Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Commons^™

Intracavity Phase Interferometry Based Fiber Sensors, Luke Jameson Horstman

Optical Science and Engineering ETDs

Intracavity Phase Interferometry (IPI) is a detection technique that exploits the inherent sensitivity of a laser's frequency to the parameters of its cavity. Intracavity interferometry is orders of magnitude more sensitive than its extracavity alternatives. This dissertation improves on previous free-space proof-of-concept designs. By implementing the technique in fiber optics, using optical parametric oscillation, and investigating non-Hermitian quantum mechanics and dispersion tailoring enhancement techniques, IPI has become more applicable and sensitive. Ring and linear IPI configurations were realized in this work, both operating as bidirectional fiber optical parametric oscillators. The benefit of using externally pumped synchronous optical parametric oscillation is …

Study Of The Geometric Structure Of Low-Atomic Copper Clusters Using Computer Simulation, Nodirbek Ikromjonovich Ibrokhimov

Scientific-technical journal

In this work, we investigated the geometric structure of small neutral copper clusters with low energy using the MD (Molecular Dynamics) method. When calculating the processes of interatomic interaction, we used a potential EAM (Embedded-atom method). A computer model of Cu_n (n = 2-13) clusters has been created. The geometric shapes of the Cu₂, Cu₃, Cu₄, Cu₅, Cu₆, Cu₇, Cu₈, Cu₉, Cu₁₀, Cu₁₁, Cu₁₂, and Cu₁₃ clusters have been studied and the structural parameters (Cu-Cu bond …

Effects Of Anharmonicity In A Dual-Sagnac Interferometer, Stephen Thomas

Honors College Theses

A recent experiment implemented a dual Sagnac atom interferometer (AI) for rotation sensing using a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) confined in a TOP-trap potential. The BEC is split twice by laser light to create two pairs of counter-orbiting clouds in a lowest-order harmonic potential with each pair acting as a separate Sagnac interferometer. After one orbit the two overlapping cloud pairs are split again and the interference patterns are inferred from the population of atoms in the zero-momentum state. We have simulated the impact of the presence of anharmonic terms in the potential on the performance of the AI as measured …

Accurate Flux Calibration Of Gw170817: Is The X-Ray Counterpart On The Rise?, E. Troja, B. O'Connor, G. Ryan, L. Piro, R. Ricci, B. Zhang, T. Piran, G. Bruni, S. B. Cenko, H. Van Eerten

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Research

X-ray emission from the gravitational wave transient GW170817 is well described as non-thermal afterglow radiation produced by a structured relativistic jet viewed off-axis. We show that the X-ray counterpart continues to be detected at 3.3 years after the merger. Such long-lasting signal is not a prediction of the earlier jet models characterized by a narrow jet core and a viewing angle ≈20 deg, and is spurring a renewed interest in the origin of the X-ray emission. We present a comprehensive analysis of the X-ray dataset aimed at clarifying existing discrepancies in the literature, and in particular the presence of an …

Quantum State Tomography Of Molecules By Ultrafast Diffraction, Ming Zhang, Shuqiao Zhang, Yanwei Xiong, Hankai Zhang, Anatoly A. Ischenko, Oriol Vendrell, Xiaolong Dong, Xiangxu Mu, Martin Centurion, Haitan Xu, R. J.Dwayne Miller, Zheng Li

Martin Centurion Publications

Ultrafast electron diffraction and time-resolved serial crystallography are the basis of the ongoing revolution in capturing at the atomic level of detail the structural dynamics of molecules. However, most experiments capture only the probability density of the nuclear wavepackets to determine the time-dependent molecular structures, while the full quantum state has not been accessed. Here, we introduce a framework for the preparation and ultrafast coherent diffraction from rotational wave packets of molecules, and we establish a new variant of quantum state tomography for ultrafast electron diffraction to characterize the molecular quantum states. The ability to reconstruct the density matrix, which …

Reaction Microscope For Investigating Ionization Dynamics Of Weakly Bound Alkali Dimers, N. Kurz, Daniel Fischer, T. Pfeifer, A. Dorn

