Using Fermi statistics to create strongly coupled ion plasmas in atom traps

We investigate the possibility of forming a strongly coupled ion plasma from a cold atomic gas. We show that rapid ion heating occurs as correlations develop from the initial disordered configuration. This heating severely reduces the Coulomb coupling of the final configuration, although the final Coulomb coupling can be maximized by introducing order into the initial atomic gas. We show that such order can be introduced into the initial state by employing a degenerate Fermi gas whereby the Pauli hole mimics the Coulomb hole. The corresponding initial state correlations can enhance the Coulomb coupling in the final state by orders of magnitude.     

Tunable ponderomotive squeezing induced by Coulomb interaction in an optomechanical system

We investigate the properties of the ponderomotive squeezing in an optomechanical system coupled to a charged nanomechanical oscillator(NMO) nearby via Coulomb force. We find that the introduction of Coulomb interaction allows the generation of squeezed output light from this system. Our numerical results show that the degree of squeezing can be tuned by the Coulomb coupling strength, the power of laser, and the frequencies of NMOs. Furthermore, the squeezing generated in our approach can be used to measure the Coulomb coupling strength.     

Tailoring magnetism in quantum dots

We study magnetism in magnetically doped quantum dots as a function of the confining potential, particle numbers, temperature, and strength of the Coulomb interactions. We explore the possibility of tailoring magnetism by controlling the nonparabolicity of the confinement potential and the electron-electron Coulomb interaction, without changing the number of particles. The interplay of strong Coulomb interactions and quantum confinement leads to enhanced inhomogeneous magnetization which persists at higher temperatures than in the noninteracting case. The temperature of the onset of magnetization can be controlled by changing the number of particles as well as by modifying the quantum confinement and the strength of the Coulomb interactions. We predict a series of electronic spin transitions which arise from the competition between the many-body gap and magnetic thermal fluctuations.     

Vacuum structure of the Coulomb gas in two dimensions

We study the plasma phase of the two-dimensional Coulomb gas in the small density limit. The analysis is done using the correspondence of the Coulomb gas with the 1 + 1 sine-Gordon model, which has been exactly solved by the quantum inverse method. We construct the correct vacuum of the field theory, improving the former results. We obtain exact results for the Coulomb gas, which confirm the previous perturbative calculations.     

Coulomb sink effect on coarsening of metal nanostructures on surfaces

We discuss Coulomb effects on the coarsening of metal nanostructures on surfaces. We have proposed a new concept of a “Coulomb sink” [Phys. Rev. Lett., 2004, 93: 106102] to elucidate the effect of Coulomb charging on the coarsening of metal mesas grown on semiconductor surfaces. A charged mesa, due to its reduced chemical potential, acts as a Coulomb sink and grows at the expense of neighboring neutral mesas. The Coulomb sink provides a potentially useful method for the controlled fabrication of metal nanostructures. In this article, we will describe in detail the proposed physical models, which can explain qualitatively the most salient features of coarsening of charged Pb mesas on the Si(111) surface, as observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We will also describe a method of precisely fabricating large-scale nanocrystals with well-defined shape and size. By using the Coulomb sink effect, the artificial center-full-hollowed or half-hollowed nanowells can be created.     

Polynomial Solution of Non-Central Potentials

We show that the exact energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Schrödinger equation for charged particles moving in certain class of non-central potentials can be easily calculated analytically in a simple and elegant manner by using Nikiforov and Uvarov (NU) method. We discuss the generalized Coulomb and harmonic oscillator systems. We study the Hartmann Coulomb and the ring-shaped and compound Coulomb plus Aharanov–Bohm potentials as special cases. The results are in exact agreement with other methods.     

Coulomb sink effect on coarsening of metal nanostructures on surfaces

We discuss Coulomb effects on the coarsening of metal nanostructures on surfaces. We have proposed a new concept of a “Coulomb sink” [Phys. Rev. Lett., 2004, 93: 106102] to elucidate the effect of Coulomb charging on the coarsening of metal mesas grown on semiconductor surfaces. A charged mesa, due to its reduced chemical potential, acts as a Coulomb sink and grows at the expense of neighboring neutral mesas. The Coulomb sink provides a potentially useful method for the controlled fabrication of metal nanostructures. In this article, we will describe in detail the proposed physical models, which can explain qualitatively the most salient features of coarsening of charged Pb mesas on the Si(111) surface, as observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We will also describe a method of precisely fabricating large-scale nanocrystals with well-defined shape and size. By using the Coulomb sink effect, the artificial center-full-hollowed or half-hollowed nanowells can be created.      

