The electron impact $X{}^1{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_g^{+}\to b{}^3{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_u^{+}$ transition in molecular hydrogen is one of the most important dissociation pathways to forming atomic hydrogen atoms, and is of great importance in modeling astrophysical and industrial plasmas where molecular hydrogen is a substantial constituent. Recently, it has been found that the convergent close-coupling (CCC) cross sections of Zammit et al. [Phys. Rev. A 95, 022708 (2017)] are up to a factor of 2 smaller than the currently recommended data. We have determined normalized differential cross sections for excitation of this transition from our experimental ratios of the inelastic to elastic scattering of electrons by molecular hydrogen using a transmission-free time-of-flight electron spectrometer, and find excellent agreement with the CCC calculations. Since there is already excellent agreement for the absolute elastic differential cross sections, we establish benchmark differential and integrated cross sections for the $X{}^1{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_g^{+}\to b{}^3{\mathrm{\Sigma }}_u^{+}$ transition, with theory and experiment being essentially in complete agreement.

Finding the solutions of the equations that describe the dynamics of a given physical system is crucial in order to obtain important information about its evolution. However, by using estimation theory, it is possible to obtain, under certain limitations, some information on its dynamics. The quantum-speed-limit (QSL) theory was originally used to estimate the shortest time in which a Hamiltonian drives an initial state to a final one for a given fidelity. Using the QSL theory in a slightly different way, we are able to estimate the running time of a given quantum process. For that purpose, we impose the saturation of the Anandan-Aharonov bound in a rotating frame of reference where the state of the system travels slower than in the original frame (laboratory frame). Through this procedure it is possible to estimate the actual evolution time in the laboratory frame of reference with good accuracy when compared to previous methods. Our method is tested successfully to predict the time spent in the evolution of nuclear spins 1/2 and 3/2 in NMR systems. We find that the estimated time according to our method is better than previous approaches by up to four orders of magnitude. One disadvantage of our method is that we need to solve a number of transcendental equations, which increases with the system dimension and parameter discretization used to solve such equations numerically.

The time evolution of periodically driven non-Hermitian systems is in general nonunitary but can be stable. It is hence of considerable interest to examine the adiabatic following dynamics in periodically driven non-Hermitian systems. We show in this work the possibility of piecewise adiabatic following interrupted by hopping between instantaneous system eigenstates. This phenomenon is first observed in a computational model and then theoretically explained, using an exactly solvable model, in terms of the Stokes phenomenon. In the latter case, the piecewise adiabatic following is shown to be a genuine critical behavior and the precise phase boundary in the parameter space is located. Interestingly, the critical boundary for piecewise adiabatic following is found to be unrelated to the domain for exceptional points. To characterize the adiabatic following dynamics, we also advocate a simple definition of the Aharonov-Anandan (AA) phase for nonunitary cyclic dynamics, which always yields real AA phases. In the slow driving limit, the AA phase reduces to the Berry phase if adiabatic following persists throughout the driving without hopping, but oscillates violently and does not approach any limit in cases of piecewise adiabatic following. This work exposes the rich features of nonunitary dynamics in cases of slow cycling and should stimulate future applications of nonunitary dynamics.

Quantum networks are an integral component in performing efficient computation and communication tasks that are not accessible using classical systems. A key aspect in designing an effective and scalable quantum network is generating entanglement between its nodes, which is robust against defects in the network. We consider an isotropic quantum network of spin-1/2 particles with a finite fraction of defects, where the corresponding wave function of the network is rotationally invariant under the action of local unitaries. By using quantum information-theoretic concepts like strong subadditivity of von Neumann entropy and approximate quantum telecloning, we prove analytically that in the presence of defects, caused by loss of a finite fraction of spins, the network, composed of a fixed numbers of lattice sites, sustains genuine multisite entanglement and at the same time may exhibit finite moderate-range bipartite entanglement, in contrast to the network with no defects.

This paper deals with a channel-parameter estimation for continuous-variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) over a satellite-to-submarine link. In particular, we focus on the channel transmittances and the excess noise which are affected by atmospheric turbulence, surface roughness, zenith angle of the satellite, wind speed, submarine depth, etc. The estimation method is based on proposed algorithms and is applied to low-Earth orbits using the Monte Carlo approach. For light at 550 nm with a repetition frequency of 1 MHz, the effects of the estimated parameters on the performance of the CV-QKD system are assessed by a simulation by comparing the secret key bit rate in the daytime and at night. Our results show the feasibility of satellite-to-submarine CV-QKD, providing an unconditionally secure approach to achieve global networks for underwater communications.

