Chiral vacuum fluctuations in quantum gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Magueijo, João; Benincasa, Dionigi M T

2011-03-25

We examine tensor perturbations around a de Sitter background within the framework of Ashtekar's variables and its cousins parameterized by the Immirzi parameter γ. At the classical level we recover standard cosmological perturbation theory, with illuminating insights. Quantization leads to real novelties. In the low energy limit we find a second quantized theory of gravitons which displays different vacuum fluctuations for right and left gravitons. Nonetheless right and left gravitons have the same (positive) energies, resolving a number of paradoxes suggested in the literature. The right-left asymmetry of the vacuum fluctuations depends on γ and the ordering of the Hamiltonian constraint, and it would leave a distinctive imprint in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background, thus opening quantum gravity to observational test.

A new vacuum for loop quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dittrich, Bianca; Geiller, Marc

2015-01-01

We construct a new vacuum and representation for loop quantum gravity. Because the new vacuum is based on BF theory, it is physical for (2+1)-dimensional gravity, and much closer to the spirit of spin foam quantization in general. To construct this new vacuum and the associated representation of quantum observables, we introduce a modified holonomy–flux algebra that is cylindrically consistent with respect to the notion of refinement by time evolution suggested in Dittrich and Steinhaus (2013 arXiv:1311.7565). This supports the proposal for a construction of the physical vacuum made in Dittrich and Steinhaus (2013 arXiv:1311.7565) and Dittrich (2012 New J. Phys. 14 123004), and for (3+1)-dimensional gravity. We expect that the vacuum introduced here will facilitate the extraction of large scale physics and cosmological predictions from loop quantum gravity. (fast track communication)

Relaxation of vacuum energy in q-theory

Science.gov (United States)

Klinkhamer, F. R.; Savelainen, M.; Volovik, G. E.

2017-08-01

The q-theory formalism aims to describe the thermodynamics and dynamics of the deep quantum vacuum. The thermodynamics leads to an exact cancellation of the quantum-field zero-point-energies in equilibrium, which partly solves the main cosmological constant problem. But, with reversible dynamics, the spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe asymptotically approaches the Minkowski vacuum only if the Big Bang already started out in an initial equilibrium state. Here, we extend q-theory by introducing dissipation from irreversible processes. Neglecting the possible instability of a de-Sitter vacuum, we obtain different scenarios with either a de-Sitter asymptote or collapse to a final singularity. The Minkowski asymptote still requires fine-tuning of the initial conditions. This suggests that, within the q-theory approach, the decay of the de-Sitter vacuum is a necessary condition for the dynamical solution of the cosmological constant problem.

Derivation of the cut-off length from the quantum quadratic enhancement of a mass in vacuum energy constant Lambda

Science.gov (United States)

Fukushima, Kimichika; Sato, Hikaru

2018-04-01

Ultraviolet self-interaction energies in field theory sometimes contain meaningful physical quantities. The self-energies in such as classical electrodynamics are usually subtracted from the rest mass. For the consistent treatment of energies as sources of curvature in the Einstein field equations, this study includes these subtracted self-energies into vacuum energy expressed by the constant Lambda (used in such as Lambda-CDM). In this study, the self-energies in electrodynamics and macroscopic classical Einstein field equations are examined, using the formalisms with the ultraviolet cut-off scheme. One of the cut-off formalisms is the field theory in terms of the step-function-type basis functions, developed by the present authors. The other is a continuum theory of a fundamental particle with the same cut-off length. Based on the effectiveness of the continuum theory with the cut-off length shown in the examination, the dominant self-energy is the quadratic term of the Higgs field at a quantum level (classical self-energies are reduced to logarithmic forms by quantum corrections). The cut-off length is then determined to reproduce today's tiny value of Lambda for vacuum energy. Additionally, a field with nonperiodic vanishing boundary conditions is treated, showing that the field has no zero-point energy.

