Novel Wavelength Shifting Material for UV Photon Detectors, Phase I Final Report
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Non-classical features like interference are already being harnessed to control the output of chemical reactions. However, quantum entanglement which is an equally enigmatic many-body quantum correlation can also be used as a powerful resource yet has eluded explicit attention. In this report, an experimental scheme under the crossed beam molecular dynamical setup, with the F + HD reaction, is proposed aiming to study the possible influence of entanglement within reactant pairs on the angular features of the product distribution. The aforesaid reaction has garnered interest recently, as an unusual horseshoe shape pattern in the product (HF) distribution was observed, which has been attributed to the coupling of spin and orbital degrees of freedom. An experimental scheme is proposed aiming to study the possible influence of entanglement on the necessity for the inclusion of such spin–orbit characteristics, under circumstances wherein the existence of entanglement and spin–orbit interaction is simultaneously detectable. The attainable results are further numerically simulated highlighting specific patterns corresponding to various possibilities. Finally, such studies if extended can provide unforeseen mechanistic insight into analogous reactions, too, from the lens of quantum information.
Here we study a topological spin Hall effect where conduction electrons are scattered by Néel-type skyrmions in two-dimensional Rashba spin-orbit ferromagnets. We find the resonance structures in direct and Hall electric conductivities. The resonances strongly depend on the skyrmion size, the Rashba spin-orbit coupling vector value, and the relative direction between magnetization and Rashba vectors. The antiparallel arrangement of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling vector with respect to the magnetization determines the resonance structure and increases the direct conductivity by about two orders of magnitude. For the parallel arrangement the electric conductivities decrease by one to three orders of magnitude and the Hall conductivity changes the sign. The Rashba spin-orbit coupling also modifies electron bands depending on the ratio ε R /J, where ε R is Rashba energy and J is an exchange integral between conduction and localized electrons. If ε R /J ≤ 1, each energy band has the single minimum while for ε R /J > 1 the lower band has the “Mexican-hat” shape with the maximum at k = 0. We focus on the dependencies of direct and Hall electric conductivities on Fermi energy, ε F , skyrmion sizes, and Rashba spin-orbit coupling constant values and its relative direction with the magnetization. Analyzing both types of the energy bands, in general, we find two types of resonances: at the minimum of the upper band and behaviors, we employ the scattering pattern analysis. The resonance dependencies on skyrmion sizes and Rashba, a spin-orbit coupling contestant, can be qualitatively explained in terms of the Ramsauer-Townsend scattering of the upper band electrons by the skyrmion quantum well. The resonance properties can be used in spin transistors. To discover the resonances it is necessary to know the specific range of the parameters. At some values of the parameters the electric conductivity changes by about two orders of magnitude in the narrow range of ε F (< 0.01 eV). To detect the resonances it is also important to identify the relative direction of the Rashba spin-orbit coupling vector with respect to the magnetization.
Quantum spin liquids (QSL) have emerged as a captivating subject within interacting spin systems that exhibit no magnetic ordering even at the lowest temperature accessible experimentally. However, definitive experimental evidence remains elusive. In light of the recent surge in theoretical and experimental interest in the half-filled Hubbard model on a triangular lattice, which offers the potential for stabilizing a chiral QSL, we investigate the electromagnetic signatures of this phase to facilitate experimental detection. Utilizing a combination of parton mean-field theory and unbiased density-matrix renormalization group calculations, we systematically examine the electrical charge and orbital electrical current associated with a spinon excitation in the chiral QSL. Additionally, we calculate the longitudinal and transverse optical conductivities below the Mott gap. Furthermore, employing quantum field theory analysis, we unravel the connection between spinon excitations and emergent as well as physical gauge fields. Our results demonstrate that the chiral QSL phase exhibits a distinct electromagnetic response, even within a Mott insulator regime. This finding holds great potential for enabling the experimental detection of this long-sought-after phase.
Nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond have attracted broad attention as quantum sensors for both static and dynamic magnetic, electrical, strain, and thermal fields and are particularly attractive for quantum sensing under pressure in diamond anvil cells. Optically based nuclear magnetic resonance may be possible at pressures greater than a few gigapascals and offers an attractive alternative to conventional Faraday-induction-based detection. In this work, we present ac sensing results and demonstrate synchronized readout up to 6 GPa but find that the sensitivity is reduced due to inhomogeneities of the microwave field and pressure within the sample space. These experiments enable the possibility of all-optical high resolution magnetic resonance of nanoliter sample volumes at high pressures.
Photons with optical frequencies of a few hundred terahertz are perhaps the only way to distribute quantum information over long distances. Superconducting qubits, which are one of the most promising approaches for realizing large-scale quantum machines, operate on microwave photons at frequencies that are ~40,000 times lower. To network these quantum machines across appreciable distances, we must bridge this frequency gap. Here we implement and demonstrate a transducer that can generate correlated optical and microwave photons. In this study, we use it to show that by detecting an optical photon we generate an added microwave photon with an efficiency of ~35%. Our device uses a gigahertz nanomechanical resonance as an intermediary, which efficiently couples to optical and microwave channels through strong optomechanical and piezoelectric interactions. We show continuous operation of the transducer with 5% frequency conversion efficiency, input-referred added noise of ~100, and pulsed microwave photon generation at a heralding rate of 15 Hz. Optical absorption in the device generates thermal noise of less than two microwave photons. Improvements of the system efficiencies and device performance are necessary to realize a high rate of entanglement generation between distant microwave-frequency quantum nodes, but these enhancements are within reach.
Highlights: • Background Maxwell and Einstein fields are universal features of Lagrangian systems. • The Lagrangian function is promoted to a dynamic field. • The Einstein–Maxwell theory is derived from Lagrangian mechanics. Background fields of electromagnetic and gravitational type emerge in the low kinetic energy limit of any regular Lagrangian system and, in particular, in the corresponding limit of any spacetime theory in which the free motion of test particles is described by an unspecified regular Lagrangian. Electromagnetic and gravitational type interactions are therefore a universal feature of low kinetic energy Lagrangian systems. These background interactions can be consistently turned into dynamic Einstein–Maxwell fields by promoting the Lagrangian function to a dynamic scalar field on the tangent bundle of the configuration space. Accordingly, Einstein–Maxwell theory can be deduced from the assumption that the motion of elementary test particles in spacetime is described by Lagrangian mechanics. For higher kinetic energy-type values, identified with the square of the invariant mass of the particle, the Lagrangian induces higher rank interactions that seem however too weak to have been detected in spacetime physics, but which might prove relevant at the Planck scale.
The extreme versatility of van der Waals materials derives from their ability to exhibit new electronic properties when assembled in proximity with dissimilar crystals. 1 For example, although graphene is inherently non-magnetic, recent work has reported a magnetic proximity effect in graphene interfaced with magnetic substrates, potentially enabling a pathway towards achieving a high-temperature quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here, we investigate heterostructures of graphene and chromium trihalide magnetic insulators (CrI 3 , CrBr 3 , and CrCl 3 ). Surprisingly, we are unable to detect a magnetic exchange field in the graphene, but instead discover proximity effects featuring unprecedented gate-tunability. The graphene becomes highly hole-doped due to charge transfer from the neighboring magnetic insulator, and further exhibits a variety of atypical gate-dependent transport features. The charge transfer can additionally be altered upon switching the magnetic states of the nearest CrI 3 layers. In conclusion, our results provide a roadmap for exploiting proximity effects arising in graphene coupled to magnetic insulators.
The ability to robustly and with scalability detect single photons in the visible spectrum with wavelength resolution would transform many imaging applications. Theoretical studies propose an array of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) functionalized with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) as a physical realization of such photon sensors. In this work, we report approaches to synthesize these CNT-QD nanostructures using DNA as a smart glue to connect CNTs to QDs.
The Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems center is developing searches for dark photons, axions and ALPs with the goal of improving upon the current state-of-the-art sensitivity. These efforts leverage on Fermi National Accelerator expertise on ultra-high quality factor superconducting radio frequency cavities combined with the center research on quantum technology. Here we focus on multiple axion searches that utilize ~1E10 quality factor superconducting radio frequency cavities and their resonant modes to enhance the production and/or detection of axions in the cavity volume. In addition, we present preliminary results of single-mode and multi-mode nonlinearity measurements that were carried out as part of an experimental feasibility study to gain insight on the behavior of the ultra-high quality factor resonators and the experimental RF system in the regime relevant for axion searches.
In the interstellar medium (ISM), non-local thermodynamic equilibrium situations are common due to low density, and one needs to consider the effect of molecular collisions in order to interpret the observations. Among the species detected in the ISM, cyanopolyynes, with the general molecular formula HC 2n+1 N (n = 1, 2, …), are characterized by large dipole moments and small rotational constants and constitute an indispensable class of candidates for the sensitive tracers of local density and temperature. We present a study of the collisional (de-) excitation of HC 5 N by para -H 2 (p-H 2 ) in its ground rotational state, namely HC 5 N ( j 1 ) + H 2 ( j 2 = 0) → HC 5 N (j$_1^′$) + H2 (j$_2^′$ = 0), where j 1 (or j$_1^′$) and j 2 (or j$_2^′$) denote the initial (or final) rotational quantum numbers of HC 5 N and H 2 , respectively. We performed the quantum scattering calculations at low collision energy using a new four-dimensional ab initio potential energy surface. In the regime where p-H 2 remains in its rotational ground state, converged cross sections did not require including excited rotational states of p-H 2 in the rotational basis. State-to-state cross sections were computed by means of the quantum-mechanical close-coupling (CC) method and the coupled states (CS) approximation, and rate coefficients for the first 61 levels of HC 5 N were computed for the first time up to 20 K with the CC approach and up to 50 K with the CS method. CC and CS results were found to agree well at temperatures up to 20 K. Finally, these data should allow a more accurate derivation of the HC 5 N abundance in molecular clouds.
Broadband time-energy entangled photons feature strong temporal correlations with potential for precision delay metrology, but previous work has leveraged only time-of-flight information ultimately limited by the detection jitter and resolution of the time-tagging electronics. Firstly, our work pushes the entanglement-based nonlocal delay metrology from the conventional time-of-flight measurement to a new direction—two-photon interferometry with subpicosecond sensitivity independent of detection resolution. Next, we show the selective sensitivity of frequency-bin encoded Bell states to the sum and difference of biphoton-delays by using a novel reconfigurable setup capable of switching between the Bell states by successively employing single and dual spectral-line pumps.
The result of compression on the magnetic ground state of Sr 2 IrO 4 is studied with x-ray resonant techniques in the diamond anvil cell. The weak interlayer exchange coupling between square-planar 2D IrO 2 layers is easily modified upon compression, with a crossover between magnetic structures around 7 GPa mimicking the effect of an applied magnetic field at ambient pressure. Higher pressures drive an order-disorder magnetic phase transition with no magnetic order detected above 17–20 GPa. The persistence of strong exchange interactions between J eff = 1 / 2 magnetic moments within the insulating IrO 2 layers up to at least 35 GPa points to a highly frustrated magnetic state in compressed Sr 2 IrO 4 , opening the door for realization of novel quantum paramagnetic phases driven by extended 5 d orbitals with entangled spin and orbital degrees of freedom.
We report on the direct measurement of hot electrons generated in the active region of blue light-emitting diodes grown by ammonia molecular beam epitaxy by electron emission spectroscopy. The external quantum efficiency of these devices is <1% and does not droop; thus, the efficiency losses from the intrinsic, interband, electron-electron-hole, or electron-hole-hole Auger should not be a significant source of hot carriers. Here, the detection of hot electrons in this case suggests that an alternate hot electron generating process is occurring within these devices, likely a trap-assisted Auger recombination process.
