Search

Reflection-type terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) enables the measurement of optical properties of opaque samples in the THz frequency range, e.g., carrier density and mobility. In this study, we examine the influence of phase inaccuracy on the extracted complex refractive index from reflection-type THz-TDS. Phase inaccuracy often arises from the placement mismatch between the perfect reflector, serving as the reference, and the target samples in reflection-type THz-TDS. By considering two representative systems, where free and bound carriers dominate optical properties, and introducing arbitrarily shifted placement mismatch, we confirm that significant errors in the extracted complex refractive index occur when the mismatch position exceeds 3 {\mu}m., Comment: 7 pages and 4 figures

Kramers-Kronig (KK) analysis has been widely used to extract the optical conductivity spectrum from a broad range of reflectance spectrum obtained from far-infrared to ultraviolet frequency ranges. In this study, we present how measurement uncertainty in the reflectivity spectrum affects the extracted optical conductivity spectrum obtained through KK analysis. We consider realistic uncertainties that can easily occur in reflectance measurement environments: (1) a rigid shift of the absolute reflectance in the whole measurement frequency window, and (2) a linear decrement of reflectance with increasing frequency. Our investigation reveals that the reliability of the extracted optical conductivity spectrum, especially in the lower-frequency range, should be carefully addressed, particularly when the reflectance is above approximately 95 %., Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures

The development of accurate methods for determining how alloy surfaces spontaneously restructure under reactive and corrosive environments is a key, long-standing, grand challenge in materials science. Current oxidation models, such as Cabrera-Mott, are based on macroscopic empirical knowledge that lacks fundamental insight at the atomic level. Using machine learning-accelerated density functional theory with in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy (ETEM), we examine the interplay between surface reconstructions and preferential segregation tendencies of CuNi(100) surfaces under oxidation conditions. Our modeling approach based on molecular dynamics and grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations shows that oxygen-induced Ni segregation in CuNi alloy favors Cu(100)-O c(2x2) reconstruction and destabilizes the Cu(100)-O missing row reconstruction. The underpinnings of these stabilization tendencies are rationalized based on the similar atomic coordination and bond lengths in NiO rock salt and Cu(100)-O c(2x2) structures. In situ ETEM experiments show Ni segregation followed by NiO nucleation and growth in regions without MRR, with secondary nucleation and growth of Cu2O in MRR regions. This further corroborates the simulated surface oxidation and segregation modelling outcomes. Our findings are general and are expected to extend to other alloy systems.

Strong circularly polarized excitation opens up the possibility to generate and control effective magnetic fields in solid state systems, e.g., via the optical inverse Faraday effect or the phonon inverse Faraday effect. While these effects rely on material properties that can be tailored only to a limited degree, plasmonic resonances can be fully controlled by choosing proper dimensions and carrier concentrations. Plasmon resonances provide new degrees of freedom that can be used to tune or enhance the light-induced magnetic field in engineered metamaterials. Here we employ graphene disks to demonstrate light-induced transient magnetic fields from a plasmonic circular current with extremely high efficiency. The effective magnetic field at the plasmon resonance frequency of the graphene disks (3.5 THz) is evidenced by a strong (~1{\deg}) ultrafast Faraday rotation (~ 20 ps). In accordance with reference measurements and simulations, we estimated the strength of the induced magnetic field to be on the order of 0.7 T under a moderate pump fluence of about 440 nJ cm-2.