Exact vacuum energy of orbifold lattice theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuura, So

2007-01-01

We investigate the orbifold lattice theories constructed from supersymmetric Yang-Mills matrix theories (mother theories) with four and eight supercharges. We show that the vacuum energy of these theories does not receive any quantum correction perturbatively

Quantum electrodynamics with unstable vacuum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fradkin, E.S. (P.N. Lebedev Physical Inst., USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow (USSR)); Gitman, D.M. (Moscow Inst. of Radio Engineering Electronics and Automation (USSR)); Shvartsman, Sh.M. (Tomsk State Pedagogical Inst. (USSR))

1991-01-01

Intense external fields destabilize vacuum inducing the creation of particle pairs. In this book the formalism of quantum electrodynamics (QED), using a special perturbation theory with matrix propagators, is systematically analyzed for such systems. The developed approach is, however, general for any quantum field with unstable vacuum. The authors propose solutions for real pair-creating fields. They discuss the general form for the causal function and many other Green's functions, as well as methods for finding them. Analogies to the optical theorem and rules for computing total probabilities are given, as are solutions for non-Abelian theories. (orig.).

Energy Dissipation in Quantum Computers

OpenAIRE

Granik, A.; Chapline, G.

2003-01-01

A method is described for calculating the heat generated in a quantum computer due to loss of quantum phase information. Amazingly enough, this heat generation can take place at zero temperature. and may explain why it is impossible to extract energy from vacuum fluctuations. Implications for optical computers and quantum cosmology are also briefly discussed.

Constructive and destructive quantum interference sensitive to quantum vacuum mode structure in a metallic waveguide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Jianqi

2011-01-01

Quantum vacuum mode structure can be changed due to length scale fluctuation of the cross section of a metallic waveguide. Such a structure change in vacuum modes (particularly in cutoff vacuum modes) would lead to dramatic enhancement or inhibition of spontaneous emission decay of atoms and, if the waveguide is filled with a dilute atomic vapor consisting of quantum-coherent atoms of a four-level tripod-configuration system, an optical wave propagating inside the waveguide can be coherently manipulated by tunable constructive and destructive quantum interference between two control transitions (driven by two control fields) in a quite unusual way (e.g., the optical response, in which a three-level dark state is involved, is sensitive to the waveguide dimension variations at certain positions of resonance of the atomic spontaneous emission decay rate). Therefore, an intriguing effect that can be employed to designs of new photonic and quantum optical devices could be achieved based on the present mechanisms of quantum-vacuum manipulation and quantum coherence control.

Emerging Translational Variance: Vacuum Polarization Energy of the ϕ6 Kink

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Weigel

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We propose an efficient method to compute the vacuum polarization energy of static field configurations that do not allow decomposition into symmetric and antisymmetric channels in one space dimension. In particular, we compute the vacuum polarization energy of the kink soliton in the ϕ6 model. We link the dependence of this energy on the position of the center of the soliton to the different masses of the quantum fluctuations at negative and positive spatial infinity.

Quantum Mechanics, vacuum, particles, Gödel-Cohen incompleteness and the Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

2017-12-01

Are the standard laws of Physics really fundamental principles? Does the physical vacuum have a more primordial internal structure? Are quarks, leptons, gauge bosons… ultimate elementary objects? These three basic questions are actually closely related. If the deep vacuum structure and dynamics turn out to be less trivial than usually depicted, the conventional "elementary" particles will most likely be excitations of such a vacuum dynamics that remains by now unknown. We then expect relativity and quantum mechanics to be low-energy limits of a more fundamental dynamical pattern that generates them at a deeper level. It may even happen that vacuum drives the expansion of the Universe from its own inner dynamics. Inside such a vacuum structure, the speed of light would not be the critical speed for vacuum constituents and propagating signals. The natural scenario would be the superbradyon (superluminal preon) pattern we postulated in 1995, with a new critical speed cs much larger than the speed of light c just as c is much larger than the speed of sound. Superbradyons are assumed to be the bradyons of a super-relativity associated to cs (a Lorentz invariance with cs as the critical speed). Similarly, the standard relativistic space-time with four real coordinates would not necessarily hold beyond low-energy and comparatively local distance scales. Instead, the spinorial space-time (SST) with two complex coordinates we introduced in 1996-97 may be the suitable one to describe the internal structure of vacuum and standard "elementary" particles and, simultaneously, Cosmology at very large distance scales. If the constituents of the preonic vacuum are superluminal, quantum entanglement appears as a natural property provided cs ≫ c . The value of cs can even be possibly found experimentally by studying entanglement at large distances. It is not excluded that preonic constituents of vacuum can exist in our Universe as free particles ("free" superbradyons), in which

Zero-point quantum fluctuations and dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maggiore, Michele

2011-01-01

In the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, the energy associated to an asymptotically flat space-time with metric g μν is related to the Hamiltonian H GR by E=H GR [g μν ]-H GR [η μν ], where the subtraction of the flat-space contribution is necessary to get rid of an otherwise divergent boundary term. This classic result indicates that the energy associated to flat space does not gravitate. We apply the same principle to study the effect of the zero-point fluctuations of quantum fields in cosmology, proposing that their contribution to cosmic expansion is obtained computing the vacuum energy of quantum fields in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-time with Hubble parameter H(t) and subtracting from it the flat-space contribution. Then the term proportional to Λ c 4 (where Λ c is the UV cutoff) cancels, and the remaining (bare) value of the vacuum energy density is proportional to Λ c 2 H 2 (t). After renormalization, this produces a renormalized vacuum energy density ∼M 2 H 2 (t), where M is the scale where quantum gravity sets is, so for M of the order of the Planck mass a vacuum energy density of the order of the critical density can be obtained without any fine-tuning. The counterterms can be chosen so that the renormalized energy density and pressure satisfy p=wρ, with w a parameter that can be fixed by comparison to the observed value, so, in particular, one can choose w=-1. An energy density evolving in time as H 2 (t) is however observationally excluded as an explanation for the dominant dark energy component that is responsible for the observed acceleration of the Universe. We rather propose that zero-point vacuum fluctuations provide a new subdominant ''dark'' contribution to the cosmic expansion that, for a UV scale M slightly smaller than the Planck mass, is consistent with existing limits and potentially detectable.

Vacuum polarization energy for general backgrounds in one space dimension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Weigel

2017-03-01

Full Text Available For field theories in one time and one space dimensions we propose an efficient method to compute the vacuum polarization energy of static field configurations that do not allow a decomposition into symmetric and anti-symmetric channels. The method also applies to scenarios in which the masses of the quantum fluctuations at positive and negative spatial infinity are different. As an example we compute the vacuum polarization energy of the kink soliton in the ϕ6 model. We link the dependence of this energy on the position of the soliton to the different masses.

Quantum vacuum energy near a black hole: the Maxwell field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elster, T.

1984-01-01

A quantised Maxwell field is considered propagating in the gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole. The vector Hartle-Hawking propagator is defined on the Riemannian section of the analytically continued space-time and expanded in terms of four-dimensional vector spherical harmonics. The equations for the radial functions appearing in the expansion are derived for both odd and even parity. Using the expansion of the vector Hartle-Hawking propagator, the point-separated expectation value of the Maxwellian energy-momentum tensor in the Hartle-Hawking vacuum is derived. The renormalised values of radial pressure, tangential pressure and energy density are obtained near the horizon of the black hole. In contrast to the scalar field, the Maxwell field exhibits a positive energy density near the horizon in the Hartle-Hawking vacuum state. (author)

Quantum vacuum effects as generalized f(R) gravity: Application to stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Emilio

2010-01-01

It is assumed that, for weak space-time curvature, the main gravitational effect of the quantum vacuum stress energy corresponds to adding two terms to the Einstein-Hilbert action, proportional to the square of the curvature scalar and to the contraction of two Ricci tensors, respectively. It is shown that compatibility with terrestrial and Solar System observations implies that the square roots of the coefficients of these terms should be either a few millimeters or a few hundred meters. It is shown that the vacuum contribution increase the stability of massive white dwarfs.

