Franck Laloë

Nonanalytic Dependence of the Transition Temperature of the Homogeneous Dilute Bose Gas on Scattering Length

We show that the shift in the transition temperature of the dilute homogeneous Bose gas is nonanalytic in the scattering amplitude a. The first correction beyond the positive linear shift in a is negative and of order a(2)lna. This nonuniversal nonanalytic structure indicates how the discrepancies between numerical calculations at finite a can be reconciled with calculations of the limit a-->0, since the linearity is apparent only for anomalously small a.

Internal state conversion in ultracold gases.

We consider an ultracold gas of (noncondensed) bosons or fermions with two internal states, and we study the effect of a gradient of the transition frequency between these states. When a pi/2 rf pulse is applied to the sample, exchange effects during collisions transfer the atoms into internal states which depend on the direction of their velocity. This results, after a short time, in a spatial separation between the two states. A kinetic equation is solved analytically and numerically; the results agree well with the recent observations of Lewandowski et al.

The hidden phase of Fock states; quantum non-local effects

We revisit the question of how a definite phase between Bose-Einstein condensates can spontaneously appear under the effect of measurements. We first consider a system that is the juxtaposition of two subsystems in Fock states with high populations, and assume that successive individual position measurements are performed. Initially, the relative phase is totally undefined, and no interference effect takes place in the first position measurement. But, while successive measurements are accumulated, the relative phase becomes better and better known, and a clear interference pattern emerges. It turns out that all observed results can be interpreted in terms of a pre-existing, but totally unknown, relative phase, which remains exactly constant during the experiment. We then generalize the results to more condensates. We also consider other initial quantum states than pure Fock states, and distinguish between intrinsic phase of a quantum state and phase induced by measurements. Finally, we examine the case of multiple condensates of spin states. We discuss a curious quantum effect, where the measurement of the spin angular momentum of a small number of particles can induce a big angular momentum in a much larger assembly of particles, even at an arbitrary distance. This spin observable can be macroscopic, assimilable to the pointer of a measurement apparatus, which illustrates the non-locality of quantum mechanics with particular clarity.

Interference of Bose-Einstein condensates: Quantum nonlocal effects

Quantum systems in Fock states do not have a phase. When two or more Bose-Einstein condensates are sent into interferometers, they nevertheless acquire a relative phase under the effect of quantum measurements. The usual explanation relies on spontaneous symmetry breaking, where phases are ascribed to all condensates and treated as unknown classical quantities. However, this image is not always sufficient: when all particles are measured, quantum mechanics predicts probabilities that are sometimes in contradiction with it, as illustrated by quantum violations of local realism. In this letter, we show that interferometers can be used to demonstrate a large variety of violations with an arbitrarily large number of particles. With two independent condensates, we find violations of the BCHSH inequalities, as well as new N-body Hardy impossibilities. With three condensates, we obtain new GHZ (Greenberger, Horne and Zeilinger) type contradictions.

Nonlocal quantum effects with Bose-Einstein condensates

We study theoretically the properties of two Bose-Einstein condensates in different spin states, represented by a double Fock state. Individual measurements of the spins of the particles are performed in transverse directions, giving access to the relative phase of the condensates. Initially, this phase is completely undefined, and the first measurements provide random results. But a fixed value of this phase rapidly emerges under the effect of the successive quantum measurements, giving rise to a quasiclassical situation where all spins have parallel transverse orientations. If the number of measurements reaches its maximum (the number of particles), quantum effects show up again, giving rise to violations of Bell type inequalities. The violation of Bell-Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequalities with an arbitrarily large number of spins may be comparable (or even equal) to that obtained with two spins.

The Logical Clarinet : Numerical Optimization of the Geometry of Woodwind Instruments

The tone hole geometry of a clarinet is optimized numerically. The instrument is modeled as a network of one dimensional transmission line elements. For each (non-fork) fingering, we first calculate the resonance frequencies of the input impedance peaks, and compare them with the frequencies of a mathematically even chromatic scale (equal temperament). A least square algorithm is then used to minimize the differences and to derive the geometry of the instrument. Various situations are studied, with and without dedicated register hole and/or enlargement of the bore. With a dedicated register hole, the differences can remain less than 10 musical cents throughout the whole usual range of a clarinet. The positions, diameters and lengths of the chimneys vary regularly over the whole length of the instrument, in contrast with usual clarinets. Nevertheless, we recover one usual feature of instruments, namely that gradually larger tone holes occur when the distance to the reed increases. A fully chromatic prototype instrument has been built to check these calculations, and tested experimentally with an artificial blowing machine, providing good agreement with the numerical predictions.

Analysis of certain binary collision approximation closures of the BBGKY hierarchy

The closure of the BBGKY hierarchy to obtain the Boltzmann equation requires, in particular, restricting particle interactions to include only isolated binary collisions. Boercker and Dufty accomplish this by approximating the three-particle reduced density operator in a particular manner that favours correlation between two of the particles, while ignoring the correlation with the third. The tradition of most other closures has more closely followed Boltzmanns original thinking to completely neglect any reference to three-particle effects while assuming a generalized form of molecular chaos for the pair density operator. The two closures are compared in two ways: (a) by finding iterated series solutions of the BBGKY hierarchy and of the Boltzmann equation; (b) by computing an exact correction to the quantum Boltzmann equation. A consequence of the comparison of the iterated series shows that an important, but little emphasized, difference between the BBGKY and Boltzmann hierarchies is the effective instantaneousness of binary collisions in the latter. The form for the correction found is shown to vanish for either closure provided the instantaneousness of the binary collisions is imposed. It is shown moreover that the correction is closely related to the three-body collision integral arising in the standard theory of the density corrections to the Boltzmann equation. We also comment on the related work of Klimontovich, who introduces an approximation analogous to that of Boercker and Dufty.

Statistical Estimation of Mechanical Parameters of Clarinet Reeds Using Experimental and Numerical Approaches

A set of 55 clarinet reeds is observed by holography, collecting 2 series of measurements made under 2 different moisture contents, from which the resonance frequencies of the 15 first modes are deduced. A statistical analysis of the results reveals good correlations, but also significant differences between both series. Within a given series, flexural modes are not strongly correlated. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) shows that the measurements of each series can be described with 3 factors capturing more than

Interferometry with independent Bose-Einstein condensates: parity as an EPR/Bell quantum variable

90\%

Long-lived quantum memory with nuclear atomic spins.

of the variance: the first is linked with transverse modes, the second with flexural modes of high order and the third with the first flexural mode. A forth factor is necessary to take into account the individual sensitivity to moisture content. Numerical 3D simulations are conducted by Finite Element Method, based on a given reed shape and an orthotropic model. A sensitivity analysis revels that, besides the density, the theoretical frequencies depend mainly on 2 parameters: