arXiv subjects

C. E. Creffield

Publications and source records attributed to C. E. Creffield.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Controlled generation of coherent matter-currents using a periodic driving field

We study the effect of a strong, oscillating driving field on the dynamics of ultracold bosons held in an optical lattice. Modeling the system as a Bose-Hubbard model, we show how the driving field can be used to produce and maintain a coherent atomic current by controlling the phase of the intersite tunneling processes. We investigate both the stroboscopic and time-averaged behavior using Floquet theory, and demonstrate that this procedure provides a stable and precise method of controlling coherent quantum systems.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Dynamical instability in kicked Bose-Einstein condensates: Bogoliubov resonances

Bose-Einstein condensates subject to short pulses (`kicks') from standing waves of light represent a nonlinear analogue of the well-known chaos paradigm, the quantum kicked rotor. Previous studies of the onset of dynamical instability (ie exponential proliferation of non-condensate particles) suggested that the transition to instability might be associated with a transition to chaos. Here we conclude instead that instability is due to resonant driving of Bogoliubov modes. We investigate the excitation of Bogoliubov modes for both the quantum kicked rotor (QKR) and a variant, the double kicked rotor (QKR-2). We present an analytical model, valid in the limit of weak impulses which correctly gives the scaling properties of the resonances and yields good agreement with mean-field numerics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Quantum control and entanglement using periodic driving fields

We propose a scheme for producing directed motion in a lattice system by applying a periodic driving potential. By controlling the dynamics by means of the effect known as coherent destruction of tunneling, we demonstrate a novel ratchet-like effect that enables particles to be coherently manipulated and steered without requiring local control. Entanglement between particles can also be controllably generated, which points to the attractive possibility of using these technique for quantum information processing.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Coherent control of a self-trapped Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the behavior of a Bose-Einstein condensate held in an optical lattice. We first show how a self-trapping transition can be induced in the system by either increasing the number of atoms occupying a lattice site, or by raising the interaction strength above a critical value. We then investigate how applying a periodic driving potential to the self-trapped state can be used to coherently control the emission of a precise number of correlated bosons from the trapping-site. This allows the formation and transport of entangled bosonic states, which are of great relevance to novel technologies such as quantum information processing.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2006

Tuning the Mott transition in a Bose-Einstein condensate by multi-photon absorption

We study the time-dependent dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an optical lattice. Modeling the system as a Bose-Hubbard model, we show how applying a periodic driving field can induce coherent destruction of tunneling. In the low-frequency regime, we obtain the novel result that the destruction of tunneling displays extremely sharp peaks when the driving frequency is resonant with the depth of the trapping potential (``multi-photon resonances''), which allows the quantum phase transition between the Mott insulator and the superfluid state to be controlled with high precision. We further show how the waveform of the field can be chosen to maximize this effect.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

$2δ$-Kicked Quantum Rotors: Localization and `Critical' Statistics

The quantum dynamics of atoms subjected to pairs of closely-spaced $δ$-kicks from optical potentials are shown to be quite different from the well-known paradigm of quantum chaos, the singly-$δ$-kicked system. We find the unitary matrix has a new oscillating band structure corresponding to a cellular structure of phase-space and observe a spectral signature of a localization-delocalization transition from one cell to several. We find that the eigenstates have localization lengths which scale with a fractional power $L \sim \hbar^{-.75}$ and obtain a regime of near-linear spectral variances which approximate the `critical statistics' relation $Σ_2(L) \simeq χL \approx {1/2}(1-ν) L$, where $ν\approx 0.75$ is related to the fractal classical phase-space structure. The origin of the $ν\approx 0.75$ exponent is analyzed.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2005

Theory of 2$δ$-kicked Quantum Rotors

We examine the quantum dynamics of cold atoms subjected to {\em pairs} of closely spaced $δ$-kicks from standing waves of light, and find behaviour quite unlike the well-studied quantum kicked rotor (QKR). Recent experiments [Jones et al, {\em Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 93}, 223002 (2004)}] identified a regime of chaotic, anomalous classical diffusion. We show that the corresponding quantum phase-space has a cellular structure, arising from a unitary matrix with oscillating band-width. The corresponding eigenstates are exponentially localized, but scale with a fractional power, $L \sim \hbar^{-0.75}$, in contrast to the QKR for which $L \sim \hbar^{-1}$. The effect of inter-cell (and intra-cell) transport is investigated by studying the spectral fluctuations with both periodic as well as `open' boundary conditions.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2005

