Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons^™

Adiabatic-Limit Coulomb Factors For Photoelectron And High-Order-Harmonic Spectra, M. V. Frolov, N. L. Manakov, A. A. Minina, S. V. Popruzhenko, Anthony F. Starace

Anthony F. Starace Publications

A momentum-dependent Coulomb factor in the probability for nonlinear ionization of atoms by a strong low-frequency laser field is calculated analytically in the adiabatic approximation. Expressions for this Coulomb factor, valid for an arbitrary laser pulse waveform, are obtained and analyzed in detail for the cases of linear and circular polarizations. The dependence of the Coulomb factor on the photoelectron momentum is shown to be significant in both cases. Using a similar technique, the Coulomb factor for emission of high-order harmonics by an atom in a bichromatic laser field is also calculated. In contrast to the case of a single-frequency …

Quantum Control Via A Genetic Algorithm Of The Field Ionization Pathway Of A Rydberg Electron, Vincent C. Gregoric, Xinyue Kang, Zhimin Cheryl Liu, Zoe A. Rowley, Thomas J. Carroll, Michael W. Noel

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Quantum control of the pathway along which a Rydberg electron field ionizes is experimentally and computationally demonstrated. Selective field ionization is typically done with a slowly rising electric field pulse. The (1/n^*)⁴ scaling of the classical ionization threshold leads to a rough mapping between arrival time of the electron signal and principal quantum number of the Rydberg electron. This is complicated by the many avoided level crossings that the electron must traverse on the way to ionization, which in general leads to broadening of the time-resolved field ionization signal. In order to control the ionization pathway, thus …

Raman Spectroscopy Of Oxygen Evolution Catalysts And Psii Manganese Model Compounds, Sergei Shmakov, Daniel A. Hartzler, Alireza Karbakhsh Ravari, Yulia Pushkar

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Photosynthesis is the basis of life on earth, and oxygen evolution catalysts are key components of this complicated, yet not fully understood process. Photosystem II, a large membrane bound pigment-protein complex, is the key system that facilitates oxygenic photosynthesis via the oxygen evolving complex (a natural oxygen evolving catalyst). It is a key component in oxygen producing catalysts, which can be used in fields such as energy production and biomimetic catalysts. The oxygen evolution cycle, or Kok cycle going within it is still not studied completely. In this project, we were studying the vibrational (and structural) state of a Manganese …

On Laser-Induced Plasma Containing Hydrogen, Ghaneshwar Gautam

Doctoral Dissertations

Laser-induced micro-plasma dynamics are investigated in laboratory air, ultra-high-pure hydrogen gas, and hydrogen-nitrogen gas mixtures. The dissertation focuses on atomic spectroscopy of hydrogen in the visible region.

Line-of-sight measurements are analyzed to obtain spatial distributions of electron densities and excitation temperatures. The studies include evaluation of self-absorption phenomena. The plasma dynamics occur initially well above re-entry speeds and diminish to hypersonic and then supersonic expansions. Expansion velocities are measured that are above three hundred times the speed of sound in standard atmosphere. Optical breakdown is induced by using pulsed laser radiation. Emission spectra are collected by employing a spectrometer equipped …

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study Of Neutral Mg Acceptors In Β-Ga2O3 Crystals, Brant E. Kananen, Larry E. Halliburton, Elizabeth M. Scherrer, K. T. Stevens, G. K. Foundos, K. B. Chang, Nancy C. Giles

Faculty Publications

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is used to directly observe and characterize neutral Mg acceptors (Mg⁰_Ga) in a β-Ga₂O₃ crystal. These acceptors, best considered as small polarons, are produced when the Mg-doped crystal is irradiated at or near 77 K with x rays. During the irradiation, neutral acceptors are formed when holes are trapped at singly ionized Mg acceptors (Mg−Ga). Unintentionally present Fe³⁺ (3d⁵) and Cr³⁺ (3d³) transition-metal ions serve as the corresponding electron traps. The hole is localized in a nonbonding p orbital on a threefold-coordinated oxygen ion …

Dielectronic Recombination Calculations For Silicon-Like Ions And The S2+ Orion Nebula Abundance Conundrum, Jagjit Kaur

Dissertations

Modern astronomical spectroscopy and imaging data are of an unprecedented quality, and span the full electromagnetic spectrum. To take full advantage of these data and successfully model the physical conditions in and elemental abundances of astrophysical plasmas, an accurate and complete description of relevant atomic processes occurring in a wide range of cosmic environments is required. The primary focus of this project is to investigate one of the atomic processes, dielectronic recombination (DR), for the entire silicon-like isoelectronic sequence. Dielectronic recombination is generally the most important contribution to the total recombination rate of atomic ions. This study will serve as …

Angular Distribution Of Single-Photon Superradiance In A Dilute And Cold Atomic Ensemble, A. S. Kuraptsev, I. M. Sokolov, M. D. Havey

