Population transfer between molecular vibrational levels by stimulated Raman scattering with partially overlapping laser fields. A new concept and experimental results

Temporal Quasi-Phase Matching Assists Robust Acoustic Adiabatic Passage

Recent work demonstrated stimulated Raman adiabatic passage-type transfer of energy along 3 acoustic cavities. After brief comments on the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage method, remarks on the scientific and technological relevance of this work are presented, followed by noting other recent important applications of the process.

Application of density matrix Wigner transforms for ultrafast macromolecular and chemical x-ray crystallography

Time-Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (TR-SFX) conducted at X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs) has become a powerful tool for capturing macromolecular structural movies of light-initiated processes. As the capabilities of XFELs advance, we anticipate that a new range of coherent control and structural Raman measurements will become achievable. Shorter optical and x-ray pulse durations and increasingly more exotic pulse regimes are becoming available at free electron lasers. Moreover, with high repetition enabled by the superconducting technology of European XFEL (EuXFEL) and Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS-II) , it will be possible to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the light-induced differences, allowing for the observation of vibronic motion on the sub-Angstrom level. To predict and assign this coherent motion, which is measurable with a structural technique, new theoretical approaches must be developed. In this paper, we present a theoretical density matrix approach to model the various population and coherent dynamics of a system, which considers molecular system parameters and excitation conditions. We emphasize the use of the Wigner transform of the time-dependent density matrix, which provides a phase space representation that can be directly compared to the experimental positional displacements measured in a TR-SFX experiment. Here, we extend the results from simple models to include more realistic schemes that include large relaxation terms. We explore a variety of pulse schemes using multiple model systems using realistic parameters. An open-source software package is provided to perform the density matrix simulation and Wigner transformations. The open-source software allows us to define any arbitrary level schemes as well as any arbitrary electric field in the interaction Hamiltonian.

Robust temporal adiabatic passage with perfect frequency conversion between detuned acoustic cavities

For classical waves, phase matching is vital for enabling efficient energy transfer in many scenarios, such as waveguide coupling and nonlinear optical frequency conversion. Here, we propose a temporal quasi-phase matching method and realize robust and complete acoustical energy transfer between arbitrarily detuned cavities. In a set of three cavities, A, B, and C, the time-varying coupling is established between adjacent elements. Analogy to the concept of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, amplitudes of the two couplings are modulated as time-delayed Gaussian functions, and the couplings' signs are periodically flipped to eliminate temporal phase mismatching. As a result, robust and complete acoustic energy transfer from A to C is achieved. The non-reciprocal frequency conversion properties of our design are demonstrated. Our research takes a pivotal step towards expanding wave steering through time-dependent modulations and is promising to extend the frequency conversion based on state evolution in various linear Hermitian systems to nonlinear and non-Hermitian regimes.

Highly efficient creation and detection of deeply bound molecules via invariant-based inverse engineering with feasible modified drivings

Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage (STIRAP) and its variants, such as M-type chainwise-STIRAP, allow for efficiently transferring the populations in a multilevel system and have widely been used to prepare molecules in their rovibrational ground state. However, their transfer efficiencies are generally imperfect. The main obstacle is the presence of losses and the requirement to make the dynamics adiabatic. To this end, in the present paper, a new theoretical method is proposed for the efficient and robust creation and detection of deeply bound molecules in three-level Λ-type and five-level M-type systems via "Invariant-based shortcut-to-adiabaticity." In the regime of large detunings, we first reduce the dynamics of three- and five-level molecular systems to those of effective two- and three-level counterparts. By doing so, the major molecular losses from the excited states can be well suppressed. Consequently, the effective two-level counterpart can be directly compatible with two different "Invariant-based Inverse Engineering" protocols; the results show that both protocols give a comparable performance and have a good experimental feasibility. For the effective three-level counterpart, by considering a relation among the four incident pulses, we show that this model can be further generalized to an effective Λ-type one with the simplest resonant coupling. This generalized model permits us to borrow the "Invariant-based Inverse Engineering" protocol from a standard three-level Λ-type system to a five-level M-type system. Numerical calculations show that the weakly bound molecules can be efficiently transferred to their deeply bound states without strong laser pulses, and the stability against parameter variations is well preserved. Finally, the detection of ultracold deeply bound molecules is discussed.

