Thermal Photons Research Articles

Special Section Guest Editorial: Thermal Photonics in Energy

Special Section Guest Editorial: Thermal Photonics in Energy

Investigation on structural, optical, thermal and gamma photon shielding properties of zinc and barium doped fluorotellurite glasses

Fluorotellurite glasses based on zinc and barium fluorides with total dopant concentration limited to 40 mol% in tellurite glass matrix were obtained by melt quenching technique. Explicit effects of both the zinc and barium fluorides on the tellurite glass network were observed from their response to various studies. The tendency of fluorine atoms to break the network was observed from the formation of more non-bridging sites instead of bridging sites from Raman measurements. Formation of these non-bridging fluorine sites instead of non-bridging oxygen led to an increase in the optical band gap of these samples from 3.36 eV to 3.52 eV. The reduction in the glass transition temperature from 316 °C to 299 °C observed with zinc fluoride doping is due to the breakage in the rigid network structure, while the increase from 316 °C to 329 °C with barium fluoride doping is correlated to the effect of size of barium atoms in the network. Radiation shielding properties calculated in terms of parameters like mean free path, mass attenuation coefficient etc., showed that the presence of more heavily doped elements like barium in the glass matrix led them to exhibit better shielding properties which can be utilized as replacement materials for concrete and lead based glasses as efficient shielding materials.

Ionisation state of the accretion disc in the neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1728−34

We analysed an XMM-Newton plus a simultaneous Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observation and a separate Suzaku observation of the neutron-star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1728-34. We fitted the X-ray spectra with the self-consistent reflection model relxill. We found that the inclination angle of 4U 1728-34 is 49 degrees, consistent with the upper limit of 60 degrees deduced from the absence of eclipses or dips in this source. The inclination angle in the fit of the XMM-Newton/RXTE observation is larger than 85 degrees, which may be due to the possible calibration issues of the PN instrument in timing mode. We also found that the thermal emission from the accretion disc is not significant. This could be explained either by the relatively high column density of the interstellar medium along the line of sight to the source, which decreases the number of soft disc photons, or if most of the soft thermal photons from the disc are reprocessed in the corona. The ionisation parameter derived from the fits is larger than the value predicted in the framework of the standard reflection model, wherein the disc is irradiated by an X-ray source above the compact object. This inconsistency suggests that irradiation from the neutron star and its boundary layer may play an important role in the ionisation of the accretion disc, and hence in the reflection component in this source.

Photon radiation from heavy-ion collisions in the [formula omitted] regime

We present calculations of prompt and thermal photon production in Au-Au collisions at sNN=19−200GeV. We discuss features of the spacetime profile of the plasma relevant for electromagnetic emission. We highlight how the suppression of prompt photon production at low sNN can provide a window to measure thermal photons in low collision energies.

Cavity Attenuators for Superconducting Qubits

Dephasing induced by residual thermal photons in the readout resonator is a leading factor limiting the coherence times of qubits in the circuit QED architecture. This residual thermal population, of the order of $10^{-1}$--$10^{-3}$, is suspected to arise from noise impinging on the resonator from its input and output ports. To address this problem, we designed and tested a new type of band-pass microwave attenuator that consists of a dissipative cavity well thermalized to the mixing chamber stage of a dilution refrigerator. By adding such a cavity attenuator inline with a 3D superconducting cavity housing a transmon qubit, we have reproducibly measured increased qubit coherence times. At base temperature, through Hahn echo experiment, we measured $T_{2\mathrm{e}}/2T_1 = 1.0\,({+0.0}/{-0.1})$ for two qubits over multiple cooldowns. Through noise-induced dephasing measurement, we obtained an upper bound $2\times 10^{-4}$ on the residual photon population in the fundamental mode of the readout cavity, which to our knowledge is the lowest value reported so far. These results validate an effective method for protecting qubits against photon noise, which can be developed into a standard technology for quantum circuit experiments.

