arXiv subjects

V. M. Axt

Publications and source records attributed to V. M. Axt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

$N$-photon bundle statistics in different solid-state platforms

The term $N$-photon bundles has been coined for a specific type of photon emission, where light quanta are released from a cavity only in groups of $N$ particles. This emission leaves a characteristic number distribution of the cavity photons that may be taken as one of their fingerprints. We study this characteristic $N$-photon bundle statistics considering two solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) systems. As one example, we consider a semiconductor quantum-dot--microcavity system coupled to longitudinal acoustic phonons. There, we find the environmental influence to be detrimental to the bundle statistics. The other example is a superconducting qubit inside a microwave resonator. In these systems, pure dephasing is not important and an experimentally feasible parameter regime is found, where the bundle statistics prevails.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Deterministic photon storage and readout in a semimagnetic quantum-dot--cavity system doped with a single Mn ion

Light trapping is a crucial mechanism for synchronization in optical communication. Especially on the level of single photons, control of the exact emission time is desirable. In this paper, we theoretically propose a single-photon buffering device composed of a quantum dot doped with a single Mn atom in a cavity. We present a method to detain a single cavity photon as an excitation of the dot. The storage scheme is based on bright to dark exciton conversion performed with an off-resonant external optical field and mediated via a spin-flip with the magnetic ion. The induced Stark shift brings both exciton states to resonance and results in an excitation transfer to the optically inactive one. The stored photon can be read out on demand in the same manner by repopulating the bright state, which has a short lifetime. Our results indicate the possibility to suspend a photon for almost two orders of magnitude longer than the lifetime of the bright exciton.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Accuracy of the quantum regression theorem for photon emission from a quantum dot

The quantum regression theorem (QRT) is the most-widely used tool for calculating multitime correlation functions for the assessment of quantum emitters. It is an approximate method based on a Markov assumption for the environmental coupling. In this work we quantify properties of photons emitted from a single quantum dot coupled to phonons. For the single-photon purity and the indistinguishability, we compare numerically exact path-integral results with those obtained from the QRT. It is demonstrated that the QRT systematically overestimates the influence of the environment for typical quantum dots used in quantum information technology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Schrödinger cats in quantum-dot--cavity systems

A Schrödinger-cat state is a coherent superposition of macroscopically distinguishable quantum states, in quantum optics usually realized as superposition of coherent states. Protocols to prepare photonic cats have been presented for atomic systems. Here, we investigate in what manner and how well the preparation protocols can be transferred to a solid state platform, namely a semiconductor quantum-dot--cavity system. In quantum-dot--cavity systems there are many disruptive influences like cavity losses, the radiative decay of the quantum dot, and the pure-dephasing type coupling to longitudinal acoustic phonons. We show that for one of the protocols these influences kill the quantum coherence between the states forming the cat, while for a second protocol a parameter regime can be identified where the essential characteristics of Schrödinger-cat states survive the environmental influences under realistic conditions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

On-demand generation of higher-order Fock states in quantum-dot--cavity systems

The on-demand preparation of higher-order Fock states is of fundamental importance in quantum information sciences. We propose and compare different protocols to generate higher-order Fock states in solid state quantum-dot--cavity systems. The protocols make use of a series of laser pulses to excite the quantum dot exciton and off-resonant pulses to control the detuning between dot and cavity. Our theoretical studies include dot and cavity loss processes as well as the pure-dephasing type coupling to longitudinal acoustic phonons in a numerically complete fashion. By going beyond the two-level approximation for quantum dots, we study the impact of a finite exchange splitting, the impact of a higher energetic exciton state, and an excitation with linearly polarized laser pulses leading to detrimental occupations of the biexciton state. We predict that under realistic conditions, a protocol which keeps the cavity at resonance with the quantum dot until the desired target state is reached is able to deliver fidelities to the Fock state $| 5\rangle$ well above $40\,\%$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Transiently changing shape of the photon number distribution in a quantum-dot--cavity system driven by chirped laser pulses

