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Institut
The Casimir force between metallic plates made of realistic materials is evaluated for distances in the nanometer range. A spectrum over real frequencies is introduced and shows narrow peaks due to surface resonances (plasmon polaritons or phonon polaritons) that are coupled across the vacuum gap. We demonstrate that the Casimir force originates from the attraction (repulsion) due to the corresponding symmetric (antisymmetric) eigenmodes, respectively. This picture is used to derive a simple analytical estimate of the Casimir force at short distances. We recover the result known for Drude metals without absorption and compute the correction for weakly absorbing materials
Modelling of an open quantum system requires knowledge of parameters that specify how it couples to its environment. However, beyond relaxation rates, realistic parameters for specific environments and materials are rarely known. Here we present a method of inferring the coupling between a generic system and its bosonic (e.g., phononic) environment from the experimentally measurable density of states (DOS). With it we confirm that the DOS of the well-known Debye model for three-dimensional solids is physically equivalent to choosing an Ohmic bath. We further match a real phonon DOS to a series of Lorentzian coupling functions, allowing us to determine coupling parameters for gold, yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and iron as examples. The results illustrate how to obtain material-specific dynamical properties, such as memory kernels. The proposed method opens the door to more accurate modelling of relaxation dynamics, for example for phonon-dominated spin damping in magnetic materials.
We analyze the cross-over of a homogeneous, weakly interacting Bose gas in one dimension from the ideal gas into the dense quasi-condensate phase. We review a number of mean-field theories, perturbative or self-consistent, and provide accurate evaluations of equation of state, density fluctuations, and correlation functions. A smooth crossover is reproduced by classical-field simulations based on the stochastic Gross-Pitaevskii equation and the Yang-Yang solution to the one-dimensional Bose gas.
We discuss the impact of thermally excited near fields on the coherent expansion of a condensate in a miniaturized electromagnetic trap. Monte Carlo simulations are compared with a kinetic two-component theory and indicate that atom interactions can slow down decoherence. This is explained by a simple theory in terms of the condensate dynamic structure factor
We present experimental results showing the diffuse reflection of a Bose Einstein condensate from a rough mirror, consisting of a dielectric substrate supporting a blue-detuned evanescent wave. The scattering is anisotropic, more pronounced in the direction of the surface propagation of the evanescent wave. These results agree very well with theoretical predictions.
We investigate the time-dependent Casimir-Polder potential of a polarizable two-level atom placed near a surface of arbitrary material, after a sudden change in the parameters of the system. Different initial conditions are taken into account. For an initially bare ground-state atom, the time-dependent Casimir-Polder energy reveals how the atom is "being dressed" by virtual, matter-assisted photons. We also study the transient behavior of the Casimir-Polder interaction between the atom and the surface starting from a partially dressed state, after an externally induced change in the atomic level structure or transition dipoles. The Heisenberg equations are solved through an iterative technique for both atomic and field operators in the medium-assisted electromagnetic field quantization scheme. We analyze, in particular, how the time evolution of the interaction energy depends on the optical properties of the surface, in particular on the dispersion relation of surface plasmon polaritons. The physical significance and the limits of validity of the obtained results are discussed in detail.
The electric-field noise above a layered structure composed of a planar metal electrode covered by a thin dielectric is evaluated and it is found that the dielectric film considerably increases the noise level, in proportion to its thickness. Importantly, even a thin (mono) layer of a low-loss dielectric can enhance the noise level by several orders of magnitude compared to the noise above a bare metal. Close to this layered surface, the power spectral density of the electric field varies with the inverse fourth power of the distance to the surface, rather than with the inverse square, as it would above a bare metal surface. Furthermore, compared to a clean metal, where the noise spectrum does not vary with frequency (in the radio-wave and microwave bands), the dielectric layer can generate electricfield noise which scales in inverse proportion to the frequency. For various realistic scenarios, the noise levels predicted from this model are comparable to those observed in trapped-ion experiments. Thus, these findings are of particular importance for the understanding and mitigation of unwanted heating and decoherence in miniaturized ion traps.