Perspectives of thermal photon measurements in heavy ion collisions at NICA

The main goal of the future NICA-MPD experiment is studying the dense baryonic matter produced in heavy-ion collisions in the energy range 4-11 GeV and searching for signs of the phase transition between hadronic matter and deconfined quark-gluon plasma. Measurements of soft thermal photon yields and collective flow can significantly extend the physics program of the MPD experiment, allowing one to probe the temperature and the level of thermalizaion of the medium created in heavy ion collisions at NICA energies. The optimal method to measure soft photons is to register photon conversions in the material of the tracking system. In this contribution, recent RHIC and LHC results on thermal photon spectra and flow will be presented. Motivation and feasibility of thermal photon measurements with the conversion method in the projected MPD setup will be discussed.

Preparation methods and progress of experiments of quantum microwave

Based on the characteristics of superposition, entanglement, non-locality and non-clonality of quantum mechanics, quantum information science can break through the physical limits of classical information and open up a new information processing function different from classical electromagnetic application methods. Due to the advantages of high-energy single photon in practical applications, the research and application of optical quantum information technology dominates the development of current quantum information technology. However, the free-space transmission of light waves is greatly affected by weather conditions and atmospheric particles. Comparing with other wave bands, classical microwave signal shows good penetration ability when transmitting in free space. By introducing quantum mechanics, microwave signal also exhibits non-classical merits. As quantum microwave signal inherits both classical transmission performance and quantum non-classical features, it can be utilized as a significant signal source for diverse applications in microwave domain, such as quantum communication, quantum navigation and quantum radar, which are based on quantum technologies in large scale and dynamic free space transmission. There are three main experimental platforms on which quantum microwave is studied and produced. They are cavity quantum electrodynamics(C-QED) system, circuit quantum electrodynamics(c-QED) system, and cavity electro-opto-mechanical(EOM) system, involving with several nonlinear effects such as Kerr effect, Casimir effect, three-wave mixing, etc. In this paper, the setups of these platforms and the preparation principles are introduced. Meanwhile, the preparation principles and methods of microwave single photon, entangled microwave photons, squeezed microwave fields and entangled microwave fields are summarized and analyzed in detail from three aspects. The present status of experimental progress in the relevant fields are summarized and listed as well. Besides, key problems in the application of quantum navigation in free space utilizing quantum microwave are probed. Among them, the most pressing ones are preparation ability, decoherence in transmission and detection of entangled quantum microwave signals, which are also discussed and analyzed in this paper. Finally, we look forward to the future development of quantum microwave technology. It mainly consists of manufacturing microwave detectors with high efficiency, designing thermal photon filters, and developing suitable antennas. We hope that this study can provide useful reference for scholars who are engaged in or interested in research related to quantum microwave technologies.

A stratified jet model for AGN emission in the two-flow paradigm

Context.High-energy emission of extragalactic objects is known to take place in relativistic jets, but the nature, the location, and the emission processes of the emitting particles are still unknown. One of the models proposed to explain the formation of relativistic ejections and their associated non-thermal emission is the two-flow model, where the jets are supposed to be composed of two different flows, a mildly relativistic baryonic jet surrounding a fast, relativistically moving electron positron plasma. Here we present the simulation of the emission of such a structure taking into account the main sources of photons that are present in active galactic nuclei (AGNs).Aims.We try to reproduce the broadband spectra of radio-loud AGNs with a detailed model of emission taking into account synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission by a relativistically moving beam of electron positron, heated by a surrounding turbulent baryonic jet.Methods.We compute the density and energy distribution of a relativistic pair plasma all along a jet, taking into account the synchrotron and inverse-Compton process on the various photon sources present in the core of the AGN, as well as the pair creation and annihilation processes. We use semi-analytical approximations to quickly compute the inverse-Compton process on a thermal photon distribution with any anisotropic angular distribution. The anisotropy of the photon field is also responsible for the bulk acceleration of the pair plasma through the “Compton rocket” effect, thus imposing the plasma velocity along the jet. As an example, the simulated emerging spectrum is compared to the broadband emission of 3C 273.Results.In the case of 3C 273, we obtain an excellent fit of the average broadband energy distribution by assuming physical parameters compatible with known estimates. The asymptotic bulk Lorentz factor is lower than what is observed by superluminal motion, but the discrepancy could be solved by assuming different acceleration profiles along the jet.