We have simulated the time evolution of the photon number distribution in a semiconductor quantum dot-microcavity system driven by chirped laser pulses and compare with unchirped results. When phonon interactions with the dot are disregarded - thus corresponding to the limit of atomic cavity systems - chirped pulses generate photon number distributions that change their shape drastically in the course of time. Phonons have a strong and qualitative impact on the photon statistics. The asymmetry between phonon absorption and emission destroys the symmetry of the photon distributions obtained for positive and negative chirps. While for negative chirps transient distributions resembling thermal ones are observed, for positive chirps the photon number distribution still resembles its phonon-free counterpart but with overall smoother shapes. In sharp contrast, using unchirped pulses of the same pulse area and duration wave-packets are found that move up and down the Jaynes-Cummings ladder with a bell-shape that changes little in time. For shorter pulses and lower driving strength Rabi-like oscillations occur between low photon number states. For all considered excitation conditions transitions between sub- and super-Poissonian statistics are found at certain times. For resonant driving with low intensity the Mandel parameter oscillates and is mostly negative, which indicates a non-classical state in the cavity field. Finally, we show that it is possible that the Mandel parameter dynamically approaches zero and still the photon distribution exhibits two maxima and thus is far from being a Poissonian.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Anisotropic Superconductors Between Types I and II

Self-duality or matching between the magnetic and condensate characteristic lengths is a fundamental property of isotropic superconductors at the critical Bogomolnyi point (B-point). The self-dual state of the condensate is infinitely degenerate, which is the core reason for the sharp transition between the superconductivity types in the nearest vicinity of the critical temperature T_c. Below T_c non-local interactions in the condensate remove the degeneracy, which leads to the appearance of a finite intertype (IT) domain between types I and II. This domain exhibits the mixed state with exotic field-condensate configurations and non-standard magnetic response, which cannot be understood within the dichotomy of the conventional superconductivity types. At a first glance, this picture does not apply to an anisotropic system because no spatial matching between the condensate and magnetic field can be generally expected for direction-dependent characteristic lengths. However, contrary to these expectations, here we demonstrate that anisotropic superconductors follow the same scenario of the interchange between types I and II. In anisotropic materials the IT domain is governed by the B-point of the effective isotropic model obtained by the appropriate scaling transformation of the initial anisotropic formalism. This transformation depends on the direction of the applied magnetic field, and thus the superconductivity type of strongly anisotropic materials can be dependent on this direction.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Persistent oscillations of the order parameter and interaction quench phase diagram for a confined Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer Fermi gas

We present a numerical study of the interaction quench dynamics in a superfluid ultracold Fermi gas confined in a three-dimensional cigar-shaped harmonic trap. In the present paper we investigate the amplitude mode of the superfluid order parameter after interaction quenches which start deep in the BCS phase and end in the BCS-BEC crossover regime. To this end, we exploit the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism which takes the confinement potential explicitly into account and provides a microscopic fully coherent description of the system. We find an anharmonic nonlinear oscillation of the modulus of the superfluid order parameter, i.e., of the Higgs mode. This oscillation persists for large times with only a small amplitude modulation being visible. We connect the frequency and the mean value of this oscillation with the breaking of Cooper pairs in the superfluid phase. Additionally, we demonstrate that the occurrence of this persistent oscillation is connected to the onset of chaotic dynamics in our model. Finally, we calculate an interaction quench phase diagram of the Higgs mode for quenches on the BCS side of the BCS-BEC crossover and discuss its properties as a function of the aspect ratio of the cigar-shaped trap.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2018

Dynamical vanishing of the order parameter in a confined Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer Fermi gas after an interaction quench

