cell simulations, we describe a potential experimental configuration to measure collective effects that couple strong field QED to plasma kinetics and develop a simple analytic model that describes the absorption due to radiation emission. For two counter propagating lasers interacting with a foil at intensities exceeding ${{10}^{22}}$ W cm⁻², a near-binary result occurs; when quantum effects are included, a foil that classically would effectively transmit the laser pulse becomes opaque. This is a dramatic change in plasma behavior, directly as a consequence of the coupling of radiation reaction and pair production to plasma dynamics.

Time-resolved diffraction with femtosecond electron pulses has become a promising technique to directly provide insights into photo induced primary dynamics at the atomic level in molecules and solids. Ultrashort pulse duration as well as extensive spatial coherence are desired, however, space charge effects complicate the bunching of multiple electrons in a single pulse. We experimentally investigate the interplay between spatial and temporal aspects of resolution limits in ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) on our highly compact transmission electron diffractometer. To that end, the initial source size and charge density of electron bunches are systematically manipulated and the resulting bunch properties at the sample position are fully characterized in terms of lateral coherence, temporal width and diffracted intensity. We obtain a so far not reported measured overall temporal resolution of 130 fs (full width at half maximum) corresponding to 60 fs (root mean square) and transversal coherence lengths up to 20 nm. Instrumental impacts on the effective signal yield in diffraction and electron pulse brightness are discussed as well. The performance of our compact UED setup at selected electron pulse conditions is finally demonstrated in a time-resolved study of lattice heating in multilayer graphene after optical excitation.

A study is reported of copolymerization processes subjected to an external force in the light of recent advances on the kinetics and thermodynamics of copolymer growth. Different processes are considered: the free copolymerization of Bernoulli and first-order Markov chains and copolymerization with a template. For every process, the dependence on the force is analyzed for the elongation rate, the growth velocity, the disorder in the copolymer sequence, the thermodynamic entropy production, as well as related quantities. It is shown that disorder in the copolymer sequence can generate forces of entropic origin. They are characterized by the value of their stall force in the force–velocity relation of the corresponding process.

Radiative emission during cold collisions between trapped laser-cooled Rb atoms and alkaline-earth ions (Ca⁺, Sr⁺, Ba⁺) and Yb⁺, and between Li and Yb⁺, are studied theoretically, using accurate effective core potential based quantum chemistry calculations of potential energy curves and transition dipole moments of the related molecular ions. Radiative association of molecular ions is predicted to occur for all systems with a cross section two to ten times larger than the radiative charge transfer one. Partial and total rate constants are also calculated and compared to available experiments. Narrow shape resonances are expected, which could be detectable at low temperature with an experimental resolution at the limit of the present standards. Vibrational distributions are also calculated, showing that the final molecular ions are not created in their ground state level.

The spatial-temporal evolution of the purely transverse current filamentation instability is analyzed by deriving a single partial differential equation for the instability and obtaining the analytical solutions for the spatially and temporally growing current filament mode. When the beam front always encounters fresh plasma, our analysis shows that the instability grows spatially from the beam front to the back up to a certain critical beam length; then the instability acquires a purely temporal growth. This critical beam length increases linearly with time and in the non-relativistic regime it is proportional to the beam velocity. In the relativistic regime the critical length is inversely proportional to the cube of the beam Lorentz factor ${{\gamma }_{0b}}$. Thus, in the ultra-relativistic regime the instability immediately acquires a purely temporal growth all over the beam. The analytical results are in good agreement with multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations performed with OSIRIS. Relevance of the current study to recent and future experiments on fireball beams is also addressed.

Very large lattice strain and strain-induced polarization are achieved in KNbO₃ using epitaxial growth of a thin KNbO₃ film onto a (001)-oriented SrTiO₃ single-crystal substrate. We demonstrate experimentally that epitaxy produces dramatic changes of interband transitions in the film compared to those of a reference KNbO₃ crystal: the energies of transitions change, some transitions are substantially suppressed and new ones appear in the film. A comparison of the experimental observations with theoretical calculations points to yet unexplored phenomena. Our results indicate that optical refraction and electro-optical coefficients of ferroelectric films can be controlled by epitaxial growth, which is of importance for emerging photonic and optoelectronic applications.

We investigate single-particle energy spectra of the hydroxyl free radical (OH) in the lowest electronic and rovibrational level under combined static electric and magnetic fields, as an example of heteronuclear polar diatomic molecules. In addition to the fine-structure interactions, the hyperfine interactions and centrifugal distortion effects are taken into account to yield the zero-field spectrum of the lowest $^{2}{{\Pi }_{3/2}}$ manifold to an accuracy of less than 2 kHz. We also examine level crossings and repulsions in the hyperfine structure induced by applied electric and magnetic fields. Compared to previous work, we found more than 10% reduction of the magnetic fields at level repulsions in the Zeeman spectrum subjected to a perpendicular electric field. In addition, we find new level repulsions, which we call Stark-induced hyperfine level repulsions, that require both an electric field and hyperfine structure. It is important to take into account hyperfine structure when we investigate physics of OH molecules at micro-Kelvin temperatures and below.

Typical heat engines exhibit a kind of homotypy: the heat exchanges between a cyclic heat engine and its two heat reservoirs abide by the same function type; the forward and backward flows of an autonomous heat engine also conform to the same function type. This homotypy mathematically reflects in the existence of hidden symmetries for heat engines. The heat exchanges between the cyclic heat engine and its two reservoirs are dual under the joint transformation of parity inversion and time-reversal operation. Similarly, the forward and backward flows in the autonomous heat engine are also dual under the parity inversion. With the consideration of these hidden symmetries, we derive a generic nonlinear constitutive relation up to the quadratic order for tight-coupling cyclic heat engines and that for tight-coupling autonomous heat engines, respectively.

Precession of neutron spin in a magnetic field can be used for mapping of a magnetic field distribution, as demonstrated previously for static magnetic fields at neutron beamline facilities. The fringing in the observed neutron images depends on both the magnetic field strength and the neutron energy. In this paper we demonstrate the feasibility of imaging periodic dynamic magnetic fields using a spin-polarized cold neutron beam. Our position-sensitive neutron counting detector, providing with high precision both the arrival time and position for each detected neutron, enables simultaneous imaging of multiple phases of a periodic dynamic process with microsecond timing resolution. The magnetic fields produced by 5- and 15-loop solenoid coils of 1 cm diameter, are imaged in our experiments with ∼100 μm resolution for both dc and 3 kHz ac currents. Our measurements agree well with theoretical predictions of fringe patterns formed by neutron spin precession. We also discuss the wavelength dependence and magnetic field quantification options using a pulsed neutron beamline. The ability to remotely map dynamic magnetic fields combined with the unique capability of neutrons to penetrate various materials (e.g., metals), enables studies of fast periodically changing magnetic processes, such as formation of magnetic domains within metals due to the presence of ac magnetic fields.

