In this study, empirical and semiempirical $K$-shell fluorescence yields (ω${}_K$) and $K$β/$K$α intensity ratios from the available experimental data for elements with $23⩽Z⩽30$ were calculated to compare them with elements in different alloys. The experimental data are fitted using the quantity ${\left[{\omega }_K/\left(1-{\omega }_K\right)\right]}^{1/4}$ vs $Z$ to deduce the empirical $K$-shell fluorescence yields and $K$β/$K$α intensity ratios. The empirical and semiempirical $K$-shell fluorescence yield values were used to calculate the $K$ x-ray-production cross-section values for pure Co and Zn elements. Also, σ${}_{K\alpha }$, σ${}_{K\beta }$ production cross sections and $K$β/$K$α intensity ratios of Co and Zn have been measured in pure metals and in different alloy compositions which have different $p$H values. The samples were excited by 59.5-keV γ rays from a ${}^{241}$Am annular radioactive source. $K$ x rays emitted by samples were counted by an Ultra-LEGe detector with a resolution of 150 eV at 5.9 keV. The effect of $p$H values on alloy compositions and the effect of alloying on the fluorescence parameters of Co and Zn were investigated. The x-ray fluorescence parameters of Co and Zn in the alloying system indicate significant differences with respect to the pure metals. These differences are attributed to the reorganization of valence shell electrons and/or charge transfer phenomena.

We analyze the impact of multichannel scattering in harmonic waveguides on the positions and widths of confinement-induced resonances for both isotropic and anisotropic transversal confinement. Multichannel scattering amplitudes and transmission coefficients are calculated and used to characterize the resonant behavior of atomic collisions with varying anisotropy. A mechanism is established which leads to a splitting of the confinement-induced resonance in the presence of anisotropy.

Rescattered photoelectrons are greatly affected by the binding potential of the parent core, while directly emitted photoelectrons not. They are of comparable probability amplitudes at the onset of the plateau in the kinetic energy spectra of photoelectrons, which leads to the photoelectron angular distributions varying distinctively with binding potential of the targets. We exhibit such variations and propose that the variations can be used to extract potential information of the target core.

We theoretically demonstrate that the molecular rotational state populations through an impulsive nonresonant Raman process can be manipulated by shaping the femtosecond laser pulse with a periodic phase-step modulation. We show that, by precisely controlling these parameters characterizing the periodic phase-step modulation, both the odd and even rotational state populations can be completely suppressed or reconstructed as that induced by the transform-limited laser pulse, and the relative excitation between the odd and even rotational state populations can also be obtained. Furthermore, we show that the field-free molecular alignment can be manipulated due to the modulation of the odd and even rotational state populations.

Time-resolved photoelectron holography from atoms using midinfrared laser pulses is investigated by solving the corresponding time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) and a classical model, respectively. The numerical simulation of the photoelectron angular distribution of Xe irradiated with a low-frequency free-electron laser source agrees well with the experimental results. Different types of subcycle interferometric structures are predicted by the classical model. Furthermore with the TDSE model it is demonstrated that the holographic pattern is sensitive to the shape of the atomic orbitals. This is a step toward imaging by means of photoelectron holography.

We investigate phase separation of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of two-component atoms and one-component molecules with a homonuclear Feshbach resonance. We develop a full model for dilute atomic and molecular gases including correlation of the Feshbach resonance and all kinds of interparticle interactions, and numerically calculate order parameters of the BECs in spherical harmonic oscillator traps at zero temperature with the Bogoliubov’s classical field approximation. As a result, we find out that the Feshbach resonance can induce two types of phase separation. The actual phase structures and density profiles of the trapped gases are predicted in the whole parameter region, from the atom-dominant regime to the molecule-dominant regime. We focus on the role of the molecules in the phase separation. Especially in the atom-dominant regime, the role of the molecules is described through effective interactions derived from our model. Furthermore we show that a perturbative and semiclassical limit of our model reproduces the conventional atomic BEC (single-channel) model.

