TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Gardiner, Simon A. A1 - Negretti, Antonio T1 - (De)coherence physics with condensates in microtraps N2 - We discuss the dynamics of a condensate in a miniaturized electromagnetic trap formed above a microstructured substrate. Recent experiments have found that trap lifetimes get reduced when approaching the substrate because atoms couple to thermally excited near fields. The data agree quantitatively with our theory [Appl. Phys. B 69, 379 (1999)]. We focus on the decoherence of a quantum degenerate gas in a quasi-one-dimensional trap. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that atom interactions reduce the condensate decoherence rate. This is explained by a simple theory in terms of the suppression of long-wavelength excitations. We present preliminary simulation results for the adiabatic generation of dark solitons Y1 - 2004 SN - 1054-660X ER - TY - GEN A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Steane, Andrew M. A1 - Kaiser, Robin A1 - Dalibard, Jean T1 - A modulated mirror for atomic interferometry N2 - A novel atomic beam splitter, using reflection of atoms off an evanescent light wave, is investigated theoretically. The intensity or frequency of the light is modulated in order to create sidebands on the reflected de Broglie wave. The weights and phases of the various sidevands are calculated using three different approaches: the Born approximation, a semiclassical path integral approach, and a numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrdinger equation. We show how this modulated mirror could be used to build practical atomic interferometers. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 102 Y1 - 1994 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-42279 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zurita-Sanchez, Jorge R. A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Acoustic waves from mechanical impulses due to fluorescence resonant energy (Forster) transfer Blowing a whistle with light JF - epl : a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics N2 - We present a momentum transfer mechanism mediated by electromagnetic fields that originates in a system of two nearby molecules: one excited (donor D*) and the other in ground state (acceptor A). An intermolecular force related to fluorescence resonant energy or Forster transfer (FRET) arises in the unstable D* A molecular system, which differs from the equilibrium van der Waals interaction. Due to the its finite lifetime, a mechanical impulse is imparted to the relative motion in the system. We analyze the FRET impulse when the molecules are embedded in free space and find that its magnitude can be much greater than the single recoil photon momentum, getting comparable with the thermal momentum (Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution) at room temperature. In addition, we propose that this FRET impulse can be exploited in the generation of acoustic waves inside a film containing layers of donor and acceptor molecules, when a picosecond laser pulse excites the donors. This acoustic transient is distinguishable from that produced by thermal stress due to laser absorption, and may therefore play a role in photoacoustic spectroscopy. The effect can be seen as exciting a vibrating system like a string or organ pipe with light; it may be used as an opto-mechanical transducer. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/97/43002 SN - 0295-5075 VL - 97 IS - 4 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Mulhouse ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boedecker, Geesche A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - All-frequency effective medium theory of a photonic crystal Y1 - 2003 UR - http://www.opticsexpress.org/ SN - 1094-4087 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Courtois, Jean-Yves A1 - Aspect, Alain T1 - Atomic diffraction by a thin phase grating N2 - We present a semiclassical perturbation method for the description of atomic diffraction by a weakly modulated potential. It proceeds in a way similar to the treatment of light diffraction by a thin phase grating, and consists in calculating the atomic wavefunction by means of action integrals along the classical trajectories of the atoms in the absence of the modulated part of the potential. The capabilities and the validity condition of the method are illustrated on the well-known case of atomic diffraction by a Gaussian standing wave. We prove that in this situation the perturbation method is equivalent to the Raman-Nath approximation, and we point out that the usually-considered Raman-Nath validity condition can lead to inaccuracies in the evaluation of the phases of the diffraction amplitudes. The method is also applied to the case of an evanescent wave reflection grating, and an analytical expression for the diffraction pattern at any incidence angle is obtained for the first time. Finally, the application of the method to other situations is briefly discussed. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 101 Y1 - 1994 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-42269 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schiefele, Juergen A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Bosonic enhancement of spontaneous emission near an interface JF - Modern physics letters : A, Particles and fields, gravitation, cosmology, nuclear physics N2 - We show how the spontaneous emission rate of an excited two-level atom placed in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate of ground-state atoms is enhanced by bosonic stimulation. This stimulation depends on the overlap of the excited matter-wave packet with the macroscopically occupied condensate wave function, and provides a probe of the spatial coherence of the Bose gas. The effect can be used to amplify the distance-dependent decay rate of an excited atom near an interface. KW - Bose-Einstein condensation KW - Correlation function KW - Bosonic stimulation KW - Superradiance KW - Spontaneous decay KW - Cavity-quantum electrodynamics Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physleta.2010.11.058 SN - 0375-9601 VL - 375 IS - 3 SP - 680 EP - 684 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schiefele, Jürgen A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Casimir energy of a BEC : from moderate interactions to the ideal gas N2 - Considering the Casimir effect due to phononic excitations of a weakly interacting dilute Bose-Einstein condensate ( BEC), we derive a renormalized expression for the zero-temperature Casimir energy E-C of a BEC confined to a parallel plate geometry with periodic boundary conditions. Our expression is formally equivalent to the free energy of a bosonic field at finite temperature, with a nontrivial density of modes that we compute analytically. As a function of the interaction strength, E-C smoothly describes the transition from the weakly interacting Bogoliubov regime to the non- interacting ideal BEC. For the weakly interacting case, E-C reduces to leading order to the Casimir energy due to zero- point fluctuations of massless phonon modes. In the limit of an ideal Bose gas, our result correctly describes the Casimir energy going to zero. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://iopscience.iop.org/1751-8121/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8113/42/4/045401 SN - 1751-8113 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Joulain, Karl T1 - Casimir force between designed materials : what is possible and what not N2 - We establish strict upper limits for the Casimir interaction between multilayered structures of arbitrary dielectric or diamagnetic materials. We discuss the appearance of different power laws due to frequency-dependent material constants. Simple analytical expressions are in good agreement with numerical calculations based on Lifshitz theory. We discuss the improvements required for current ( meta) materials to achieve a repulsive Casimir force Y1 - 2005 SN - 0295-5075 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Intravaia, Francesco A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Casimir interaction from magnetically coupled eddy currents N2 - We study the quantum and thermal fluctuations of eddy (Foucault) currents in thick metallic plates. A Casimir interaction between two plates arises from the coupling via quasistatic magnetic fields. As a function of distance, the relevant eddy current modes cross over from a quantum to a thermal regime. These modes alone reproduce previously discussed thermal anomalies of the electromagnetic Casimir interaction between good conductors. In particular, they provide a physical picture for the Casimir entropy whose nonzero value at zero temperature arises from a correlated, glassy state. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://prl.aps.org/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/Physrevlett.103.130405 SN - 0031-9007 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Puhlmann, Dirk A1 - Henkel, Carsten A1 - Heuer, Axel A1 - Pieplow, Gregor A1 - Menzel, Ralf T1 - Characterization of a remote optical element with bi-photons JF - Physica scripta : an international journal for experimental and theoretical physics N2 - We present a simple setup that exploits the interference of entangled photon pairs. 'Signal' photons are sent through a Mach–Zehnder-like interferometer, while 'idlers' are detected in a variable polarization state. Two-photon interference (in coincidence detection) is observed with very high contrast and for significant time delays between signal and idler detection events. This is explained by quantum erasure of the polarization tag and a delayed choice protocol involving a non-local virtual polarizer. The phase of the two-photon fringes is scanned by varying the path length in the signal beam or by rotating a birefringent crystal in the idler beam. We exploit this to characterize one beam splitter of the signal photon interferometer (reflection and transmission amplitudes including losses), using only information about coincidences and control parameters in the idler path. This is possible because our bi-photon state saturates the Greenberger–Yelin–Englert inequality between contrast and predictability. KW - quantum optics KW - quantum eraser KW - entanglement KW - bi-photons Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/91/2/023006 SN - 0031-8949 SN - 1402-4896 VL - 91 SP - 113 EP - 114 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -