We investigated electron emissions in strong-field-enhanced ionization of asymmetric diatomic molecules by quantum calculations. It is demonstrated that the widely used intuitive physical picture, i.e., electron wave-packet direct ionization from the up-field site (DIU), is incomplete. Besides DIU, we find another two ionization channels: the field-induced excitation with subsequent ionization from the down-field site and that from the up-field site. The contributions from these channels depend on the molecular asymmetry and internuclear distance. Our work provides a more comprehensive physical picture for the long-standing issue about enhanced ionization of diatomic molecules.

The Fano resonance theory is modified to account for photoionization by ultrashort laser pulses where the probability definition due to the nonlinear dependence on time is no longer valid. We employ the exact integrals over the Fourier transform of the photoionization cross section including the Fano resonances and a corrected Gaussian pulse shape that has vanishing electric field for zero frequency. Numerical results are presented for neutral helium that allow us to deduce the spectral distribution of the Fano resonance for different parameters and to identify the cases where the linear regime is invalid. Analytical approximations are given that provide a clear understanding of the linear and nonlinear regime related to the Fano parameter $q$, the detuned carrier frequencies, and pulse durations.

We present a comparison between simulated dynamics of the unitary fermion gas using the superfluid local density approximation (SLDA) and a simplified bosonic model, the extended Thomas-Fermi (ETF) with a unitary equation of state. Small-amplitude fluctuations have similar dynamics in both theories for frequencies far below the pair-breaking threshold and wave vectors much smaller than the Fermi momentum. The low-frequency linear responses in both match well for surprisingly large wave vectors, even up to the Fermi momentum. For nonlinear dynamics such as vortex generation, the ETF provides a semiquantitative description of SLDA dynamics as long as the fluctuations do not have significant power near the pair-breaking threshold; otherwise the dynamics of the ETF cannot be trusted. Nonlinearities in the ETF tend to generate high-frequency fluctuations, and with no normal component to remove this energy from the superfluid, features such as vortex lattices cannot relax and crystallize as they do in the SLDA.

Ultracold atoms in optical lattices provide a unique opportunity to study Bose-Hubbard physics. In this work we show that by considering a spatially varying on-site interaction it is possible to manipulate the motion of excitations above the Mott phase in a Bose-Hubbard system. Specifically, we show that it is possible to “engineer” regimes where excitations will negatively refract, facilitating the construction of a flat lens.

Phase transitions are well understood and generally followed by the behavior of the associated thermodynamic quantities, such as in the case of the $\lambda$-point superfluid transition of liquid He, which is observed in its heat capacity. In the case of a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate, the heat capacity cannot be directly measured. In this work, we present a technique capable of determining the global heat capacity from the density distribution of a weakly interacting gas trapped in an inhomogeneous potential. This approach represents an alternative to models based on the local density approximation. By defining a pair of global conjugate variables, we determine the total internal energy and its temperature derivative, the heat capacity. We then apply the technique to a trapped ${}^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ BEC, and a $\lambda$-type transition dependent on the atom number is observed, and the deviations from the noninteracting, ideal gas case are discussed. Finally, we discuss the chances of using this method to study the heat capacity at $T\to 0$.

We demonstrate experimentally a method for controlling two-level coherence in jet-cooled rotating polar molecules by using a pair of intense terahertz pulses. The broad spectra of the terahertz pulses can induce resonant population transfer between four rotational states $J=0,1,2,3$ to establish two-level coherence. This coherence is controlled by the delay between the two terahertz pulses, resulting in selection of a single two-level coherence. This scheme can be extended to select a specific two-level coherence in a thermally distributed molecular ensemble by applying a train of terahertz pulses.

We reanalyze the optomechanical interferometer experiment proposed by Marshall et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 130401 (2003)] with the help of a recently developed quantum-classical hybrid theory. This leads to an alternative evaluation of the mirror-induced decoherence. Surprisingly, we find that it behaves essentially in the same way for suitable initial conditions and experimentally relevant parameters, no matter whether the mirror is considered a classical or quantum-mechanical object. We discuss the parameter ranges where this result holds and possible implications for a test of spontaneous collapse models for which this experiment has been designed.

We present an improved approach for the study of the evolution of spin correlations and decoherence in multiple quantum nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The infinite system, constituted by the protons of a polycrystalline adamantane sample, evolves under a double quantum Hamiltonian. The distribution of multiple quantum coherence orders is represented by a contribution of spin clusters with different sizes that exchange spins, increasing their size with the evolution time. A cluster with nearly exponential growth at all times is observed, in agreement with previous models. Remarkably, a small cluster that stabilizes in a size corresponding to 18 correlated spins is revealed. In addition, by performing a renormalization of the obtained data with the experimental Loschmidt echo, the contribution of the different clusters to the observable signal is determined. This procedure accounts for the effect of decoherence on the evolution of the system, and allows setting the range of confidence of the experimental data. Our analysis confirms the natural hint that, correlated states involving higher coherence orders are far more sensitive to the uncontrolled decoherent interactions, than those involving lower orders.

We show how non-Hermitian potentials used to describe probability gain and loss in effective theories of open quantum systems can be achieved by a coupling of the system to an environment. We do this by coupling a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) trapped in an attractive double-$\delta$ potential to a condensate fraction outside the double well. We investigate which requirements have to be imposed on possible environments with a linear coupling to the system. This information is used to determine an environment required for stationary states of the BEC. To investigate the stability of the system we use fully numerical simulations of the dynamics. It turns out that the approach is viable and possible setups for the realization of a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potential for a BEC are accessible. Vulnerabilities of the whole system to small perturbations can be attributed to the singular character of the simplified $\delta$-shaped potential used in our model.

