Growing mechanisms in the QKPZ equation aaand the DPD models

The roughening of interfaces moving in inhomogeneous media is investigated by numerical integration of the phenomenological stochastic differential equation proposed by Kardar, Parisi, and Zhang [Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 889 (1986)] with quenched noise (QKPZ) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 920 (1995)]. We express the evolution equations for the mean height and the roughness into two contributions: the local and the lateral one in order to compare them with the local and the lateral contributions obtained for the directed percolation depinning models (DPD) introduced independently by Tang and Leschhorn [Phys. Rev A 45, R8309 (1992)] and Buldyrev et al. [Phys. Rev A 45, R8313 (1992)]. These models are classified in the same universality class of the QKPZ although the mechanisms of growth are quite different. In the DPD models the lateral contribution is a coupled effect of the competition between the local growth and the lateral one. In these models the lateral contribution leads to an increasing of the roughness near the criticality while in the QKPZ equation this contribution always flattens the roughness. Received 7 April 2000 and Received in final form 7 March 2001     

Measurement of angular dependence of M X-ray production cross-sections in Re,Bi and U at 5.96 keV

The M X-ray production differential cross sections in Re, Bi and U elements have been measured at the 5.96 keV incident photon energy in an angular range 135°–155°. The measurements were performed using a ⁵⁵Fe source and a Si(Li) detector. The present results contradict the predictions of Cooper and Zare [Atomic Collision Processes, Gordon and Breach, New York (1969)] and experimental results of Kumar et al. [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 34, 613 (2001)]. that, after photoionization of inner shells, the vacancy state has equal population of magnetic substates and the subsequent X-ray emission is isotropic, but confirm the predictions of the calculations of Flügge et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 7 (1972)] and experimental results of Sharma and Allawadhi [J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. 32, 2343 (1999)] and Ertugrul [Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B 119, 345 (1996)]. Total M X-ray production cross sections from the decay at the 5.96 keV photon energies are found to be in good agreement with the calculated theoretical results using the theoretical values of M shell photoionization cross section.     

Ionisation of phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth by electron impact

Total ionization cross sections of neutral phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth atoms by electron impact are reported and compared to the only available experimental results by Freund et al. [Phys. Rev. A 41, 3575 (1990)]. These calculations take into account the possibilities that some target atoms used in the experiments were in metastable states close to the ground state, the excitation-autoionization of nsnp⁴ excited states may be substantial, and the ions produced in experiments may be in excited, low-lying metastable states. The cross sections for direct ionization calculations are based on the BEB model by Kim and Rudd [Phys. Rev. A 50, 3954 (1994)]. Plane-wave Born cross sections scaled by the method developed by Kim [Phys. Rev. A 64, 3954 032713 (2001)] are used to determine the contributions from excitation-autoionization. The combination of the BEB model and the scaled Born cross sections is in agreement with the experimental data by Freund et al. These theoretical data are useful to experimentalists and can be used to complete data tables needed for plasma or astrophysical studies.     

Efficient nonlinear-optical frequency conversion in periodic media in the presence of diffraction of the pump and harmonic fields

It has been predicted by Shelton and Shen [Phys. Rev. A 5, 1867 (1972)] and observed by Kajikawa et al. [Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. Lett. 31, L679 (1992)] and Yamada et al. [Appl. Phys. B 60, 485 (1995)] that the efficiency of nonlinear-optical frequency conversion increases significantly in a nonlinear periodic medium and, accordingly, the intensity of the generated harmonic increases as the fourth power of the sample thickness, as opposed to the square law observed in homogeneous media. In this paper it is shown that the same enhancement of the efficiency of nonlinear-optical frequency conversion in a nonlinear periodic medium can be achieved using an ordinary pump wave in the form of a plane wave when both the pump wave and the harmonics are diffracted by the periodic structure of the nonlinear medium. The phenomenon is analyzed quantitatively in the example of second-harmonic generation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 12, 793–799 (25 December 1999)     

Perturbation expansion, Bogoliubov inequality and integral representations in nonextensive Tsallis statistics

