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Flat band systems are currently under intense investigation in quantum materials, optical lattices, and metamaterials. These efforts are motivated by potential realization of strongly correlated phenomena enabled by frustration-induced flat band dispersions; identification of candidate platforms plays an important role in these efforts. Here, we develop a high-throughput materials search for bulk crystalline flat bands by automated construction of uniform-hopping near-neighbor tight-binding models. We show that this approach captures many of the essential features relevant to identifying flat band lattice motifs in candidate materials in a computationally inexpensive manner, and is of use to identify systems for further detailed investigation as well as theoretical and metamaterials studies of model systems. We apply this algorithm to 139,367 materials in the Materials Project database and identify 63,076 materials that host at least one flat band elemental sublattice. We further categorize these candidate systems into at least 31,635 unique flat band crystal nets and identify candidates of interest from both lattice and band structure perspectives. This work expands the number of known flat band lattices that exist in physically realizable crystal structures and classifies the majority of these systems by the underlying lattice, providing additional insights for familiar (e.g., kagome, pyrochlore, Lieb, and dice) as well as previously unknown motifs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compact and robust optical clocks are significant in scientific research and engineering. Here, we present a physical system for a strontium atomic optical clock with dimensions of 465 mm × 588 mm × 415 mm and a weight of 66.6 kg. To date, this is one of the most compact physical systems ever reported. The application of the magnetic shielding box in this physical system allowed the effect of external magnetic field fluctuation on cold atoms to be negligible. The physical system passed rigorous environmental tests and remained operational. A wavelength meter integrated in this physical system could monitor the wavelengths of the incident laser, and it could automatically calibrate the wavelengths of all lasers using a microcomputer. This compact and robust physical system could be a hardware basis for demonstrating a portable optical clock or even a space optical clock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the dynamics of a population-imbalanced two-species fermionic system trapped in an optical lattice. The paired fermions here can form bosonic molecules via Feshbach coupling in the presence of an external magnetic field. It is shown that the natural fluctuations of the condensate fraction are periodic beyond a threshold Feshbach detuning; below this threshold value, the condensate fraction shows no oscillation at all. The oscillation frequency vs. detuning curve is linear in nature. The slope and intercept of this line are shown to carry important information about the amount of imbalance present in the system, and the momentum-space structure of the exotic phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties and Landau quantisations in twisted bilayer graphene are investigated using a generalised tight-binding model that takes into account all interlayer and intralayer atomic interactions in the Moire superlattice. The system is a zero-gap semiconductor with double-degenerate Dirac-cone structures, and saddle-point energy dispersions appear at low energies for small twisting angles. The magnetic quantisation phenomena in this system are rich and unique, with Landau-level subgroups specified owing to specific Moire zone folding through modulation of the stacking angles. The Landau-level spectrum shows hybridised characteristics associated with those in monolayer, as well as AA and AB stackings. The detailed analysis explores the complex relations among the different sublattices on the same and different graphene layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we apply the extended modified auxiliary equation mapping method to study the generalized Nizhnik–Novikov–Veselov equation,the Radhakrishnan–Kundu–Lakshmanan equation, and a cold bosonic atom in a zig–zag optical lattice. By employing this method, we obtain soliton solutions of different types and utilize computer assistance to visualize these solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce a flexible and programmable method to construct a multi-parameter optical array to meet urgent and personalized needs, such as multi-particle capture and manipulation and material processing, and enrich the degree of freedom when constructing an optical array. As an example, uniform and nonuniform spiral coherent lattices (SCLs) and their propagation properties are investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Various intensity distributions, e.g., a uniform and nonuniform spiral light field, can be achieved by manipulating the diverse parameters. Additionally, the complex degree of coherence exhibits phase singularities in the source plane, which can be used for constructing optical vortex beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photonic lattices enable experimental exploration of transport and localization phenomena, two of the major goals in physics and technology. In particular, the optical excitation of some lattice sites, which evanescently couple to a lattice array, emulates radiation processes in structured reservoirs, a fundamental subject in quantum optics. Moreover, the simultaneous excitation of two sites simulates collective phenomena, leading to phase-controlled enhanced or suppressed radiation, namely super- and subradiance. This work presents an experimental study of collective radiative processes on a photonic Kagome lattice. A single or simultaneous—in-phase or out-of-phase—excitation of the outlying sites controls the radiation dynamics. Specifically, we demonstrate a controllable transition between a fully localized profile at the two outlying sites and a completely dispersed state into the quasi-continuum. Our result presents photonic lattices as a platform to emulate and experimentally explore quantum optical phenomena in two-dimensional structured