Physics Faculty Research & Creative Works

We report on the implementation of a far-off-resonant, optical dipole force trap in a reaction microscope combined with a magneto-optical trap. Kinematically complete multi-photon ionization experiments were performed on optically trapped 6Li atoms and photo-associated 6Li2 molecules in their highest vibrational state. The apparatus allows us to distinguish different ionization mechanisms related to the presence of the IR field of the optical dipole trap that can occur during ionization of 6Li and 6Li2 in strong fields. In a series of proof-of-principle experiments, we detect weakly bound dimers via three-photon ionization with femtosecond pulses (τ = 30 fs) at a central …

Ultrafast Magnetic Entropy Dynamics With Time-Resolved Pump-Probe Magneto-Optical Technique., Sahar Goharshenasanesfahani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been observed that ultrathin films, multilayers, or magnetic nanostructures indicate novel magnetic phenomena that differ profoundly from the respective bulk properties. Besides, because of the broad applications of these magnetic materials in the industry, they are an exciting research area. Hence, investigating the low-dimensional magnetic systems is one of the most active fields in experimental condensed matter physics. Magnetization dynamics can occur over a wide range of time scales (from seconds to femtoseconds). Some of these processes even occur on time scales as short as a few picoseconds (10^-12s) or femtoseconds (10^-15s). Measurement of …

Voltage Controlled Néel Vector Rotation In Zero Magnetic Field, Ather Mahmood, Will Echtenkamp, Mike Street, Jun Lei Wang, Shi Cao, Takashi Komesu, Peter Dowben, Pratyush Buragohain, Haidong Lu, Alexei Gruverman, Arun Parthasarathy, Shaloo Rakheja, Christian Binek

Peter Dowben Publications

Multi-functional thin films of boron (B) doped Cr₂O₃ exhibit voltage-controlled and nonvolatile Néel vector reorientation in the absence of an applied magnetic field, H. Toggling of antiferromagnetic states is demonstrated in prototype device structures at CMOS compatible temperatures between 300 and 400 K. The boundary magnetization associated with the Néel vector orientation serves as state variable which is read via magnetoresistive detection in a Pt Hall bar adjacent to the B:Cr₂O₃ film. Switching of the Hall voltage between zero and non-zero values implies Néel vector rotation by 90 degrees. Combined magnetometry, spin resolved inverse …

Development Of A Magnetic Confinement Attachment For Enhanced Signal In Handheld Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Soil Analysis, Alfred C. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

Field techniques for characterizing low levels of heavy elements of less than 100 parts per million in soils tend to be unreliable because of the relatively weak signal of these elements and the large, variable background inherent to analyzing soils with minimal sample preparation. To enhance the detection and analysis capability of a handheld laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument, this work investigates the effects of a unique magnetic confinement apparatus on signal intensities, focusing on five iron lines as well as those from actinides in 11 soil samples. The proposed magnetic confinement apparatus achieved over 0.8 T but did not …

Sigesn Light-Emitting Devices: From Optical To Electrical Injection, Yiyin Zhou

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Si photonics is a fast-developing technology that impacts many applications such as data centers, 5G, Lidar, and biological/chemical sensing. One of the merits of Si photonics is to integrate electronic and photonic components on a single chip to form a complex functional system that features compact, low-cost, high-performance, and reliability. Among all building blocks, the monolithic integration of lasers on Si encountered substantial challenges. Si and Ge, conventional epitaxial material on Si, are incompetent for light emission due to the indirect bandgap. The current solution compromises the hybrid integration of III-V lasers, which requires growing on separate smaller size substrates …

Parity-Time Symmetry In A Coherent Atomic Medium, Jingliang Feng

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Parity-time (PT) symmetry has attracted considerable attention since optics was realized with the ability to provide a fertile platform for the exploration of PT symmetry. Although many of the previous researches on PT symmetry have been conducted in solid-state system and the network of fiber loops, coherent atomic medium offers another platform for the exploration of PT symmetry due to its easy reconfigurability and flexible tunability in parameters.