Enhancing stationary entanglement between two optomechanical oscillators by Coulomb interaction with Kerr medium

We theoretically study the stationary entanglement of two charged nanomechanical oscillators coupling via Coulomb interaction in an optomechanical system with an additional Kerr medium. We show that the degree of entanglement between two nanomechanical oscillators is suppressed by Kerr interaction due to photon blockade and enhanced by Coulomb coupling strength. We also show other parameters for adjusting and obtaining entanglement, such as the driving power and the frequencies of the two oscillators, and the entanglement is robust against temperature. Our study proves a way for adjusting stationary entanglement between two optomechanical oscillators by Coulomb interaction and Kerr medium.     

Deflections of photoelectron classical trajectories in screened Coulomb potentials of H_2~+

The photoelectron momentum distribution of H+2in circularly polarized laser fields is studied based on classical trajectory calculations. We screen Coulomb potentials at different radii, and trace trajectories of an ensemble of electrons in such screened Coulomb potentials and circularly polarized laser fields. Simulations show that electron trajectories are bent by Coulomb fields, resulting in the laser-intensity-dependent drift of photoelectron momentum distributions in the laser polarization plane. This study intuitively explains how Coulomb potentials modify photoelectron momenta.     

Coulomb blockade in an open quantum dot

We report the observation of Coulomb blockade in a quantum dot contacted by two quantum point contacts each with a single fully transmitting mode, a system thought to be well described without invoking Coulomb interactions. Below 50 mK we observe a periodic oscillation in the conductance of the dot with gate voltage, corresponding to a residual quantization of charge. From the temperature and magnetic field dependence, we infer the oscillations are mesoscopic Coulomb blockade, a type of Coulomb blockade caused by electron interference in an otherwise open system.     

Routes to control of H2 Coulomb explosion in few-cycle laser pulses

We have measured coincident ion pairs produced in the Coulomb explosion of H2 by 8-30 fs laser pulses at different laser intensities. We show how the Coulomb explosion of H2 can be experimentally controlled by tuning the appropriate pulse duration and laser intensity. For laser pulses less than 15 fs, we found that the rescattering-induced Coulomb explosion is dominated by first-return recollisions, while for longer pulses and at the proper laser intensity, the third return can be made to be the major one. Additionally, by choosing suitable pulse duration and laser intensity, we show H2 Coulomb explosion proceeding through three distinct processes that are simultaneously observable, each exhibiting different characteristics and revealing distinctive time information about the H2 evolution in the laser pulse.     

The effect of coulomb correlations on the nonequilibrium charge redistribution tuned by the tunneling current

We demonstrate that the tunneling current flowing through a system with Coulomb correlations leads to a charge redistribution between the different localized states. A simple model consisting of two electron levels is analyzed by means of the Heisenberg equations of motion taking correlations of electron filling numbers in localized states into account exactly in all orders. We consider various relations between the Coulomb interaction and localized electron energies. Sudden jumps of the electron density at each level in a certain range of the applied bias are found. We find that for some parameter range, inverse occupation in the two-level system appears due to Coulomb correlations. It is also shown that Coulomb correlations lead to the appearance of negative tunneling conductivity at a certain relation between the values of tunneling rates from the two electron levels.     

pd Scattering Using a Rigorous Coulomb Treatment

Reliability of the screened Coulomb renormalization method, which was proposed in an elegant way by Alt?CSandhas?CZankel?CZiegelmann (ASZZ), is discussed on the basis of ??two-potential theory?? for the three-body AGS equations with the Coulomb potential. In order to obtain ASZZ??s formula, we define the on-shell M?ller function, and calculate it by using the Haeringen criterion, i.e. ??the half-shell Coulomb amplitude is zero??. By these two steps, we can finally obtain the ASZZ formula for a small Coulomb phase shift. Furthermore, the reliability of the Haeringen criterion is thoroughly checked by a numerically rigorous calculation for the Coulomb LS-type equation. We find that the Haeringen criterion can be satisfied only in the higher energy region. We conclude that the ASZZ method can be verified in the case that the on-shell approximation to the M?ller function is reasonable, and the Haeringen criterion is reliable.     

