Absorption spectrum of a resonantly driven degenerate V-type atom with a dc-field coupling between excited states

We study the absorption spectra of a degenerate V-type atom, where a resonant driving field and a probe field drive different branches of transitions and a dc field is applied to drive the transition between two excited states. The effects of vacuum induced coherence (VIC) on the absorption spectra are investigated. It is demonstrated that in some special cases the VIC can lead to the depression of absorption and narrow resonance. The origin of these features are discussed. When the pump field and the dc field have the same intensity, it is interesting to find that the whole absorption spectrum comes mainly from the absorptions induced by the interferences among different transitions between dressed states.     

Photon-electron scattering taking vacuum energy into account

We deal with photon-electron scattering between the two uncharged conducting parallel plates. The electromagnetic vacuum field between the two plates is defined by the configuration of space and also interacts with the electrons. We first deal with the relevant operators for the electron and photon fields and with the Feynman propagator. We compute theS-matrix for photon-electron scattering, taking into account the influence of the vacuum field. The computed photon-electron scattering cross section also manifests the influence of the vacuum field. We give an example for low-energy scattering of the influence of the vacuum field upon the scattering cross section.     

Influence of vacuum energy on scattering

We deal with photon-electron scattering which occurs between two uncharged conducting parallel plates moving away from each other at a constant velocity. The electromagnetic vacuum field between two plates is defined by the configuration of space and also interacts with the electrons. We show the relevant operators for both the electron and photon fields and the computation of the corresponding Feynman propagator,S-matrix, and scattering cross section, taking into account the influence of the changeable vacuum field. Correction terms in the computedS-matrix and scattering cross section manifest the influence of the changeable vacuum field. We analyze an example for low-energy scattering of the influence of the changeable vacuum field upon the scattering cross section.     

Nonclassical Radiation from Two Atoms and Quantum Search Algorithms

We discuss the non-classical aspects of the radiation emitted from a system of two atoms. We first consider the radiation emitted from independently radiating quantum systems. If the atoms are excited by coherent light then the radiation exhibits the usual interference fringes in the far field as the point of observation is varied. By contrast,if the system is incoherently excited no interferences can be seen in the far held intensity pattern, 1. e. tne first order correlation function. However, if the second order correlation function is considered interferences appear even if the system is incoherently excited, i.e. even if the emitted photons are uneorrelated .This can be understood in terms of interferences between multiple pathways for quantum transitions as well as the detection induced entanglement. We show the non-classical nature of these intensity-intensity correlations. Such quantum interferences can be used for range of applications, i.e. for information processing or in applications to quantum search algorithms.We also consider the ease when the atoms are dose to each other so that the dipole-dipole interaction between them is significant. In this ease it is demonstrated that as a function of the detector position we can probe the decay either in the symmetric space or in the antisymmetrie space.     

Scattering with vacuum field taken into account

We present the calculation of the photon-electron scattering by taking into account both the static and the dynamic vacuum fields. The vacuum field is represented by the configuration of the space between two uncharged conducting parallel plates which can be at rest (static vacuum field) or moving from each other at a constant velocity (dynamic vacuum field). Correction terms in the computedS-matrix and scattering cross section manifest the influence of the static and dynamic vacuum field.     

Interferences in parametric interactions driven by quantized fields

We report interferences in the quantum fluctuations of the output of a parametric amplifier when the cavity is driven by a quantized field at the signal frequency. The interferences depend on the phase fluctuations of the input quantized field and result in splitting of the spectrum of the output, and thus the recent observation [H. Ma, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 233601 (2005)10.1103/PhysRevLett.95.233601] of interferences in the classical domain have a very interesting counterpart in the quantum domain. The interferences can be manipulated, for example, by changing the amount of squeezing in the input field.     