Dark energy from quantum matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dappiaggi, Claudio; Hack, Thomas-Paul; Moeller, Jan; Pinamonti, Nicola

2010-07-01

We study the backreaction of free quantum fields on a flat Robertson-Walker spacetime. Apart from renormalization freedom, the vacuum energy receives contributions from both the trace anomaly and the thermal nature of the quantum state. The former represents a dynamical realisation of dark energy, while the latter mimics an effective dark matter component. The semiclassical dynamics yield two classes of asymptotically stable solutions. The first reproduces the CDM model in a suitable regime. The second lacks a classical counterpart, but is in excellent agreement with recent observations. (orig.)

Dark energy from quantum matter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dappiaggi, Claudio; Hack, Thomas-Paul [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Moeller, Jan [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany). Gruppe Theorie; Pinamonti, Nicola [Rome-2 Univ. (Italy). Dipt. di Matematica

2010-07-15

We study the backreaction of free quantum fields on a flat Robertson-Walker spacetime. Apart from renormalization freedom, the vacuum energy receives contributions from both the trace anomaly and the thermal nature of the quantum state. The former represents a dynamical realisation of dark energy, while the latter mimics an effective dark matter component. The semiclassical dynamics yield two classes of asymptotically stable solutions. The first reproduces the CDM model in a suitable regime. The second lacks a classical counterpart, but is in excellent agreement with recent observations. (orig.)

Zero-point energy in early quantum theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milonni, P.W.; Shih, M.-L.

1991-01-01

In modern physics the vacuum is not a tranquil void but a quantum state with fluctuations having observable consequences. The present concept of the vacuum has its roots in the zero-point energy of harmonic oscillators and the electromagnetic field, and arose before the development of the formalism of quantum mechanics. This article discusses these roots in the blackbody research of Planck and Einstein in 1912--1913, and the relation to Bose--Einstein statistics and the first indication of wave--particle duality uncovered by Einstein's fluctuation formula. Also considered are the Einstein--Stern theory of specific heats, which invoked zero-point energy in a way which turned out to be incorrect, and the experimental implications of zero-point energy recognized by Mulliken and Debye in vibrational spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction

True random numbers from amplified quantum vacuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Jofre, M; Curty, M; Steinlechner, F; Anzolin, G; Torres, J P; Mitchell, M W; Pruneri, V

2011-10-10

Random numbers are essential for applications ranging from secure communications to numerical simulation and quantitative finance. Algorithms can rapidly produce pseudo-random outcomes, series of numbers that mimic most properties of true random numbers while quantum random number generators (QRNGs) exploit intrinsic quantum randomness to produce true random numbers. Single-photon QRNGs are conceptually simple but produce few random bits per detection. In contrast, vacuum fluctuations are a vast resource for QRNGs: they are broad-band and thus can encode many random bits per second. Direct recording of vacuum fluctuations is possible, but requires shot-noise-limited detectors, at the cost of bandwidth. We demonstrate efficient conversion of vacuum fluctuations to true random bits using optical amplification of vacuum and interferometry. Using commercially-available optical components we demonstrate a QRNG at a bit rate of 1.11 Gbps. The proposed scheme has the potential to be extended to 10 Gbps and even up to 100 Gbps by taking advantage of high speed modulation sources and detectors for optical fiber telecommunication devices.

A generator for unique quantum random numbers based on vacuum states

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gabriel, C.; Wittmann, C.; Sych, D.

2010-01-01

the purity of a continuous-variable quantum vacuum state to generate unique random numbers. We use the intrinsic randomness in measuring the quadratures of a mode in the lowest energy vacuum state, which cannot be correlated to any other state. The simplicity of our source, combined with its verifiably......Random numbers are a valuable component in diverse applications that range from simulations(1) over gambling to cryptography(2,3). The quest for true randomness in these applications has engendered a large variety of different proposals for producing random numbers based on the foundational...... unpredictability of quantum mechanics(4-11). However, most approaches do not consider that a potential adversary could have knowledge about the generated numbers, so the numbers are not verifiably random and unique(12-15). Here we present a simple experimental setup based on homodyne measurements that uses...

