arXiv subjects

W. Löffler

Publications and source records attributed to W. Löffler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Anisotropic propagation of GHz surface and bulk acoustic waves in gallium arsenide studied by random scattering

Understanding the complex anisotropic acoustic propagation in crystals is crucial for optimizing the performance of surface and bulk acoustic wave devices. Here, we investigate the anisotropy and coupling of GHz acoustic modes in (001)-cut gallium arsenide through theory and experiment. We first numerically calculate the angle-dependent phase velocities for surface and bulk modes, and we provide a code which can easily be adapted to different material systems. We validate our theoretical model experimentally by exciting surface modes with an interdigital transducer, and achieve omnidirectional acoustic propagation through random scattering of the acoustic waves. We measure the complex acoustic field with a scanning optical interferometer, and extract the angle-dependent velocities of surface and bulk modes using Fourier domain analysis. Our method could be used for the optimization of GHz-range classical and quantum acoustic devices by identifying surface and bulk modes.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

The First Look of Gaia: Daily data quality and instrument health assessment with automated early warnings

The ESA Gaia mission is a 10+ year astrometric whole-sky scan, demanding consistent data quality over the whole timespan of operations Aims. The Gaia First Look (FL) is a system whose aim is monitoring the data quality to identify problems, which includes early warning capabilities for potential upcoming issues. Methods. In order to achieve its goals, the Gaia FL implemented its own limited astrometric solution, and used the daily calibrations from other segments of the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC), as well as the diagnostic data from the satellite itself, in order to obtain a complete picture of the situation of the Gaia satellite on a daily basis. This led to a short-term health and data quality check, but also to a broader overview of the longer-term trends and evolutions within the payload. Potential issues that were encountered were reported to other groups within DPAC for further analysis purposes. When required, ways to mitigate the problems were discussed, and implemented. Results. We show a number of findings by the Gaia FL concerning longer-term evolution, individual but common effects, as well as detrimental impacts, all of which occurred over the operational phase of the Gaia mission

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Alignment conditions of the human eye for few-photon vision experiments

In experiments probing human vision at the few-photon level, precise alignment of the eye is necessary such that stimuli reach the most sensitive region of the retina. However, in literature there seems to be no consensus on the optimal eye alignment for such experiments. Typically, experiments are performed by presenting stimuli nasally or temporally, but the angle under which the few-photon pulses are presented varies between 7 deg and 23 deg. Here we combine a 3-dimensional eye model with retinal rod density measurements from literature in a ray tracing simulation to study the optimal eye alignment conditions and necessary alignment precision. We find that stimuli, directed at the eye's nodal point, may be best presented under an inferior angle of 12.6 deg with respect to the visual axis. Defining a target area on the retina with a radius of 0.5 mm around the optimum location, we find the horizontal and vertical angular precision should be better than 0.90 deg given a horizontal and vertical translational precision of $\pm$ 1 mm and a depth translational precision of $\pm$ 5 mm.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Direct measurement of darkness using a standard single-photon avalanche photodiode

In experiments requiring extreme darkness, such as experiments probing the limits of human vision, assessment of the background photon flux is essential. However, direct measurement thereof with standard single photon detectors is challenged by dark counts and their fluctuations. Here we report an experiment and detailed statistical analysis of a direct measurement of darkness in a dedicated dark chamber suitable for human vision experiments, only using a standard single photon detector and a mechanical shutter. From a Bayesian analysis of $616$ h of data, we find substantial to decisive evidence for absolute darkness (depending on choice of prior distribution) based on the Savage-Dickey ratio, and a light level $<0.039$ cnt/s (posterior $0.95$-highest density interval).

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Observation of the Talbot effect from a surface acoustic wave dynamic grating

We demonstrate the dynamical Talbot effect caused by optical diffraction from standing surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The Talbot effect is a wave interference phenomenon in the Fresnel regime, and we observe it with a fiber-based scanning optical interferometer on a SAW Fabry-Perot cavity. By studying the interferometric signal at 1 GHz, we first discover the existence of an amplitude-modulated term, that can exceed in magnitude the usual phase-modulated term, enabling a new way of imaging surface acoustic waves. Secondly, by displacing the acoustic device from the beam focus we reveal the optical Talbot effect, where despite the curved wavefronts of the optical field, the conventional Talbot length appears. As a consequence, the amplitude modulation vanishes at periodic positions of the acoustic wave relative to the beam focus.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Imaging transverse modes in a GHz surface acoustic wave cavity