Bistable behaviour in squeezed vacua: I. Stationary analysis

A time-independent theoretical and numerical analysis of an optical bistable model of two-level atoms in a ring cavity, driven by a coherent field and in contact with a squeezed vacuum field is presented in the two cases of absorptive and dispersive optical bistability (OB). In the former case, a suitable choice of the phase of the squeezed vacuum field reduces the threshold for OB to occur compared with the normal vacuum case. In the latter case, regions of OB are identified as one or two disconnected simple closed curves depending on the cooperation parameter [0pt] : is the maximum possible value of the critical value of C at fixed values of the squeezed vacuum field parameters. Phase switching effects between different (output) states of the system is investigated in detail. In the absorptive case, one- or two-way optical switching is possible depending on [0pt] . We also present results which demonstrate more complicated switching behaviour in the dispersive case. Received 12 March 1999 and Received in final form 20 August 1999     

Vacuum induced spin-1/2 Berry's phase

We calculate the Berry phase of a spin-1/2 particle in a magnetic field considering the quantum nature of the field. The phase reduces to the standard Berry phase in the semiclassical limit and the eigenstate of the particle acquires a phase in the vacuum. We also show how to generate a vacuum induced Berry phase considering two quantized modes of the field which has an interesting physical interpretation.     

Coherence control for photonic logic gates via Y-configuration double-control quantum interferences

Destructive and constructive quantum interferences exhibited in a four-level Y-configuration double-control atomic system are suggested. It is shown that the probe transition (driven by the probe field) can be manipulated by the quantum interferences between two control transitions (driven by the control fields) of the four-level system. The atomic vapor is opaque (or transparent) to the probe field if the destructive (or constructive) quantum interference between the control transitions emerges. The optically sensitive responses due to double-control quantum interferences can be utilized to realize some quantum optical and photonic devices such as the logic-gate devices, e.g., the NOT, OR, NOR and EXNOR gates.     

On the superpropagator of fields with exponential coupling

We define the vacuum expectation value of the time-ordered product of two exponentials of free fields as a distribution using minimal singularity as a criterion. The implication of this definition for an exponentially self-coupled scalar field is studied in second order of a perturbation expansion.     

Conformal invariance and spontaneous symmetry breaking

We study the spontaneous symmetry breaking in a conformally invariant gravitational theory. We particularly emphasize on the nonminimal coupling of matter fields to gravity. By the nonminimal coupling we consider a local distinction between the conformal frames of metric of matter fieldsand the metric explicitly entering the vacuum sector. We suppose that these two frames are conformally related by a dilaton field. We show that the imposition of a condition on the variable mass term of a scalar field may lead to the spontaneous symmetry breaking. In this way the scalar field may imitate the Higgs field behavior. Attributing a constant configuration to the ground state of the Higgs field, a Higgs conformal frame is specified. We define the Higgs conformal frame as a cosmological frame which describes the large scale characteristics of the observed universe. In the cosmological frame the gravitational coupling acquires a correct value and one no longer deals with the vacuum energy problem. We then study a more general case by considering a variable configuration for the ground state of Higgs field. In this case we introduce a cosmological solution of themodel.     

Improved QCD vacuum for gauge groups SU(3) and SU(4)

The effective energy for a covariantly constant background field in a pure Yang-Mills theory is calculated to loop order one. For gauge group SU(3) [SU(4)] it is found that the “vacuum” configuration consists of two [three] constant color magnetic fields of equal non-zero magnitude orthogonal to each other in color as well as physical space. We conclude that the structure of the Copenhagen vacuum is more complex than previously expected.     

Entanglement Dynamics of Two Atoms in the Squeezed Vacuum and the Coherent Fields

We investigate the entanglement dynamics of two atoms in a double damping Jaynes-Cummings model. The two atoms are initially in the Bell states and each is in a squeezed vacuum cavity field or coherent cavity field. Compared with the case in coherent field, the atomic entanglement in the squeezed vacuum field is stronger under the same conditions. The results show that we can adopt appropriate parameters such as mean photon number, detuning, the atomic spontaneous decay and the cavity decay, to realize better control of atomic entanglement in quantum information processing. What’s worth mentioning is that proper choosing of the last two parameters enables us to decrease disentanglement period and postpone the moment when the entanglement disappears. Finally, the atomic entanglement in double damping and non-identical Jaynes-Cummings model is obtained

     

Entanglement and coherence of a three-level atom in Λ configuration interacting with two fields

We investigate the entanglement of a three-level atom in λ configuration interacting with two quantized field modes by using logarithmic negativity. Then, we study the relationship of the atomic coherence and the entanglement between two fields which are initially prepared in vacuum or thermal states. We find that if the two fields are prepared in thermal states, the atomic coherence can induce the entanglement between two thermal fields. However, there is no coherence-induced entanglement between two vacuum fields.     

