arXiv subjects

Vittorio Peano

Publications and source records attributed to Vittorio Peano.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Anderson Localization of Composite Excitations in Disordered Optomechanical Arrays

Optomechanical arrays are a promising future platform for studies of transport, many-body dynamics, quantum control and topological effects in systems of coupled photon and phonon modes. We introduce disordered optomechanical arrays, focusing on features of Anderson localization of hybrid photon-phonon excitations. It turns out that these represent a unique disordered system, where basic parameters can be easily controlled by varying the frequency and the amplitude of an external laser field. We show that the two-species setting leads to a non-trivial frequency dependence of the localization length for intermediate laser intensities. This could serve as a convincing evidence of localization in a non-equilibrium dissipative situation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Topological quantum fluctuations and travelling wave amplifiers

It is now well-established that photonic systems can exhibit topological energy bands; similar to their electronic counterparts, this leads to the formation of chiral edge modes which can be used to transmit light in a manner that is protected against back-scattering. While it is understood how classical signals can propagate under these conditions, it is an outstanding important question how the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field get modified in the presence of a topological band structure. We address this challenge by exploring a setting where a non-zero topological invariant guarantees the presence of a parametrically-unstable chiral edge mode in a system with boundaries, even though there are no bulk-mode instabilities. We show that one can exploit this to realize a topologically protected, quantum-limited travelling-wave parametric amplifier. The device is naturally protected both against internal losses and back-scattering; the latter feature is in stark contrast to standard travelling wave amplifiers. This adds a new example to the list of potential quantum devices that profit from topological transport.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Topological phase transitions and chiral inelastic transport induced by the squeezing of light

We show how the squeezing of light can lead to the formation of topological states. Such states are characterized by non-trivial Chern numbers, and exhibit protected edge modes which give rise to chiral elastic and inelastic photon transport. These topological bosonic states are not equivalent to their fermionic (topological superconductor) counterparts and cannot be mapped by a local transformation onto topological states found in particle-conserving models. They thus represent a new type of topological system. We study this physics in detail in the case of a Kagome lattice model, and discuss possible realizations using nonlinear photonic crystals or superconducting circuits.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Photon-assisted confinement-induced resonances for ultracold atoms

We solve the two-particle s-wave scattering for an ultracold atom gas confined in a quasi-one-dimensional trapping potential which is periodically modulated. The interaction between the atoms is included in terms of Fermi's pseudopotential. For a modulated isotropic transverse harmonic confinement, the atomic center of mass and relative degrees of freedom decouple and an exact solution is possible. We use the Floquet approach to show that additional photon-assisted resonant scattering channels open up due to the harmonic modulation. Applying the Bethe-Peierls boundary condition, we obtain the general scattering solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation which is universal at low energies. The binding energies and the effective one-dimensional scattering length can be controlled by the external driving.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Optomechanical Metamaterials: Dirac polaritons, Gauge fields, and Instabilities

Freestanding photonic crystals can be used to trap both light and mechanical vibrations. These "optomechanical crystal" structures have already been experimentally demonstrated to yield strong coupling between a photon mode and a phonon mode, co-localized at a single defect site. Future devices may feature a regular superlattice of such defects, turning them into "optomechanical arrays". In this letter we predict that tailoring the optomechanical band structure of such arrays can be used to implement Dirac physics of photons and phonons, to create a photonic gauge field via mechanical vibrations, and to observe a novel optomechanical instability.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Quantum fluctuations in modulated nonlinear oscillators

With a modulated oscillator, we study several effects of quantum fluctuations far from thermal equilibrium. One of them is quantum heating, where quantum fluctuations lead to a finite-width distribution of a resonantly modulated oscillator over its quasienergy (Floquet) states. We also analyze large rare fluctuations responsible for the tail of the quasienergy distribution and switching between the states of forced vibrations. We find an observable characteristic of these fluctuations, the most probable paths followed by the quasienergy in rare events, and in particular in switching. We also explore the discontinuous change of the most probable switching path where the detailed balance condition is broken. For oscillators modulated by a nonresonant field, we compare different mechanisms of the field-induced cooling and heating of the oscillator.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Quantum critical temperature of a modulated oscillator

We show that the rate of switching between the vibrational states of a modulated nonlinear oscillator is characterized by a quantum critical temperature $T_c\propto\hbar^2$. The rate is independent of $T$ for $T<T_c$. Above $T_c$ there emerges a quantum crossover region where the slope of the logarithm of the distribution over the oscillator states displays a kink and the switching rate has the Arrhenius form with the activation energy independent of the modulation. The results demonstrate the limitations of the real-time instanton theory of switching in systems lacking detailed balance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Emission spectrum of the driven nonlinear oscillator

Motivated by recent "circuit QED" experiments we investigate the noise properties of coherently driven nonlinear resonators. By using Josephson junctions in superconducting circuits, strong nonlinearities can be engineered, which lead to the appearance of pronounced effects already for a low number of photons in the resonator. Based on a master equation approach we determine the emission spectrum and observe for typical circuit QED parameters, in addition to the primary Raman-type peaks, second-order peaks. These peaks describe higher harmonics in the slow noise-induced fluctuations of the oscillation amplitude of the resonator and provide a clear signature of the nonlinear nature of the system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