arXiv subjects

J. G. Muga

Publications and source records attributed to J. G. Muga.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Fast optimal frictionless atom cooling in harmonic traps

A method is proposed to cool down atoms in a harmonic trap without phase-space compression as in a perfectly slow adiabatic expansion, i.e., keeping the populations of the instantaneous initial and final levels invariant, but in a much shorter time. This may require that the harmonic trap becomes an expulsive parabolic potential in some time interval. The cooling times achieved are also shorter than previous minimal times using optimal-control bang-bang methods and real frequencies.

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arXiv2009

Low velocity limits of cold atom clocks

Fundamental low-energy limits to the accuracy of quantum clock and stopwatch models in which the clock hand motion is activated by the presence of a particle in a region of space have been studied in the past, but their relevance for actual atomic clocks had not been assessed. In this work we address the effect of slow atomic quantum motion on Rabi and Ramsey resonance fringe patterns, as a perturbation of the results based on classical atomic motion. We find the dependence of the fractional error of the corresponding atomic clocks on the atomic velocity and interaction parameters.

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arXiv2009

Atom cooling by non-adiabatic expansion

Motivated by the recent discovery that a reflecting wall moving with a square-root in time trajectory behaves as a universal stopper of classical particles regardless of their initial velocities, we compare linear in time and square-root in time expansions of a box to achieve efficient atom cooling. For the quantum single-atom wavefunctions studied the square-root in time expansion presents important advantages: asymptotically it leads to zero average energy whereas any linear in time (constant box-wall velocity) expansion leaves a non-zero residual energy, except in the limit of an infinitely slow expansion. For finite final times and box lengths we set a number of bounds and cooling principles which again confirm the superior performance of the square-root in time expansion, even more clearly for increasing excitation of the initial state. Breakdown of adiabaticity is generally fatal for cooling with the linear expansion but not so with the square-root expansion.

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arXiv2009

Memory effects induced by initial switching conditions

Initial-switching refers to the way in which the decay of an initially confined state begins, as the barrier isolating it from the exterior is relaxed. We study these effects in the context of Longhi's version of the Fano-Anderson model. Most authors assume the sudden approximation where the coupling is turned on instantaneously. We consider a finite rise time T, both numerically and analytically. When the coupling is ramped up linearly over a switching time T, we show that the asymptotic survival amplitude acquires a phase T and is modulated by a factor (sin T)/T. Several other results relating to the solution of the model are obtained. All site amplitudes have the same decay constant during the exponential decay regime. In the asymptotic regime, the amplitude and phase of decay oscillations depend on the initial-switching profile, but the period does not.

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arXiv2009

Quantum transients

Quantum transients are temporary features of matter waves before they reach a stationary regime. Transients may arise after the preparation of an unstable initial state or due to a sudden interaction or a change in the boundary conditions. Examples are diffraction in time, buildup processes, decay, trapping, forerunners or pulse formation, as well as other phenomena recently discovered, such as the simultaneous arrival of a wave peak at arbitrarily distant observers. The interest on these transients is nowadays enhanced by new technological possibilities to control, manipulate and measure matter waves.

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arXiv2009

Avoided crossing resonances: structural and dynamical aspects

We examine structural and dynamical properties of quantum resonances associated with an avoided crossing and identify the parameter shifts where these properties attain maximal or extreme values, first at a general level, and then for a two-level system coupled to a harmonic oscillator, of the type commonly found in quantum optics. Finally the results obtained are exemplified and applied to optimize the fidelity and speed of quantum gates in trapped ions.

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arXiv2009

Enhanced observability of quantum post-exponential decay using distant detectors

We study the elusive transition from exponential to post-exponential (algebraic) decay of the probability density of a quantum particle emitted by an exponentially decaying source, in one dimension. The main finding is that the probability density at the transition time, and thus its observability, increases with the distance of the detector from the source, up to a critical distance beyond which exponential decay is no longer observed. Solvable models provide explicit expressions for the dependence of the transition on resonance and observational parameters, facilitating the choice of optimal conditions.

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arXiv2009

Quantum catcher - stopping particles of unknown velocities

We propose a method to stop particles of unknown velocities by collision with an accelerated wall with trajectory ~sqrt(t). We present classical and quantum mechanical descriptions and numerical simulations that show the efficiency of the method.

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arXiv2009

Preparation of atomic Fock states by trap reduction

We describe the preparation of atom-number states with strongly interacting bosons in one dimension, or spin-polarized fermions. The procedure is based on a combination of weakening and squeezing of the trapping potential. For the resulting state, the full atom number distribution is obtained. Starting with an unknown number of particles $N_i$, we optimize the sudden change in the trapping potential which leads to the Fock state of $N_f$ particles in the final trap. Non-zero temperature effects as well as different smooth trapping potentials are analyzed. A simple criterion is provided to ensure the robust preparation of the Fock state for physically realistic traps.

