Les phénomènes quantiques ouvrent des possibilités nouvelles et révolutionnaires dans les domaines du calcul et de la cryptographie. Il est attendue, que des problèmes impossibles à résoudre avec des moyens classiques, peuvent être résolus par des ordinateurs quantiques, et la communication devient absolument sécurisée si elle est encodée dans un état de système quantique – un bit quantique. Un effort important a récemment été consacré à la recherche sur le transfert déterministe d’information entre photons et atomes, fonctionnant comme des bits quantiques volants et stationnaires respectivement. L’interaction entre ces deux composants est augmentée s’ils sont placés dans un milieu optique unidimensionnel, réalisant un système appelée “un atome 1D”. L’étude de ce milieu optique et des ses applications aux technologies quantiques constitue l’objectif de cette thèse.Tout d’abord, nous explorons l’interaction entre le champ lumineux et un atome 1D, en prenant une boîte quantique semi-conductrice dans un micropilier comme exemple. Nous étudions le contrôle cohérent de ce système avec des impulsions lumineuses afin de trouver un moyen optimal de contrôler son état, en faisant varier la puissance, la forme et la durée d’une impulsion, ainsi que la statistique de l’état quantique du champ lumineux. Nous étudions également l’impact de l’atome 1D sur l'état du champ réfléchi en fonction des paramètres du système expérimental.Nous poursuivons avec l’étude de l’état quantique du champ lumineux réfléchi, en nous concentrant sur sa pureté. C’est important pour transmettre fidèlement l’état superposition d’un bit stationnaire à un autre par la lumière, qui agit comme un bit quantique volant. Nous développons une méthode de caractérisation expérimentale de la pureté et l’appliquons à des données expérimentales, démontrant ainsi que la technologie moderne permet de créer des superpositions de haute pureté.Enfin, nous nous concentrons sur la lecture d’un qubit stationnaire basé sur un spin dans un environnement unidimensionnel. Nous étudions comment la lumière polarisée peut être utilisé pour cela, en montrant qu’il est possible de lire l’état de spin en détectant qu’un seul photon. Nous explorons différents écarts de ce régime optimal. Nous étudions également la décohérence de l’état de spin due à l’interaction avec le champ lumineux, et back-action de la mesure, montrant que l’état de spin peut être “gelé”. C’est une manifestation de l’effet Zeno quantique, qui permet la préparation du qubit dans un état arbitraire. Cela ouvre des perspectives pour la réalisation efficace de bits quantiques stationnaires basés sur des spins uniques incorporés dans un environnement électromagnétique unidimensionnel. / Quantum phenomena give rise to new and revolutionary possibilities in the fields of computation and cryptography. The problems that are unsolvable with classical means are expected to be solved by quantum computers, and communication becomes absolutely secure, if it is encoded in a state of a quantum system. A large effort has been recently paid to research of deterministic transfer of information between photons and atoms, acting as flying and stationary quantum bits respectively. The interaction between these two components is enhanced, if they are put in a unidimensional medium, realizing a so called "1D atom". The study of this specific optical medium and its applications to quantum technologies constitutes the objective of this thesis.First, we explore the light-matter interface realized as a 1D atom, with a semiconductor quantum dot in a micropillar cavity as an example. We study the coherent control of this system with light pulses in order to find an optimal way to control its state, varying the power, shape and duration of a pulse and statistics of the state of light field. We also study the impact of the 1D atom on the state of the reflected field as a function of parameters of the experimental device, describing the filtering of single photon Fock state from incident pulse.We continue with the study of the quantum state of the scattered light field, focusing on its purity. This is required to faithfully transmit the superposition state of one stationary qubit to another using light as a flying quantum bit. We develop a method to experimentally characterize the purity, and apply it to experimental data, showing that the state of art technology allows to create high-purity superpositions.Finally, we focus on the readout of a stationary qubit based on a single spin in a unidimensional environment. We study how to efficiently use polarized light for this purpose, showing that it is possible to readout the spin state, by detection of only one photon. We explore different deviations from this optimal regime. We also study the decoherence of the spin state due to interaction with the light field and the back-action of the measurement, showing that it is possible to freeze the spin state due to the quantum Zeno effect, which allows the preparation of the qubit, based on it, in an arbitrary superposition state. This opens perspectives towards efficient realization of stationary quantum bits based on single spins embedded in unidimensional electromagnetic environment.

