The notion of measurement is of both foundational and instrumental significance in quantum mechanics, and coherence destroyed by measurements (decoherence) lies at the very heart of quantum to classical transition. Qualitative aspects of this spirit have been widely recognized and analyzed ever since the inception of quantum theory. However, axiomatic and quantitative investigations of coherence are attracting great interest only recently with several figures of merit for coherence introduced [Baumgratz, Cramer, and Plenio, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140401 (2014)]. While these resource theoretic approaches have many appealing and intuitive features, they rely crucially on various notions of incoherent operations which are sophisticated, subtle, and not uniquely defined, as have been critically assessed [Chitambar and Gour, Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 030401 (2016)]. In this paper, we elaborate on the idea that coherence and quantum uncertainty are dual viewpoints of the same quantum substrate, and address coherence quantification by identifying coherence of a state (with respect to a measurement) with quantum uncertainty of a measurement (with respect to a state). Consequently, coherence measures may be set into correspondence with measures of quantum uncertainty. In particular, we take average quantum Fisher information as a measure of quantum uncertainty, and introduce the corresponding measure of coherence, which is demonstrated to exhibit desirable properties. Implications for interpreting quantum purity as maximal coherence, and quantum discord as minimal coherence, are illustrated.

An interferometric technique is described for determining the spatial forms of the individual degrees of freedom through which a many-body system can absorb energy from its environment. The method separates out the spatial forms of the coherent excitations present at any single frequency; it is not necessary to sweep the frequency and then infer the spatial forms of possible excitations from resonant absorption features. The system under test is excited with two external sources, which create generalized forces, and the fringe in the total power dissipated is measured as the relative phase between the sources is varied. If the complex fringe visibility is measured for different pairs of source locations, the anti-Hermitian part of the complex-valued nonlocal correlation tensor can be determined, which can then be decomposed to give the natural dynamical modes of the system and their relative responsivities. If each source in the interferometer creates a different kind of force, the spatial forms of the individual excitations that are responsible for cross-correlated response can be found. The technique is related to holography, but measures the state of coherence to which the system is maximally sensitive. It can be applied across a wide range of wavelengths, in a variety of ways, to homogeneous media, thin films, patterned structures, and components such as sensors, detectors, and energy-harvesting absorbers.

We quantify the quantumness of quantum ensembles in terms of noncommutativity between pairs of the square root of the constituent states. We prove that this measure satisfies desirable and intuitive properties required naturally for a measure of quantumness, such as positivity, unitary invariance, subadditivity, concavity under probabilistic union, convexity under state decomposition, decreasing under coarse graining, and increasing under fine graining. Some applications and implications are indicated.

Shortcuts to adiabaticity let a system reach the results of a slow adiabatic process in a shorter time. We propose to quantify the “energy cost” of the shortcut by the energy consumption of the system enlarged by including the control device. A mechanical model where the dynamics of the system and control device can be explicitly described illustrates that a broad range of possible values for the consumption is possible, including zero (above the adiabatic energy increment) when friction is negligible and the energy given away as negative power is stored and reused by perfect regenerative braking.

We consider the simulation of a quantum channel by two parties who share a resource state and may apply local operations assisted by classical communication (LOCC). One specific type of such LOCC is standard teleportation, which is however limited to the simulation of Pauli channels. Here we show how we can easily enlarge this class by means of a minimal perturbation of the teleportation protocol, where we introduce noise in the classical communication channel between the remote parties. By adopting this noisy protocol, we provide a necessary condition for simulating a non-Pauli channel. In particular, we characterize the set of channels that are generated assuming the Choi matrix of an amplitude damping channel as a resource state. Within this set, we identify a class of Pauli-damping channels for which we bound the two-way quantum and private capacities.

In this theoretical work, we show that both the orbital helicity ($p_{+}$ vs $p_{-}$) and the adiabaticity of tunneling have a significant effect on the initial conditions of tunneling ionization. We developed a hybrid quantum (numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation) and classical (back propagation of trajectories) approach to extract orbital-specific initial conditions of electrons at the tunneling exit. Clear physical insight connecting these initial conditions with the final momentum and deflection angles of electrons are presented. Moreover, the adiabaticity of tunneling ionization is characterized by comparing the initial conditions with those with a static field. Significant nonadiabatic tunneling is found to persist beyond a Keldysh parameter of less than 0.5.

