Scheme for generating the singlet state of three atoms trapped in distant cavities coupled by optical fibers

An effective scheme is proposed to generate the singlet state with three four-level atoms trapped in three distant cavities connected with each other by three optical fibers, respectively. After a series of appropriate atom–cavity interactions, which can be arbitrarily controlled via the selective pairing of Raman transitions and corresponding optical switches, a three-atom singlet state can be successfully generated. The influence of atomic spontaneous decay, photon leakage of cavities and optical fibers on the fidelity of the state is numerically simulated showing that the three-atom singlet state can be generated with high fidelity by choosing the experimental parameters appropriately.     

Numerical Study on Population Inversion and Lasing Conditions in an Optically Thick Recombining Helium Plasma

Lasing conditions for He I in a cold recombining helium plasma are numerically discussed including optical thicknesses. A collisional radiative model is used to calculate population densities. We discuss the effect of self absorptions by the background residual gas on the lasing conditions quantitatively. The optical thickness is essential in the calculation and affects the population inversions between level pairs of the singlet state drastically, while those of the triplet state are not affected very much. In the optically thin plasma, the laser lower levels of the singlet state depopulate mainly through radiative transitions. On the other hand, they depopulate mainly through electron collisional deexcitations in the optically thick plasma. Results of the calculations are verified by the spectroscopic observations of an arc-heated magnetically trapped expanding plasma jet generator which we developed. The requirement for the background pressure in which the lasing is possible is discussed quantitatively.     

Controlling and detecting spin correlations of ultracold atoms in optical lattices

We report on the controlled creation of a valence bond state of delocalized effective-spin singlet and triplet dimers by means of a bichromatic optical superlattice. We demonstrate a coherent coupling between the singlet and triplet states and show how the superlattice can be employed to measure the singlet-fraction employing a spin-blockade effect. Our method provides a reliable way to detect and control nearest-neighbor spin correlations in many-body systems of ultracold atoms. Being able to measure these correlations is an important ingredient in studying quantum magnetism in optical lattices. We furthermore employ a SWAP operation between atoms which are part of different triplets, thus effectively increasing their bond-length. Such a SWAP operation provides an important step towards the massively parallel creation of a multiparticle entangled state in the lattice.     

Direct measurement of the singlet generation yield in polymer light-emitting diodes

In this study, the singlet and triplet exciton generation yields of a representative blue-emitting conjugated polymer are directly compared using simultaneous optical and electrical excitation measurements. After carefully accounting for bimolecular triplet annihilation and knowing the independently measured solid state inter-system-crossing yield of the polymer, a singlet generation yield of 44% is obtained, in the working device, which is clearly in excess of the simple quantum statistical 25% limit.     

High-resolution photoassociation spectroscopy of ultracold ytterbium atoms by using the intercombination transition

We observed high-resolution photoassociation spectra of laser-cooled ytterbium (Yb) atoms in the spin-forbidden 1S0 - 3P1 intercombination line. The rovibrational levels in the 0u+ state were measured for red detunings of the photoassociation laser ranging from 2.9 MHz to 1.97 GHz with respect to the atomic resonance. The rotational splitting of the vibrational levels near the dissociation limit were fully resolved due to the sub-MHz linewidth of the spectra in contrast to previous measurements using the spin-allowed singlet transition. In addition, from a comparison between the spectra of 174Yb and those of 176Yb, a d-wave shape resonance for 174Yb is strongly suggested.     

A scalable quantum computer with ultranarrow optical transition of ultracold neutral atoms in an optical lattice

We propose a new quantum-computing scheme using ultracold neutral ytterbium atoms in an optical lattice, especially in a monolayer of three-dimensional optical lattice. The nuclear Zeeman sublevels define a qubit. This choice avoids the natural phase evolution due to the magnetic dipole interaction between qubits. The Zeeman sublevels with large magnetic moments in the long-lived metastable state are also exploited to address individual atoms and to construct a controlled-multiqubit gate. Estimated parameters required for this scheme show that this proposal is scalable and experimentally feasible.     

Controlled production of subradiant states of a diatomic molecule in an optical lattice

We report the successful production of subradiant states of a two-atom system in a three-dimensional optical lattice starting from doubly occupied sites in a Mott insulator phase of a quantum gas of atomic ytterbium. We can selectively produce either a subradiant 1(g) state or a superradiant 0(u) state by choosing the excitation laser frequency. The inherent weak excitation rate for the subradiant 1(g) state is overcome by the increased atomic density due to the tight confinement in a three-dimensional optical lattice. Our experimental measurements of binding energies, linewidth, and Zeeman shift confirm the observation of subradiant levels of the 1(g) state of the Yb(2) molecule.     