The following dissertation presents a comprehensive study of the interaction between Dirac fermion quasiparticles (DFQs) and surface phonons on the surfaces of the topological insulators Bi2Se3 and Bi2Te3. Inelastic helium atom surface scattering (HASS) spectroscopy and time of flight (TOF) techniques were used to measure the surface phonon dispersion of these materials along the two high-symmetry directions of the surface Brillouin zone (SBZ). Two anomalies common to both materials are exhibited in the experimental data. First, there is an absence of Rayleigh acoustic waves on the surface of these materials, pointing to weak coupling between the surface charge density and the surface acoustic phonon modes and potential applications for soundproofing technologies. Secondly, both materials exhibit an out-of-plane polarized optical phonon mode beginning at the SBZ center and dispersing to lower energy with increasing wave vector along both high-symmetry directions of the SBZ. This trend terminates in a V-shaped minimum at a wave vector corresponding to 2kF for each material, after which the dispersion resumes its upward trend. This phenomenon constitutes a strong Kohn anomaly and can be attributed to the interaction between the surface phonons and DFQs. To quantify the coupling between the optical phonons experiencing strong renormalization and the DFQs at the surface, a phenomenological model was constructed based within the random phase approximation. Fitting the theoretical model to the experimental data allowed for the extraction of the matrix elements of the coupling Hamiltonian and the modifications to the surface phonon propagator encoded in the phonon self energy. This allowed, for the first time, calculation of phonon mode-specific quasiparticle-phonon coupling λⱱ(q) from experimental data. Additionally, an averaged coupling parameter was determined for both materials yielding ¯λ^Te ≈ 2 and ¯λ^Se ≈ 0.7. These values are significantly higher than those of typical metals, underscoring the strong coupling between optical surface phonons and DFQs in topological insulators. In an effort to connect experimental results obtained from phonon and photoemission spectroscopies, a computational process for taking coupling information from the phonon perspective and translating it to the DFQ perspective was derived. The procedure involves using information obtained from HASS measurements (namely the coupling matrix elements and optical phonon dispersion) as input to a Matsubara Green function formalism, from which one can obtain the real and imaginary parts of the DFQ self energy. With these at hand it is possible to calculate the DFQ spectral function and density of states, allowing for comparison with photoemission and scanning tunneling spectroscopies. The results set the necessary energy resolution and extraction methodology for calculating ¯λ from the DFQ perspective. Additionally, determining ¯λ from the calculated spectral functions yields results identical to those obtained from HASS, proving the self-consistency of the approach.

Associations between space, time, numbers and quantities have suggested that there must be a shared representational format which underlies them. One of the more prominent theories of an underlying system of representation is that of ATOM, which suggests that the there exists a generalized system of magnitude which processes these dimensions. However, there has been no study that examines whether speed is also processed within such a system. This study investigates this by seeing if a SNARC or Problem-Size effect arise in two speed estimation tests. The fundamental task for the participants in both tests was to judge which of two stimuli was the fastest, with the stimuli moving towards a wall located in the center of a computer screen. Their correct discrimination and response time was recorded. The results found that there were no significant results for either effect. This might be due to low sample size, methodological difficulties, and low robustness. Future research might amend these difficulties by having a more consistent setup with more trials reflecting the effect being tested and fix some potential problems with the test environment.

The increasing technological need to push service conditions of structural materials to higher temperatures has motivated the development of several alloy systems. Among them, superalloys are an excellent candidate for high temperature applications because of their ability to form coherent ordered precipitates, which enable the retention of high strength close to their melting temperature. The accelerated kinetics of solute diffusion, with or without an added component of mechanical stress, leads to coarsening of the precipitates, and results in microstructural degradation, limiting the durability of the materials. Hence, the coarsening of precipitates has been a classical research problem for these alloys in service. The prolonged hunt for an alternative of nickel base superalloys with superior traits has gained hope after the recent discovery of Co-Al-W based alloys, which readily form high temperature g precipitates, similar to Ni base superalloys. In the present study, coarsening behavior of g precipitates in Co-10Al-10W (at. %) has been carried out at 800°C and 900°C. This study has, for the first time, obtained critical coarsening parameters in cobalt-base alloys. Apart from this, it has incorporated atomic scale compositional information across the g/g interfaces into classical Cahn-Hilliard model for a better model of coarsening kinetics. The coarsening study of g precipitates in Ni-14Al-7 Cr (at. %) has shown the importance of temporal evolution of the compositional width of the g/g interfaces to the coarsening kinetics of g precipitates. This study has introduced a novel, reproducible characterization method of crystallographic study of ordered phase by coupling of orientation microscopy with atom probe tomography (APT). Along with the detailed analysis of field evaporation behaviors of Ni and Co superalloys in APT, the present study determines the site occupancy of various solutes within ordered g precipitates in both Ni and Co superalloys. This study has explained the role of structural and compositional gradients across the precipitates (g)/matrix (g) interfaces on the coarsening behavior of coherent precipitates in both Ni and Co-base superalloys. The observation of two interfacial widths, one corresponding to a structural order-disorder transition, and the other to the compositional transition across the interface, raises fundamental questions regarding the definition of the interfacial width in such systems. The comparative interface analysis in Co and Ni superalloy shows significant differences, which gives insights to the coarsening behaviors of g precipitates in these alloys. Hence, the principal goal of this work is to compare and contrast the Co and Ni superalloys and also, to accommodate atomic scale information related to transitions across interfaces to coarsening models for a better practical applicability of coarsening laws to various alloys.

Faz-se uma revisão do problema da dimensionalidade do espaço entendido como um problema de Física, enfatizando que algumas leis físicas dependem fortemente deste parâmetro topológico do espaço. Discute-se o que já foi feito tanto no caso da equação de Schrödinger quanto na de Dirac. A situação na literatura é bastante controversa e, no caso específico da equação de Dirac em D dimensões, não se encontra nenhum trabalho na literatura científica que leve em conta o potencial de intera coulombiana corretamente generalizado quando o número de dimensões espaciais é maior do que três. Discute-se, portanto, o átomo de hidrogênio relativístico em D dimensões. Novos resultados numéricos para os níveis de energia e para as funções de onda são apresentados e discutidos. Em particular, considera-se a possibilidade de existência de átomos estáveis em espaços com dimensionalidade 6= 3.

Em vista de recentes determinações experimentais do perfil de Compton (Eisenberger, Phys. Rev., A2, 1678(1970); Wellenstein e Bonham, Phys. Rev., A7, 1568(1973}, procuramos efetuar um estudo comparativo de cálculos teóricos do perfil de Compton para o átomo de hélio (1S). Para tal, o conjunto de funções de onda elaboradas por Shull e L6wdin (J.Chem.Phy., 23, 1362(1955); 23, 1565(1955}; 30, 617(1959} mostrou-se bastante adequado, visto que permitiu observar a influência da função de onda no cálculo de perfil de Compton. Nossos resultados mostram em contraste à idéia geralmente aceita, que mesmo funções de onda igualmente boas para o cálculo da energia podem fornecer perfis de Compton com um erro maior que o experimental. Alem disso, apresentamos um conjunto de novos dados para o perfil de Compton e para a distribuição radial de momentum. Procuramos, também explicar essas discrepâncias relacionando-as com a transformada de Fourier da função de onda no espaço de configuração. / In view of the recent experimental determination of the Compton profile (Eisenberger, Phys., Rev., A2,1678(1970); Wellenstein and Bonham, Phys, Rev., A7, 1568(1973), we have performed a comparative study of theoretical calcu1ation of the Compton profile for the helium atom (1S). For such, the set of wave functions elaborated by Shull and Löwdin (J.Chem. Phys., 23, 1362(1955); 23, 1565(1955); 30, 617(1959) show itself specially suftable since it was possible to observe the influence af the wave functions on the calculated profile. Our results show in, contrast to general accepted idea, that even equally good wave functions in the energy sense may give theoretical profiles in error greater than the experimental one. Besides, we have presented a set of new data for the Compton profile and radial momentum distribution. A1so we have tried to explain the source of these discrepancies relating them to the Fourier transformation of the wave function in the configuration space.

Les capteurs inertiels basés sur l’interférométrie atomique reposent sur l’utilisation d’atomes froids refroidis à des températures proches du micro-Kelvin et des temps d’interrogation de plusieurs centaines de millisecondes. Ces conditions conduisent à une extension du nuage d’atomes de l’ordre du cm, qui rend difficile leur interrogation efficace par des lasers à profil d’intensité gaussien. Cette thèse vise à développer plusieurs moyens de palier aux contraintes posés par le profil gaussien des lasers et leur intensité limitée. Deux axes principaux sont explorés.D'une part, l'inhomogénéité d'intensité des faisceaux d'interrogation a été adressée par l'étude, la réalisation et la caractérisation de solutions de mise en forme de faisceaux. Un modulateur spatial de phase a notamment été utilisé pour réaliser un faisceau plat en intensité et en phase de 3cm de diamètre. Une solution commerciale mise en vente durant la thèse a finalement été adaptée à une expérience d’interférométrie atomique, et son impact a été caractérisé.D’autre part, l’utilisation actuelle de lasers gaussiens de diamètres centimétriques pour adresser un maximum d’atomes apporte des contraintes sur les puissances utilisées. L’idée de profiter du gain en puissance de cavités optiques émerge dans le domaine et constitue le cœur de ce travail. Plusieurs concepts de résonateurs optiques ont été étudiés pour permettre l’amplification d’un mode de grande taille dans une géométrie compacte. Nous avons réalisé un résonateur dégénéré, intégrant une lentille intra-cavité, et avons étudié l’influence de ses désalignements et des défauts des optiques sur la résonance de grands faisceaux injectés.Ces deux dispositifs et leur couplage ouvrent la voie vers des générations avancées d’interféromètres atomiques, pour des expériences de précision en physique fondamentale ou pour la mise au point de capteurs inertiels à atomes froids compacts. / Inertials sensors based on atom interferometry use cold atom clouds cooled to micro-Kelvin temperatures and interrogation times of a few hundred of milliseconds.These conditions lead to an expansion of the atom clouds reaching centimetric sizes, which leads to difficulties when trying to adress them efficiently with gaussian laser beams.This work aims at developing different means to counteract the constraints brought by these gaussian beams and their limited intensity.Two main axes are explored.On the one hand, the intensity inhomogeneity of the interrogation beams has been adressed by the study, realisation and characterization of beamshaping solutions.One of these solutions has been adapted to an atom interferometry experiment, and its impact characterized.On the other hand, the current use of gaussian beams with centimetric sizes to interrogate as many atoms as possible brings constraints on the laser power.The idea of taking advantage of the optical gain of optical resonators rises in the field and constitutes the heart of this work.Different optical resonators concepts have been considered to allow the resonance of a large optical mode in a compact geometry.We built a degenerated optical resonator, with an intra-cavity lens, and studied the influence of misalignments and opticals defects on the resonance of large injected gaussian beams.These two devices and their combination open the way towards a generation of advanced atom interferometers, for precise experiments of fundamental physics or the development of compact cold atom inertial sensors.

Titanium nitride (TiN) films are widely applied as diffusion barrier layers in microelectronic devices. The continued miniaturization of such devices not only poses new challenges to material systems design, but also puts high demands on characterization techniques. To gain understanding of diffusion processes that can eventually lead to failure of the barrier layer and thus of the whole device, it is essential to develop routines to chemically and structurally investigate these layers down to the atomic scale. In the present study, model TiN diffusion barriers with a Cu overlayer acting as the diffusion source were grown by reactive magnetron sputtering on MgO(001) and thermally oxidized Si(001) substrates. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) of the pristine samples revealed epitaxial, single-crystalline growth of TiN on MgO(001), while the polycrystalline TiN grown on Si(001) exhibited a [001]-oriented columnar microstructure. Various annealing treatments were carried out to induce diffusion of Cu into the TiN layer. Subsequently, XTEM images were recorded with a high-angle annular dark field detector, which provides strong elemental contrast, to illuminate the correlation between the structure and the barrier efficiency of the single- and polycrystalline TiN layers. Particular regions of interest were investigated more closely by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) mapping. These investigations are completed by atom probe tomography (APT) studies, which provide a three-dimensional insight into the elemental distribution at the near-interface region with atomic chemical resolution and high sensitivity. In case of the single-crystalline barrier, a uniform Cu-enriched diffusion layer of 12 nm could be detected at the interface after an annealing treatment at 1000 °C for 12 h. This excellent barrier performance can be attributed to the lack of fast diffusion paths such as grain boundaries. Moreover, density-functional theory calculations predict a stoichiometry-dependent atomic diffusion mechanism of Cu in bulk TiN, with Cu diffusing on the N-sublattice for the experimental N/Ti ratio. In comparison, the polycrystalline TiN layers exhibited grain boundaries reaching from the Cu-TiN interface to the substrate, thus providing direct diffusion paths for Cu. However, the microstructure of these columnar layers was still dense without open porosity or voids, so that the onset of grain boundary diffusion could only be found after annealing at 900 °C for 1 h. The present study shows how to combine two high resolution state-of-the-art methods, TEM and APT, to characterize model TiN diffusion barriers. It is shown how to correlate the microstructure with the performance of the barrier layer by two-dimensional EDX mapping and three-dimensional APT. Highly effective Cu-diffusion barrier function is thus demonstrated for single-crystal TiN(001) (up to 1000 °C) and dense polycrystalline TiN (900 °C).

