Bridging dielectric fluids by light: A ray optics approach

Rayleigh-Plateau instability is known to impose a stability limit for the length of a liquid bridge in weightless conditions. This fundamental limit may be exceeded by using a light field to form and stabilize dielectric fluid bridges (A. Casner, J.P. Delville, Europhys. Lett. 65, 337 (2004)). Using both new experimental data as well as a new theoretical approach, we show that both the size and the stability of such light-sustained dielectric bridge can be qualitatively explained. We present a ray optics model that encompasses the competition between surface tension effects and optical radiation pressure arising from total internal reflection inside the bridge. A critical power below which a liquid bridge can no longer be sustained by light is predicted and confirmed experimentally. The observed power dependence of the bridge diameter also agrees with the proposed stabilization mechanism.     

用射线法计算柱形金属壁腔中光线传输的带宽与损耗

提出了一种适合在一些特定环境下做为光波传输手段的新颖光信道——利用金属壁腔传输信息。该信道适合于需要在两个不同实体间传输信息的特定结构中,首先提出了信道模型,然后讨论了不同结构参数对信道吸收损耗和带宽的影响,对所设计的具体信道的带宽和损耗进行了计算,并比较了不同金属镀层对损耗的影响。说明了合理选择信道参数信道可达到宽带宽低损耗的要求,因此该信道可运用于需在环型腔体中传输信息的结构中。     

A new treatment of the growing wave problem in surface optics

We introduce a new method for determining the fields generated by the excitation of resonances in surface optics. Our approach, which we call the “pole cancellation” method, describes the growing waves generated in a much simple way than earlier treatments, and explicitly identifies the physically relevant quantities.     

Thomas rotation and polarized light: A non-abelian geometric phase in optics

We describe anon-abelian Berry phase in polarization optics, suggested by an analogy due to Nityananda between boosts in special relativity and the effect of elliptic dichroism on polarized light. The analogy permits a simple optical realization of the non-abelian gauge field describing Thomas rotation. We also show how Thomas rotation can be understood geometrically on the Poincaré sphere in terms of the Pancharatnam phase.     

Return to foundations of wave optics

The Huygens-Fresnel wave principle is found to extend far beyond its traditional use. Using only elementary mathematical means, it is shown in particular that this principle suffices to provide the exact solution of Sommerfeld's problem of plane wave diffraction by a perfectly conducting half-plane. A more exact formulation of the wave principle itself is proposed.     

原子光学讲座第一讲几何与波动原子光学及其器件

文章首先简单介绍了冷原子操纵与控制的基本原理。然后，重点介绍了几何与波动原子光学及其器件的研究内容、潜在应用和最新进展，其中包括：原子束的反射和原子反射镜；原子束偏转（折射）、聚焦成像和原子透镜；原子衍射和原子光栅；原子干涉和原子干涉仪；原子全息学及其技术等。     

On the analogy between the classical wave optics and the quantum wave phenomena

A striking correspondence between the effects of an auxiliary-mode-assisted transfer of light power between two waveguides and an auxiliary-state-assisted transfer of an electron between two quantum dots is highlighted by the example of an exactly solvable model.     

Geometrical and wave optics of paraxial beams

Most calculational techniques used to evaluate beam propagation are geared towards either fully coherent or fully incoherent beams. The intermediate partial-coherence regime, while in principle known for a long time, has received comparably little attention so far. The resulting shortage of adequate calculational techniques is currently being felt in the realm of x-ray optics where, with the advent of third generation synchrotron light sources, partially coherent beams become increasingly common. The purpose of this paper is to present a calculational approach which, utilizing a "variance matrix" representation of paraxial beams, allows for a straightforward evaluation of wave propagation through an optical system. Being capable of dealing with an arbitrary degree of coherence, this approach covers the whole range from wave to ray optics, in a seamless fashion.     

Interference nature of light

Interference of light has been reinvestigated theoretically by linear superposition of two different state-vector functions, of which each describes the photons from one of two different light sources in both polarization and intensity. By the use of microscopic parameters for a photon, namely probability amplitude and phase, it is again validated that interference of light occurs only between the same photons possessing a set of the selfsame eigenvalues.     

Stochastic nature of earthquake ground motion

In this paper, we analyze the irregular behavior of earthquake ground motion as recorded during the Kraljevo M5.4 earthquake, which occurred on November 3rd, 2010 in Serbia. We perform the analysis for the ground accelerations recorded at 6 seismological stations: Grua, Ruda, Rada, Bara, Zaga and Bdva. The latter were carefully chosen based on their corresponding tectonic zone and the local geological setting. For each station, we analyze the horizontal component of the ground acceleration in the north–south direction, which is the one of primary interest for engineering design. We employ surrogate data testing and methods of nonlinear time series analysis. The obtained results indicate that strong ground accelerations are stochastic, in particular belonging to a class of linear stationary stochastic processes with Gaussian inputs or distorted by a monotonic, instantaneous, time-independent nonlinear function. This type of motion is detected regardless of the corresponding tectonic setting and the local geological conditions. The revealed stochastic nature is in disagreement with the frequently assumed deterministically chaotic nature of earthquake ground motion.     