Physics Faculty Publications

On the basis of a quantum microscopic approach we study the dynamics of the afterglow of a dilute Gaussian atomic ensemble excited by pulsed radiation. Taking into account the vector nature of the electromagnetic field we analyze in detail the angular and polarization distribution of single-photon superradiance of such an ensemble. The dependence of the angular distribution of superradiance on the length of the pulse and its carrier frequency as well as on the size and the shape of the atomic clouds is studied. We show that there is substantial dependence of the superradiant emission on the polarization and the …

Band Offsets At The Interface Between Crystalline And Amorphous Silicon From First Principles, Karol Jarolimek, E. Hazrati, R. A. De Groot, D. A. De Wijs

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty and Staff Publications

The band offsets between crystalline and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a−Si∶H) are key parameters governing the charge transport in modern silicon heterojunction solar cells. They are an important input for macroscopic simulators that are used to further optimize the solar cell. Past experimental studies, using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and capacitance-voltage measurements, have yielded conflicting results on the band offset. Here, we present a computational study on the band offsets. It is based on atomistic models and density-functional theory (DFT). The amorphous part of the interface is obtained by relatively long DFT first-principles molecular-dynamics runs at an elevated temperature …

Optimizing An Electron's Path To Ionization Using A Genetic Algorithm, Jason Bennett, Kevin Choice

Physics and Astronomy Summer Fellows

A Rydberg atom is an atom with a highly excited and weakly bound valence electron. A widespread method of studying quantum mechanics with Rydberg atoms is to ionize the electron and measure its arrival time. We use a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to control the electron's path to ionization. The Rydberg electron's energy levels are strongly shifted by the presence of an electric field. The energy levels shift and curve, but never cross. At an avoided crossing the electron can jump from one level to the next. By engineering the electric field's time dependence, we thereby control the path to ionization. …

Kinematical Vortices In Double Photoionization Of Helium By Attosecond Pulses, Jean Marcel Ngoko Djiokap, A. V. Meremianin, N. L. Manakov, S. X. Hu, L. B. Madsen, Anthony F. Starace

Anthony F. Starace Publications

Two-armed helical vortex structures are predicted in the two-electron momentum distributions produced in double photoionization (DPI) of the He atom by a pair of time-delayed elliptically polarized attosecond pulses with opposite helicities. These predictions are based upon both a first-order perturbation theory analysis and numerical solutions of the two-electron, time-dependent Schrödinger equation in six spatial dimensions. The helical vortex structures originate from Ramsey interference of a pair of ionized two-electron wave packets, each having a total angular momentum of unity, and appear in the sixfold differential DPI probability distribution for any energy partitioning between the two electrons. The vortex structures …

Simulation Of Alnico Coercivity, Liqin Ke, Ralph Skomski, Todd D. Hoffman, Lin Zhoue, Wei Tang, Duane D. Johnson, Matthew J. Kramer, Iver E. Anderson, C.Z. Wang

Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience: Faculty Publications

Micromagnetic simulations of alnico show substantial deviations from Stoner-Wohlfarth behavior due to the unique size and spatial distribution of the rod-like Fe-Co phase formed during spinodal decomposition in an external magnetic field. The maximum coercivity is limited by single-rod effects, especially deviations from ellipsoidal shape, and by interactions between the rods. Both the exchange interaction between connected rods and magnetostatic interaction between rods are considered, and the results of our calculations show good agreement with recent experiments. Unlike systems dominated by magnetocrystalline anisotropy, coercivity in alnico is highly dependent on size, shape, and geometric distribution of the Fe-Co phase, all …

One More Hard Three-Loop Correction To Parapositronium Energy Levels, Michael I. Eides, Valery A. Shelyuto

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

A hard three-loop correction to parapositronium energy levels of order mα⁷ is calculated. This nonlogarithmic contribution is due to the insertions of one-loop photon propagator in the fermion lines in the diagrams with virtual two-photon annihilation. We obtained ΔE = 0.03297(2)(mα⁷ / π³) for this energy shift.

Non-Hermitian Matter-Wave Mixing In Bose-Einstein Condensates: Dissipation-Induced Amplification, S. Wuster, Ramy El-Ganainy

Department of Physics Publications

We investigate the nonlinear scattering dynamics in interacting atomic Bose-Einstein condensates under non-Hermitian dissipative conditions. We show that, by carefully engineering a momentum-dependent atomic loss profile, one can achieve matter-wave amplification through four-wave mixing in a quasi-one-dimensional nearly-free-space setup—a process that is forbidden in the counterpart Hermitian systems due to energy mismatch. Additionally, we show that similar effects lead to rich nonlinear dynamics in higher dimensions. Finally, we propose a physical realization for selectively tailoring the momentum-dependent atomic dissipation. Our strategy is based on a two-step process: (i) exciting atoms to narrow Rydberg or metastable excited states, and (ii) introducing …