Studies of resilience of interdependent networks have focused on structural dependencies between pairs of nodes across networks but have not included the effects of dynamic processes taking place on the networks. Here we study the effect of dynamic process-based dependencies on a system of interdependent resistor networks. We describe a new class of dependency in which a node's functionality is determined by whether or not it is actually carrying current and not just by its structural connectivity to a spanning component. This criterion determines its functionality within its own network as well as its ability to provide support-but not electrical current-to nodes in another network. We present the effects of this new type of dependency on the critical properties of σ and ${{B}_{\infty }}$, the overall conductivity of the system and the fraction of nodes which carry current, respectively. Because the conductance of current has direct physical effects (e.g. heat, magnetic induction), the development of a theory of process-based dependency can lead to innovative technology. As an example, we describe how the theory presented here could be used to develop a new kind of highly sensitive thermal or gas sensor.

A new mechanism for electromagnetic emission in the terahertz (THz) frequency regime from laser-plasma interactions is described. A localized and long-lasting transverse current is produced by two counter-propagating short laser pulses in weakly magnetized plasma. We show that the electromagnetic wave radiating from this current source, even though its frequency is close to cut-off of the ambient plasma, grows and diffuses towards the plasma-vacuum boundary, emitting a strong monochromatic THz wave. With driving laser pulses of moderate power, the THz wave has a field strength of tens of MV m⁻¹, a frequency of a few THz and a quasi-continuous power that exceeds all previous monochromatic THz sources. The novelty of the mechanism lies in a diffusing electromagnetic wave close to cut-off, which is modelled by a continuously driven complex diffusion equation.

We propose and investigate a hybrid optomechanical system consisting of a micro-mechanical oscillator coupled to the internal states of a distant ensemble of atoms. The interaction between the systems is mediated by a light field which allows the coupling of the two systems in a modular way over long distances. Coupling to internal degrees of freedom of atoms opens up the possibility to employ high-frequency mechanical resonators in the MHz to GHz regime, such as optomechanical crystal structures, and to benefit from the rich toolbox of quantum control over internal atomic states. Previous schemes involving atomic motional states are rather limited in both of these aspects. We derive a full quantum model for the effective coupling including the main sources of decoherence. As an application we show that sympathetic ground-state cooling and strong coupling between the two systems is possible.

Tailored electrostatic potentials are at the heart of semiconductor nanostructures. We present measurements of size and screening effects of the tip-induced potential in scanning gate microscopy on a two-dimensional electron gas. First, we show methods on how to estimate the size of the tip-induced potential. Second, a ballistic cavity is studied as a function of the bias-voltage of the metallic top gates and probed with the tip-induced potential. It is shown how the potential of the cavity changes by tuning the system to a regime where conductance quantization in the constrictions formed by the tip and the top gates occurs. This conductance quantization leads to a unprecedented rich fringe pattern over the entire structure. Third, the effect of electrostatic screening of the metallic top gates is discussed.

We introduce an information heat engine that is autonomous (i.e., without any time-dependent parameter) but has separated measurement and feedback processes. This model serves as a bridge between different types of information heat engines inspired by Maxwell's demon; from the original Szilard-engine type systems to the autonomous demonic setups. By analyzing our model on the basis of a general framework introduced in our previous paper (Shiraishi and Sagawa 2015 Phys. Rev. E 91 012130), we clarify the role of the separation of measurement and feedback in the integral fluctuation theorems.

We launch surface acoustic waves (SAW) along both the $\langle 110\rangle$ and the $\langle 1\bar{1}0\rangle$ directions of a Hall bar and measure the anisotropic conductivity in a high purity GaAs two-dimensional electron system in the quantum Hall regime of the stripe and the bubble phases. In the anisotropic stripe phase, SAW propagating along the 'easy' $\langle 110\rangle$ direction sense a compressible behavior (finite resistance) which is seen in standard transport measurement only if current flows along the 'hard' $\langle 1\bar{1}0\rangle$ direction. In the isotropic bubble phase, the SAW data show compressible behavior in both directions, in marked contrast to the incompressible quantum Hall behavior seen in transport measurements. These results challenge models that assume that both the stripe and the bubble phase consist of incompressible domains and raise important questions about the role of domain boundaries in SAW propagation.

Laser trapped nanoparticles have been recently used as model systems to study fundamental relations holding far from equilibrium. Here we study a nanoscale silica sphere levitated by a laser in a low density gas. The center of mass motion of the particle is subjected, at the same time, to feedback cooling and a parametric modulation driving the system into a non-equilibrium steady state. Based on the Langevin equation of motion of the particle, we derive an analytical expression for the energy distribution of this steady state showing that the average and variance of the energy distribution can be controlled separately by appropriate choice of the friction, cooling and modulation parameters. Energy distributions determined in computer simulations and measured in a laboratory experiment agree well with the analytical predictions. We analyze the particle motion also in terms of the quadratures and find thermal squeezing depending on the degree of detuning.

We report high-resolution x-ray Raman scattering studies of high-order multipole spectra of rare earth $4d\to 4f$ excitations (the ${{N}_{4,5}}$ absorption edge) in nanoparticles of the phosphates LaPO₄, CePO₄, PrPO₄, and NdPO₄. We also present corresponding data for La $5p\to 5d$ excitations (the ${{O}_{2,3}}$ edge) in LaPO₄. The results are compared with those from calculations by atomic multiplet theory and for the dipole contribution to the La $4d\to 4f$ transition from a calculation using time-dependent density functional theory (TDLDA). Agreement with the atomic multiplet calculations for the high-order multiplet spectra is remarkable in the case of the ${{N}_{4,5}}$ spectra. In contrast, we find that the shallow ${{O}_{2,3}}$ semicore excitations in LaPO₄ manifest a relatively broad band and an apparent quenching of $5p$ spin-orbit splitting. The more sophisticated TDLDA, which has earlier been found to explain dipolar spectra well in Ba compounds, is less satisfactory here in the case of La.

The orbital momentum of optical or radio waves can be used as a degree of freedom to transmit information. However, mainly for technical reasons, this degree of freedom has not been widely used in communication channels. The question is if this degree of freedom opens up a new, hitherto unused 'communication window'supporting 'an infinite number of channels in a given, fixed bandwidth' in free space communication as has been claimed? We answer this question in the negative by showing that on the fundamental level, the mode density, and thus room for mode multiplexing, is the same for this degree of freedom as for sets of modes lacking angular momentum. In addition we show that modes with angular momentum are unsuitable for broadcasting applications due to excessive crosstalk or a poor signal-to-noise ratio.