Full characterization of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices requires imaging the spatial distribution of the acoustic field, which is not possible with standard all-electrical measurements where an interdigital transducer (IDT) is used as a detector. Here we present a fiber-based scanning Michelson interferometer employing a strongly focused laser beam as a probe. Combined with a heterodyne circuit, this setup enables frequency- and spatially-resolved measurements of the amplitude and phase of the SAW displacement. We demonstrate this by investigating a 1 GHz SAW cavity, revealing the presence of frequency-overlapping transverse modes, which are not resolved with an all-electrical measurement. The frequency overlap of these transverse modes leads to mode superpositions, which we analyze by quadrature decomposition of the complex acoustic field.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis -- Half a million new sources in omega Centauri

Gaia's readout window strategy is challenged by very dense fields in the sky. Therefore, in addition to standard Gaia observations, full Sky Mapper (SM) images were recorded for nine selected regions in the sky. A new software pipeline exploits these Service Interface Function (SIF) images of crowded fields (CFs), making use of the availability of the full two-dimensional (2D) information. This new pipeline produced half a million additional Gaia sources in the region of the omega Centauri ($ω$ Cen) cluster, which are published with this Focused Product Release. We discuss the dedicated SIF CF data reduction pipeline, validate its data products, and introduce their Gaia archive table. Our aim is to improve the completeness of the {\it Gaia} source inventory in a very dense region in the sky, $ω$ Cen. An adapted version of {\it Gaia}'s Source Detection and Image Parameter Determination software located sources in the 2D SIF CF images. We validated the results by comparing them to the public {\it Gaia} DR3 catalogue and external Hubble Space Telescope data. With this Focused Product Release, 526\,587 new sources have been added to the {\it Gaia} catalogue in $ω$ Cen. Apart from positions and brightnesses, the additional catalogue contains parallaxes and proper motions, but no meaningful colour information. While SIF CF source parameters generally have a lower precision than nominal {\it Gaia} sources, in the cluster centre they increase the depth of the combined catalogue by three magnitudes and improve the source density by a factor of ten. This first SIF CF data publication already adds great value to the {\it Gaia} catalogue. It demonstrates what to expect for the fourth {\it Gaia} catalogue, which will contain additional sources for all nine SIF CF regions.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Gaia Focused Product Release: Radial velocity time series of long-period variables

The third Gaia Data Release (DR3) provided photometric time series of more than 2 million long-period variable (LPV) candidates. Anticipating the publication of full radial-velocity (RV) in DR4, this Focused Product Release (FPR) provides RV time series for a selection of LPVs with high-quality observations. We describe the production and content of the Gaia catalog of LPV RV time series, and the methods used to compute variability parameters published in the Gaia FPR. Starting from the DR3 LPVs catalog, we applied filters to construct a sample of sources with high-quality RV measurements. We modeled their RV and photometric time series to derive their periods and amplitudes, and further refined the sample by requiring compatibility between the RV period and at least one of the $G$, $G_{\rm BP}$, or $G_{\rm RP}$ photometric periods. The catalog includes RV time series and variability parameters for 9\,614 sources in the magnitude range $6\lesssim G/{\rm mag}\lesssim 14$, including a flagged top-quality subsample of 6\,093 stars whose RV periods are fully compatible with the values derived from the $G$, $G_{\rm BP}$, and $G_{\rm RP}$ photometric time series. The RV time series contain a mean of 24 measurements per source taken unevenly over a duration of about three years. We identify the great most sources (88%) as genuine LPVs, with about half of them showing a pulsation period and the other half displaying a long secondary period. The remaining 12% consists of candidate ellipsoidal binaries. Quality checks against RVs available in the literature show excellent agreement. We provide illustrative examples and cautionary remarks. The publication of RV time series for almost 10\,000 LPVs constitutes, by far, the largest such database available to date in the literature. The availability of simultaneous photometric measurements gives a unique added value to the Gaia catalog (abridged)

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2023

Open-access microcavities: high stability without dedicated mechanical low-pass filter in closed-cycle cryostats

Open-access optical microcavities are Fabry-Perot type cavities consisting of two micrometer-size mirrors, separated by an air (or vacuum) gap typically of a few micrometers. Compared to integrated microcavities, this configuration is more flexible as the relative position of the two mirrors can be tuned, allowing to change on demand parameters such as cavity length and mode volume, and to select specific transverse cavity modes. These advantages come at the expense of mechanical stability of the cavity itself, which is particularly relevant in noisy closed-cycle cryostats. Here we show an open-access optical microcavity based on scanning-probe microscope design principles. When operated at 4 K in a tabletop optical closed-cycle cryostat without any dedicated low-pass filter, we obtain stabilities of 5.7 and 10.6 pm rms in the quiet and full period of the cryocooler cycle, respectively. Our device has free-space optical access, essential for instance for full polarization control.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2023

Euclid preparation. XXIX. Water ice in spacecraft part I: The physics of ice formation and contamination

