arXiv subjects

A. Foerster

Publications and source records attributed to A. Foerster.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Few-body Bose gases in low dimensions -- a laboratory for quantum dynamics

Cold atomic gases have become a paradigmatic system for exploring fundamental physics, which at the same time allows for applications in quantum technologies. The accelerating developments in the field have led to a highly advanced set of engineering techniques that, for example, can tune interactions, shape the external geometry, select among a large set of atomic species with different properties, or control the number of atoms. In particular, it is possible to operate in lower dimensions and drive atomic systems into the strongly correlated regime. In this review, we discuss recent advances in few-body cold atom systems confined in low dimensions from a theoretical viewpoint. We mainly focus on bosonic systems in one dimension and provide an introduction to the static properties before we review the state-of-the-art research into quantum dynamical processes stimulated by the presence of correlations. Besides discussing the fundamental physical phenomena arising in these systems, we also provide an overview of the calculational and numerical tools and methods that are commonly used, thus delivering a balanced and comprehensive overview of the field. We conclude by giving an outlook on possible future directions that are interesting to explore in these correlated systems.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2022

Integrable atomtronic interferometry

High sensitivity quantum interferometry requires more than just access to entangled states. It is achieved through deep understanding of quantum correlations in a system. Integrable models offer the framework to develop this understanding. We communicate the design of interferometric protocols for an integrable model that describes the interaction of bosons in a four-site configuration. Analytic formulae for the quantum dynamics of certain observables are computed. These expose the system's functionality as both an interferometric identifier, and producer, of NOON states. Being equivalent to a controlled-phase gate acting on two hybrid qudits, this system also highlights an equivalence between Heisenberg-limited interferometry and quantum information. These results are expected to open new avenues for integrability-enhanced atomtronic technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Generation of spin currents by a temperature gradient in a two-terminal device

Theoretical and experimental studies of the interaction between spins and temperature are vital for the development of spin caloritronics, as they dictate the design of future devices. In this work, we propose a two-terminal cold-atom simulator to study that interaction. The proposed quantum simulator consists of strongly interacting atoms that occupy two temperature reservoirs connected by a one-dimensional link. First, we argue that the dynamics in the link can be described using an inhomogeneous Heisenberg spin chain whose couplings are defined by the local temperature. Second, we show the existence of a spin current in a system with a temperature difference by studying the dynamics that follows the spin-flip of an atom in the link. A temperature gradient accelerates the impurity in one direction more than in the other, leading to an overall spin current similar to the spin Seebeck effect.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Realizing time crystals in discrete quantum few-body systems

The exotic phenomenon of time translation symmetry breaking under periodic driving - the time crystal - has been shown to occur in many-body systems even in clean setups where disorder is absent. In this work, we propose the realization of time-crystals in few-body systems, both in the context of trapped cold atoms with strong interactions and of a circuit of superconducting qubits. We show how these two models can be treated in a fairly similar way by adopting an effective spin chain description, to which we apply a simple driving protocol. We focus on the response of the magnetization in the presence of imperfect pulses and interactions, and show how the results can be interpreted, in the cold atomic case, in the context of experiments with trapped bosons and fermions. Furthermore, we provide a set of realistic parameters for the implementation of the superconducting circuit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Effects of interaction imbalance in a strongly repulsive one-dimensional Bose gas

We calculate the spatial distributions and the dynamics of a few-body two-component strongly interacting Bose gas confined to an effectively one-dimensional trapping potential. We describe the densities for each component in the trap for different interaction and population imbalances. We calculate the time evolution of the system and show that, for a certain ratio of interactions, the minority population travels through the system as an effective wave packet.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Fate of topological states in incommensurate generalized Aubry-André models

We study one-dimensional optical lattices described by generalized Aubry-André models that include both commensurate and incommensurate modulations of the hopping amplitude. This brings together two interesting features of this class of systems: Anderson localization and the existence of topological edge states. We follow changes of the single-particle energy spectrum induced by variations of the system parameters, with focus on the survival of topological states in the localized regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Correlation properties of a three-body bosonic mixture in a harmonic trap