reservoirs, while harnessing such phenomena for controlling transport dynamics and implementing all-optical switching devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy spectrum of quantum systems contain a wealth of information about their underlying properties. Spectroscopic techniques, especially those with access to spatially resolved measurements, can be challenging to implement in real-space systems of cold atoms in optical lattices. Here we explore a technique for probing energy spectra in synthetic lattices that is analogous to scanning tunneling microscopy. Using one-dimensional synthetic lattices of coupled atomic momentum states, we explore this spectroscopic technique and observe qualitative agreement between the measured and simulated energy spectra for small two- and three-site lattices as well as a uniform many-site lattice. Finally, through simulations, we show that this technique should allow for the exploration of the topological bands and the fractal energy spectrum of the Hofstadter model as realized in synthetic lattices. The common probes for cold atoms systems are typically global and do not provide direct information on the local spatial structure of states, limiting the insight on disordered and quasiperiodic systems. The authors demonstrate a local probe able to distinguish metallic and insulating states in an energy-resolved manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atom optics demonstrates optical phenomena with coherent matter waves, providing a foundational connection between light and matter. Significant advances in optics have followed the realization of structured light fields hosting complex singularities and topologically non-trivial characteristics. However, analogous studies are still in their infancy in the field of atom optics. Here, we investigate and experimentally create knotted quantum wavefunctions in spinor Bose–Einstein condensates which display non-trivial topologies. In our work we construct coordinated orbital and spin rotations of the atomic wavefunction, engineering a variety of discrete symmetries in the combined spin and orbital degrees of freedom. The structured wavefunctions that we create map to the surface of a torus to form torus knots, Möbius strips, and a twice-linked Solomon's knot. In this paper we demonstrate close connections between the symmetries and underlying topologies of multicomponent atomic systems and of vector optical fields—a realization of topological atom-optics. Knots are mathematically and physically complex objects that have only rarely been realized in quantum fluids and optics. The authors create knotted quantum wavefunctions of a spinor Bose gas and recognize a close mapping of the results to a recent realization of knots in the polarization of an optical field, exploring common features of topology: a topological atom optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mott insulators with large and active (or multiflavor) local Hilbert spaces widely occur in quantum materials and ultracold atomic systems, and are dubbed "multiflavor Mott insulators". For these multiflavor Mott insulators, the spin-only description with the quadratic spin interactions is often insufficient to capture the major physical processes. In the situation with active orbitals, the Kugel-Khomskii superexchange model was then proposed. We briefly review this historical model and discuss the modern developments beyond the original spin-orbital context. These include and are not restricted to the 4d/5d transition metal compounds with the spin-orbit-entangled J = 3/2 quadruplets, the rare-earth magnets with two weakly-separated crystal field doublets, breathing magnets and/or the cluster and molecular magnets, et al. We explain the microscopic origin of the emergent Kugel-Khomskii physics in each realization with some emphasis on the J = 3/2 quadruplets, and refer the candidate multiflavor Mott insulators as "J = 3/2 Mott insulators". For the ultracold atoms, we review the multiflavor Mott insulator realization with the ultracold alkaline and alkaline-earth atoms on the optical lattices. Despite a large local Hilbert space from the atomic hyperfine spin states, the system could naturally realize a large symmetry group such as the Sp(N) and SU(N) symmetries. These ultracold atomic systems lie in the large-N regime of these symmetry groups and are characterized by strong quantum fluctuations. The Kugel-Khomskii physics and the exotic quantum ground states with the "baryon-like" physics can appear in various limits. We conclude with our vision and outlook on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic topological photonics is a novel research field, combining the time-domain optics and topological physics. In this review, the recent progress and realization platforms of dynamic topological photonics have been well introduced. The definition, measurement methods and the evolution process of the dynamic topological photonics are demonstrated to better understand the physical diagram. This review is meant to bring the readers a different perspective on topological photonics, grasp the advanced progress of dynamic topology, and inspire ideas about future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In past years, optical lattices have been demonstrated as an excellent platform for making, understanding, and controlling quantum matters at nonlinear and fundamental quantum levels. Shrinking experimental observations include matter-wave gap solitons created in ultracold quantum degenerate gases, such as Bose–Einstein condensates with repulsive interaction. