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We investigate thermal properties of a NbN single-photon detector capable of unit internal detection efficiency. Using an independent calibration of the coupling losses we determine the absolute optical power absorbed by the NbN film and, via a resistive superconductor thermometry, the thermal resistance Z(T) of the NbN film in dependence of temperature. In principle, this approach permits a simultaneous measurement of the electron-phonon and phonon-escape contributions to the energy relaxation, which in our case is ambiguous for their similar temperature dependencies. We analyze the Z(T) within the two-temperature model and impose an upper bound on the ratio of electron and phonon heat capacities in NbN, which is surprisingly close to a recent theoretical lower bound for the same quantity in similar devices., Comment: as published

A model of two self-sustained oscillators interacting through memristive coupling is studied. Memristive coupling is realized by using a cubic memristor model. Numerical simulation is combined with theoretical analysis by means of quasi-harmonic reduction. It is shown that specifics of the memristor nonlinearity results in appearance of infinitely many equilibrium points, which form a line of equilibria in the phase space of the system under study. It is established that possibility to observe the effect of phase locking in the considered system depends both on parameter values and initial conditions. Consequently, boundaries of a synchronization area are determined by the initial conditions. It is demonstrated that addition of a small term into the memristor state equation gives rise to disappearance of the line of equilibria and eliminates the dependence of synchronization on the initial conditions., Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures

A search for the rare decay $\eta \rightarrow e^+e^-$ is performed using the inverse process $e^+e^- \rightarrow \eta$ in the decay mode $\eta\to\pi^0\pi^0\pi^0 $. We analyze data with an integrated luminosity of 654 nb$^{-1} $ accumulated at the VEPP-2000 $e^+e^-$ collider with the SND detector at the center-of-mass energy $E=m_\eta c ^2\approx 548 $ MeV, and set the upper limit $ {\cal B} (\eta \rightarrow e^+ e^-) < 7 \times 10^{-7} $ at the 90\% confidence level., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

A tens of Tesla quasi-static axial magnetic field can be produced in the interaction of a short intense laser beam carrying an Orbital Angular Momentum with an underdense plasma. Three-dimensional "Particle In Cell" simulations and analytical model demonstrate that orbital angular momentum is transfered from a tightly focused radially polarized laser beam to electrons without any dissipative effect. A theoretical model describing the balistic interaction of electrons with laser shows that particles gain angular velocity during their radial and longitudinal drift in the laser field. The agreement between PIC simulations and the simplified model identifies routes to increase the intensity of the solenoidal magnetic field by controlling the orbital angular momentum and/or the energy of the laser beam.

We consider the problem of binary image generation with given properties. This problem arises in a number of practical applications, including generation of artificial porous medium for an electrode of lithium-ion batteries, for composed materials, etc. A generated image represents a porous medium and, as such, it is subject to two sets of constraints: topological constraints on the structure and process constraints on the physical process over this structure. To perform image generation we need to define a mapping from a porous medium to its physical process parameters. For a given geometry of a porous medium, this mapping can be done by solving a partial differential equation (PDE). However, embedding a PDE solver into the search procedure is computationally expensive. We use a binarized neural network to approximate a PDE solver. This allows us to encode the entire problem as a logical formula. Our main contribution is that, for the first time, we show that this problem can be tackled using decision procedures. Our experiments show that our model is able to produce random constrained images that satisfy both topological and process constraints.

We demonstrate experimentally that single photon detection can be achieved in micron-wide NbN bridges, with widths ranging from 0.53 $\mu$m to 5.15 $\mu$m and for photon-wavelengths from 408 nm to 1550 nm. The microbridges are biased with a dc current close to the experimental critical current, which is estimated to be about 50 % of the theoretically expected depairing current. These results offer an alternative to the standard superconducting single-photon detectors (SSPDs), based on nanometer scale nanowires implemented in a long meandering structure. The results are consistent with improved theoretical modelling based on the theory of non-equilibrium superconductivity including the vortex-assisted mechanism of initial dissipation., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures

A relativistic laser pulse, confined in a cylindrical target, performs multiple scattering along the target surface. The confinement property of the target results in a very effcient interaction. This proccess, which is just yet another example of the "whispering gallery" effect, may pronounce itself in plenty of physical phenomena, including surface grazing electron acceleration and generation of relativistic magnetized plasma structures.

