Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1305.4197

Quantum Path Interference through Incoherent Motions in Multilevel Quantum Systems

Xin Chen

Published May 17, 2013• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum path interferences or resonances in multilevel dissipative quantum systems play an important and intriguing role in the transport processes of nanoscale systems. Many previous minimalistic models used to describe the quantum path interference driven by incoherent fields are based on the approximations including the second order perturbation for the weak coupling limit, the ad-hoc choices of two-time correlation functions and $\it{etc}$. On the other hand, the similar model to study the non-adiabatic molecular electronic excitation have been extensively developed and many efficient quantum molecular dynamics simulation schemes, such as the Ehrenfest scheme, have been proposed. In this paper, I aim to propose an unified model, extend the Ehrenfest scheme to study the interactions of system-light and system-phonon simultaneously and gain insight into and principles of the roles of quantum path interferences in the realistic molecular systems. I discuss how to derive the time-dependent stochastic Schr$\ddot{o}$dinger equation from the Ehrenfest scheme as a foundation to discuss the detailed balance for the weak coupling limit and therefore the quantum correction in the Ehrenfest scheme. Different from the master equation technique, the Ehrenfest scheme doesn't need any specific assumptions about spectral densities and two time correlation functions. With simple open two-level and three-level quantum systems, I show the effect of the quantum path interference on the steady state populations. Currently I only focus on the role of the phonon thermal reservoir. The electromagnetic field (solar light) will be modeled as a thermal reservoir and discussed in detail in the future paper.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1305.4197

Related papers

Phase-dependent atomic coherence and interference in multi-level atomic systems

Jiepeng Zhang, Yifu Zhu

Atomic coherence and interference manifested by electromagentically induced transparency (EIT) and coherent population trapping (CPT) plays an important role in the current studies of atom-photon interactions and has found numerous applications in optical physics. EIT is created in a three-level atomic system by a coupling field and results in destructive interference between two excitation paths of a weak probe laser interacting with the atomic medium. This leads to suppressed linear absorption and rapidly varying atomic dispersion for the probe laser near the atomic resonance, which provides the platform for a variety of applications such as nonlinear optics at low light levels, slow light manipulation, and quantum state engineering for photons and atoms. Here we extend the simple three-level EIT system to more complicated and versatile configurations in a multi-level atomic system coupled by multiple laser fields. We show that with multiple excitation paths provided by different laser fields, phase-dependent quantum interference is induced: either constructive or destructive interference can be realized by varying the relative phases among the laser fields. Two specific examples are discussed. One is a three-level system coupled by bichromatic coupling and probe fields, in which the phase dependent interference between the resonant two-photon Raman transitions can be initiated and controlled. Another is a four-level system coupled by two coupling fields and two probe fields, in which a double-EIT configuration is created by the phase-dependent interference between three-photon and one-photon excitation processes. We analyze the coherently coupled multi-level atomic system and discuss the control parameters for the onset of constructive or destructive quantum interference. We describe two experiments performed with cold Rb atoms that can be approximately treated as the coherently coupled three-level and four-level atomic systems respectively. The experimental results show the phase-dependent quantum coherence and interference in the multi-level Rb atomic system, and agree with the theoretical calculations based on the coherently coupled three-level or four-level model system.

BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

Nonlinear Resonance Effects in Multilevel Quantum Systems Weakly Coupled to a Thermal Reservoir