The coherence length of the thermal electromagnetic field near a planar surface has a minimum value related to the nonlocal dielectric response of the material. We perform two model calculations of the electric energy density and the field's degree of spatial coherence. Above a polar crystal, the lattice constant gives the minimum coherence length. It also gives the upper limit to the near field energy density, cutting off its 1/z(3) divergence. Near an electron plasma described by the semiclassical Lindhard dielectric function, the corresponding length scale is fixed by plasma screening to the Thomas-Fermi length. The electron mean free path, however, sets a larger scale where significant deviations from the local description are visible
We study the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in time-dependent microtraps for the purpose of understanding the influence of the mean field interaction on the performance of interferometers. We identify conditions where the nonlinearity due to atom interactions increases the sensitivity of interferometers to a phase shift. This feature is connected with the adiabatic generation of a dark soliton. We analyse the robustness of this phenomenon with respect to thermal fluctuations, due to excited near fields in an electromagnetic surface trap
We solve the Bogoliubov equations for an inhomogeneous condensate in the vicinity of a linear turning point. A stable integration scheme is developed using a transformation into an adiabatic basis. We identify boundary modes trapped in a potential whose shape is similar to a Hartree-Fock mean-field treatment. These modes are non-resonantly excited when bulk modes reflect at the turning point and contribute significantly to the spectrum of local density fluctuations.
We discuss quantum information processing with trapped electrons. After recalling the operation principle of planar Penning traps, we sketch the experimental conditions to load, cool and detect single electrons. Here we present a detailed investigation of a scalable scheme including feasibility studies and the analysis of all important elements, relevant for the experimental stage. On the theoretical side, we discuss different methods to couple electron qubits. We estimate the relevant qubit coherence times and draw implications for the experimental setting. A critical assessment of quantum information processing with trapped electrons concludes the paper.
Recent progress in manipulating atomic and condensed matter systems has instigated a surge of interest in nonequilibrium physics, including many-body dynamics of trapped ultracold atoms and ions, near-field radiative heat transfer, and quantum friction. Under most circumstances the complexity of such nonequilibrium systems requires a number of approximations to make theoretical descriptions tractable. In particular, it is often assumed that spatially separated components of a system thermalize with their immediate surroundings, although the global state of the system is out of equilibrium. This powerful assumption reduces the complexity of nonequilibrium systems to the local application of well-founded equilibrium concepts. While this technique appears to be consistent for the description of some phenomena, we show that it fails for quantum friction by underestimating by approximately 80% the magnitude of the drag force. Our results show that the correlations among the components of driven, but steady-state, quantum systems invalidate the assumption of local thermal equilibrium, calling for a critical reexamination of this approach for describing the physics of nonequilibrium systems.
We study the peculiar response of photo-sensitive polymer films irradiated with a certain type of interference pattern where one interfering beam is S-polarized, while the second one is P-polarized. The polymer film, although in a glassy state, deforms following the local polarization distribution of the incident light, and a surface relief grating (SRG) appears whose period is half the optical one. All other types of interference patterns result in the matching of both periods. The topographical response is triggered by the alignment of photo-responsive azobenzene containing polymer side chains orthogonal to the local electrical field, resulting in a bulk birefringence grating (BBG). We investigate the process of dual grating formation (SRG and BBG) in a polymer film utilizing a dedicated set-up that combines probe beam diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, and permits acquiring in situ and in real-time information about changes in local topography and birefringence. We find that the SRG maxima appear at the positions of linearly polarized light (tilted by 45 degrees relative to the grating vector), causing the formation of the half-period topography. This permits to inscribe symmetric and asymmetric topography gratings with sub-wavelength period, while changing only slightly the polarization of one of the interfering beams. We demonstrate an easy generation of sawtooth profiles (blazed gratings) with adjustable shape. With these results, we have taken a significant step in understanding the photo-induced deformation of azo-polymer films.
The aim of this paper is to revisit the calculation of atom-surface quantum friction in the quantum field theory formulation put forward by Barton (2010 New J. Phys. 12 113045). We show that the power dissipated into field excitations and the associated friction force depend on how the atom is boosted from being initially at rest to a configuration in which it is moving at constant velocity (nu) parallel to the planar interface. In addition, we point out that there is a subtle cancellation between the one-photon and part of the two-photon dissipating power, resulting in a leading order contribution to the frictional power which goes as nu(4). These results are also confirmed by an alternative calculation of the average radiation force, which scales as nu(3).