Excited atoms, or nanotip surfaces, exposed to strong single-cycle terahertz radiation emit electrons with energies strongly dependent on the characteristics of the initial state. Here we consider scaling properties of the ionization probability and electron momenta of H($nd$) atoms exposed to a single-cycle pulse of duration 0.5–5 ps, with $n=9,12,15$. Results from three-dimensional quantum and classical calculations are in good agreement for long pulse lengths, independent of pulse strength. However, differences appear when the two approaches are compared at the most detailed level of density distributions. For the longest pulse lengths a mixed power law, $n$-scaling relation, $\alpha n^{-4}+(1-\alpha )n^{-3}$ is shown to hold. Our quantum calculations show that the scaling relation puts its imprint on the momentum distribution of the ionized electrons as well: By multiplying the emitted electron momenta of varying initial $n$ level with the appropriate scaling factor the spectra fall onto a common momentum range. Furthermore, the characteristic momenta of emitted electrons from a fixed $n$ level are proportional to the pulse strength of the driving field.

We consider the propagation of photons in a gas of Rydberg atoms under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency, where they form strongly interacting massive particles, termed Rydberg polaritons. Depending on the strength of the van der Waals-type interactions of the atoms either bunching or antibunching of photons can be observed when driving the atoms off-resonantly. The bunching is associated with the formation of bound states. We employ a Green's function approach and numerical wave-function simulations to analyze the conditions for the creation and the dynamics of these photonic molecules and their interplay with the scattering continuum which can also show photon bunching. Analytic solutions of the pair-propagation problem obtained from a pseudopotential approximation and verified numerically provide a detailed understanding of bound and scattering states. We find that the scattering contributions acquire asymptotically a robust relative phase which can be employed to separate bound state and scattering contributions by a homodyne detection scheme.

We achieve efficient shaping of superscattering by radially anisotropic nanowires relying on resonant multipolar interferences. It is shown that the radial anisotropy of refractive index can be employed to resonantly overlap electric and magnetic multipoles of various orders, and as a result, effective superscattering with different engineered angular patterns can be obtained. We further demonstrate that such superscattering shaping relying on unusual radial anisotropy parameters can be directly realized with isotropic multilayered nanowires, which may shed new light on much fundamental research and various applications related to scattering particles.

We study the collective optical response of an atomic ensemble confined within a single-mode optical cavity by stochastic electrodynamics simulations that include the effects of atomic position correlations, internal level structure, and spatial variations in cavity coupling strength and atom density. In the limit of low light intensity, the simulations exactly reproduce the full quantum field-theoretical description for cold stationary atoms and at higher light intensities we introduce semiclassical approximations to atomic saturation that we compare with the exact solution in the case of two atoms. We find that collective subradiant modes of the atoms, with very narrow linewidths, can be coupled to the cavity field by spatial variation of the atomic transition frequency and resolved at low intensities, and show that they can be specifically driven by tailored transverse pumping beams. We show that the cavity optical response, in particular both the subradiant mode profile and the resonance shift of the cavity mode, can be used as a diagnostic tool for the position correlations of the atoms and hence the atomic quantum many-body phase. The quantum effects are found to be most prominent close to the narrow subradiant mode resonances at high light intensities. Although an optical cavity can generally strongly enhance quantum fluctuations via light confinement, we show that the semiclassical approximation to the stochastic electrodynamics model provides at least a qualitative agreement with the exact optical response outside the subradiant mode resonances even in the presence of significant saturation of the atoms.

Showers of $\gamma$ rays and positrons are produced when a high-energy electron beam collides with a superintense laser pulse. We present scaling laws for the electron-beam energy loss, the $\gamma$-ray spectrum, and the positron yield and energy that are valid in the nonlinear, radiation-reaction-dominated regime. As an application we demonstrate that by employing the collision of a $>\mathrm{GeV}$ electron beam with a laser pulse of intensity $>5\times {10}^{21}\mathrm{W}{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$, today's high-intensity laser facilities are capable of producing $O\left({10}^4\right)$ positrons per shot via light-by-light scattering.

The dissociation of ${\mathrm{NH}}_3$ is studied using energetic $\mathrm{H}{}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{q+}$ ($q=1,8$) ions. The multi-ion coincidence technique along with the time- and position-sensitive measurements of the recoil ions allows us to distinguish different dissociation channels involving the rearrangement of hydrogen atoms. It is observed that the bond dissociation of ${\mathrm{NH}}_3{}^{x+}$ ($x=3–5$) occurs in a concerted manner and nonplanar dissociation exists. Our results indicate a competition between the bond-rearrangement and Coulomb repulsion processes in ${\mathrm{NH}}_3{}^{x+}$. Ab initio intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations are performed to understand the bond-rearrangement process in ${\mathrm{NH}}_3{}^{2+}$.

In this article, we employ multimode radiation of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (SPOPO) to build a cluster state through a conversion on the base of a quantum memory cell. We demonstrate that by choosing an appropriate driving field we can ensure the effective writing of only one supermode from the entire set of the SPOPO squeezed supermodes. Further, by changing the driving field profile at the readout, we convert the time profile of the retrieved signal while maintaining its quantum state. We demonstrate the possibilities of using the presented scheme by the example of creating a four-mode linear cluster state of light.