We make use of a simple pair correlated wave function approach to obtain results for the ground-state densities and momentum distribution of a one-dimensional three-body bosonic system with different interactions in a harmonic trap. For equal interactions this approach is able to reproduce the known analytical cases of zero and infinite repulsion. We show that our results for the correlations agree with the exact diagonalization in all interaction regimes and with analytical results for the strongly repulsive impurity. This method also enables us to access the more complicated cases of mixed interactions, and the probability densities of these systems are analyzed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Experimental realization of the Yang-Baxter Equation via NMR interferometry

The Yang-Baxter equation is an important tool in theoretical physics, with many applications in different domains that span from condensed matter to string theory. Recently, the interest on the equation has increased due to its connection to quantum information processing. It has been shown that the Yang-Baxter equation is closely related to quantum entanglement and quantum computation. Therefore, owing to the broad relevance of this equation, besides theoretical studies, it also became significant to pursue its experimental implementation. Here, we show an experimental realization of the Yang-Baxter equation and verify its validity through a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) interferometric setup. Our experiment was performed on a liquid state Iodotrifluoroethylene sample which contains molecules with three qubits. We use Controlled-transfer gates that allow us to build a pseudo-pure state from which we are able to apply a quantum information protocol that implements the Yang-Baxter equation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Integrable model of bosons in a four-well ring with anisotropic tunneling

We introduce an integrable, four-well ring model for bosons where the tunneling couplings between nearest-neighbour wells are not restricted to be equal. We show how the model may be derived through the Quantum Inverse Scattering Method from a solution of the Yang--Baxter equation, and in turn solved by algebraic Bethe Ansatz means. The model admits multiple pseudovaccum states. Numerical evidence is provided to indicate that all pseudovacua are required to obtain a complete set of Bethe eigenstates. The model has the notable property that there is a class of eigenstates which admit a simple, closed-form energy expression.

nlin.SI↗

arXiv2015

Ground-states of spin-1 bosons in asymmetric double-wells

In this work we investigate the different states of a system of spin-1 bosons in two potential wells connected by tunneling, with spin-dependent interaction. The model utilizes the well-known Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian, adding a local interaction term that depends on the modulus of the total spin in a well, favoring a high- or low-spin state for different signs of the coupling constant. We employ the concept of fidelity to detect critical values of parameters for which the ground state undergoes significant changes. The nature of the states is investigated through evaluation of average occupation numbers in the wells and of spin correlations. A more detailed analysis is done for a two-particle system, but a discussion of the three-particle case and some results for larger numbers are also presented.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Wilson ratio of Fermi gases in one dimension

We calculate the Wilson ratio of the one-dimensional Fermi gas with spin imbalance. The Wilson ratio of attractively interacting fermions is solely determined by the density stiffness and sound velocity of pairs and of excess fermions for the two-component Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) phase. The ratio exhibits anomalous enhancement at the two critical points due to the sudden change in the density of states. Despite a breakdown of the quasiparticle description in one dimension, two important features of the Fermi liquid are retained, namely the specific heat is linearly proportional to temperature whereas the susceptibility is independent of temperature. In contrast to the phenomenological TLL parameter, the Wilson ratio provides a powerful parameter for testing universal quantum liquids of interacting fermions in one, two and three dimensions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

A geometric wave function for few interacting bosons in a harmonic trap

We establish a new geometric wave function that combined with a variational principle efficiently describes a system of bosons interacting in a one-dimensional trap. By means of a a combination of the exact wave function solution for contact interactions and the asymptotic behaviour of the harmonic potential solution we obtain the ground state energy, probability density and profiles of a few boson system in a harmonic trap. We are able to access all regimes, ranging from the strongly attractive to the strongly repulsive one with an original and simple formulation.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2013

Intensity fluctuations in bimodal micropillar lasers enhanced by quantum-dot gain competition

We investigate correlations between orthogonally polarized cavity modes of a bimodal micropillar laser with a single layer of self-assembled quantum dots in the active region. While one emission mode of the microlaser demonstrates a characteristic s-shaped input-output curve, the output intensity of the second mode saturates and even decreases with increasing injection current above threshold. Measuring the photon auto-correlation function g^{(2)}(τ) of the light emission confirms the onset of lasing in the first mode with g^{(2)}(0) approaching unity above threshold. In contrast, strong photon bunching associated with super-thermal values of g^{(2)}(0) is detected for the other mode for currents above threshold. This behavior is attributed to gain competition of the two modes induced by the common gain material, which is confirmed by photon crosscorrelation measurements revealing a clear anti-correlation between emission events of the two modes. The experimental studies are in excellent qualitative agreement with theoretical studies based on a microscopic semiconductor theory, which we extend to the case of two modes interacting with the common gain medium. Moreover, we treat the problem by an extended birth-death model for two interacting modes, which reveals, that the photon probability distribution of each mode has a double peak structure, indicating switching behavior of the modes for the pump rates around threshold.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Two interacting fermions in a 1D harmonic trap: matching the Bethe ansatz and variational approaches

