2018/06/25 by Tomáš Opatrný, T. Opatrny, Opatrny, T. +2
Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic and Subatomic Physics Research #Classical Physics (physics.class-ph) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #Quantum Physics (quant-ph) #physics.class-ph #physics.ed-ph #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1806.09485
9 pages, 6 figures
arxiv created 2018/06/25 · openalex publication_date 2018/06/25 · arxiv updated 2018/06/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Stokes parameter formalism is applied to show the analogies between the motion of an asymmetric Foucault pendulum and several phenomena known from optics and atomic physics. Nonlinearity-induced precession of elliptical orbits of the pendulum is shown to correspond to twisting transformations used for spin squeezing of atomic systems. Transitions between regimes of predominant nonlinearity and regimes where the Coriolis force or the asymmetry of the pendulum are dominant correspond to quantum phase transitions in the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. A Foucault pendulum with highly anisotropic damping can emulate an optical Zeno effect where a sequence of polarizing filters inhibits polarization rotation of light in an optically active medium.