arXiv subjects

C. H. Keitel

Publications and source records attributed to C. H. Keitel.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Robust creation of entangled states of two coupled flux qubits via dynamic control of the transition frequencies

Coherent control and the creation of entangled states are discussed in a system of two superconducting flux qubits interacting with each other through their mutual inductance and identically coupling to a reservoir of harmonic oscillators. We present different schemes using continuous-wave control fields or Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passages, both of which rely on a dynamic control of the qubit transition frequencies via the external bias flux in order to maximize the fidelity of the target states. For comparison, also special area pulse schemes are discussed. The qubits are operated around the optimum point, and decoherence is modelled via a bath of harmonic oscillators. As our main result, we achieve controlled robust creation of different Bell states consisting of the collective ground and excited state of the two-qubit system.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Direct High-Power Laser Acceleration of Ions for Medical Applications

Theoretical investigations show that linearly and radially polarized multiterawatt and petawatt laser beams, focused to subwavelength waist radii, can directly accelerate protons and carbon nuclei, over micron-size distances, to the energies required for hadron cancer therapy. Ions accelerated by radially polarized lasers have generally a more favorable energy spread than those accelerated by linearly polarized lasers of the same intensity.

physics.acc-ph↗

arXiv2008

Isotope shift in the dielectronic recombination of three-electron ^{A}Nd^{57+}

Isotope shifts in dielectronic recombination spectra were studied for Li-like ^{A}Nd^{57+} ions with A=142 and A=150. From the displacement of resonance positions energy shifts δE^{142,150}(2s-2p_1/2)= 40.2(3)(6) meV (stat)(sys)) and δE^{142,150}(2s-2p_3/2) = 42.3(12)(20) meV of 2s-2p_j transitions were deduced. An evaluation of these values within a full QED treatment yields a change in the mean-square charge radius of ^{142,150}δ = -1.36(1)(3) fm^2. The approach is conceptually new and combines the advantage of a simple atomic structure with high sensitivity to nuclear size.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2007

Photon splitting in a laser field

Photon splitting due to vacuum polarization in a laser field is considered. Using an operator technique, we derive the amplitudes for arbitrary strength, spectral content and polarization of the laser field. The case of a monochromatic circularly polarized laser field is studied in detail and the amplitudes are obtained as three-fold integrals. The asymptotic behavior of the amplitudes for various limits of interest are investigated also in the case of a linearly polarized laser field. Using the obtained results, the possibility of experimental observation of the process is discussed.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Non-perturbative vacuum-polarization effects in proton-laser collisions

In the collision of a high-energy proton beam and a strong laser field, merging of the laser photons can occur due to the polarization of vacuum. The probability of photon merging is calculated by accounting exactly for the laser field and presents a highly non-perturbative dependence on the laser intensity and frequency. It is shown that the non-perturbative vacuum-polarization effects can be experimentally measured by combining the next-generation of table-top petawatt lasers with presently available proton accelerators.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Coherent control in a decoherence-free subspace of a collective multi-level system

Decoherence-free subspaces (DFS) in systems of dipole-dipole interacting multi-level atoms are investigated theoretically. It is shown that the collective state space of two dipole-dipole interacting four-level atoms contains a four-dimensional DFS. We describe a method that allows to populate the antisymmetric states of the DFS by means of a laser field, without the need of a field gradient between the two atoms. We identify these antisymmetric states as long-lived entangled states. Further, we show that any single-qubit operation between two states of the DFS can be induced by means of a microwave field. Typical operation times of these qubit rotations can be significantly shorter than for a nuclear spin system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Two-mode single-atom laser as a source of entangled light

A two-mode single-atom laser is considered, with the aim of generating entanglement in macroscopic light. Two transitions in the four-level gain medium atom independently interact with the two cavity modes, while two other transitions are driven by control laser fields. Atomic relaxation as well as cavity losses are taken into account. We show that this system is a source of macroscopic entangled light over a wide range of control parameters and initial states of the cavity field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Breakdown of the few-level approximation in collective systems

