Resonance-assisted tunneling in near-integrable systems

Dynamical tunneling between symmetry related invariant tori is studied in the near-integrable regime. Using the kicked Harper model as an illustration, we show that the exponential decay of the wave functions in the classically forbidden region is modified due to coupling processes that are mediated by classical resonances. This mechanism leads to a substantial deviation of the splitting between quasidegenerate eigenvalues from the purely exponential decrease with 1/Planck's over 2pi obtained for the integrable system. A simple semiclassical framework, which takes into account the effect of the resonance substructure on the invariant tori, allows one to quantitatively reproduce the behavior of the eigenvalue splittings.     

Superconductivity-induced macroscopic resonant tunneling

We show analytically and by numerical simulations that the conductance through pi-biased chaotic Josephson junctions is enhanced by several orders of magnitude in the short-wavelength regime. We identify the mechanism behind this effect as macroscopic resonant tunneling through a macroscopic number of low-energy quasidegenerate Andreev levels.     

Neutrino unification

Present neutrino data are consistent with neutrino masses arising from a common seed at some "neutrino unification" scale M(X). Such a simple theoretical ansatz naturally leads to quasidegenerate neutrinos that could lie in the electron-volt range with neutrino mass splittings induced by renormalization effects associated with supersymmetric thresholds. In such a scheme the leptonic analog of the Cabibbo angle straight theta(middle dot in circle) describing solar neutrino oscillations is nearly maximal. Its exact value is correlated with the smallness of straight theta(reactor). The two leading mass-eigenstate neutrinos present in nu(e) form a pseudo-Dirac neutrino, avoiding conflict with neutrinoless double beta decay.     

Generation of large flavor mixing from radiative corrections

We provide a model independent criterion which would guarantee a large flavor mixing of two quasidegenerate Majorana neutrinos at the low scale, irrespective of the mixing at the high scale. We also show that such a situation is realizable for a phenomenologically interesting range of parameters of the weak scale theory. We further claim that for a similar condition to be implementable for the three generation case, the CP parity of one of the neutrinos needs to be opposite to that of the others.     

Quantum interference and decoherence in single-molecule junctions: how vibrations induce electrical current

Quantum interference and decoherence in single-molecule junctions is analyzed employing a nonequilibrium Green's function approach. Electrons tunneling through quasidegenerate states of a molecular junction exhibit interference effects. We show that electronic-vibrational coupling, inherent to any molecular junction, strongly quenches such interference effects. This decoherence mechanism may cause significantly larger electrical currents and is particularly pronounced if the junction is vibrationally highly excited, e.g., due to inelastic processes in the resonant transport regime.     

Ab initio analysis of electron-phonon coupling in molecular devices

We report a first principles analysis of electron-phonon coupling in molecular devices under external bias voltage and during current flow. Our theory and computational framework are based on carrying out density functional theory within the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. Using a molecular tunnel junction of a 1,4-benzenedithiolate molecule contacted by two aluminum leads as an example, we analyze which molecular vibrational modes are most relevant to charge transport under nonequilibrium conditions. We find that the low-lying modes are most important. As a function of bias voltage, the electron-phonon coupling strength can change drastically while the vibrational spectrum changes at a few percent level.     

Franck-Condon blockade and giant Fano factors in transport through single molecules

We show that Franck-Condon physics leads to a significant current suppression at low bias voltages (termed Franck-Condon blockade) in transport through single molecules with strong coupling between electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom. Transport in this regime is characterized by remarkably large Fano factors (10(2)-10(3) for realistic parameters), which arise due to avalanchelike transport of electrons. Avalanches occur in a self-similar manner over a wide range of time scales, leading to power-law dependences of the current noise on frequency and vibrational relaxation rate.     

Fractional quantum Hall effect of hard-core bosons in topological flat bands

Recent proposals of topological flat band models have provided a new route to realize the fractional quantum Hall effect without Landau levels. We study hard-core bosons with short-range interactions in two representative topological flat band models, one of which is the well-known Haldane model (but with different parameters). We demonstrate that fractional quantum Hall states emerge with signatures of an even number of quasidegenerate ground states on a torus and a robust spectrum gap separating these states from the higher energy spectrum. We also establish quantum phase diagrams for the filling factor 1/2 and illustrate quantum phase transitions to other competing symmetry-breaking phases.     

Enhancement and control of H2 dissociative ionization by femtosecond VUV laser pulses

We report ab initio calculations of H2 ionization by VUV/fs 10(12) W/cm2 laser pulses including correlation and all electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom (DOF). Inclusion of the nuclear DOF leads to a substantial increase of resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization. By varying pulse duration, it is possible to control the ratio of dissociative to nondissociative ionization as well as the final H+(2) vibrational distribution. For pulses longer than 10 fs and proportional to omega>0.46 a.u., dissociative ionization entirely dominates, which is a very unusual situation in photoionization studies.     

Quasidegenerate self-trapping in one-dimensional charge transfer exciton

The self-trapping by the nondiagonal particle-phonon interaction between two quasidegenerate energy levels of the excitonic system is studied. We propose this is realized in the charge-transfer exciton, where the directions of the polarization give the quasidegeneracy. It is shown that this mechanism, unlike the conventional diagonal one, allows a coexistence and resonance of the free and self-trapped states even in one-dimensional systems and a quantitative theory for the optical properties (light absorption and time-resolved luminescence) of the resonating states is presented. This theory gives a consistent resolution for the long-standing puzzles in quasi-one-dimensional compound A-PMDA.     