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically study the formation of one-dimensional gap soliton molecules and clusters in ultracold coherent atom ensembles under electromagnetically induced transparency conditions and trapped by an optical lattice. In numerics, both linear stability analysis and direct perturbed simulations are combined to identify the stability and instability of the localized gap modes, stressing the wide stability region within the first finite gap. The results predicted here may be confirmed in ultracold atom experiments, providing detailed insight into the higher-order localized gap modes of ultracold bosonic atoms under the quantum coherent effect called electromagnetically induced transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Artificial 1D and 2D lattices have emerged as a powerful platform for the emulation of lattice Hamiltonians, the fundamental study of collective many‐body effects, and phenomena arising from non‐trivial topology. Exciton‐polaritons, bosonic part‐light and part‐matter quasiparticles, combine pronounced nonlinearities with the possibility of on‐chip implementation. In this context, organic semiconductors embedded in microcavities have proven to be versatile candidates to study nonlinear many‐body physics and bosonic condensation, and in contrast to most inorganic systems, they allow the use at ambient conditions since they host ultra‐stable Frenkel excitons. A well‐controlled, high‐quality optical lattice is implemented that accommodates light‐matter quasiparticles. The realized polariton graphene presents with excellent cavity quality factors, showing distinct signatures of Dirac cone and flatband dispersions as well as polariton lasing at room temperature. This is realized by filling coupled dielectric microcavities with the fluorescent protein mCherry. The emergence of a coherent polariton condensate at ambient conditions are demonstrated, taking advantage of coupling conditions as precise and controllable as in state‐of‐the‐art inorganic semiconductor‐based systems, without the limitations of e.g. lattice matching in epitaxial growth. This progress allows straightforward extension to more complex systems, such as the study of topological phenomena in 2D lattices including topological lasers and non‐Hermitian optics.

This work presents a method for achieving soliton transformation in a cold Rydberg atomic system to enable the realization of diverse optical potentials. Our investigation demonstrates that this system can generate various solitons, including Gaussian, elliptical, ring, and necklace structures, based on different optical lattice potentials. Additionally, stable transitions from Gaussian profile to three other profiles can be achieved either abruptly or gradually by adjusting the centers and modulation depths of potentials along the direction of light propagation. These findings highlight the versatility of this system for generating and manipulating solitons. The ability to control soliton transformation offers prospects for various applications, including all-optical switching, optical information processing, and other areas.

The generation of optical vortex beams with user-configurable topological charge and spatial profile is a topic of intense research due to the numerous potential applications for these types of laser beams. In this work, we demonstrate the direct generation of vortex laser beams with controllable topological charge and tunable spatial profile from a Pr3+:YLF laser cavity using a spot-defect technique. A theoretical model is established to examine the relationship between the topological charge of the generated vortex beam and how this relates to laser cavity parameters. Experimentally, the selective operation of first- and second-order vortex beams and tunable optical vortex lattices with one to four singularities at 607 nm can be achieved by adjusting the position of the defect spot. This work offers insight into methods for the generation of visible optical vortex beams with controllable topological charge and tunable singularities for a range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher‐order corner‐bound states in a 2D structure have been found to possess robust and exotic properties beyond the "ordinary" topological edge states, giving rise to a promising applicative potential. For example, the topological nanocavity designed based on the corner states exhibits much better performance than that of the conventional photonic crystal cavity. However, the corner states in the finite Hermitian system are usually coupled with each other, which results in the weakening of their localization. As such, the contradiction between the performance and footprint of topological devices is vexing. Here, it shows that introducing non‐Hermiticity in the higher‐order topological insulators is an effective strategy to enhance the localization of corner states in finite systems. By designing and analyzing the 2D finite Su‐Schriffer‐Heeger optical lattices with two types of non‐Hermitian configuration, the localization degree of higher‐order corner states is found to depend on the gain/loss strength. This is experimentally demonstrated by observing the distribution of corner states in the femtosecond‐laser‐writing loss‐controlled waveguide arrays. This scheme tuning localization of higher‐order corner‐bound states by non‐Hermiticity may offer a new avenue to design robust and compact devices, such as topological nano‐lasers with an ultra‐low threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arrays of individual atoms trapped in optical microtraps with micrometer‐scale sizes have emerged as a fundamental, versatile, and powerful platform for quantum sciences and technologies. This platform enables the bottom‐up engineering of quantum systems, offering the capability of low‐entropy preparation of quantum states with flexible geometry, as well as manipulation and detection at the single‐site level. The utilization of ultracold itinerant atoms with tunnel coupling in optical microtraps provides new opportunities for quantum simulation, enabling the exploration of exotic quantum states, phases, and dynamics, which would otherwise be challenging to achieve in conventional optical lattices due to high entropy and limited geometric flexibility. Here, the development of tunnel‐coupled optical microtraps for the manipulation of ultracold atomic quantum systems and its recent advances are briefly reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-channel interference in the downlink of LiFi attocell networks significantly decreases the network performance in terms of rate. Analysis of multiple access schemes is essential to mitigate interference and improve rate. The light-emitting diodes (LEDs) being centrally monitored, the time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme over the LEDs will be suitable to analyze. This work considers the interference characterization in Ref. (Surampudi A, Ganti RK. Interference characterization