Browsing by Author "Cartarius, Holger"

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Open Access
An approach to quantum physics teaching through analog experiments
(2022) Aehle, Stefan; Scheiger, Philipp; Cartarius, Holger
With quantum physics being a particularly difficult subject to teach because of its contextual distance from everyday life, the need for multiperspective teaching material arises. Quantum physics education aims at exploring these methods but often lacks physical models and haptic components. In this paper, we provide two analog models and corresponding teaching concepts that present analogies to quantum phenomena for implementation in secondary school and university classrooms: While the first model focuses on the polarization of single photons and the deduction of reasoning tools for elementary comprehension of quantum theory, the second model investigates analog Hardy experiments as an alternative to Bell’s theorem. We show how working with physical models to compare classical and quantum perspectives has proven helpful for novice learners to grasp the abstract nature of quantum experiments and discuss our findings as an addition to existing quantum physics teaching concepts.
Open Access
Exceptional points in atomic spectra and Bose-Einstein condensates
(2008) Cartarius, Holger; Main, Jörg (Prof. Dr.)
Exceptional points are a special type of degeneracy which can appear for the resonances of parameter-dependent quantum spectra described by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. They represent positions in the parameter space at which two or even more resonances pass through a branch point singularity. At the critical parameter values, the energies, the widths, and the wave functions describing the resonances are identical. The branching eigenstates show a geometric phase for a parameter space loop around the branch point. In this thesis exceptional points are investigated in two important quantum systems. The first system is the hydrogen atom in crossed external electric and magnetic fields. It is a representative for the class of atoms in static external fields, which are as fundamental quantum system accessible both with experimental and theoretical methods and are ideally suited to study the influence of exceptional points. The resonance spectra of the hydrogen atom are numerically calculated with the complex rotation method. A procedure to systematically search for exceptional points is elaborated and the existence of exceptional points is proven. The influence of the branch point singularities on the resonance energies, the wave functions, and the photoionization cross section is analyzed. In addition, a possibility for the observation of exceptional points in an experiment with atoms is proposed. The investigation of the resonances in spectra of the hydrogen atom in this thesis furthermore reveals structures which can provide an insight into the ionization mechanism. The ionization mechanism of the hydrogen atom in crossed electric and magnetic fields has been investigated, e.g., by application of the transition state theory. Here, calculations are performed which give clear evidence for an important influence of the classical transition state in the quantum spectrum. A second class of quantum systems in which exceptional points appear are the stationary states of Bose-Einstein condensates. They are described by the nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation and it is known that by a variation of the system's parameters the ground state and a second stationary solution are born together in a tangent bifurcation. It is pointed out in this thesis that the mean field energies, the chemical potentials, and the wave functions show at the point of bifurcation the behavior of an exceptional point. The results allow for the extension of the concept of exceptional points to nonlinear quantum systems. Two types of condensates are investigated for this purpose. Bose-Einstein condensates with a laser-induced gravity-like 1/r interaction exhibit analytic solutions which directly prove the existence of exceptional points. The results obtained in this system are used to identify and describe exceptional points in the Bose-Einstein condensation of dipolar gases which is of high experimental interest and has already been realized.
Open Access
Quantum systems with balanced gain and loss, signatures of branch points, and dissociation effects
(2014) Cartarius, Holger; Wunner, Günter (Prof. Dr.)
Gain and loss to the wave function of quantum mechanics can in a convenient way be modelled by effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. Imaginary contributions to the potential introduce source and drain terms for the probability amplitude. A special class of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are those which possess a parity-time symmetry. In spite of their non-Hermiticity these Hamiltonians allow for real energy eigenvalues, i.e. the existence of stationary states in the presence of balanced gain and loss. This effect has been identified theoretically in a large number of quantum systems. Its existence has also been proved experimentally in coupled optical wave guides. The wave guides are, however, only optical analogues of quantum systems. In the first part of this thesis it is shown from the theoretical side that Bose-Einstein condensates in a double-well setup are an ideal candidate for a first experimental realisation of a genuine quantum system with parity-time symmetry. When particles are removed from one well and coherently injected into the other the external potential is parity-time symmetric. To investigate the system the underlying time-independent and time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equations are solved numerically. It turns out that a subtle interplay between the nonlinearity of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation and the gain-loss effect leads to a complicated dynamics of the condensate wave function. However, the most important result is the existence of stationary states that are sufficiently stable to be observable in an experiment. Two suggestions for experimental realisations are presented. They are based on the idea of embedding the non-Hermitian parity-time-symmetric system into a larger structure described by a Hermitian Hamiltonian. A further effect of non-Hermitian Hamiltonians are so-called exceptional points, at which two resonances coalesce such that both their eigenvalues and wave functions become identical. It is shown that an exceptional point can unambiguously be identified by a characteristic non-exponential decay of the resonances. With numerically exact calculations for the hydrogen atom in crossed electric and magnetic fields this effect is verified in an experimentally accessible quantum system. The second part of the thesis is devoted to semiclassical Gaussian approximations to the Boltzmann operator, which have become an important tool for the investigation of thermodynamic properties of clusters of atoms at low temperatures. A numerically cheap frozen Gaussian approximation to the imaginary time propagator with a width matrix especially suited for the dynamics of clusters is developed. It is applied to the cases of Ar3 and Ar6. For these clusters classical-like transitions in one step from a bounded moiety to free particles are found for increasing temperatures. Additionally, the structure of the Ar6 cluster is studied in the bound configuration and during the dissociation. Quantum effects, i.e. differences with the purely classical case, manifest themselves in the low-temperature behaviour of the mean energy and specific heat as well as in a slight shift of the transition temperature. A first-order correction to the semiclassical propagator is used to improve the results of the calculation for Ar3, and it is shown how the correction can be used to objectively assess the validity of the frozen Gaussian approximation.