Ground States of Ultracold Spin-1 Atoms in a Deep Double-Well Optical Superlattice in a Weak Magnetic Field

The ground states of the ultracold spin-1 atoms trapped in a deep one-dimensional double-well optical superlattice in a weak magnetic field are obtained. It is shown that the ground-state diagrams of the reduced double- well model are remarkably different for the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic condensates. The transition between the singlet state and nematic state is observed for the antiferromagnetic interaction atoms, which can be realized by modulating the tunneling parameter or the quadratic Zeeman energy. An experiment to distinguish the different spin states is suggested.     

Interaction of ytterbium nanofilms grown on tungsten substrates with oxygen

The interaction of ytterbium nanofilms evaporated on tungsten substrates with oxygen has been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy, thermal desorption spectroscopy, and contact potential difference measurements. It has been shown that at room temperature, no oxide is formed in the above interaction. In place of the oxide, a chemisorbed layer of nondissociated O₂ molecules is formed on the surface of the ytterbium nanofilms. This layer modifies the ytterbium. This modification transforms ytterbium from the divalent state into the trivalent state.     

Excited-state absorption in oxidized cytochrome c solution

Nonlinear absorption dynamics of oxidized cytochrome c in water solution was investigated at 532 nm with Z-scan and pump–probe techniques. The optical characterization of this compound is very important owing to its similarity with hematoporphyrin-based drugs commonly used in photodynamic therapy for cancer treatment. We observed a saturable absorption process related to the excited singlet population, followed by a fast decay to the ground state. The optical excitation and subsequent relaxation were interpreted with a three-energy-level diagram, allowing the first singlet excited-state absorption cross section and lifetime determination. PACS 42.65.Sf; 78.66.Qn; 42.62.Be     

Optical amplification using raman transitions between spin-singlet and spin-triplet states of a pair of coupled in-GaAs quantum dots

We report the observation of steady-state optical amplification in Raman transitions between the lowest-energy spin states of a single quantum-dot molecule. Absorption and resonance fluorescence experiments demonstrate that the entangled two-electron singlet and triplet states have electric-dipole coupling to a common optically excited state. Fast spin relaxation ensures optical gain on the triplet transition when the singlet transition is driven resonantly. By embedding the quantum-dot molecule in a cavity of modest quality factor, a solid-state single-emitter laser can be realized.     

Influence of the metal nanofilm-semiconductor interface on surface properties of the nanofilm: The CO-Yb-Si(111) system

The influence of the “ytterbium nanofilm-single-crystal silicon substrate” interface on properties of the films has been investigated. It has been shown that, if the film thickness is less than 10 monolayers, the Friedel oscillations (standing waves of electron density) generated by the interface affect the work function of the films and the rate of adsorption of CO molecules on their surface. In turn, the CO molecules modify the electronic structure of ytterbium during adsorption on the surface of nanofilms by transforming ytterbium from the divalent to trivalent state. The completely filled layer of adsorbed CO molecules consists of two phases. The first phase is a two-dimensional gas whose molecules weakly interact with each other, but their lone electron pairs form a donor-acceptor bond with the Yb 5d level; as a result, this level is located below the Fermi level and the metal transforms into the trivalent state. After filling the two-dimensional phase, the second (island) phase, in which the CO molecule are bound by horizontal π-bonds, begins to grow. The formation of these bonds becomes possible due to the filling of 2π states in the molecules upon compaction of the adsorbed layer. The considered the adsorbed two-phase layer is responsible for the complete transition of ytterbium into the trivalent state.     

C_（60）／PMMA的单重态激发态吸收光限幅研究

研究了Ｃ６０／ＰＭＭＡ对波长５３２ｎｍ，脉冲宽度为２１ｐｓ的脉冲激光的限幅特性，并应用三能级模型进行了理论模拟。结果表明光限幅起源于单重态激发态吸收     

Laser inhibited diffusion in rhodamine-ethanol solutions

The diffusion of rhodamine-6G dye in ethanol is observed to be inhibited by optical pumping by a cadmium laser. The diffusion process is observed as a function of the solution temperature. The relative difference in diffusion coefficients with and without optical pumping is calculated. The effect is interpreted as being due to a stronger solvent-dye interaction in the first excited singlet state of rhodamine-6G.     

High-accuracy measurement of atomic polarizability in an optical lattice clock

Presently, the Stark effect contributes the largest source of uncertainty in a ytterbium optical atomic clock through blackbody radiation. By employing an ultracold, trapped atomic ensemble and high stability optical clock, we characterize the quadratic Stark effect with unprecedented precision. We report the ytterbium optical clock's sensitivity to electric fields (such as blackbody radiation) as the differential static polarizability of the ground and excited clock levels α(clock) = 36.2612(7) kHz?(kV/cm)(-2). The clock's uncertainty due to room temperature blackbody radiation is reduced by an order of magnitude to 3×10(-17).     