in downlink Li-Fi optical attocell networks. J Lightwave Technol 2018;36:3211–28) over M-PAM modulated signals to derive an exact expression for the goodput G of the time scheduled attocell network, which is arranged as a deterministic square lattice in two dimensions. Given this TDMA over the LEDs, numerical simulations show that the LEDs can be optimally time scheduled to maximize the goodput, which implies that the TDMA mitigates interference in an attocell network compared to the case when the LEDs are unscheduled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work aims to explore the exponential rational function technique and the generalized Kudryashov procedure to investigate one of the most important equations which is the equation of cold bosonic atoms in a zig-zag optical lattice. The considered equation is reduced to a supreme equation by using the continuum approximation which describes the soliton's dynamics with the implication pulse variables. The adopted techniques are accurate, simple, straightforward, and succinct to compute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally test a recently proposed holographic method for imaging coherent light scatterers which are distributed over a two-dimensional grid. In our setup, the scatterers consist of a back-illuminated, opaque mask with submicron-sized holes. We study how the imaging fidelity depends on various parameters of the set-up. We observe that a few hundred scattered photons per hole already suffice to obtain a fidelity of 96% to correctly determine whether a hole is located at a given grid point. The holographic method demonstrated here has a high potential for applications with ultracold atoms in optical lattices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical vortex lattices (OVLs) are gaining increased research attention owing to their unique features related to intensity and phase structure. Interference is a common method for generating an OVL. However, the topological charge (TC) of a single building block in an OVL is fixed and cannot be modulated, thereby limiting its applicability. This study entailed the use of phase multiplication to generate a high‐order OVL to facilitate the arbitrary modulation of its TC. The generated high‐order OVL exhibited the Talbot effect during transmission, and it transformed into a super‐honeycomb lattice at specific fractional Talbot lengths. In addition, an orbital angular momentum developed in the OVL; this has broad application prospects in optical micromanipulation. Further, a method for generating super‐honeycomb lattices is devised. The findings of this study enhances understanding of the Talbot effect and broaden the practical applicability of OVLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical skyrmion lattices play an important role in photonic system design and have potential applications in optical transmission and storage. In this study, we propose a novel metasurface approach to calculating the dependence of the multi-beam interference principle and the angular momentum action in the spin–orbit interaction. The metasurface consists of nanopore structures, which are used to generate an optical skyrmion lattice. The superposition of optical vortex beams with circular polarization states is used to evaluate the evolution of the shape of the topological domain walls of the hexagonal skyrmion lattice. Our results show that the distribution of the skyrmion spin vector can be controlled by changing the lattice arrangement from triangular to hexagonal shapes. The distribution of skyrmion number at the microscale is further calculated. Our work has significant implications for the regulation of the shape of topological domain walls of skyrmion lattices, with potential applications in polarization sensing, nanopositioning, and super-resolution microimaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay of electronic and structural degrees of freedom in solids is a topic of intense research. More than 60 years ago, Lifshitz discussed a counterintuitive possibility: lattice softening driven by conduction electrons at topological Fermi surface transitions. The effect that he predicted, however, was small and has not been convincingly observed. Using a piezo-based uniaxial pressure cell to tune the ultraclean metal strontium ruthenate while measuring the stress-strain relationship, we reveal a huge softening of the YoungÕs modulus at a Lifshitz transition of a two-dimensional Fermi surface and show that it is indeed driven entirely by the conduction electrons of the relevant energy band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a numerical multiscale tool is developed to design 3D periodic lattice structures. The work is motivated by the high design freedom of additive manufacturing technologies, which enable complex multiscale lattice structures to be printed. A finite‐element‐based free‐material optimization method is used to determine the ideal orthotropic material properties of a 3D macrostructure space. Subsequently, a population‐based algorithm is established to design optimized microscopic lattice unit cells with the desired structural properties. The design variables are the coordinates of lattice skeleton nodes defined within the 3D lattice unit cell space, and the connectivities between them resulting in a truss skeleton. For the calculation of the mechanical properties of the individual lattice cells, an effective Timoshenko beam‐based finite element calculation method is developed. The macroscale structure can be constructed by periodically filling the domain with the customized unit cell representing a metamaterial. The method is demonstrated by 3D beam problems with compliance constraints. These macroscopic demonstrators of the developed lattice structures were also 3D‐printed. The benefit regarding the weight‐specific structural performance is validated through benchmarking with periodic lattice design solutions using well‐known standard lattice cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmonic metasurfaces can significantly enhance the interaction between light and 2D materials. Hybrid structures of plasmonic lattices and 2D materials show great promise for both fundamental and practical studies because of their unprecedented ability for precise manipulation