Propagation properties of the terahertz waveguide using a metallic nanoslit narrower than skin depth

A terahertz(THz) waveguide using a metallic nanoslit whose width is much smaller than the skin depth is analytically investigated. By taking some important physical properties into account, we derive a simple,yet accurate, expression for the effective index. We also study the changes in modal field and the attenuation coefficient in the whole THz region, and find some interesting physical properties. Finally, we verify that these theoretical analyses coincide with the rigorous numerical simulations. This research can be useful for various applications of THz waveguides made of metallic nanoslits.     

Direct measurement of the instantaneous linewidth of rapidly wavelength-swept lasers

The instantaneous linewidth of rapidly wavelength-swept laser sources as used for optical coherence tomography (OCT) is of crucial interest for a deeper understanding of physical effects involved in their operation. Swept lasers for OCT, typically sweeping over ~15 THz in ~10 μs, have linewidths of several gigahertz. The high optical-frequency sweep speed makes it impossible to measure the instantaneous spectrum with standard methods. Hence, up to now, experimental access to the instantaneous linewidth was rather indirect by the inverse Fourier transform of the coherence decay. In this Letter, we present a method by fast synchronous time gating and extraction of a "snapshot" of the instantaneous spectrum with an electro-optic modulator, which can subsequently be measured with an optical spectrum analyzer. This new method is analyzed in detail, and systematic artifacts, such as sideband generation due to the modulation and residual wavelength uncertainty due to the sweeping operation, are quantified. The method is checked for consistency with results from the common, more indirect measurement via coherence properties.     

Experimental observation of the linewidth narrowing of electromagnetically induced transparency resonance

We report an experimental observation of the variation in linewidth of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) resonance in a three-level A-type system for several laser bandwidths in a Rb vapor cell, with and without a buffer gas. It is found, using narrow bandwidth (about 20 kHz) diode laser for both coupling and probe beams, that the linewidth of the EIT resonance can be significantly narrowed in the Rb vapor cell with the buffer gas. The results are in good qualitative agreement with a simple theoretical calculation.     

Laser linewidth effects in intensity correlations in resonance fluorescence

The influence of partially coherent light on photon correlations in resonance fluorescence is discussed. We show that the laser bandwidth changes the intensity correlations in a very different way depending on whether the Rabi oscillation is greater or smaller than the natural lifetime of the excited state. For low intensity excitation we predict a generalization of the Heitler-Weisskopf effect extended to intensity correlations. A comparison with an inhomogenous theory of laser band-width is also presented.     

Anomalous natural linewidth in the 2p photoelectron spectrum of SiF4

The silicon 2p photoelectron spectra for SiH4, SiF4, and SiCl4 have been analyzed to give the natural linewidths of the Si 2p hole states, which reflect the Auger decay rates of the states. For SiH4 the measured width of 38 meV is in approximate agreement with the prediction of the one-center model (32 meV), but that for SiF4 of 79 meV is more than 5 times the value of 14 meV predicted by this model. Approximate theoretical calculations indicate that valence electrons from the fluorine atoms of SiF4 play an important role in the Auger decay via interatomic processes.     

Line narrowing beyond natural linewidth in radiation matter interaction

A review of the various linear and nonlinear methods used to obtain resolution beyond natural linewidth is given. Based on the lecture given at the International Symposium on Theoretical Physics, Bangalore, November 1984.     

Resolution beyond natural linewidth via flourescence in modulated beams

A new method is proposed for obtaining spectral resolution beyond the natural linewidth using excitation by a laser beam whose intensity is weakly modulated in time at a low frequency ν. Th modulated fluorescence at 2ν, is shown to posses subnatural linewidth. The resolution of two lines lying within the natural linewidth of each other is explicitly considered.     

Direct observation of the transversal Doppler-shift

An experiment is reported in which the second order Doppler-shift has been determined by the observation of theHα-line emitted by linearly moving hydrogen atoms of velocities 2.53×10⁸ cm/s?9.28×10⁸ cm/s. In contrast to previous experiments the direct transversal observation has been used for the first time. The coefficient of the second order term in the relativistic approximation is found to be 0.52±0.03 which compares good with the theoretical value of 1/2.     

Direct observation of the Aharonov-Casher phase

Ring structures fabricated from HgTe/HgCdTe quantum wells have been used to study Aharonov-Bohm type conductance oscillations as a function of Rashba spin-orbit splitting strength. We observe nonmonotonic phase changes indicating that an additional phase factor modifies the electron wave function. We associate these observations with the Aharonov-Casher effect. This is confirmed by comparison with numerical calculations of the magnetoconductance for a multichannel ring structure within the Landauer-Büttiker formalism.     