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arXiv2009

Dwell-time distributions in quantum mechanics

Some fundamental and formal aspects of the quantum dwell time are reviewed, examples for free motion and scattering off a potential barrier are provided, as well as extensions of the concept. We also examine the connection between the dwell time of a quantum particle in a region of space and flux-flux correlations at the boundaries, as well as operational approaches and approximations to measure the flux-flux correlation function and thus the second moment of the dwell time, which is shown to be characteristically quantum, and larger than the corresponding classical moment even for freely moving particles.

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arXiv2008

Relation between quantum dwell times and flux-flux correlations

We examine the connection between the dwell time of a quantum particle in a region of space and flux-flux correlations at the boundaries. It is shown that the first and second moments of a flux-flux correlation function which generalizes a previous proposal by Pollak and Miller [E. Pollak and W. H. Miller, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 53}, 115 (1984)], agree with the corresponding moments of the dwell-time distribution, whereas the third and higher moments do not. We also discuss operational approaches and approximations to measure the flux-flux correlation function and thus the second moment of the dwell time, which is shown to be characteristically quantum, and larger than the corresponding classical moment even for freely moving particles.

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arXiv2008

Momentum-space interferometry with trapped ultracold atoms

Quantum interferometers are generally set so that phase differences between paths in coordinate space combine constructive or destructively. Indeed, the interfering paths can also meet in momentum space leading to momentum-space fringes. We propose and analyze a method to produce interference in momentum space by phase-imprinting part of a trapped atomic cloud with a detuned laser. For one-particle wave functions analytical expressions are found for the fringe width and shift versus the phase imprinted. The effects of unsharpness or displacement of the phase jump are also studied, as well as many-body effects to determine the potential applicability of momentum-space interferometry.

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arXiv2008

Atom Fock state preparation by trap reduction

We study the production of low atom number Fock states by reducing suddenly the potential trap in a 1D strongly interacting (Tonks-Girardeau) gas. The fidelity of the Fock state preparation is characterized by the average and variance of the number of trapped atoms. Two different methods are considered: making the trap shallower (atom culling [A. M. Dudarev {\it et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 98}, 063001 (2007)], also termed ``trap weakening'' here) and making the trap narrower (trap squeezing). When used independently, the efficiency of both procedures is limited as a result of the truncation of the final state in momentum or position space with respect to the ideal atom number state. However, their combination provides a robust and efficient strategy to create ideal Fock states.

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arXiv2008

Generalized relation between pulsed and continuous measurements in the quantum Zeno effect

A relation is found between pulsed measurements of the excited state probability of a two-level atom illuminated by a driving laser, and a continuous measurement by a second laser coupling the excited state to a third state which decays rapidly and irreversibly. We find the time between pulses to achieve the same average detection time than a given continuous measurement in strong, weak, or intermediate coupling regimes, generalizing the results in L. S. Schulman, Phys. Rev. A 57, 1509 (1998).

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arXiv2008

Vibrational Bloch-Siegert effect in trapped ions

When trapped atoms are illuminated by weak lasers, off-resonant transitions cause shifts in the frequencies of the vibrational-sideband resonances. These frequency shifts may be understood in terms of Stark-shifts of the individual levels or, as proposed here, as a vibrational Bloch-Siegert shift, an effect closely related to the usual (radio-frequency or optical) Bloch-Siegert shift and associated with rapidly oscillating terms when the Rotating Wave Approximation is not made. Explicit analytic expressions are derived and compared to numerical results, and the similarities and differences between the usual and the vibrational Bloch-Siegert shifts are also spelled out.

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arXiv2008

Quantum motion effects in an ultracold-atom Mach-Zehnder interferometer

We study the effect of quantum motion in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer where ultracold, two-level atoms cross a $π/2 $-$π$-$π/2$ configuration of separated, laser illuminated regions. Explicit and exact expressions are obtained for transmission amplitudes of monochromatic, incident atomic waves using recurrence relations which take into account all possible paths: the direct ones usually considered in the simple semiclassical treatment, but including quantum motion corrections, and the paths in which the atoms are repeatedly reflected at the fields.

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arXiv2008

Disclosing hidden information in the quantum Zeno effect: Pulsed measurement of the quantum time of arrival

Repeated measurements of a quantum particle to check its presence in a region of space was proposed long ago [G. R. Allcock, Ann. Phys. {\bf 53}, 286 (1969)] as a natural way to determine the distribution of times of arrival at the orthogonal subspace, but the method was discarded because of the quantum Zeno effect: in the limit of very frequent measurements the wave function is reflected and remains in the original subspace. We show that by normalizing the small bits of arriving (removed) norm, an ideal time distribution emerges in correspondence with a classical local-kinetic-energy distribution.

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arXiv2008

Atom cooling with an atom-optical diode on a ring

We propose a method to cool atoms on a ring by combining an atom diode -a laser valve for one-way atomic motion which induces robust internal state excitation- and a trap. We demonstrate numerically that the atom is efficiently slowed down at each diode crossing, and it is finally trapped when its velocity is below the trap threshold.

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