of light at the nanoscale. This review starts with an overview of the basic concepts of plasmonic lattices and optical properties of 2D materials, as well as fabrication strategies for hybrid metasurfaces. Then, the enhanced photoluminescence, quantum emission, optoelectronic detection, nonlinear process, and valleytronics in hybrid metasurfaces are summarized, and their development for nanophotonic functional devices are reviewed. Further, several compelling topics are also outlined that provide outlooks for future directions of hybrid metasurfaces such as novel structural design and high‐quality fabrication, all‐dielectric metasurfaces, dynamic metasurfaces, and plasmonic mediation of chemical reactions and physical processes. It is believed that hybrid metasurfaces of plasmonic lattices and 2D materials can open prospects for versatile platforms for light‐matter interactions and contribute to the revolutions on nanophotonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal purpose of this research is to utilize the exp-function approach for achieving exact solutions of nonlinear optical fibers, including fractional order in the sense of conformable derivatives. Owing to the algorithm of symbolic computational, Some soliton solutions are obtained, including solitary soliton, singular kink-type soliton, and periodic solitons. These results are generated and developed by using the exp-function. To the greatest of our knowledge, the soliton solutions given in this study could be highly beneficial in comprehending physical phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional topological photonic insulators typically have narrow nontrivial band gaps truncated by broad dispersive bulk bands, resulting in limited edge mode transmission bandwidths that can be exploited for potential applications. Here, we demonstrate a Floquet–Lieb topological photonic insulator with all flat bands that can support continuous edge mode transmission across multiple Floquet–Brillouin zones. This supercontinuum of edge states results from the coexistence and orthogonality of the localized flat-band modes and the edge states, allowing for continuous excitation of the latter without scattering into the bulk modes. Moreover, we show that these flat bands are perfectly immune to random variations in the on-site potential, regardless of how large the perturbations are, thus ensuring complete robustness of the edge modes to this type of disorder. We realized Floquet–Lieb insulators using 2D microring resonator lattices with perfect nearest-neighbor couplings. Transmission measurements and direct imaging of the scattered light distributions showed an edge mode supercontinuum spanning more than three microring free spectral ranges. The proposed Floquet–Lieb insulator can potentially be used to realize topological photonic devices with wide bandwidths and super robustness for applications in integrated quantum photonics and programmable photonic circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider an asymmetric dissipative network of two semi-infinite nonlinear lattices with weak linear inter-lattice coupling and study its capacity for passive wave redirection and non-reciprocity. Each lattice is composed of linearly grounded oscillators with essentially nonlinear (i.e., non-linearizable) next-neighbor intra-lattice coupling, and it supports breather propagation. Irreversible breather redirection between lattices is governed by a macroscopic analog of the quantum Landau–Zener tunneling (LZT) effect, whereby impulsive energy initially induced to the "excited lattice" is passively and irreversibly redirected to the "absorbing lattice." Moreover, this wave redirection is realized only in a specific range of impulse intensity (energy), otherwise motion localization occurs. In this work, we show that LZT breather redirection in the dissipative network occurs only when the normalized linear inter-coupling stiffness is larger than the viscous damping ratio of the individual lattice oscillators, with breather arrest and localization occurring otherwise. Then, through a reduced-order model, we provide guidance for selecting the system parameters of the lattice network for robust breather redirection despite the presence of dissipation. To this end, we study the acoustic non-reciprocity and formulate a quantitative measure for studying it based on measured time-series responses at the four free boundaries of the finite network. Then, we show the dependence of non-reciprocity in this system on the intensity (energy) of the applied impulse. These results pave the way for conceiving practical nonlinear lattice networks with inherent capacities for passive wave redirection and acoustic non-reciprocity that are tunable (self-adaptive) to the applied impulsive excitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the geometry of units and ideals of cyclotomic rings and derive an algorithm to find a mildly short vector in any given cyclotomic ideal lattice in quantum polynomial time, under some plausible number-theoretic assumptions. More precisely, given an ideal lattice of the cyclotomic ring of conductor m, the algorithm finds an approximation of the shortest vector by a factor exp(-õ (vm)). This result exposes an unexpected hardness gap between these structured lattices and general lattices: The best known polynomial time generic lattice algorithms can only reach an approximation factor exp(-O (m)). Following a recent series of attacks, these results call into question the hardness of various problems over structured lattices, suchas Ideal-SVP and Ring-LWE, upon which relies the security of a number of cryptographic schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (AFQMC) method is a general numerical method for correlated many-electron systems, which is being increasingly applied in lattice models, atoms, molecules, and solids. Here, we introduce the theory and algorithm of the method specialized for real materials and present several recent developments. We give a systematic exposition of the key steps of AFQMC, closely tracking the framework of a modern software library we are developing. The building of a Monte Carlo Hamiltonian, projecting to the ground state, sampling two-body operators, phaseless approximation, and measuring ground state properties are discussed in detail. An advanced implementation for multi-determinant trial wave functions is described, which dramatically speeds up the algorithm and reduces the memory cost. We propose a self-consistent constraint for real materials, and discuss two flavors for its realization, either by coupling the AFQMC calculation to an effective independent-electron calculation or via the natural orbitals of the computed one-body density matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metastable ternary ceramic alloys with clustering tendencies are candidates for hard coating applications. In this work, mixing thermodynamics and structural parameters of ceramic Ti 1 − x Al x B 2 alloys are investigated with theoretical first-principles based techniques. Lattice dynamics and temperature dependent phase stability are explored. The effect of lattice vibrations on the total free energy is investigated and found to not significantly affect phase stability at temperatures below 1200 K. The isostructural phase diagram is derived using both cluster expansion-based Monte Carlo simulations and a mean field approach. The phase diagram shows a miscibility gap that does not close at temperatures below the melting or decomposition temperatures of the constituent binaries TiB 2 and AlB 2. The lattice mismatch between phases in the system is small regardless of their composition even at elevated temperatures. These findings support the prospect of age hardening due to coherent isostructural decomposition, such as spinodal decomposition, in coatings of Ti 1 − x Al x B 2 as diffusion is activated at elevated temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-pressure behavior of the technologically important compound NiNb2O6 adopting a columbite-type orthorhombic structure at ambient pressure and temperature conditions was investigated using synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopic measurements, and first-principles calculations. The x-ray diffraction data indicate the occurrence of irreversible pressure-induced structural phase transition in the studied compound beyond 9 GPa. The high-pressure phase is found to be monoclinic with space group P2/m. The large volume collapse (∼4.4%) at the transition indicates the nature of the transition to be of the first order. There is a change in oxygen anion coordination number around Nb from 6 to 8; however, the coordination number around Ni remains 6. The experimental pressure–volume data when fitted to the Birch−Murnaghan equation of states yield the value of ambient pressure bulk modulus (B 0) as 178.7 (17) GPa for the orthorhombic phase and 244 (6) for the high-pressure monoclinic phase. The changes in Raman spectra indicate the distortion of NbO6 octahedra resulting in structural phase transitions. The logarithmic variation of unit cell volume (V) with optical lattice mode frequency (ν) helped us to calculate their respective Grüneisen parameters (γ) and it also supports the instability of the orthorhombic columbite structure of NiNb2O6 beyond 9 GPa, originated due to strong octahedral deformation of NbO6 octahedra. The variation of structural, electronic, and optical properties with pressure has also been discussed through first-principles calculations based on density functional theory using the revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerh of generalized gradient approximation. The theoretical bandgap collapses and the distortion of NbO6 octahedra through the O chains with pressure are emphasized from the density of states data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transmission properties for square potential barriers have been investigated and compared from graphene to a dice lattice via a variable coupling parameter. There are two limiting cases of pseudospin 1/2 and 1, respectively. The perfect Klein tunneling has been obtained for all parameter conditions. With the increase of the coupling parameter, the tunneling probability increases at oblique incidence. The tunneling shows little dependence on the number of barriers for the dice model. However, the barrier number is an effective factor to tune the transmission feature in graphene. The tunneling peaks can be analyzed from the energy band structure in the expanded periodic potential system and the wave function distribution in the well/barrier regions. The present findings are useful in the development of electronic devices based on quantum transport property with massless pseudospin particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the realization of all-optical planar microlensing for exciton–polariton condensates in semiconductor microcavities. We utilize spatial light modulators to structure a nonresonant pumping beam into a plano–concave lens-shape focused onto the microcavity plane. When pumped above condensation threshold, the system effectively becomes a directional polariton antenna, generating an intense focused beam of coherent polaritons away from the pump region. The effects of pump intensity, which regulates the interplay between gain and blueshift of polaritons, as well as the geometry of the lens-shaped pump are studied, and a strategy to optimize the focusing of the condensate is proposed. Our work underpins the feasibility to guide nonlinear light in microcavities using nonresonant excitation schemes, offering perspectives on optically reprogramable on-chip polariton circuitry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the recent experiment on bosonic mixtures of atoms and molecules, we investigate pairing superfluid–insulator (SI) transition for bosonic mixtures of atoms and molecules in a one-dimensional optical lattice, which is described by an extended Bose–Hubbard model with atom–molecule conservation (AMC). It is found that AMC can induce an extra pair–superfluid phase though the system does not demonstrate pair-hopping. In particular, the system may undergo several pairing SI or insulator–superfluid transitions as the detuning from the Feshbach resonance is varied from negative to positive, and the larger positive detuning can bifurcate the pair–superfluid phases into mixed superfluid phases consisting of single-atomic and pair-atomic superfluid. The calculation of the second-order Rényi entropy reveals that the discontinuity in its first-order derivative