Triangular lattice antiferromagnets are prototypes for frustrated magnetism and may potentially realize novel quantum magnetic states such as a quantum spin-liquid ground state. A recent work suggests NdTa 7 O 19 with rare-earth triangular lattice is a quantum spin-liquid candidate and highlights the large family of rare-earth heptatantalates as a framework for quantum magnetism investigation. Here, in this paper, we report the structural and magnetic characterization of CeTa 7 O 19 and YbTa 7 O 19 . Both compounds are isostructural to NdTa 7 O 19 with no detectable structural disorder. For CeTa 7 O 19 , the crystal field energy levels and parameters are determined by inelastic neutron scattering measurements. Based on the crystal field result, the magnetic susceptibility data could be well fitted and explained, which reveals that CeTa 7 O 19 is a highly anisotropic Ising triangular-lattice antiferromagnet (𝑔 𝑧 /𝑔 𝑥𝑦 ∼ 3) with very weak exchange interaction (J ∼ 0.22 K). For YbTa 7 O 19 , millimeter-sized single crystals could be grown. The anisotropic magnetization and electron spin resonance data show that YbTa 7 O 19 has a contrasting in-plane magnetic anisotropy with 𝑔 𝑧 /𝑔 𝑥𝑦 ∼ 0.67 similar as that of YbMgGaO 4 . The above results indicate that CeTa7 O 19 and YbTa 7 O 19 with pseudospin-1/2 ground states might either be quantum spin-liquid candidate materials or find applications in adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration due to the weak exchange interaction.
The design of quantum hardware that reduces and mitigates errors is essential for practical quantum error correction (QEC) and useful quantum computation. To this end, we introduce the circuit-Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) dual-rail qubit in which our physical qubit is encoded in the single-photon subspace, { | 01 〉 , | 10 〉 } , of two superconducting microwave cavities. The dominant photon loss errors can be detected and converted into erasure errors, which are in general much easier to correct. In contrast to linear optics, a circuit-QED implementation of the dual-rail code offers unique capabilities. Using just one additional transmon ancilla per dual-rail qubit, we describe how to perform a gate-based set of universal operations that includes state preparation, logical readout, and parametrizable single and two-qubit gates. Moreover, first-order hardware errors in the cavities and the transmon can be detected and converted to erasure errors in all operations, leaving background Pauli errors that are orders of magnitude smaller. Hence, the dual-rail cavity qubit exhibits a favorable hierarchy of error rates and is expected to perform well below the relevant QEC thresholds with today’s coherence times.
Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an attractive vibrational spectroscopic technique that can enable a non-destructive and ultra-sensitive detection down to the single-molecule level. Herein, a novel hybrid SERS platform is developed based on hybrid core-shell (HyCoS) AgPt nanoparticles (NPs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for the enhancement of Raman vibration of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) and benzenethiol (BT). The unique design of HyCoS AgPt NPs induces strong electromagnetic mechanism (EM) enhancement through the amplification of electromagnetic fields by the excitation of high-density surface plasmons and hot spots. Superior localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is generated by the AgPt core-shell and background Ag NP coupling, which is systematically investigated by the optical properties and FDTD simulations. The background Ag NPs can further increase the coverage of metallic NPs, leading to higher-density hot spots and enhanced SERS response. At the same time, GQDs can provide plentiful accessible edges for the charge transfer to the HOMO and LUMO of 4-MBA and BT based on the chemical mechanism (CM) enhancement. The mixing approach of GQDs and target molecules on the HyCoS AgPt NPs can significantly amplify the Raman signals via the strong adsorption of probe molecules by the π – π interaction. The enhancement factors of proposed SERS platform can reach ~107 and ~105 for the 4-MBA and BT respectively.
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