Hierarchy of quantum correlations using a linear beam splitter

Beam splitters are important components in numerous tasks of quantum information protocols used either in simple or in an interferometric arrangement or together with other quantum systems. This report shows interesting aspects of the quantum correlations of two-mode Gaussian state (TMGS) for the photons retrieved via a linear beam splitter when they are initially employed at the input of either pure or mixed two single-mode Gaussian states (TSMGSs). The quantum correlations obey the boundaries of quantum non-locality, steering, entanglement and discord for pure input states. Though Bell inequality does not violate, quantum steering, entanglement and discord exist in the quantum state evolved by the beam splitter when input states become mixed. Specifically, the quantum steering, entanglement and discord persist to some degrees against the thermal photon number, the Bell inequality is, nonetheless, obeyed by the quantum state except in a very sharp regime.

Euclidean correlators at imaginary spatial momentum and their relation to the thermal photon emission rate

.The photon emission rate of a thermally equilibrated system is determined by the imaginary part of the in-medium retarded correlator of the electromagnetic current transverse to the spatial momentum of the photon. In a Lorentz-covariant theory, this correlator can be parametrized by a scalar function mathcal{G}_R(ucdot mathcal{K},mathcal{K}^{2}), where u is the fluid four-velocity and mathcal{K} corresponds to the momentum of the photon. We propose to compute the analytic continuation of mathcal{G}_R(ucdot mathcal{K},mathcal{K}^{2}) at fixed, vanishing virtuality mathcal{K}^{2}, to imaginary values of the first argument, ucdot mathcal{K} = iomega_{n}. At these kinematics, the retarded correlator is equal to the Euclidean correlator G_{E}(omega_{n},k=iomega_{n}), whose first argument is the Matsubara frequency and the second is the spatial momentum. The Euclidean correlator, which is directly accessible in lattice QCD simulations, must be given an imaginary spatial momentum in order to realize the photon on-shell condition. Via a once-subtracted dispersion relation that we derive in a standard way at fixed mathcal{K}^{2}=0, the Euclidean correlator with imaginary spatial momentum is related to the photon emission rate. The relation allows for a more direct probing of the real-photon emission rate of the quark-gluon plasma in lattice QCD than the dispersion relations which have been used so far, the latter being at fixed spatial photon momentum k and thus involving all possible virtualities of the photon.

Coherence turned on by incoherent light

One of the most pertinent problems in the debate on non-trivial quantum effects in biology concerns natural photosynthesis. Since sunlight is composed of thermal photons, it was argued to be unable to induce quantum coherence in matter, and that quantum mechanics is therefore irrelevant for the dynamical processes following photoabsorption. Our present analysis of a toy ‘molecular aggregate’—composed of two dipole–dipole interacting two-level atoms treated as an open quantum system—however shows that incoherent excitations indeed can trigger persistent, coherent dynamics in both the site and the exciton bases: we demonstrate that collective decay processes induced by the dipole–dipole interactions create coherent intermolecular transport—regardless of the coherence properties of the incoming radiation. Our analysis shows that the steady state coherence is mediated by the population imbalance between the molecules and, therefore, increases with the energy difference between the two-level atoms. Our results establish the importance of collective decay processes in the study of ultrafast photophysics, and especially their potential role to generate stationary coherence in incoherently driven quantum transport.

