arXiv subjects

Bindiya Arora

Publications and source records attributed to Bindiya Arora.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Standard Quantum Mechanical Treatment to Rationalize the Delayed-Choice Quantum Eraser

Ever since the proposal of delayed choice quantum erasure and subsequent realization in the experiment by Kim et al., the interpretation and implications of delayed-choice experiments have remained a subject of intense foundational debate. This paper resolves the apparent paradox attached to the experiment using standard quantum mechanics. Using an extended Mach-Zehnder interferometer which captures every operational feature of the original experiment, we show that choosing between which-path and erasure detectors is simply a choice of measurement bases, which does not rewrite a photon's past. Furthermore, by mapping the experiment to a two-way Stern-Gerlach framework, we prove that quantum erasure is an expected result of measuring entangled states, not a physical anomaly. Ultimately, through a pedagogical game, we illustrate that the illusion of retrocausality arises from asking illegitimate questions, and that a forward-in-time description is entirely sufficient to explain the logic.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

B-Spline for Self-Consistent Field Theory with a Z-Dependent Pauli Potential for Atomic Binding Energies

Polymer self-consistent field theory (SCFT) has recently been established as a promising alternative framework to Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) for modeling quantum many-body systems. It uses real-valued propagators instead of orbitals, simplifying the self-consistent numerical solution. However, SCFT suffers from inaccuracies in heavy-element systems due to the approximate treatment of the Pauli potential, particularly the use of a constant repulsion strength parameter. In this work, we address this central limitation by introducing a Z-dependent Pauli potential that improves agreement with Hartree-Fock (HF) results. Furthermore, we advance SCFT implementation by employing B-spline basis functions-highly localized, piecewise-polynomial functions widely used in atomic structure theory. We demonstrate that B-splines provide a flexible and efficient representation of electronic structure, and present results for atomic binding energies from hydrogen to xenon. Comparisons with HF theory and prior SCFT calculations using Gaussian basis sets highlight the improved accuracy achieved with the Z-dependent potential.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2025

Portal for High-Precision Atomic Data and Computation

We've developed a scalable and sustainable online atomic data portal with an automated interface for easy update and addition of new data. The current portal provides energies, transition matrix elements, transition rates, radiative lifetimes, branching ratios, polarizabilities, hyperfine constants, and other data, for 28 atoms and ions. It also features an interactive polarizability plotting interface for neutral atoms and singly-charged ions. The data production is supported by recent developments of open-access atomic software based on our research codes, including new workflow algorithms, which allow large volumes of such data to be generated with automated accuracy assessments. This entails a new method of comparing our calculated values with data from the NIST Atomic Spectra Database. All calculated values include estimated uncertainties. Data for more systems will be added in the future. Experimental values are included with references, where high-precision data are available.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Two- and three-body dispersion coefficients for interaction of Cu and Ag atoms with {Group} I, II, and XII elements

The mounting interest in conducting thorough analyses and studies of long-range interactions stems from their wide-ranging applications in cold atomic physics, making it a compelling area for research. In this work, we have evaluated long range van der Waals dispersion (vdW) interactions of Cu and Ag atoms with atoms of group I (Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Fr), II (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and {Ba}), XII (Zn, Cd, and Hg) {as well as} singly charged ions of group II (Be$^+$, Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and {Ba$^+$}) and XII (Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$) by calculating $C_6$(two-body) and $C_9$ (three-body) vdW dispersion coefficients. In order to obtain these $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients, we have evaluated the dynamic dipole polarizability of the considered atoms using appropriate relativistic methods and the sum-over-states approach. To ascertain the accuracy of our results, we have compared the evaluated static dipole polarizabilities of Cu and Ag atoms and their oscillator strengths for dominant transitions {with} available literature. The calculated values of $C_6$ dispersion coefficients have also been compared with the previously reported results.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2025

Investigating the $4D_{3/2}|3,\pm2\rangle$--$4D_{5/2}|3,\pm2\rangle$ transition in Nb$^{4+}$ for a THz atomic clock

In this work, the $4D_{3/2}|3,\pm2\rangle \rightarrow 4D_{5/2}|3,\pm2\rangle$ transition in the Nb$^{4+}$ ion is identified as a promising candidate for a terahertz (THz) atomic clock, with the transition frequency occurring at 56.0224 THz. This transition is primarily driven by the magnetic dipole decay channel, which can easily be accessed by a laser. We focus on the stable $^{93}$Nb isotope, which has 100\% natural abundance and a nuclear spin of $I=9/2$ for experimental advantage. Our data analysis allows us to estimate potential systematic shifts in the proposed clock system, including those due to blackbody radiation, electric quadrupole, second-order Zeeman, and second-order Doppler {shifts}. {The scheme presented in this study can help suppress the AC Stark and electric quadrupole shifts in the clock frequency measurement.} {All these analyses} suggest that the proposed THz atomic clock using Nb$^{4+}$ could be valuable in both quantum thermometry and frequency metrology.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Accurate estimate of $C_5$ dispersion coefficients of the alkali atoms interacting with different material media

