arXiv subjects

Bo Lu

Publications and source records attributed to Bo Lu.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Achieving Heisenberg-limited metrology with spin cat states via interaction-based readout

Spin cat states are promising candidates for quantum-enhanced measurement. Here, we analytically show that the ultimate measurement precision of spin cat states approaches the Heisenberg limit, where the uncertainty is inversely proportional to the total particle number. In order to fully exploit their metrological ability, we propose to use the interaction-based readout for implementing phase estimation. It is demonstrated that the interaction-based readout enables spin cat states to saturate their ultimate precision bounds. The interaction-based readout comprises a one-axis twisting, two $\fracπ{2}$ pulses, and a population measurement, which can be realized via current experimental techniques. Compared with the twisting echo scheme on spin squeezed states, our scheme with spin cat states is more robust against detection noise. Our scheme may pave an experimentally feasible way to achieve Heisenberg-limited metrology with non-Gaussian entangled states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Insight-HXMT observations of the first binary neutron star merger GW170817

Finding the electromagnetic (EM) counterpart of binary compact star merger, especially the binary neutron star (BNS) merger, is critically important for gravitational wave (GW) astronomy, cosmology and fundamental physics. On Aug. 17, 2017, Advanced LIGO and \textit{Fermi}/GBM independently triggered the first BNS merger, GW170817, and its high energy EM counterpart, GRB 170817A, respectively, resulting in a global observation campaign covering gamma-ray, X-ray, UV, optical, IR, radio as well as neutrinos. The High Energy X-ray telescope (HE) onboard \textit{Insight}-HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope) is the unique high-energy gamma-ray telescope that monitored the entire GW localization area and especially the optical counterpart (SSS17a/AT2017gfo) with very large collection area ($\sim$1000 cm$^2$) and microsecond time resolution in 0.2-5 MeV. In addition, \textit{Insight}-HXMT quickly implemented a Target of Opportunity (ToO) observation to scan the GW localization area for potential X-ray emission from the GW source. Although it did not detect any significant high energy (0.2-5 MeV) radiation from GW170817, its observation helped to confirm the unexpected weak and soft nature of GRB 170817A. Meanwhile, \textit{Insight}-HXMT/HE provides one of the most stringent constraints (~10$^{-7}$ to 10$^{-6}$ erg/cm$^2$/s) for both GRB170817A and any other possible precursor or extended emissions in 0.2-5 MeV, which help us to better understand the properties of EM radiation from this BNS merger. Therefore the observation of \textit{Insight}-HXMT constitutes an important chapter in the full context of multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observation of this historical GW event.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

High Resolution Molecular Spectroscopy for Producing Ultracold Absolute Ground-State $^{23}$Na$^{87}$Rb Molecules

We report a detailed molecular spectroscopy study on the lowest excited electronic states of $^{23}\rm{Na}^{87}\rm{Rb}$ for producing ultracold $^{23}\rm{Na}^{87}\rm{Rb}$ molecules in the electronic, rovibrational and hyperfine ground state. Starting from weakly-bound Feshbach molecules, a series of vibrational levels of the $A^{1}Σ^{+}-b^{3}Π$ coupled excited states were investigated. After resolving, modeling and interpreting the hyperfine structure of several lines, we successfully identified a long-lived level resulting from the accidental hyperfine coupling between the $0^+$ and $0^-$ components of the $b^3Π$ state, satisfying all the requirements for the population transfer toward the lowest rovibrational level of the X$^1Σ^+$ state. Using two-photon spectroscopy, its binding energy was measured to be 4977.308(3) cm$^{-1}$, the most precise value to date. We calibrated all the transition strengths carefully and also demonstrated Raman transfer of Feshbach molecules to the absolute ground state.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Current fluctuations in unconventional superconductor junctions with impurity scattering