The electromagnetic force on a polarizable particle is calculated in a covariant framework. Local equilibrium temperatures for the electromagnetic field and the particle's dipole moment are assumed, using a relativistic formulation of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Two examples illustrate radiative friction forces: a particle moving through a homogeneous radiation background and above a planar interface. Previous results for arbitrary relative velocities are recovered in a compact way.
We construct an expression for the Green function of a differential operator satisfying nonlocal, homogeneous boundary conditions starting from the fundamental solution of the differential operator. This also provides the solution to the boundary value problem of an inhomogeneous partial differential equation with inhomogeneous, nonlocal boundary conditions. The construction applies for a broad class of linear partial differential equations and linear boundary conditions.
The heat transport mediated by near-field interactions in networks of plasmonic nanostructures is shown to be analogous to a generalized random walk process. The existence of superdiffusive regimes is demonstrated both in linear ordered chains and in three-dimensional random networks by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the corresponding probability distribution function. We show that the spread of heat in these networks is described by a type of Levy flight. The presence of such anomalous heat-transport regimes in plasmonic networks opens the way to the design of a new generation of composite materials able to transport heat faster than the normal diffusion process in solids.
The non-equilibrium state of two oscillators with a mutual interaction and coupled to separate heat baths is discussed. Bosonic baths are considered, and an exact spectral representation for the elements of the covariance matrix is provided analytically. A wide class of spectral densities for the relevant bath modes is allowed for. The validity of the fluctuation-dissipation relation is established for global equilibrium (both baths at the same temperature) in the stationary state. Spectral measures of entanglement are suggested by comparing to the equilibrium spectrum of zero-point fluctuations. No rotating-wave approximation is applied, and anomalous heat transport from cold to hot bath, as reported in earlier work, is demonstrated not to occur.
We study the electromagnetic coupling and concomitant heating of a particle in a miniaturized trap close to a solid surface. Two dominant heating mechanisms are identified: proximity fields generated by thermally exicted currents in the absorbing solid and timedependent image potentials due to elastic surfaces distortions (Rayleigh phonons. Estimates for the lifetime of the trap ground state are given. Ions are paricularly sinsitive to electric proximity fields: for a silver substrate, we find a lifetime below one second at distrances closer than some ten 10^-6m to the surfaces. Neutral atoms may approach the surface more closely: if they have a magnetic moment, a minimum distance of one 10^-6m is estimatied in tight traps, the heat being transferred via magnetic proximity fields. For spinless atoms, heat is transferred by inelastic scattering of virtual photons off sorface phonons. The corresponding lifetime, however, is estimated to be extremely long compared to the timescale of typical experiments.
We discuss heating and decoherencw in traps fpr ions and neutral paricles close to metallic surfaces. We focus on simple trap geometries and compute noise spectra of thermally excited electromagnetic fields. If the trap is located in the near field of the substrate, the field fluctuations are largely increased compared to the level of the blackbody field, leading to much shorter coherence and life times of the trapped atoms. The correspinding time constants are computed for ion traps and magnetic traps. Analytical estimates for the size dependence of the noise spectrum are given. We finally discuss prospects for the coherent transport of matter waves in integrated surface waveguides.
We present a formalism based on first principles of quantum electrodynamics at nonzero temperature which permits us to calculate the Casimir-Polder interaction between an atom and a graphene sheet with arbitrary mass gap and chemical potential, including graphene-coated substrates. The free energy and force of the Casimir-Polder interaction are expressed via the polarization tensor of graphene in (2 + 1)-dimensional space-time in the framework of the Dirac model. The obtained expressions are used to investigate the influence of the chemical potential of graphene on the Casimir-Polder interaction. Computations are performed for an atom of metastable helium interacting with either a freestanding graphene sheet or a graphene-coated substrate made of amorphous silica. It is shown that the impacts of the nonzero chemical potential and the mass gap on the Casimir-Polder interaction are in opposite directions, by increasing and decreasing the magnitudes of the free energy and force, respectively. It turns out, however, that the temperature-dependent part of the Casimir-Polder interaction is decreased by a nonzero chemical potential, whereas the mass gap increases it compared to the case of undoped, gapless graphene. The physical explanation for these effects is provided. Numerical computations of the Casimir-Polder interaction are performed at various temperatures and atom-graphene separations.