The validity of the few-level approximation in dipole-dipole interacting collective systems is discussed. As example system, we study the archetype case of two dipole-dipole interacting atoms, each modelled by two complete sets of angular momentum multiplets. We establish the breakdown of the few-level approximation by first proving the intuitive result that the dipole-dipole induced energy shifts between collective two-atom states depend on the length of the vector connecting the atoms, but not on its orientation, if complete and degenerate multiplets are considered. A careful analysis of our findings reveals that the simplification of the atomic level scheme by artificially omitting Zeeman sublevels in a few-level approximation generally leads to incorrect predictions. We find that this breakdown can be traced back to the dipole-dipole coupling of transitions with orthogonal dipole moments. Our interpretation enables us to identify special geometries in which partial few-level approximations to two- or three-level systems are valid.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Nuclear signatures in high-harmonic generation from laser-driven muonic atoms

High-harmonic generation from muonic atoms exposed to intense laser fields is considered. Our particular interest lies in effects arising from the finite nuclear mass and size. We numerically perform a fully quantum mechanical treatment of the muon-nucleus dynamics by employing modified soft-core and hard-core potentials. It is shown that the position of the high-energy cutoff of the harmonic spectrum depends on the nuclear mass, while the height of the spectral plateau is sensitive to the nuclear radius. We also demonstrate that $γ$-ray harmonics can be generated from muonic atoms in ultrastrong VUV fields, which have potential to induce photo-nuclear reactions.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2007

Enhancement of vacuum polarization effects in a plasma

The dispersive effects of vacuum polarization on the propagation of a strong circularly polarized electromagnetic wave through a cold collisional plasma are studied analytically. It is found that, due to the singular dielectric features of the plasma, the vacuum effects on the wave propagation in a plasma are qualitatively different and much larger than those in pure vacuum in the regime when the frequency of the propagating wave approaches the plasma frequency. A possible experimental setup to detect these effects in plasma is described.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2007

Strong-field spatial intensity-intensity correlations of light scattered from regular structures of atoms

Photon correlations and cross-correlations of light scattered by a regular structure of strongly driven atoms are investigated. At strong driving, the scattered light separates into distinct spectral bands, such that each band can be treated as independent, thus extending the set of observables. We focus on second-order intensity-intensity correlation functions in two- and multi-atom systems. We demonstrate that for a single two-photon detector as, e.g., in lithography, increasing the driving field intensity leads to an increased spatial resolution of the second-order two-atom interference pattern. We show that the cross-correlations between photons emitted in the spectral sidebands violate Cauchy-Schwartz inequalities, and that their emission ordering cannot be predicted. Finally, the results are generalized for multi-particle structures, where we find results different from those in a Dicke-type sample.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Strong-field spatial interference in a tailored electromagnetic bath

Light scattered by a regular structure of atoms can exhibit interference signatures, similar to the classical double-slit. These first-order interferences, however, vanish for strong light intensities, restricting potential applications. Here, we show how to overcome these limitations to quantum interference in strong fields. First, we recover the first-order interference in strong fields via a tailored electromagnetic bath with a suitable frequency dependence. At strong driving, the optical properties for different spectral bands are distinct, thus extending the set of observables. We further show that for a two-photon detector as, e.g., in lithography, increasing the field intensity leads to twice the spatial resolution of the second-order interference pattern compared to the weak-field case.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Localization of atomic ensembles via superfluorescence

The sub-wavelength localization of an ensemble of atoms concentrated to a small volume in space is investigated. The localization relies on the interaction of the ensemble with a standing wave laser field. The light scattered in the interaction of standing wave field and atom ensemble depends on the position of the ensemble relative to the standing wave nodes. This relation can be described by a fluorescence intensity profile, which depends on the standing wave field parameters, the ensemble properties, and which is modified due to collective effects in the ensemble of nearby particles. We demonstrate that the intensity profile can be tailored to suit different localization setups. Finally, we apply these results to two localization schemes. First, we show how to localize an ensemble fixed at a certain position in the standing wave field. Second, we discuss localization of an ensemble passing through the standing wave field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Nonsequential Double Recombination in Intense Laser Fields