Photon-assisted shot noise due to the charging effect in a quantum dot device

We have investigated the spectral density of shot noise for an ultra-small quantum dot(QD) system in the Coulomb blockade regime when irradiated with microwave fields (MWFs) by employing a nonequilibrium Green’s function technique. The shot noise is sensitive to Coulomb interaction, and the photon-assisted Coulomb blockade behaviour strongly modifies the mesoscopic transport. We have calculated the first and second derivatives of shot noise in the strong and weak coupling regimes to compare the theoretical results with existing experimental results. In the strong coupling regime, the first and second derivatives of shot noise display Fano type peak-valley structures around the charging channel 2E _c due to Coulomb interaction. When the magnitudes of the MWFs are sufficiently large, the system displays channel blockade due to photon irradiation. The photon-assisted and Coulomb blockade steps in the noise — as well as the resonant behaviour in the differential noise — are smeared by increasing temperature. The Coulomb interaction suppresses the shot noise, but the ac fields can either suppress the shot noise(balanced case) or enhance the shot noise(unbalanced case). The suppression of shot noise caused by ac fields in the balanced case is greater than that caused by Coulomb interaction in our system. Super-Poissonian shot noise may be induced due to the compound effects of strong Coulomb interaction and photon absorption-emission processes.     

Coulomb broadening of the peak of electromagnetically induced transparency in plasma

We have measured the shape of the Autler-Townes doublet and the peak of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) under plasma conditions. We compare the experimental results with the calculated spectrum of the probe field of a three-level ArII Λ-scheme by taking into account Coulomb collisions. We show that the Coulomb broadening of the EIT peak is small (less than 40%), while the saturation resonance is broadened under the experimental conditions by a factor of 3. In contrast to the saturation resonance attributable to the Bennett dip in the velocity distribution of the population, the EIT peak is a coherent effect and is broadened mainly through Coulomb dephasing.     

Coulomb effects in a nanoscale SINIS junction

We study a system of two superconductors connected by a small normal grain. We consider the modification of the Josephson effect by the Coulomb interaction on the grain. Coherent charge transport through the junction is suppressed by Coulomb repulsion. An optional gate electrode may relax the charge blocking and enhance the current leading to the single Cooper pair transistor effect. Temperature dependences of critical current and of the minigap induced in the normal grain by the proximity to superconductor are studied. Both temperature and Coulomb interaction suppress critical current and minigap, but their interplay may lead to the nonmonotonic and even reentrant temperature dependence.     

Loading of large ion Coulomb crystals into a linear Paul trap incorporating an optical cavity

We report on the loading of large ion Coulomb crystals into a linear Paul trap incorporating a high-finesse optical cavity (?～3000). We show that, even though the 3-mm diameter dielectric cavity mirrors are placed between the trap electrodes and separated by only 12 mm, it is possible to produce in situ ion Coulomb crystals containing more than 10⁵ calcium ions of various isotopes and with lengths of up to several millimeters along the cavity axis. We show that the number of ions inside the cavity mode is, in principle, high enough to achieve strong collective coupling between the ion Coulomb crystal and the cavity field. The results thus represent an important step towards ion trap based Cavity Quantum ElectroDynamics (CQED) experiments using cold ion Coulomb crystals.     

Electromagnetic solitons in a system of quantum dots taking into account the Hubbard interaction

We consider the Maxwell equations for an electromagnetic field propagating in a solid with a three-dimensional superlattice of quantum dots linked by strong tunneling along one axis, where electrons with different spin projections are affected by the strong Coulomb repulsion at a single site. We obtain a phenomenological equation in the form of the classical 1+1-dimensional sine-Gordon equation. Electrons are considered within the framework of quantum formalism taking into account the changes in the dispersion law provided by the presence of Coulomb interactions. The phenomenological equation is solved numerically, and the influence of Coulomb repulsion and the degree of band population on the propagation of ultra-short optical pulses is analyzed.     

Structural relaxation and aging scaling in the Coulomb and Bose glass models

We employ Monte Carlo simulations to study the relaxation properties of the two-dimensional Coulomb glass in disordered semiconductors and the three-dimensional Bose glass in type-II superconductors in the presence of extended linear defects. We investigate the effects of adding non-zero random on-site energies from different distributions on the properties of the correlation-induced Coulomb gap in the density of states (DOS) and on the non-equilibrium aging kinetics highlighted by the density autocorrelation functions. We also probe the sensitivity of the system’s equilibrium and non-equilibrium relaxation properties to instantaneous changes in the density of charge carriers in the Coulomb glass or flux lines in the Bose glass.