We propose a scheme to achieve a parallelized controlled-NOT (c-not) gate based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and cavity-assisted photon scattering. By using the flying photon as the control bit, we can implement a conditional transfer between two logical states of an atom trapped in the cavity with high fidelity and on a microsecond time scale. Thanks to the fact that the photon is well suited for scalable quantum computation, a quantum c-not gate between the single-photon pulses and the nonlocal gate on remote atoms are obtained by reflecting the photon pulse from an optical cavity with a single-trapped atom. Our protocol is robust for spontaneous emission and works quite well in the bad-cavity limit, which makes it more applicable in the laboratory with current experimental techniques.

We propose a simple heralded amplification scheme for small rotations of the collective spin of an ensemble of particles. Our protocol makes use of two basic primitives for quantum memories, namely, partial mapping of light onto an ensemble, and conversion of a collective spin excitation into light. The proposed scheme should be realizable with current technology, with potential applications to atomic clocks and magnetometry.

We calculate the quantum Renyi entropy in a phase-space representation for either fermions or bosons. This can also be used to calculate purity and fidelity, or the entanglement between two systems. We show that it is possible to calculate the entropy from sampled phase-space distributions in normally ordered representations, although this is not possible for all quantum states. We give an example of the use of this method in an exactly soluble thermal case. The quantum entropy cannot be calculated at all using sampling methods in classical symmetric (Wigner) or antinormally ordered (Husimi) phase spaces, due to inner-product divergences. The preferred method is to use generalized Gaussian phase-space methods, which utilize a distribution over stochastic Green’s functions. We illustrate this approach by calculating the reduced entropy and entanglement of bosonic or fermionic modes coupled to a time-evolving, non-Markovian reservoir.

For the complete estimation of arbitrary unknown quantum states by measurements, the use of mutually unbiased bases has been well established in theory and experiment for the past 20 years. However, most constructions of these bases make heavy use of abstract algebra and the mathematical theory of finite rings and fields, and no simple and generally accessible construction is available. This is particularly true in the case of a system composed of several qubits, which is arguably the most important case in quantum information science and quantum computation. In this paper, we close this gap by providing a simple and straightforward method for the construction of mutually unbiased bases in the case of a qubit register. We show that our construction is also accessible to experiments, since only Hadamard and controlled-phase gates are needed, which are available in most practical realizations of a quantum computer. Moreover, our scheme possesses the optimal scaling possible, i.e., the number of gates scales only linearly in the number of qubits.

We analyze numerically the performance of the near-optimal quadratic dynamical decoupling (QDD) single-qubit decoherence errors suppression method [J. West et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 130501 (2010)]. The QDD sequence is formed by nesting two optimal Uhrig dynamical decoupling sequences for two orthogonal axes, comprising $N_1$ and $N_2$ pulses, respectively. Varying these numbers, we study the decoherence suppression properties of QDD directly by isolating the errors associated with each system basis operator present in the system-bath interaction Hamiltonian. Each individual error scales with the lowest order of the Dyson series, therefore immediately yielding the order of decoherence suppression. We show that the error suppression properties of QDD are dependent upon the parities of $N_1$ and $N_2$, and near-optimal performance is achieved for general single-qubit interactions when $N_1=N_2$.

