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Thomas Wellens

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Wellens.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
arXiv2010

Number-conserving master equation theory for a dilute Bose-Einstein condensate

We describe the transition of $N$ weakly interacting atoms into a Bose-Einstein condensate within a number-conserving quantum master equation theory. Based on the separation of time scales for condensate formation and non-condensate thermalization, we derive a master equation for the condensate subsystem in the presence of the non-condensate environment under the inclusion of all two body interaction processes. We numerically monitor the condensate particle number distribution during condensate formation, and derive a condition under which the unique equilibrium steady state of a dilute, weakly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate is given by a Gibbs-Boltzmann thermal state of $N$ non-interacting atoms.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2010

Double scattering of intense laser light by two atoms

This paper analyzes coherent backscattering of intense laser light by two randomly placed distant atoms. Starting from the general two-atom master equation, we analytically derive the elastic and inelastic background and interference components of the double scattering spectrum. By expressing the final results in terms of single-atom observables, the two-atom problem is shown to be equivalent to a description in terms of single atoms under bichromatic driving.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2009

Coherent propagation of waves in random media with weak nonlinearity

We develop a diagrammatic theory for transport of waves in disordered media with weak nonlinearity. We first represent the solution of the nonlinear wave equation as a nonlinear Born series. From this, we construct nonlinear ladder and crossed diagrams for the average wave intensity. Then, we sum up the diagrammatic series completely, i.e. nonperturbatively in the strength of the nonlinearity, and thereby obtain integral equations describing both nonlinear diffusive transport and coherent backscattering of the average intensity. As main result, we find that the nonlinearity significantly influences the magnitude of the coherent backscattering effect. Depending on the type of nonlinearity, coherent backscattering is either enhanced or suppressed, as compared to the linear case.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2008

Speckle instability: coherent effects in nonlinear disordered media

We numerically investigate the properties of speckle patterns formed by nonlinear point scatterers. We show that, in the weak localization regime, dynamical instability appears, eventually leading to chaotic behavior of the system. Analysing the statistical properties of the instability thresholds for different values of the system size and disorder strength, a scaling law is emphasized. The later is also found to govern the smallest decay rate of the linear system, putting thus forward the crucial importance of interference effects. This is also underlined by the fact that coherent backscattering is still observed even in the chaotic regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2008

Coherent backscattering of Bose-Einstein condensates in two-dimensional disorder potentials

We study quantum transport of an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate in a two-dimensional disorder potential. In the limit of vanishing atom-atom interaction, a sharp cone in the angle-resolved density of the scattered matter wave is observed, arising from constructive interference between amplitudes propagating along reversed scattering paths. Weak interaction transforms this coherent backscattering peak into a pronounced dip, indicating destructive instead of constructive interference. We reproduce this result, obtained from the numerical integration of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, by a diagrammatic theory of weak localization in presence of a nonlinearity.

cond-mat.other↗
arXiv2007

Spectrum of coherently backscattered light from two atoms

We present a detailed analytical and numerical analysis of the inelastic coherent backscattering spectrum of laser light incident on cold atoms. We identify frequency domains where the interference contribution can be positive \emph{as well as} negative -- or exhibits dispersive character. These distinctive features are explained by reciprocity arguments and dressed state two-photon scattering amplitudes.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

Nonlinear coherent transport of waves in disordered media

We present a diagrammatic theory for coherent backscattering from disordered dilute media in the nonlinear regime. The approach is non-perturbative in the strength of the nonlinearity. We show that the coherent backscattering enhancement factor is strongly affected by the nonlinearity, and corroborate these results by numerical simulations. Our theory can be applied to several physical scenarios like scattering of light in nonlinear Kerr media, or propagation of matter waves in disordered potentials.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗
arXiv2005

Coherent Backscattering of Light with Nonlinear Atomic Scatterers

We study coherent backscattering of a monochromatic laser by a dilute gas of cold two-level atoms in the weakly nonlinear regime. The nonlinear response of the atoms results in a modification of both the average field propagation (nonlinear refractive index) and the scattering events. Using a perturbative approach, the nonlinear effects arise from inelastic two-photon scattering processes. We present a detailed diagrammatic derivation of the elastic and inelastic components of the backscattering signal both for scalar and vectorial photons. Especially, we show that the coherent backscattering phenomenon originates in some cases from the interference between three different scattering amplitudes. This is in marked contrast with the linear regime where it is due to the interference between two different scattering amplitudes. In particular we show that, if elastically scattered photons are filtered out from the photo-detection signal, the nonlinear backscattering enhancement factor exceeds the linear barrier two, consistently with a three-amplitude interference effect.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2005

Coherent backscattering in nonlinear atomic media: quantum Langevin approach

In this theoretical paper, we investigate coherence properties of the near-resonant light scattered by two atoms exposed to a strong monochromatic field. To properly incorporate saturation effects, we use a quantum Langevin approach. In contrast to the standard optical Bloch equations, this method naturally provides the inelastic spectrum of the radiated light induced by the quantum electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. However, to get the right spectral properties of the scattered light, it is essential to correctly describe the statistical properties of these vacuum fluctuations. Because of the presence of the two atoms, these statistical properties are not Gaussian : (i) the spatial two-points correlation function displays a speckle-like behavior and (ii) the three-points correlation function does not vanish. We also explain how to incorporate in a simple way propagation with a frequency-dependent scattering mean-free path, meaning that the two atoms are embedded in an average scattering dispersive medium. Finally we show that saturation-induced nonlinearities strongly modify the atomic scattering properties and, as a consequence, provide a source of decoherence in multiple scattering. This is exemplified by considering the coherent backscattering configuration where interference effects are blurred by this decoherence mechanism. This leads to a decrease of the so-called coherent backscattering enhancement factor.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2003

Entanglement of 2xK quantum systems

We derive an analytical expression for the lower bound of the concurrence of mixed quantum states of composite 2xK systems. In contrast to other, implicitly defined entanglement measures, the numerical evaluation of our bound is straightforward. We explicitly evaluate its tightness for general mixed states of 2x3 systems, and identify a large class of states where our expression gives the exact value of the concurrence.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2001

Separable approximation for mixed states of composite quantum systems

We describe a purely algebraic method for finding the best separable approximation to a mixed state of a composite 2x2 quantum system, consisting of a decomposition of the state into a linear combination of a mixed separable part and a pure entangled one. We prove that, in a generic case, the weight of the pure part in the decomposition equals the concurrence of the state.

quant-ph↗