By inferring the dynamic permittivity of different material media from the observations and calculating dynamic electric dipole polarizabilties of the Li through Cs alkali atoms, precise values of $C_3$ coefficients were estimated in Phys. Rev. A {\bf 89}, 022511 (2014) and Phys. Lett. A {\bf 380}, 3366 (2016). Since significant contribution towards the long range van der Waals potential is given by the quadrupole polarization effects, we have estimated the $C_5$ coefficients in this work arising from the quadrupole polarization effects of all the alkali atoms interacting with metal (Au), semiconductor (Si) and four dielectric materials (SiO$_2$, SiN$_x$, YAG and sapphire). The required dynamic electric quadrupole (E2) polarizabilities are evaluated by calculating E2 matrix elements of a large number of transitions in the alkali atoms by employing a relativistic coupled-cluster method. Our finding shows that contributions from the $C_5$ coefficients to the atom-wall interaction potentials are pronounced at short distances (1$-$10 nm). The $C_3$ coefficients of Fr atom interacting with the above material media are also reported. These results can be useful in understanding the interactions of alkali atoms trapped in different material bodies during the high-precision measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Magnetic Sublevel Independent Magic and Tune-out Wavelengths of the Alkaline-earth Ions

Lightshift of a state due to the applied laser in an atomic system vanishes at the tune-out wavelengths ($λ_T$s). Similarly, differential light shift of a transition vanishes at the magic wavelengths ($λ_{magic}$s). In many of the earlier studies, values of the electric dipole (E1) matrix elements were inferred precisely by combining measurements of $λ_{magic}$ with the calculated their values. Similarly, the $λ_T$ values of an atomic state can be used to infer the E1 matrix element as it involves dynamic electric dipole ($α$) values of only one state whereas the $λ_{magic}$ values are dealt with $α$ values of two states. However, both the $λ_T$ and $λ_{magic}$ values depend on angular momenta and their magnetic components ($M$) of states. Here, we report the $λ_T$ and $λ_{magic}$ values of many $S_{1/2}$ and $D_{3/2,5/2}$ states, and transitions among these states of the Mg$^{+}$, Ca$^{+}$, Sr$^{+}$ and Ba$^{+}$ ions that are independent of $M$- values. Measuring these wavelengths in a special set-up as discussed in the paper, it could be possible to infer a large number of E1 matrix elements of the above ions accurately.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Prospective of Zr$^{3+}$ ion as a THz atomic clock

We demonstrate transition between the fine structure splitting of the ground state of triply ionized zirconium (Zr IV) is suitable for a terahertz (THz) atomic clock. Its transition frequency is about 37.52 THz and is mainly guided by the magnetic dipole (M1) transition and can be accessible by a readily available laser. We suggest to consider stable even isotopes of Zr and $M_J= \pm 1/2$ sublevels (i.e. $|4D_{3/2},M_J=\pm 1/2\rangle \rightarrow |4D_{5/2},M_J=\pm 1/2\rangle$ clock transition) for the experimental advantage. By performing necessary calculations, we have estimated possible systematics due to blackbody radiation, ac Stark, electric quadrupole and second-order Zeeman shifts along with shifts due to the second-order Doppler effects. The proposed THz atomic clock can be very useful in quantum thermometry and frequency metrology.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

A Portal for High-Precision Atomic Data and Computation: Design and Best Practices

The Atom portal, udel.edu/atom, provides the scientific community with easily accessible high-quality data about properties of atoms and ions, such as energies, transition matrix elements, transition rates, radiative lifetimes, branching ratios, polarizabilities, and hyperfine constants. The data are calculated using a high-precision state-of-the-art linearized coupled-cluster method, high-precision experimental values are used where available. All values include estimated uncertainties. Where available, experimental results are provided with references. This paper provides an overview of the portal and describes the design as well as applied software engineering practices.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Roles of Blackbody Friction Forces in the Rb and Cs Atom Interferometers