We present a numerical study of the Higgs mode in an ultracold confined Fermi gas after an interaction quench and find a dynamical vanishing of the superfluid order parameter. Our calculations are done within a microscopic density-matrix approach in the Bogoliubov-de Gennes framework which takes the three-dimensional cigar-shaped confinement explicitly into account. In this framework, we study the amplitude mode of the order parameter after interaction quenches starting on the BCS side of the BEC-BCS crossover close to the transition and ending in the BCS regime. We demonstrate the emergence of a dynamically vanishing superfluid order parameter in the spatiotemporal dynamics in a three-dimensional trap. Further, we show that the signal averaged over the whole trap mirrors the spatiotemporal behavior and allows us to systematically study the effects of the system size and aspect ratio on the observed dynamics. Our analysis enables us to connect the confinement-induced modifications of the dynamics to the pairing properties of the system. Finally, we demonstrate that the signature of the Higgs mode is contained in the dynamical signal of the condensate fraction, which, therefore, might provide a new experimental access to the nonadiabatic regime of the Higgs mode.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Quench dynamics of a confined ultracold Fermi gas: Direct visibility of the Goldstone mode in the single-particle excitations

We present a numerical study of a confined ultracold Fermi gas showing that the Goldstone mode of the BCS gap is directly visible in the dynamics of the single-particle excitations. To this end, we investigate the low-energy dynamic response of a confined Fermi gas to a rapid change of the scattering length (i.e., an interaction quench). Based on a fully microscopic time-dependent density-matrix approach within the Bogoliubov-de Gennes formalism that includes a 3D harmonic confinement we simulate and identify the emergence of the Goldstone mode in a cigar-shaped $^6$Li gas. We show that the quench leads to a low-frequency in-phase oscillation of the single-particle occupations. Complete inversion is achieved for occupations corresponding to the lowest-lying single-particle states.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

The BCS-BEC crossover induced by a shallow band: Pushing standard superconductivity types apart

It is well-known that the appearance of almost-empty (shallow) conduction bands in solids strongly affects their superconducting properties. In a shallow band charge carriers are depleted and have nearly zero velocities so that the crossover from the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluidity to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) is approached. Based on a two-band prototype system with one shallow and one deep band, we demonstrate that the fundamental phase diagram of the superconducting magnetic response changes qualitatively as compared to standard superconductors with only deep bands. The so-called intertype (IT) domain between superconductivity types I and II systematically expands in the phase diagram when passing from the BCS to BEC side: its width is inversely proportional to the squared Cooper-pair radius that shrinks several orders of magnitude through the crossover. We also show that the coupling to a stable condensate of the deep band makes the system rather robust against the otherwise strong superconducting fluctuations. Thus, the BCS-BEC crossover induced by a shallow band pushes standard superconductivity types wide apart so that the IT domain tends to dominate the phase diagram and therefore the magnetic properties of shallow-band superconductors.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Path integral description of combined Hamiltonian and non-Hamiltonian dynamics in quantum dissipative system

We present a numerical path-integral iteration scheme for the low dimensional reduced density matrix of a time-dependent quantum dissipative system. Our approach simultaneously accounts for the combined action of a microscopically modelled pure-dephasing type coupling to a continuum of harmonic oscillators representing, e.g., phonons, and further environmental interactions inducing non-Hamiltonian dynamics in the inner system represented, e.g., by Lindblad type dissipation or relaxation. Our formulation of the path-integral method allows for a numerically exact treatment of the coupling to the oscillator modes and moreover is general enough to provide a natural way to include Markovian processes that are sufficiently described by rate equations. We apply this new formalism to a model of a single semiconductor quantum dot which includes the coupling to longitudinal acoustic phonons for two cases: a) external laser excitation taking into account a phenomenological radiative decay of the excited dot state and b) a coupling of the quantum dot to a single mode of an optical cavity taking into account cavity photon losses.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Dynamic vibronic coupling in InGaAs quantum dots