Optical scalars are functions designed to analyze the behavior of geodesic congruences in general relativity. Refracted rays are three-dimensional congruences of light rays and they can be studied with this formalism. In this work we obtain the optical scalars for such congruences: the expansion $\mathrm{\Theta }$, the twist $\omega$, and the shear $\kappa$. Furthermore, we apply this machinery to study the aberrations of wavefronts to establish a link between them and the aberration function $W$.

An ensemble of atoms in a steady state, whether or not in thermal equilibrium, has a well-defined energy distribution. Since the energy of single atoms within the ensemble cannot be individually measured, energy distributions are typically inferred from statistical averages. Here, we show how to measure the energy of a single atom in a single experimental realization (single shot). The energy distribution of the atom over many experimental realizations can thus be readily and directly obtained. We apply this method to a single ion trapped in a linear Paul trap for which the energy measurement in a single shot is applicable from 10 $\mathrm{K}\times k_{\mathrm{B}}$ and above. Our energy measurement agrees within $5\%$ to a different thermometry method which requires extensive averaging. Apart from the total energy, we also show that the motion of the ion in different trap modes can be distinguished. We believe that this method will have profound implications on single-particle chemistry and collision experiments.

In this paper we propose two theoretical schemes for implementation of quantum phase gates by engineering the phase-sensitive dark state of two atoms subjected to Rydberg-Rydberg interaction. Combining the conventional adiabatic techniques and currently developed approaches of phase control, a feasible proposal for implementation of a geometric phase gate is presented, where the conditional phase shift (Berry phase) is achieved by adiabatically and cyclically changing the parameters of the driving fields. Here we find that the geometric phase acquired is related to the way how the relative phase is modulated. In the second scheme, the system Hamiltonian is adiabatically changed in a noncyclic manner, so that the acquired conditional phase is not a Berry phase. A detailed analysis of the experimental feasibility and the effect of decoherence is also given. The proposed schemes provide new perspectives for adiabatic manipulation of interacting Rydberg systems with tailored phase modulation.

We report a bulk optics experiment demonstrating the possibility of restoring the entanglement distribution through noisy quantum channels by inserting a suitable unitary operation (filter) in the middle of the transmission process. We focus on two relevant classes of single-qubit channels consisting in repeated applications of rotated phase-damping or rotated amplitude-damping maps, both modeling the combined Hamiltonian and dissipative dynamics of the polarization state of single photons. Our results show that interposing a unitary filter between two noisy channels can significantly improve entanglement transmission. This proof-of-principle demonstration could be generalized to many other physical scenarios where entanglement-breaking communication lines may be amended by unitary filters.

Spectroscopic studies of planetary atmospheres and high-temperature processes (e.g., combustion) require absorption line-shape models that are accurate over extended temperature ranges. To date, advanced line shapes, like the speed-dependent Voigt and Rautian profiles, have not been tested above room temperature with broadband spectrometers. We investigate pure water vapor spectra from 296 to 1305 K acquired with a dual-frequency comb spectrometer spanning from 6800 to $7200\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$ at a point spacing of $0.0033\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$ and absolute frequency accuracy of $<3.3\times {10}^{-6}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$. Using a multispectral fitting analysis, we show that only the speed-dependent Voigt accurately models this temperature range with a single power-law temperature-scaling exponent for the broadening coefficients. Only the data from the analysis using this profile fall within theoretical predictions, suggesting that this mechanism captures the dominant narrowing physics for these high-temperature conditions.

The mass-imbalanced fermionic mixture is studied, where $N\le 5$ identical fermions interact resonantly with an impurity, a distinguishable atom. The shell structure is explored, and the physics of a dynamic light-impurity is shown to be different from that of the static heavy-impurity case. The energies in a harmonic trap at unitarity are calculated and extrapolated to the zero-range limit. In doing so, the scale factor of the ground state, as well as of a few excited states, is calculated. In the $2\le N\le 4$ systems, pure $(N+1)$ Efimov states exist for large enough mass ratio. However, no sign for a six-body Efimov state in the $(5+1)$ system is found in the mass ratio explored, $M/m\le 12$.

Calculations of electron mass stopping power (SP) of electrons in ${\mathrm{H}}_2$ have been performed using the convergent close-coupling method for incident electron energies up to 2000 eV. Convergence of the calculated SP has been established by increasing the size of the close-coupling expansion from 9 to 491 states. Good agreement was found with the SP measurements of Munoz et al. [Chem. Phys. Lett. 433, 253 (2007)].