Photon production from Pb + Pb collisions at sNN=5.02 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and at sNN=39 TeV at the proposed Future Circular Collider facility

We calculate the production of prompt and thermal photons from Pb+Pb collisions at 5.02A TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and at 39A TeV at the proposed Future Circular Collider (FCC) facility. The photon spectra and anisotropic flow at these energies are compared with the results obtained from 2.76A TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC for three different centrality bins. The prompt photons originating from initial hard scatterings are found to increase by a factor of 1.5 to 2 at 5.02A TeV in the $p_T$ region 2 to 15 GeV and the enhancement is found to be about 5 to 15 times at FCC energy compared to 2.76A TeV in the same $p_T$ region. The evolution of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) formed in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC and FCC energies are studied using a hydrodynamical model and the $p_T$ spectra and elliptic flow of thermal photons are calculated using state-of-the-art photon rates. The relative enhancement in the production of thermal photons is found to be more compared to prompt photons at FCC than at the LHC energies. Although the production of direct (prompt+thermal) photons is found to enhance significantly with increase in beam energy, the photon elliptic flow increases only marginally and does not show strong sensitivity to the collision energy.

Sub-shot-noise-limited phase estimation via SU(1,1) interferometer with thermal states.

We theoretically study the phase sensitivity of an SU(1,1) interferometer with a thermal state and a squeezed vacuum state as inputs and parity detection as the measurement. We find that the phase sensitivity can beat the shot-noise limit and approaches the Heisenberg limit, with increasing input photon number, in an ideal situation. We also consider the effect of various noises, including photon loss, dark counts, and thermal photon noise. Our results show that the phase sensitivity is below the shot-noise limit with photon loss and dark counts, but cannot beat the shot-noise limit in the presence of thermal noise.

Distinguishing Coherent and Thermal Photon Noise in a Circuit Quantum Electrodynamical System.

In the cavity-QED architecture, photon number fluctuations from residual cavity photons cause qubit dephasing due to the ac Stark effect. These unwanted photons originate from a variety of sources, such as thermal radiation, leftover measurement photons, and cross talk. Using a capacitively shunted flux qubit coupled to a transmission line cavity, we demonstrate a method that identifies and distinguishes coherent and thermal photons based on noise-spectral reconstruction from time-domain spin-locking relaxometry. Using these measurements, we attribute the limiting dephasing source in our system to thermal photons rather than coherent photons. By improving the cryogenic attenuation on lines leading to the cavity, we successfully suppress residual thermal photons and achieve T_{1}-limited spin-echo decay time. The spin-locking noise-spectroscopy technique allows broad frequency access and readily applies to other qubit modalities for identifying general asymmetric nonclassical noise spectra.

RETRACTED: Bose-Einstein (B-E) photon energy reformation for cooling and heating the premises naturally

Abstract Conventional heating and cooling systems consume fossil fuels and release toxic gases into the environment, so sustainable heating and cooling systems are urgently needed. To mitigate this perplexity, photon particles are being decoded by the Bose–Einstein ( B-E ) photon distribution mechanism in the Helium assisted glazing wall to cool the building naturally by inducing photonic band-gap of cooling state photons. This cooling-state photon denoted, as the Hossain Cooling Photon ( HcP − ). Once need this HcP − can be transformed into a thermal state photon, denoted as the Hossain Thermal Photon ( HtP − ) formed by Higgs Bosons ( H → γγ − ) electromagnetic quantum field utilizing by two diode thermal semiconductor. Because the H → γγ − quantum field is initiated by an extremely short-range weak force that enforces the electrically charged HcP − quantum get excited to transform it into an HtP − . The formation of HcP − and the transformation of HtP − are being demonstrated by a series of mathematical tests that confirms the viability of the decoded photons ( HcP − and HtP − ) are actively feasible into the glazing wall to cool and heat the premises naturally.

Orbital-angular-momentum-enhanced estimation of sub-Heisenberg-limited angular displacement with two-mode squeezed vacuum and parity detection.