As shown by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (the EPR paradox) [A. Einstein, B. Podolsky, and N. Rosen, Phys. Rev. 47, 777 (1935)], quantum mechanics is a nonlocal theory contrarily to what happens for any other modern physical theory. Alternative local theories based on superluminal communications have been also proposed in the literature. So far, no evidence for these superluminal communications has been obtained and only lower bounds for the superluminal velocities have been established. In this paper we describe an improved experiment that increases by about two orders of magnitude the maximum detectable superluminal velocities. The locality, the freedom of choice, and the detection loopholes are not addressed here. No evidence for superluminal communications has been found and a higher lower bound for their velocities has been established.

We present an experimental and theoretical study of photoelectron momentum distributions for nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) molecules generated by intense linearly polarized laser pulses. It is shown that the measured distributions along the outermost backward rescattering caustic are well reproduced by calculations based on the factorization formula with the analytical returning photoelectron wave packet (RWP) recently derived from the adiabatic theory [T. Morishita and O. I. Tolstikhin, Phys. Rev. A 96, 053416 (2017)]. The good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results confirms the validity of the theory for molecular targets. We discuss the dependence of the RWP on the scattering angle not taken into account in previous studies. We also discuss its dependence on the orientation of a molecule with respect to the laser field, which reveals a role of depletion of the initial state for the systems and pulses considered.

We study an array of two-level systems arranged on a lattice and illuminated by an external plane wave which drives a dipolar transition between the two energy levels. In this setup, the two-level systems are coupled by dipolar interactions and subject to nonlocal dissipation, and so behave as an open many-body quantum system. We investigate the long-time dynamics of the system at the mean-field level and use this to determine a phase diagram as a function of external drive and detuning. We find a multitude of phases including antiferromagnetism, spin density waves, oscillations, and phase bistabilities. We investigate these phases in more detail and explain how nonlocal dissipation plays a role in the long-time dynamics. Furthermore, we discuss what features would survive in the full quantum description.

We generalize the Beliaev diagrammatic theory of an interacting spinless Bose-Einstein condensate to the case of a binary mixture. We derive a set of coupled Dyson equations and find analytically the Green's functions of the system. The elementary excitation spectrum consists of two branches, one of which takes the characteristic parabolic form $\omega \propto p^2$ in the limit of a spin-independent interaction. We observe renormalization of the magnon mass and the spin-wave velocity due to the Andreev-Bashkin entrainment effect. For a three-dimensional weakly interacting gas the spectrum can be obtained by applying the Bogoliubov transformation to a second-quantized Hamiltonian in which the microscopic two-body potentials in each channel are replaced by the corresponding off-shell scattering amplitudes. The superfluid drag density can be calculated by considering a mixture of phonons and magnons interacting via the effective potentials. We show that this problem is identical to the second-order perturbative treatment of a Bose polaron. In two dimensions the drag contributes to the magnon dispersion already in the first approximation. Our consideration provides a basis for systematic study of emergent phases in quantum degenerate Bose-Bose mixtures.

This paper aims to explicitly clarify the role and interpretation of diamagnetic interactions between molecules and light in quantum electrodynamics. In contrast to their electric and magnetic counterparts, the diamagnetic couplings between light and matter have received relatively little interest in the field of molecular optics. This intriguing disregard of an interaction term is puzzling. The diamagnetic couplings possess unique physical properties that warrant their inclusion in any multiphoton process, and the lack of gauge invariance for paramagnetic and diamagnetic susceptibilities necessitates their inclusion. Their role and importance within nonrelativistic molecular quantum electrodynamics in the Coulomb gauge is illuminated, and it is highlighted how for any multiphoton process their inclusion should be implicit. As an indicative example of the theory presented, the diamagnetic contributions to both forward and nonforward Rayleigh scattering are derived and put into context alongside the electric and magnetic molecular responses. The work represents clarification of diamagnetic couplings in molecular quantum electrodynamics, which subsequently should proffer the study of diamagnetic interactions in molecular optics due to their unique physical attributes and necessary inclusion in multiphoton processes.

We obtain general analytic expressions for the linear and angular momentum density of an elliptically polarized paraxial laser beam. As a partial case, we obtain expressions for the linear and angular momentum density of a paraxial elliptically polarized optical vortex. It is shown that for an arbitrary vortex field with rotational symmetry and with circular polarization the effect of the “angular tractor” takes place, which means that the flux of light energy rotates around the optical axis clockwise or counterclockwise at different radii in the beam cross section. It is also shown that the axial component of the angular momentum density of the vortex light field changes its sign at the same radii in the beam cross section. Microparticles trapped in the vortex Bessel beam at different radii are experimentally shown to rotate simultaneously clockwise and counterclockwise.

