arXiv subjects

Zifan Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Zifan Zhou.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Optical injection locking of white light cavity based superluminal lasers

Optical injection locking is a simple method for synchronizing a laser to an external laser source by injecting part of the external laser light into the cavity of the other laser. This approach received significant interest due to its potential applications in telecommunications, precision metrology, and more. We study and analyze the steady-state and dynamic properties of optical injection locking in white light cavity (WLC) lasers. We derive the steady-state injection locking range of the WLC laser and the dynamic (Adler) equation for the phase-difference between the injected signal and the locked laser output. The analysis shows that WLC lasers can exhibit an order of magnitude broader locking range and three order of magnitudes faster dynamics compared to conventional lasers with similar thresholds and free spectral ranges.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

A Locally Deployable Tool-Grounded LLM Multi-agent Framework for Automating Methane Emission Analysis and Reporting

Methane field monitoring requires the integration of sampling design, meteorological interpretation, sensor processing, plume analysis, visualization, and reporting, but these steps are often distributed across separate expert-driven workflows. We developed a locally deployable, tool-grounded large language model (LLM) multi-agent framework for our low-cost methane sensing and field-monitoring campaigns. The framework uses LLM agents as workflow coordinators that link field measurements, meteorological data, deterministic sensor-processing routines, Gaussian plume inversion, and report generation, rather than directly estimating methane concentrations or emissions. Extensive field deployments across diverse real-world environments (e.g., wastewater treatment facilities, landfills, and oil and gas sites) demonstrate that our framework can achieve 92.0\% accuracy in workflow routing and parameter extraction, 85.0\% success in emission-rate estimation and plume prediction, and 95.0\% success in generating editable reports under practical operating conditions. Compared with manual and general-purpose LLM-assisted workflows, it reduced workflow time from hours-level to minutes-level, lowered manual coordination and prompt-engineering requirements, and retained traceable plume-based outputs. In addition, most processing can be performed locally, reducing exposure of sensitive facility and field data to cloud services. These results indicate that tool-grounded LLM coordination can reduce the time, labor, usability, and data-security barriers of methane field monitoring.

cs.MA↗

arXiv2026

The General Quantum Limit for and the Optimization of the Minimum Measurable Frequency Shift in a Laser

We show that, contrary to conventional understanding, the minimum measurable frequency shift (MMFS) for a single-mode ideal laser is determined by a combination of phase diffusion caused by SE and the shot noise caused by the VM. For all practical sensors, the MMFS is found to be given by the geometric mean of the measurement bandwidth and the Schwalow-Townes Linewidth, multiplied by a factor which can be much larger than unity under certain conditions. We determine the optimal value for the MMFS for three different sensing modalities, an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder Interferometer, a passive Fabry-Perot cavity (FPC), and heterodyning with a reference laser, and identify the conditions needed for reaching the optimal value.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

It Lied to a Doctor to Buy Poison Ingredients: Quantifying Real-World Misuse of Phone-use Agents

Phone-use Agents can execute complex tasks end to end across real mobile applications. By operating a real device on the user's behalf, they reach far more functionalities than CLI agents, which amplifies the real-world harm they can cause when driven for malicious purposes. We present the first study of this threat on real phones and 27 commercial apps, and find that agents built on 9 mainstream commercial and open-source models readily carry out serious misuse, ranging from procuring drug and explosive precursors to fraud, online harassment, and review manipulation. Across the agents we run on real devices, the average refusal rate to harmful requests stays low while the average task-completion rate reaches 68.8%, and in some scenarios an agent finishes a violation faster than a human would. These results suggest that Phone-use Agents already meet the practical conditions for automated misuse at scale. In one observed real-device execution, Claude-Opus-4.8 fabricated a medical history, deceived an online doctor into issuing a prescription, and completed the order and payment on its own to purchase a precursor for a highly toxic substance. To our knowledge, this is the first documented real-world case of an AI agent procuring controlled precursor materials. We trace this behavior to a Safety Awareness-Execution Gap, where an agent recognizes that a request is harmful yet still executes it. Simple defenses curb the overt cases, but the more covert and arguably more damaging threats, such as coordinated review manipulation and fake traffic, remain largely unsolved. We hope these findings push the community toward safer Phone-use Agents.

cs.MM↗

arXiv2026

Neural operator-based digital twins for modeling amyloid-$\beta$ and tau propagation and treatment optimization in Alzheimer's disease