Very long baseline radio interferometry (VLBI) with ground-based observatories is limited by the size of Earth, the geographic distribution of antennas, and the transparency of the atmosphere. In this whitepaper, we present Capella, a tentative design of a space-only VLBI system. Using four small (<500 kg) satellites in two orthogonal polar low-Earth orbit planes, and single-band heterodyne receivers operating at frequencies around 690 GHz, the interferometer is able to achieve angular resolutions of approximately 7 microarcsec. Within a total observing time of three days, a near-complete uv plane coverage can be reached. The technology for all key components required for Capella - radio telescope, receiver, sampler, recorder, frequency standard, positioning system, data downlink, and pointing control system - is already available, partially off-the-shelf. Making realistic assumptions, the science payload of each satellite has a mass of about 190 kg and consumes about 460 W of power. The data from the telescopes can be correlated on the ground using dedicated versions of existing Fourier transform (FX) software correlators. With the specifications assumed in this whitepaper, Capella will be able to address a range of science cases, including: photon rings around supermassive black holes; the acceleration and collimation zones of plasma jets emitted from the vicinity of supermassive black holes; the chemical composition of accretion flows into active galactic nuclei through observations of molecular absorption lines; mapping supermassive binary black holes; the magnetic activity of stars; and nova eruptions of symbiotic binary stars - and, like any substantially new observing technique, has the potential for unexpected discoveries., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Whitepaper version 1.4. Updates: frequency reference, sensitivity, mass and power budgets, list of authors. Abstract abridged. Living document, will be updated when necessary

Identifying the three-dimensional (3D) crystal-plane and strain-field distributions of nanocrystals is essential for optical, catalytic, and electronic applications. Here, we developed a methodology for visualizing the 3D information of chiral gold nanoparticles with concave gap structures by Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging. The distribution of the high-Miller-index planes constituting the concave chiral gap was precisely determined. The highly strained region adjacent to the chiral gaps was resolved, which was correlated to the 432-symmetric morphology of the nanoparticles and its corresponding plasmonic properties were numerically predicted from the atomically defined structures. This approach can serve as a general characterization platform for visualizing the 3D crystallographic and strain distributions of nanoparticles, especially for applications where structural complexity and local heterogeneity are major determinants, as exemplified in plasmonics., Comment: Sungwook Choi and Sang Won Im contributed equally to this work. Corresponding author. Email: nkitae@snu.ac.kr, hkim@sogang.ac.kr

We report on high-resolution Feshbach spectroscopy on a degenerate, spin-polarized Fermi gas of $^{161}$Dy atoms, measuring three-body recombination losses at low magnetic field. For field strength up to 1\,G, we identify as much as 44 resonance features and observe plateaus of very low losses. For four selected typical resonances, we study the dependence of the three-body recombination rate coefficient on the magnetic resonance detuning and on the temperature. We observe a strong suppression of losses with decreasing temperature already for small detunings from resonance. The characterization of complex behavior of three-body losses of fermionic $^{161}$Dy is important for future applications of this peculiar species in research on atomic quantum gases., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

A critical problem in the financial world deals with the management of risk, from regulatory risk to portfolio risk. Many such problems involve the analysis of securities modelled by complex dynamics that cannot be captured analytically, and hence rely on numerical techniques that simulate the stochastic nature of the underlying variables. These techniques may be computationally difficult or demanding. Hence, improving these methods offers a variety of opportunities for quantum algorithms. In this work, we study the problem of Credit Valuation Adjustments (CVAs) which have significant importance in the valuation of derivative portfolios. We propose quantum algorithms that accelerate statistical sampling processes to approximate the CVA under different measures of dispersion, using known techniques in Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) and analyse the conditions under which we may employ these techniques., Comment: 42 pages, 1 figure, based on a BComp Dissertation at National University of Singapore

We describe a synthetic three-leg Hall ladder system with a tunable magnetic flux for neutral $^{173}$Yb atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice. The ladder legs are formed by three hyperfine ground spin states of the atoms, and the complex interleg links are generated through Raman couplings between the spin states using multiple laser beams. The effective magnetic flux through a ladder plaquette, $\phi$, is controlled by the angles of the Raman laser beams with the lattice axis. We investigate the quench dynamics of the Hall ladder system for $\phi\approx\frac{\pi}{3}, \frac{\pi}{2},$ and $\frac{2\pi}{3}$ after a sudden application of the Raman coupling in various interleg link configurations. The semi-classical trajectory of the atoms in the plane of the spin composition and lattice position exhibits the characteristic motion for the effective magnetic field. In a tube configuration with the three legs cyclically linked, the quench evolution was observed to be substantially damped, which is attributed to the random flux threading the Hall tube., Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 1 table