Using entangled pairs of photons from a frequency comb and wide-band frequency-resolved homodyne detection, we propose a sequential quantum teleportation protocol for continuous variables that teleports an unknown state in space and frequency. A subthreshold optical parametric oscillator (OPO) produces a comb of entangled pairs of photons separated by the free spectral range of the OPO cavity. Wide-band frequency-resolved homodyne detection enables direct access to the sum and difference of quadratures between different teeth in the comb. Such measurements are Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen nullifiers, and can be used as the basis for teleportation protocols. Our protocol for space-and-frequency teleportation effectively links arbitrary frequency channels for frequency-division multiplexing, which has applications in universal quantum computation and large-capacity quantum communication.

We investigate the extraction of thermodynamic work by a Maxwell's demon in a multipartite quantum correlated system. We begin by adopting the standard model of a Maxwell's demon as a Turing machine, either in a classical or quantum setup depending on its ability to implement classical or quantum conditional dynamics. Then, for an $n$-partite system $(A_1,A_2,\cdots ,A_n)$, we introduce a protocol of work extraction that bounds the advantage of the quantum demon over its classical counterpart through the amount of multipartite quantum correlation present in the system, as measured by a thermal version of the global quantum discord. This result is illustrated for an arbitrary $n$-partite pure state of qubits with Schmidt decomposition, where it is shown that the thermal global quantum discord exactly quantifies the quantum advantage. Moreover, we also consider the work extraction via mixed multipartite states, where examples of tight upper bounds can be obtained.

We calculated the dependence of the transition frequencies on the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ ($q$ factors) for Ni ii. Nickel is one of the few elements with high sensitivity to $\alpha$ variation, whose lines are observed at high redshifts. This makes it a sensitive probe for $\alpha$ variation on the cosmological time scale. The electronic structure of Ni ii ion was treated within the configuration interaction method using the Dirac-Coulomb Hamiltonian.

We study the phase diagram of a system of soft-core dipolar bosons confined to a two-dimensional optical lattice layer. We assume that dipoles are aligned perpendicular to the layer such that the dipolar interactions are purely repulsive and isotropic. We consider the full dipolar interaction and perform path-integral quantum Monte Carlo simulations using the worm algorithm. Besides a superfluid phase, we find various solid and supersolid phases. We show that, unlike what was found previously for the case of nearest-neighbor interaction, supersolid phases are stabilized by doping the solids not only with particles but with holes as well. We further study the stability of these quantum phases against thermal fluctuations. Finally, we discuss pair formation and the stability of the pair checkerboard phase formed in a bilayer geometry, and we suggest experimental conditions under which the pair checkerboard phase can be observed.

Periodically driven systems can lead to a directed motion of particles. We investigate this ratchet effect for a bosonic Mott insulator where both a staggered hopping and a staggered local potential vary periodically in time. If driving frequencies are smaller than the interaction strength and the density of excitations is small, one obtains effectively a one-particle quantum ratchet describing the motion of doubly occupied sites (doublons) and empty sites (holes). Such a simple quantum machine can be used to manipulate the excitations of the Mott insulator. For suitably chosen parameters, for example, holes and doublons move in opposite directions. To investigate whether the periodic driving can be used to move particles “uphill,” i.e., against an external force, we study the influence of a linear potential $-gx$. For long times, transport is only possible when the driving frequency $\omega$ and the external force $g$ are commensurate, $n_{0}g=m_0\omega$, with $\frac{n_0}{2},m_0\in \mathbb{Z}$.

We study phase-sensitive amplification of electromagnetically induced transparency in a warm ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ vapor wherein a microwave driving field couples the two lower-energy states of a $\Lambda$ energy-level system thereby transforming into a $\Delta$ system. Our theoretical description includes effects of ground-state coherence decay and temperature effects. In particular, we demonstrate that driving-field-enhanced electromagnetically induced transparency is robust against significant loss of coherence between ground states. We also show that for specific field intensities, a threshold rate of ground-state coherence decay exists at every temperature. This threshold separates the probe-transmittance behavior into two regimes: probe amplification vs probe attenuation. Thus, electromagnetically induced transparency plus amplification is possible at any temperature in a $\Delta$ system.

Simply and reliably detecting and quantifying entanglement outside laboratory conditions will be essential for future quantum information technologies. Here we address this issue by proposing a method for generating expressions which can perform this task between two parties who do not share a common reference frame. These reference-frame-independent expressions require only simple local measurements, which allows us to experimentally test them using an off-the-shelf entangled photon source. We show that the values of these expressions provide bounds on the concurrence of the state and demonstrate experimentally that these bounds are more reliable than values obtained from state tomography since characterizing experimental errors is easier in our setting. Furthermore, we apply this idea to other quantities, such as the Renyi and von Neumann entropies, which are also more reliably calculated directly from the raw data than from a tomographically reconstructed state. This highlights the relevance of our approach for practical quantum information applications that require entanglement.

We demonstrate the capability of ab initio time-dependent $R$-matrix theory to obtain accurate harmonic generation spectra of noble-gas atoms at near-IR wavelengths between 1200 and 1800 nm and peak intensities up to $1.8 \times 10{}^{14} \mathrm{W}/\mathrm{cm}{}^2$. To accommodate the excursion length of the ejected electron, we use an angular-momentum expansion up to $L_{\max }=279$. The harmonic spectra show evidence of atomic structure through the presence of a Cooper minimum in harmonic generation for Kr, and of multielectron interaction through the giant resonance for Xe. The theoretical spectra agree well with those obtained experimentally.