Molecular contamination is a well-known problem in space flight. Water is the most common contaminant and alters numerous properties of a cryogenic optical system. Too much ice means that Euclid's calibration requirements and science goals cannot be met. Euclid must then be thermally decontaminated, a long and risky process. We need to understand how iced optics affect the data and when a decontamination is required. This is essential to build adequate calibration and survey plans, yet a comprehensive analysis in the context of an astrophysical space survey has not been done before. In this paper we look at other spacecraft with well-documented outgassing records, and we review the formation of thin ice films. A mix of amorphous and crystalline ices is expected for Euclid. Their surface topography depends on the competing energetic needs of the substrate-water and the water-water interfaces, and is hard to predict with current theories. We illustrate that with scanning-tunnelling and atomic-force microscope images. Industrial tools exist to estimate contamination, and we must understand their uncertainties. We find considerable knowledge errors on the diffusion and sublimation coefficients, limiting the accuracy of these tools. We developed a water transport model to compute contamination rates in Euclid, and find general agreement with industry estimates. Tests of the Euclid flight hardware in space simulators did not pick up contamination signals; our in-flight calibrations observations will be much more sensitive. We must understand the link between the amount of ice on the optics and its effect on Euclid's data. Little research is available about this link, possibly because other spacecraft can decontaminate easily, quenching the need for a deeper understanding. In our second paper we quantify the various effects of iced optics on spectrophotometric data.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2023

Resonant two-laser spin-state spectroscopy of a negatively charged quantum dot-microcavity system with a cold permanent magnet

A high-efficiency spin-photon interface is an essential piece of quantum hardware necessary for various quantum technologies. Self-assembled InGaAs quantum dots have excellent optical properties, if embedded into an optical micro-cavity they can show near-deterministic spin-photon entanglement and spin readout, but an external magnetic field is required to address the individual spin states, which usually is done using a superconducting magnet. Here, we show a compact cryogenically compatible SmCo magnet design that delivers 475 mT in-plane Voigt geometry magnetic field at 5 K, which is suitable to lift the energy degeneracy of the electron spin states and trion transitions of a single InGaAs quantum dot. This quantum dot is embedded in a birefringent high-finesse optical micro-cavity which enables efficient collection of single photons emitted by the quantum dot. We demonstrate spin-state manipulation by addressing the trion transitions with a single and two laser fields. The experimental data agrees well to our model which covers single- and two-laser cross-polarized resonance fluorescence, Purcell enhancement in a birefringent cavity, and variation of the laser powers.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Cross-polarization extinction enhancement and spin-orbit coupling of light for quantum-dot cavity-QED spectroscopy

Resonant laser spectroscopy is essential for the characterization, operation, and manipulation of single quantum systems such as semiconductor quantum dots. The separation of the weak resonance fluorescence from the excitation laser is key for high-quality single- and entangled photon sources. This is often achieved by cross-polarization laser extinction, which is limited by the quality of the optical elements. Recently, it was discovered that Fresnel-reflection birefringence in combination with single-mode filtering counteracting spin-orbit coupling effects enables a three-order of magnitude improvement of polarization extinction [PRX 11, 021007 (2021)]. Here, we first investigate multiple reflections and analyze beam reshaping, and observe that the single-reflection extinction enhancement is optimal. We then demonstrate this method for cross-polarization extinction enhancement for a resonantly excited semiconductor quantum dot in a birefringent optical micro cavity, and observe a 10x improvement of single-photon contrast.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Quantum detector tomography applied to the human visual system: a feasibility study

We show that quantum detector tomography can be applied to the human visual system to explore human perception of photon number states. In detector tomography, instead of using very hard to produce photon number states, the response of a detector to light pulses with known photon statistics of varying intensity is recorded, and a model is fitted to the experimental outcomes thereby inferring the detector's photon number state response. Generally, light pulses containing a Poisson-distributed number of photons are utilised, which are very easy to produce in the lab. This technique has not been explored to study the human visual system before, because it usually requires a very large number of repetitions not suitable for experiments on humans. Yet, in the present study we show that detector tomography is feasible for human experiments. Assuming a simple model for this accuracy, the results of our simulations show that detector tomography is able to reconstruct the model using Bayesian inference with as little as $5000$ trials. We then optimize the experimental parameters in order to maximise the probability of showing that the single-photon accuracy is above chance. As such, our study opens the road to study human perception on quantum level.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Gaia Data Release 3: Summary of the content and survey properties