We analyze the statistics of photons originating from amplified spontaneous emission generated by a quantum dot superluminescent diode. Experimentally detectable emission properties are taken into account by parametrizing the corresponding quantum state as a multimode phase-randomized Gaussian density operator. The validity of this model is proven in two subsequent experiments using fast two-photon-absorption detection observing second-order equal-time and second-order fully time-resolved intensity correlations on femtosecond timescales. In the first experiment, we study the photon statistics when the number of contributing longitudinal modes is systematically reduced by applying well-controlled optical feedback. In a second experiment, we add coherent light from a single-mode laser diode to quantum dot superluminescent diode broadband radiation. Tuning the power ratio, we realize tailored second-order correlations ranging from Gaussian to Poissonian statistics. Both experiments are very well matched by theory, thus giving first insights into the quantum properties of radiation from quantum dot superluminescent diodes.

Helium (He) plasma irradiation to tungsten (W) leads to morphology changes in nanometer scale by the formation and growth of He bubbles. Initially pinholes and protrusions are formed on the surface followed by the formation of nanostructures. In this study, based on experimental observation, the growth process of the fiberform nanostructures are revisited and the swelling process of the structure is discussed. The novel nanostructures are analyzed from the viewpoint of fractality. It is found that the number of the initially formed pinholes and its sizes have a fractal relation, indicating that the size and number of bubbles formed near the surface have fractality. The fractal dimension is estimated from the brightness variation of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) micrograph and gas adsorption property. Moreover, it is revealed from TEM image analysis that the nanostructure has multifractal feature, probably because of the fractality identified between the number and the size of bubbles near the surface.

The system of a trapped ion translationally excited by a blue-detuned near-resonant laser, sometimes described as an instance of a phonon laser, has recently received attention as interesting in its own right and for its application to non-destructive readout of internal states of non-fluorescing ions. Previous theoretical work has been limited to cases of two-level ions. Here, we perform simulations to study the dynamics of a phonon laser involving the Λ-type $^{138}{\rm B}{{{\rm a}}^{+}}$ ion, in which coherent population trapping (CPT) effects lead to different behavior than in the previously studied cases. We explore optimization of the laser parameters to maximize amplification gain for initially seeded motion and consider the related signal-to-noise ratios for internal state readout. We find that good Doppler amplification and state readout performance can be obtained even when operating quite near the CPT dip.

We theoretically evaluate the feasibility to form magnetically-tunable Feshbach molecules in collisions between fermionic ⁶Li atoms and bosonic metastable ¹⁷⁴Yb(³P₂) atoms. In contrast to the well-studied alkali-metal atom collisions, collisions with meta-stable atoms are highly anisotropic. Our first-principle coupled-channel calculation of these collisions reveals the existence of broad Feshbach resonances due to the combined effect of anisotropic-molecular and atomic–hyperfine interactions. In order to fit our predictions to the specific positions of experimentally-observed broad resonance structures (Dowd et al 2014) we optimized the shape of the short-range potentials by direct least-square fitting. This allowed us to identify the dominant resonance by its leading angular momentum quantum numbers and describe the role of collisional anisotropy in the creation and broadening of this and other resonances.

A two-state, master equation-based decision-making model has been shown to generate phase transitions, to be topologically complex, and to manifest temporal complexity through an inverse power-law probability distribution function in the switching times between the two critical states of consensus. These properties are entailed by the fundamental assumption that the network elements in the decision-making model imperfectly imitate one another. The process of subordination establishes that a single network element can be described by a fractional master equation whose analytic solution yields the observed inverse power-law probability distribution obtained by numerical integration of the two-state master equation to a high degree of accuracy.

30% of the DNA in E. coli bacteria is covered by proteins. Such a high degree of crowding affects the dynamics of generic biological processes (e.g. gene regulation, DNA repair, protein diffusion etc) in ways that are not yet fully understood. In this paper, we theoretically address the diffusion constant of a tracer particle in a one-dimensional system surrounded by impenetrable crowder particles. While the tracer particle always stays on the lattice, crowder particles may unbind to a surrounding bulk and rebind at another, or the same, location. In this scenario we determine how the long time diffusion constant $\mathcal{D}$ (after many unbinding events) depends on (i) the unbinding rate of crowder particles ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$, and (ii) crowder particle line density ρ, from simulations (using the Gillespie algorithm) and analytical calculations. For small ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$, we find $\mathcal{D}\sim {{k}_{{\rm off}}}/{{\rho }^{2}}$ when crowder particles do not diffuse on the line, and $\mathcal{D}\sim \sqrt{D{{k}_{{\rm off}}}}/\rho$ when they are diffusing; D is the free particle diffusion constant. For large ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$, we find agreement with mean-field results which do not depend on ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$. From literature values of ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$ and D, we show that the small ${{k}_{{\rm off}}}$-limit is relevant for in vivo protein diffusion on crowded DNA. Our results apply to single-molecule tracking experiments.

We investigate both, experimentally and theoretically, commensurability oscillations in the low-field magnetoresistance of lateral superlattices with broken inversion symmetry. We find that pronounced minima develop in the resistivity ${{\rho }_{xx}}$ when the flat band conditions of several relevant harmonics of the periodic potential nearly coincide.

It is known that covalent semiconductors become superconducting if conveniently doped with large concentration of impurities. In this article we investigate, using ab initio methods, if the same situation is possible for an ionic, large-band gap semiconductor such as ZnO. We concentrate on the cage-like sodalite phase, with very similar electronic and phononic properties as wurtzite ZnO, but allow for endohedral doping of the cages. We find that sodalite ZnO becomes superconducting for a variety of dopants, reaching a maximum critical temperature of 7 K. This value is comparable to the transition temperatures of doped silicon clathrates, cubic silicon, and diamond.

Cold molecular ions are of great interest for applications in cold collision studies, chemistry, precision spectroscopy and quantum technologies. In this context, sympathetic cooling of molecular ions by the interaction with laser-cooled atomic ions is a powerful method to cool their translational motion and achieve translational temperatures in the millikelvin range. Recently, we implemented this method in a surface-electrode ion trap. The flexibility in shaping the trapping potentials offered by the surface-electrode structure enabled us to generate planar bicomponent Coulomb crystals and spatially separate the molecular from the atomic ions. Here, we present a detailed description of the fabrication and simulation of the trap as well as a theoretical and experimental investigation of the structural and energetic properties of the Coulomb crystals obtained in the device. We discuss in more detail the separation of different ion species using static electric fields and explore the effects of trap anharmoncities on the shape of bicomponent crystals.