Accurately predicting the spatiotemporal evolution of amyloid-$\beta$ and tau proteins at the individual level is critical for improving the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. We consider the problem of constructing patient-specific digital twins that model the propagation of these biomarkers on the cortical surface using reaction--diffusion dynamics. A major challenge is that the underlying nonlinear aggregation mechanisms are unknown and must be inferred from sparse, noisy, and heterogeneous longitudinal PET imaging data. To address this, we develop a data-driven framework that learns biomarker dynamics directly from clinical observations. The approach combines operator learning with reduced-order representations to infer governing equations of disease progression from data. Using this framework, we achieve predictive accuracies of 87\% for amyloid-$\beta$ and 81\% for tau. Building on the learned dynamics, we further formulate a PDE-constrained optimal control problem to design personalized therapeutic strategies that regulate pathological protein propagation. By integrating data-driven dynamical modeling with treatment optimization, the proposed digital twin framework provides an interpretable and predictive platform for understanding disease progression and enabling precision interventions in neurodegenerative disorders.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

AIMNET: An IoT-Empowered Digital Twin for Continuous Gas Emission Monitoring and Early Hazard Detection

A Digital Twin (DT) framework to enhance carbon-based gas plume monitoring is critical for supporting timely and effective mitigation responses to environmental hazards such as industrial gas leaks, or wildfire outbreaks carrying large carbon emissions. We present AIMNET, a one-of-a-kind DT framework that integrates a built-in-house Internet of Things (IoT)-based continuous sensing network with a physics-based multi-scale weather-gas transport model, that enables high-resolution and real-time simulation and detection of carbon gas emissions. AIMNET features a three-layer system architecture: (i) physical world: custom-built devices for continuous monitoring; (ii) bidirectional information feedback links: intelligent data transmission and reverse control; and (iii) digital twin world: AI-driven analytics for prediction, anomaly detection, and dynamic weather-gas coupled molecule transport modeling. Designed for scalable, energy-efficient deployment in remote environments, AIMNET architecture is realized through a small-scale distributed sensing network over an oil and gas production basin. To demonstrate the high-resolution, fast-responding concept, an equivalent mobile-based emission monitoring network was deployed around a wastewater treatment plant that constantly emits methane plumes. Our preliminary results through which, have successfully captured the methane emission events whose dynamics have been further resolved by the tiered model simulations. This work supports our position that AIMNET provides a promising DT framework for reliable, real-time monitoring and predictive risk assessment. In the end, we also discuss key implementation challenges and outline future directions for advancing such a new DT framework for translation deployment.

cs.NI↗

arXiv2025

Slow Light Augmented Fabry-Perot Cavity for Enhanced Sensitivity in Measuring Frequency Shift

Recently, it has been shown that a slow-light augmented unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (SLAUMZI) can be used to enhance significantly the sensitivity of measuring the frequency shift of a laser, compared to the heterodyne technique. Here, we show that a similar enhancement can be realized using a slow-light augmented Fabry-Perot Cavity (SLAFPC), due to the fact that an FPC is inherently unbalanced, since different bounces of the field traverse different path lengths before interfering with the other bounces. We show how the degree of enhancement in sensitivity depends on the spectral width of the laser and the finesse of the FPC. For potentially realizable conditions, we show that a sensitivity enhancement factor ~2.8*10^6 can be achieved using a SLAFPC.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Slow Light Augmented Unbalanced Interferometry for Extreme Enhancement in Sensitivity of Measuring Frequency Shift in a Laser

We demonstrate a slow-light augmented unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) which can be used to enhance very significantly the sensitivity of measuring the frequency shift in a laser. The factor of enhancement depends on the group index of the slow-light medium, the degree of imbalance between the physical lengths of the two arms of the MZI, and the spectral width of the laser. For a laser with a quantum noise limited spectral width, the group index has to be larger than the finesse of the laser cavity in order to achieve enhancement in measurement sensitivity. For the reported results, slow-light effect is produced by employing electro-magnetically induced transparency via coherent population trapping in a paraffin coated vapor cell of Rb atoms, with a maximum group index of ~2170. The maximum enhancement factor realized is ~70. This differs from the theoretically expected value of ~183 by a factor of ~2.6. This discrepancy can be attributed to effects of unidentified excess noise, and the fact that the test laser spectral width may not the quantum noise limited. Much larger values can potentially be obtained by modifying the apparatus, and using cold atoms for producing the slow-light effect. The sensitivity of any sensor that relies on measuring the frequency shift of a laser can be enhanced substantially using this technique. These include, but are not limited to, gyroscopes and accelerometers based on a conventional ring laser or a superluminal ring laser, and detectors for virialized ultra-light field dark matter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Algorithm for solving a pump-probe model for an arbitrary number of energy levels