Phonon softening and dispersion in the 1D Holstein model of spinless fermions

We investigate the effect of electron-phonon interaction on the phononic properties in the one-dimensional half-filled Holstein model of spinless fermions. By means of determinantal Quantum Monte Carlo simulation we show that the behavior of the phonon dynamics gives a clear signal of the transition to a charge-ordered phase, and the phase diagram obtained in this way is in excellent agreement with previous DMRG results. By analyzing the phonon propagator we extract the renormalized phonon frequency, and study how it first softens as the transition is approached and then subsequently hardens in the charge-ordered phase. We then show how anharmonic features develop in the phonon propagator, and how the interaction induces a sizable dispersion of the dressed phonon in the non-adiabatic regime.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Chaotic quantum ratchets and filters with cold atoms in optical lattices: properties of Floquet states

Recently, cesium atoms in optical lattices subjected to cycles of unequally-spaced pulses have been found to show interesting behavior: they represent the first experimental demonstration of a Hamiltonian ratchet mechanism, and they show strong variability of the Dynamical Localization lengths as a function of initial momentum. The behavior differs qualitatively from corresponding atomic systems pulsed with equal periods, which are a textbook implementation of a well-studied quantum chaos paradigm, the quantum delta-kicked particle (delta-QKP). We investigate here the properties of the corresponding eigenstates (Floquet states) in the parameter regime of the new experiments and compare them with those of the eigenstates of the delta-QKP at similar kicking strengths. We show that, with the properties of the Floquet states, we can shed light on the form of the observed ratchet current as well as variations in the Dynamical Localization length.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2004

Phase dependence of localization in the driven two-level model

A two-level system subjected to a high-frequency driving field can exhibit an effect termed ``coherent destruction of tunneling'', in which the tunneling of the system is suppressed at certain values of the frequency and strength of the field. This suppression becomes less effective as the frequency of the driving field is reduced, and we show here how the detailed form of its fall-off depends on the phase of the driving, which for certain values can produce small local maxima (or revivals) in the overall decay. By considering a squarewave driving field, which has the advantage of being analytically tractable, we show how this surprising behavior can be interpreted geometrically in terms of orbits on the Bloch sphere. These results are of general applicability to more commonly used fields, such as sinusoidal driving, which display a similar phenomenology.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Localization of interacting electrons in quantum dot arrays driven by an ac-field

We investigate the dynamics of two interacting electrons moving in a one-dimensional array of quantum dots under the influence of an ac-field. We show that the system exhibits two distinct regimes of behavior, depending on the ratio of the strength of the driving field to the inter-electron Coulomb repulsion. When the ac-field dominates, an effect termed coherent destruction of tunneling occurs at certain frequencies, in which transport along the array is suppressed. In the other, weak-driving, regime we find the surprising result that the two electrons can bind into a single composite particle -- despite the strong Coulomb repulsion between them -- which can then be controlled by the ac-field in an analogous way. We show how calculation of the Floquet quasienergies of the system explains these results, and thus how ac-fields can be used to control the localization of interacting electron systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Optimum pinning of the vortex lattice in extremely type-II layered superconductors

The two-dimensional (2D) vortex lattice in the extreme type-II limit is studied by Monte Carlo simulation of the corresponding 2D Coulomb gas, with identical pins placed at sites coinciding with the zero-temperature triangular vortex lattice. At weak pinning we find evidence for 2D melting into an intermediate hexatic phase. The strong pinning regime shows a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, driven by interstitial vortex/anti-vortex excitations. A stack of such identical layers with a weak Josephson coupling models a layered superconductor with a triangular arrangement of columnar pins at the matching field. A partial duality analysis finds that layer decoupling of the flux-line lattice does not occur at weak pinning for temperatures below 2D melting.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Location of crossings in the Floquet spectrum of a driven two-level system

Calculation of the Floquet quasi-energies of a system driven by a time-periodic field is an efficient way to understand its dynamics. In particular, the phenomenon of dynamical localization can be related to the presence of close approaches between quasi-energies (either crossings or avoided crossings). We consider here a driven two-level system, and study how the locations of crossings in the quasi-energy spectrum alter as the field parameters are changed. A perturbational scheme provides a direct connection between the form of the driving field and the quasi-energies which is exact in the limit of high frequencies. We firstly obtain relations for the quasi-energies for some common types of applied field in the high-frequency limit. We then show how the locations of the crossings drift as the frequency is reduced, and find a simple empirical formula which describes this drift extremely well in general, and appears to be exact for the specific case of square-wave driving.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Electron Dynamics in AC-Driven Quantum Dots