In this paper, the finite-size Dicke model of arbitrary number of qubits is solved analytically in a unified way within extended coherent states. For the $N=2k$ or $2k-1$ Dicke models (k is an integer), the G-function, which is only an energy dependent $k\times k$ determinant, is derived in a transparent manner. The regular spectrum is completely and uniquely given by stable zeros of the G-function. The closed-form exceptional eigenvalues are also derived. The level distribution controlled by the pole structure of the G-functions suggests non-integrability for $N\gt 1$ model at any finite coupling in the sense of recent criteria found in the literature. A preliminary application to the exact dynamics of genuine multipartite entanglement in the finite-N Dicke model is presented using the obtained exact solutions.

The possible ground states of the undoped and doped Kitaev–Heisenberg model on a triangular lattice are studied. For the undoped system, a combination of the numerical exact diagonalization calculation and the four-sublattice transformation analysis suggests one possible exotic phase and four magnetically ordered phases, including a collinear stripe pattern and a noncollinear spiral pattern in the global phase diagram. The exotic phase near the antiferromagnetic (AF) Kitaev point is further investigated using the Schwinger-fermion mean-field method, and we obtain an energetically favorable Z₂ chiral spin liquid with a Chern number ±2 as a promising candidate. At finite doping, we find that the AF Heisenberg coupling supports an s-wave or a ${{d}_{{{x}^{2}}-{{y}^{2}}}}+{\rm i}{{d}_{xy}}$-wave superconductivity (SC), while the AF and the ferromagnetic Kitaev interactions favor a ${{d}_{{{x}^{2}}-{{y}^{2}}}}+{\rm i}{{d}_{xy}}$-wave SC and a time-reversal invariant topological p-wave SC, respectively. Possible experimental realizations and related candidate materials are also discussed.

The speed meter concept has been identified as a technique that can potentially provide laser-interferometric measurements at a sensitivity level which surpasses the standard quantum limit (SQL) over a broad frequency range. As with other sub-SQL measurement techniques, losses play a central role in speed meter interferometers and they ultimately determine the quantum noise limited sensitivity that can be achieved. So far in the literature, the quantum noise limited sensitivity has only been derived for lossless or lossy cases using certain approximations (for instance that the arm cavity round trip loss is small compared to the arm cavity mirror transmission). In this article we present a generalized, analytical treatment of losses in speed meters that allows accurate calculation of the quantum noise limited sensitivity of Sagnac speed meters with arm cavities. In addition, our analysis allows us to take into account potential imperfections in the interferometer such as an asymmetric beam splitter or differences of the reflectivities of the two arm cavity input mirrors. Finally, we use the examples of the proof-of-concept Sagnac speed meter currently under construction in Glasgow and a potential implementation of a Sagnac speed meter in the Einstein Telescope to illustrate how our findings affect Sagnac speed meters with metre- and kilometre-long baselines.

In spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) based quantum information processing (QIP) experiments, there is a tradeoff between the coincidence count rates (i.e. the pumping power of the SPDC), which limits the rate of the protocol, and the visibility of the quantum interference, which limits the quality of the protocol. This tradeoff is mainly caused by the multi-photon pair emissions from the SPDCs. In theory, the problem is how to model the experiments without truncating these multi-photon emissions while including practical imperfections.

In this paper, we establish a method to theoretically simulate SPDC-based QIPs which fully incorporates the effect of multi-photon emissions and various practical imperfections. The key ingredient in our method is the application of the characteristic function formalism which has been used in continuous variable QIPs. We apply our method to three examples, the Hong–Ou–Mandel interference and the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen interference experiments, and the concatenated entanglement swapping protocol. For the first two examples, we show that our theoretical results quantitatively agree with the recent experimental results. Also we provide the closed expressions for these interference visibilities with the full multi-photon components and various imperfections. For the last example, we provide the general theoretical form of the concatenated entanglement swapping protocol in our method and show the numerical results up to five concatenations. Our method requires only a small computational resource (a few minutes by a commercially available computer), which was not possible in the previous theoretical approach. Our method will have applications in a wide range of SPDC-based QIP protocols with high accuracy and a reasonable computational resource.

We propose several designs to simulate quantum many-body systems in manifolds with a non-trivial topology. The key idea is to create a synthetic lattice combining real-space and internal degrees of freedom via a suitable use of induced hoppings. The simplest example is the conversion of an open spin-ladder into a closed spin-chain with arbitrary boundary conditions. Further exploitation of the idea leads to the conversion of open chains with internal degrees of freedom into artificial tori and Möbius strips of different kinds. We show that in synthetic lattices the Hubbard model on sharp and scalable manifolds with non-Euclidean topologies may be realized. We provide a few examples of the effect that a change of topology can have on quantum systems amenable to simulation, both at the single-particle and at the many-body level.

Biopolymer networks contribute mechanical integrity as well as functional organization to living cells. One of their major constituents, the protein actin, is present in a large variety of different network architectures, ranging from extensive networks to densely packed bundles. The shape of the network is directly linked to its mechanical properties and essential physiological functions. However, a profound understanding of architecture-determining mechanisms and their physical constraints remains elusive. We use experimental bottom-up systems to study the formation of confined actin networks by entropic forces. Experiments based on molecular crowding as well as counterion condensation reveal a generic tendency of homogeneous filament solutions to aggregate into regular actin bundle networks connected by aster-like centers. The network architecture is found to critically rely on network formation history. Starting from identical biochemical compositions, we observe drastic changes in network architecture as a consequence of initially biased filament orientation or mixing-induced perturbations. Our experiments suggest that the tendency to form regularly spaced bundle networks is a rather general feature of isotropic, homogeneous filament solutions subject to uniform attractive interactions. Due to the fundamental nature of the considered interactions, we expect that the investigated type of network formation further implies severe physical constraints for cytoskeleton self-organization on the more complex level of living cells.

The steady-state shear rheology of granular materials is investigated in slow quasistatic and inertial flows. The effect of gravity (thus the local pressure) and the often-neglected contact stiffness are the focus of this study. A series of particle simulations are performed on a weakly frictional granular assembly in a split-bottom geometry considering various magnitudes of gravity and contact stiffnesses. While traditionally the inertial number, i.e., the ratio of stress to strain-rate time scales, is used to describe the flow rheology, we report that a second dimensionless number, the ratio of softness and stress time scales, must also be included to characterize the bulk flow behavior. For slow, quasistatic flows, the density increases while the effective (macroscopic) friction decreases with increase in either particle softness or local pressure. This trend is added to the $\mu (I)$ rheology and can be traced back to the anisotropy in the contact network, displaying a linear correlation between the effective friction coefficient and deviatoric fabric in the steady state. When the external rotation rate is increased towards the inertial regime, for a given gravity field and contact stiffness, the effective friction increases faster than linearly with the deviatoric fabric.

We demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) in dense-wavelength-division multiplexing networks (DWDM), where QKD will typically have to coexist with several co-propagating (forward or backward) C-band classical channels whose launch power is around 0 dBm. We have conducted experimental tests of the coexistence of CV-QKD multiplexed with an intense classical channel, for different input powers and different DWDM wavelengths. Over a 25 km fiber, a CV-QKD operated over the 1530.12 nm channel can tolerate the noise arising from up to 11.5 dBm classical channel at 1550.12 nm in the forward direction (9.7 dBm in backward). A positive key rate (0.49 kbits s⁻¹) can be obtained at 75 km with classical channel power of respectively −3 and −9 dBm in forward and backward. Based on these measurements, we have also simulated the excess noise and optimized channel allocation for the integration of CV-QKD in some access networks. We have, for example, shown that CV-QKD could coexist with five pairs of channels (with nominal input powers: 2 dBm forward and 1 dBm backward) over a 25 km WDM-PON network. The obtained results demonstrate the outstanding capacity of CV-QKD to coexist with classical signals of realistic intensity in optical networks.

Doping the distorted-perovskite Mott insulators LaTiO₃ and GdTiO₃ with a single SrO layer along the [001] direction gives rise to a rich correlated electronic structure. A realistic superlattice study by means of the charge self-consistent combination of density functional theory with dynamical mean-field theory reveals layer- and temperature-dependent multi-orbital metal-insulator transitions. An orbital-selective metallic layer at the interface dissolves via an orbital-polarized doped-Mott state into an orbital-ordered insulating regime beyond the two conducting TiO₂ layers. We find large differences in the scattering behavior within the latter. Breaking the spin symmetry in δ-doped GdTiO₃ results in blocks of ferromagnetic itinerant and ferromagnetic Mott-insulating layers that are coupled antiferromagnetically.

Spectral components of continuous squeezed fields are entangled. In this article we review and clarify this phenomenon by analyzing systematically the relations between the correlations of modes filtered from stationary continuous fields and the cross-power spectrum between the operators of the corresponding spectral components. Moreover, we study the specific spectral components that are filtered in homodyne or heterodyne detections and their entanglement properties. In particular, we establish the equivalence between two-mode squeezing variance and logarithmic negativity for the spectral components of continuous stationary fields, thereby demonstrating that the measurement of the homodyne or heterodyne spectrum is, in fact, a direct measurement of the logarithmic negativity between specific spectral modes. As an illustrative example, we apply these concepts to the analysis of entanglement in ponderomotive squeezing.

When two or more degrees of freedom become coupled in a physical system, a number of observables of the latter cannot be represented by mathematical expressions separable with respect to the different degrees of freedom. In recent years it appeared clear that these expressions may display the same mathematical structures exhibited by multiparty entangled states in quantum mechanics. In this work, we investigate the occurrence of such structures in optical beams, a phenomenon that is often referred to as 'classical entanglement'. We present a unified theory for different kinds of light beams exhibiting classical entanglement and we indicate several possible extensions of the concept. Our results clarify and shed new light upon the physics underlying this intriguing aspect of classical optics.

We report Bose–Einstein condensation of two isotopes of the highly magnetic element dysprosium: ¹⁶²Dy and $^{160}$ Dy. For ¹⁶²Dy, condensates with 10⁵ atoms form below T = 50 nK. We find the evaporation efficiency for the isotope ¹⁶⁰Dy to be poor; however, by utilizing a low-field Fano–Feshbach resonance to carefully change the scattering properties, it is possible to produce a Bose–Einstein condensate of ¹⁶⁰Dy with 10³ atoms. The ¹⁶²Dy BEC reported is an order of magnitude larger in atom number than that of the previously reported ¹⁶⁴Dy BEC, and it may be produced within 18 s.

We investigate the occurrence of rotons in a quadrupolar Bose–Einstein condensate confined to two dimensions. Depending on the particle density, the ratio of the contact and quadrupole–quadrupole interactions, and the alignment of the quadrupole moments with respect to the confinement plane, the dispersion relation features two or four point-like roton minima or one ring-shaped minimum. We map out the entire parameter space of the roton behavior and identify the instability regions. We propose to observe the exotic rotons by monitoring the characteristic density wave dynamics resulting from a short local perturbation, and discuss the possibilities to detect the predicted effects in state-of-the-art experiments with ultracold homonuclear molecules.

Min proteins in E. coli bacteria organize into a dynamic pattern oscillating between the two cell poles. This process identifies the middle of the cell and enables symmetric cell division. In an experimental model system consisting of a flat membrane with effectively infinite supply of proteins and energy source, the Min proteins assemble into travelling waves. Here we propose a simple one-dimensional model of the Min dynamics that, unlike the existing models, reproduces the sharp decrease of Min concentration when the majority of protein detaches from the membrane, and even the narrow MinE maximum immediately preceding the detachment. The proposed model thus provides a possible mechanism for the formation of the MinE ring known from cells. The model is restricted to one dimension, with protein interactions described by chemical kinetics allowing at most bimolecular reactions, and explicitly considering only three, membrane-bound, species. The bulk solution above the membrane is approximated as being well-mixed, with constant concentrations of all species. Unlike other models, our proposal does not require autocatalytic binding of MinD to the membrane. Instead, it is assumed that two MinE molecules are necessary to induce the dissociation of the MinD dimer and its subsequent detachment from the membrane. We investigate which reaction schemes lead to unstable homogeneous steady states and limit cycle oscillations, and how diffusion affects their stability. The suggested model qualitatively describes the shape of the Min waves observed on flat membranes, and agrees with the experimental dependence of the wave period on the MinE concentration. These results highlight the importance of MinE presence on the membrane without being bound to MinD, and of the reactions of Min proteins on the membrane.

High-precision gyroscopes are a key component of inertial navigation systems. By considering matter wave gyroscopes that make use of entanglement it should be possible to gain some advantages in terms of sensitivity, size, and resources used over unentangled optical systems. In this paper we consider the details of such a quantum-enhanced atom interferometry scheme based on atoms trapped in a carefully-chosen rotating trap. We consider all the steps: entanglement generation, phase imprinting, and read-out of the signal and show that quantum enhancement should be possible in principle. While the improvement in performance over equivalent unentangled schemes is small, our feasibility study opens the door to further developments and improvements.