Nous évaluons la force de Casimir entre deux surfaces planes métalliques constituées d'argent. Nous prenons, pour effectuer cette évaluation, des propriétés optiques de l'argent à différentes températures [1]. Nous montrons que cette dépendance en température modifie la force de Casimir (de 0.2%) y compris à des distances inférieures à la longueur d'onde thermique.
We discuss the laser theory for a single-mode laser with nonlinear gain. We focus in particular on a micromaser which is pumped with a dilute beam of excited atoms crossing the laser cavity. In the weak-coupling regime, an expansion in the coupling strength is developed that preserves the Lindblad form of the master equation, securing the positivity of the density matrix. This can be improved with an alternative approach, not restricted to weak coupling: the Lindblad operators are expanded in orthogonal polynomials adapted to the probability distribution for the atom-laser interaction time. Results for the photon statistics and the laser linewidth illustrate the theory.
We derive the time and loss rate for a trapped atom that is coupled to fluctuating fields in the vicinity of a room-temperature metallic and/or dielectric surface. Our results indicate a clear predominance of near-field effects over ordinary blackbody radiation. We develop a theoretical framework for both charged ions and neutral atoms with and without spin. Loss processes that are due to a transition to an untrapped internal state are included.
We present a theoretical framework for the analysis of the statistical properties of thermal fluctuations on a lossy transmission line. A quantization scheme of the electrical signals in the transmission line is formulated. We discuss two applications in detail. Noise spectra at finite temperature for voltage and current are shown to deviate significantly from the Johnson-Nyquist limit, and they depend on the position on the transmission line. We analyze the spontaneous emission, at low temperature, of a Rydberg atom and its resonant enhancement due to vacuum fluctuations in a capacitively coupled transmission line. The theory can also be applied to study the performance of microscale and nanoscale devices, including high-resolution sensors and quantum information processors
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.
We compute the local spectrum of the magnetic field near a metallic microstructure at finite temperature. Our main focus is on deviations from a plane-layered geometry for which we review the main properties. Arbitrary geometries are handled with the help of numerical calculations based on surface integral equations. The magnetic noise shows a significant polarization anisotropy above flat wires with finite lateral width, in stark contrast to an infinitely wide wire. Within the limits of a two-dimensional setting, our results provide accurate estimates for loss and dephasing rates in so-called `atom chip traps' based on metallic wires. A simple approximation based on the incoherent summation of local current elements gives qualitative agreement with the numerics, but fails to describe current correlations among neighboring objects.
We develop an effective low-frequency theory of the electromagnetic field in equilibrium with thermal objects. The aim is to compute thermal magnetic noise spectra close to metallic microstructures. We focus on the limit where the material response is characterised by the electric conductivity. At the boundary between empty space and metallic microstructures, a large jump occurs in the dielectric function which leads to a partial screening of low-frequency magnetic fields generated by thermal current fluctuations. We resolve a, discrepancy between two approaches used in the past to compute magnetic field noise spectra close to microstructured materials
Mapping a plasmonic hologram with photosensitive polymer films: standing versus propagating waves
(2014)
We use a photosensitive layer containing azobenzene moieties to map near-field intensity patterns in the vicinity of nanogrids fabricated within a thin silver layer. It is known that azobenzene containing films deform permanently during irradiation, following the pattern of the field intensity. The photosensitive material reacts only to stationary waves whose intensity patterns do not change in time. In this study, we have found a periodic deformation above the silver film outside the nanostructure, even if the latter consists of just one groove. This is in contradiction to the widely accepted viewpoint that propagating surface plasmon modes dominate outside nanogrids. We explain our observation based on an electromagnetic hologram formed by the constructive interference between a propagating surface plasmon wave and the incident light. This hologram contains a stationary intensity and polarization grating that even appears in the absence of the polymer layer.
We review the 10 year long journey into the miniaturization and integration of matter wave optics resulting in devices mounted on surfaces, so called atom chips. The first experiments started with the guiding of atoms with free standing wires and investigated the trapping potentials in simple geometries. Atom optical elements can now be micro fabricated down to 1 um size on atom chips. The creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate miniaturized in surface traps was recently achieved, and the first attempts to integrate light optics are in progress. In this review, we describe microscopic atom optics elements using current carrying and charged structures. Experiments with free standing structures (atom wires)are reviewed, investigating the basic principles of microscopic atom optics. We then discuss the miniaturization on the atom chip. One of the open central questions is dealt with: what happens with cold atoms close to a warm surface, how fast will they heat up or lose their coherence? The review concludes with an outlook of what we believe the future directions to be, and what can be hoped for.