Reflectionless tunneling of light in gradient optics

We analyze the optical (or microwave) tunneling properties of electromagnetic waves passing through thin films presenting a specific index profile that provides a cutoff frequency when the films are used below this frequency. We show that, contrary to the usual case of a square index profile, where tunneling is accompanied by a strong attenuation of the wave due to reflection, such films present the possibility of reflectionless tunneling, where the incoming intensity is totally transmitted.     

Nonlinear optics with stationary pulses of light

We show that the recently demonstrated technique for generating stationary pulses of light [M. Bajcsy, A. S. Zibrov, and M. D. Lukin, Nature (London) 426, 638 (2003)] can be extended to localize optical pulses in all three spatial dimensions in a resonant atomic medium. This method can be used to dramatically enhance the nonlinear interaction between weak optical pulses. In particular, we show that an efficient Kerr-like interaction between two pulses can be implemented as a sequence of several purely linear optical processes. The resulting process may enable coherent interactions between single photon pulses.     

Nonlinear optics of intense attosecond light pulses

The interaction of an intense light pulse of "subatomic" duration with a system of multiple discrete quantum states is analyzed. The nonperturbative character of the response to the pulse field leading to an efficient conversion into high order harmonics is predicted. The spatial-temporal evolution of the field is shown to obey a generalized nonlinear wave equation of the double-sine-Gordon type. In addition to the solitary wave structures, it predicts a nontrivial regime of pulse amplification accompanied by extreme temporal self-contraction of the amplified field.     

Application of fuzzy set theory to wave optics

In an attempt to apply the fuzzy set theory to optics a fuzzy entropy [A. De Luca and S. Termini: Inf. Control20 (1972) 301] is used as a measure of optical field concentration in transverse dimensions. Unlike the Shannon's information entropy, the fuzzy entropy is based on a nonprobabilistic concept and therefore can be used for characterizing the strength of classical wave localization.     

Generalized pencils of rays in statistical wave optics

The recently introduced generalized pencil of Sudarshan which gives an exact ray picture of wave optics is analysed in some situations of interest to wave optics. A relationship between ray dispersion and statistical inhomogeneity of the field is obtained. A paraxial approximation which preserves the rectilinear propagation character of the generalized pencils is presented. Under this approximation the pencils can be computed directly from the field conditions on a plane, without the necessity to compute the cross-spectral density function in the entire space as an intermediate quantity. The paraxial results are illustrated with examples. The pencils are shown to exhibit an interesting scaling behaviour in the far-zone. This scaling leads to a natural generalization of the Fraunhofer range criterion and of the classical van Cittert-Zernike theorem to planar sources of arbitrary state of coherence. The recently derived results of radiometry with partially coherent sources are shown to be simple consequences of this scaling.     

Stochastic simulations on the cellular wave computers

The computational paradigm represented by Cellular Neural/nonlinear Networks (CNN) and the CNN Universal Machine (CNN-UM) as a Cellular Wave Computer, gives new perspectives for computational physics. Many numerical problems and simulations can be elegantly addressed on this fully parallelized and analogic architecture. Here we study the possibility of performing stochastic simulations on this chip. First a realistic random number generator is implemented on the CNN-UM, and then as an example the two-dimensional Ising model is studied by Monte Carlo type simulations. The results obtained on an experimental version of the CNN-UM with 128 ×128 cells are in good agreement with the results obtained on digital computers. Computational time measurements suggest that the developing trend of the CNN-UM chips — increasing the lattice size and the number of local logic memories — will assure an important advantage for the CNN-UM in the near future.     

Lasers and optics: looking towards third generation gravitational wave detectors

Third generation terrestrial interferometric gravitational wave detectors will likely require significant advances in laser and optical technologies to reduce two of the main limiting noise sources: thermal noise due to mirror coatings and quantum noise arising from a combination of shot noise and radiation pressure noise. Increases in laser power and possible changes of the operational wavelength require new high power laser sources and new electro-optic modulators and Faraday isolators. Squeezed light can be used to further reduce the quantum noise while nano-structured optical components can be used to reduce or eliminate mirror coating thermal noise as well as to implement all-reflective interferometer configurations to avoid thermal effects in mirror substrates. This paper is intended to give an overview on the current state-of-the-art and future trends in these areas of ongoing research and development.     

Stochastic derivation of the Birula-Mycielski nonlinear wave equation

It is shown that the Schrödinger equation with a logarithmic nonlinearity proposed originally by Birula and Mycielski can be derived within the context of stochastic mechanics. Several important properties of this nonlinear model are easily analyzed by means of the stochastic interpretation, in particular the separability of the evolution equation and its classical limit. The expression for the energy is obtained on the basis of a stochastic variational principle developed by Yasue.