Bogoliubov polaritons mediated strong indirect interaction between distant whispering-gallery-mode resonators

We propose a method to achieve a strong indirect interaction between two distant whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators in a hybrid quantum system at room temperature, even when the distance between them exceeds 40 wavelengths. By exploiting the quantum critical point, we can greatly enhance both the effective damping rate and the coupling strengths between a WGM resonator and a low-frequency polariton. We introduce a large effective frequency detuning to suppress the effective damping rate while maintaining the enhanced coupling strength. The strong indirect interaction between separated WGM resonators is mediated by a far-off-resonant low-frequency polariton through virtual excitations in a process similar to Raman process. This proposal provides a viable approach to building a quantum network based on strongly coupled WGM resonators.

Non-Hermitian Floquet Topological Matter-A Review

The past few years have witnessed a surge of interest in non-Hermitian Floquet topological matter due to its exotic properties resulting from the interplay between driving fields and non-Hermiticity. The present review sums up our studies on non-Hermitian Floquet topological matter in one and two spatial dimensions. We first give a bird's-eye view of the literature for clarifying the physical significance of non-Hermitian Floquet systems. We then introduce, in a pedagogical manner, a number of useful tools tailored for the study of non-Hermitian Floquet systems and their topological properties. With the aid of these tools, we present typical examples of non-Hermitian Floquet topological insulators, superconductors, and quasicrystals, with a focus on their topological invariants, bulk-edge correspondences, non-Hermitian skin effects, dynamical properties, and localization transitions. We conclude this review by summarizing our main findings and presenting our vision of future directions.

Condensate Formation in a Dark State of a Driven Atom-Cavity System

We demonstrate the formation of a condensate in a dark state of momentum states, in a pumped and shaken cavity-BEC system. The system consists of an ultracold quantum gas in a high-finesse cavity, which is pumped transversely by a phase-modulated laser. This phase-modulated pumping couples the atomic ground state to a superposition of excited momentum states, which decouples from the cavity field. We demonstrate how to achieve condensation in this state, supported by time-of-flight and photon emission measurements. With this, we show that the dark state concept provides a general approach to efficiently prepare complex many-body states in an open quantum system.

Generation of terahertz waves based on nonlinear frequency conversion with stimulated Raman adiabatic passage

In recent years, high-power, tunable terahertz (THZ) radiation sources have become the key areas of research in the world. The method of THZ waves by nonlinear optical difference frequency generation (DFG) has the advantages of wide tuning, high power, room temperature operation, and compact structure. However, the conversion efficiency of the current difference frequency method is low, which needs a trade-off between conversion efficiency and tuning range. We apply the nonlinear optical cascade difference frequency conversion theory based on stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) and propose a theoretical scheme to generate THZ waves. Numerical simulation investigates the cascaded difference frequency process of generating THZ waves with the help of the nonlinear medium lithium niobate (LN) crystal. The theoretical analysis shows that the maximum quantum conversion efficiency from signal laser to THZ waves is 43.2 % when the wavelength of the tuned signal laser varies between 1.044 - 1.065 µm with the fixed two pump laser wavelengths constant. The tunable THZ waves of 0.48 - 5.0 THz can be obtained and the maximum output intensity of THZ waves is 2.17 MW/cm², and the method is robust to temperature variations. It also provides a novel idea for the cascaded difference frequency generation of THZ waves.

Coherent Raman spectroscopy on hydrogen with in-situ generation, in-situ use, and in-situ referencing of the ultrabroadband excitation

Time-resolved spectroscopy can provide valuable insights in hydrogen chemistry, with applications ranging from fundamental physics to the use of hydrogen as a commercial fuel. This work represents the first-ever demonstration of in-situ femtosecond laser-induced filamentation to generate a compressed supercontinuum behind a thick optical window, and its in-situ use to perform femtosecond/picosecond coherent Raman spectroscopy (CRS) on molecular hydrogen (H₂). The ultrabroadband coherent excitation of Raman active molecules in measurement scenarios within an enclosed space has been hindered thus far by the window material imparting temporal stretch to the pulse. We overcome this challenge and present the simultaneous single-shot detection of the rotational H₂ and the non-resonant CRS spectra in a laminar H₂/air diffusion flame. Implementing an in-situ referencing protocol, the non-resonant spectrum measures the spectral phase of the supercontinuum pulse and maps the efficiency of the ultrabroadband coherent excitation achieved behind the window. This approach provides a straightforward path for the implementation of ultrabroadband H₂ CRS in enclosed environment such as next-generation hydrogen combustors and reforming reactors.

