arXiv subjects

M. Bernard

Publications and source records attributed to M. Bernard.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Probing moire excitons in MoSe2/WSe2 heterobilayers by combined micro-photoluminescence and lateral force microscopy

We study interlayer excitons in MoSe2/WSe2 heterobilayers, by combining lateral force microscopy and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. This allows us to correlate the spatial profile of the moir\'e superlattice with the distribution of optically active states accessible to interlayer excitons. In heterostructures where a few degrees twist angle is imposed between the MoSe and WSe crystallographic axes, we show that a continuous moir\'e lattice is realized across areas close to the optical diffraction limit. In such regions, the photoluminescence reduces to a few narrow-band lines only, energetically distributed consistently with the geometry of the moir\'e lattice. This correlation reveals that interlayer excitons explore a controlled periodic confinement, paving the way towards implementations of Bose-Hubbard models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

ZTF SNe Ia DR2: Towards cosmology-grade ZTF supernova light curves using scene modeling photometry

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is conducting a wide-field survey of the northern sky in three optical bands and the collaboration cosmology working group has released 3628 spectroscopically confirmed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered during its first 2.5 years of operation. This "ZTF SN Ia DR2" sample is the largest SN Ia dataset to date. Fully exploiting this dataset to improve understanding of the properties of dark energy requires a photometric accuracy of O(0.1%). This can be achieved using Scene Modeling Photometry (SMP), which is optimal to extract a transient signal (SN) from a complex background (its host), while ensuring a common flux estimator with nearby stars used as calibration reference. In this paper, we present the status of the SMP development and use it to assess the precision and accuracy of the ZTF SN Ia DR2 force photometry light curves. We reach a repeatability of the star observations better than 1%. However, we have identified a new sensor effect, dubbed "pocket-effect", which distorts the Point Spread Function (PSF) in a flux-dependent manner leading to non-linearities in the photometry of a few percent. Correcting for this effect requires time- and sensor-dependent corrections to be applied at the pixel level, which is currently under development. This effects affects all light curve releases to date -- both from forced photometry and scene modelling preventing ZTF SN Ia DR2 to be used for accurate cosmological inference. Comparing the SMP and forced photometry measurements, we find that stretch and color estimated from both processings are consistent, aside from a 10 mmag shift in color. This assess the robustness of results presented as part of the the ZTF SN Ia DR2 release. The absolute calibration however shifts by 90 mmag. A reprocessing of the full ZTF SN Ia DR2 dataset using the SMP method is currently in progress.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Nonlocal Scalar Quantum Field Theory: Functional Integration, Basis Functions Representation and Strong Coupling Expansion

Nonlocal QFT of one-component scalar field $φ$ in $D$-dimensional Euclidean spacetime is considered. The generating functional (GF) of complete Green functions $\mathcal{Z}$ as a functional of external source $j$, coupling constant $g$, and spatial measure $dμ$ is studied. An expression for GF $\mathcal{Z}$ in terms of the abstract integral over the primary field $φ$ is given. An expression for GF $\mathcal{Z}$ in terms of integrals over the primary field and separable Hilbert space (HS) is obtained by means of a separable expansion of the free theory inverse propagator $\hat{L}$ over the separable HS basis. The classification of functional integration measures $\mathcal{D}\left[φ\right]$ is formulated, according to which trivial and two nontrivial versions of GF $\mathcal{Z}$ are obtained. Nontrivial versions of GF $\mathcal{Z}$ are expressed in terms of $1$-norm and $0$-norm, respectively. The definition of the $0$-norm generator $\varPsi$ is suggested. Simple cases of sharp and smooth generators are considered. Expressions for GF $\mathcal{Z}$ in terms of integrals over the separable HS with new integrands are obtained. For polynomial theories $φ^{2n},\, n=2,3,4,\ldots,$ and for the nonpolynomial theory $\sinh^{4}φ$, integrals over the separable HS in terms of a power series over the inverse coupling constant $1/\sqrt{g}$ for both norms ($1$-norm and $0$-norm) are calculated. Critical values of model parameters when a phase transition occurs are found numerically. A generalization of the theory to the case of the uncountable integral over HS is formulated. A comparison of two GFs $\mathcal{Z}$, one in the case of uncountable HS integral and one obtained using the Parseval-Plancherel identity, is given.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

$\mathcal{S}$-Matrix of Nonlocal Scalar Quantum Field Theory in the Representation of Basis Functions