Powerful laser-plasma processes are explored to generate discharge currents of a few $100\,$kA in coil targets, yielding magnetostatic fields (B-fields) in excess of $0.5\,$kT. The quasi-static currents are provided from hot electron ejection from the laser-irradiated surface. According to our model, describing qualitatively the evolution of the discharge current, the major control parameter is the laser irradiance $I_{\mathrm{las}}\lambda_{\mathrm{las}}^2$. The space-time evolution of the B-fields is experimentally characterized by high-frequency bandwidth B-dot probes and by proton-deflectometry measurements. The magnetic pulses, of ns-scale, are long enough to magnetize secondary targets through resistive diffusion. We applied it in experiments of laser-generated relativistic electron transport into solid dielectric targets, yielding an unprecedented 5-fold enhancement of the energy-density flux at $60 \,\mathrm{\mu m}$ depth, compared to unmagnetized transport conditions. These studies pave the ground for magnetized high-energy density physics investigations, related to laser-generated secondary sources of radiation and/or high-energy particles and their transport, to high-gain fusion energy schemes and to laboratory astrophysics., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, invited APS

The $e^+e^- \rightarrow K_S K_L \pi^0$ cross section is measured in the center-of-mass energy range $\sqrt{s}=1.3-2.0$ GeV. The analysis is based on the data sample with an integrated luminosity of 33.5 pb$^{-1}$ collected with the SND detector at the VEPP-2000 $e^+e^-$ collider., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We suggest guaranteed, robust a posteriori error bounds for approximate solutions of the reaction-diffusion equations, modeled by the equation $-\Delta u+\sigma u= f$ in $\Omega$ with any $\sigma={\mathrm{const}}\ge 0$. We also term our bounds consistent due to one specific property. It assumes that their orders of accuracy in respect to mesh size $h$ are the same with the respective not improvable in the order a priori bounds. Additionally, it assumes that the pointed out equality of the orders is provided by the testing flaxes not subjected to equilibration. For any $\sigma\in [0,\sigma_*]$, the rirght part of the new general bound of the paper contains, besides the usual diffusion term, the $L_2$ norm of the residual with the factor $1/\sqrt{\sigma_*}$, where $\sigma_*$ is some critical value. For solutions by the finite element method, it is estimated as $\sigma_*\ge ch^{-2},\,\,c={\mathrm{const}}$, if $\partial \Omega$ is sufficiently smooth and the finite element space is of the 1$^{\mathrm{st}}$ order of accuracy at least. In general, at the derivation of a posteriori bounds, consistency is achieved by taking adequately into account the difference of the orders of the $L_2$ and $H^1$ error norms, that can be done in various ways with accordingly introduced $\sigma_*$. Two advantages of the obtained consistent a posteriori error bounds deserve attention. They are better accuracy and the possibility to avoid the use of the equilibration in the flax recovery procedures, that may greatly simplify these procedures and make them much more universal. The technique of obtaining the consistent a posteriori bounds was briefly exposed by the author in [arXiv:1702.00433v1 [math.NA], 1 Feb 2017] and [$Doklady Mathematics$, ${\mathbf{96}}$ (1), 2017, 380-383].

Electron acceleration by relativistically intense laser beam propagating along a curved surface allows to split softly the accelerated electron bunch and the laser beam. The presence of a curved surface allows to switch an adiabatic invariant of electrons in the wave instantly leaving the gained energy to the particles. The efficient acceleration is provided by the presence of strong transient quasistationary fields in the interaction region and a long efficient acceleration length. The curvature of the surface allows to select the accelerated particles and provides their narrow angular distribution. The mechanism at work is explicitly demonstrated in theoretical models and experiments.

The model of a memristor-based oscillator with cubic nonlinearity is studied. The considered system has infinitely many equilibrium points, which build a line of equilibria in the phase space. Numerical modeling of the dynamics is combined with bifurcational analysis. It is shown that oscillation excitation has distinctive features of the supercritical Andronov--Hopf bifurcation and can be achieved by changing of a parameter value as well as by variation of initial conditions. Therefore the considered bifurcation is called Andronov-Hopf bifurcation with and without parameter., Comment: 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1705.06301

A model of memristor-based Chuas oscillator is studied. The considered system has infinitely many equilibrium points, which build a line of equilibria. Bifurcational mechanisms of oscillation excitation are explored for different forms of nonlinearity. Hard and soft excitation scenarios have principally different nature. The hard excitation is determined by the memristor piecewise-smooth characteristic and is a result of a border-collision bifurcation. The soft excitation is caused by addition of a smooth nonlinear function and has distinctive features of the supercritical Andronov-Hopf bifurcation. Mechanisms of instability and amplitude limitation are described for both two cases. Numerical modelling and theoretical analysis are combined with experiments on an electronic analog model of the system under study. The issues concerning physical realization of the dynamics of systems with a line of equilibria are considered. The question on whether oscillations in such systems can be classified as the self-sustained oscillations is raised., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures

Efficiency of the error control of numerical solutions of partial differential equations entirely depends on the two factors: accuracy of an a posteriori error majorant and the computational cost of its evaluation for some test function/vector-function plus the cost of the latter. In the paper, consistency of an a posteriori bound implies that it is the same in the order with the respective unimprovable a priori bound. Therefore, it is the basic characteristic related to the first factor. The paper is dedicated to the elliptic diffusion-reaction equations. We present a guaranteed robust a posteriori error majorant effective at any nonnegative constant reaction coefficient (r.c.). For a wide range of finite element solutions on a quasiuniform meshes the majorant is consistent. For big values of r.c. the majorant coincides with the majorant of Aubin (1972), which, as it is known, for not big r.c. ($

Further development of quantum emitter based communication and sensing applications intrinsically depends on the availability of robust single-photon detectors. Here, we demonstrate a new generation of superconducting single-photon detectors specifically optimized for the 500-1100 nm wavelength range, which overlaps with the emission spectrum of many interesting solid-state atom-like systems, such as nitrogen-vacancy and silicon-vacancy centers in diamond. The fabricated detectors have a wide dynamic range (up to 350 million counts per second), low dark count rate (down to 0.1 counts per second), excellent jitter (62 ps), and the possibility of on-chip integration with a quantum emitter. In addition to performance characterization, we tested the detectors in real experimental conditions involving nanodiamond nitrogen-vacancy emitters enhanced by a hyperbolic metamaterial.

The detection of individual photons is an inherently binary mechanism, revealing either their absence or presence while concealing their spectral information. For multi-color imaging techniques, such as single photon spectroscopy, fluorescence resonance energy transfer microscopy and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, wavelength discrimination is essential and mandates spectral separation prior to detection. Here, we adopt an approach borrowed from quantum photonic integration to realize a compact and scalable waveguide-integrated single-photon spectrometer capable of parallel detection on multiple wavelength channels, with temporal resolution below 50 ps and dark count rates below 10 Hz. We demonstrate multi-detector devices for telecommunication and visible wavelengths and showcase their performance by imaging silicon vacancy color centers in diamond nanoclusters. The fully integrated hybrid superconducting-nanophotonic circuits enable simultaneous spectroscopy and lifetime mapping for correlative imaging and provide the ingredients for quantum wavelength division multiplexing on a chip.

Here, we report on successful operation of a NbN thin film superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) in a coherent mode (as a mixer) at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm. Providing the Local Oscillator power of the order of a few picowatts, we were practically able to reach the quantum noise limited sensitivity. The intermediate frequency gain bandwidth was limited by the spectral band of single-photon response pulse of the detector, which is proportional to the detector size. We observed gain bandwidth of 65 MHz and 140 MHz for 7x7 um^2 and 3x3 um^2 devices respectively. Tiny amount of the required Local Oscillator power and wide gain and noise bandwidths along with the needless of any Low Noise Amplification opens possibility for a photon counting heterodyne-born megapixel array development., Comment: The paper contains 10 pages, 4 figures, and is now under review for Optics Express

We developed the model of the internal phonon bottleneck to describe the energy exchange between the acoustically soft ultrathin metal film and acoustically rigid substrate. Discriminating phonons in the film into two groups, escaping and nonescaping, we show that electrons and nonescaping phonons may form a unified subsystem, which is cooled down only due to interactions with escaping phonons, either due to direct phonon conversion or indirect sequential interaction with an electronic system. Using an amplitude-modulated absorption of the sub-THz radiation technique, we studied electron-phonon relaxation in ultrathin disordered films of tungsten silicide. We found an experimental proof of the internal phonon bottleneck. The experiment and simulation based on the proposed model agree well, resulting in tau_{e-ph} = 140-190 ps at T_C = 3.4 K, supporting the results of earlier measurements by independent techniques., Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

We report on the design, fabrication and measurement of travelling-wave superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) integrated with polycrystalline diamond photonic circuits. We analyze their performance both in the near-infrared wavelength regime around 1600 nm and at 765 nm. Near-IR detection is important for compatibility with the telecommunication infrastructure, while operation in the visible wavelength range is relevant for compatibility with the emission line of silicon vacancy centers in diamond which can be used as efficient single-photon sources. Our detectors feature high critical currents (up to 31 {\mu}A) and high performance in terms of efficiency (up to 74% at 765 nm), noise-equivalent power (down to 4.4*10^-19 W/(Hz^1/2) at 765 nm) and timing jitter (down to 23 ps)., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Photonics West, Feb 2016, San Francisco, United States, SPIE Proceedings Volume 9750 - On-Chip Quantum Optics