We present the third data release of the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, GDR3. The GDR3 catalogue is the outcome of the processing of raw data collected with the Gaia instruments during the first 34 months of the mission by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium. The GDR3 catalogue contains the same source list, celestial positions, proper motions, parallaxes, and broad band photometry in the G, G$_{BP}$, and G$_{RP}$ pass-bands already present in the Early Third Data Release. GDR3 introduces an impressive wealth of new data products. More than 33 million objects in the ranges $G_{rvs} < 14$ and $3100 <T_{eff} <14500 $, have new determinations of their mean radial velocities based on data collected by Gaia. We provide G$_{rvs}$ magnitudes for most sources with radial velocities, and a line broadening parameter is listed for a subset of these. Mean Gaia spectra are made available to the community. The GDR3 catalogue includes about 1 million mean spectra from the radial velocity spectrometer, and about 220 million low-resolution blue and red prism photometer BPRP mean spectra. The results of the analysis of epoch photometry are provided for some 10 million sources across 24 variability types. GDR3 includes astrophysical parameters and source class probabilities for about 470 million and 1500 million sources, respectively, including stars, galaxies, and quasars. Orbital elements and trend parameters are provided for some $800\,000$ astrometric, spectroscopic and eclipsing binaries. More than $150\,000$ Solar System objects, including new discoveries, with preliminary orbital solutions and individual epoch observations are part of this release. Reflectance spectra derived from the epoch BPRP spectral data are published for about 60\,000 asteroids. Finally, an additional data set is provided, namely the Gaia Andromeda Photometric Survey (abridged)

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Theoretical proposal for the experimental realisation of a monochromatic electromagnetic knot

We propose an antenna designed to generate monochromatic electromagnetic knots and other "unusual electromagnetic disturbances" in the microwave domain. Our antenna is a spherical array of radiating dipolar elements configured to approximate the desired electromagnetic field near its centre. We show numerically that a specific embodiment of the antenna with a radius of 61.2 cm and only 20 element pairs driven at a frequency of 2.45 GHz can yield linked and torus-knotted electric and magnetic field lines approximating those of an "electromagnetic tangle": a monochromatic electromagnetic knot closely related to the well-known Rañada-Hopf type electromagnetic knots but simpler in its construction. The antenna could be used to locally excite plasmas.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2021

Artificial coherent states of light by multi-photon interference in a single-photon stream

Coherent optical states consist of a quantum superposition of different photon number (Fock) states, but because they do not form an orthogonal basis, no photon number states can be obtained from it by linear optics. Here we demonstrate the reverse, by manipulating a random continuous single-photon stream using quantum interference in an optical Sagnac loop, we create engineered quantum states of light with tunable photon statistics, including approximate weak coherent states. We demonstrate this experimentally using a true single-photon stream produced by a semiconductor quantum dot in an optical microcavity, and show that we can obtain light with $g^{(2)}(0)\rightarrow1$ in agreement with our theory, which can only be explained by quantum interference of at least 3 photons. The produced artificial light states are, however, much more complex than coherent states, containing quantum entanglement of photons, making them a resource for multi-photon entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Gaia Early Data Release 3: The astrometric solution

Gaia Early Data Release 3 (Gaia EDR3) contains results for 1.812 billion sources in the magnitude range G = 3 to 21 based on observations collected by the European Space Agency Gaia satellite during the first 34 months of its operational phase. We describe the input data, the models, and the processing used for the astrometric content of Gaia EDR3, as well as the validation of these results performed within the astrometry task. The processing broadly followed the same procedures as for Gaia DR2, but with significant improvements to the modelling of observations. For the first time in the Gaia data processing, colour-dependent calibrations of the line- and point-spread functions have been used for sources with well-determined colours from DR2. In the astrometric processing these sources obtained five-parameter solutions, whereas other sources were processed using a special calibration that allowed a pseudocolour to be estimated as the sixth astrometric parameter. Compared with DR2, the astrometric calibration models have been extended, and the spin-related distortion model includes a self-consistent determination of basic-angle variations, improving the global parallax zero point. Gaia EDR3 gives full astrometric data (positions at epoch J2016.0, parallaxes, and proper motions) for 1.468 billion sources (585 million with five-parameter solutions, 882 million with six parameters), and mean positions at J2016.0 for an additional 344 million. Solutions with five parameters are generally more accurate than six-parameter solutions, and are available for 93% of the sources brighter than G = 17 mag. The median uncertainty in parallax and annual proper motion is 0.02-0.03 mas at magnitude G = 9 to 14, and around 0.5 mas at G = 20. Extensive characterisation of the statistical properties of the solutions is provided, including the estimated angular power spectrum of parallax bias from the quasars.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2020

Extended polarized semiclassical model for quantum-dot cavity QED and its application to single-photon sources

We present a simple extension of the semi-classical model for a two-level system in a cavity, in order to incorporate multiple polarized transitions, such as those appearing in neutral and charged quantum dots (QDs), and two nondegenerate linearly polarized cavity modes. We verify the model by exact quantum master equation calculations, and experimentally using a neutral QD in a polarization non-degenerate micro-cavity, in both cases we observe excellent agreement. Finally, the usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by optimizing a single-photon source based on polarization postselection, where we find an increase in the brightness for optimal polarization conditions as predicted by the model.

physics.optics↗