We prove the universality of the generalized QDD${}_{N_1{N}_2}$ (quadratic dynamical decoupling) pulse sequence for near-optimal suppression of general single-qubit decoherence. Earlier work showed numerically that this dynamical decoupling sequence, which consists of an inner Uhrig DD (UDD) and outer UDD sequence using $N_1$ and $N_2$ pulses, respectively, can eliminate decoherence to $O\left(T^N\right)$ using $O\left(N^2\right)$ unequally spaced “ideal” (zero-width) pulses, where $T$ is the total evolution time and $N=N_1=N_2$. A proof of the universality of QDD has been given for even $N_1$. Here we give a general universality proof of QDD for arbitrary $N_1$ and $N_2$. As in earlier proofs, our result holds for arbitrary bounded environments. Furthermore, we explore the single-axis (polarization) error suppression abilities of the inner and outer UDD sequences. We analyze both the single-axis QDD performance and how the overall performance of QDD depends on the single-axis errors. We identify various performance effects related to the parities and relative magnitudes of $N_1$ and $N_2$. We prove that using QDD${}_{N_1{N}_2}$ decoherence can always be eliminated to $O\left(T^{\min \{N_1,N_2\}}\right)$.

We investigate the Coulomb excitation of highly charged ions colliding with diatomic molecules. In this process, the coherent interaction between the projectile electron and two molecular centers may cause clear interference patterns in the (collision) energy dependencies of the total cross sections and alignment parameters. We discuss such a Young-type interference for the particular case of the $K\to L$ excitation of hydrogen- and helium-like projectile ions. Calculations, performed for the scattering of these ions on nitrogen molecules, indicate that the interference effects are extremely sensitive to the collisional geometry and are pronounced only if the molecular axis is aligned almost parallel to the incident beam trajectory.

We have measured the alignment of the $L$-shell magnetic substates following the $K$-shell excitation of hydrogen- and helium-like uranium in relativistic collisions with a low-$Z$ gaseous target. Within this experiment, the population distribution for the $L$-shell magnetic sublevels has been obtained via an angular differential study of the decay photons associated with the subsequent deexcitation process. The results show a very distinctive behavior for the H- and He-like heavy systems. In particular, for $K\to L$ excitation of He-like uranium, a considerable alignment of the $L$-shell levels was observed. A comparison of our experimental findings with recent rigorous relativistic predictions provides a good qualitative and a reasonable quantitative agreement, emphasizing the importance of the magnetic-interaction and many-body effects in the strong-field domain of high-$Z$ ions.

The present study deals with the calculation of elastic [integrated and differential cross section (DCS)], momentum-transfer, excitation, and ionization cross sections for electron impact on S${}_2$ molecules using the R-matrix method. The target states are represented by including correlations via a configuration-interaction technique. We used a double zeta plus polarization Gaussian basis set contracted as (12,8,1)/(6,4,1) for S atoms. The results of the static exchange, correlated one-state, and 20-state close-coupling approximations are presented. We have detected a stable anionic bound state ${}^2{\Pi }_g$ of S${}_2$${}^{-}$ having the configuration $1{\sigma }_g^2\cdots$$5{\sigma }_g^2$ $1{\sigma }_u^2\cdots 4{\sigma }_u^2$ $1{\pi }_u^4$ $1{\pi }_g^4$ $2{\pi }_u^4$ $2{\pi }_g^3$. The vertical electron affinity value is 1.42 eV, which is comparable with the experimental value of $1.67\pm 0.015$ eV. We detected two shape resonances, both of ${}^2{\Pi }_u$ symmetry in the excitation cross sections of the ${}^1{\Delta }_g$ and ${}^1{\Sigma }_g^{+}$ excited states. The dissociative nature of these resonances is explored by performing scattering calculations in which the S-S bond is stretched. These resonances support dissociative attachment, yielding S and S${}^{-}$. We have also predicted six resonances of various symmetries (${}^2{A}_u$, ${}^2{B}_{1g}$,${}^4{A}_u$, ${}^4{B}_{1g}$) in the $X{}^3{{\Sigma }_g}^{-}$ $\to$ $B{}^3{{\Sigma }_u}^{-}$ transition. We have calculated the DCS, in a correlated one-state model, by using the polydcs program of Sanna and Gianturco. The data from the momentum-transfer cross section, generated from DCS, are used to compute effective collision frequencies over a wide electron temperature range (200–30 000 K). The ionization cross sections are calculated in the binary-encounter Bethe model in which Hartree-Fock molecular orbitals at a self-consistent level are used to calculate kinetic and binding energies of the occupied molecular orbitals. We have included up to $g$-partial wave ($l=4$) in the scattering calculations. For this molecule we have used a Born-closure top-up procedure to account for the higher partial waves for the convergence of the cross section for the dipole-allowed excitation from the ground state. We have also evaluated the scattering length of the S${}_2$ molecule, which is equal to 2.615$a_0$.