The order parameter of bulk two-dimensional superconductors is classified as nodal, if it vanishes for a direction in momentum space, or gapful if it does not. Each class can be topologically nontrivial if Andreev bound states are formed at the edges of the superconductor. Non-magnetic impurities in the superconductor affect the formation of Andreev bound states and can drastically change the tunneling spectra for small voltages. Here, we investigate the mean current and its fluctuations for two-dimensional tunnel junctions between a normal-metal and unconventional superconductors by solving the quasi-classical Eilenberger equation self-consistently, including the presence of non-magnetic impurities in the superconductor. As the impurity strength increases, we find that superconductivity is suppressed for almost all order parameters since (i) at zero applied bias, the effective transferred charge calculated from the noise-current ratio tends to the electron charge $e$ and (ii) for finite bias, the current-voltage characteristics follows that of a normal state junction. There are notable exceptions to this trend. First, gapful nontrivial (chiral) superconductors are very robust against impurity scattering due to the linear dispersion relation of their surface Andreev bound states. Second, for nodal nontrivial superconductors, only p_x-wave pairing is almost immune to the presence of impurities due to the emergence of odd-frequency s-wave Cooper pairs near the interface. Owing to their anisotropic dependence on the wave vector, impurity scattering is an effective pair breaking mechanism for the rest of nodal superconductors. All these behaviors are neatly captured by the noise-current ratio, providing a useful guide to find experimental signatures for unconventional superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Mn-doping induced ferromagnetism and enhanced superconductivity in Bi_4-x Mn_x O_4 S_3 (0.075 < = x < = 0.15)

We demonstrate that Mn-doping in the layered sulfides Bi_4O_4S_3 leads to stable Bi_4-x Mn_x O_4 S_3 compounds that exhibit both long-range ferromagnetism and enhanced superconductivity for 0.075 < = x < = 0.15, with a possible record superconducting transition temperature (T_c) = 15 K among all BiS_2-based superconductors. We conjecture that the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism may be attributed to Mn-doping in the spacer Bi2O2 layers away from the superconducting BiS_2 layers, whereas the enhancement of T_c may be due to excess electron transfer to BiS_2 from the Mn4+/Mn3+-substitutions in Bi_2O_2. This notion is empirically corroborated by the increased electron-carrier densities upon Mn doping, and by further studies of the Bi_4-x A_x O_4 S_3 compounds (A = Co, Ni; x = 0.1, 0.125), where the T_c values remain comparable to that of the undoped Bi_4O_4S_3 system (= 4.5 K) due to lack of 4+ valences in either Co or Ni ions for excess electron transfer to the BiS_2 layers. These findings therefore shed new light on feasible pathways to enhance the T_c values of BiS_2-based superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Creation of an ultracold gas of ground-state $^{23}\rm{Na}^{87}\rm{Rb}$ molecules

We report the successful production of an ultracold sample of absolute ground-state $^{23}$Na$^{87}$Rb molecules. Starting from weakly-bound Feshbach molecules formed via magneto-association, the lowest rovibrational and hyperfine level of the electronic ground state is populated following a high efficiency and high resolution two-photon Raman process. The high purity absolute ground-state samples have up to 8000 molecules and densities of over $10^{11}$ cm$^{-3}$. By measuring the Stark shifts induced by external electric fields, we determined the permanent electric dipole moment of the absolute ground-state $^{23}$Na$^{87}$Rb and demonstrated the capability of inducing an effective dipole moment over one Debye. Bimolecular reaction between ground-state $^{23}$Na$^{87}$Rb molecules is endothermic, but we still observed a rather fast decay of the molecular sample. Our results pave the way toward investigation of ultracold molecular collisions in a fully controlled manner, and possibly to quantum gases of ultracold bosonic molecules with strong dipolar interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Influence of the impurity scattering on charge transport in unconventional superconductor junctions

We study the influence of non-magnetic impurity scatterings on the tunneling conductance of a junction consisting of a normal metal and a disordered unconventional superconductor by solving the quasiclassical Eilenberger equation self-consistently. We find that the impurity scatterings in both the Born and unitary limits affect the formation of the Andreev bound states and modify strongly the tunneling spectra around zero bias. Our results are interpreted well by the appearance of odd-frequency Cooper pairs near the interface and by the divergent behavior of the impurity self-energy. The present paper provides a useful tool to identify the pairing symmetry of unconventional superconductors in experiments.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

All-electrical generation and control of odd-frequency s-wave Cooper pairs in double quantum dots

We propose an all-electrical experimental setup to detect and manipulate the amplitude of odd-frequency pairing in a double quantum dot. Odd-frequency pair amplitude is induced from the breakdown of orbital symmetry when Cooper pairs are injected in the double dot with electrons in different dots. When the dot levels are aligned with the Fermi energy, i.e., on resonance, nonlocal Andreev processes are directly connected to the presence of odd-frequency pairing. Therefore, their amplitude can be manipulated by tuning the level positions. Detection of nonlocal Andreev processes by conductance measurements contributes a direct proof of the existence of odd-frequency pair amplitude and is available using current experimental techniques.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Study on Green's function on TI surface