Clayton W. Bates

Calculations are made to determine the response (power absorbed, magnetization, etc.) of a multilevel quantum system under the influence of any number of classically described driving fields (well defined in amplitude and phase). A nonperturbative theory is developed to account for those fields that are in resonance with the system. The nonresonant effects, such as virtual energy shifts, are included in the theory. We limit ourselves to a discussion of quantum systems that are in weak contact with a thermal reservoir. The procedure is the following A projection-operator formalism is developed which separates the density matrix of a system into two parts. One part is related to those portions of the driving fields that interact quite strongly with the system. The other part is the nonresonant or weakly interacting portion. An exact equation of motion, which includes the effects of the nonresonant part, is derived for the strongly interacting part of the density matrix. It is then shown that when relaxation can be represented by phenomenological decay constants, a unitary transformation can be found which reduces the equation of motion for the strongly interacting part of the density matrix so that an exact solution is possible. This solution is shown to give the major effects of the driving fields and can be used as the zeroth-order solution in a perturbation treatment of the whole density matrix. Frequency shifts such as the Bloch-Siegert shift and shifts due to couplings between the levels of interest (resonance levels) and other levels (nonresonance levels) all arise in the same natural way in our treatment. Our results in many instances are the extensions of the well-known results for a two-level quantum-mechanical systemm to an $N$-level one, and include resonant multiple quantum effects. As an example, a straightforward application of the method is carried out in order to compute the shifts in the resonance frequencies of a four-level system, driven by two oscillating fields connecting three of the levels, due to the counter-rotating components of the driving fields and the presence of the fourth level, which is not coupled to the other levels by the driving fields.

Physical Review•Dec 10, 1969•6 citations

Coherence and control in photo-molecular wave packet dynamics

Alex C. Han

Wave-mechanical phenomena such as resonance and interference, in both light and matter, are central to the principles of quantum coherent control over molecular processes. Focusing on the dynamical aspects, this dissertation is a compilation of studies on the interaction physics involving wave packets in molecules, the driving light field, and the underlying coherence and control. In each work, we will demonstrate interesting correlations between the properties of a carefully designed excitation light field and desirable outcomes of the molecules quantum dynamics. We will analyze the dynamical effect of a Feshbach resonance in the adiabatic Raman photoassociation for ultracold diatomic molecule formation from ultracold atoms. A narrow resonance is shown to be able to increase the effective number of collisions, in an ultracold atomic gas, that are available for photoassociation. This results in an optimal resonance width much smaller than the atomic collision energy bandwidth, due to the balance between the effective collision rate and single-collision transfer probability. Next, we demonstrate the linear molecular response to high-intensity, broadband, shaped optical fields. We show that this originates from interferences based on intra-pulse Raman excitations, and thus response linearity is not unique to the first-order perturbative limit and can not be used to infer the strength of the field. In the last study, we simulate the stochastic vibrational wave packet and dissociation-flux dynamics in a molecule excited by light with temporal and spectral incoherent properties. Between this case and that using a coherent pulse with the same spectral profile, we compare the vibrational wave functions and the loss of electronic and vibrational coherence, and demonstrate the qualitative difference between coherently and incoherently driven dynamics in molecules.

•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations

Theoretical study of quantum dissipation and laser-noise effects on the atomic response

Ouafae El Akramine, A. Makhoute, Mohamed Zitane +1 more

The nonlinear dynamics of dissipative quantum systems in incoherent laser fields is studied in the framework of a master equation with the random telegraph model describing the laser noise and the Markovian approximation dealing with the system-bath couplings. Floquet theory and time-dependent perturbation methods are used to facilitate both analytical and numerical solutions. We develop a theoretical formalism that provides a powerful tool for the detailed analysis of the dissipative quantum dynamics of multilevel systems driven by intense stochastic laser fields. It is found that the system relaxes to a steady state from the effect of the laser phase and frequency noise and the kinetics of this relaxation increases with the addition of dissipative terms, introduced by the coupling to the reservoir. Amplitude fluctuations show a different behavior. Other results concerning the destruction of quantum coherence and the dynamical localization will be established and further relaxation mechanisms such as spontaneous emission and the ionization process will also be considered.

arXiv:physics/9911034•Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1998•7 citations

Nonlinear resonance effects in multilevel quantum systems weakly coupled to a thermal reservoir. II. Multiple-quantum transitions