In this work, combining the Bethe ansatz approach with the variational principle, we calculate the ground state energy of the relative motion of a system of two fermions with spin up and down interacting via a delta-function potential in a 1D harmonic trap. Our results show good agreement with the analytical solution of the problem, and provide a starting point for the investigation of more complex few-body systems where no exact theoretical solution is available.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Constraints on the gamma-ray emission from the cluster-scale AGN outburst in the Hydra A galaxy cluster

In some galaxy clusters powerful AGN have blown bubbles with cluster scale extent into the ambient medium. The main pressure support of these bubbles is not known to date, but cosmic rays are a viable possibility. For such a scenario copious gamma-ray emission is expected as a tracer of cosmic rays from these systems. Hydra A, the closest galaxy cluster hosting a cluster scale AGN outburst, located at a redshift of 0.0538, is investigated for being a gamma-ray emitter with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) array and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). Data obtained in 20.2 hours of dedicated H.E.S.S. observations and 38 months of Fermi-LAT data, gathered by its usual all-sky scanning mode, have been analyzed to search for a gamma-ray signal. No signal has been found in either data set. Upper limits on the gamma-ray flux are derived and are compared to models. These are the first limits on gamma-ray emission ever presented for galaxy clusters hosting cluster scale AGN outbursts. The non-detection of Hydra A in gamma-rays has important implications on the particle populations and physical conditions inside the bubbles in this system. For the case of bubbles mainly supported by hadronic cosmic rays, the most favorable scenario, that involves full mixing between cosmic rays and embedding medium, can be excluded. However, hadronic cosmic rays still remain a viable pressure support agent to sustain the bubbles against the thermal pressure of the ambient medium. The largest population of highly-energetic electrons which are relevant for inverse-Compton gamma-ray production is found in the youngest inner lobes of Hydra A. The limit on the inverse-Compton gamma-ray flux excludes a magnetic field below half of the equipartition value of 16 muG in the inner lobes.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Quantum criticality of spin-1 bosons in a 1D harmonic trap

We investigate universal thermodynamics and quantum criticality of spin-1 bosons with strongly repulsive density-density and antiferromagnetic spin-exchange interactions in a one-dimensional harmonic trap. From the equation of state, we find that a partially-polarized core is surrounded by two wings composed of either spin-singlet pairs or a fully spin-aligned Tonks-Girardeau gas depending on the polarization. We describe how the scaling behaviour of density profiles can reveal the universal nature of quantum criticality and map out the quantum phase diagram. We further show that at quantum criticality the dynamical critical exponent $z = 2$ and correlation length exponent $ν=1/2$. This reveals a subtle resemblance to the physics of the spin-1/2 attractive Fermi gas.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Quantum phase transitions in Bose-Einstein condensates from a Bethe ansatz perspective

We investigate two solvable models for Bose-Einstein condensates and extract physical information by studying the structure of the solutions of their Bethe ansatz equations. A careful observation of these solutions for the ground state of both models, as we vary some parameters of the Hamiltonian, suggests a connection between the behavior of the roots of the Bethe ansatz equations and the physical behavior of the models. Then, by the use of standard techniques for approaching quantum phase transition - gap, entanglement and fidelity - we find that the change in the scenery in the roots of the Bethe ansatz equations is directly related to a quantum phase transition, thus providing an alternative method for its detection.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

The Nested Off-shell Bethe ansatz and O(N) Matrix Difference Equations

A system of O(N)-matrix difference equations is solved by means of the off-shell version of the nested algebraic Bethe ansatz. In the nesting process a new object, the $Π$-matrix, is introduced to overcome the complexities of the O(N) group structure. The proof of the main theorem is presented in detail. In particular, the cancellation of all unwanted terms is shown explicitly. The highest weight property of the solutions is proved.

math-ph↗