In theory of superconducting junctions, Green's function has an important role to obtain Andreev bound states, local density of states and Josephson current in a systematic way. In this article, we show how to construct Green's function on the surface of topological insulator following McMillan's formalism where the energy spectrum of electrons obeys a linear dispersion. For a model of superconductor (S)/ferromagnet (F)/normal metal (N) junction, we show that the generation of Majorana Fermion gives rise to the enhanced local density of states and pair amplitude of odd-frequency pairing. We also derive an extended Furusaki-Tsukada's formula of d.c. Josephson current in S/F/S junctions. The obtained Josephson current depends on the direction and magnitude of the magnetization.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Superconducting proximity effect in three-dimensional topological insulators in the presence of a magnetic field

The proximity induced pair potential in a topological insulator-superconductor hybrid features an interesting superposition of a conventional spin-singlet component from the superconductor and a spin-triplet one induced by the surface state of the topological insulator. This singlet-triplet superposition can be altered by the presence of a magnetic field. We study the interplay between topological order and superconducting correlations performing a symmetry analysis of the induced pair potential, using Green functions techniques to theoretically describe ballistic junctions between superconductors and topological insulators under magnetic fields. We relate a change in the conductance from a gapped profile into one with a zero-energy peak with the transition into a topologically nontrivial regime where the odd-frequency triplet pairing becomes the dominant component in the pair potential. The nontrivial regime, which provides a signature of odd-frequency triplet superconductivity, is reached for an out-of-plane effective magnetization with strength comparable to the chemical potential of the superconductor or for an in-plane one, parallel to the normal-superconductor interface, with strength of the order of the superconducting gap. Strikingly, in the latter case, a misalignment with the interface yields an asymmetry with the energy in the conductance unless the total contribution of the topological surface state is considered.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Theory of time reversal topological superconductivity in double Rashba wires -- symmetries of Cooper pair and Andreev bound states

We study the system of double Rashba wires brought into the proximity to an $s$-wave superconductor. The time reversal invariant topological superconductivity is realized if the interwire pairing corresponding to crossed Andreev reflection dominates over the standard intrawire pairing. We derive the topological criterion and show that the system hosts zero energy Andreev bound states such as a Kramers pair of Majorana fermions. We classify symmetry of the Cooper pairs focusing on the four degrees of freedom, $i.e.$, frequency, spin, spatial parity inside wires, and spatial parity between wires. The magnitude of the odd-frequency pairing is strongly enhanced in the topological state. We also explore properties of junctions occurring in such double wire systems. If one section of the junction is in the topological state and the other is in the trivial state, the energy dispersion of Andreev bound states is proportional to $\sim\pm\sinφ$, where $φ$ denotes the macroscopic phase difference between two sections. This behavior can be intuitively explained by the couplings of a Kramers pair of Majorana fermions and spin-singlet $s$-wave Cooper pair and can also be understood by analyzing an effective continuum model of the $s+p$/$s$-wave superconductor hybrid system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Josephson current in a normal-metal nanowire coupled to superconductor/ferromagnet/superconductor junction

We consider superconducting nanowire proximity coupled to superconductor / ferromagnet / superconductor junction, where the magnetization penetrates into superconducting segment in nanowire decaying as $\sim\exp[-\frac{\mid n \mid}ξ]$ with site index $n$ and the decay length $ξ$. We tune chemical potential and spin-orbit coupling so that topological superconducting regime hosting Majorana fermion is realized for long $ξ$. We find that when $ξ$ becomes shorter, zero energy state at the interface between superconductor and ferromagnet splits into two away from zero energy. Accordingly, the behavior of Josephson current is drastically changed due to this "zero mode-non-zero mode crossover". By tuning the model parameters, we find an almost second-harmonic current-phase relation, $\sin2φ$, with phase difference $φ$. Based on the analysis of Andreev bound state (ABS), we clarify that current-phase relation is determined by coupling of the states within the energy gap. We find that the emergence of crossing points of ABS is a key ingredient to generate $\sin2φ$ dependence in current-phase relation. We further study both the energy and $φ$ dependence of pair amplitudes in the ferromagnetic region. For long $ξ$, odd-frequency spin-triplet $s$-wave component is dominant. The magnitude of the odd-frequency pair amplitude is enhanced at the energy level of ABS.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Anomalous Josephson effect in d-wave superconductor junctions on TI surface