We investigate the dynamics of interacting electrons confined to two types of quantum dot system, when driven by an external AC field. We first consider a system of two electrons confined to a pair of coupled quantum dots by using an effective two-site model of Hubbard-type. Numerically integrating the Schroedinger equation in time reveals that for certain values of the strength and frequency of the field the tunneling between the dots can be destroyed, thus allowing the correlated two-electron states to be manipulated. We then show how Floquet theory can be used to predict the field parameters at which this effect occurs. We then consider the case of confining the electrons to a single two-dimensional quantum dot in the limit of low particle-density. In this system the electrons form strongly correlated states termed Wigner molecules, in which the Coulomb interaction causes them to become highly localised in space. Again using an effective model of Hubbard-type, we investigate how the AC field can drive the dynamics of the Wigner states. As before, we find that the AC field can be used to control the tunneling between various charge configurations, and we relate this to the presence of avoided crossings in the Floquet quasi-energy spectrum. These results hold out the exciting possibility of using AC fields to control the time evolution of entangled states in mesoscopic devices, which has great relevance to the rapidly advancing field of quantum information processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Dynamical control of correlated states in a square quantum dot

In the limit of low particle density, electrons confined to a quantum dot form strongly correlated states termed Wigner molecules, in which the Coulomb interaction causes the electrons to become highly localized in space. By using an effective model of Hubbard-type to describe these states, we investigate how an oscillatory electric field can drive the dynamics of a two-electron Wigner molecule held in a square quantum dot. We find that, for certain combinations of frequency and strength of the applied field, the tunneling between various charge configurations can be strongly quenched, and we relate this phenomenon to the presence of anti-crossings in the Floquet quasi-energy spectrum. We further obtain simple analytic expressions for the location of these anti-crossings, which allows the effective parameters for a given quantum dot to be directly measured in experiment, and suggests the exciting possibility of using ac-fields to control the time evolution of entangled states in mesoscopic devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2001

Coherent transport in a two-electron quantum dot molecule

We investigate the dynamics of two interacting electrons confined to a pair of coupled quantum dots driven by an external AC field. By numerically integrating the two-electron Schroedinger equation in time, we find that for certain values of the strength and frequency of the AC field we can cause the electrons to be localised within the same dot, in spite of the Coulomb repulsion between them. Reducing the system to an effective two-site model of Hubbard type and applying Floquet theory leads to a detailed understanding of this effect. This demonstrates the possibility of using appropriate AC fields to manipulate entangled states in mesoscopic devices on extremely short timescales, which is an essential component of practical schemes for quantum information processing.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2000

Spin and Charge Luttinger-Liquid Parameters of the One-Dimensional Electron Gas

Low-energy properties of the homogeneous electron gas in one dimension are completely described by the group velocities of its charge (plasmon) and spin collective excitations. Because of the long range of the electron-electron interaction, the plasmon velocity is dominated by an electrostatic contribution and can be estimated accurately. In this Letter we report on Quantum Monte Carlo simulations which demonstrate that the spin velocity is substantially decreased by interactions in semiconductor quantum wire realizations of the one-dimensional electron liquid.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv1999

Magnetic properties of a two-electron quantum dot

The low-energy eigenstates of two interacting electrons in a square quantum dot in a magnetic field are determined by numerical diagonalization. In the strong correlation regime, the low-energy eigenstates show Aharonov-Bohm type oscillations, which decrease in amplitude as the field increases. These oscillations, including the decrease in amplitude, may be reproduced to good accuracy by an extended Hubbard model in a basis of localized one-electron Hartree states. The hopping matrix element, $t$, comprises the usual kinetic energy term plus a term derived from the Coulomb interaction. The latter is essential to get good agreement with exact results. The phase of $t$ gives rise to the usual Peierls factor, related to the flux through a square defined by the peaks of the Hartree wavefunctions. The magnitude of $t$ decreases slowly with magnetic field as the Hartree functions become more localized, giving rise to the decreasing amplitude of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