arXiv subjects

M. Albert

Publications and source records attributed to M. Albert.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Three-observable measurement of the critical velocity in a paraxial superfluid of light flowing past a mobile impurity

We report the measurement of the critical velocity of a paraxial superfluid of light flowing past a mobile impurity, realized using a dual-wavelength optical scheme in a warm vapor of $^{87}\text{Rb}$. The superflow is two-dimensional by nature, while the impurity features a highly repulsive potential, a large tunable radius, and a finite mass. The critical velocity is evaluated by simultaneously monitoring three complementary observables: the number of vortices nucleated in the wake of the impurity, the hydrodynamic force exerted on it, and its displacement velocity relative to the flow. These independent methods yield consistent values for the critical velocity, which remain systematically below the Landau criterion and decrease with the impurity radius, in qualitative agreement with theoretical expectations. Our results demonstrate the reliability of these combined diagnostics, establishing paraxial superfluids of light as a versatile platform for exploring the impurity problem in quantum hydrodynamics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Diffraction induced quantum chaos in a one-dimensional Bose gas

We investigate the Lieb--Liniger model of interacting one-dimensional bosons coupled to a localized impurity, modeled by a delta barrier. While the Lieb--Liniger gas is integrable, the impurity breaks integrability and induces a transition towards quantum chaos. We show that the low-energy spectrum exhibits random-matrix statistics, in striking contrast to the Bohigas--Giannoni--Schmit conjecture, where chaotic behavior typically emerges at high energy. For two bosons, the odd-parity sector remains integrable, whereas the even-parity sector displays clear signatures of chaos at low energy and a crossover back to quasi-integrable behavior at higher energies. For three bosons, both parity sectors exhibit spectral statistics close to chaos at low energy. We argue that this unconventional form of few-body quantum chaos originates from diffractive processes induced by the impurity.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Engineering Anderson Localization in Arbitrary Dimensions with Interacting Quasiperiodic Kicked Bosons

We study the interplay of interactions and quasiperiodic driving in the Lieb-Liniger model of one-dimensional bosons subjected to a sequence of delta kicks. Building on the known mapping between the kicked rotor and the Anderson model, we show that both interparticle interactions and quasiperiodic modulations of the kicking strength can independently and simultaneously generate synthetic dimensions. In the absence of modulation, interactions between two bosons already promote an effective two-dimensional Anderson model. Introducing one or two additional incommensurate frequencies further extends the system to three and four effective dimensions, respectively. Through extensive numerical simulations of the two-body dynamics and finite-time scaling analysis, we observe Anderson localization and the associated critical behavior characteristic of the orthogonal universality class. This combined use of interactions and quasiperiodic driving thus provides a versatile framework for emulating Anderson localization and its transition in arbitrary dimensions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Symmetry oscillations sensitivity to SU(2)-symmetry breaking in quantum mixtures

In one-dimensional bosonic quantum mixtures with SU(2)-symmetry breaking Hamiltonian, the dynamical evolution explores different particle exchange symmetry sectors. For the case of infinitely strong intra-species repulsion, the hallmark of such symmetry oscillations are time modulations of the momentum distribution [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 183402 (2024)], an observable routinely accessed in experiments with ultracold atoms. In this work we show that this phenomenon is robust in strongly interacting quantum mixtures with arbitrary inter-species to intra-species interaction strength ratio. Taking as initial state the ground state of the SU(2) symmetric Hamiltonian and time-evolving with the symmetry breaking Hamiltonian, we analyze how the amplitude and frequency of symmetry oscillations, and thus of the momentum distribution oscillations, depend on the strength of the symmetry-breaking perturbation. We find that the set of symmetry sectors which are coupled during the time evolution is dictated by the spin-flip symmetry of the initial state and show that the population of the initial state may vanish periodically, even in the thermodynamic limit, thus revealing the robustness and universality of the symmetry oscillations.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2022

Waiting time distributions in Quantum spin hall based heterostructures

For the distinction of the Andreev bound states and Majorana bound states, we study the waiting time distributions (WTDs) for heterostructures, based on one dimensional edge states of a two dimensional topological insulators (TI) in combination with an proximitized s-wave superconductor (SC) and an applied magnetic field. We show for the time reversal symmetric (TRS) situation of a Josephson junction details of the WTD. This includes different transport processes, different numbers of Andreev bound states and the phase difference of the SC. We further consider a Zeeman field in the normal part of the junctions revealing novel features in the WTD along the phase transition between trivial bound states and Majorana bound states. We finally discuss clear signatures to discriminate between them.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Flexible source of correlated photons based on LNOI rib waveguides