A versatile multi-tone laser system for manipulating atomic qubits based on a fiber Mach-Zehnder modulator and second harmonic generation

Stimulated Raman transition is a fundamental method to coherently manipulate quantum states in different physical systems. Phase-coherent dichromatic radiation fields matching the energy level splitting are the key to realizing stimulated Raman transition. Here we demonstrate a flexible-tuning, spectrum-clean and fiber-compatible method to generate a highly phase-coherent and high-power multi-tone laser. This method features the utilization of a broadband fiber Mach-Zehnder modulator working at carrier suppression condition and second harmonic generation. We generate a multi-tone continuous-wave 532 nm laser with a power of 1.5 Watts and utilize it to manipulate the spin and motional states of a trapped ¹⁷¹Yb⁺ ion via stimulated Raman transition. For spin state manipulation, we acquire an effective Rabi frequency of 2π × 662.3 kHz. Due to the broad bandwidth of the fiber modulator and nonlinear crystal, the frequency gap between tones can be flexibly tuned. Benefiting from the features above, this method can manipulate ¹⁷¹Yb⁺ and ¹³⁷Ba⁺ simultaneously in the multi-species ion trap and has potential to be widely applied in atomic, molecular and optical physics.

Coherent Preparation of Highly Vibrating and Rotating D2 Molecules

Highly vibrationally and rotationally excited hydrogen molecules are of immense interest for understanding and modeling the physics and chemistry of the cold interstellar medium. Using a sequence of two Stark-induced adiabatic Raman passages, we demonstrate the preparation of rotationally excited D₂ molecules in the fourth excited vibrational level within its ground electronic state. The nearly complete population transfer to the target state is confirmed by observing both the threshold behavior as a function of the laser power and the depletion of the intermediate level. The vibrational excitation reported here opens new possibilities in the study of the much debated four-center reaction between a pair of hydrogen molecules. Additionally, these rovibrationally excited molecules could be potentially used to generate the high-intensity D^- ion beams considered essential for D-T thermonuclear fusion by enhancing the cross section for dissociative electron attachment by 5 orders of magnitude compared to that of the ground state.

Plasmonic loss-mitigating broadband adiabatic polarizing beam splitter

The intriguing analogy between quantum physics and optics has inspired the design of unconventional integrated photonics devices. In this paper, we numerically demonstrate a broadband integrated polarization beam splitter (PBS) by implementing the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique in a three-waveguide plasmonic system. Our proposed PBS exhibits >250 nm transverse-magnetic (TM) bandwidth with <-40 dB extinction and >150 nm transverse-electric (TE) bandwidth with <-20 dB extinction, covering the entire S-, C-, and L-bands and part of the E-band. Moreover, near-lossless light transfer is achieved in our system despite the incorporation of a plasmonic hybrid waveguide because of the unique loss mitigating feature of the STIRAP scheme. Through this approach, various broadband integrated devices that were previously impossible can be realized, which will allow innovation in integrated optics.

Robust stimulated Raman shortcut-to-adiabatic passage with invariant-based optimal control

The stimulated Raman adiabatic passage shows an efficient technique that accurately transfers population between two discrete quantum states with the same parity in three-level quantum systems based on adiabatic evolution. This technique has widely theoretical and experimental applications in many fields of physics, chemistry, and beyond. Here, we present a general approach to robust stimulated Raman shortcut-to-adiabatic passage with invariant-based optimal control. By controlling the dynamical process, we inversely design a family of Hamiltonians with non-divergent Rabi frequencies that can realize fast and accurate population transfer from the first to the third level, while the systematic errors are largely suppressed in general. Furthermore, a detailed trade-off relation between the population of the intermediate state and the amplitudes of Rabi frequencies in the transfer process is illustrated. These results provide an optimal route toward manipulating the evolution of three-level quantum systems in future quantum information processing.