corresponds to the phase boundary of the pairing SI transition. This means that the residual entanglement in our mean-field treatment can be used to efficiently capture the signature of the pairing SI transition induced by AMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experiments in ultracold atoms have reported the realization of quantum anomalous Hall phases in spin-orbit coupled systems. Motivated by such advances, we investigate spin-orbit coupled Bose-Bose mixtures in a two-dimensional square optical Raman lattice. Complete phase diagrams are obtained via a nonperturbative real-space bosonic dynamical mean-field theory. Various quantum phases are predicted, including Mott phases with z-ferromagnetic, xy-antiferromagnetic and vortex textures, and superfluid phases with the exotic spin orders, induced by the competition between the lattice hopping and spin-orbit coupling. To explain the underlying physics in the Mott regime, an effective Hamiltonian is derived based on second-order perturbation theory, where pseudospin order stems from the interplay of effective Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya superexchange and Heisenberg interactions. In the presence of the Zeeman field, the competition of strong interaction and Zeeman energy facilitates a topological phase, which is confirmed both by the nontrivial topological Bott index and spectral function with topological edge states. Our work indicates that spin-orbit coupling can induce rich non-Abelian topological physics in strongly correlated ultracold atomic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical ceramics YSAG:Yb,Er with an average grain size of 6 ± 1 microns were fabricated by vacuum sintering of nanocrystalline powders of the compositions Y2.34Yb0.45Er0.09Sc0.20Al4.92O12, Y1.66Yb0.45Er0.09Sc1.00Al4.80O12 and Y0.96Yb0.45Er0.09Sc1.70Al4.80O12. The linear transmittance coefficients of the YSAG:Yb,Er ceramic samples exceed 80% in the visible and infrared regions. The refractive index of ceramics increased from 1.827 to 1.859 with an increase in scandium content. The effect of scandium cations at the dodecahedral site of the YSAG crystal lattice on the optical and luminescence characteristics of Yb3+ (2F7/2 and 2F5/2) and Er3+ (4I15/2, 4I13/2, 4F9/2 and 4S13/2) in wavelength ranges of 530–690 nm, 890–1080 nm, and 1430–1680 nm was revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a clock at a higher gravitational potential will tick faster than an otherwise identical clock at a lower potential, an effect known as the gravitational redshift. Here we perform a laboratory-based, blinded test of the gravitational redshift using differential clock comparisons within an evenly spaced array of 5 atomic ensembles spanning a height difference of 1 cm. We measure a fractional frequency gradient of [ − 12.4 ± 0. 7(stat) ± 2. 5(sys)] × 10−19/cm, consistent with the expected redshift gradient of − 10.9 × 10−19/cm. Our results can also be viewed as relativistic gravitational potential difference measurements with sensitivity to mm scale changes in height on the surface of the Earth. These results highlight the potential of local-oscillator-independent differential clock comparisons for emerging applications of optical atomic clocks including geodesy, searches for new physics, gravitational wave detection, and explorations of the interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity. Testing general relativity with optical clocks is important both as a fundamental test and for metrological applications. Here, a vertical linear array of 5 separate ensembles of strontium atoms trapped in a single optical lattice is used to perform a blinded lab-based test of the gravitational redshift at the mm to cm scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In quantum gases, two-body interactions are responsible for a variety of instabilities that depend on the characteristics of both trapping and interactions. These instabilities can lead to the appearance of new structures or patterns. We report on the Floquet engineering of such a parametric instability, on a Bose-Einstein condensate held in a time-modulated optical lattice. The modulation triggers a destabilization of the condensate into a state exhibiting a density modulation with a new spatial periodicity. This new crystal-like order, which shares characteristic correlation properties with a supersolid, directly depends on the modulation parameters: The interplay between the Floquet spectrum and interactions generates narrow and adjustable instability regions, leading to the growth, from quantum or thermal fluctuations, of modes with a density modulation noncommensurate with the lattice spacing. This study demonstrates the production of metastable exotic states of matter through Floquet engineering and paves the way for further studies of dissipation in the resulting phase and of similar phenomena in other geometries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic accelerometers and gravimeters are usually based on freely falling atoms in atomic fountains, which not only limits their size but also their robustness to environmental factors, such as tilts, magnetic fields, and vibrations. Such limitations have precluded their broad adoption in the field, for geophysics, geology, and inertial navigation. More recently, atom interferometers based on holding atoms in an optical lattice have been developed. Such gravimeters also suppress the influence of vibrations in the frequency range of ∼1 Hz and above by several orders of magnitude relative to conventional atomic gravimeters. Here, we show that such interferometers are robust to tilts of more than 8 mrad with respect to the vertical and can suppress the effect of even strong environmental magnetic fields and field gradients by using atoms in the F = 3 , 4 hyperfine ground states as co-magnetometers, potentially eliminating the need for shielding. We demonstrate gravimeter sensitivity of 0.7 mGal / Hz (1 mGal = 10 μ m / s 2 ) in a compact geometry where atoms only travel over millimeters of space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarons, quasiparticles resulting from the interaction between an impurity and the collective excitations of a medium, play a fundamental role in physics, mainly because they represent an essential