TY - JOUR A1 - Haakh, Harald Richard A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Magnetic near fields as a probe of charge transport in spatially dispersive conductors JF - The European physical journal : B, Condensed matter and complex systems N2 - We calculate magnetic field fluctuations above a conductor with a nonlocal response (spatial dispersion) and consider a large range of distances. The cross-over from ballistic to diffusive charge transport leads to a reduced noise spectrum at distances below the electronic mean free path, as compared to a local description. We also find that the mean free path provides a lower limit to the correlation (coherence) length of the near field fluctuations. The short-distance behaviour is common to a wide range of materials, including semiconductors and superconductors. Our discussion is aimed at atom chip experiments where spin-flip transitions give access to material properties with mesoscopic spatial resolution. The results also hint at fundamental limits to the coherent operation of miniaturised atom traps and matter-wave interferometers. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2011-20567-1 SN - 1434-6028 VL - 85 IS - 1 PB - Springer CY - New York 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 - Horovitz, Baruch A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Surface plasmons at composite surfaces with diffusive charges JF - epl : a letters journal exploring the frontiers of physics N2 - Metal surfaces with disorder or with nanostructure modifications are studied, allowing for a localized charge layer (CL) in addition to continuous charges (CC) in the bulk, both charges having a compressional or diffusive nonlocal response. The notorious problem of "additional boundary conditions" is resolved with the help of a Boltzmann equation that involves the scattering between the two charge types. Depending on the strength of this scattering, the oscillating charges can be dominantly CC or CL; the surface plasmon (SP) resonance acquires then a relatively small linewidth, in agreement with a large set of data. With a few parameters our model describes a large variety of SP dispersions corresponding to observed data. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/97/57010 SN - 0295-5075 VL - 97 IS - 5 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Mulhouse ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bödecker, Geesche A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Validity of the quantum regression theorem for resonance fluorescence in a photonic crystal JF - Annalen der Physik N2 - Correlation functions of a driven two-level system embedded in a photonic crystal are analyzed. The spectral density of the photonic bands near a gap makes this system non-Markovian. The equations of motion for two-time correlations are derived by two different methods, the quantum regression theorem and the fluctuation dissipation theorem, and found to be the same. KW - Resonance fluorescence KW - fluctuation dissipation theorem KW - quantum regression theorem KW - non-Markovian dynamics KW - open quantum system KW - photonic bandgap Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/andp.201200135 SN - 0003-3804 VL - 524 IS - 12 SP - 805 EP - 813 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eizner, E. A1 - Horovitz, Baruch A1 - Henkel, Carsten T1 - Van der waals-casimir-polder interaction of an atom with a composite surface JF - The European physical journal : D, Atomic, molecular, optical and plasma physics N2 - We study the dispersion interaction of the van der Waals and Casimir-Polder (vdW-CP) type between a neutral atom and the surface of a conductor by allowing for nonlocal electrodynamics, i.e. electron diffusion. We consider two models: (i) bulk diffusion, and (ii) diffusion in a surface charge layer. In both cases, we find that the transition to a semiconductor as a function of the conductivity is continuous, unlike the case of a local model. The relevant parameter is the electric screening length and depends on the carrier diffusion constant. We find that for distances comparable to the screening length, vdW-CP data can distinguish between bulk and surface diffusion, hence it can be a sensitive probe for surface states. Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2012-30294-x SN - 1434-6060 VL - 66 IS - 12 PB - Springer CY - New York ER -