The association between natural organic matter (NOM) and iron (Fe) minerals was widely found in soil and sediments and has been shown to impact the fate of Fe minerals and NOM. Ferrihydrite, a ubiquitous Fe mineral, serves as important sink for NOM and rapidly transforms to secondary Fe minerals in the presence of Fe(II). The associated NOM has been found to influence the Fe(II)-catalyzed ferrihydrite transformation pathway, but it remains unclear how various NOM affects this transformation and the implication. This study specifically investigates how different species of NOM affect Fe(II)-catalyzed ferrihydrite transformation under different C/Fe ratios. A series of Fe isotope tracer experiments were conducted to measure Fe atom exchange and electron transfer between aqueous Fe(II) and ferrihydrite in the presence of diverse NOM species. The fate of Ni during Fe(II)-catalyzed transformation of NOM-Fh coprecipitate was also investigated. Ferrihydrite was found less susceptible to Fe(II)-catalyzed transformation with increasing C/Fe ratio and fulvic acids and Suwannee River NOM (SRNOM) in the coprecipitates need lower C/Fe ratio than humic acids to completely inhibit formation of secondary Fe minerals. At C/Fe ratios where ferrihydrite transformed to secondary minerals, goethite was dominant in ferrihydrite coprecipitated with humic acids, whereas lepidocrocite was favored in ferrihydrite coprecipitated with fulvic acids and SRNOM. Adsorbed SRNOM may be more inhibitive than coprecipitated SRNOM on Fe(II)-catalyzed ferrihydrite transformation under similar C/Fe ratios. Despite no secondary mineral transformation at high C/Fe ratios, Mössbauer spectra indicated electron transfer still occurred between Fe(II) and ferrihydrite coprecipitated with fulvic acid and SRNOM. In addition, isotope tracer experiments revealed that a significant fraction of structural Fe(III) in the ferrihydrite mixed with the aqueous phase Fe(II) (~85%). After reaction with Fe(II), Mössbauer spectroscopy indicated some subtle changes in the crystallinity, particle size or particle interactions in the coprecipitate. The effect of coprecipitated SRNOM on Ni(II) distribution during Fe(II)-catalyzed ferrihydrite transformation was investigated with adsorbed Ni(II) and coprecipitated Ni(II). Ni(II) adsorbed on ferrihydrite was more resistant to acid extraction after Fe(II)-catalyzed transformation and suggested that structural incorporation of Ni into secondary Fe minerals occurred. With coprecipitated SRNOM, ferrihydrite did not transform to secondary minerals in the presence of Fe(II) but extensive Fe atom exchange between aqueous Fe(II) and structural Fe(III) still occurred. Limited change in Ni stability was observed, suggesting there was only small portion of Ni redistributed in the presence of Fe(II). Pre-incorporated Ni(II) in Ni-SRNOM-Fh coprecipitate was partially released (6-8 %) in the presence of Fe(II), but the distribution of remaining Ni(II) in the solid did not change measurably. Our observation suggests that the presence of SRNOM limited the redistribution of Ni most likely because of limited transformation of ferrihydrite to secondary minerals.

Les systèmes quantiques ouverts décrivent l'évolution d'un système de référence S en interaction avec un ou plusieurs autres systèmes appelés environnements. Pour les étudier on rencontre deux approches dans la littérature: l'approche hamiltonienne, où on décrit complètement les systèmes et leurs interactions, et l'approche markovienne, où on abandonne l'idée de décrire l'environnement et on considère une dynamique, dite effective, du système S seul mais prenant en compte les effets de l'interaction avec l'environnement.Nous nous intéresserons dans cette thèse à une classe particulière de tels systèmes: les système quantiques avec interactions répétées. Le système S interagit successivement avec une suite de sous-systèmes indépendants. L'approche de ces systèmes est à la fois hamiltonienne et markovienne. Leur étude joue un rôle fondamental dans la compréhension pratique et théorique des processus d'interaction matière-lumière ainsi qu'en optique quantique (expérience du maser à un atome).Cette thèse porte sur l'étude d'un système de type maser à un atome. Le modèle considéré décrit un champ électromagnétique dans une cavité et traversé par un faisceau d'atomes mais auquel on ajoute un réservoir supplémentaire interagissant de façon continue avec le champ électromagnétique. L'idée est que la cavité n'est pas parfaitement isolée et le réservoir permet de modéliser les fuites dans la cavité. Ainsi l'interaction entre le champ électromagnétique et les atomes est décrit par un système quantique avec interactions répétées et l'interaction entre le champ électromagnétique et le réservoir est décrit par une approche hamiltonienne des systèmes quantiques ouverts.Le système "cavité+réservoir" à été étudié par Könenberg en se basant sur des travaux de Arai. Via une diagonalisation du Hamiltonien du système couplé il montre des propriétés de retour à l'équilibre. Dans une première partie nous donnerons une nouvelle approche de ces travaux en utilisant des résultats récents de Nam, Napiórkowki et Solovej sur la diagonalisation des hamiltoniens bosoniques quadratiques.Dans un premier temps, nous étudierons l'auto-adjonction des Hamiltoniens du système et on s'intéressera notamment à la diagonalisation de l'un d'eux. Dans un second temps, nous étudierons le comportement en temps long du système, nous obtenons entre-autres des formules explicites pour l'évolution à un temps donné des observables de Weyl. Ces résultats nous permettent d'étudier la variation d'énergie totale ainsi que les échanges d'énergies dans le système. Enfin on terminera en étudiant la production d'entropie dans le système que l'on reliera aux formules de variation d'énergie. Pour cela on généralisera au préalable la formule dite de production d'entropie de Jaksic et Pillet. / Open quantum systems describe the evolution of a system S in interaction with one or more other systems called environments. Two approaches in the literature to study such systems: the hamiltonian approach in which the entire system is considered, and the markovian approach in which one gives up the idea of describing the environment and only considers a so called effective dynamics of the system S which takes into account the effect of the environment.A particular class of such systems will interest us: the quantum systems with repeated interactions. The system S interacts successively with a series of independent subsystems. The approach of these systems is both Hamiltonian and Markovian. Their study plays a fundamental role in the understanding of light-matter interactions as well as in quantum optics (like one-atom maser experiment).In this thesis we study a repeated interaction system of the one-atom maser type. The model describes an electromagnetic field trapped in a cavity and a beam of atoms passing through it but with an additional reservoir interacting continuously with the electromagnetic field. The idea is that the cavity is not perfectly isolated and we describe the leaks in the cavity via the interaction with this reservoir. Thus the interaction between the electromagnetic field and the atoms is described by a quantum system with repeated interactions and the interaction between the electromagnetic field and the reservoir is described by a Hamiltonian approach of open quantum systems.The system "cavity+reservoir" has been studied by Konenberg, based on previous works by Arai. Usingan explicit diagonalization of the hamiltonian he proved some properties of return to equilibrium. In a first part we will give a new approach to it using recent results by Nam, Napiorkowski and Solovej about the diagonalization of quadratic bosonic hamiltonians.First we study the self-adjointness of some Hamiltonians which will play an important role in this thesis and we consider the diagonalization of one of them. In a second time, we study the long time behavior of the system, we obtain an explicit formula for the evolution at a given time of Weyl observables. These results will also allow us to study the total energy variation as well as the energy exchanges in the system. Finally we study the entropy production in the system and relate it to the energy variation. To do so we will need to slightly generalize the Jaksic-Pillet entropy production formula.