Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Large deviations in the symmetric simple exclusion process with slow boundaries: A hydrodynamic perspective

  Soumyabrata Saha, Tridib Sadhu

  SciPost Phys. 17, 033 (2024) · published 5 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We revisit the one-dimensional model of the symmetric simple exclusion process slowly coupled with two unequal reservoirs at the boundaries. In its non-equilibrium stationary state, the large deviations functions of density and current have been recently derived using exact microscopic analysis by Derrida, Hirschberg and Sadhu in [J. Stat. Phys. 182, 15 (2021)]. We present an independent derivation using the hydrodynamic approach of the macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT). The slow coupling introduces additional boundary terms in the MFT-Action, which modifies the spatial boundary conditions for the associated variational problem. For the density large deviations, we explicitly solve the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations using a simple local transformation of the optimal fields. For the current large deviations, our solution is obtained using the additivity principle. In addition to recovering the expression of the large deviations functions, our solution describes the most probable path for these rare fluctuations.

  4 citations

• How open is the asteroid-mass primordial black hole window?

  Matthew Gorton, Anne M. Green

  SciPost Phys. 17, 032 (2024) · published 2 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Primordial black holes (PBHs) can make up all of the dark matter (DM) if their mass, $m$, is in the so-called "asteroid-mass window", $10^{17} g ≲ m ≲ 10^{22} g$. Observational constraints on the abundance of PBHs are usually calculated assuming they all have the same mass, however this is unlikely to be a good approximation. PBHs formed from the collapse of large density perturbations during radiation domination are expected to have an extended mass function (MF), due to the effects of critical collapse. The PBH MF is often assumed to be lognormal, however it has recently been shown that other functions are a better fit to numerically calculated MFs. We recalculate both current and potential future constraints for these improved fitting functions. We find that for current constraints the asteroid-mass window narrows, but remains open (i.e. all of the DM can be in the form of PBHs) unless the PBH MF is wider than expected. Future evaporation and microlensing constraints may together exclude all of the DM being in PBHs, depending on the width of the PBH MF and also the shape of its low and high mass tails.

  15 citations

• Spontaneously broken (-1)-form U(1) symmetries

  Daniel Aloni, Eduardo García-Valdecasas, Matthew Reece, Motoo Suzuki

  SciPost Phys. 17, 031 (2024) · published 1 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Spontaneous breaking of symmetries leads to universal phenomena. We extend this notion to $(-1)$-form U(1) symmetries. The spontaneous breaking is diagnosed by a dependence of the vacuum energy on a constant background field $\theta$, which can be probed by the topological susceptibility. This leads to a reinterpretation of the Strong CP problem as arising from a spontaneously broken instantonic symmetry in QCD. We discuss how known solutions to the problem are unified in this framework and explore some, so far unsuccessful, attempts to find new solutions.

  17 citations

• Beyond universality in repulsive SU(N) Fermi gases

  Jordi Pera, Joaquim Casulleras, Jordi Boronat

  SciPost Phys. 17, 030 (2024) · published 1 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Itinerant ferromagnetism in dilute Fermi gases is predicted to emerge at values of the gas parameter where second-order perturbation theory is not accurate enough to properly describe the system. We have revisited perturbation theory for SU(N) fermions and derived its generalization up to third order both in terms of the gas parameter and the polarization. Our results agree satisfactorily with quantum Monte Carlo results for hard-sphere and soft-sphere potentials for $S = 1/2$. Although the nature of the phase transition depends on the interaction potential, we find that for a hard-sphere potential a phase transition is guaranteed to occur. While for $S= 1/2$ we observe a quasi-continuous transition, for spins $3/2$ and $5/2$, a first-order phase transition is found. For larger spins, a double transition (combination of continuous and discontinuous) occurs. The critical density reduces drastically when the spin increases, making the phase transition more accessible to experiments with ultracold dilute Fermi gases. Estimations for Fermi gases of Yb and Sr with spin $5/2$ and $9/2$, respectively, are reported.

  4 citations

• Critical loop models are exactly solvable

  Rongvoram Nivesvivat, Sylvain Ribault, Jesper Lykke Jacobsen

  SciPost Phys. 17, 029 (2024) · published 1 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  In two-dimensional critical loop models, including the O(n) and Potts models, the spectrum is exactly known, as are a few structure constants or ratios thereof. Using numerical conformal bootstrap methods, we study 235 of the simplest 4-point structure constants. For each structure constant, we find an analytic expression as a product of two factors: 1) a universal function of conformal dimensions, built from Barnes' double Gamma function, and 2) a polynomial function of loop weights, whose degree obeys a simple upper bound. We conjecture that all structure constants are of this form. For a few 4-point functions, we build corresponding observables in a lattice loop model. From numerical lattice results, we extract amplitude ratios that depend neither on the lattice size nor on the lattice coupling. These ratios agree with the corresponding ratios of 4-point structure constants.