On the problem of vacuum energy in brane theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurwich, Ilya; Rubin, Shimon; Davidson, Aharon

2009-01-01

We point out that modern brane theories suffer from a severe vacuum energy problem. To be specific, the Casimir energy associated with the matter fields confined to the brane, is stemming from the one and the same localization mechanism which forms the brane itself, and is thus generically unavoidable. Possible practical solutions are discussed, including in particular spontaneously broken supersymmetry, and quantum mechanically induced brane tension.

Cosmological constant problem and renormalized vacuum energy density in curved background

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kohri, Kazunori [Theory Center, IPNS, KEK, Tsukuba 305-0801, Ibaraki (Japan); Matsui, Hiroki, E-mail: kohri@post.kek.jp, E-mail: matshiro@post.kek.jp [The Graduate University of Advanced Studies (Sokendai), Tsukuba 305-0801, Ibaraki (Japan)

2017-06-01

The current vacuum energy density observed as dark energy ρ{sub dark}≅ 2.5×10{sup −47} GeV{sup 4} is unacceptably small compared with any other scales. Therefore, we encounter serious fine-tuning problem and theoretical difficulty to derive the dark energy. However, the theoretically attractive scenario has been proposed and discussed in literature: in terms of the renormalization-group (RG) running of the cosmological constant, the vacuum energy density can be expressed as ρ{sub vacuum}≅ m {sup 2} H {sup 2} where m is the mass of the scalar field and rather dynamical in curved spacetime. However, there has been no rigorous proof to derive this expression and there are some criticisms about the physical interpretation of the RG running cosmological constant. In the present paper, we revisit the RG running effects of the cosmological constant and investigate the renormalized vacuum energy density in curved spacetime. We demonstrate that the vacuum energy density described by ρ{sub vacuum}≅ m {sup 2} H {sup 2} appears as quantum effects of the curved background rather than the running effects of cosmological constant. Comparing to cosmological observational data, we obtain an upper bound on the mass of the scalar fields to be smaller than the Planck mass, m ∼< M {sub Pl}.

An etude on global vacuum energy sequester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Amico, Guido; Kaloper, Nemanja; Padilla, Antonio; Stefanyszyn, David; Westphal, Alexander; Zahariade, George

2017-01-01

Recently two of the authors proposed a mechanism of vacuum energy sequester as a means of protecting the observable cosmological constant from quantum radiative corrections. The original proposal was based on using global Lagrange multipliers, but later a local formulation was provided. Subsequently other interesting claims of a different non-local approach to the cosmological constant problem were made, based again on global Lagrange multipliers. We examine some of these proposals and find their mutual relationship. We explain that the proposals which do not treat the cosmological constant counterterm as a dynamical variable require fine tunings to have acceptable solutions. Furthermore, the counterterm often needs to be retuned at every order in the loop expansion to cancel the radiative corrections to the cosmological constant, just like in standard GR. These observations are an important reminder of just how the proposal of vacuum energy sequester avoids such problems.

An etude on global vacuum energy sequester

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Amico, Guido [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland). Theoretical Physics Dept.; Kaloper, Nemanja [California Univ., Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Padilla, Antonio [Nottingham Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Physics and Astronomy; Stefanyszyn, David [Groningen Univ. (Netherlands). Van Swinderen Inst. for Particle Physics and Gravity; Westphal, Alexander [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany). Theory Group; Zahariade, George [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States). Dept. of Physics

2017-05-24

Recently two of the authors proposed a mechanism of vacuum energy sequester as a means of protecting the observable cosmological constant from quantum radiative corrections. The original proposal was based on using global Lagrange multipliers, but later a local formulation was provided. Subsequently other interesting claims of a different non-local approach to the cosmological constant problem were made, based again on global Lagrange multipliers. We examine some of these proposals and find their mutual relationship. We explain that the proposals which do not treat the cosmological constant counterterm as a dynamical variable require fine tunings to have acceptable solutions. Furthermore, the counterterm often needs to be retuned at every order in the loop expansion to cancel the radiative corrections to the cosmological constant, just like in standard GR. These observations are an important reminder of just how the proposal of vacuum energy sequester avoids such problems.