We report on an orbital-angular-momentum-enhanced scheme for angular displacement estimation based on two-mode squeezed vacuum and parity detection. The sub-Heisenberg-limited sensitivity for angular displacement estimation is obtained in an ideal situation. Several realistic factors are also considered, including photon loss, dark counts, response-time delay, and thermal photon noise. Our results indicate that the effects of realistic factors on the sensitivity can be offset by raising orbital angular momentum quantum number ℓ. This implies that the robustness and the practicability of the system can be improved via raising ℓ without changing mean photon number N.

The optical depth of gamma radiation due to interaction with the thermal bremsstrahlung of hot gas in galaxy clusters.

The interaction of high energy gamma quantum to thermal bremsstrahlung photons of hot intracluster gas with producing electron-positron pair is considered. It is supposed that galaxy cluster is relaxed and electron number density and temperature profiles are spherical symmetric. The dependence of optical depth on gamma quantum energy and distance to cluster center is considered. It is shown that the optical depth due to considered interaction is about 10−8 − 10−5 at gamma quantum energy 100 MeV - 1 TeV.

Direct-photon spectrum and elliptic flow produced from Pb+Pb collisions at sNN=2.76 TeV at the CERN Large Hadron Collider within an integrated hydrokinetic model

The photon transverse momentum spectrum and its anisotropy from Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider energy $\sqrt {s_{NN}}=2.76$ TeV are investigated within the integrated hydrokinetic model (iHKM). Photon production is accumulated from the different processes at the various stages of relativistic heavy ion collisions: from the primary hard photons of very early stage of parton collisions to the thermal photons from equilibrated quark-gluon and hadron gas stages. Along the way a hadronic medium evolution is treated in two distinct, in a sense opposite, approaches: chemically equilibrated and chemically frozen system expansion. Studying the centrality dependence of the results obtained allows us to conclude that a relatively strong transverse momentum anisotropy of thermal radiation is suppressed by prompt photon emission which is an isotropic. We find out that this effect is getting stronger as centrality increases because of the simultaneous increase in the relative contribution of prompt photons in the soft part of the spectra. The substantial results obtained in iHKM with nonzero viscosity ($\eta/s=0.08$) for photon spectra and $v_2$ coefficients are mostly within the error bars of experimental data, but there is some systematic underestimation of both observables for the near central events. We claim that a situation could be significantly improved if an additional photon radiation that accompanies the presence of a deconfined environment is included. Since a matter of a space-time layer where hadronization takes place is actively involved in anisotropic transverse flow, both positive contributions to the spectra and $v_2$ are considerable, albeit such an argument needs further research and elaboration.

Faithful state transfer between two-level systems via an actively cooled finite-temperature cavity

We consider state transfer between two qubits - effective two-level systems represented by Rydberg atoms - via a common mode of a microwave cavity at finite temperature. We find that when both qubits have the same coupling strength to the cavity field, at large enough detuning from the cavity mode frequency, quantum interference between the transition paths makes the swap of the excitation between the qubits largely insensitive to the number of thermal photons in the cavity. When, however, the coupling strengths are different, the photon number-dependent differential Stark shift of the transition frequencies precludes efficient transfer. Nevertheless, using an auxiliary cooling system to continuously extract the cavity photons, we can still achieve a high-fidelity state transfer between the qubits.

Effects of initial-state nucleon shadowing on the elliptic flow of thermal photons

Recently the effect of nucleon shadowing on the Monte-Carlo Glauber initial condition was studied and its role on the centrality dependence of elliptic flow ($v_2$) and fluctuations in initial eccentricity for different colliding nuclei were explored. It was found that the results with shadowing effects are closer to the QCD based dynamical model as well as to the experimental data. Inspired by this outcome, in this work we study the transverse momentum ($p_T$) spectra and elliptic flow of thermal photons for Au+Au collisions at RHIC and Pb+Pb collisions at LHC by incorporating the shadowing effects in deducing the initial energy density profile required to solve the relativistic hydrodynamical equations. We find that the thermal photon spectra remain almost unaltered, however, the elliptic flow of photon is found to be enhanced significantly due to shadowing effects.