  9 citations

• LiHoF4 as a spin-half non-standard quantum Ising system

  Tomer Dollberg, Moshe Schechter

  SciPost Phys. 17, 028 (2024) · published 31 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  LiHoF$_{4}$ is a magnetic material known for its Ising-type anisotropy, making it a model system for studying quantum magnetism. However, the theoretical description of LiHoF$_{4}$ using the quantum Ising model has shown discrepancies in its phase diagram, particularly in the regime dominated by thermal fluctuations. In this study, we investigate the role of off-diagonal dipolar terms in LiHoF$_{4}$, previously neglected, in determining its properties. We analytically derive the low-energy effective Hamiltonian of LiHoF$_{4}$, including the off-diagonal dipolar terms perturbatively, both in the absence and presence of a transverse field. Our results encompass the full \boldmath{$B_{x}-T$} phase diagram, confirming the significance of the off-diagonal dipolar terms in reducing the zero-field critical temperature and determining the critical temperature's dependence on the transverse field. We also highlight the sensitivity of this mechanism to the crystal structure by comparing our calculations with the Fe$_{8}$ system.

  1 citation

• Phonon pumping by modulating the ultrastrong vacuum

  Fabrizio Minganti, Alberto Mercurio, Fabio Mauceri, Marco Scigliuzzo, Salvatore Savasta, Vincenzo Savona

  SciPost Phys. 17, 027 (2024) · published 30 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The vacuum (i.e., the ground state) of a system in ultrastrong light-matter coupling contains particles that cannot be emitted without any dynamical perturbation and is thus called virtual. We propose a protocol for inducing and observing real mechanical excitations of a mirror enabled by the virtual photons in the ground state of a tripartite system, where a resonant optical cavity is ultrastrongly coupled to a two-level system (qubit) and, at the same time, optomechanically coupled to a mechanical resonator. Real phonons are coherently emitted when the frequency of the two-level system is modulated at a frequency comparable to that of the mechanical resonator and, therefore much lower than the optical frequency. We demonstrate that this hybrid effect is a direct consequence of the virtual photon population in the ground state. Within a classical physics analogy, attaching a weight to a spring only changes its resting position, whereas dynamically modulating the weight makes the system oscillate. In our case, however, the weight is the vacuum itself. We propose and accurately characterize a hybrid superconducting-optomechanical setup based on available state-of-the-art technology, where this effect can be experimentally observed.

  2 citations

• Combining QED and approximate ${\rm N}^3$LO QCD corrections in a global PDF fit: MSHT20qed_an3lo PDFs

  T. Cridge, L. A. Harland-Lang, R. S. Thorne

  SciPost Phys. 17, 026 (2024) · published 30 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present the MSHT20qed_an3lo parton distribution functions (PDFs). These result from the first global PDF analysis to combine QED and approximate $N^3$LO (a$N^3$LO) QCD corrections in the theoretical calculation of the PDF evolution and cross sections entering the fit. We examine the PDF impact, and find that the effect of QED is relatively mild in comparison to the a$N^3$LO corrections, although it should still be accounted for at the level of precision now required. These QED corrections are in addition found to roughly factorise from the QCD corrections; that is, their relative impact on the PDFs is roughly the same at NNLO and a$N^3$LO. The fit quality exhibits a very small deterioration at a$N^3$LO upon the inclusion of QED corrections, which is rather smaller than the deterioration observed at NNLO in QCD. The impact on several cross-sections at $N^3$LO is also examined, including the Higgs cross sections at $N^3$LO. Finally, a LO in QCD fit that includes QED corrections is also presented: the MSHT20qed_an3lo set.

  6 citations

• Aspects of categorical symmetries from branes: SymTFTs and generalized charges

  Fabio Apruzzi, Federico Bonetti, Dewi S.W. Gould, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 17, 025 (2024) · published 29 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recently it has been observed that branes in geometric engineering and holography have a striking connection with generalized global symmetries. In this paper we argue that branes, in a certain topological limit, not only furnish the symmetry generators, but also encode the so-called Symmetry Topological Field Theory (or SymTFT). For a $d$-dimensional QFT, this is a $(d+1)$-dimensional topological field theory, whose topological defects encode both the symmetry generators (invertible or non-invertible) and the generalized charges. Mathematically, the topological defects form the Drinfeld center of the symmetry category of the QFT. In this paper we derive the SymTFT and the Drinfeld center topological defects directly from branes. Central to the identification of these are Hanany-Witten brane configurations, which encode both topological couplings in the SymTFT and the generalized charges under the symmetries. We exemplify the general analysis with examples of QFTs realized in geometric engineering or holography.

  35 citations

• Probing pair correlations in Fermi gases with Ramsey-Bragg interferometry

  Théo Malas-Danzé, Alexandre Dugelay, Nir Navon, Hadrien Kurkjian

  SciPost Phys. 17, 024 (2024) · published 29 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose an interferometric method to probe pair correlations in a gas of spin-$1/2$ fermions. The method consists of a Ramsey sequence where both spin states of the Fermi gas are set in a superposition of a state at rest and a state with a large recoil velocity. The two-body density matrix is extracted via the fluctuations of the transferred fraction to the recoiled state. In the pair-condensed phase, the off-diagonal long-range order is directly reflected in the asymptotic behavior of the interferometric signal for long interrogation times. The method also allows to probe the spatial structure of the condensed pairs: the interferometric signal is an oscillating function of the interrogation time in the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer regime; it becomes an overdamped function in the molecular Bose-Einstein condensate regime.

  1 citation