Nanoscale Thermal Transfer
(2017)
New physics with evanescent wave atomic mirrors : the van der Waals force and atomic diffraction
(1998)
After a brief introduction to the field of atom optics and to atomic mirrors, we present experimental results obtained in our group during the last two years while studying the reflection of rubidium atoms by an evanescent wave. These involve the first measurement of the van der Waals force between an atom in its ground state and a dielectric wall, as well as the demonstration of a reflection grating for atoms at normal incidence. We also consider the influence of quantum reflection and tunnelling phenomena. Further studies using the atomic mirror as a probe of the van der Waals interaction, and of very small surface roughness are briefly discussed.
We derive modified reflection coefficients for electromagnetic waves in the THz and far infrared range. The idea is based on hydrodynamic boundary conditions for metallic conduction electrons. The temperature-dependent part of the Casimir pressure between metal plates is evaluated. The results should shed light on the "thermal anomaly," where measurements deviate from the standard fluctuation electrodynamics for conducting metals.
We discuss the failure of the Markov approximation in the description of atom-surface fluctuation-induced interactions, both in equilibrium (Casimir-Polder forces) and out of equilibrium (quantum friction). Using general theoretical arguments, we show that the Markov approximation can lead to erroneous predictions of such phenomena with regard to both strength and functional dependencies on system parameters. In particular, we show that the long-time power-law tails of two-time dipole correlations and their corresponding low-frequency behavior, neglected in the Markovian limit, affect the prediction of the force. Our findings highlight the importance of non-Markovian effects in dispersion interactions.
Non-contact heat transfer between two bodies is more efficient than the Stefan–Boltzmann law when the distances are on the nanometer scale (shorter than Wien’s wavelength), due to contributions of thermally excited near fields. This is usually described in terms of the fluctuation electrodynamics due to Rytov, Levin, and co-workers. Recent experiments in the tip–plane geometry have reported “giant” heat currents between metallic (gold) objects, exceeding even the expectations of Rytov theory. We discuss a simple model that describes the distance dependence of the data and permits us to compare to a plate–plate geometry, as in the proximity (or Derjaguin) approximation. We extract an area density of active channels which is of the same order for the experiments performed by the groups of Kittel (Oldenburg) and Reddy (Ann Arbor). It is argued that mechanisms that couple phonons to an oscillating surface polarization are likely to play a role.
The electromagnetic field in a typical geometry of the Casimir effect is described in the Schwinger-Keldysh formalism. The main result is the photon distribution function (Keldysh Green function) in any stationary state of the field. A two-plate geometry with a sliding interface in local equilibrium is studied in detail, and full agreement with the results of Rytov fluctuation electrodynamics is found.
We present an efficient expression for the analytic continuation to arbitrary complex frequencies of the complex optical and ac conductivity of a homogeneous superconductor with an arbitrary mean free path. Knowledge of this quantity is fundamental in the calculation of thermodynamic potentials and dispersion energies involving type-I superconducting bodies. When considered for imaginary frequencies, our formula evaluates faster than previous schemes involving Kramers-Kronig transforms. A number of applications illustrate its efficiency: a simplified low-frequency expansion of the conductivity, the electromagnetic bulk self-energy due to longitudinal plasma oscillations, and the Casimir free energy of a superconducting cavity.
We propose an optical ring interferometer to observe environment-induced spatial decoherence of massive objects. The object is held in a harmonic trap and scatters light between degenerate modes of a ring cavity. The output signal of the interferometer permits to monitor the spatial width of the object's wave function. It shows oscillations that arise from coherences between energy eigenstates and that reveal the difference between pure spatial decoherence and that coinciding with energy transfer and heating. Our method is designed to work with a wide variety of masses, ranging from the atomic scale to nanofabricated structures. We give a thorough discussion of its experimental feasibility
The existing optical microscopes form an image by collecting photons emitted from an object. Here we report on the experimental realization of microscopy without the need for direct optical communication with the sample. To achieve this, we have scanned a single gold nanoparticle acting as a nanoantenna in the near field of a sample and have studied the modification of its intrinsic radiative properties by monitoring its plasmon spectrum
A detailed theoretical investigation of the reflection of an atomic de Broglie wave at an evanescent wave mirror is presented. The classical and the semiclassical descriptions of the reflection process are reviewed, and a full wave-mechanical approach based on the analytical soution of the corresponding Schrödinger equation is presented. The phase shift at reflection is calculated exactly and interpreted in terms of instantaneous reflection of the atom at an effective mirror. Besides the semiclassical regime of reflection describable by the WKB method, a pure quantum regime of reflection is identified in the limit where the incident de Broglie wavelength is large compared to the evanescent wave decay length.