We construct statistical ensembles of modular Boolean networks that are constrained to lie at the critical line between frozen and chaotic dynamic regimes. The ensembles are maximally random given the imposed constraints, and thus represent null models of critical networks. By varying the network density and the entropic cost associated with biased Boolean functions, the ensembles undergo several phase transitions. The observed structures range from fully random to several ordered ones, including a prominent core–periphery-like structure, and an 'attenuated' two-group structure, where the network is divided in two groups of nodes, and one of them has Boolean functions with very low sensitivity. This shows that such simple large-scale structures are the most likely to occur when optimizing for criticality, in the absence of any other constraint or competing optimization criteria.

Iron based high temperature superconductors have several common features with superconducting cuprates, including the square lattice and the proximity to an antiferromagnetic phase. The magnetic excitation spectrum below T_c of ${\rm F}{{{\rm e}}_{1.02}}{\rm T}{{{\rm e}}_{0.7}}{\rm S}{{{\rm e}}_{0.3}}$ shows an hourglass-shaped dispersion with a resonance around the commensurate point . In a previous inelastic neutron scattering study, we showed that the hourglass-shaped dispersion is most likely a prerequisite for superconductivity, while the consequences are the opening of a gap and a shift of spectral weight. In this paper we follow the evolution of the hourglass shaped dispersion under applied pressure up to 12 kbar. Our results show that that the pressure-induced 37% increase of T_c is concomitant with a change in the magnetic excitation spectrum, with an increase of the hourglass energy by 38%.

The scope of the present paper is to determine how ion electrostatic wave perturbations in plasma flows are influenced by the presence of a kinematically complex velocity shear. For this purpose we consider a model based on the following set of physical equations: the equation of motion, the continuity equation and the Poisson equation for the electric potential governing the evolution of the system. After linearizing the equations, we solve them numerically. We find out that for a variety of specific values of parameters the system may exhibit quite interesting dynamic behaviour. In particular, we demonstrate that the system exhibits two different kinds of shear flow instabilities: (a) when the wave vectors evolve exponentially, the ion sound modes become unstable as well; while, (b) on the other hand, one can find areas in a parametric space where, when the wave vectors vary periodically, the physical system is subject to a strongly pronounced parametric instability. We also show the possibility of the generation of beat wave phenomena, characterized by a noteworthy quasi-periodic temporal behaviour. In the conclusion, we discuss the possible areas of applications and further directions of generalization of the presented work.

High-quality random samples of quantum states are needed for a variety of tasks in quantum information and quantum computation. Searching the high-dimensional quantum state space for a global maximum of an objective function with many local maxima or evaluating an integral over a region in the quantum state space are but two exemplary applications of many. These tasks can only be performed reliably and efficiently with Monte Carlo methods, which involve good samplings of the parameter space in accordance with the relevant target distribution. We show how the Markov-chain Monte Carlo method known as Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, or hybrid Monte Carlo, can be adapted to this context. It is applicable when an efficient parameterization of the state space is available. The resulting random walk is entirely inside the physical parameter space, and the Hamiltonian dynamics enable us to take big steps, thereby avoiding strong correlations between successive sample points while enjoying a high acceptance rate. We use examples of single and double qubit measurements for illustration.

High-quality random samples of quantum states are needed for a variety of tasks in quantum information and quantum computation. Searching the high-dimensional quantum state space for a global maximum of an objective function with many local maxima or evaluating an integral over a region in the quantum state space are but two exemplary applications of many. These tasks can only be performed reliably and efficiently with Monte Carlo methods, which involve good samplings of the parameter space in accordance with the relevant target distribution. We show how the standard strategies of rejection sampling, importance sampling, and Markov-chain sampling can be adapted to this context, where the samples must obey the constraints imposed by the positivity of the statistical operator. For illustration, we generate sample points in the probability space of qubits, qutrits, and qubit pairs, both for tomographically complete and incomplete measurements. We use these samples for various purposes: establish the marginal distribution of the purity; compute the fractional volume of separable two-qubit states; and calculate the size of regions with bounded likelihood.

We report the discovery of a charge transfer (CT) related low binding energy feature at a molecule–metal interface by the application of resonant photoelectron spectroscopy (RPES). This interface feature is neither present for molecular bulk samples nor for the clean substrate. A detailed analysis of the spectroscopic signature of the low binding energy feature shows characteristics of electronic interaction not found in other electron spectroscopic techniques. Within a cluster model description this feature is assigned to a particular eigenstate of the photoionized system that is invisible in direct photoelectron spectroscopy but revealed in RPES through a relative resonant enhancement. Interpretations based on considering only the predominant character of the eigenstates explain the low binding energy feature by an occupied lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, which is either realized through CT in the ground or in the intermediate state. This reveals that molecule–metal CT is responsible for this feature. Consequently, our study demonstrates the sensitivity of RPES to electronic interactions and constitutes a new way to investigate CT at molecule–metal interfaces.

A semi-classical analysis of the quantum rigid-rotor motion based on a phase-space description of the rotation in terms of a SO(3) covariant Wigner-like distribution is presented. The results are applied to the description of the intense-field alignment of an anisotropically polarizable molecule with high rotational excitation.

We extend the single-particle topological classification of insulators and superconductors to include systems in which disorder preserves average reflection symmetry. We show that the topological group structure of bulk Hamiltonians and topological defects is exponentially extended when this additional condition is met and examine some of its physical consequences. Those include localization–delocalization transitions between topological phases with the same boundary conductance as well as gapless topological defects stabilized by average reflection symmetry.

Diverse no-go theorems exist, ranging from no-cloning to monogamies of quantum correlations and Bell inequality violations, which restrict the processing of information in the quantum world. In a multipartite scenario, monogamy of Bell inequality violation and the exclusion principle of dense coding are such theorems which impede the ability of the system to have quantum advantage between all its parts. In ordered spin systems, the twin restrictions of translation invariance and monogamy of quantum correlations, in general, enforce the bipartite states to be neither Bell inequality violating nor dense codeable. We show that it is possible to conquer these constraints imposed by quantum mechanics in ordered systems by introducing quenched impurities in the system while still retaining translation invariance at the physically relevant level of disorder-averaged observables.