Atom interferometry is amongst the most advanced technologies that provides very high-precision measurements. There can exist a number of obscure forces that can interfere with the atoms used in this instrument. In the present work, we are probing possible roles of one such important forces, known as ``blackbody friction force (BBFF)'', that may affect the precisions in the measurements made using atom interferometers based on the Rb and Cs atoms. The BBFF can be generated on atoms due to the black-body radiations emitted by the stray electromagnetic fields present in the experimental set-up and other metallic shielding. The strength of the BBFF can be calculated by integrating the complex parts of the dynamic polarizabilities of atoms, which show varying behaviour at the resonant and non-resonant transitions in the above atoms. Our analyses suggest that the off-resonant atomic transitions make significant contributions to the BBFF at low temperatures in the Rb and Cs atom interferometers. Present study also advocates that it is imperative to carry out the integration over a wide spectrum of frequencies for correct evaluation of the BBFF; specially at higher temperatures.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Accurate determination of quadrupole polarizabilities of the excited states of alkali-metal atoms

The scalar and tensor components of the electric quadrupole (E2) polarizabilities of the first two excited states of all the alkali-metal atoms are determined. To validate the calculations, we have evaluated the ground state E2 polarizabilities of these atoms and compared them with the literature values. We could not find the ground state E2 polarizability value for Fr in the literature to compare with our result. The dominant parts of these quantities are estimated by combining the precisely calculated E2 transition matrix elements of many low-lying transitions with the experimental energies, while the other contributions are estimated using lower-order methods. Our estimated values for the ground states of the above atoms are in good agreement with the literature values suggesting that our estimated E2 polarizabilities for the excited states of the alkali atoms, which were not known earlier except for the Li atom, are also quite accurate. These reported E2 polarizabilities could be useful in guiding many precision measurements in the alkali atoms.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Generating sustained coherence in a quantum memory for retrieval at the times of quantum revival

We study the time degradation of quantum information stored in a quantum memory device under a dissipative environment in a parameter range which is experimentally relevant. The quantum memory under consideration comprises of an optomechanical system with additional Kerr non-linearity in the optical mode and an anharmonic mechanical oscillator with quadratic non-linearity. Time degradation is monitored, both in terms of loss of coherence which is analyzed with the help of Wigner functions, as well as in terms of loss of amplitude of the original state studied as a function of time. While our time trajectories explore the degree to which the stored information degrades depending upon the variation in values of various parameters involved, we suggest a set of parameters for which the original information can be retrieved without degradation. We come across a highly attention seeking situation where the role played by the non-linearity is insignificant and the system behaves as if the information is stored in a linear medium. For this case, the information retrieval is independent of the coherence revival time and can be retrieved at any instant during the time evolution.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Two-dipole and three-dipole interaction coefficients of GROUP XII elements

The study of long-range interactions is increasingly becoming essential due to its various applications in cold atomic physics. These interactions can be conveniently expressed in terms of dispersion coefficients. In the present work, theoretical calculations have been carried out to estimate the two-dipole ($C_6$) and three-dipole ($C_9$) dispersion coefficients between the group XII atoms and their ions, \textit{viz.}, Zn, Cd, Hg, Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$. To obtain these coefficients, the dynamic dipole polarizabilities and reduced matrix elements required are evaluated using the relativistic methods for both the considered atoms and ions. Further, using the calculated matrix elements, the oscillator strengths corresponding to leading transitions and static dipole polarizabilities are determined. These are compared with the available values in the literature through which the accuracy of the present calculations ascertains. However, the oscillator strengths for few transitions of Zn, Cd, Hg, Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, and Hg$^+$, are not reported earlier, and we have provided their values in this work. Thereafter, the dispersion $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients are calculated for various combinations of the group XII elements, and most of these coefficients were not reported earlier in the literature. Furthermore, the combinations for which the other theoretical and experimental values were available for comparison showed good agreement. We, therefore, believe that our results reported for $C_6$ and $C_9$ coefficients for various combinations of group XII elements are reliable.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Tune-out and magic wavelengths, and electric quadrupole transition properties of the singly charged alkaline-earth metal ions

In continuation to our earlier reported data on the electric dipole (E1) matrix elements and lifetimes of the metastable states of the alkaline earth ions in [Atomic Data and Nuc. Data Tables {\bf 137} (2021) 101381], we present here the tune-out and magic wavelengths of the Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$ and Ba$^+$ alkaline earth-metal ions by determining dynamic E1 polarizabilities. Furthermore, we have evaluated the electric quadrupole (E2) matrix elements of a large number of forbidden transitions using an all-order relativistic many-body method and compare them with the previously reported values for a few selective transitions. Compilation of both the E1 and E2 transition matrix elements, will now provide a more complete knowledge about the transition properties of the considered singly charged alkaline earth-metal ions. Similarly, the listed precise values of tune-out and magic wavelengths due to the dominant E1 polarizabilities can be helpful to conduct experiments using the above ions with reduced systematics. Therefore, all these data will be immensely useful for various applications for carrying out the high-precision experiments and laboratory simulations in atomic physics, and interpreting transition lines in the astrophysical observations.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Spectroscopic data of Rb-isoelectronic Zr and Nb ions for astrophysical applications

We present high-accuracy spectroscopy data of line strengths, transition probabilities and oscillator strengths for the allowed transitions among the $nS_{1/2}$, $nP_{1/2,3/2}$ and $n'D_{3/2,5/2}$ states with $n=5$ to $10$ and $n'=4$ to $10$ of the Rb-isoelectronic Zr (Zr IV) and Nb (Nb V) ions. %\textcolor{red}{except for a few transitions that seem to be unreliable.} They can serve to analyse various astrophysical phenomena undergoing inside the heavenly bodies containing Zr and Nb elements. Since there is a lack of precise observational and calculated data for the spectroscopic properties in the above ions, their accurate determinations are of immense interest. The literature data, that are available only for a few selected low-lying transitions, have large discrepancies and they cannot be used reliably for the above purpose. After accounting for electron interactions through random phase approximation, Brückner orbitals, structural radiations and normalizations of wave functions in the relativistic many-body methods, we have evaluated the electric dipole amplitudes precisely. Combining these values with the observed wavelengths, the above transition properties and lifetimes of a number of excited states of the Zr IV and Nb V ions are determined and compared with the literature data.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Dispersion $C_3$ coefficients for physisorption of heavy ions and atoms with graphene and carbon nanotubes

In the present work, the calculations have been performed for dispersion interaction between heavy elements (Zn$^+$, Cd$^+$, Hg$^+$, Pb$^+$, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb) with graphene and carbon nanotubes by evaluating van der Waals $C_3$ coefficients using well-known Lifshitz theory. The dispersion coefficients are expressed in terms of reflection coefficients of graphene and carbon nanotubes which are calculated within the framework of Dirac model. In addition, accurate values of dynamic dipole polarizabilities at imaginary frequencies of considered ions and atoms which are vital, have been calculated using relativistic methods. The comparisons of our calculated static dipole polarizabilities for the considered elements with the values reported in the literature are also presented. The dispersion interactions of the considered heavy elements with the graphene and carbon nanotubes of different radii in a wide range of separation distances have been studied. The results have also been analysed with another subtle variable, i.e., gap parameter of graphene wall. The interaction coefficients obtained for both the materials, i.e., for graphene and carbon nanotubes are mutually compared and it is found that graphene can be said as preferable material for adsorption of these toxic heavy elements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Radiative properties of Cu-isoelectronic As, Se and Br ions for astrophysical applications

We present precise radiative data of line strengths, transition probabilities and oscillator strengths for the allowed transitions among the $nS_{1/2}$, $nP_{1/2,3/2}$, $n'D_{3/2,5/2}$ and $n'F_{5/2,7/2}$ states with $n=4$ to $6$ and $n'=4,5$ of the Cu-isoelectronic As, Se and Br ions. Due to unavailability of precise observations of these spectroscopic data, their accurate estimations are of great interest and useful in analyzing various astrophysical phenomena undergoing inside the heavenly bodies that contain As, Se and Br elements. An all-order perturbative many-body method in the relativistic theory framework has been employed to determine the atomic wave functions, which are further used to estimate the above quantities with the uncertainties. We found significant differences between some of our results and results that are available earlier.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2020

Radiative Transition Properties of Singly Charged Magnesium, Calcium, Strontium and Barium Ions

Accurate values of electric dipole (E1) amplitudes along with their uncertainties for a number of transitions among low-lying states of Mg$^+$, Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and Ba$^+$ are listed by carrying out calculations using a relativistic all-order many-body method. By combining experimental wavelengths with these amplitudes, we quote transition probabilities, oscillator strengths and lifetimes of many short-lived excited states of the above ions. The uncertainties in these radiative properties are also quoted. We also give electric quadrupole (E2) and magnetic dipole (M1) amplitudes of the metastable states of the Ca$^+$, Sr$^+$, and Ba$^+$ ions by performing similar calculations. Using these calculated E1, E2 and M1 matrix elements, we have estimated the transition probabilities, oscillator strengths and lifetimes of a number of allowed and metastable states. These quantities are further compared with the values available from the other theoretical studies and experimental data in the literature. These data will be immensely useful for the astrophysical observations, laboratory analysis and simulations of spectral properties in the above considered alkaline-earth metal ions.

physics.atom-ph↗