Magnetically induced vacuum decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue Shesheng

2003-01-01

We study the fermionic vacuum energy of vacua with and without application of an external magnetic field. The energetic difference of two vacua leads to the vacuum decaying and the vacuum energy being released. In the context of quantum field theories, we discuss why and how the vacuum energy can be released by spontaneous photon emission and/or paramagnetically screening the external magnetic field. In addition, we quantitatively compute the vacuum energy released, the paramagnetic screening effect, and the rate and spectrum of spontaneous photon emission. The possibilities of experimentally detecting such an effect of vacuum-energy release and that this effect accounts for the anomalous x-ray pulsar are discussed

Can observations inside the Solar System reveal the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum?

CERN Document Server

Hajdukovic, Dragan Slavkov

2013-01-01

The understanding of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum might be the next scientific revolution.It was recently proposed that the quantum vacuum contains the virtual gravitational dipoles; we argue that this hypothesis might be tested within the Solar System. The key point is that quantum vacuum ("enriched" with the gravitational dipoles) induces a retrograde precession of the perihelion. It is obvious that this phenomenon might eventually be revealed by more accurate studies of orbits of planets and orbits of the artificial Earth satellites. However, we suggest that potentialy the best "laboratory" for the study of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum is the Dwarf Planet Eris and its satellite Dysnomia; the distance of nearly 100AU makes it the unique system in which the precession of the perihelion of Dysnomia (around Eris) is strongly dominated by the quantum vacuum.

Cosmological implications of the transition from the false vacuum to the true vacuum state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stachowski, Aleksander; Szydlowski, Marek; Urbanowski, Krzysztof

2017-01-01

We study cosmology with running dark energy. The energy density of dark energy is obtained from the quantum process of transition from the false vacuum state to the true vacuum state. We use the Breit-Wigner energy distribution function to model the quantum unstable systems and obtain the energy density of the dark energy parametrization ρ_d_e(t). We also use Krauss and Dent's idea linking properties of the quantum mechanical decay of unstable states with the properties of the observed Universe. In the cosmological model with this parametrization there is an energy transfer between dark matter and dark energy. The intensity of this process, measured by a parameter α, distinguishes two scenarios. As the Universe starts from the false vacuum state, for the small value of α (0 0.4 the density of the dark energy jumps down. In both cases the present value of the density of dark energy is reached. From a statistical analysis we find this model to be in good agreement with the astronomical data and practically indistinguishable from the ΛCDM model. (orig.)

Cosmological implications of the transition from the false vacuum to the true vacuum state

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stachowski, Aleksander [Jagiellonian University, Astronomical Observatory, Krakow (Poland); Szydlowski, Marek [Jagiellonian University, Astronomical Observatory, Krakow (Poland); Jagiellonian University, Mark Kac Complex Systems Research Centre, Krakow (Poland); Urbanowski, Krzysztof [University of Zielona Gora, Institute of Physics, Zielona Gora (Poland)

2017-06-15

We study cosmology with running dark energy. The energy density of dark energy is obtained from the quantum process of transition from the false vacuum state to the true vacuum state. We use the Breit-Wigner energy distribution function to model the quantum unstable systems and obtain the energy density of the dark energy parametrization ρ{sub de}(t). We also use Krauss and Dent's idea linking properties of the quantum mechanical decay of unstable states with the properties of the observed Universe. In the cosmological model with this parametrization there is an energy transfer between dark matter and dark energy. The intensity of this process, measured by a parameter α, distinguishes two scenarios. As the Universe starts from the false vacuum state, for the small value of α (0 < α < 0.4) it goes through an intermediate oscillatory (quantum) regime of the density of dark energy, while for α > 0.4 the density of the dark energy jumps down. In both cases the present value of the density of dark energy is reached. From a statistical analysis we find this model to be in good agreement with the astronomical data and practically indistinguishable from the ΛCDM model. (orig.)

Vacuum field energy and spontaneous emission in anomalously dispersive cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bradshaw, Douglas H.; Di Rosa, Michael D.