By using integral representations the perturbation expansion and the Bogoliubov inequality in nonextensive Tsallis statistics are investigated in a unified way. This procedure extends the analysis performed recently by Lenzi et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 218 (1998)] to the quantum (discrete spectra) case, for q<1. An example is presented in order to illustrate the method. Received 19 November 1998     

Diffraction of picosecond bulk longitudinal and shear waves in micron thick films

Investigation of thin metallic film properties by means of picosecond ultrasonics [C. Thomsen et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 989 (1984)] has been under the scope of several studies. Generation of longitudinal and shear waves [T. Pézeril et al., Phys. Rev. B 73, 132301 (2006); O. Matsuda et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 095501 (2004)] with a wave vector normal to the film free surface has been demonstrated. Such measurements cannot provide complete information about properties of anisotropic films. Extreme focusing of a laser pump beam (≈0.5 μm) on the sample surface has recently allowed us to provide evidence of picosecond acoustic diffraction in thin metallic films (≈1 μm) [C. Rossignol et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 166106 (2005)]. The resulting longitudinal and shear wavefronts propagate at group velocity through the bulk of the film. To interpret the received signals, source directivity diagrams are calculated taking into account material anisotropy, optical penetration, and laser beam width on the sample surface. It is shown that acoustic diffraction increases with optical penetration, so competing with the increasing of directivity caused by beam width. Reflection with mode conversion at the film-substrate interface is discussed.     

On the problem of the relation between phason elasticity and phason dynamics in quasicrystals

It has recently been claimed that the dynamics of long-wavelength phason fluctuations has been observed in i-AlPdMn quasicrystals [S. Francoual et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 225501 (2003); A. Létoublon et al. 54, 753 (2001)]. We will show that the data reported call for a more detailed development of the elasticity theory of Jarić and Nelsson [M.V. Jarić and D.R. Nelsson, Phys. Rev. B 37, 4458 (1988)] in order to determine the nature of small phonon-like atomic displacements with a symmetry that follows the phason elastic constants. We also show that a simple model with a single diffusing tile is sufficient to produce a signal that (1) is situated at a “satellite position” at a distance q from each Bragg peak; that (2) has an intensity that scales with the intensity of the corresponding Bragg peak; (3) falls off as 1/q²; and (4) has a time decay constant that is proportional to 1/Dq². It is thus superfluous to call for a picture of “phason waves” in order to explain such data, especially as such “waves” violate many physical principles.     

Comments on a paper by Marchildon,Antippa, and Everett about tachyons

Marchildonet al. [Phys. Rev. D 27, 1740 (1983)] expressed criticisms about old versions of some approaches to the theory of tachyons. We refute those criticisms somewhatbriefly, since suitable answers werealready present in the literature at the time when the paper here commented upon was being prepared.     

Scaling of global momentum transport in Taylor-Couette and pipe flow

We interpret measurements of the Reynolds number dependence of the torque in Taylor-Couette flow by Lewis and Swinney [Phys. Rev. E 59, 5457 (1999)] and of the pressure drop in pipe flow by Smits and Zagarola [Phys. Fluids 10, 1045 (1998)] within the scaling theory of Grossmann and Lohse [J. Fluid Mech. 407, 27 (2000)], developed in the context of thermal convection. The main idea is to split the energy dissipation into contributions from a boundary layer and the turbulent bulk. This ansatz can account for the observed scaling in both cases if it is assumed that the internal wind velocity introduced through the rotational or pressure forcing is related to the external (imposed) velocity U, by with and for the Taylor-Couette (U inner cylinder velocity) and pipe flow (U mean flow velocity) case, respectively. In contrast to the Rayleigh-Bénard case the scaling exponents cannot (yet) be derived from the dynamical equations. Received 9 September 2000     