This dissertation mainly focuses on the investigations of the phenomena related to PT-symmetric optical lattice in a coherent atomic medium. First, a controllable photonic crystal with periodic Raman gain was constructed in …

Adsorption Of Helium On A Charged Propeller Molecule: Hexaphenylbenzene, Siegfried Kollotzek, Florent Calvo, Serge Krasnokutski, Fabio Zappa, Paul Scheier, Olof E. Echt

Faculty Publications

Physisorption on planar or curved graphitic surfaces or aromatic rings has been investigated by various research groups, but in these studies the substrate was usually strictly rigid. Here we report a combined experimental and theoretical study of helium adsorption on cationic hexaphenylbenzene (HPB), a propeller-shaped molecule. The orientation of its propeller blades is known to be sensitive to the environment, with substantial differences between the molecule in the gas phase and in the crystalline solid. Mass spectra of He_nHPB⁺, synthesized in helium nanodroplets, indicate enhanced stability for ions containing n = 2, 4, 14, 28, 42, …

Optically Active Selenium Vacancies In Baga4Se7 Crystals, Brian C. Holloway, Timothy D. Gustafson, Christopher A. Lenyk, Nancy C. Giles, Kevin T. Zawilski, Peter G. Schunemann, Kent L. Averett, Larry E. Halliburton

Faculty Publications

Barium gallium selenide (BaGa₄Se₇) is a recently developed nonlinear optical material with a transmission window extending from 470 nm to 17 μm. A primary application of these crystals is the production of tunable mid-infrared laser beams via optical parametric oscillation. Unintentional point defects, such as selenium vacancies, cation vacancies (barium and/or gallium), and trace amounts of transition-metal ions, are present in BaGa₄Se₇ crystals and may adversely affect device performance. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and optical absorption are used to identify and characterize these defects. Five distinct EPR spectra, each representing an electron …

Ferromagnetic Resonances In Single-Crystal Yttrium Iron Garnet Nanofilms Fabricated By Metal-Organic Decomposition, Szu Fan Wang, Kayetan Chorazewicz, Suvechhya Lamichhane, Ronald A. Parrott, Stefano Cabrini, Peter Fischer, Noah Kent, John H. Turner, Takayuki Ishibashi, Zachary Parker Frohock, Jacob J. Wisser, Peng Li, Ruthi Zielinski, Bryce Herrington, Yuri Suzuki, Mingzhong Wu, Keiko Munechika, Carlos Pina-Hernandez, Robert Streubel, Allen A. Sweet

Robert Streubel Papers

Tunable microwave and millimeter wave oscillators and bandpass filters with ultra-low phase noise play a critical role in electronic devices, including wireless communication, microelectronics, and quantum computing. Magnetic materials, such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG), possess ultra-low phase noise and a ferromagnetic resonance tunable up to tens of gigahertz. Here, we report structural and magnetic properties of single-crystal 60 and 130 nm-thick YIG films prepared by metal-organic decomposition epitaxy. These films, consisting of multiple homoepitaxially grown monolayers, are atomically flat and possess magnetic properties similar to those grown with liquid-phase epitaxy, pulsed laser deposition, and sputtering. Our approach does not …

Regularized Heuristic Method For Activation Monitor Neutron Spectrum Unfolding, Nicholas J. Quartemont, James E. Bevins

Faculty Publications

his paper describes an activation foil measurement based neutron flux unfolding method utilizing a heuristic optimization approach. A regularization parameter based on the differential neutron flux was introduced into the optimization cost function to remove large nonphysical oscillations in the unfolded neutron energy spectrum. The procedure was completed for two example case studies ranging from thermal energies up to 20 MeV demonstrating recovery of neutron flux energy information on radiation environments where a model was partially missing or there was a discrepancy in a reaction channel. The unfolded results provided a distribution of unfolded spectra that conformed to the activation …

Conformer-Specific Photochemistry Imaged In Real Space And Time, E. G. Champenois, D. M. Sanchez, J. Yang, J. P. Figueira Nunes, A. Attar, Martin Centurion, R. Forbes, M. Gühr, K. Hegazy, F. Ji, S. K. Saha, Y. Liu, M. F. Lin, D. Luo, B. Moore, X. Shen, M. R. Ware, Xijie Wang, T. J. Martínez, Thomas J. A. Wolf