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) has a great potential for photonic integrated circuits, providing substantial versatility in design of various integrated components. To properly use these components in the implementation of different quantum protocols, photons with different properties are required. In this paper, we theoretically demonstrate a flexible source of correlated photons built on the LNOI waveguide of a special geometry. This source is based on the parametric down-conversion (PDC) process, in which the signal and idler photons are generated at the telecom wavelength and have different spatial profiles and polarizations, but the same group velocities. Such features facilitate electro-optical manipulations with photons and, at the same time, do not require an additional compensation for the time delay. We show how the spectral properties of the generated photons and the number of their frequency modes can be controlled depending on the pump characteristics and the waveguide length. Finally, we discuss a special regime, in which narrowband light with strong frequency correlations is generated at the telecom wavelength.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Full distribution of the superfluid fraction and extreme value statistics in a one dimensional disordered Bose gas

The full statistical distribution of the superfluid fraction characterizing one-dimensional Bose gases in random potentials is discussed. Rare configurations with extreme fluctuations of the disorder potential can fragment the condensate and reduce the superfluid fraction to zero. The resulting bimodal probability distribution for the superfluid fraction is calculated numerically in the quasi-1D mean-field regime of ultracold atoms in laser speckle potentials. Using extreme-value statistics, an analytical scaling of the zero-superfluid probability as function of disorder strength, disorder correlation length and system size is presented. It is argued that similar results can be expected for point-like impurities, and that these findings are in reach for present-day experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2019

Scaling properties of the Tan's contact: embedding pairs and correlation effect in the Tonks limit

We study the Tan's contact of a one dimensional quantum gas of N repulsive identical bosons confined in a harmonic trap at finite temperature. This canonical ensemble framework corresponds to the experimental conditions, the number of particles being fixed for each experimental sequence. We show that, in the strongly interacting regime, the contact rescaled by the contact at the Tonks-Girardeau limit is an universal function of two parameters, the rescaled interaction strength and temperature. This means that all pair and correlation effects in the Tan's contact are embedded in the Tan's contact in the Tonks-Girardeau limit.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Transient photon echoes from donor-bound excitons in ZnO epitaxial layers

The coherent optical response from 140~nm and 65~nm thick ZnO epitaxial layers is studied using transient four-wave-mixing spectroscopy with picosecond temporal resolution. Resonant excitation of neutral donor-bound excitons results in two-pulse and three-pulse photon echoes. For the donor-bound A exciton (D$^0$X$_\text{A}$) at temperature of 1.8~K we evaluate optical coherence times $T_2=33-50$~ps corresponding to homogeneous linewidths of $13-19~\mu$eV, about two orders of magnitude smaller as compared with the inhomogeneous broadening of the optical transitions. The coherent dynamics is determined mainly by the population decay with time $T_1=30-40$~ps, while pure dephasing is negligible in the studied high quality samples even for strong optical excitation. Temperature increase leads to a significant shortening of $T_2$ due to interaction with acoustic phonons. In contrast, the loss of coherence of the donor-bound B exciton (D$^0$X$_\text{B}$) is significantly faster ($T_2=3.6$~ps) and governed by pure dephasing processes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Probing Majorana and Andreev Bound States with Waiting Times

We consider a biased Normal-Superconducting junction with various types of superconductivity. Depending on the class of superconductivity, a Majorana bound state may appear at the interface. We show that this has important consequences on the distribution of waiting times of electrons flowing out of such an interface. Therefore, the waiting time distribution is shown to be a clear fingerprint of Majorana bound state physics and may be considered as an experimental signature of its presence.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of amorphous Si on graphene

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of thin a-Si:H layers on transferred large area graphene is investigated. Radio frequency (RF, 13.56 MHz) and very high frequency (VHF, 140 MHz) plasma processes are compared. Both methods provide conformal coating of graphene with Si layers as thin as 20 nm without any additional seed layer. The RF plasma process results in amorphization of the graphene layer. In contrast, the VHF process keeps the high crystalline quality of the graphene layer almost intact. Correlation analysis of Raman 2D and G band positions indicates that Si deposition induces reduction of the initial doping in graphene and an increase of compressive strain. Upon rapid thermal annealing the amorphous Si layer undergoes dehydrogenation and transformation into a polycrystalline film whereby a high crystalline quality of graphene is preserved.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Waiting times of entangled electrons in normal-superconducting junctions

