Abstract
The interplay between classical and quantum-mechanical evolution in the optical centrifuge (OC) is discussed. The analysis is based on the quantum-mechanical formalism starting from either the ground state or a thermal ensemble. Two resonant mechanisms are identified, i.e., the classical autoresonance and the quantum-mechanical ladder climbing, yielding different dynamics and rotational excitation efficiencies. The rotating-wave approximation is used to analyze the two resonant regimes in the associated dimensionless two-parameter space and calculate the OC excitation efficiency. The results show good agreement between numerical simulations and theory and are relevant to existing experimental setups.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 033411 |
Journal | Physical Review A |
Volume | 96 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 18 Sep 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017 American Physical Society.