We study Josephson effect of $d$-wave superconductor (DS)/ferromagnet insulator(FI)/DS junctions on a surface of topological insulator (TI). We calculate Josephson current $I\left(φ\right) $ for various orientations of the junctions where $φ$ is the macroscopic phase difference between two DSs. In certain configurations, we find anomalous current-phase relation $I(φ)=-I\left( -φ+π\right)$ with $2π$ periodicity. In the case where the first order Josephson coupling is absent without magnetization in FI, $I(φ)$ can be proportional to $\cos φ$. The magnitude of the obtained Josephson current is enhanced due to the zero energy states on the edge of DS on TI. Even if we introduce an $s$-wave component of pair potential in DS, we can still expect the anomalous current-phase relation in asymmetric DS junctions with $I\left( φ=0\right) \neq 0$. This can be used to probe the induced $d$-wave component of pair potential on TI surface in high-$T_{c}$ cuperate/TI hybrid structures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Tunneling spectroscopy and Josephson current of superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids on the surface of a 3D TI

We investigate the charge transport property of superconductor (S) /normal metal (N) / ferromagnet insulator (FI) /(normal metal) N' and S/N/FI/N'/S Josephson junctions on a three-dimensional topological insulator surface. We find asymmetric local density of states (LDOSs) in a S/N/FI/N' junction and show that the finite length of the N interlayer gives rise to subgap resonant spikes in the differential conductance and LDOSs. In a S/N/FI/N'/S junction, the Josephson current shows a non-sinusoidal current-phase relation and the N (or N') interlayer decreases the magnitude of the critical current monotonically.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Creation of ultracold $^{87}$RbCs molecules in the rovibrational ground state

We report the creation of a sample of over 1000 ultracold $^{87}$RbCs molecules in the lowest rovibrational ground state, from an atomic mixture of $^{87}$Rb and Cs, by magnetoassociation on an interspecies Feshbach resonance followed by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP). We measure the binding energy of the RbCs molecule to be $h c \times 3811.576(1)$ cm$^{-1}$ and the $|v''=0, J''=0>$ to $|v''=0, J''=2>$ splitting to be $h \times 2940.09(6)$ MHz. Stark spectroscopy of the rovibrational ground state yields an electric dipole moment of 1.225(3)(8) D, where the values in parentheses are the statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively. We demonstrate that a space-fixed dipole moment of 0.355(2)(4) D is accessible in RbCs, which is substantially higher than in previous work.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

A digital CDS technique and the performance testing

Readout noise is a critical parameter for characterizing the performance of charge-coupled devices (CCDs), which can be greatly reduced by the correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit. However, conventional CDS circuit inevitably introduces new noises since it consists of several active analog components such as operational amplifiers. This paper proposes a digital CDS circuit technique, which transforms the pre-amplified CCD signal into a train of digital presentations by a high-speed data acquisition card directly without the noisy CDS circuit first, then implement the digital CDS algorithm through numerical method. The readout noise of 3.3 e$^{-}$ and the energy resolution of 121 eV@5.9keV can be achieved via the digital CDS technique.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

Crossed surface flat bands of Weyl semimetal superconductors

It has been noted that certain surfaces of Weyl semimetals have bound states forming open Fermi arcs, which are never seen in typical metallic states. We show that the Fermi arcs enable them to support an even more exotic surface state with crossed flat bands in the superconducting state. We clarify the topological origin of the crossed flat bands and the relevant symmetry that stabilizes the cross point. We also discuss their possible experimental verification by tunneling spectroscopy.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2014

Proton irradiation effect on SCDs

The Low Energy X-ray Telescope is a main payload on the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope satellite. The swept charge device is selected for the Low Energy X-ray Telescope. As swept charge devices are sensitive to proton irradiation, irradiation test was carried out on the HI-13 accelerator at the China Institute of Atomic Energy. The beam energy was measured to be 10 MeV at the SCD. The proton fluence delivered to the SCD was $3\times10^{8}\mathrm{protons}/\mathrm{cm}^{2}$ over two hours. It is concluded that the proton irradiation affects both the dark current and the charge transfer inefficiency of the SCD through comparing the performance both before and after the irradiation. The energy resolution of the proton-irradiated SCD is 212 eV@5.9 keV at $-60\,^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$, while it before irradiated is 134 eV. Moreover, better performance can be reached by lowering the operating temperature of the SCD on orbit.

physics.ins-det↗