The electron-phonon coupling in self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots is relatively weak at low light intensities, which means that the zero-phonon line in emission is strong compared to the phonon sideband. However, the coupling to acoustic phonons can be dynamically enhanced in the presence of an intense optical pulse tuned within the phonon sideband. Recent experiments have shown that this dynamic vibronic coupling can enable population inversion to be achieved when pumping with a blue-shifted laser and for rapid de-excitation of an inverted state with red detuning. In this paper we confirm the incoherent nature of the phonon-assisted pumping process and explore the temperature dependence of the mechanism. We also show that a combination of blue- and red-shifted pulses can create and destroy an exciton within a timescale ~20 ps determined by the pulse duration and ultimately limited by the phonon thermalisation time.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Ultrafast Depopulation of a Quantum Dot by LA-phonon-assisted Stimulated Emission

We demonstrate ultrafast incoherent depopulation of a quantum dot from above to below the transparency point using LA-phonon-assisted emission stimulated by a redshifted laser pulse. The QD is turned from a weakly vibronic system into a strongly vibronic one by laser driving which enables the phonon-assisted relaxation between the excitonic components of two dressed states. The depopulation is achieved within a laser pulse-width-limited time of 20 ps and exhibits a broad tuning range of a few meV. Our experimental results are well reproduced by path-integral calculations.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Shallow-band superconductors: pushing superconductivity types apart

Magnetic response is a fundamental property of superconducting materials, which helps to distinguish two superconductivity types: the ideally diamagnetic type I and type II, which can develop the mixed state with Abrikosov vortices. We demonstrate that multi-band superconductors with one shallow band, that have recently attracted much attention for their high critical temperatures and unusual properties, often stay apart of this simple classification. In a wide range of microscopic parameters such systems fall into the inter-type or transitional interval in between the standard types and display unconventional mixed state configurations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Fast and selective phonon-assisted state preparation of a quantum dot by adiabatic undressing

We investigate theoretically the temporal behavior of a quantum dot under off-resonant optical excitation targeted at fast acoustic phonon-assisted state preparation. We demonstrate that in a preparation process driven by short laser pulses three processes can be identified: a dressing of the states during the switch on of the laser pulse, a subsequent phonon-induced relaxation and an undressing at the end of the pulse. By analyzing excitation scenarios with different pulse shapes we highlight the decisive impact of an adiabatic undressing on the final state in short pulse protocols. Furthermore, we show that in exciton-biexciton systems the laser characteristics such as the pulse detuning and the pulse length as well as the biexciton binding energy can be used to select the targeted quantum dot state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Insensitivity of spin dynamics to the orbital angular momentum transferred from twisted light to extended semiconductors

We study the spin dynamics of carriers due to the Rashba interaction in semiconductor quantum disks and wells after excitation with light with orbital angular momentum. We find that although twisted light transfers orbital angular momentum to the excited carriers and the Rashba interaction conserves their total angular momentum, the resulting electronic spin dynamics is essentially the same for excitation with light with orbital angular momentum $l=+|l|$ and $l=-|l|$. The differences between cases with different values of $|l|$ are due to the excitation of states with slightly different energies and not to the different angular momenta per se, and vanish for samples with large radii where a $k$-space quasi-continuum limit can be established. These findings apply not only to the Rashba interaction but also to all other envelope-function approximation spin-orbit Hamiltonians like the Dresselhaus coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Higgs mode in the quench dynamics of a confined ultracold Fermi gas in the BCS regime

The Higgs amplitude mode of the order parameter of an ultracold confined Fermi gas in the BCS regime after a quench of the coupling constant is analyzed theoretically. Characteristic features are a damped oscillation which at a certain transition time changes into a rather irregular dynamics. We compare the numerical solution of the full set of nonlinear equations of motion for the normal and anomalous Bogoliubov quasiparticle excitations with a linearized approximation. In doing so the transition time as well as the difference between resonant systems, i.e., systems where the Fermi energy is close to a subband minimum, and off-resonant systems can be well understood and traced back to the system and geometry parameters.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