Clayton W. Bates

This is the second in a series of three papers on nonlinear resonance effects in multilevel quantum systems in which quantum-mechanical systems are considered that are under the influence of any number of classically described driving fields (well defined in amplitude and phase) and are in weak contact with a thermal reservoir, such that relaxation may be described by means of phenomenological decay constants. In the first paper, referred to as I, a projection-operator formalism was developed for separating the equation of motion for the density operator into a part which may be treated by conventional time-dependent perturbation techniques and another part which, because it would give rise to secular terms using a time-dependent perturbation theory, must be treated by more exact means. In this paper three applications of the formalism developed in I are considered. The first application is to a system in which a multiple-quantum transition is taking place between two levels of the system which contains many levels between the two levels under consideration. In particular, the transition probability is calculated for these two levels, which are not directly connected by matrix elements of the interaction but are connected indirectly through intermediate states. The next application considered is the Raman effect in a four-level system. As a final application of the formalism developed in I an expression is derived for the magnetization ${M}_{+}(t)={M}_{x}(t)+i{M}_{y}(t)$ of a system of $N$ noninteracting spins under the influence of a static field in the $z$ direction and an arbitrary number of rf fields in the $x$ direction. As in I, a phenomenological form is assumed for the relaxation in all of these applications. It is shown in this problem that fields which are not involved in directly causing transitions in this system give rise to frequency shifts in the resonance conditions, which are accounted for in this treatment in a very natural and straightforward manner. For these fields, the rotating as well as the counter-rotating fields give shifts in the resonance condition.

Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1974•0 citations

Semiclassical Treatment of Interference Phenomena in Bosonic Quantum Many-Body Systems

Josef Rammensee

A major goal of the semiclassical theory is to understand and treat a quantum system in the regime of large quantum numbers using information from its classical limit. In this framework, quantum phenomena are addressed through a path integral perspective, i.e. the weighted interference of phases accumulated along classical trajectories. While this formalism has been successful in explaining interference phenomena, for instance, in mesoscopic single-particle quantum systems, the recent extension of the semiclassical theory allows now also the treatment of interacting quantum many-body systems. This thesis aims to contribute to these ongoing efforts to apply semiclassical techniques to quantum many-body systems. It is focused on bosonic quantum many-body systems, where the thermodynamic limit of a large number of particles represents an alternative version of a semiclassical limit. Within the derivation of the corresponding semiclassical theory, mean-field equations, i.e. effective nonlinear wave equations describing the matter wave, re-emerge as Hamilton's equations of motion of an abstract Hamilton function, defining the above thermodynamic limit as the classical limit. Within this thesis, two different topics are studied. The first one deals with the so-called “Out-of-Time-Order Correlator” (OTOC), the expectation value of the squared commutator of two local operators at different times. The OTOC provides a direct probe for the presence of chaos in the classical limit (if any) of a quantum many-body system. This is based on that for short times the OTOC directly relates to the stability of classical solutions upon changes in their initial conditions. One of the defining properties of chaos is that this stability displays an exponential growth, with the rate called the classical Lyapunov exponent. Immediately, this implies an exponential growth of the OTOC for short times, from which the Lyapunov exponent can be extracted. For later times, one observes a saturation of the OTOC as a consequence of unitary quantum time evolution. The Ehrenfest time, the time scale which marks the onset of quantum interference, separates these different dynamical behaviors. In this thesis a thorough understanding of the concept of chaos in the classical limit of quantum many-body systems is provided, and with that the underlying interference mechanisms involved in the early exponential growth and the later saturation of OTOCs are identified. It is found that the pre-Ehrenfest time exponential growth is given through the interference of multiple contributions, all of them essentially following only a single solution of mean-field equations. Conversely the post-Ehrenfest time behavior stems from the contributions of fundamentally different mean-field solutions, which display correlated dynamics only for a limited amount of time, of the order of Ehrenfest time. The second topic covered in this thesis deals with the coherent transport of cold bosonic atoms through an Aharonov-Bohm ring structure. This setup consists of two semi-infinite wave guides attached on the opposite sides of a wave guide ring which is pierced by a synthetic gauge field. Within the ring, the atoms are further subject to both a weak disorder potential and particle-particle interaction. In the non-interacting case, the disorder-averaged transmission probability as a function of the encircled flux displays the well-known Al'tshuler-Aronov-Spivak (AAS) oscillations, i.e. oscillations with a frequency twice as large as Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. This thesis provides further insight into the influence of a weak particle-particle interaction on AAS oscillations, for which numerical results predict an interaction-based inversion of peaks. Here, using semiclassical techniques to solve the corresponding mean-field problem, this inversion is successfully reproduced, and a first indicator of the relevant mechanism leading to the inversion is found through contributions of self-averaging scattering path constellations.

