arXiv subjects

R. Folman

Publications and source records attributed to R. Folman.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Organized Current Patterns in Disordered Conductors

We present a general theory of current deviations in straight current carrying wires with random imperfections, which quantitatively explains the recent observations of organized patterns of magnetic field corrugations above micron-scale evaporated wires. These patterns originate from the most efficient electron scattering by Fourier components of the wire imperfections with wavefronts along the $\pm 45^{\circ}$ direction. We show that long range effects of surface or bulk corrugations are suppressed for narrow wires or wires having an electrically anisotropic resistivity.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Long-Range Order in Electronic Transport through Disordered Metal Films

Ultracold atom magnetic field microscopy enables the probing of current flow patterns in planar structures with unprecedented sensitivity. In polycrystalline metal (gold) films we observe long-range correlations forming organized patterns oriented at +/- 45 deg relative to the mean current flow, even at room temperature and at length scales orders of magnitude larger than the diffusion length or the grain size. The preference to form patterns at these angles is a direct consequence of universal scattering properties at defects. The observed amplitude of the current direction fluctuations scales inversely to that expected from the relative thickness variations, the grain size and the defect concentration, all determined independently by standard methods. This indicates that ultracold atom magnetometry enables new insight into the interplay between disorder and transport.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Using time reversal symmetry for sensitive incoherent matter-wave Sagnac interferometry

We present a theory of the transmission of incoherent guided matter-waves through Sagnac interferometers. Interferometer configurations with only one input and one output port have a property similar to the phase rigidity observed in the transmission through Aharonov-Bohm interferometers in coherent mesoscopic electronics. This property is connected to the existence of counterpropagating paths of equal length and enables the operation of such matter-wave interferometers with incoherent sources. High finesse interferometers of this kind have a rotation sensitivity inversely proportional to the square root of the finesse.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

Reduction of Magnetic Noise in Atom Chips by Material Optimization

We discuss the contribution of the material type in metal wires to the electromagnetic fluctuations in magnetic microtraps close to the surface of an atom chip. We show that significant reduction of the magnetic noise can be achieved by replacing the pure noble metal wires with their dilute alloys. The alloy composition provides an additional degree of freedom which enables a controlled reduction of both magnetic noise and resistivity if the atom chip is cooled. In addition, we provide a careful re-analysis of the magnetically induced trap loss observed by Yu-Ju Lin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 050404 (2004)] and find good agreement with an improved theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2004

Optical discrimination between spatial decoherence and thermalization of a massive object

We propose an optical ring interferometer to observe environment-induced spatial decoherence of massive objects. The object is held in a harmonic trap and scatters light between degenerate modes of a ring cavity. The output signal of the interferometer permits to monitor the spatial width of the object's wave function. It shows oscillations that arise from coherences between energy eigenstates and that reveal the difference between pure spatial decoherence and that coinciding with energy transfer and heating. Our method is designed to work with a wide variety of masses, ranging from the atomic scale to nano-fabricated structures. We give a thorough discussion of its experimental feasibility.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2004

Atom Chips: Fabrication and Thermal Properties

Neutral atoms can be trapped and manipulated with surface mounted microscopic current carrying and charged structures. We present a lithographic fabrication process for such atom chips based on evaporated metal films. The size limit of this process is below 1$μ$m. At room temperature, thin wires can carry more than 10$^7$A/cm$^2$ current density and voltages of more than 500V. Extensive test measurements for different substrates and metal thicknesses (up to 5 $μ$m) are compared to models for the heating characteristics of the microscopic wires. Among the materials tested, we find that Si is the best suited substrate for atom chips.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

An atom fiber for guiding cold neutral atoms

We present an omnidirectional matter wave guide on an atom chip. The rotational symmetry of the guide is maintained by a combination of two current carrying wires and a bias field pointing perpendicular to the chip surface. We demonstrate guiding of thermal atoms around more than two complete turns along a spiral shaped 25mm long curved path (curve radii down to 200$μ$m) at various atom--surface distances (35-450$μ$m). An extension of the scheme for the guiding of Bose-Einstein condensates is outlined.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Optimized U-MOT for experiments with ultracold atoms near surfaces

We present an integrated wire-based magnetooptical trap for the simplified trapping and cooling of large numbers of neutral atoms near material surfaces. With a modified U-shaped current-carrying Cu structure we collect $>3\times 10^8$ $^{87}$Rb atoms in a mirror MOT without using quadrupole coils. These atoms are subsequently loaded to a Z-wire trap where they are evaporatively cooled to a Bose-Einstein condensate close to the surface.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2003

Trapping and manipulating neutral atoms with electrostatic fields

We report on experiments with cold thermal $^7$Li atoms confined in combined magnetic and electric potentials. A novel type of three-dimensional trap was formed by modulating a magnetic guide using electrostatic fields. We observed atoms trapped in a string of up to six individual such traps, a controlled transport of an atomic cloud over a distance of 400$μ$m, and a dynamic splitting of a single trap into a double well potential. Applications for quantum information processing are discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Bose-Einstein Condensation in a simple Microtrap

A Bose-Einstein condensate is created in a simple and robust miniature Ioffe-Pritchard trap, the so-called Z trap. This trap follows from the mere combination of a Z-shaped current carrying wire and a homogeneous bias field. The experimental procedure allows condensation of typically 3x10^5 Rb-87 atoms in the |F=2, m_F=2> state close to any mirroring surface, irrespective of its structure, thus it is ideally suited as a source for cold atom physics near surfaces.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2000

Observation of decoherence with a movable mirror

Recently it has been proposed to use parity as a measure of the mechanism behind decoherence or the transformation from quantum to classical. Here, we show that the proposed experiment is more feasible than previously thought, as even an initial thermal state would exhibit the hypothesized symmetry breaking.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1999

On the observation of decoherence with a movable mirror

Following almost a century of debate on possible `independent of measurement' elements of reality, or `induced' elements of reality - originally invoked as an ad-hoc collapse postulate, we propose a novel line of interference experiments which may be able to examine the regime of induced elements of reality. At the basis of the proposed experiment, lies the hypothesis that all models of 'induced' elements of reality should exhibit symmetry breaking within quantum evolution. The described {\em symmetry experiment} is thus aimed at being able to detect and resolve symmetry breaking signatures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv1996

Higgs Physics at LEP2

In this report we review the prospects for Higgs physics at LEP2. The theoretical aspects and the phenomenology of Higgs particles are discussed within the Standard Model (SM) and the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). The experimental search techniques are described and the discovery limits for Higgs bosons in the LEP2 energy range are summarized. In addition, opportunities of detecting Higgs particles in non-minimal extensions of the SM and the MSSM are investigated.

hep-ph↗