We study ultracold atoms subjected to U(2) non-Abelian potentials: we consider gauge potentials having, in the Abelian limit, degenerate Landau levels and we then investigate the effect of general homogeneous non-Abelian terms. The conditions under which the structure of degenerate Landau levels is preserved are classified and discussed. The typical gauge potentials preserving the Landau levels are characterized by a fictitious magnetic field and by an effective spin-orbit interaction (e.g., obtained through the rotation of two-dimensional atomic gases coupled with a tripod scheme). The single-particle energy spectrum can be analytically determined for a class of gauge potentials, whose physical implementation is discussed. The corresponding Landau levels are deformed by the non-Abelian contribution of the potential and their spin degeneracy is split. The related deformed quantum Hall states for fermions and bosons (in the presence of strong intraspecies interaction) are determined far from and at the degeneracy points of the Landau levels, where non-Abelian states appear. We present a discussion of the effect of the angular momentum, as well as results for U(3) gauge potentials.

We consider a dipolar Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an annular potential, with all the dipoles being aligned along some arbitrary direction. In addition to the dipole-dipole interaction, we also assume a zero-range hard-core potential. We investigate the stability of the system against collapse, as well as the stability of persistent currents as a function of the orientation of the dipoles and of the strength of the hard-core interaction.

Self-sustained pulsations in the output of an InAs quantum dot laser diode in the MHz range are reported. The characteristics (shape, range, and frequency) are presented for the free-running laser and when optical feedback in the Littrow configuration is applied. Bistability in the light-current characteristics is observed for operating wavelengths smaller than the gain peak, but it is not present for wavelengths above the gain peak and for the free-running laser, except at elevated temperatures. The temporal evolution of the envelopes of the optical spectra is very different for operation below, around, and above the gain peak, which might be related to a change of phase-amplitude coupling across the gain maximum, in agreement with the expectation for a two-level system. The time scale and the bifurcation scenario, supported by an initial blueshift of the emission wavelength of each longitudinal mode in time-resolved optical spectra, suggests that these are optothermal pulsations similar to those reported in quantum well amplifiers [Phys. Rev. E 68, 036209 (2003)]. The mechanism of pulsation seems to be a destabilization of bistable states (due to saturable absorption in the beam wings) by a slow thermal change in the waveguiding properties.

We investigate the influence of quantum fluctuations upon dipolar Bose gases by means of the Bogoliubov–de Gennes theory. Thereby, we make use of the local density approximation to evaluate the dipolar exchange interaction between the condensate and the excited particles. This allows to obtain the Bogoliubov spectrum analytically in the limit of large particle numbers. After discussing the condensate depletion and the ground-state energy correction, we derive quantum-corrected equations of motion for harmonically trapped dipolar Bose gases by using superfluid hydrodynamics. These equations are subsequently applied to analyze the equilibrium configuration, the low-lying oscillation frequencies, and the time-of-flight dynamics. We find that both atomic magnetic and molecular electric dipolar systems offer promising scenarios for detecting beyond mean-field effects.

We investigate the dynamics of two miscible superfluids experiencing fast counterflow in a narrow channel. The superfluids are formed by two distinguishable components of a trapped dilute-gas Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). The onset of counterflow-induced modulational instability throughout the cloud is observed and shown to lead to the proliferation of dark-dark vector solitons. These solitons do not exist in single-component systems, exhibit intriguing beating dynamics, and can experience a transverse instability leading to vortex line structures. Experimental results and multidimensional numerical simulations are presented.