We present an easy way of observing superluminal group velocities using a birefringent optical fiber and other standard devices. In the theoretical analysis, we show that the optical properties of the setup can be described using the notion of “weak value.” The experiment shows that the group velocity can indeed exceed $c$ in the fiber; and we report the first direct observation of the so-called “signal velocity,” the speed at which information propagates and that cannot exceed $c$.

We demonstrate that the second-order coupling of local polarizations contributes significantly to the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility ${\chi }^{(3)}$ through cascaded processes, as much as does direct third-order coupling. Temporal analysis of nonlinear polarization shows that ${\chi }^{(3)}$ depends intrinsically on pulse width if the pulse width is shorter than about 10 times the relaxation time of nonlinear polarization. Analysis of the pulse-width dependence of the third-order polarization in a femtosecond regime may differentiate the second-order local cascading process and the direct third-order process.

A comparison of classical and quantum evolution usually involves a quasiprobability distribution as a quantum analogue of the classical phase space distribution. In an alternate approach that we adopt here, the classical density is projected on to the configuration space. We show that for billiards, the eigenfunctions of the coarse-grained projected classical evolution operator are identical to a first approximation to the quantum Neumann eigenfunctions. However, even though there exists a correspondence between the respective eigenvalues, their time evolutions differ. This is demonstrated numerically for the stadium and lemon-shaped billiards.

We show that heating of harmonically trapped ions by periodic delta kicks is dramatically enhanced at isolated values of the Lamb-Dicke parameter. At these values, quasienergy eigenstates localized on island structures undergo avoided crossings with extended web states.

We investigate the deformation and breakup in shear flow of an encapsulated drop in which both the core and shell are Newtonian fluids. The equations of motion are solved numerically using a level set method to track interface motion. We consider the case of a drop stretched to a given length in constant shear and then allowed to relax. A range of morphologies is produced, and novel kinematics occur, due to the interaction of the core and outer interfaces. A phase diagram is presented to describe the morphologies produced over a range of capillary numbers and core interfacial tensions.

A bipartite multiphoton entangled state is created through stimulated parametric down-conversion of strong laser pulses in a nonlinear crystal. It is shown how detectors that do not resolve the photon number can be used to analyze such multiphoton states. Entanglement of up to 12 photons is detected using both the positivity of the partially-transposed density matrix and a newly derived criteria. Furthermore, evidence is provided for entanglement of up to 100 photons. The multiparticle quantum state is such that even in the case of an overall photon collection and detection efficiency as low as a few percent, entanglement remains and can be detected.

We prove that the spectrum of an individual chaotic quantum graph shows universal spectral correlations, as predicted by random-matrix theory. The stability of these correlations with regard to nonuniversal corrections is analyzed in terms of the linear operator governing the classical dynamics on the graph.

We propose an integrable model of a multicomponent spinor Bose-Einstein condensate in one dimension, which allows an exact description of the dynamics of bright solitons with spin degrees of freedom. We consider specifically an atomic condensate in the $F=1$ hyperfine state confined by an optical dipole trap. When the mean-field interaction is attractive ($c_0<0$) and the spin-exchange interaction of a spinor condensate is ferromagnetic ($c_2<0$), we prove that the system possesses a completely integrable point leading to the existence of multiple bright solitons. By applying results from the inverse scattering method, we analyze a collision law for two-soliton solutions and find that the dynamics can be explained in terms of the spin precession.

Feng and Weinbaum [J. Fluid Mech. 422, 282 (2000)] have shown that there is a remarkable dynamic similarity between a red cell gliding on the endothelial surface glycocalyx and a human snowboarding on fresh powder although they differ in mass by ${10}^{15}$. The lift forces in each case are 4 orders of magnitude greater than classical lubrication theory. Herein we report the first measurements of the pore pressures generated on the time scale of snowboarding and show a feasibility of designing a train that can glide on a track whose permeability and elastic properties are similar to goose down.

We investigate the vectorial nature of soliton fission in an isotropic nonlinear medium both theoretically and experimentally. As a specific example, we show that supercontinuum generation in a tapered fiber is extremely sensitive to the input state of polarization. Multiple vector solitons generated through soliton fission exhibit different states of elliptical polarization while emitting nonsolitonic radiation with complicated polarization features. Experiments performed with a tapered fiber agree with our theoretical description.