Laser cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms

The experiments on the laser cooling and trapping of ytterbium atoms are reported, including the two-dimensional transversal cooling, longitudinal velocity Zeeman deceleration, and a magneto-optical trap with a broadband transition at a wavelength of 399 nm. The magnetic field distributions along the axis of a Zeeman slower were measured and in a good agreement with the calculated results. Cold ytterbium atoms were produced with a number of about 10⁷ and a temperature of a few milli-Kelvin. In addition, using a 556-nm laser, the excitations of cold ytterbium atoms at ¹S₀-³P₁ transition were observed. The ytterbium atoms will be further cooled in a 556-nm magneto-optical trap and loaded into a three-dimensional optical lattice to make an ytterbium optical clock.      

Optical Limiting and ExcitedState Nonlinear Optical Properties in Lead Phthalocyanine

1.IntroductionLeadphthalocyaninehasreceivedconsiderableattentionasitexhibitsstrongreversesaturableabsorption(RSA)behaviorLI].Thiskindoforganometalliccompoundcanbeusedasopticallimitingdevicetoprotecteyesandsensorsfromlaserhazard.Thenanosecondopticallimitingpropertyofleadphthalocyaninehasbeeninvestigatedyet[2].Inthispaper,thepicosecondopticallimitingbehaviorofleadphthalocyanine(Pbpc(CP)4)ispresentedandtheresultiscomparedwithC6o,areversesaturableabsorptionmaterialwhichhasbeenwidelystudied.The…     

Experiments on trapping ytterbium atoms in optical lattices

Experiments on trapping ytterbium atoms in various optical lattices are presented. After the two-stage cooling, first in a blue magneto-optical trap and then in a green magneto-optical trap, the ultracold 171 Yb atoms are successfully loaded into one-, two-, and three-dimensional optical lattices operating at the Stark-free wavelength, respectively. The temperature, number, and lifetime of cold 171 Yb atoms in one-dimensional lattice are measured. After optimization, the one-dimensional lattice with cold 171Yb atoms is used for developing an ytterbium optical clock.     

Theory of Direct Photoisomerization of Stilbene

A microscopic model for describing the direct trans-cis photoisomerization of stilbene is developed and an interpretation of the experimental results found from time-resolved fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy of stilbene in solution is given. According to this model the photoisomerization of trans-stilbene is proposed to involve the radiationless transition from the trans singlet state S₁(trans), prepared by direct optical excitation, into the perp singlet state S₁ (perp) and the radiationless decay of this state into the quasi-isoenergetic trans triplet state T₄ (trans).     

EPR of photo-excited triplet states: A personal account

A sketch is presented of the path that has led from Zavoisky’s pioneering experiments to modern investigations by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of the phosphorescent (S = 1) triplet state of polyatomic molecules or ions. The group-theoretical method first introduced by Wigner in his analysis of the multiplets of atomic spectroscopy, likewise provides a key for understanding the zero-field splitting and selection rules for radiative decay of the phosphorescent triplet state. Examples to illustrate the progress made through EPR experiments are selected from three fields. (i) Conformational instability on excitation. Both the zero-field splitting and the electron spin density distribution provide unique fingerprints of a triplet state’s geometry — structural information of a kind that is nonexistent for singlet states! Illustrations are provided by benzene C₆H₆ and fullerene C₆₀. (ii) The optical pumping cycle. The spin selectivity of singlet-to-triplet intersystem crossing and radiative decay of the individual spin components of the triplet state is discussed. In practice this selectivity is put to advantage by performing EPR on triplet states in zero-field by means of optical detection. In turn, such experiments have led to a detailed insight into the spin-orbit coupling mechanisms responsible for the spin selectivity of the above processes. The high sensitivity attainable with optical detection has recently culminated in EPR experiments on single molecules. (iii) Quantum interference. In a triplet state of low symmetry two of the spin sublevels may decay to the ground state by the emission of photons of a common polarization (i.e., out of plane for an aromatic hydrocarbon). In such a situation quantum interference between the two decay channels can be induced by an appropriate preparation of the excited state. An example is shown where flash-excitation in the singlet manifold followed by rapid intersystem crossing causes theS = 1 spin angular momentum to be created in a spin state which is not an eigenstate of the zero-field splitting tensor. This nonstationary character of the initial triplet state, which reflects the spin-orbit coupling pathway, is observed through the detection of a spontaneous microwave signal following the 25 ps laser flash.