We exploit a microscopically derived master equation for the study of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in the presence of spontaneous decay from the intermediate state toward the initial and final states and compare our results with the predictions obtained from a phenomenological model used previously [P. A. Ivanov, N. V. Vitanov, and K. Bergmann, Phys. Rev. A 72, 053412 (2005)]. It is shown that our approach predicts a much higher efficiency for counterintuitively ordered pulses, while no significant difference between the two approaches is found for intuitively ordered pulses. These features are readily explained in the dressed-state picture.

We study the emergence of synchronisation in a chiral network of harmonic oscillators. The network consists of a set of locally incoherently pumped harmonic oscillators coupled pairwise in cascade with travelling field modes. Such cascaded coupling leads to feedback-less dissipative interaction between the harmonic oscillators of the pair which can be described in terms of an effective pairwise Hamiltonian a collective pairwise decay. The network is described mathematically in terms of a directed graph. By analysing geometries of increasing complexity we show how the onset of synchronisation depends strongly on the network topology, with the emergence of synchronised communities in the case of complex networks. The quantum nature of the non local correlation between network nodes is assessed.

Temperature can be responsible for strengthening effective couplings between quantum states, determining a hierarchy of interactions, and making it possible to establish such dynamical regimes known as Zeno dynamics, wherein a strong coupling can hinder the effects of a weak one. The relevant physical mechanisms which connect the structure of a thermal state with the appearance of special dynamical regimes are analyzed in depth.

A quantum system in interaction with a repeatedly measured one undergoes a nonunitary time evolution and is pushed into a subspace substantially determined by the two-system coupling. The possibility of suitably modifying such an evolution through quantum Zeno dynamics (i.e., the generalized quantum Zeno effect) addressing the system toward an a priori decided target subspace is illustrated. Applications and their possible realizations in the context of trapped ions are also discussed.

Liquid-liquid phase separation is a key phenomenon in the formation of membrane-less structures within the cell, appearing as liquid biomolecular condensates. Protein condensates are the most studied for their biological relevance, and their tendency to evolve, resulting in the formation of aggregates with a high level of order called amyloid. In this study, it is demonstrated that Human Insulin forms micrometric, round amyloid-like structures at room temperature within sub-microliter scale aqueous compartments. These distinctive particles feature a solid core enveloped by a fluid-like corona and form at the interface between the aqueous compartment and the glass coverslip upon which they are cast. Quantitative fluorescence microscopy is used to study in real-time the formation of amyloid-like superstructures. Their formation results driven by liquid-liquid phase separation process that arises from spatially heterogeneous distribution of nuclei at the glass-water interface. The proposed experimental setup allows modifying the surface-to-volume ratio of the aqueous compartments, which affects the aggregation rate and particle size, while also inducing fine alterations in the molecular structures of the final assemblies. These findings enhance the understanding of the factors governing amyloid structure formation, shedding light on the catalytic role of surfaces in this process.

We find the minimum and the maximum value for the local energy of an arbitrary finite bipartite system for any given amount of entanglement, also identifying families of states reaching these bounds and sharing formal analogies with thermal states. Then, we numerically study the probability of randomly generating pure states close to these energy bounds finding, in all the considered configurations, that it is extremely low except for the two-qubit and highly degenerate cases. These results can be important in quantum technologies to design energetically more efficient protocols.