Topological critical slowing down: Variations on a toy model.

Numerical simulations of lattice quantum field theories whose continuum counterparts possess classical solutions with nontrivial topology face a severe critical slowing down as the continuum limit is approached. Standard Monte Carlo algorithms develop a loss of ergodicity, with the system remaining frozen in configurations with fixed topology. We analyze the problem in a simple toy model, consisting of the path integral formulation of a quantum mechanical particle constrained to move on a circumference.

Bounds on Dark-Matter Annihilations from 21-cm Data.

The observation of an absorption feature in the 21-cm spectrum at redshift z≈17 implies bounds on dark-matter (DM) annihilations for a broad range of masses, given that significant heating of the intergalactic medium would have erased such a feature. The resulting bounds on the DM annihilation cross sections are comparable to the strongest ones from all other observables.

Dynamic finite-size scaling after a quench at quantum transitions.

We present a general dynamic finite-size scaling theory for the quantum dynamics after an abrupt quench, at both continuous and first-order quantum transitions. For continuous transitions, the scaling laws are naturally ruled by the critical exponents and the renormalization-group dimension of the perturbation at the transition. In the case of first-order transitions, it is possible to recover a universal scaling behavior, which is controlled by the size behavior of the energy gap between the lowest-energy levels.

Criticality of O(N) symmetric models in the presence of discrete gauge symmetries.

We investigate the critical properties of the three-dimensional antiferromagnetic RP^{N-1} model, which is characterized by a global O(N) symmetry and a discrete Z_{2} gauge symmetry. We perform a field-theoretical analysis using the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson (LGW) approach and a numerical Monte Carlo study. The LGW field-theoretical results are obtained by high-order perturbative analyses of the renormalization-group flow of the most general Φ^{4} theory with the same global symmetry as the model, assuming a gauge-invariant order-parameter field.

Phase-Tunable Josephson Thermal Router.

A fundamental aspect of electronics is the ability to distribute a charge current among different terminals. On the other hand, despite the great interest in dissipation, storage, and conversion of heat in solid state structures, the control of thermal currents at the nanoscale is still in its infancy. Here, we show the experimental realization of a phase-tunable thermal router able to control the spatial distribution of an incoming heat current, thus providing the possibility of tuning the electronic temperatures of two output terminals.

Quantum fluctuations of entropy production for fermionic systems in the Landauer-Büttiker state.

The quantum fluctuations of the entropy production for fermionic systems in the Landauer-Büttiker nonequilibrium steady state are investigated. The probability distribution, governing these fluctuations, is explicitly derived by means of quantum field theory methods and analyzed in the zero frequency limit. It turns out that microscopic processes with positive, vanishing and negative entropy production occur in the system with nonvanishing probability.

Dynamic finite-size scaling at first-order transitions.

We investigate the dynamic behavior of finite-size systems close to a first-order transition (FOT). We develop a dynamic finite-size scaling (DFSS) theory for the dynamic behavior in the coexistence region where different phases coexist. This is characterized by an exponentially large time scale related to the tunneling between the two phases.

High operating temperature in V-based superconducting quantum interference proximity transistors.

Here we report the fabrication and characterization of fully superconducting quantum interference proximity transistors (SQUIPTs) based on the implementation of vanadium (V) in the superconducting loop. At low temperature, the devices show high flux-to-voltage (up to 0.52 mV/Φ) and flux-to-current (above 12 nA/Φ) transfer functions, with the best estimated flux sensitivity ~ 2.

Effect of Compactified Dimensions and Background Magnetic Fields on the Phase Structure of SU(N) Gauge Theories.

We discuss the properties of non-Abelian gauge theories formulated on manifolds with compactified dimensions and in the presence of fermionic fields coupled to magnetic backgrounds. We show that different phases may emerge, corresponding to different realizations of center symmetry and translational invariance, depending on the compactification radius and on the magnitude of the magnetic field. Our discussion then focuses on the case of an SU(3) gauge theory in four dimensions with fermions fields in the fundamental representation, for which we provide some exploratory numerical lattice results.

Dynamic Off-Equilibrium Transition in Systems Slowly Driven across Thermal First-Order Phase Transitions.

We study the off-equilibrium behavior of systems with short-range interactions, slowly driven across a thermal first-order transition, where the equilibrium dynamics is exponentially slow. We consider a dynamics that starts in the high-T phase at time t=t_{i}<0 and ends at t=t_{f}>0 in the low-T phase, with a time-dependent temperature T(t)/T_{c}≈1-t/t_{s}, where t_{s} is the protocol time scale. A general off-equilibrium scaling (OS) behavior emerges in the limit of large t_{s}.

Off-equilibrium scaling behaviors driven by time-dependent external fields in three-dimensional O(N) vector models.

We consider the dynamical off-equilibrium behavior of the three-dimensional O(N) vector model in the presence of a slowly varying time-dependent spatially uniform magnetic field H(t)=h(t)e, where e is an N-dimensional constant unit vector, h(t)=t/t(s), and t(s) is a time scale, at fixed temperature T≤T(c), where T(c) corresponds to the continuous order-disorder transition. The dynamic evolutions start from equilibrium configurations at h(i)<0, correspondingly t(i)<0, and end at time t(f)>0 with h(t(f))>0, or vice versa. We show that the magnetization displays an off-equilibrium scaling behavior close to the transition line H(t)=0.

Off-equilibrium scaling behaviors across first-order transitions.

We study off-equilibrium behaviors at first-order transitions (FOTs) driven by a time dependence of the temperature across the transition point T(c), such as the linear behavior T(t)/T(c)=1±t/t(s) where t(s) is a time scale. In particular, we investigate the possibility of nontrivial off-equilibrium scaling behaviors in the regime of slow changes, corresponding to large t(s). We consider the two-dimensional Potts models, which provide an ideal theoretical laboratory to investigate issues related to FOTs driven by thermal fluctuations.

Quantum mechanics of 4-derivative theories.

A renormalizable theory of gravity is obtained if the dimension-less 4-derivative kinetic term of the graviton, which classically suffers from negative unbounded energy, admits a sensible quantization. We find that a 4-derivative degree of freedom involves a canonical coordinate with unusual time-inversion parity, and that a correspondingly unusual representation must be employed for the relative quantum operator. The resulting theory has positive energy eigenvalues, normalizable wavefunctions, unitary evolution in a negative-norm configuration space.

Atomic-layer molybdenum sulfide optical modulator for visible coherent light.

Coherent light sources in the visible range are playing important roles in our daily life and modern technology, since about 50% of the capability of the our human brains is devoted to processing visual information. Visible lasers can be achieved by nonlinear optical process of infrared lasers and direct lasing of gain materials, and the latter has advantages in the aspects of compactness, efficiency, simplicity, etc. However, due to lack of visible optical modulators, the directly generated visible lasers with only a gain material are constrained in continuous-wave operation.

Three-dimensional antiferromagnetic CP(N-1) models.

We investigate the critical behavior of three-dimensional antiferromagnetic CP(N-1) (ACP(N-1)) models in cubic lattices, which are characterized by a global U(N) symmetry and a local U(1) gauge symmetry. Assuming that critical fluctuations are associated with a staggered gauge-invariant (Hermitian traceless matrix) order parameter, we determine the corresponding Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson (LGW) model. For N=3 this mapping allows us to conclude that the three-component ACP(2) model undergoes a continuous transition that belongs to the O(8) vector universality class, with an effective enlargement of the symmetry at the critical point.

Finite-size scaling at the first-order quantum transitions of quantum Potts chains.

We investigate finite-size effects at first-order quantum transitions. For this purpose we consider the one-dimensional q-state quantum Potts chain, in particular with q=10, which undergoes a first-order transition, separating the quantum disordered and ordered phases with a discontinuity in the energy density of the ground state. In agreement with the general theory, around the transition the low-energy properties show finite-size scaling with respect to appropriate scaling variables.

