Atomic interferometer measurements of Berry's and Aharonov-Anandan's phases for isolated spins S > 1/2 non-linearly coupled to external fields

The aim of the present paper is to propose experiments for observing the significant features of Berry's phases for S>1, generated by spin-Hamiltonians endowed with two couplings, a magnetic dipole and an electric quadrupole one with external B and E fields, as theoretically studied in our previous work. The fields are assumed orthogonal, this mild restriction leading to geometric and algebraic simplifications. Alkali atoms appear as good candidates for interferometric measurements but there are challenges to be overcome. The only practical way to generate a suitable E-field is to use the ac Stark effect which induces an instability of the dressed atom. Besides atom loss, this might invalidate Berry's phase derivation but this latter problem can be solved by an appropriate detuning. The former puts an upper limit to the cycle duration, which is bounded below by the adiabatic condition. By relying upon our previous analysis of the non-adiabatic corrections, we have been able to reach a compromise for the $^{87}$Rb hf level F=2, m=0 state, which is our candidate for an interferometric measurement of the exotic Berry's phase generated by a rotation of the E-field around the fixed B-field. By a numerical simulation we have shown that the non-adiabatic corrections can be kept below the 0.1% level. As an alternative candidate, we discuss the chromium ground state J=S=3, where the instability problem is easily solved. We make a proposal to extend the measurement of Aharonov-Anandan's phase beyond S=1/2 to the $^{87}$Rb hf level F=m=1, by constructing, with the help of light-shifts, a Hamiltonian able to perform a parallel transport along a closed circuit upon the density matrix space, without any adiabatic constraint. In Appendix A, Berry's phase difference for S=3/2 and 1/2, m=1/2 states is used to perform an entanglement of 3 Qbits.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, modifications in the introduction, two paragraphs adde

Large-area fabrication of low- and high-spatial-frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures on carbon fibers

The formation and properties of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) were investigated on carbon fibers under irradiation of fs-laser pulses characterized by a pulse duration $\tau$ = 300 fs and a laser wavelength $\lambda$ = 1025 nm. The LIPSS were fabricated in an air environment at normal incidence with different values of the laser peak fluence and number of pulses per spot. The morphology of the generated structures was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and Fast-Fourier transform analyses. Moreover, the material structure and the surface chemistry of the carbon fibers before and after laser irradiation was analyzed by micro Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Large areas in the cm$^{2}$ range of carbon fiber arrangements were successfully processed with homogenously distributed high- and low-spatial frequency LIPSS. Beyond those distinct nanostructures, hybrid structures were realized for the very first time by a superposition of both types of LIPSS in a two-step process. The findings facilitate the fabrication of tailored LIPSS-based surface structures on carbon fibers that could be of particular interest for e.g. fiber reinforced polymers and concretes.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, full-articl

Rippled area formed by surface plasmon polaritons upon femtosecond laser double-pulse irradiation of silicon: the role of carrier generation and relaxation processes

The formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS, ripples) upon irradiation of silicon with multiple irradiation sequences consisting of femtosecond laser pulse pairs (pulse duration 150 fs, central wavelength 800 nm) is studied numerically using a rate equation system along with a two-temperature model accounting for one- and two-photon absorption and subsequent carrier diffusion and Auger recombination processes. The temporal delay between the individual equal-energy fs-laser pulses was varied between $0$ and $\sim 4$ ps for quantification of the transient carrier densities in the conduction band of the laser-excited silicon. The results of the numerical analysis reveal the importance of carrier generation and relaxation processes in fs-LIPSS formation on silicon and quantitatively explain the two time constants of the delay dependent decrease of the Low-Spatial-Frequency LIPSS (LSFL) area observed experimentally. The role of carrier generation, diffusion and recombination are quantified individually.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Conference On Laser Ablation (COLA) 2013. The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com. Accepted for publication in Applied Physics

Silicon clusters produced by femtosecond laser ablation: Non-thermal emission and gas-phase condensation

Neutral silicon clusters Si_n (up to n = 7) and their cations Si_n+ (up to n = 10) have been produced by femtosecond laser ablation of bulk silicon in vacuum and investigated using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Two populations of the Si_n+ clusters with different velocity and abundance distributions in the ablation plume have been clearly distinguished. Possible mechanisms of cluster formation (Coulomb explosion, gas-phase condensation, phase explosion) are discussed

PynPoint: a modular pipeline architecture for processing and analysis of high-contrast imaging data