We describe a generalized algorithm for evaluating the steady-state solution of the density matrix equation of motion, for the pump-probe scheme, when two fields oscillating at different frequencies couple the same set of atomic transitions involving an arbitrary number of energy levels, to an arbitrary order of the harmonics of the pump-probe frequency difference. We developed a numerical approach and a symbolic approach for this algorithm. We have verified that both approaches yield the same result for all cases studied, but require different computation time. The results are further validated by comparing them with the analytical solution of a two-level system to first order. We have also used both models to produce results up to the third order in the pump-probe frequency difference, for two-, three- and four-level systems. In addition, we have used this model to determine accurately, for the first time, the gain profile for a self-pumped Raman laser, for a system involving 16 Zeeman sublevels in the D1 manifold of 87Rb atoms. We have also used this model to determine the behavior of a single-pumped superluminal laser. In many situations involving the applications of multiple laser fields to atoms with many energy levels, one often makes the approximation that each field couples only one transition, because of the difficulty encountered in accounting for the effect of another field coupling the same transition but with a large detuning. The use of the algorithm presented here would eliminate the need for making such approximations, thus improving the accuracy of numerical calculations for such schemes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Strong frequency correlation and anti-correlation between a Raman laser and its pump laser for positive and negative dispersions

We show that the frequency of a Raman laser is highly correlated or anti-correlated with the frequency of the Raman pump laser, depending on whether the dispersion experienced by the Raman laser is positive or negative. For a subluminal laser, corresponding to a positive dispersion with a group index that is much larger than unity, the shift in its frequency is approximately the same as that in the Raman pump laser. In contrast, for a superluminal laser, corresponding to a negative dispersion with a group index that is close to zero, its frequency shifts in the direction opposite to that of the Raman pump lasers, and has an amplitude that is larger by a factor approximately equaling the inverse of the group index. These findings would play a critical role in determining the maximum achievable sensitivity of sensors employing such lasers, especially under conditions where the pump laser linewidth is broadened significantly beyond the Schawlow-Townes linewidth due to classical fluctuations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Fast-light Enhanced Brillouin Laser Based Active Fiber Optics Sensor for Simultaneous Measurement of Rotation and Acceleration

We have developed a conceptual design for an Active Fast Light Fiber Optic Sensor (AFLIFOS) that can perform simultaneously or separately as a gyroscope (differential mode effect) and a sensor for acceleration, strain, and other common mode effects. Two Brillouin lasers in opposite directions and separated in frequency by several free spectral ranges are used for this sensor. By coupling two auxiliary resonators to the primary fiber resonator, we produce superluminal effects for two laser modes. We develop a detailed theoretical model for optimizing the design of the AFLIFOS, and show that the enhancement factor of the sensitivity is $\sim{187}$ and $\sim{-187}$, respectively for the two Brillouin lasers under the optimized condition, when the effective change in perimeter of the primary fiber resonator is 0.1nm, corresponding to a rotation rate of 0.4 deg/sec for a ring resonator with radius 1m. It may be possible to get much higher enhancement by adjusting the parameters such as the perimeters and the coupling coefficients.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Realization of Gain with Electromagnetically Induced Transparency System with Non-degenerate Zeeman Sublevels in $^{87}$Rb

Previously, we had proposed an optically-pumped five-level Gain EIT (GEIT) system, which has a transparency dip superimposed on a gain profile and exhibits a negative dispersion suitable for the white-light-cavity signal-recycling (WLC-SR) scheme of the interferometeric gravitational wave detector [Phys. Rev. D. 92, 082002 (2015)]. Using this system as the negative dispersion medium (NDM) in the WLC-SR, we get an enhancement in the quantum noise (QN) limited sensitivity-bandwidth product by a factor of ~18. Here, we show how to realize this GEIT system in a realistic platform, using non-degenerate Zeeman sublevels in alkali atoms. Specifically we choose $^{87}$Rb atoms, which produce the negative dispersion around 795nm. The current LIGO operates at 1064nm but future LIGO may operate at a wavelength that is consistent with this atomic system. We present a theoretical analysis for the susceptibilities of the system. To account for the QN from the GEIT system, it is necessary to use the master equation (ME) approach. However, due to the number of energy levels involved, applying the full ME approach to this system is very complex. We have also shown earlier, in the reference cited above, that under GEIT condition, the net enhancement in the sensitivity-bandwidth product, as predicted by the ME, is close to that predicted by applying the Caves model for a phase-insensitive linear amplifier. Therefore we here use the Caves model for the QN from the NDM and this simplified numerical model shows that the enhancement of the sensitivity-bandwidth product as high as 17 is possible.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2016