Direct observation of Josephson capacitance

The effective capacitance has been measured in the split Cooper-pair box (CPB) over its phase-gate bias plane. Our low-frequency reactive measurement scheme allows us to probe purely the capacitive susceptibility due to the CPB band structure. The data are quantitatively explained using parameters determined independently by spectroscopic means. In addition, we show in practice that the method offers an efficient way to do nondemolition readout of the CPB quantum state.     

Direct observation of the strange b baryon Xib-

We report the first direct observation of the strange b baryon Xi(b)- (Xi(b)+). We reconstruct the decay Xi(b)- -->J/psiXi-, with J/psi-->mu+mu-, and Xi--->Lambdapi--->ppi-pi- in pp collisions at square root of s =1.96 TeV. Using 1.3 fb(-1) of data collected by the D0 detector, we observe 15.2 +/- 4.4(stat)(-0.4)(+1.9)(syst) Xi(b)- candidates at a mass of 5.774 +/- 0.011(stat) +/- 0.015(syst) GeV. The significance of the observed signal is 5.5 sigma, equivalent to a probability of 3.3 x 10(-8) of it arising from a background fluctuation. Normalizing to the decay Lambda(b)-->J/psiLambda, we measure the relative rate sigma(Xi(b-) x B(Xi)b})- -->J/psiXi-)/sigma(Lambda(b)) x B(Lambda(b)-->J/psiLambda) = 0.28+/-0.09(stat)(-0.08)(+0.09)(syst).     

Direct observation of double diffraction patterns

The double diffraction light intensity of two identical gratings placed parallel in the Fresnel region is sensitive to the lateral displacement ΔX, and is also affected by the air gap R between the gratings. In this note, the dependence of the double diffraction light intensity on ΔX and R for each order beam has been obtained directly by observing the intensity pattern on a screen.     

Direct observation of macroscopic charge quantization

The circuit formed by a nanoscale tunnel junction in series with a capacitance and a voltage source is the building block of most multi-junction circuits of single electronics. The state of this single electron box is entirely determined by the numbern of extra electrons on the intermediate island electrode between the junction and the capacitance. We have fabricated such a system and measured the charge on the junction capacitance, which is directly related to the average value ofn, as a function of the bias voltage using a Fulton-Dolan electrometer. At low temperature, the junction charge followed thee-periodic sawtooth function expected from the theory of macroscopic charge quantization. Strikingly,e-periodic variations were also observed when the box was superconducting. The thermal rounding of the sawtooth function is well explained by a simple model, except at the lowest temperatures.     

Direct observation of anomalous Kossel lines

Anomalous Kossel lines corresponding to the yield of X rays from a germanium crystal under the conditions of strongly asymmetric diffraction have been observed in the simplest experimental scheme with the use of characteristic Mo K _α radiation and a germanium crystal analyzer. In agreement with the results of a previous theoretical analysis, such lines are narrow collimated beams of radiation in the form of a ridge in a narrow angular range near a given direction whose intensity is one or two orders of magnitude higher than the background with a divergence of about several seconds of arc in the diffraction plane and of about 10′ along the Kossel line. The possible applications of this effect, in particular, for solving the problems of X-ray holography, are discussed.     

Ultranarrow bandwidth Faraday atomic filter approaching natural linewidth based on cold atoms

An ultranarrow bandwidth Faraday atomic filter is realized based on cold ~(87)Rb atoms. The atomic filter operates at 780 nm on the 5~2 S_(1/2), F = 2 to 5~2 P_(3/2), F'= 3 transition with a bandwidth of 7.1(8) MHz, which is approaching the natural linewidth of the transition. The peak transmission achieves 2.6(3)% by the multi-pass probe method. This atomic filter based on cold atoms may find potential applications in self-stabilizing lasers in the future.     

Direct observation of depolarization shift of the intersubband resonance

We have studied the intersubband resonance of GaAs/AlGaAs multi-quantum-well systems by comparing photon drag and absorption spectra obtained by in-plane photocurrent and photoconduction measurements. The peak absorption at room temperature is found to be blueshifted from the photon drag resonance by as much as 33 cm(-1). We argue that this difference gives directly the depolarization shift, since the resonant photon drag current is driven by the Doppler effect, which is a k-vector dependent single particle process.     

Direct observation of oxygen superstructures in manganites

We report the observation of superstructures associated with the oxygen 2p states in two prototypical manganites using x-ray diffraction at the oxygen K edge. In the stripe order system Bi0.31Ca0.69MnO3, hole-doped O states are orbitally ordered, at the same propagation vector as the Mn orbital ordering, but no oxygen charge stripes are found at this periodicity. In La7/8Sr1/8MnO3, we observe a 2p charge ordering described by alternating hole-poor and hole-rich MnO planes that is consistent with some of the recent predictions.