We present a novel cavity QED system in which a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is trapped within a high-finesse optical cavity whose length may be adjusted to access both single-mode and multimode configurations. We demonstrate the coupling of an atomic ensemble to the cavity in both configurations and measure that the single-atom, ${\rm TE}{{{\rm M}}_{0,0}}$-mode cooperativity exceeds unity. The atoms are confined either within an intracavity far-off-resonance optical dipole trap or a crossed optical dipole trap via transversely oriented lasers. Multimode cavity QED provides fully emergent and dynamical optical lattices for intracavity BECs, in that the process of atomic self-organization may be described as a continuous symmetry breaking phase transition resulting in the emergence of a compliant lattice with phonon-like excitations. Such systems will enable explorations of quantum soft matter, including superfluid smectics, superfluid glasses, and spin glasses as well as neuromorphic associative memory.

We experimentally demonstrate a method to determine the temperature of trapped ions which is suitable for monitoring fast thermalization processes. We show that observing and analyzing the lineshape of dark resonances in the fluorescence spectrum provides a temperature measurement which is accurate over a large dynamic range, applied to single ions and small ion crystals. Laser induced fluorescence is detected over a time of only $20\;\mu {\rm s}$, allowing for rapid determination of the ion temperature. In the measurement range of 10⁻¹–${{10}^{2}}$ mK we reach better than $15\%$ accuracy. Tuning the cooling laser to selected resonance features allows us to control the ion temperatures between $0.7$ mK and more than $10$ mK. Experimental work is supported by a solution of the eight-level optical Bloch equations when including the ions' classical motion. This technique paves the way for many experiments, including heat transport in ion strings, heat engines, non-equilibrium thermodynamics or thermometry of large ion crystals.

We investigate phonon induced electronic dynamics in the ground and excited states of the negatively charged silicon-vacancy (${\rm Si}{{{\rm V}}^{-}}$) centre in diamond. Optical transition line widths, transition wavelength and excited state lifetimes are measured for the temperature range 4 K–350 K. The ground state orbital relaxation rates are measured using time-resolved fluorescence techniques. A microscopic model of the thermal broadening in the excited and ground states of the ${\rm Si}{{{\rm V}}^{-}}$ centre is developed. A vibronic process involving single-phonon transitions is found to determine orbital relaxation rates for both the ground and the excited states at cryogenic temperatures. We discuss the implications of our findings for coherence of qubits in the ground states and propose methods to extend coherence times of ${\rm Si}{{{\rm V}}^{-}}$ qubits.

Metastasis formation is a major cause of mortality in cancer patients and includes tumor cell relocation to distant organs. A metastatic cell invades through other cells and extracellular matrix by biochemical attachment and mechanical force application. Force is used to move on or through a 2- or 3-dimensional (3D) environment, respectively, or to penetrate a 2D substrate. We have previously shown that even when a gel substrate is impenetrable, metastatic breast cancer cells can still indent it by applying force. Cells typically apply force through the acto-myosin network, which is mechanically connected to the nucleus. We develop a 3D image-analysis to reveal relative locations of the cell elements, and show that as cells apply force to the gel, a coordinated process occurs that involves cytoskeletal remodeling and repositioning of the nucleus. Our approach shows that the actin and microtubules reorganize in the cell, bringing the actin to the leading edge of the cell. In parallel, the nucleus is transported behind the actin, likely by the cytoskeleton, into the indentation dimple formed in the gel. The nucleus volume below the gel surface correlates with indentation depth, when metastatic breast cancer cells indent gels deeply. However, the nucleus always remains above the gel in benign cells, even when small indentations are observed. Determining mechanical processes during metastatic cell invasion can reveal how cells disseminate in the body and can uncover targets for diagnosis and treatment.

We construct Lindbladians associated with controlled stochastic Hamiltonians in the weak coupling regime. This construction allows us to determine the power spectrum of the noise from measurements of dephasing rates. Moreover, by studying the derived equation it is possible to optimize the control as well as to test numerical algorithms that solve controlled stochastic Schrödinger equations. A few examples are worked out in detail.

A proposal for a phase gate and a Mølmer–Sørensen gate in the dressed state basis is presented. In order to perform the multi-qubit interaction, a strong magnetic field gradient is required to couple the phonon-bus to the qubit states. The gate is performed using resonant microwave driving fields together with either a radio-frequency (RF) driving field, or additional detuned microwave driving fields. The gate is robust to ambient magnetic field fluctuations due to an applied resonant microwave driving field. Furthermore, the gate is robust to fluctuations in the microwave Rabi frequency and is decoupled from phonon dephasing due to a resonant RF or a detuned microwave driving field. This makes this new gate an attractive candidate for the implementation of high-fidelity microwave based multi-qubit gates. The proposal can also be realized in laser-based set-ups.

Magnetotactic bacteria swim and orient in the direction of a magnetic field thanks to the magnetosome chain, a cellular 'compass needle' that consists of a string of vesicle-enclosed magnetic nanoparticles aligned on a cytoskeletal filament. Here we investigate the mechanical properties of such a chain, in particular the bending stiffness. We determine the contribution of magnetic interactions to the bending stiffness and the persistence length of the chain. This contribution is comparable to, but typically smaller than the contribution of the semiflexible filament. For a chain of magnetic nanoparticles without a semiflexible filament, the linear configuration is typically metastable and the lowest energy structures are closed chains (flux closure rings) without a net magnetic moment that are thus not functional as a cellular compass. Our calculations show that the presence of the cytoskeletal filament stabilizes the chain against ring closure, either thermodynamically or kinetically, depending on the stiffness of the filament, confirming that such stabilization is one of the roles of this structure in these bacterial cells.

Vibrational relaxation of strontium monohydroxide (SrOH) molecules in collisions with helium (He) at 2 K is studied. We find the diffusion cross section of SrOH at 2.2 K to be ${{\sigma }_{{\rm d}}}=(5\pm 2)\times {{10}^{-14}}\;{\rm c}{{{\rm m}}^{2}}$ and the vibrational quenching cross section for the (100) Sr–O stretching mode to be ${{\sigma }_{{\rm q}}}$$\;=\;(7\pm 2)\times {{10}^{-17}}{\rm c}{{{\rm m}}^{2}}$. The resulting ratio ${{\gamma }_{100}}$$\;=\;{{\sigma }_{{\rm d}}}/{{\sigma }_{{\rm q}}}\sim 700$ is more than an order of magnitude smaller than for previously studied few-atom radicals (Au et al 2014 Phys. Rev. A 90 032703 ). We also determine the Franck–Condon factor for SrOH (${{\tilde{A}}^{2}}{{\Pi }_{1/2}}(100)\leftarrow {{\tilde{X}}^{2}}{{\Sigma }^{+}}(000)$) to be $(4.8\pm 0.8)\times {{10}^{-2}}$.