Catastrophic breakdown of the Caves model for quantum noise in some phase-insensitive linear amplifiers or attenuators based on atomic systems

When considering the effect of quantum noise (QN) in a phase-insensitive linear amplifier or attenuator, it is customary to use the single channel Caves model (SC-CM). Although this model is valid in simple situations, such as the presence of a beam splitter, it is not necessarily valid when a system with many degrees of freedom is involved. In order to address this issue, we consider in this paper various atomic transitions corresponding to amplification or attenuation using the master-equation- (ME-) based approach to model the QN and to compare the results with the SC-CM. For a four-level system that consists of a transition producing a broad gain peak and a transition producing an absorption dip, which results in perfect transparency at the center, we observe a catastrophic breakdown of the SC-CM. We also show that for a general two-level atomic system, the SC-CM does not apply, except in the limiting case when only either amplification or attenuation exists. A special case where the two models predict the same result is a Λ-type three-level electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system in which the QN at zero detuning vanishes while the system is in the dark state. We also study an optically pumped five-level gain EIT system which has a perfect transparency dip superimposed on a gain profile, and yields the negative dispersion suitable for use in enhancing the sensitivity-bandwidth product of an interferometric gravitational wave detector. In this case, we find that, for some set of parameters, the QN is vanishingly small at the center of the dip, and the SC-CM agrees closely with the ME model. However, we also find that for some other set of parameters, the SC-SM model disagrees strongly with the ME model. All these cases illustrate a wide range of variations in the degree of disagreement between the predictions of the SC-CM and the ME approaches.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum noise limits in white-light-cavity-enhanced gravitational wave detectors

Previously, we had proposed a gravitational wave detector that incorporates the white-light-cavity (WLC) effect using a compound cavity for signal recycling (CC-SR). Here, we first use an idealized model for the negative dispersion medium (NDM) and use the so-called Caves model for a phase-insensitive linear amplifier to account for the quantum noise (QN) contributed by the NDM, in order to determine the upper bound of the enhancement in the sensitivity-bandwidth product. We calculate the quantum noise limited sensitivity curves for the CC-SR design, and find that the broadening of sensitivity predicted by the classical analysis is also present in these curves, but is somewhat reduced. Furthermore, we find that the curves always stay above the standard quantum limit. To circumvent this limitation, we modify the dispersion to compensate the non-linear phase variation produced by the optomechanical resonance effects. We find that the upper bound of the factor by which the sensitivity-bandwidth product is increased, compared to the highest-sensitivity result predicted by Bunanno and Chen [Phys. Rev. D 64, 042006 (2001)], is ~14. We also present a simpler scheme (WLC-SR) where a dispersion medium is inserted into the SR cavity. For this scheme, we found the upper bound of the enhancement factor to be ~18. We then consider an explicit system for realizing the NDM, which makes use of five energy levels in M-configuration to produce gain, accompanied by electromagnetically induced transparency (the GEIT system). For this explicit system, we employ the rigorous approach based on Master Equation to compute the QN contributed by the NDM, thus enabling us to determine the enhancement in the sensitivity-bandwidth product definitively rather than the upper bound thereof. Specifically, we identify a set of parameters for which the sensitivity-bandwidth product is enhanced by a factor of 17.66.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Modeling and analysis of an ultra-stable subluminal laser

We describe a subluminal laser which is extremely stable against perturbations. It makes use of a composite gain spectrum consisting of a broad background along with a narrow peak. The stability of the laser, defined as the change in frequency as a function of a change in the cavity length, is enhanced by a factor given by the group index, which can be as high as 105 for experimentally realizable parameters. We also show that the fundamental linewidth of such a laser is expected to be smaller by the same factor. We first present an analysis where the gain profile is modeled as a superposition of two Lorentzian functions. We then present a numerical study based on a physical scheme for realizing the composite gain profile. In this scheme, the broad gain is produced by a high pressure buffer-gas loaded cell of rubidium vapor. The narrow gain is produced by using a Raman pump in a second rubidium vapor cell, where optical pumping is used to produce a Raman population inversion. We show close agreement between the idealized model and the explicit model. A subluminal laser of this type may prove to be useful for many applications.

physics.optics↗