We report on the control of interaction-induced dephasing of Bloch oscillations for an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice under the influence of gravity. When tuning the strength of the interaction towards zero by means of a Feshbach resonance, the dephasing time is increased from a few to more than twenty thousand Bloch oscillation periods. We quantify the dephasing in terms of the width of the quasi-momentum distribution and measure its dependence on time for different values of the scattering length. Minimizing the dephasing allows us to realize a BEC-based atom interferometer in the non-interacting limit. We use it for a precise determination of a zero-crossing for the atomic scattering length and to observe collapse and revivals of Bloch oscillations when the atomic sample is subject to a spatial force gradient.
We investigate both experimentally and theoretically disorder induced damping of Bloch oscillations of Bose-Einstein condensates in optical lattices. The spatially inhomogeneous force responsible for the damping is realised by a combination of a disordered optical and a magnetic gradient potential. We show that the inhomogeneity of this force results in a broadening of the quasimomentum spectrum, which in turn causes damping of the centre-of-mass oscillation. We quantitatively compare the obtained damping rates to the simulations using the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Our results are relevant for high precision experiments on very small forces, which require the observation of a large number of oscillation cycles.
We examine phenomenon of electromagnetic transparency in semiconductor superlattices (having various miniband dispersion laws) in the presence of multi-frequency periodic and non-periodic electric fields. Effects of induced transparency and spontaneous generation of static fields are discussed. We paid a special attention on a self-induced electromagnetic transparency and its correlation to dynamic electron localization. Processes and mechanisms of the transparency formation, collapse, and stabilization in the presence of external fields are studied. In particular, we present the numerical results of the time evolution of the superlattice current in an external biharmonic field showing main channels of transparency collapse and its partial stabilization in the case of low electron density superlattices.
Ultrafast charge transport in strongly biased semiconductors is at the heart of highspeed electronics, electro-optics, and fundamental solid-state physics. Intense light pulses in the terahertz (THz) spectral range have opened fascinating vistas: Since THz photon energies are far below typical electronic interband resonances, a stable electromagnetic waveform may serve as a precisely adjustable bias. Novel quantum phenomena have been anticipated for THz amplitudes reaching atomic field strengths. We exploit controlled THz waveforms with peak fields of 72 MV/cm to drive coherent interband polarization combined with dynamical Bloch oscillations in semiconducting gallium selenide. These dynamics entail the emission of phase-stable high-harmonic transients, covering the entire THz-to-visible spectral domain between 0.1 and 675 THz. Quantum interference of different ionization paths of accelerated charge carriers is controlled via the waveform of the driving field and explained by a quantum theory of inter- and intraband dynamics. Our results pave the way towards all-coherent THz-rate electronics.
We investigate an oblique spacetime crystal realized by a monoatomic crystal in which a mode of sound propagates. We provide a systematic analysis of the crystal and obtain the corresponding band structure, based on which the electron dynamics under an external electric field is studied. Several unique band topologies are revealed, which lead to novel Floquet-Bloch oscillations in the electrons motion. We also discover intraband Zener tunneling in the oblique spacetime crystal beyond the adiabatic limit, which effectively converts between the different band topologies. Our results indicate the possibility of a prototypical quantum acoustoelectric generator that converts energy between the sound wave and a DC electric field in quantized units.
The dependence of high-harmonic generation (HHG) on laser ellipticity is investigated using a modified ZnO model. In the driving of relatively weak field, we reproduce qualitatively the ellipticity dependence as observed in the HHG experiment of wurtzite ZnO. When increasing the field strength, the HHG shows an anomalous ellipticity dependence, similar to that observed experimentally in the single-crystal MgO. With the help of a semiclassical analysis, it is found that the key mechanism inducing the change of ellipticity dependence is the interplay between the dynamical Bloch oscillation and the anisotropic band structure. The dynamical Bloch oscillation contributes additional quantum paths, which are less sensitive to ellipticity. The anisotropic band-structure make the driving pulse with finite ellipticity be able to drive the pairs to the band positions with larger gap, which extends the harmonic cutoff. The combination of these two effects leads to the anomalous ellipticity dependence. The result reveals the importance of dynamical Bloch oscillations for the ellipticity dependence of HHG from bulk ZnO.