From megahertz to terahertz qubits encoded in molecular ions: theoretical analysis of dipole-forbidden spectroscopic transitions in N2. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020;22:23083-23098. [PMID: 33048077 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03906c]

Recent advances in quantum technologies have enabled the precise control of single trapped molecules on the quantum level. Exploring the scope of these new technologies, we studied theoretically the implementation of qubits and clock transitions in the spin, rotational, and vibrational degrees of freedom of molecular nitrogen ions including the effects of magnetic fields. The relevant spectroscopic transitions span six orders of magnitude in frequency, illustrating the versatility of the molecular spectrum for encoding quantum information. We identified two types of magnetically insensitive qubits with very low ("stretched"-state qubits) or even zero ("magic" magnetic-field qubits) linear Zeeman shifts. The corresponding spectroscopic transitions are predicted to shift by as little as a few mHz for an amplitude of magnetic-field fluctuations on the order of a few mG, translating into Zeeman-limited coherence times of tens of minutes encoded in the rotations and vibrations of the molecule. We also found that the Q(0) line of the fundamental vibrational transition is magnetic-dipole allowed by interaction with the first excited electronic state of the molecule. The Q(0) transitions, which benefit from small systematic shifts for clock operation and is thus well suited for testing a possible variation in the proton-to-electron mass ratio, were so far not considered in single-photon spectra. Finally, we explored possibilities to coherently control the nuclear-spin configuration of N2+ through the magnetically enhanced mixing of nuclear-spin states.

Spin dynamics during chirped pulses: applications to homonuclear decoupling and broadband excitation

Swept-frequency pulses have found applications in a wide range of areas including spectroscopic techniques where efficient control of spins is required. For many of these applications, a good understanding of the evolution of spin systems during these pulses plays a vital role, not only in describing the mechanism of techniques, but also in enabling new methodologies. In magnetic resonance spectroscopy, broadband inversion, refocusing, and excitation using these pulses are among the most used applications in NMR, ESR, MRI, and in vivo MRS. In the present survey, a general expression for chirped pulses will be introduced, and some numerical approaches to calculate the spin dynamics during chirped pulses via solutions of the well-known Liouville-von Neumann equation and the lesser-explored Wei-Norman Lie algebra along with comprehensive examples are presented. In both cases, spin state trajectories are calculated using the solution of differential equations. Additionally, applications of the proposed methods to study the spin dynamics during the PSYCHE pulse element for broadband homonuclear decoupling and the CHORUS sequence for broadband excitation will be presented.

Harnessing the Power of Adiabatic Curve Crossing to Populate the Highly Vibrationally Excited H_{2} (v=7, j=0) Level

A large ensemble of ∼10^{9} H_{2} (v=7, j=0) molecules is prepared in the collision-free environment of a supersonic beam by transferring nearly the entire H_{2} (v=0, j=0) ground-state population, where v and j are the vibrational and rotational quantum numbers, respectively. This is accomplished by controlling the crossing of the optically dressed adiabatic states using a pair of phase coherent laser pulses. The preparation of highly vibrationally excited H_{2} molecules opens new opportunities to test fundamental physical principles using two loosely bound yet entangled H atoms.

Spatial adiabatic passage of massive quantum particles in an optical Lieb lattice

Quantum interference lies at the heart of quantum mechanics. By utilizing destructive interference, it is possible to transfer a physical object between two states without populating an intermediate state which is necessary to connect the initial and final states. A famous application is a technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, where atomic internal states can be transfered with high efficiency regardless of lossy intermediate states. One interesting situation is a case where the initial and final states are spatially well separated. Quantum mechanics allows a particle to move without practical possibility of being found at the intermediate area. Here we demonstrate this spatial adiabatic passage with ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Key to this is the existence of dark eigenstates forming a flat energy band, with effective transfer between two sublattices being observed. This work sheds light on a study of coherent control of trapped cold atoms.