Quantum transitions driven by one-bond defects in quantum Ising rings.

We investigate quantum scaling phenomena driven by lower-dimensional defects in quantum Ising-like models. We consider quantum Ising rings in the presence of a bond defect. In the ordered phase, the system undergoes a quantum transition driven by the bond defect between a magnet phase, in which the gap decreases exponentially with increasing size, and a kink phase, in which the gap decreases instead with a power of the size.

Scaling phenomena driven by inhomogeneous conditions at first-order quantum transitions.

We investigate the effects of smooth inhomogeneities at first-order quantum transitions (FOQTs), such as those arising in the presence of a space-dependent external field, which smooths out the discontinuities of the low-energy properties at the transition. We argue that a universal scaling behavior emerges in the space transition region close to the point in which the external field takes the value for which the homogeneous system undergoes the FOQT. We verify the general theory in two model systems.

Quench echo and work statistics in integrable quantum field theories.

We propose a boundary thermodynamic Bethe ansatz calculation technique to obtain the Loschmidt echo and the statistics of the work done when a global quantum quench is performed on an integrable quantum field theory. We derive an analytic expression for the lowest edge of the probability density function and find that it exhibits universal features, in the sense that its scaling form depends only on the statistics of excitations. We perform numerical calculations on the sinh-Gordon model, a deformation of the free boson theory, and we obtain that by turning on the interaction the density function develops fermionic properties.

Finite-size scaling at first-order quantum transitions.

We study finite-size effects at first-order quantum transitions (FOQTs). We show that the low-energy properties show a finite-size scaling (FSS) behavior, the relevant scaling variable being the ratio of the energy associated with the perturbation driving the transition and the finite-size energy gap at the FOQT point. The size dependence of the scaling variable is therefore essentially determined by the size dependence of the gap at the transition, which in turn depends on the boundary conditions.

Universal scaling effects of a temperature gradient at first-order transitions.

We study the effects of smooth inhomogeneities at first-order transitions. We show that a temperature gradient at a thermally driven first-order transition gives rise to nontrivial universal scaling behaviors with respect to the length scale l_{t} of the variation of the local temperature T_{x}. We propose a scaling ansatz to describe the crossover region at the surface where T_{x}=T_{c}, where the typical discontinuities of a first-order transition are smoothed out.

Magnetic susceptibility of strongly interacting matter across the deconfinement transition.

We propose a method to determine the total magnetic susceptibility of strongly interacting matter by lattice QCD simulations and present numerical results for the theory with two light flavors, which suggest a weak magnetic activity in the confined phase and the emergence of strong paramagnetism in the deconfined, quark-gluon plasma phase.

Surname distribution in population genetics and in statistical physics.

Surnames tend to behave like neutral genes, and their distribution has attracted a growing attention from genetists and physicists. We review the century-long history of surname studies and discuss the most recent developments. Isonymy has been regarded as a tool for the measurement of consanguinity of individuals and populations and has been applied to the analysis of migrations.

Statistics of the work done by splitting a one-dimensional quasicondensate.

Motivated by experiments on splitting one-dimensional quasicondensates, we study the statistics of the work done by a quantum quench in a bosonic system. We discuss the general features of the probability distribution of the work and focus on its behavior at the lowest energy threshold, which develops an edge singularity. A formal connection between this probability distribution and the critical Casimir effect in thin classical films shows that certain features of the edge singularity are universal as the postquench gap tends to zero.

Equilibration of a Tonks-Girardeau gas following a trap release.

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of a Tonks-Girardeau gas released from a parabolic trap to a circle. We present the exact analytic solution of the many body dynamics and prove that, for large times and in a properly defined thermodynamic limit, the reduced density matrix of any finite subsystem converges to a generalized Gibbs ensemble. The equilibration mechanism is expected to be the same for all one-dimensional systems.