Quantifying the degree of irreversibility of an open system dynamics represents a problem of both fundamental and applied relevance. Even though a well-known framework exists for thermal baths, the results give diverging results in the limit of zero temperature and are also not readily extended to nonequilibrium reservoirs, such as dephasing baths. Aimed at filling this gap, in this paper we introduce a phase-space-entropy production framework for quantifying the irreversibility of spin systems undergoing Lindblad dynamics. The theory is based on the spin Husimi-Q function and its corresponding phase-space entropy, known as Wehrl entropy. Unlike the von Neumann entropy production rate, we show that in our framework, the Wehrl entropy production rate remains valid at any temperature and is also readily extended to arbitrary nonequilibrium baths. As an application, we discuss the irreversibility associated with the interaction of a two-level system with a single-photon pulse, a problem which cannot be treated using the conventional approach.

We experimentally realize and theoretically analyze narrow-band biphotons generated in a hot rubidium vapor cell by four-wave-mixing processing. A dressing laser beam is used to alternate both linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of the vapor, thereby modifying the biphoton's temporal correlation function. Most notably, the correlation time is increased from 6 to 165 ns. The biphoton shape is also shown to change as a result of the coupled-states dressing. We observed Rabi oscillations and optical precursors in hot atomic vapor cells. We also theoretically simulated biphoton correlation times as influenced by dressing-laser detuning and power, the results of which are consistent with our experiments.

Single- and two-mode multiphoton states are the cornerstone of many quantum technologies, e.g., metrology. In the optical regime, these states are generally obtained combining heralded single photons with linear optics tools and post-selection, leading to inherent low success probabilities. In a recent paper [A. González-Tudela et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 213601 (2017)], we design several protocols that harness the long-range atomic interactions induced in waveguide QED to improve fidelities and protocols of single-mode multiphoton emission. Here, we give full details of these protocols, revisit them to simplify some of their requirements, and also extend them to generate two-mode multiphoton states, such as Yurke or NOON states.

We present a mathematical framework based on quantum interval-valued probability measures to study the effect of experimental imperfections and finite precision measurements on defining aspects of quantum mechanics such as contextuality and the Born rule. While foundational results such as the Kochen-Specker and Gleason theorems are valid in the context of infinite precision, they fail to hold in general in a world with limited resources. Here we employ an interval-valued framework to establish bounds on the validity of those theorems in realistic experimental environments. In this way, not only can we quantify the idea of finite-precision measurement within our theory, but we can also suggest a possible resolution of the Meyer-Mermin debate on the impact of finite-precision measurement on the Kochen-Specker theorem.

In the conventional two-point measurement scheme of quantum thermodynamics, quantum coherence is destroyed by the first measurement. But as we know the coherence really plays an important role in the quantum thermodynamics process, and how to describe the work statistics for a quantum coherent process is still an open question. In this paper, we use the full counting statistics method to investigate the effects of quantum coherence on work statistics. First, we give a general discussion and show that for a quantum coherent process, work statistics is very different from that of the two-point measurement scheme, specifically the average work is increased or decreased and the work fluctuation can be decreased by quantum coherence, which strongly depends on the relative phase, the energy level structure, and the external protocol. Then, we concretely consider a quenched one-dimensional transverse Ising model and show that quantum coherence has a more significant influence on work statistics in the ferromagnetism regime compared with that in the paramagnetism regime, so that due to the presence of quantum coherence the work statistics can exhibit the critical phenomenon even at high temperature.

We investigate the performance of discrimination strategy in the comparison task of known quantum states. In the discrimination strategy, one infers whether or not two quantum systems are in the same state on the basis of the outcomes of separate discrimination measurements on each system. In some cases with more than two possible states, the optimal strategy in minimum-error comparison is that one should infer the two systems are in different states without any measurement, implying that the discrimination strategy performs worse than the trivial “no-measurement” strategy. We present a sufficient condition for this phenomenon to happen. For two pure states with equal prior probabilities, we determine the optimal comparison success probability with an error margin, which interpolates the minimum-error and unambiguous comparison. We find that the discrimination strategy is not optimal except for the minimum-error case.

We report a measurement of the lifetime of the cesium $7s{}^{2}S_{1/2}$ state using time-correlated single-photon counting spectroscopy in a vapor cell. We excite the atoms using a Doppler-free two-photon transition from the $6s{}^{2}S_{1/2}$ ground state, and detect the $1.47-\mu \mathrm{m}$ photons from the spontaneous decay of the $7s{}^{2}S_{1/2}$ to the $6p{}^{2}P_{3/2}$ state. We use a gated single-photon detector in an asynchronous mode, allowing us to capture the fluorescence profile for a window much larger than the detector gate length. Analysis of the exponential decay of the photon count yields a $7s{}^{2}S_{1/2}$ lifetime of $48.28\pm 0.07$ ns, an uncertainty of 0.14%. These measurements provide sensitive tests of theoretical models of the Cs atom, which play a central role in parity violation measurements.