Elastic scattering of low-energy electrons by NO

We report elastic integral, momentum transfer and differential cross sections for electron scattering by N₂O for energies up to 50 eV. These results were obtained at the static-exchange approximation with the Schwinger Multichannel Method with Pseudopotentials [M.H.F. Bettega, L.G. Ferreira and M.A.P. Lima, Phys. Rev. A 47, 1111 (1993)]. In general our results show good agreement with experimental data and with other theoretical results but some discrepancies are found. We have also found a shape resonance around 4 eV in agreement with previous calculations using the R-matrix Method of Sarpal et al. [J. Phys. B 29, 857 (1996)]. On the other hand, the existence of a resonance at about 13 eV, clearly seen by the Schwinger Variational Iterative Method [Michelin et al., J. Phys. B 29, 2115 (1996)], can not be confirmed by our calculations. At this energy, our cross sections show a broad bump with no clear resonant behavior given by the eigenphase sum. Received: 13 November 1997 / Revised: 13 March 1998 / Accepted: 9 April 1998     

On the optimality of individual entangling-probe attacks against BB84 quantum key distribution

Some MIT researchers [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] have recently claimed that their implementation of the Slutsky-Brandt attack [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998); Phys. Rev. A 71, 042312 (2005)] to the BB84 quantum-key-distribution (QKD) protocol puts the security of this protocol “to the test” by simulating “the most powerful individual-photon attack” [Phys. Rev. A 73, 012315 (2006)]. A related unfortunate news feature by a scientific journal [G. Brumfiel, Quantum cryptography is hacked, News @ Nature (april 2007); Nature 447, 372 (2007)] has spurred some concern in the QKD community and among the general public by misinterpreting the implications of this work. The present article proves the existence of a stronger individual attack on QKD protocols with encrypted error correction, for which tight bounds are shown, and clarifies why the claims of the news feature incorrectly suggest a contradiction with the established “old-style” theory of BB84 individual attacks. The full implementation of a quantum cryptographic protocol includes a reconciliation and a privacy-amplification stage, whose choice alters in general both the maximum extractable secret and the optimal eavesdropping attack. The authors of [Phys. Rev. A 75, 042327 (2007)] are concerned only with the error-free part of the so-called sifted string, and do not consider faulty bits, which, in the version of their protocol, are discarded. When using the provably superior reconciliation approach of encrypted error correction (instead of error discard), the Slutsky-Brandt attack is no more optimal and does not “threaten” the security bound derived by Lütkenhaus [Phys. Rev. A 59, 3301 (1999)]. It is shown that the method of Slutsky and collaborators [Phys. Rev. A 57, 2383 (1998)] can be adapted to reconciliation with error correction, and that the optimal entangling probe can be explicitly found. Moreover, this attack fills Lütkenhaus bound, proving that it is tight (a fact which was not previously known).     

Josephson oscillation of a superfluid Fermi gas

Using the complete numerical solution of a time-dependent three-dimensional mean-field model we study the Josephson oscillation of a superfluid Fermi gas (SFG) at zero temperature formed in a combined axially-symmetric harmonic plus one-dimensional periodic optical-lattice (OL) potentials after displacing the harmonic trap along the axial OL axis. We study the dependence of Josephson frequency on the strength of the OL potential. The Josephson frequency decreases with increasing strength as found in the experiment of Cataliotti et al. [Science 293, 843 (2001)] for a Bose-Einstein condensate and of the experiment of Pezzè et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 120401 (2004)] for an ideal Fermi gas. We demonstrate a breakdown of Josephson oscillation in the SFG for a large displacement of the harmonic trap. These features of Josephson oscillation of a SFG can be tested experimentally.     

Variational calculations of ionized-donor-bound excitons in GaAs-Al x Ga 1 - x As quantum wells

Using a two-parameter wave function, we calculate variationally the binding energy of an exciton bound to an ionized donor impurity (D^+,X) in GaAs-Al_xGa_1-xAs quantum wells for the values of the well width from 10 to 300 ?, when the dopant is located in the center of the well and at the edge of the well. The theoretical results confirm that the previous experimental speculation proposed by Reynolds et al. [Phys. Rev. B 40, 6210 (1989)] is the binding energy of D^+,X for the dopant at the edge of the well. In addition, we also calculate the center-of-mass wave function of the exciton and the average interparticle distances. The results are discussed in detail. Received 17 July 2000 and Received in final form 13 November 2000     