Martin Centurion Publications

Conformational isomers (conformers) of molecules play a decisive role in biology and organic chemistry. However, experimental methods for investigating chemical reaction dynamics are typically not conformersensitive. We report on a gas-phase megaelectronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction investigation of a-phellandrene undergoing an electrocyclic ring-opening reaction. We directly imaged the evolution of a specific set of a-phellandrene conformers into the product isomer predicted by the Woodward-Hoffmann rules in real space and time. Our experimental results are in quantitative agreement with nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics simulations, which provide considerable detail of how conformation influences the time scale and quantum efficiency of photoinduced ring-opening reactions. …

Wave Function Identity: A New Symmetry For 2-Electron Systems In An Electromagnetic Field, Marlina Slamet, Viraht Sahni

Publications and Research

Stationary-state Schrödinger-Pauli theory is a description of electrons with a spin moment in an external electromagnetic field. For 2-electron systems as described by the Schrödinger-Pauli theory Hamiltonian with a symmetrical binding potential, we report a new symmetry operation of the electronic coordinates. The symmetry operation is such that it leads to the equality of the transformed wave function to the wave function. This equality is referred to as the Wave Function Identity. The symmetry operation is a two-step process: an interchange of the spatial coordinates of the electrons whilst keeping their spin moments unchanged, followed by an inversion. The Identity …

Magnetic Field Perturbations To A Soft X-Ray-Activated Fe (Ii) Molecular Spin State Transition, Guanhua Hao, Alpha T. N’Diaye, Thilini K. Ekanayaka, Ashley S. Dale, Xuanyuan Jiang, Esha Mishra, Corbyn Mellinger, Saeed Yazdani, John W. Freeland, Jian Zhang, Ruihua Cheng, Xiaoshan Xu, Peter Dowben

Peter Dowben Publications

The X-ray-induced spin crossover transition of an Fe (II) molecular thin film in the presence and absence of a magnetic field has been investigated. The thermal activation energy barrier in the soft X-ray activation of the spin crossover transition for [Fe{H₂B(pz)₂ }₂ (bipy)] molecular thin films is reduced in the presence of an applied magnetic field, as measured through X-ray absorption spectroscopy at various temperatures. The influence of a 1.8 T magnetic field is sufficient to cause deviations from the expected exponential spin state transition behavior which is measured in the field free case. We find …

Giant Transport Anisotropy In Res2 Revealed Via Nanoscale Conducting-Path Control, Dawei Li, Shuo Sun, Jingfeng Song, Ding-Fu Shao, Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, Stephen Ducharme, Xia Hong

Stephen Ducharme Publications

The low in-plane symmetry in layered 1T’-ReS₂ results in strong band anisotropy, while its manifestation in the electronic properties is challenging to resolve due to the lack of effective approaches for controlling the local current path. In this work, we reveal the giant transport anisotropy in monolayer to four-layer ReS2 by creating directional conducting paths via nanoscale ferroelectric control. By reversing the polarization of a ferroelectric polymer top layer, we induce a conductivity switching ratio of >1.5 × 10⁸ in the ReS2 channel at 300 K. Characterizing the domain-defined conducting nanowires in an insulating background shows that the …

Spontaneous Fluctuations In A Magnetic Fe/Gd Skyrmion Lattice, M. H. Seaberg, B. Holladay, S. A. Montoya, X. Y. Zheng, J. C.T. Lee, A. H. Reid, J. D. Koralek, L. Shen, V. Esposito, G. Coslovich, P. Walter, S. Zohar, V. Thampy, M. F. Lin, P. Hart, K. Nakahara, R. Streubel, S. D. Kevan, P. Fischer, W. Colocho, A. Lutman, F. J. Decker, E. E. Fullerton, M. Dunne, S. Roy, S. K. Sinha, J. J. Turner

Robert Streubel Papers

Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures that exhibit classical or quantum quasiparticle behavior. A substantial amount of research has occurred in this field, both because of their unique electromagnetic properties and potential application for future nonvolatile memory storage applications, as well as fundamental questions on their topology and unique magnetic phases. Here, we investigate the fluctuation properties of a magnetic Fe/Gd skyrmion lattice, using short-pulsed x rays. We first measure spontaneous fluctuations of the skyrmion lattice phase and find an inherent, collective mode showing an underdamped oscillation with a relaxation of a couple of nanoseconds. Further observations track the response …