•Jan 1, 2019•1 citation
Quantum path interferences or resonances in multilevel dissipative quantum systems play an important and intriguing role in the transport processes of nanoscale systems. Many previous minimalistic models used to describe the quantum path interference driven by incoherent fields are based on the approximations including the second order perturbation for the weak coupling limit, the ad-hoc choices of two-time correlation functions and etc\it{etc}etc. On the other hand, the similar model to study the non-adiabatic molecular electronic excitation have been extensively developed and many efficient quantum molecular dynamics simulation schemes, such as the Ehrenfest scheme, have been proposed. In this paper, I aim to propose an unified model, extend the Ehrenfest scheme to study the interactions of system-light and system-phonon simultaneously and gain insight into and principles of the roles of quantum path interferences in the realistic molecular systems. I discuss how to derive the time-dependent stochastic Schro¨\ddot{o}o¨dinger equation from the Ehrenfest scheme as a foundation to discuss the detailed balance for the weak coupling limit and therefore the quantum correction in the Ehrenfest scheme. Different from the master equation technique, the Ehrenfest scheme doesn't need any specific assumptions about spectral densities and two time correlation functions. With simple open two-level and three-level quantum systems, I show the effect of the quantum path interference on the steady state populations. Currently I only focus on the role of the phonon thermal reservoir. The electromagnetic field (solar light) will be modeled as a thermal reservoir and discussed in detail in the future paper.
Atomic coherence and interference manifested by electromagentically induced transparency (EIT) and coherent population trapping (CPT) plays an important role in the current studies of atom-photon interactions and has found numerous applications in optical physics. EIT is created in a three-level atomic system by a coupling field and results in destructive interference between two excitation paths of a weak probe laser interacting with the atomic medium. This leads to suppressed linear absorption and rapidly varying atomic dispersion for the probe laser near the atomic resonance, which provides the platform for a variety of applications such as nonlinear optics at low light levels, slow light manipulation, and quantum state engineering for photons and atoms. Here we extend the simple three-level EIT system to more complicated and versatile configurations in a multi-level atomic system coupled by multiple laser fields. We show that with multiple excitation paths provided by different laser fields, phase-dependent quantum interference is induced: either constructive or destructive interference can be realized by varying the relative phases among the laser fields. Two specific examples are discussed. One is a three-level system coupled by bichromatic coupling and probe fields, in which the phase dependent interference between the resonant two-photon Raman transitions can be initiated and controlled. Another is a four-level system coupled by two coupling fields and two probe fields, in which a double-EIT configuration is created by the phase-dependent interference between three-photon and one-photon excitation processes. We analyze the coherently coupled multi-level atomic system and discuss the control parameters for the onset of constructive or destructive quantum interference. We describe two experiments performed with cold Rb atoms that can be approximately treated as the coherently coupled three-level and four-level atomic systems respectively. The experimental results show the phase-dependent quantum coherence and interference in the multi-level Rb atomic system, and agree with the theoretical calculations based on the coherently coupled three-level or four-level model system.
Calculations are made to determine the response (power absorbed, magnetization, etc.) of a multilevel quantum system under the influence of any number of classically described driving fields (well defined in amplitude and phase). A nonperturbative theory is developed to account for those fields that are in resonance with the system. The nonresonant effects, such as virtual energy shifts, are included in the theory. We limit ourselves to a discussion of quantum systems that are in weak contact with a thermal reservoir. The procedure is the following A projection-operator formalism is developed which separates the density matrix of a system into two parts. One part is related to those portions of the driving fields that interact quite strongly with the system. The other part is the nonresonant or weakly interacting portion. An exact equation of motion, which includes the effects of the nonresonant part, is derived for the strongly interacting part of the density matrix. It is then shown that when relaxation can be represented by phenomenological decay constants, a unitary transformation can be found which reduces the equation of motion for the