Polarization controlled fine structure of diffraction spots from an optically induced grating
(2020)
We report on the remote control of the fine structure of a diffraction spot from optically induced dual gratings within a photosensitive polymer film. The material contains azobenzene in the polymer side chains and develops a surface relief under two-beam holographic irradiation. The diffraction of a polarized probe beam is sensitive to the orientation of the azobenzene groups forming a permanently stored birefringence grating within the film. We demonstrate that the fine structure of the probe diffraction spot switches from a Gaussian to a hollow or a hollow to a "Saturn"-like structure by a change in polarization. This makes it potentially useful in photonic devices because the beam shape can be easily inverted by an external stimulus.
Atom chips are a promising candidate for a scalable architecture for quantum information processing provided a universal set of gates can be implemented with high fidelity. The difficult part in achieving universality is the entangling two-qubit gate. We consider a Rydberg phase gate for two atoms trapped on a chip and employ optimal control theory to find the shortest gate that still yields a reasonable gate error. Our parameters correspond to a situation where the Rydberg blockade regime is not yet reached. We discuss the role of spontaneous emission and the effect of noise from the chip surface on the atoms in the Rydberg state.
We study the optical forces due to the radiation of a thermal source. Our model consists of a particle modelled by a dipole above a half-space at temperature T. The fluctuating fields are computed using the Lifshitz model. We find two contributions to the force: a repulsive "wind" component and a dispersive force mainly due to the contribution of thermally excited surface waves. It is found that for SIC material, the latter is repulsive in the very near field. The usual van der Waals force is larger by a factor of approximately ten for submicron size particles.
We study the spontaneous emission of a single emitter close to a metallic nanoparticle, with the aim to clarify the distance dependence of the radiative and non-radiative decay rates. We derive analytical formulas based on a dipole- dipole model, and show that the nonradiative decay rate follows a R-6 dependence at short distance, where R is the distance between the emitter and the center of the nanoparticle, as in Forster's energy transfer. The distance dependence of the radiative decay rate is more subtle. It is chiefly dominated by a R-3 dependence, a R-6 dependence being visible at plasmon resonance. The latter is a consequence of radiative damping in the effective dipole polarizability of the nanoparticle. The different distance behavior of the radiative and non-radiative decay rates implies that the apparent quantum yield always vanishes at short distance. Moreover, non-radiative decay is strongly enhanced when the emitter radiates at the plasmon-resonance frequency of the nanoparticle.
Le rayonnement électromagnétique produit par un corps à température T est généralement considéré comme l'exemple type du rayonnement incohérent que l'on oppose au rayonnement laser. L'un est quasi isotrope tandis que l'autre est très directionnel, l'un a un large spectre tandis que l'autre est quasi-monochromatique. Aussi surprenant que cela puisse paraître, le rayonnement thermique de bon nombre de corps est cohérent lorsque l'on se place à une distance inférieure à la longueur d'onde de la surface émettrice. Nous verrons que ces effets peuvent être prédits à l'aide d'une approche électromagnétique du rayonnement thermique. Plusieurs expériences récentes ont confirmé ces propriétés inattendues.
We derive the quantum-mechanical master equation (generalized optical Bloch equation) for an atom in the vicinity of a flat dielectric surface. This equation gives access to the semiclassical radiation pressure force and the atomic momentum diffusion tensor, that are expressed in terms of the vacuum field correlation function (electromagnetic field susceptibility). It is demonstrated that the atomic center-of-mass motion provides a nonlocal probe of the electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. We show in particular that in a circularly polarized evanescent wave, the radiation pressure force experienced by the atoms is not colinear with the evanescent wave's propagation vector. In a linearly polarized evanescent wave, the recoil per fluorescence cycle leads to a net magnetization for a Jg = 1/2 ground state atom.