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Nikolay V. Vitanov

Bio: Nikolay V. Vitanov is an academic researcher from Sofia University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Adiabatic process & Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. The author has an hindex of 40, co-authored 224 publications receiving 6546 citations. Previous affiliations of Nikolay V. Vitanov include Imperial College London & Helsinki Institute of Physics.


Papers
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TL;DR: Some basic techniques for laser-induced adiabatic population transfer between discrete quantum states in atoms and molecules are reviewed.
Abstract: We review some basic techniques for laser-induced adiabatic population transfer between discrete quantum states in atoms and molecules.

812 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) was introduced by Gaubatz et al. as discussed by the authors, which allows efficient and selective population transfer between quantum states without suffering loss due to spontaneous emission.
Abstract: The technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP), which allows efficient and selective population transfer between quantum states without suffering loss due to spontaneous emission, was introduced in 1990 (Gaubatz \emph{et al.}, J. Chem. Phys. \textbf{92}, 5363, 1990). Since then STIRAP has emerged as an enabling methodology with widespread successful applications in many fields of physics, chemistry and beyond. This article reviews the many applications of STIRAP emphasizing the developments since 2000, the time when the last major review on the topic was written (Vitanov \emph{et al.}, Adv. At. Mol. Opt. Phys. \textbf{46}, 55, 2001). A brief introduction into the theory of STIRAP and the early applications for population transfer within three-level systems is followed by the discussion of several extensions to multi-level systems, including multistate chains and tripod systems. The main emphasis is on the wide range of applications in atomic and molecular physics (including atom optics, cavity quantum electrodynamics, formation of ultracold molecules, precision experiments, etc.), quantum information (including single- and two-qubit gates, entangled-state preparation, etc.), solid-state physics (including processes in doped crystals, nitrogen-vacancy centers, superconducting circuits, etc.), and even some applications in classical physics (including waveguide optics, frequency conversion, polarization optics, etc.). Promising new prospects for STIRAP are also presented (including processes in optomechanics, detection of parity violation in molecules, spectroscopy of core-nonpenetrating Rydberg states, and population transfer with X-ray pulses).

654 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Landau-Zener class of models is defined that, along with the finite Landau/Zener model presented in this work, contains an infinite number of members that give the same transition probability.
Abstract: We present the generalization of the Landau-Zener model for a constant coupling of a finite duration. The exact evolution matrix is expressed in terms of sums of by-products of parabolic cylinder functions estimated at the turn-on time and at the turn-off time of the coupling. Various approximations in terms of simpler functions are derived and applied to several physically distinct cases. They allow us to study the dependence of the transition probability on the interaction parameters: coupling strength, coupling duration, and detuning slope. Furthermore, the analytic approximations reveal the effects of the finite coupling duration as well as those caused by adding a constant detuning shift, absence of a level crossing, turn-on time or turn-off time near the crossing (``half crossing''), turn-on time and turn-off time near the crossing (``nonsubstantial crossing''). The results are used to obtain analytic approximations to the time evolution in the original Landau-Zener model. Furthermore, following related studies on other models, we define the Landau-Zener class of models that, along with the finite Landau-Zener model presented in this work, contains an infinite number of members that give the same transition probability. Comparison of this class to the Allen-Eberly class shows that the two classes contain members with the same coupling but different detuning chirps as well as members with the same chirp but different couplings. The former case reveals chirp effects while the latter demonstrates shape effects. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

205 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an analog of electromagnetically induced transparency occurring when light is absorbed by a two-dimensional lattice of metallic spheres mounted on an asymmetric dielectric waveguide.
Abstract: We present a classical analog of electromagnetically induced transparency occurring when light is absorbed by a two-dimensional lattice of metallic spheres mounted on an asymmetric dielectric waveguide. The transparency is manifested as a spectral hole within the surface-plasmon absorption peak of the metallic spheres and is a result of destructive interference of the waveguide modes with incident radiation. The presence of transparency windows is accompanied by slow light effect wherein the group velocity is reduced by a factor of 6000. At the same time, the minimum length for storing a bit of information is of the order of 100 nm. The proposed setup is a much easier means to achieve transparency and slow light compared to existing atomic, solid-state, and photonic systems and allows for the realization of ultracompact optical delay lines and buffers.

180 citations


Cited by
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[...]

08 Dec 2001-BMJ
TL;DR: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one, which seems an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.
Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

33,785 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Apr 1988-Nature
TL;DR: In this paper, a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) is presented.
Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

9,929 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments.
Abstract: Coherent preparation by laser light of quantum states of atoms and molecules can lead to quantum interference in the amplitudes of optical transitions. In this way the optical properties of a medium can be dramatically modified, leading to electromagnetically induced transparency and related effects, which have placed gas-phase systems at the center of recent advances in the development of media with radically new optical properties. This article reviews these advances and the new possibilities they offer for nonlinear optics and quantum information science. As a basis for the theory of electromagnetically induced transparency the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser. They then discuss pulse propagation and the adiabatic evolution of field-coupled states and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments. The extension of these concepts to very weak optical fields in the few-photon limit is then examined. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects and potential new applications.

4,218 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give an overview of recent theoretical and experimental progress in the area of nonequilibrium dynamics of isolated quantum systems, particularly focusing on quantum quenches: the temporal evolution following a sudden or slow change of the coupling constants of the system Hamiltonian.
Abstract: This Colloquium gives an overview of recent theoretical and experimental progress in the area of nonequilibrium dynamics of isolated quantum systems There is particularly a focus on quantum quenches: the temporal evolution following a sudden or slow change of the coupling constants of the system Hamiltonian Several aspects of the slow dynamics in driven systems are discussed and the universality of such dynamics in gapless systems with specific focus on dynamics near continuous quantum phase transitions is emphasized Recent progress on understanding thermalization in closed systems through the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis is also reviewed and relaxation in integrable systems is discussed Finally key experiments probing quantum dynamics in cold atom systems are overviewed and put into the context of our current theoretical understanding

2,340 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The main theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum simulation have been discussed in this article, and some of the challenges and promises of this fast-growing field have also been highlighted in this review.
Abstract: Simulating quantum mechanics is known to be a difficult computational problem, especially when dealing with large systems However, this difficulty may be overcome by using some controllable quantum system to study another less controllable or accessible quantum system, ie, quantum simulation Quantum simulation promises to have applications in the study of many problems in, eg, condensed-matter physics, high-energy physics, atomic physics, quantum chemistry and cosmology Quantum simulation could be implemented using quantum computers, but also with simpler, analog devices that would require less control, and therefore, would be easier to construct A number of quantum systems such as neutral atoms, ions, polar molecules, electrons in semiconductors, superconducting circuits, nuclear spins and photons have been proposed as quantum simulators This review outlines the main theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum simulation and emphasizes some of the challenges and promises of this fast-growing field

1,941 citations