strongly interacting part of the density matrix so that an exact solution is possible. This solution is shown to give the major effects of the driving fields and can be used as the zeroth-order solution in a perturbation treatment of the whole density matrix. Frequency shifts such as the Bloch-Siegert shift and shifts due to couplings between the levels of interest (resonance levels) and other levels (nonresonance levels) all arise in the same natural way in our treatment. Our results in many instances are the extensions of the well-known results for a two-level quantum-mechanical systemm to an NNN-level one, and include resonant multiple quantum effects. As an example, a straightforward application of the method is carried out in order to compute the shifts in the resonance frequencies of a four-level system, driven by two oscillating fields connecting three of the levels, due to the counter-rotating components of the driving fields and the presence of the fourth level, which is not coupled to the other levels by the driving fields.
Wave-mechanical phenomena such as resonance and interference, in both light and matter, are central to the principles of quantum coherent control over molecular processes. Focusing on the dynamical aspects, this dissertation is a compilation of studies on the interaction physics involving wave packets in molecules, the driving light field, and the underlying coherence and control. In each work, we will demonstrate interesting correlations between the properties of a carefully designed excitation light field and desirable outcomes of the molecules quantum dynamics. We will analyze the dynamical effect of a Feshbach resonance in the adiabatic Raman photoassociation for ultracold diatomic molecule formation from ultracold atoms. A narrow resonance is shown to be able to increase the effective number of collisions, in an ultracold atomic gas, that are available for photoassociation. This results in an optimal resonance width much smaller than the atomic collision energy bandwidth, due to the balance between the effective collision rate and single-collision transfer probability. Next, we demonstrate the linear molecular response to high-intensity, broadband, shaped optical fields. We show that this originates from interferences based on intra-pulse Raman excitations, and thus response linearity is not unique to the first-order perturbative limit and can not be used to infer the strength of the field. In the last study, we simulate the stochastic vibrational wave packet and dissociation-flux dynamics in a molecule excited by light with temporal and spectral incoherent properties. Between this case and that using a coherent pulse with the same spectral profile, we compare the vibrational wave functions and the loss of electronic and vibrational coherence, and demonstrate the qualitative difference between coherently and incoherently driven dynamics in molecules.
The nonlinear dynamics of dissipative quantum systems in incoherent laser fields is studied in the framework of a master equation with the random telegraph model describing the laser noise and the Markovian approximation dealing with the system-bath couplings. Floquet theory and time-dependent perturbation methods are used to facilitate both analytical and numerical solutions. We develop a theoretical formalism that provides a powerful tool for the detailed analysis of the dissipative quantum dynamics of multilevel systems driven by intense stochastic laser fields. It is found that the system relaxes to a steady state from the effect of the laser phase and frequency noise and the kinetics of this relaxation increases with the addition of dissipative terms, introduced by the coupling to the reservoir. Amplitude fluctuations show a different behavior. Other results concerning the destruction of quantum coherence and the dynamical localization will be established and further relaxation mechanisms such as spontaneous emission and the ionization process will also be considered.
This is the second in a series of three papers on nonlinear resonance effects in multilevel quantum systems in which quantum-mechanical systems are considered that are under the influence of any number of classically described driving fields (well defined in amplitude and phase) and are in weak contact with a thermal reservoir, such that relaxation may be described by means of phenomenological decay constants. In the first paper, referred to as I, a projection-operator formalism was developed for separating the equation of motion for the density operator into a part which may be treated by conventional time-dependent perturbation techniques and another part which, because it would give rise to secular terms using a time-dependent perturbation theory, must be treated by more exact means. In this paper three applications of the formalism developed in I are considered. The first application is to a system in which a multiple-quantum transition is taking place between two levels of the system which contains many levels between the two levels under consideration. In particular, the