building block for understanding more complex many-body phenomena. In this manuscript, we study the spectral properties of a single impurity mixed with identical bosons in a one-dimensional lattice with power-law hopping. In particular, based on the so-called T-matrix approximation, we show the existence of well-defined quasiparticle branches for several tunneling ranges and for both repulsive and attractive impurity-boson interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate the persistence of the attractive polaron branch when the impurity-boson bound state is absorbed into the two-body continuum and that the attractive polaron becomes more robust as the range of the hopping increases. The results discussed here are relevant for the understanding of the equilibrium properties of quantum systems with power-law interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the new two-Lévy-index fractional nonlinear Schrödinger (FNLS) equations with optical lattices, where two fractional derivative terms are introduced to control the diffractions. Especially, we explore the linear Bloch bandgaps and existence of gap solitons for the two-Lévy-index mixed FNLS equations with optical lattices. We analyse the effects of different coefficients of normal and abnormal diffraction terms on bandgap structures. Families of single-, double-, triple-, as well as quadruple-peak solitons are found in the first gap with the defocusing nonlinearity while such solitons can be found in the semi-infinite gap when it turns to the focusing regime. Meanwhile, we find that the above-obtained gap solitons can be roughly divided into two types, one of which branches out from the band edge, and another one cannot branch out from the band edge. Moreover, the stability of gap solitons is discussed via the linear stability analysis, and then their dynamical behaviours are verified by means of direct simulations. And stable multi-peak solitons can be obtained via analysing the phase structure. Meanwhile, we find the stable excitations of gap solitons via excitations of system parameters. The stable gap solitons are also verified to appear in the two-Lévy-index FNLS equation. These results may pave the way for the study of linear and nonlinear phenomena of two-Lévy-index and mixed FNLS equations or other mixed fractional physical models in optical lattices and the related physical experimental designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast decays of the intrinsic phonon modes within 260–790 cm−1 range of frequencies, which are symmetry forbidden in the first-order Raman scattering in bulk SrTiO3 crystal, have been traced using time-resolved coherent Raman technique. The effective phonon decay times are within 0.86–1.38 ps and yield corresponding linewidths of 7.7–12.3 cm−1 for optical lattice vibrations. Symmetry breakage mechanisms related to free charged carriers resulting from vacancies do not appear to play a major role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In quantum gas microscopy experiments, reconstructing the site-resolved lattice occupation with high fidelity is essential for the accurate extraction of physical observables. For short interatomic separations and limited signal-to-noise ratio, this task becomes increasingly challenging. Common methods rapidly decline in performance as the lattice spacing is decreased below half the imaging resolution. Here, we present an algorithm based on deep convolutional neural networks to reconstruct the site-resolved lattice occupation with high fidelity. The algorithm can be directly trained in an unsupervised fashion with experimental fluorescence images and allows for a fast reconstruction of large images containing several thousand lattice sites. We benchmark its performance using a quantum gas microscope with cesium atoms that utilizes short-spaced optical lattices with lattice constant 383.5 nm and a typical Rayleigh resolution of 850 nm. We obtain promising reconstruction fidelities ≳ 96% across all fillings based on a statistical analysis. We anticipate this algorithm to enable novel experiments with shorter lattice spacing, boost the readout fidelity and speed of lower-resolution imaging systems, and furthermore find application in related experiments such as trapped ions. Quantum gas microscopy is an in-situ imaging technique used to investigate many-body phenomena in cold-atom quantum simulators and can provide resolution at the single-particle level; however, limiting factors, such as short lattice constants and finite signal-to-noise ratios, weaken image resolution. Here, the authors develop an algorithm based on unsupervised deep learning that can reconstruct the occupation of an optical lattice of Cs atoms from fluorescence images with high fidelity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the Crank–Nicolson method, we investigate numerically the dynamical properties of bright–bright solitons in two species Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in an optical lattice. We confirm that the soliton splitting behavior occurs at a critical depth of optical potential. The splitting behavior of solitons and the fusion behavior of condensates can be accurately controlled by adjusting the depth and lattice parameter of optical potential, the initial amplitude and position of solitons, and the interspecies interactions. When the lattice parameter is fixed but the interspecies interaction increased exponentially with the time, each soliton splits into two soltions with different amplitude, and partial fusion of two species BECs can be found. While the interspecies interaction remains unchanged but the lattice parameter increases exponentially with the time, interestingly, the bright solitons with zero initial velocity can pass through each other and accomplish a transmission collision. Furthermore, for the case of both the interspecies interaction and lattice parameter increased exponentially with the time, a head-on collision of the bright solitons in two species BECs occurred. After the collision, each soliton splits into two soltions with equal amplitude. Meanwhile, the complete fusion of two species BECs can be observed. The relevant results can provide help for the precise manipulation of BECs experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]