Theoretical Study on Spin-Selective Coherent Electron Transfer in a Quantum Dot Array

Recently, we proposed the spin-selective coherent electron transfer in a silicon-quantum-dot array. It requires temporal tuning of two pulses of an oscillating magnetic field and gate voltage control. This paper proposes a simpler method that requires a single pulse of oscillating magnetic field and gate voltage control. We examined the robustness of the control against the error in the pulse amplitude and the effect of the excited states relaxation to the control efficiency. In addition, we propose a novel control method based on a shortcuts-to-adiabaticity protocol, which utilizes two pulses but requires temporal control of the pulse amplitude for only one of them. We compared their efficiencies under the effect of realistic pulse amplitude errors and relaxation.

Globally Accurate Full-Dimensional Potential Energy Surface for H2 + HCl Inelastic Scattering

A globally accurate full-dimensional potential energy surface (PES) for the inelastic scattering between H₂ and HCl is developed on the basis of a large number of points calculated at the coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples level of theory. The machine-learned PES is trained with 42 417 ab initio points using the permutation invariant polynomial-neural network method, resulting in a root-mean-square fitting error of 5.6 cm^-1. Both full- and reduced-dimensional quantum calculations for rotationally inelastic scattering are performed on this new PES and good agreement is obtained with previous quantum dynamical results on a reduced-dimensional model. Furthermore, strong resonances are identified at collision energies below 100 K, including cold conditions. This new PES provides a reliable platform for future studies of scattering dynamics with vibrationally excited collision partners in a wide range of collision energies extending to cold and ultracold conditions.

Adiabatic preparation of Multipartite GHZ states via Rydberg ground-state blockade

The multipartite GHZ states are useful resources for quantum information processing. Here we put forward a scalable way to adiabatically prepare the multipartite GHZ states in a chain of Rydberg atoms. Building on the ground-state blockade effect of Rydberg atoms and the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), we suppress the adverse effect of the atomic spontaneous emission, and obtain a high fidelity of the multipartite GHZ states without requirements on the operational time. After investigating the feasibility of the proposal, we show a 3-qubit GHZ state can be generated in a wide range of relevant parameters and a fidelity above $98\%$98% is achievable with the current experimental technologies.

One-Way Localized Adiabatic Passage in an Acoustic System

Stimulated adiabatic passage utilizes radiation pulses to efficiently and selectively transfer population between quantum states, via an intermediate state that is normally decaying. In this Letter, we propose the analog of stimulated adiabatic passage in an acoustic system. It is realized with cavities that correlate through adiabatically time-varying couplings, where the cavities and time-varying couplings mimic discrete states and radiation pulses, respectively. With appropriate arrangements of coupling actions, an acoustic wave can be efficiently transferred from the initial excited cavity to the target cavity in the forward direction, immune to the intermediate dark cavity. On the other hand, for the backward propagation, the acoustic energy is perfectly localized in the intermediate dark cavity and completely dissipated. We analytically, numerically, and experimentally demonstrate such unidirectional sound localization and unveil the essential role of zero-eigenvalue eigenstates in the adiabatic passage process.

Coherent Control and Wave Mixing in an Ensemble of Silicon-Vacancy Centers in Diamond

Strong light-matter interactions are critical for quantum technologies based on light, such as memories or nonlinear interactions. Solid state materials will be particularly important for such applications due to the relative ease of fabrication of components. Silicon vacancy centers (SiV^{-}) in diamond feature especially narrow inhomogeneous spectral lines, which are rare in solid materials. Here, we demonstrate resonant coherent manipulation, stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, and strong light-matter interaction via the four-wave mixing of a weak signal field in an ensemble of SiV^{-} centers.

Superadiabatic population transfer in a three-level superconducting circuit

Adiabatic manipulation of the quantum state is an essential tool in modern quantum information processing. Here, we demonstrate the speedup of the adiabatic population transfer in a three-level superconducting transmon circuit by suppressing the spurious nonadiabatic excitations with an additional two-photon microwave pulse. We apply this superadiabatic method to the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, realizing fast and robust population transfer from the ground state to the second excited state of the quantum circuit.