transition probability is calculated for these two levels, which are not directly connected by matrix elements of the interaction but are connected indirectly through intermediate states. The next application considered is the Raman effect in a four-level system. As a final application of the formalism developed in I an expression is derived for the magnetization M+(t)=Mx(t)+iMy(t){M}_{+}(t)={M}_{x}(t)+i{M}_{y}(t)M+​(t)=Mx​(t)+iMy​(t) of a system of NNN noninteracting spins under the influence of a static field in the zzz direction and an arbitrary number of rf fields in the xxx direction. As in I, a phenomenological form is assumed for the relaxation in all of these applications. It is shown in this problem that fields which are not involved in directly causing transitions in this system give rise to frequency shifts in the resonance conditions, which are accounted for in this treatment in a very natural and straightforward manner. For these fields, the rotating as well as the counter-rotating fields give shifts in the resonance condition.
A major goal of the semiclassical theory is to understand and treat a quantum system in the regime of large quantum numbers using information from its classical limit. In this framework, quantum phenomena are addressed through a path integral perspective, i.e. the weighted interference of phases accumulated along classical trajectories. While this formalism has been successful in explaining interference phenomena, for instance, in mesoscopic single-particle quantum systems, the recent extension of the semiclassical theory allows now also the treatment of interacting quantum many-body systems. This thesis aims to contribute to these ongoing efforts to apply semiclassical techniques to quantum many-body systems. It is focused on bosonic quantum many-body systems, where the thermodynamic limit of a large number of particles represents an alternative version of a semiclassical limit. Within the derivation of the corresponding semiclassical theory, mean-field equations, i.e. effective nonlinear wave equations describing the matter wave, re-emerge as Hamilton's equations of motion of an abstract Hamilton function, defining the above thermodynamic limit as the classical limit. Within this thesis, two different topics are studied. The first one deals with the so-called “Out-of-Time-Order Correlator” (OTOC), the expectation value of the squared commutator of two local operators at different times. The OTOC provides a direct probe for the presence of chaos in the classical limit (if any) of a quantum many-body system. This is based on that for short times the OTOC directly relates to the stability of classical solutions upon changes in their initial conditions. One of the defining properties of chaos is that this stability displays an exponential growth, with the rate called the classical Lyapunov exponent. Immediately, this implies an exponential growth of the OTOC for short times, from which the Lyapunov exponent can be extracted. For later times, one observes a saturation of the OTOC as a consequence of unitary quantum time evolution. The Ehrenfest time, the time scale which marks the onset of quantum interference, separates these different dynamical behaviors. In this thesis a thorough understanding of the concept of chaos in the classical limit of quantum many-body systems is provided, and with that the underlying interference mechanisms involved in the early exponential growth and the later saturation of OTOCs are identified. It is found that the pre-Ehrenfest time exponential growth is given through the interference of multiple contributions, all of them essentially following only a single solution of mean-field equations. Conversely the post-Ehrenfest time behavior stems from the contributions of fundamentally different mean-field solutions, which display correlated dynamics only for a limited amount of time, of the order of Ehrenfest time. The second topic covered in this thesis deals with the coherent transport of cold bosonic atoms through an Aharonov-Bohm ring structure. This setup consists of two semi-infinite wave guides attached on the opposite sides of a wave guide ring which is pierced by a synthetic gauge field. Within the ring, the atoms are further subject to both a weak disorder potential and particle-particle interaction. In the non-interacting case, the disorder-averaged transmission probability as a function of the encircled flux displays the well-known Al'tshuler-Aronov-Spivak (AAS) oscillations, i.e. oscillations with a frequency twice as large as Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. This thesis provides further insight into the influence of a weak particle-particle interaction on AAS oscillations, for which numerical results predict an interaction-based inversion of peaks. Here, using semiclassical techniques to solve the corresponding mean-field problem, this inversion is successfully reproduced, and a first indicator of the relevant mechanism leading to the inversion is found through contributions of self-averaging scattering path constellations.