Chirped pulses, Gauss sums and the factorization of numbers
Résumé
We present two physical systems which make Gauss sums experimentally accessible. The probability amplitude for a two-photon transition in an appropriate ladder system driven by a chirped laser pulse is determined by a Gauss sum. The autocorrelation function of a quantum rotor is also of the form of a Gauss sum. These examples suggest rules for determining prime factor components on the basis of the properties of Gauss.