Spontaneous emission spectrum of a three-level atom embedded in photonic crystal

The two models of three-level (one upper level and two lower levels, or two upper levels and one lower level) atom embedded in a double-band photonic crystal are adopted. The atomic transitions from the upper levels to the lower levels are assumed to be coupled by the same reservoir which are respectively the isotropic photonic band gap (PBG) modes, the anisotropic PBG modes and the free vacuum modes. The effects of the fine structure of the atomic ground state levels in the model with one upper level and two lower levels, and the quantum interferences in the model with two upper levels and one lower level on the spontaneous emission spectrum of an atom are investigated in detail. Most interestingly, it is shown that new spontaneous emission lines are produced from the fine splitting of atomic ground state levels in the isotropic PBG case. The quantum interferences induce additional narrow spontaneous lines near the transition from the empty upper level to the lower level.     

Interaction of a supersonic beam of toluene with a resonant RF electric field

Deflection of a cold supersonic toluene beam seeded in He has been observed when these molecules interact with both a static and a resonant oscillating electric field. The toluene beam splits into two beams each one peaking at a deflection angle of 1 degree towards the positive and negative direction of the Stark field when the employed resonant frequency between the two Stark levels of the toluene molecule is 1411 kHz. This deflection angle is about four orders of magnitude higher than the value one would expect from the toluene dipole moment and the employed RF field gradient. Different hypothesis are suggested to explain the observed strong beam splitting including the possibility of transverse beam interferences induced by both the resonant RF field and the transverse uniform electric field. A theoretical model is presented based on molecular beam interferences induced by the resonant RF field which seems to account satisfactorily for the present observations.     

New exact solutions of Einstein's field equations: Gravitational force can also be repulsive!

This article has not been written for specialists of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations but for physicists who are interested in nontrivial information on this topic. We recall the history and some basic properties of exact solutions of Einstein's vacuum equations. We show that the field equations for stationary axisymmetric vacuum gravitational fields can be expressed by only one nonlinear differential equation for a complex function. This compact form of the field equations allows the generation of almost all stationary axisymmetric vacuum gravitational fields. We present a new stationary two-body solution of Einstein's equations as an application of this generation technique. This new solution proves the existence of a macroscopic, repulsive spin-spin interaction in general relativity. Some estimates that are related to this new two-body solution are given.     

Pair creation in Feshbach-Villars formalism with two components

We have studied the behavior of the Feshbach-Villars equation (FV₀) in comparison with the Klein-Gordon one (KG) in the problem of particle pair creation from the vacuum in an external electromagnetic field, considering two approaches: the Schwinger effective action method and the Bogoliubov transformation technique. In the first approach the vacuum to vacuum transition amplitude is calculated treating the FV₀ field like a bosonic field. For the second approach, that uses canonical quantization, it is shown that the relative fields and their conjugate moments obey a commutation relation and not anticommutation one. The pair creation probability and the probability that the vacuum remains a vacuum calculated from the FV₀ equation are, consequently, the same as those obtained from the KG one.Received: 12 January 2005, Revised: 24 March 2005, Published online: 4 May 2005PACS: 03.65.Ca, 03.65.Db, 03.65.Pm, 23.20.Ra     

On quantum radiation in curved spacetime

In the context of quantum field theories in curved spacetime, we compute the effective action of the transition amplitude from vacuum to vacuum in the presence of an external gravitational field. The imaginary part of the resulted effective action determines the probability of vacuum decay via a quantum tunneling process, giving the rate and spectrum of particle creations. We show that (i) the gravitational field polarizes the vacuum and discretizes its spectrum; (ii) vacuum gains gravitational energy by such a polarization. On the basis of gravitational vacuum polarization, we discuss the quantum origin of vacuum decay in curved spacetime as pair-creations of particles and anti-particles. The thermal spectrum of particle creations is attributed to (i) the CPT invariance of pair-creations (annihilations) from (into) vacuum and (ii) vacuum acts as a reserve with the temperature determined by gravitational energy-gain.