On the observation of decoherence with a movable mirror

Following almost a century of debate on possible “independent of measurement" elements of reality, or “induced" elements of reality - originally invoked as an ad-hoc collapse postulate, we propose a novel line of interference experiments which may be able to examine the regime of induced elements of reality. At the basis of the proposed experiment, lies the hypothesis that models of “induced" elements of reality should exhibit symmetry breaking within quantum evolution. The described symmetry experiment is thus aimed at being able to detect and resolve spatial symmetry breaking signatures. The proposed experiment stands at the edge of present day technological abilities and will be, so we believe, realizable in the near future. Received 2 December 1999 and Received in final form 6 April 2000     

Quantum interference of charged identical particles

We present the results of a computer simulation study of charged-particle interferometry, combining features of both the Aharonov-Bohm and Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment. In contrast to a previous theoretical analysis of this experiment, we find that the Aharonov-Bohm effect is also present in the cross-correlated two-particle intensity. A simple, time-independent scattering theory that leads to conclusions that are in concert with the simulation data is given.     

Neutral and charged excitons in a quantum tube

The optical transition energies of neutral and charged excitons in a quantum tube are calculated as a function of the Aharonov-Bohm magnetic flux Φ. The oscillation amplitude of the ground state energy of the electron-hole relative motion is shown to be larger in a quantum tube than a quantum ring with strong confinement in the axis direction. We find a double maxima structure in the optical transition energy for a quantum tube with radius R = 0.5 in units of the effective Bohr radius because of the difference in the Φ dependencies between the single electron energy and the relative-motion energy of a charged exciton state.     

10 Tera Hertz Operation in One-Dimensional Quantum Interference Transistor (1-D QUIT) Devices

A high performance quantum interference transistor (QUIT) realized using high mobility 1-D MODFET channels is presented. The operation of this 1-D QUIT is based on electrostatic Aharonov-Bohm quantum interference effect. The channel length of the device is smaller than the inelastic coherence length of the electrons in the quantum well wire channel, otherwise scattering will randomize electron's phase and destroy the quantum interference effect. Transport characteristics of the 0.2 m channel 1-D QUIT are calculated at 4.2 °K and compared with a two-dimensional QUIT device reported in literature. Our calculations show a significant improvement of the transconductance in one-dimensional transistors compared with its two-dimensional counterpart. The maximum frequency of operation of the 1-D QUIT is in the Tera Hertz regime, which makes it very attractive device for high frequency applications.     

The Hardy inequality and the heat equation with magnetic field in any dimension

In the Euclidean space of any dimension d, we consider the heat semigroup generated by the magnetic Schrödinger operator from which an inverse-square potential is subtracted to make the operator critical in the magnetic-free case. Assuming that the magnetic field is compactly supported, we show that the polynomial large-time behavior of the heat semigroup is determined by the eigenvalue problem for a magnetic Schrödinger operator on the (d ? 1)-dimensional sphere whose vector potential reflects the behavior of the magnetic field at the space infinity. From the spectral problem on the sphere, we deduce that in d = 2 there is an improvement of the decay rate of the heat semigroup by a polynomial factor with power proportional to the distance of the total magnetic flux to the discrete set of flux quanta, while there is no extra polynomial decay rate in higher dimensions. To prove the results, we establish new magnetic Hardy-type inequalities for the Schrödinger operator and develop the method of self-similar variables and weighted Sobolev spaces for the associated heat equation.     

Two-Slit and Aharonov-Bohm Experiments in Magnetic Field

We discuss the two-slit experiment and the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) experiment in the magnetic field. In such a case the electron moving in the magnetic field produces so called synchrotron radiation. In other words the photons are emitted from the points of the electron trajectory and it means that the trajectory of electron is visible in the synchrotron radiation spectrum. The axiomatic system of quantum mechanics does not enable to define the trajectory of the elementary particle. The two-slit experiment and AB experiment in a magnetic field was never performed and it means that they are the missing experiments of quantum mechanics. The extension of the discussion to the cosmical rays moving in the magnetic field of the Saturn magnetosphere and its rings is mentioned. It is related to the probe CASSINI. The solution of the problem in the framework of the hydrodynamical model of quantum mechanics and the nonlinear quantum mechanics is also mentioned.     

Aharonov-Bohm Scattering on Thin Toroidal Magnetic Flux Without Toroidal Shielding

This paper gives a rigorous and explicit calculation of the scattering wavefunction for the case of a bare thin toroidal magnetic flux, i.e. a thin toroidal magnetic flux without toroidal shielding.     

Electron Transport Through Double-Dot Aharonov-Bohm Interferometer in the Kondo Regime

By applying the slave boson technique, we have studied the electron transport through double-dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometer in the Kondo regime. For the system with symmetric quantum dots, the linear conductance is shown to be enhanced by Kondo effect, but it is suppressed in the deep dot level regime in the presence of nonzero magnetic flux. The Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of the conductance are also investigated.     

Reconstruction of the two-mode vibronic quantum state of a trapped atom

We present a method for the direct measurement of the Wigner-function matrix for complex vibronic states of a trapped atom, that is suited to analyse the entanglement between two motional degrees of freedom and the internal electronic dynamics. It is a generalisation of the method for the determination of vibronic quantum states [S. Wallentowitz, R.L. de Matos Filho, W. Vogel, Phys. Rev. A 56, 1205 (1997)] in conjunction with the scheme for the direct observation of the Wigner function of a single motional degree of freedom [L.G. Lutterbach, L. Davidovich, Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2547 (1997)]. The major advantage of the present method is that it reduces the experimental efforts substantially. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the nonlinear vibronic coupling necessary for this method turns out to be its main limitation. Received: 5 August 1998     

Approximate energies and thermal properties of a position-dependent mass charged particle under external magnetic fields

We solve the Schr?dinger equation with a position-dependent mass(PDM) charged particle interacted via the superposition of the Morse-plus-Coulomb potentials and is under the influence of external magnetic and Aharonov–Bohm(AB) flux fields. The nonrelativistic bound state energies together with their wave functions are calculated for two spatially-dependent mass distribution functions. We also study the thermal quantities of such a system. Further, the canonical formalism is used to compute various thermodynamic variables for second choosing mass by using the Gibbs formalism. We give plots for energy states as a function of various physical parameters. The behavior of the internal energy, specific heat, and entropy as functions of temperature and mass density parameter in the inverse-square mass case for different values of magnetic field are shown.