We consider a normal-superconducting junction in order to investigate the effect of new physical ingredients on waiting times. First, we study the interplay between Andreev and specular scattering at the interface on the distribution of waiting times of electrons or holes separately. In that case the distribution is not altered dramatically compared to the case of a single quantum channel with a quantum point contact since the interface acts as an Andreev mirror for holes. We then consider a fully entangled state originating from spliting of Cooper pairs at the interface and demonstrate a significant enhancement of the probability to detect two consecutive electrons in a short time interval. Finally, we discuss the electronic waiting time distribution in the more realistic situation of partial entanglement.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Trapping of Topological-Structural Defects in Coulomb Crystals

We study experimentally and theoretically structural defects which are formed during the transition from a laser cooled cloud to a Coulomb crystal, consisting of tens of ions in a linear radio frequency trap. We demonstrate the creation of predicted topological defects (`kinks') in purely two-dimensional crystals, and also find kinks which show novel dynamical features in a regime of parameters not considered before. The kinks are always observed at the centre of the trap, showing a large nonlinear localized excitation, and the probability of their occurrence surprisingly saturates at ~0.5. Simulations reveal a strong anharmonicity of the kink's internal mode of vibration, due to the kink's extension into three dimensions. As a consequence, the periodic Peierls-Nabarro potential experienced by a discrete kink becomes a globally confining potential, capable of trapping one cooled defect at the center of the crystal.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Tomonaga-Luttinger physics in electronic quantum circuits

In one-dimensional conductors, interactions result in correlated electronic systems. At low energy, a hallmark signature of the so-called Tomonaga-Luttinger liquids (TLL) is the universal conductance curve predicted in presence of an impurity. A seemingly different topic is the quantum laws of electricity, when distinct quantum conductors are assembled in a circuit. In particular, the conductances are suppressed at low energy, a phenomenon called dynamical Coulomb blockade (DCB). Here we investigate the conductance of mesoscopic circuits constituted by a short single-channel quantum conductor in series with a resistance, and demonstrate a proposed link to TLL physics. We reformulate and establish experimentally a recently derived phenomenological expression for the conductance using a wide range of circuits, including carbon nanotube data obtained elsewhere. By confronting both conductance data and phenomenological expression with the universal TLL curve, we demonstrate experimentally the predicted mapping between DCB and the transport across a TLL with an impurity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Quantum heat fluctuations of single particle sources

Optimal single electron sources emit regular streams of particles, displaying no low frequency charge current noise. Due to the wavepacket nature of the emitted particles, the energy is however fluctuating, giving rise to heat current noise. We investigate theoretically this quantum source of heat noise for an emitter coupled to an electronic probe in the hot-electron regime. The distribution of temperature and potential fluctuations induced in the probe is shown to provide direct information on the single particle wavefunction properties and display strong non-classical features.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Current noise spectrum of a single particle emitter: theory and experiment

The controlled and accurate emission of coherent electronic wave packets is of prime importance for future applications of nano-scale electronics. Here we present a theoretical and experimental analysis of the finite-frequency noise spectrum of a periodically driven single electron emitter. The electron source consists of a mesoscopic capacitor that emits single electrons and holes into a chiral edge state of a quantum Hall sample. We compare experimental results with two complementary theoretical descriptions: On one hand, the Floquet scattering theory which leads to accurate numerical results for the noise spectrum under all relevant operating conditions. On the other hand, a semi-classical model which enables us to develop an analytic description of the main sources of noise when the emitter is operated under optimal conditions. We find excellent agreement between experiment and theory. Importantly, the noise spectrum provides us with an accurate description and characterization of the mesoscopic capacitor when operated as a periodic single electron emitter.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Collective strong coupling between ion Coulomb crystals and an optical cavity field: Theory and experiment

A detailed description and theoretical analysis of experiments achieving coherent coupling between an ion Coulomb crystal and an optical cavity field are presented. The various methods used to measure the coherent coupling rate between large ion Coulomb crystals in a linear quadrupole radiofrequency ion trap and a single field mode of a moderately high-finesse cavity are described in detail. Theoretical models based on a semiclassical approach are applied in assessment of the experimental results of [P. F. Herskind et al., Nature Phys. 5, 494 (2009)] and of complementary new measurements. Generally, a very good agreement between theory and experiments is obtained.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Non-invasive vibrational mode spectroscopy of ion Coulomb crystals through resonant collective coupling to an optical cavity field

We report on a novel non-invasive method to determine the normal mode frequencies of ion Coulomb crystals in traps based on the resonance enhanced collective coupling between the electronic states of the ions and an optical cavity field at the single photon level. Excitations of the normal modes are observed through a Doppler broadening of the resonance. An excellent agreement with the predictions of a zero-temperature uniformly charged liquid plasma model is found. The technique opens up for investigations of the heating and damping of cold plasma modes, as well as the coupling between them.

physics.plasm-ph↗