Anomalous slowing down of the vibrational relaxation of liquid water upon nanoscale confinement

We study the vibrational dynamics of nanodroplets of liquid water with femtosecond two-color midinfrared pump-probe spectroscopy. For the smallest nanodroplet, containing 10-15 water molecules, the lifetime T1 of the O-H stretch vibrations is equal to 0.85+/-0.1 ps, which is more than 3 times as long as in bulk liquid water. We find that the truncation of the hydrogen-bond network of water leads to a dramatic change of the relaxation mechanism.     

Quantum state control via trap-induced shape resonance in ultracold atomic collisions

We investigate controlled collisions between trapped but separated ultracold atoms. The interaction between atoms is treated self-consistently using an energy-dependent delta-function pseudopotential model, whose validity we establish. At a critical separation, a "trap-induced shape resonance" between molecular bound states and a vibrational eigenstate of the trap can occur. This resonance leads to an avoided crossing in the eigenspectrum as a function of separation. We investigate how this new resonance can be employed for quantum control.     

Thermopower for a molecule with vibrational degrees of freedom

We study a simple model to describe resonant tunneling through an organic molecule between two conducting leads, taking into account the vibrational modes of the molecule. We solve the model approximately analytically in the weak coupling limit and give explicit expressions for the thermopower and Seebeck coefficient. The behavior of these two quantities is studied as function of model parameters and temperature. For a certain regime of parameters a rather peculiar variation of the thermopower and Seebeck coefficient is observed.     

Simulation of vibrational spectra of SiO2 nanoclusters

The vibrational density of states of α-SiO₂ nanoclusters with different diameters has been calculated in terms of the shell model in the harmonic approximation. A decrease in the diameter of nanoparticles leads to an increase in the vibrational density of states in the low-frequency range of the spectrum, a shift of the spectrum in the high-frequency range, and the generation of gap vibrational modes. The interpretation of the observed features has been proposed.     

Perturbation of a LP mode of an optical fibre by a quasi-degenerate field: a simple formula

A very simple formula is given for the perturbation of a LP_on mode of a circular fibre by a quasidegenerate field. Similar formulae, but less simple, are given for higher LP_mn modes in circular fibres or for LP modes of non-circular fibres. Some straightforward applications are given.     

One-dimensional instability in BaVS3

The 3d(1) system BaVS3 undergoes a series of remarkable electronic phase transitions. We show that the metal-insulator transition at T(MI)=70 K is associated with a structural transition announced by a huge regime of one-dimensional (1D) lattice fluctuations, detected up to 170 K. These 1D fluctuations correspond to a 2k(F)=c(*)/2 charge-density wave (CDW) instability of the d(z(2)) electron gas. We discuss the formation below T(MI) of an unconventional CDW state involving the condensation of the other V4+ 3d(1) electrons of the quasidegenerate e(t(2g)) orbitals. This study stresses the role of the orbital degrees of freedom in the physics of BaVS3 and reveals the inadequacy of current first principle band calculations to describe its electronic ground state.     

Vibrational mechanics in an optical lattice: controlling transport via potential renormalization

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally the phenomenon of vibrational resonance in a periodic potential, using cold atoms in an optical lattice as a model system. A high-frequency (HF) drive, with a frequency much larger than any characteristic frequency of the system, is applied by phase modulating one of the lattice beams. We show that the HF drive leads to the renormalization of the potential. We used transport measurements as a probe of the potential renormalization. The very same experiments also demonstrate that transport can be controlled by the HF drive via potential renormalization.     

Investigation of hydrogen bonding in neat dimethyl sulfoxide and binary mixture (dimethyl sulfoxide + water) by concentration-dependent Raman study and ab initio calculation

In this study,our vibrational spectroscopic analysis is made on hydrogen-bonding between dimethyl sulfoxide and water comprises both experimental Raman spectra and ab initio calculations on structures of various dimethyl sulfoxide/water clusters with increasing water content.The Raman peak position of the v(S=O) stretching mode of dimethyl sulfoxide serves as a probe for monitoring the degree of hydrogen-bonding between dimethyl sulfoxide and water.In addition,the two vibrational modes,namely,the CH 3 symmetric stretching mode and the CH 3 asymmetric stretching mode have been analysed under different concentrations.We relate the computational results to the experimental vibrational wavenumber trends that are observed in our concentration-dependent Raman study.The combination of experimental Raman data with ab initio calculation leads to a better knowledge of the nature of the hydrogen bonding and the structures of the hydrogen-bonded complexes studied.     

Vibrational properties and Raman spectra of different edge graphene nanoribbons,studied by first-principles calculations

The vibrational properties and Raman spectra of graphene nanoribbons with six different edges have been studied by using the first-principles calculations. It is found that edge reconstruction leads to the emergence of localized vibrational modes and new topological defect modes, making the different edges identified by polarized Raman spectra. The radial breathing-like modes are found to be independent of the edge structures, while the G-band-related modes are affected by different edge structures. Our results suggest that the polarized Raman spectrum could be a powerful experimental tool for distinguishing the GNRs with different edge structures due to their different vibrational properties.