We describe an investigation of fluid-immersed granular mixtures subjected to horizontal vibration. For sufficiently large amplitudes of vibration, a mixture of equal-sized glass and bronze particles in water is found to separate into a striped pattern. Numerical simulations based on soft-sphere molecular dynamics coupled to the interstitial fluid are able to capture many of the features observed experimentally. We propose a general pattern-formation mechanism based on the differential influence of drag on the components of the mixture. An expression for the number of stripes as a function of the system parameters is derived and shown to be in good agreement with experiments.

We analyze a long-wavelength model of viscous entrainment from a nozzle and show that, when appropriate large-scale boundary conditions are imposed, the entrainment transition can become continuous. As the entrainment threshold is approached from above, the entrained steady-state spout becomes vanishingly thin compared to the nozzle radius and takes the form of a thin tendril emerging from a base profile whose tip is perfectly conical.

We consider the one-dimensional Burgers equation randomly stirred at large scales by a Gaussian short-time correlated force. Using the method of dissipative anomalies, we obtain velocity and velocity-difference probability density functions and confirm the results with high-resolution numerical simulations.

By coupling two nonlinear one dimensional lattices, we demonstrate a thermal diode model that works in a wide range of system parameters. We provide numerical and analytical evidence for the underlying mechanism which allows heat flux in one direction while the system acts like an insulator when the temperature gradient is reversed. The possible experimental realization in nanoscale systems is briefly discussed.

Using a mesoscale model for hydrodynamics, we simulate driven flow of $AB$ binary fluids past surfaces that contain well-defined roughness or asperities. The geometry and wetting properties of the asperities are found to have a dramatic effect on the flow patterns. We isolate conditions where the $A$ fluid forms vertical bands that bridge the asperities and an imposed shear (or pressure gradient) drives the system to form monodisperse droplets of $A$ within the $B$ fluid. The size of the droplets can be tailored by varying the morphology of the asperities. The surfaces needed to create this rich dynamical behavior are used as the stamps in microcontact printing; thus, the parameter space can readily be accessed experimentally, and the predictions suggest an efficient method for forming emulsions with well-controlled morphologies.

We present the first demonstration of a new mechanism for temporal compression of ultrashort light pulses that operates at high (i.e., ionizing) intensities. By propagating pulses inside a hollow waveguide filled with low-pressure argon gas, we demonstrate a self-compression from 30 to 13 fs, without the need for any external dispersion compensation. Theoretical models show that 3D spatiotemporal reshaping of the pulse due to a combination of ionization-induced spectral broadening, plasma-induced refraction, and guiding in the hollow waveguide are necessary to explain the compression mechanism.

We introduce a new physical process that can perform a complete time-reversal operation on any electromagnetic pulse. The process uses only small refractive index modulations of linear optical elements. No nonlinear multiphoton effects such as four-wave mixing are required. The introduced process can be implemented on chip with standard semiconductor materials. Furthermore, the same process can be used to compress or expand the spectrum of electromagnetic waves while completely preserving the coherent information. We exhibit the time-reversal process by first-principles simulations of microcavity complexes in photonic crystals.

Arrays of identical oscillators can display a remarkable spatiotemporal pattern in which phase-locked oscillators coexist with drifting ones. Discovered two years ago, such “chimera states” are believed to be impossible for locally or globally coupled systems; they are peculiar to the intermediate case of nonlocal coupling. Here we present an exact solution for this state, for a ring of phase oscillators coupled by a cosine kernel. We show that the stable chimera state bifurcates from a spatially modulated drift state, and dies in a saddle-node bifurcation with an unstable chimera state.

We report a new fundamental relation between the minima of the far-zone radiation pattern of a narrow slit in a metal plate and the location of phase singularities in the intermediate field. If a system parameter such as the wavelength is changed, a previously unappreciated singular optics phenomenon occurs: namely, the transition of a near-zone phase singularity into a singularity of the radiation pattern. Our results have significance for the design of novel nanoscale light sources and antennas.

We show by means of theoretical considerations and electronic circuit experiments that time-delayed feedback control suffers from severe global constraints if transitions at the control boundaries are discontinuous. Subcritical behavior gives rise to small basins of attraction and thus limits the control performance. The reported properties are, on the one hand, universal since the mechanism is based on general arguments borrowed from bifurcation theory and, on the other hand, directly visible in experimental time series.