Elastic Properties Of Superconductors And Materials With Weakly Correlated Spins, Christian Binek

Christian Binek Publications

It is shown that in the ergodic regime, the temperature dependence of Young’s modulus is solely determined by the magnetic properties of a material. For the large class of materials with paramagnetic or diamagnetic response, simple functional forms of the temperature derivative of Young’s modulus are derived and compared with experimental data and empirical results. Superconducting materials in the Meissner phase are ideal diamagnets. As such, they display remarkable elastic properties. Constant diamagnetic susceptibility gives rise to a temperature independent elastic modulus for ceramic and single crystalline superconductors alike. The thermodynamic approach established in this report, paves the way to …

Atomistic Quantum Transport Simulation Of Multilayer Phosphorene Nanoribbon Field Effect Transistors, Hojjatollah Sarvari, Chaoyuan Liu, Amir Hossein Ghayour, Parham Shenavar, Zhi Chen, Rahim Ghayour

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Few-layer black phosphorus is a semiconductor material, where its allotrope is called phosphorene; a new two-dimensional material which is discovered in 2014. In this paper, first we use the tight-binding method to implement a matrix representation for single-layer and multilayer structures of phosphorene nanoribbon (PNR) to define the Hamiltonian of the system. Second, we investigate the band structure and the band gap of multilayer PNRs. The band gap of armchair PNRs with 16 atoms across the width of PNR for single-layer, bilayer, and three-layer structures are obtained as 1.899, 1.224, and 0.937 eV, respectively. Third, we use the atomistic description …

Vortex Circulation Patterns In Planar Microdisk Arrays, Sven Velten, Robert Streubel, Alan Farhan, Noah Kent, Mi Young Im, Andreas Scholl, Scott Dhuey, Carolin Behncke, Guido Meier, Peter Fischer

Robert Streubel Papers

We report a magnetic X-ray microscopy study of the pattern formation of circulation in arrays of magnetic vortices ordered in a hexagonal and a honeycomb lattice. In the honeycomb lattice, we observe at remanence an ordered phase of alternating circulations, whereas in the hexagonal lattice, small regions of alternating lines form. A variation in the edge-to-edge distance shows that the size of those regions scales with the magnetostatic interaction. Micromagnetic simulations reveal that the patterns result from the formation of flux closure states during the nucleation process.

Disconnected Diagrams In Lattice Qcd, Arjun Singh Gambhir

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In this work, we present state-of-the-art numerical methods and their applications for computing a particular class of observables using lattice quantum chromodynamics (Lattice QCD), a discretized version of the fundamental theory of quarks and gluons. These observables require calculating so called "disconnected diagrams" and are important for understanding many aspects of hadron structure, such as the strange content of the proton. We begin by introducing the reader to the key concepts of Lattice QCD and rigorously define the meaning of disconnected diagrams through an example of the Wick contractions of the nucleon. Subsequently, the calculation of observables requiring disconnected diagrams …

Highly Directional Receiver And Source Antennas Using Photonic Band Gap Crystals, Rana Biswas, Gary L. Tuttle, Ekmel Ozbay, Burak Temelkuran, Mihail Sigalas, Kai-Ming Ho

Gary Tuttle

A directional antenna made with photonic band gap structures has been presented. The directional antenna is formed with two photonic band gap structures oriented back to back and separated from each other by a distance to form a resonant cavity between the photonic band gap structures. An antenna element is placed in the resonant cavity. The resonant frequency of the cavity is tuned by adjusting the distance between the photonic band gap structures. The resonant cavity can be asymmetrical or symmetrical.

Quantum Optical Interferometry And Quantum State Engineering, Richard J. Birrittella Jr

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

We highlight some of our research done in the fields of quantum optical interferometry and quantum state engineering. We discuss the body of work for which our research is predicated, as well as discuss some of the fundamental tenants of the theory of phase estimation. We do this in the context of quantum optical interferometry where our primary interest lies in the calculation of the quantum Fisher information as it has been shown that the minimum phase uncertainty obtained, the quantum Cramer-Rao bound, is saturated by parity-based detection methods. We go on to show that the phase uncertainty one obtains …

Ferroelectric-Domain-Patterning-Controlled Schottky Junction State In Monolayer Mos2, Zhiyong Xiao, Jingfeng Song, David K. Ferry, Stephen Ducharme, Xia Hong

Stephen Ducharme Publications

We exploit scanning-probe-controlled domain patterning in a ferroelectric top layer to induce nonvolatile modulation of the conduction characteristic of monolayer MoS₂ between a transistor and a junction state. In the presence of a domain wall, MoS₂ exhibits rectified I-V characteristics that are well described by the thermionic emission model. The induced Schottky barrier height Φ^eff_B varies from 0.38 to 0.57 eV and is tunable by a SiO₂ global back gate, while the tuning range of Φ^eff_B depends sensitively on the conduction-band-tail trapping states. Our work points to a new route to achieving programmable …