2011-01-01

Anomalously dispersive cavities, particularly white-light cavities, may have larger bandwidth to finesse ratios than their normally dispersive counterparts. Partly for this reason, they have been proposed for use in laser interferometer gravitational-wave observatory (LIGO)-like gravity-wave detectors and in ring-laser gyroscopes. In this paper we analyze the quantum noise associated with anomalously dispersive cavity modes. The vacuum field energy associated with a particular cavity mode is proportional to the cavity-averaged group velocity of that mode. For anomalously dispersive cavities with group index values between 1 and 0, this means that the total vacuum field energy associated with a particular cavity mode must exceed (ℎ/2π)ω/2. For white-light cavities in particular, the group index approaches zero and the vacuum field energy of a particular spatial mode may be significantly enhanced. We predict enhanced spontaneous emission rates into anomalously dispersive cavity modes and broadened laser linewidths when the linewidth of intracavity emitters is broader than the cavity linewidth.

Vacuum-induced quantum memory in an opto-electromechanical system

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Li-Guo; Wang, Zhong-Yang; Wu, Shi-Chao; Gong, Shang-Qing; Ma, Hong-Yang; Jing, Jun

2018-03-01

We propose a scheme to implement electrically controlled quantum memory based on vacuum-induced transparency (VIT) in a high-Q tunable cavity, which is capacitively coupled to a mechanically variable capacitor by a charged mechanical cavity mirror as an interface. We analyze the changes of the cavity photons arising from vacuum-induced-Raman process and discuss VIT in an atomic ensemble trapped in the cavity. By slowly adjusting the voltage on the capacitor, the VIT can be adiabatically switched on or off, meanwhile, the transfer between the probe photon state and the atomic spin state can be electrically and adiabatically modulated. Therefore, we demonstrate a vacuum-induced quantum memory by electrically manipulating the mechanical mirror of the cavity based on electromagnetically induced transparency mechanism.

Vacuum source-field correlations and advanced waves in quantum optics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Stokes

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The solution to the wave equation as a Cauchy problem with prescribed fields at an initial time $t=0$ is purely retarded. Similarly, in the quantum theory of radiation the specification of Heisenberg picture photon annihilation and creation operators at time $t \\gt 0$ in terms of operators at $t=0$ automatically yields purely retarded source-fields. However, we show that two-time quantum correlations between the retarded source-fields of a stationary dipole and the quantum vacuum-field possess advanced wave-like contributions. Despite their advanced nature, these correlations are perfectly consistent with Einstein causality. It is shown that while they do not significantly contribute to photo-detection amplitudes in the vacuum state, they do effect the statistics of measurements involving the radiative force experienced by a point charge in the field of the dipole. Specifically, the dispersion in the charge's momentum is found to increase with time. This entails the possibility of obtaining direct experimental evidence for the existence of advanced waves in physical reality, and provides yet another signature of the quantum nature of the vacuum.

A scheme of measurement of quantum-vacuum geometric phases in a noncoplanar fibre system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen Jianqi

2004-01-01

We study the quantum-vacuum geometric phases resulting from the vacuum fluctuation of photon fields in a Tomita-Chiao-Wu noncoplanar curved fibre system, and suggest a scheme to test for the potential existence of such a vacuum effect. Since the signs of the quantum-vacuum geometric phases of left- and right-handed (LRH) circularly polarized light are opposite, the sum of the geometric phases at the vacuum level is necessarily zero in the fibre experiments performed previously by other authors. By using the present approach where a fibre made of gyroelectric media is employed, the quantum-vacuum geometric phases of LRH light cannot be exactly cancelled, and it may therefore be possible to test this experimentally. (letter to the editor)

Parametric resonance in quantum electrodynamics vacuum birefringence

Science.gov (United States)

Arza, Ariel; Elias, Ricardo Gabriel

2018-05-01

Vacuum magnetic birefringence is one of the most interesting nonlinear phenomena in quantum electrodynamics because it is a pure photon-photon result of the theory and it directly signalizes the violation of the classical superposition principle of electromagnetic fields in the full quantum theory. We perform analytical and numerical calculations when an electromagnetic wave interacts with an oscillating external magnetic field. We find that in an ideal cavity, when the external field frequency is around the electromagnetic wave frequency, the normal and parallel components of the wave suffer parametric resonance at different rates, producing a vacuum birefringence effect growing in time. We also study the case where there is no cavity and the oscillating magnetic field is spatially localized in a region of length L . In both cases we find also a rotation of the elliptical axis.