Adiabatic Passage through Chaos

We study the process of nonlinear stimulated Raman adiabatic passage within a classical mean-field framework. Depending on the sign of interaction, the breakdown of adiabaticity in the interacting nonintegrable system is not related to bifurcations in the energy landscape, but rather to the emergence of quasistochastic motion that drains the followed quasistationary state. Consequently, faster sweep rate, rather than quasistatic variation of parameters, is better for adiabaticity.

Steepest entropy ascent for two-state systems with slowly varying Hamiltonians

The steepest entropy ascent approach is considered and applied to two-state systems. When the Hamiltonian of the system is time-dependent, the principle of maximum entropy production can still be exploited; arguments to support this fact are given. In the limit of slowly varying Hamiltonians, which allows for the adiabatic approximation for the unitary part of the dynamics, the system exhibits significant robustness to the thermalization process. Specific examples such as a spin in a rotating field and a generic two-state system undergoing an avoided crossing are considered.

Anomalous Rabi Oscillations in Multilevel Quantum Systems

We show that the excitation probability of a state within a manifold of levels undergoes Rabi oscillations with the frequency determined by the energy difference between the states and not by the pulse area, for sufficiently strong pulses. The population and coherence remains in the two-level subsystem formed by the initial and target state even at Rabi frequencies exceeding the energy difference. The observed dynamics can be useful in nonlinear spectroscopy and quantum state preparation.

Strong indirect coupling between graphene-based mechanical resonators via a phonon cavity

Mechanical resonators are promising systems for storing and manipulating information. To transfer information between mechanical modes, either direct coupling or an interface between these modes is needed. In previous works, strong coupling between different modes in a single mechanical resonator and direct interaction between neighboring mechanical resonators have been demonstrated. However, coupling between distant mechanical resonators, which is a crucial request for long-distance classical and quantum information processing using mechanical devices, remains an experimental challenge. Here, we report the experimental observation of strong indirect coupling between separated mechanical resonators in a graphene-based electromechanical system. The coupling is mediated by a far-off-resonant phonon cavity through virtual excitations via a Raman-like process. By controlling the resonant frequency of the phonon cavity, the indirect coupling can be tuned in a wide range. Our results may lead to the development of gate-controlled all-mechanical devices and open up the possibility of long-distance quantum mechanical experiments.

Non-neighbouring mechanical resonators can interact via indirect coupling. Here, the authors leverage a resonant phonon cavity in a graphene-based electromechanical system to demonstrate strong indirect coupling between separated mechanical resonators.

Coherent optomechanical state transfer between disparate mechanical resonators

Systems of coupled mechanical resonators are useful for quantum information processing and fundamental tests of physics. Direct coupling is only possible with resonators of very similar frequency, but by using an intermediary optical mode, non-degenerate modes can interact and be independently controlled in a single optical cavity. Here we demonstrate coherent optomechanical state swapping between two spatially and frequency separated resonators with a mass ratio of 4. We find that, by using two laser beams far detuned from an optical cavity resonance, efficient state transfer is possible. Although the demonstration is classical, the same technique can be used to generate entanglement between oscillators in the quantum regime.

Coupled mechanical resonators where each mode can be separately controlled are a promising system for quantum information processing. Here, Weaver et al. demonstrate coherent swapping of optomechanical states between two separate resonators.

High-order exceptional points in optomechanics

We study mechanical cooling in systems of coupled passive (lossy) and active (with gain) optical resonators. We find that for a driving laser which is red-detuned with respect to the cavity frequency, the supermode structure of the system is radically changed, featuring the emergence of genuine high-order exceptional points. This in turn leads to giant enhancement of both the mechanical damping and the spring stiffness, facilitating low-power mechanical cooling in the vicinity of gain-loss balance. This opens up new avenues of steering micromechanical devices with exceptional points beyond the lowest-order two.

Effective Atom-Molecule Conversions Using Radio Frequency Fields

The present study is inspired by the Wieman group experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 2005, 95, 190404], in which they use a slow modulated magnetic field to effectively transfer rubidium atoms into cold molecules near a Feshbach resonance. We develop a time-dependent collision theory based on two channel model potentials to study the atom-molecule population transfer induced by a single-color radio frequency field in an ultracold ⁸⁷ Rb gas. Wave-packet dynamical simulations allow an investigation of both bound-bound transitions and free-bound transitions. The effects of temperature, detuning and the RF amplitude on the population transfer are discussed in detail. Some of our simulations suggest that oscillatory atom-molecule conversion could originate from the long coherence time of the wave packet. This coherence time is unusually long in ultracold gases because the collision energy is typically quite well-defined.