Twin-correlations in atoms

We discuss the possibility of preparing an atomic sample of atoms with minimum fluctuations in the difference between populations of two levels. A first scheme involves absorption of twin beams of light, and it presents a variant of a recent proposal for atomic spin squeezing within an excited state manifold [Kuzmich et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 4782 (1997)]. A second scheme involves atoms with two stable states, and we suggest that by use of quantum non-demolition detection and feed-back optical pumping, we may ensure a perfect agreement between the number of atoms in these two states. Received: 14 May 1998 / Revised: 10 August 1998 / Accepted: 8 October 1998     

Nonadditivity of bipartite distillable entanglement follows from a conjecture on bound entangled Werner states

Assuming the validity of a conjecture given by DiVincenzo et al. [Phys. Rev. A 61, 062312 (2000)] and by Dür et al. [Phys. Rev. A 61, 062313 (2000)], we show that the distillable entanglement for two bipartite states, each of which individually has zero distillable entanglement, can be nonzero. We show that this also implies that the distillable entanglement is not a convex function. Our example consists of the tensor product of a bound entangled state based on an unextendible product basis with an entangled Werner state which lies in the class of conjectured undistillable states.     

Optics of moving media

Light experiences a moving medium as an effective gravitational field. In the limit of low medium velocities the medium flow plays the role of a magnetic vector potential. We review the background of our theory [U. Leonhardt and P. Piwnicki, Phys. Rev. A 60, 4301 (1999); Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 822 (2000)], including our proposal of making optical black holes. Received: 4 July 2000 / Revised version: 17 October 2000 / Published online: 6 December 2000     

A quasi-classical trajectory study of the Cl + H<Subscript>2</Subscript> (D<Subscript>2</Subscript>) reaction on a new BW3 potential energy surface

Molecular reaction dynamics of Cl + H₂ (D₂) has been studied on the latest analytical potential energy surface called BW3 using the Monte Carlo quasi-classical trajectory method. Excitation functions, differential cross sections and angular distributions of HCl and DCl products have been calculated. The excitation functions of the Cl (²P_3/2) + n-H₂ and Cl(²P_3/2) + n-D₂ reactions are also studied. The results are compared with those of quasi-classical trajectory [M. Alagia et al.: Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2 (2000); F. J. Aoiz et al.: J. Phys. Chem. 100 (1996)], quantum mechanical (QM) calculations [F. J. Aoiz et al.:J. Chem. Phys. 115 (2001)] and experimental data [S. H. Lee et al.: J. Chem. Phys. 110 (1999); F. Dong et al.: J. Chem. Phys. 115 (2001)]. Discussions are given to some new results.     

Sum Rules for the Quasi-Static and Visco-Elastic Response of Disordered Solids at Zero Temperature

We study exact results concerning the non-affine displacement fields observed by Tanguy et al. [Europhys. Lett. 57, 423 (2002), Phys. Rev. B 66, 174205 (2002)] and their contributions to elasticity. A normal mode analysis permits us to estimate the dominant contributions to the non-affine corrections to elasticity and relate these corrections to the correlator of a fluctuating force field. We extend this analysis to the visco-elastic dynamical response of the system.     

Preparation and decoherence of superpositions of electromagnetic field states

In a recent experiment the progressive decoherence of a mesoscopic superposition of two coherent field states in a high-Q cavity, known as Schr?dinger cat state, has been measured for the first time [Brune et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4887 (1996)]. Here, the full master equation governing the coupled dissipative dynamics of the atom-field system studied in the experiment is formulated and solved numerically for the experimental parameters. The model simulated avoids the approximations underlying an analytically solvable model which is based on a harmonic expansion of the energies of the dressed atomic states and on a treatment of their dynamics within the adiabatic approximation. In particular, the numerical simulations reveal that the coupling of the cavity field mode to its environment causes important decoherence effects already during the initial preparation phase of the Schr?dinger cat state. This phenomenon is investigated in detail with the help of a measure for the purity of states. Moreover, the Hilbert-Schmidt distance of the intended target state, the Schr?dinger cat, to the state that is actually prepared in the experiment is determined. Received 13 September 2000 and Received in final form 22 December 2000