Nonlocal quantum theory of one-component scalar field in $D$-dimensional Euclidean spacetime is studied in representations of $\mathcal{S}$-matrix theory for both polynomial and nonpolynomial interaction Lagrangians. The theory is formulated on coupling constant $g$ in the form of an infrared smooth function of argument $x$ for space without boundary. Nonlocality is given by evolution of Gaussian propagator for the local free theory with ultraviolet form factors depending on ultraviolet length parameter $l$. By representation of the $\mathcal{S}$-matrix in terms of abstract functional integral over primary scalar field, the $\mathcal{S}$ form of a grand canonical partition function is found. And, by expression of $\mathcal{S}$-matrix in terms of the partition function, the representation for $\mathcal{S}$ in terms of basis functions is obtained. Derivations are given for discrete case where basis functions are Hermite functions, and for continuous case where basis functions are trigonometric functions. The obtained expressions for the $\mathcal{S}$-matrix are investigated within the framework of variational principle based on Jensen inequality. Equations with separable kernels satisfied by variational function $q$ are found and solved, yielding results for both the polynomial theory $φ^{4}$ and the nonpolynomial sine-Gordon theory. A new definition of the $\mathcal{S}$-matrix is proposed to solve additional divergences which arise in application of Jensen inequality for the continuous case. Analytical results are illustrated numerically. For simplicity of numerical calculation: the $D=1$ case is considered, and propagator for the free theory $G$ is in the form of Gaussian function typically in the Virton-Quark model. The formulation for nonlocal QFT in momentum $k$ space of extra dimensions with subsequent compactification into physical spacetime is discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Quadratic Soliton Combs in Doubly-Resonant Second-Harmonic Generation

We report a theoretical investigation of quadratic frequency combs in a dispersive second-harmonic generation cavity system. We identify different dynamical regimes and demonstrate that the same system can exhibit both bright and dark localized cavity solitons in the absence of a temporal walk-off.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Modulational instability of nonlinear polarization mode coupling in microresonators

We investigate frequency comb generation in the presence of polarization effects induced by nonlinear mode coupling in microresonator devices. A set of coupled temporal Lugiato-Lefever equations are derived to model the propagation dynamics, and an in-depth study is made of the modulational instability of their multistable homogeneous steady-state solutions. It is shown that new kinds of instabilities can occur for co-propagating fields that interact through nonlinear cross-phase modulation. These instabilities display properties that differ from their scalar counterpart, and are shown to result in the generation of new types of incoherently coupled frequency comb states.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Temperature tunability of quantum emitter - cavity coupling in a photonic wire microcavity with shielded sidewall loss

Recent technological advancements have allowed to implement in solid-state cavity-based devices phenomena of quantum nature such as vacuum Rabi splitting, controllable single photon emission and quantum entanglement. For a sufficiently strong coupling between a quantum emitter and a cavity, large quality factors ($Q$) along with small modal volume ($V_{eff}$) are essential. Here we show that by applying a 5nm Al coating to the sidewalls of a submicrometer-sized Fabry-Pérot microcavity, the cavity $Q$ can be temperature-tuned from few hundreds at room temperatures to 2$\times$10$^5$ below 30~K. This is achieved by, first, a complete shielding of the sidewall loss with ideally reflecting lateral metallic mirrors and, secondly, a dramatic decrease of the cavity's axial loss for small-sized devices due to the largely off-axis wavevector within the multilayered structure. Our findings offer a novel temperature-tunable platform to study quantum electrodynamical phenomena of emitter-cavity coupling. We demonstrate that a Rabi splitting of 2g=24~GHz (0.142~nm) can be readily achieved at 40~K in a 0.8$μ$m-sized device, which has an $V_{eff}\approx0.0845~μ$m$^3$, comparable to best 2D photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

High frequency electro-optic measurement of strained silicon racetrack resonators

The observation of the electro-optic effect in strained silicon waveguides has been considered as a direct manifestation of an induced $χ^{(2)}$ non-linearity in the material. In this work, we perform high frequency measurements on strained silicon racetrack resonators. Strain is controlled by a mechanical deformation of the waveguide. It is shown that any optical modulation vanishes independently of the applied strain when the applied voltage varies much faster than the carrier effective lifetime, and that the DC modulation is also largely independent of the applied strain. This demonstrates that plasma carrier dispersion is responsible for the observed electro-optic effect. After normalizing out free carrier effects, our results set an upper limit of $8\,pm/V$ to the induced high-speed $χ^{(2)}_{eff,zzz}$ tensor element at an applied stress of $-0.5\,GPa$. This upper limit is about one order of magnitude lower than the previously reported values for static electro-optic measurements.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2006

Tunneling Spectroscopy and Vortex Imaging in Boron-Doped Diamond

We present the first scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of single-crystalline boron doped diamond. The measurements were performed below 100 mK with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The tunneling density of states displays a clear superconducting gap. The temperature evolution of the order parameter follows the weak coupling BCS law with $Δ(0)/k_B T_c \simeq 1.74$. Vortex imaging at low magnetic field also reveals localized states inside the vortex core that are unexpected for such a dirty superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