Experimental demonstration of bidirectional light transfer in adiabatic waveguide structures

We propose and demonstrate a novel type of optical integrated structure consisting of three adiabatically coupled waveguides arranged in an N-shaped geometry. Unlike conventional adiabatic three-waveguide couplers mimicking the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage process which utilize solely the counter-intuitive coupling and, thus, operate only in one direction, our structure achieves complete bidirectional light transfer between two waveguides through the counter-intuitive and intuitive coupling in either direction over a wide wavelength range. Moreover, the light transfer through the intuitive coupling is more efficient and robust than through the counter-intuitive coupling.

Improving the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage via dissipative quantum dynamics

We propose a method to improve the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) via dissipative quantum dynamics, taking into account the dephasing effects. Fast and robust population transfer can be obtained with the scheme by the designed pulses and detuning, even though the initial state of the system is imperfect. With a concrete three-level system as an example, the influences of the imperfect initial state, variations in the control parameters, and various dissipation effects are discussed in detail. The numerical simulation shows that the scheme is insensitive to moderate fluctuations of experimental parameters and the relatively large dissipation effects of the excited state. Furthermore, the dominant dissipative factors, namely, the dephasing effects of the ground states and the imperfect initial state are no longer undesirable, in fact, they are the important resources to the scheme. Therefore, the scheme could provide more choices for the realization of the complete population transfer in the strong dissipative fields where the standard stimulated Raman adiabatic passage or shortcut schemes are invalid.

Spatial adiabatic passage: a review of recent progress

Adiabatic techniques are known to allow for engineering quantum states with high fidelity. This requirement is currently of large interest, as applications in quantum information require the preparation and manipulation of quantum states with minimal errors. Here we review recent progress on developing techniques for the preparation of spatial states through adiabatic passage, particularly focusing on three state systems. These techniques can be applied to matter waves in external potentials, such as cold atoms or electrons, and to classical waves in waveguides, such as light or sound.

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in a three-level superconducting circuit

The adiabatic manipulation of quantum states is a powerful technique that opened up new directions in quantum engineering—enabling tests of fundamental concepts such as geometrical phases and topological transitions, and holding the promise of alternative models of quantum computation. Here we benchmark the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage for circuit quantum electrodynamics by employing the first three levels of a transmon qubit. In this ladder configuration, we demonstrate a population transfer efficiency >80% between the ground state and the second excited state using two adiabatic Gaussian-shaped control microwave pulses. By doing quantum tomography at successive moments during the Raman pulses, we investigate the transfer of the population in time domain. Furthermore, we show that this protocol can be reversed by applying a third adiabatic pulse, we study a hybrid nondiabatic–adiabatic sequence, and we present experimental results for a quasi-degenerate intermediate level.

The precise control and manipulation of the states of a multi-level quantum system are fundamental for quantum information processing. Here, the authors demonstrate the robust adiabatic manipulation of the quantum states of a superconducting circuit via stimulated Raman adiabatic passage.

Quantum control of isomerization by robust navigation in the energy spectrum

In this paper, we present a detailed study on the application of the quantum control technique of navigation in the energy spectrum to chemical isomerization processes, namely, CN-Li⇆ Li-CN. This technique is based on the controlled time variation of a Hamiltonian parameter, an external uniform electric field in our case. The main result of our work establishes that the navigation involved in the method is robust, in the sense that quite sizable deviations from a pre-established control parameter time profile can be introduced and still get good final results. This is specially relevant thinking of a experimental implementation of the method.