The direct detection and characterization of planetary and substellar companions at small angular separations is a rapidly advancing field. Dedicated high-contrast imaging instruments deliver unprecedented sensitivity, enabling detailed insights into the atmospheres of young low-mass companions. In addition, improvements in data reduction and PSF subtraction algorithms are equally relevant for maximizing the scientific yield, both from new and archival data sets. We aim at developing a generic and modular data reduction pipeline for processing and analysis of high-contrast imaging data obtained with pupil-stabilized observations. The package should be scalable and robust for future implementations and in particular well suitable for the 3-5 micron wavelength range where typically (ten) thousands of frames have to be processed and an accurate subtraction of the thermal background emission is critical. PynPoint is written in Python 2.7 and applies various image processing techniques, as well as statistical tools for analyzing the data, building on open-source Python packages. The current version of PynPoint has evolved from an earlier version that was developed as a PSF subtraction tool based on PCA. The architecture of PynPoint has been redesigned with the core functionalities decoupled from the pipeline modules. Modules have been implemented for dedicated processing and analysis steps, including background subtraction, frame registration, PSF subtraction, photometric and astrometric measurements, and estimation of detection limits. The pipeline package enables end-to-end data reduction of pupil-stabilized data and supports classical dithering and coronagraphic data sets. As an example, we processed archival VLT/NACO L' and M' data of beta Pic b and reassessed the planet's brightness and position with an MCMC analysis, and we provide a derivation of the photometric error budget.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, PynPoint is available at https://github.com/PynPoint/PynPoin

X-ray Near Field Speckle: Implementation and Critical Analysis

We have implemented the newly-introduced, coherence-based technique of x-ray near-field speckle (XNFS) at 8-ID-I at the Advanced Photon Source. In the near field regime of high-brilliance synchrotron x-rays scattered from a sample of interest, it turns out, that, when the scattered radiation and the main beam both impinge upon an x-ray area detector, the measured intensity shows low-contrast speckles, resulting from interference between the incident and scattered beams. We built a micrometer-resolution XNFS detector with a high numerical aperture microscope objective and demonstrate its capability for studying static structures and dynamics at longer length scales than traditional far field x-ray scattering techniques. Specifically, we characterized the structure and dynamics of dilute silica and polystyrene colloidal samples. Our study reveals certain limitations of the XNFS technique, which we discuss.Comment: 53 pages, 16 figure

Pseudo-forces in quantum mechanics

Dynamical evolution is described as a parallel section on an infinite dimensional Hilbert bundle over the base manifold of all frames of reference. The parallel section is defined by an operator-valued connection whose components are the generators of the relativity group acting on the base manifold. In the case of Galilean transformations we show that the property that the curvature for the fundamental connection must be zero is just the Heisenberg equations of motion and the canonical commutation relation in geometric language. We then consider linear and circular accelerating frames and show that pseudo-forces must appear naturally in the Hamiltonian.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, revtex, new section added, to appear in PR

Influence of optical standing waves on the femtosecond laser-induced forward transfer of transparent thin films

The effects of the formation of an optical standing wave during femtosecond laser-induced forward transfer of transparent films is analyzed using a numerical interference model. The dependence of the intensity distribution on a number of easily controllable experimental parameters is investigated. Results of the model are compared to experimental studies of the transfer of gadolinium gallium oxide (GdGaO) with a polymer sacrificial layer. The model allows us to explain the observed variation in deposit morphology with the size of the air gap, and why forward transfer of the GdGaO was possible below the ablation thresholds of polymer and oxide

Strongly coupled chameleon fields: possible test with a neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer

The consideration is presented of possible neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer experiment to search for strongly coupled chameleon fields. The chameleon scalar fields were proposed to explain the early and late time acceleration of expansion of the Universe. They may produce short-range interaction between particles and matter. This interaction causes phase shift of neutron waves in the interferometer. Estimates of sensitivity are performed.Comment: 11 p, 3 fig; the title is changed, extended feasibility consideration: expected intensity and systematic effect

Exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation for spin 0 particle in curved space

Up to now, the only known exact Foldy- Wouthuysen transformation (FWT) in curved space is that concerning Dirac particles coupled to static spacetime metrics. Here we construct the exact FWT related to a real spin-0 particle for the aforementioned spacetimes. This exact transformation exists independently of the value of the coupling between the scalar field and gravity. Moreover, the gravitational Darwin term written for the conformal coupling is one third of the relevant term in the fermionic case.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, improved version to appear in Phys. Rev.