A second plateau in the harmonic spectra of laser-driven two-electron atoms is observed both in the numerical solution of a low-dimensional model helium atom and using an extended strong field approximation. It is shown that the harmonics well beyond the usual cut-off are due to the simultaneous recombination of the two electrons, which were emitted during different, previous half-cycles. The new cut-off is explained in terms of classical trajectories. Classical predictions and the time-frequency analysis of the ab initio quantum results are in excellent agreement. The mechanism corresponds to the inverse single photon double ionization process in the presence of a (low frequency) laser field.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2006

Photoionization Broadening of the 1S-2S Transition in a Beam of Atomic Hydrogen

We consider the excitation dynamics of the two-photon \sts transition in a beam of atomic hydrogen by 243 nm laser radiation. Specifically, we study the impact of ionization damping on the transition line shape, caused by the possibility of ionization of the 2S level by the same laser field. Using a Monte-Carlo simulation, we calculate the line shape of the \sts transition for the experimental geometry used in the two latest absolute frequency measurements (M. Niering {\it et al.}, PRL 84, 5496 (2000) and M. Fischer {\it et al.}, PRL 92, 230802 (2004)). The calculated line shift and line width are in excellent agreement with the experimentally observed values. From this comparison we can verify the values of the dynamic Stark shift coefficient for the \sts transition for the first time on a level of 15%. We show that the ionization modifies the velocity distribution of the metastable atoms, the line shape of the \sts transition, and has an influence on the derivation of its absolute frequency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Light diffraction by a strong standing electromagnetic wave

The nonlinear quantum interaction of a linearly polarized x-ray probe beam with a focused intense standing laser wave is studied theoretically. Because of the tight focusing of the standing laser pulse, diffraction effects arise for the probe beam as opposed to the corresponding plane wave scenario. A quantitative estimate for realistic experimental conditions of the ellipticity and the rotation of the main polarization plane acquired by the x-ray probe after the interaction shows that the implementation of such vacuum effects is feasible with future X-ray Free Electron Laser light.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2006

Enhanced relativistic High-Harmonic Generation (HHG) using tailored pulses

The interaction of relativistically strong tailored laser pulses with an atomic system is considered. Due to a special tailoring of the laser pulse, the suppression of the relativistic drift of the ionized electron and a dramatic enhancement of the rescattering probability is shown to be achievable. The high harmonic generation rate in the relativistic regime is calculated and shown to be increased by several orders of magnitude compared to the case of conventional laser pulses. The energies of the revisiting electron at the atomic core can approach the MeV domain, thus rendering hard x-ray harmonics and nuclear reactions with single atoms feasible.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2006

Collective coherent population trapping in a thermal field

We analyzed the efficiency of coherent population trapping (CPT) in a superposition of the ground states of three-level atoms under the influence of the decoherence process induced by a broadband thermal field. We showed that in a single atom there is no perfect CPT when the atomic transitions are affected by the thermal field. The perfect CPT may occur when only one of the two atomic transitions is affected by the thermal field. In the case when both atomic transitions are affected by the thermal field, we demonstrated that regardless of the intensity of the thermal field the destructive effect on the CPT can be circumvented by the collective behavior of the atoms. An analytic expression was obtained for the populations of the upper atomic levels which can be considered as a measure of the level of thermal decoherence. The results show that the collective interaction between the atoms can significantly enhance the population trapping in that the population of the upper state decreases with increased number of atoms. The physical origin of this feature was explained by the semiclassical dressed atom model of the system. We introduced the concept of multiatom collective coherent population trapping by demonstrating the existence of collective (entangled) states whose storage capacity is larger than that of the equivalent states of independent atoms.

quant-ph↗