arXiv subjects

Hugo Terças

Publications and source records attributed to Hugo Terças.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Collective dynamics of accelerated atoms

We study the collective dynamics of accelerated atoms interacting with a massless field via an Unruh-deWitt-type interaction. We first derive a general Hamiltonian describing such a system and then, employing a Markovian master equation, we study the corresponding collective dynamics. In particular, we observe that the emergence of entanglement between two-level atoms is linked to the building up of coherences between them and to superradiant emission. In addition, we show that the derived Hamiltonian can be experimentally implemented by employing impurities in Bose-Einstein condensates.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Cooling and entanglement of multimode graphene resonators via vacuum fluctuations

Sympathetic laser cooling of a single mode graphene membrane coupled to an atomic cloud interacting via Casimir-Polder forces has been recently proposed. Here, we extend this study to the effect of secondary graphene membrane whose frequency may be far or close to resonance. We show that if the two mechanical modes are close together, it is possible to simultaneously cool both modes. Conversely, if the two frequencies are set far apart, the secondary mode does not affect the cooling of the first one. We also study the entanglement properties of the steady-state using the logarithmic negativity. We show how stationary mechanical entanglement between two graphene sheets can be generated by means of vacuum fluctuations. Moreover, we find that, within feasible experimental parameters, large steady-state acoustomechanical entanglement, i.e. entanglement between the phononic and mechanical mode, $E_N \approx 5$, can be generated.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Quantum dark soliton (qubits) in Bose Einstein condensates

We study the possibility of using dark soliton in quasi one dimensional Bose Einstein condensates to produce two level system (qubits) by exploiting the intrinsic nonlinear and the coherent nature of the matter waves. We calculate the soliton spectrum and the conditions for a qubit to exist. We also compute the coupling between the phonons and the soliton and investigate the emission rate of the qubits in that case. Remarkably, the qubit lifetime is estimated to be of the order of a few seconds, being by the dark soliton "death" due to quantum evaporation.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Violation of the PT-symmetry and structure formation in the dark matter-gravitational wave interaction

In flat spacetime, quantum fluctuations in dark matter, as described as a Bose-Einstein condensate, are stable and display a relativistic Bogoliubov dispersion relation. In the weak gravitational field limit, both relativistic and nonrelativistic models self-gravitating dark matter suggest the formation of structures as the result of a dynamical (Jeans) instability. Here, we show that in the presence of spontaneous symmetry breaking of the dark matter field, the gravitational wave is damped for wave-lengths larger than the Jeans length. Such energy is converted to the Bogoliubov modes of the BEC that in their turn become unstable and grow, leading to the formation of structures even in the absence of expansion. Remarkably, this compensated attenuation/amplification mechanism is the signature of a discrete PT-symmetry-breaking of the system.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Sympathetic laser-cooling of graphene with Casimir-Polder forces

We propose a scheme to actively cool the fundamental flexural (out-of-plane) mode of a graphene sheet via vacuum forces. Our setup consists in a cold atom cloud placed close to a graphene sheet at distances of a few micrometers. The atoms couple to the graphene membrane via Casimir-Polder forces. By deriving a self-consistent set of equations governing the dynamics of the atomic gas and the flexural modes of the graphene, we show to be possible to cool graphene from room temperatures by actively (laser) cooling an atomic gas. By choosing the right set of experimental parameter we are able to cool a graphene sheet down to ~ 60 microkelvin.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Thermal Machines Fuelled by Vacuum Forces

We propose a quantum thermal machine composed of two nanomechanical resonators (NMR) (two membranes suspended over a trench in a substrate), placed a few $μ$m from each other. The quantum thermodynamical cycle is powered by the Casimir interaction between the resonators and the working fluid is the polariton resulting from the mixture of the flexural (out-of-plane) vibrations. With the help of piezoelectric cells, we select and sweep the polariton frequency cyclically. We calculate the performance of the proposed quantum thermal machines and show that high efficiencies are achieved thanks to (i) the strong coupling between the resonators and (ii) the large difference between the membrane stiffnesses. Our findings can be of particular importance for applications in nanomechanical technologies where a sensitive control of temperature is needed.

quant-ph↗