A model study of assisted adiabatic transfer of population in the presence of collisional dephasing

Previous studies have demonstrated that when experimental conditions generate non-adiabatic dynamics that prevents highly efficient population transfer between states of an isolated system by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), the addition of an auxiliary counter-diabatic field (CDF) can restore most or all of that efficiency. This paper examines whether that strategy is also successful in a non-isolated system in which the energies of the states fluctuate, e.g., when a solute is subject to collisions with solvent. We study population transfer in two model systems: (i) the three-state system used by Demirplak and Rice [J. Chem. Phys. 116, 8028 (2002)] and (ii) a four-state system, derived from the simulation studies of Demirplak and Rice [J. Chem. Phys. 125, 194517 (2006)], that mimics HCl in liquid Ar. Simulation studies of the vibrational manifold of HCl in dense fluid Ar show that the collision induced vibrational energy level fluctuations have asymmetric distributions. Representations of these asymmetric energy level fluctuation distributions are used in both models (i) and (ii). We identify three sources of degradation of the efficiency of STIRAP generated selective population transfer in model (ii): too small pulse areas of the laser fields, unwanted interference arising from use of strong fields, and the vibrational detuning. For both models (i) and (ii), our examination of the efficiency of STIRAP + CDF population transfer under the influence of the asymmetric distribution of the vibrational energy fluctuations shows that there is a range of field strengths and pulse durations under which STIRAP + CDF control of population transfer has greater efficiency than does STIRAP generated population transfer.

Perspective: Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage: The status after 25 years

The first presentation of the STIRAP (stimulated Raman adiabatic passage) technique with proper theoretical foundation and convincing experimental data appeared 25 years ago, in the May 1st, 1990 issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics. By now, the STIRAP concept has been successfully applied in many different fields of physics, chemistry, and beyond. In this article, we comment briefly on the initial motivation of the work, namely, the study of reaction dynamics of vibrationally excited small molecules, and how this initial idea led to the documented success. We proceed by providing a brief discussion of the physics of STIRAP and how the method was developed over the years, before discussing a few examples from the amazingly wide range of applications which STIRAP now enjoys, with the aim to stimulate further use of the concept. Finally, we mention some promising future directions.

Strong field laser control of photochemistry

Strong ultrashort laser pulses have opened new avenues for the manipulation of photochemical processes like photoisomerization or photodissociation. The presence of light intense enough to reshape the potential energy surfaces may steer the dynamics of both electrons and nuclei in new directions. A controlled laser pulse, precisely defined in terms of spectrum, time and intensity, is the essential tool in this type of approach to control chemical dynamics at a microscopic level. In this Perspective we examine the current strategies developed to achieve control of chemical processes with strong laser fields, as well as recent experimental advances that demonstrate that properties like the molecular absorption spectrum, the state lifetimes, the quantum yields and the velocity distributions in photodissociation processes can be controlled by the introduction of carefully designed strong laser fields.

Theoretical study of Raman chirped adiabatic passage by X-ray absorption spectroscopy: highly excited electronic states and rotational effects

Raman Chirped Adiabatic Passage (RCAP) is an efficient method to climb the vibrational ladder of molecules. It was shown on the example of fixed-in-space HCl molecule that selective vibrational excitation can thus be achieved by RCAP and that population transfer can be followed by X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy [S. Engin, N. Sisourat, P. Selles, R. Taïeb, and S. Carniato, Chem. Phys. Lett. 535, 192-195 (2012)]. Here, in a more detailed analysis of the process, we investigate the effects of highly excited electronic states and of molecular rotation on the efficiency of RCAP. Furthermore, we propose an alternative spectroscopic way to monitor the transfer by means of X-ray absorption spectra.

Complete Quantum State Selectivity in Cold Molecular Beams Using Deflection-Resistant Dark States in a STIRAP Configuration

One of the main goals of chemical dynamics is the creation of molecular beams composed of a single (vibrational, rotational, and magnetic) quantum state of choice. In this Letter, we propose a method to achieve complete quantum state selectivity by producing resistance to electromagnetically induced deflection (EID) and that the state to be selected can be "dialed in" at will. We illustrate the method by showing in detail how to purify thermal beams of the LiRb and IF molecules to yield molecular beams composed of a variety of prechosen single internal quantum states and/or superpositions of such states. We expect that this method will be implemented in all subsequent explorations of the fundamentals of chemical reactions and their control and the use of cold molecules as a vehicle for studying some of the most profound issues of quantum dynamics.