The fact that macroscopic systems approach thermal equilibrium may seem puzzling, for example, because it may seem to conflict with the time-reversibility of the microscopic dynamics. We here prove that in a macroscopic quantum system for a typical choice of 'nonequilibrium subspace', any initial state indeed thermalizes, and in fact does so very quickly, on the order of the Boltzmann time ${{\tau }_{{\rm B}}}:=h/({{k}_{{\rm B}}}T)$. Therefore what needs to be explained is, not that macroscopic systems approach thermal equilibrium, but that they do so slowly.

Broadband quantum memories, used as temporal multiplexers, are a key component in photonic quantum information processing, as they make repeat-until-success strategies scalable. We demonstrate a prototype system, operating on-demand, by interfacing a warm vapour, high time-bandwidth-product Raman memory with a travelling wave spontaneous parametric down-conversion source. We store single photons and observe a clear influence of the input photon statistics on the retrieved light, which we find currently to be limited by noise. We develop a theoretical model that identifies four-wave mixing as the sole important noise source and point towards practical solutions for noise-free operation.

The low-lying electronic states of ThF⁺, a possible candidate in the search for $\mathcal{P}$- and $\mathcal{T}$-violation, have been studied using high-level correlated relativistic ab initio multi-reference coupled-cluster and configuration interaction approaches. For the $^{3}\Delta$ state component with Ω = 1 (electron electric dipole moment 'science state') we obtain an effective electric field of ${{E}_{{\rm eff}}}=35.2$${\rm GV}\;{\rm c}{{{\rm m}}^{-1}}$, a $\mathcal{P}$- and $\mathcal{T}$-odd electron–nucleon interaction constant of ${{W}_{P,T}}=48.4$ kHz, a magnetic hyperfine interaction constant of ${{A}_{\parallel }}=1833$ MHz for ²²⁹Th ($I=5/2$), and a very large molecular dipole moment of 4.03 D. The Ω = 1 state is found to be more than 300 cm⁻¹ lower in energy than $\Omega ={{0}^{+}}$ ($^{1}{{\Sigma }^{+}}$), challenging the state assignment from an earlier theoretical study on this species (Barker et al 2012 J. Chem. Phys.136 104305).

Recently, Lemoult et al (2011 Phys. Rev. Lett.107 064301) used time reversal to focus sound above an array of soda cans into a spot much smaller than the acoustic wavelength in air. In this study, we show that equally sharp focusing can be achieved without time reversal, by arranging transducers around a nearly circular array of soda cans. The size of the focal spot at the center of the array is made progressively smaller as the frequency approaches the Helmholtz resonance frequency of a can from below, and, near the resonance, becomes smaller than the size of a single can. We show that the locally resonant metamaterial formed by soda cans supports a guided wave at frequencies below the Helmholtz resonance frequency. The small focal spot results from a small wavelength of this guided wave near the resonance in combination with a near field effect making the acoustic field concentrate at the opening of a can. The focusing is achieved with propagating rather than evanescent waves. No sub-diffraction-limited focusing is observed if the diffraction limit is defined with respect to the wavelength of the guided mode in the metamaterial medium rather than the wavelength of the bulk wave in air.

We study incompressible systems of motile particles with alignment interactions. Unlike their compressible counterparts, in which the order-disorder (i.e., moving to static) transition, tuned by either noise or number density, is discontinuous, in incompressible systems this transition can be continuous, and belongs to a new universality class. We calculate the critical exponents to $\mathcal{O}(\epsilon )$ in an $\epsilon =4-d$ expansion, and derive two exact scaling relations. This is the first analytic treatment of a phase transition in a new universality class in an active system.

We present a mean photon number dependent variational method, which works well in the whole coupling regime if the photon energy is dominant over the spin-flipping, to evaluate the properties of the Rabi model for both the ground state and excited states. For the ground state, it is shown that the previous approximate methods, the generalized rotating-wave approximation (only working well in the strong coupling limit) and the generalized variational method (only working well in the weak coupling limit), can be recovered in the corresponding coupling limits. The key point of our method is to tailor the merits of these two existing methods by introducing a mean photon number dependent variational parameter. For the excited states, our method yields considerable improvements over the generalized rotating-wave approximation. The variational method proposed could be readily applied to more complex models, for which it is difficult to formulate an analytic formula.

We report on the observation of ultrafast impact ionization and carrier generation in high resistivity silicon induced by intense subpicosecond terahertz transients. Local terahertz peak electric fields of several MV cm⁻¹ are obtained by field enhancement in the near field of a resonant metallic antenna array. The carrier multiplication is probed by the frequency shift of the resonance of the antenna array due to the change of the local refractive index of the substrate. Experimental results and simulations show that the carrier density in silicon increases by over seven orders of magnitude in the presence of an intense terahertz field. The enhancement of the resonance shift for illumination from the substrate side in comparison to illumination from the antenna side is consistent with our prediction that the back illumination is highly beneficial for a wide range of nonlinear processes.

In this brief paper, we compare two frameworks for characterizing possible operations in quantum thermodynamics. One framework considers thermal operations—unitaries which conserve energy. The other framework considers all maps which preserve the Gibbs state at a given temperature. Thermal operations preserve the Gibbs state; hence a natural question which arises is whether the two frameworks are equivalent. Classically, this is true—Gibbs-preserving maps are no more powerful than thermal operations. Here, we show that this no longer holds in the quantum regime: a Gibbs-preserving map can generate coherent superpositions of energy levels while thermal operations cannot. This gap has an impact on clarifying a mathematical framework for quantum thermodynamics.

We construct a classical algorithm that designs quantum circuits for algorithmic quantum simulation of arbitrary qudit channels on fault-tolerant quantum computers within a pre-specified error tolerance with respect to diamond-norm distance. The classical algorithm is constructed by decomposing a quantum channel into a convex combination of generalized extreme channels by convex optimization of a set of nonlinear coupled algebraïc equations. The resultant circuit is a randomly chosen generalized extreme channel circuit whose run-time is logarithmic with respect to the error tolerance and quadratic with respect to Hilbert space dimension, which requires only a single ancillary qudit plus classical dits.

The thermodynamic entropy production for the scattering processes of noninteracting bosons and fermions in mesoscopic systems is shown to be related to the difference between the Connes–Narnhofer–Thirring entropy per unit time, characterizing temporal disorder in the motion of quantum particles, and the associated time-reversed coentropy per unit time. Under nonequilibrium conditions, the positivity of thermodynamic entropy production can thus be interpreted as a time-reversal symmetry breaking in the temporal disorder of the quantum transport process. Moreover, the full counting statistics of both fermionic and bosonic quantum transport is formulated in relation with the energy and particle currents producing thermodynamic entropy in nonequilibrium steady states.