Assessment of proposed electromagnetic quantum vacuum energy extraction methods

OpenAIRE

Moddel, Garret

2009-01-01

In research articles and patents several methods have been proposed for the extraction of zero-point energy from the vacuum. None has been reliably demonstrated, but the proposals remain largely unchallenged. In this paper the feasibility of these methods is assessed in terms of underlying thermodynamics principles of equilibrium, detailed balance, and conservation laws. The methods are separated into three classes: nonlinear processing of the zero-point field, mechanical extraction using Cas...

The vacuum structure, special relativity theory and quantum mechanics revisited: a field theory-no-geometry approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogolubov, N.N. Jr.; Prykarpatsky, A.K.; Ufuk Taneri

2008-07-01

The main fundamental principles characterizing the vacuum field structure are formulated and the modeling of the related vacuum medium and charged point particle dynamics by means of de- vised field theoretic tools are analyzed. The Maxwell electrodynamic theory is revisited and newly derived from the suggested vacuum field structure principles and the classical special relativity theory relationship between the energy and the corresponding point particle mass is revisited and newly obtained. The Lorentz force expression with respect to arbitrary non-inertial reference frames is revisited and discussed in detail, and some new interpretations of relations between the special relativity theory and quantum mechanics are presented. The famous quantum-mechanical Schroedinger type equations for a relativistic point particle in the external potential and magnetic fields within the quasiclassical approximation as the Planck constant (h/2π) → 0 and the light velocity c → ∞ are obtained. (author)

Quantum random number generator based on quantum nature of vacuum fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanova, A. E.; Chivilikhin, S. A.; Gleim, A. V.

2017-11-01

Quantum random number generator (QRNG) allows obtaining true random bit sequences. In QRNG based on quantum nature of vacuum, optical beam splitter with two inputs and two outputs is normally used. We compare mathematical descriptions of spatial beam splitter and fiber Y-splitter in the quantum model for QRNG, based on homodyne detection. These descriptions were identical, that allows to use fiber Y-splitters in practical QRNG schemes, simplifying the setup. Also we receive relations between the input radiation and the resulting differential current in homodyne detector. We experimentally demonstrate possibility of true random bits generation by using QRNG based on homodyne detection with Y-splitter.

Cooling mechanical motion via vacuum effect of an ensemble of quantum emitters.

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Wenjie; Chen, Aixi; Lan, Yueheng

2015-11-30

We design a hybrid optomechanical setup, in which an ensemble of quantum emitters is coupled with a movable mirror through vacuum interaction. The optical cavity is driven along with the quantum emitters and therefore the coupling between the cavity field and the ensemble determines the dynamics of the coupled system. In particular, we investigated the influence of the vacuum coupling strength on the effective frequency and the effective damping rate of the movable mirror, which shows that the vacuum interaction enhances greatly the effective damping rate. Further, the cooling characteristics of the mechanical resonator is analyzed in detail by counting the effective phonon number in the mirror's motion. It is found that the ground-state cooling of the mechanical motion can be approached in the bad cavity limit when the vacuum coupling is included. The dependence of the cooling of the mechanical motion on the parameters of the cavity and the quantum emitter is investigated in detail numerically.

Generating functional of the mean field in quantum electrodynamics with non-stable vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gitman, D.M.; Kuchin, V.A.

1981-01-01

Generating functional for calculating a mean field, in the case of unstable vacuum, in quantum field theory has been suggested. Continual representation for the generating functional of the mean field has been found in the case of quantum electrodynamics with an external field. Generating electron-positron pairs from vacuum [ru

Dark energy: Vacuum fluctuations, the effective phantom phase, and holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elizalde, E.; Nojiri, S.; Odintsov, S. D.; Wang Peng

2005-01-01

We aim at the construction of dark energy models without exotic matter but with a phantomlike equation of state (an effective phantom phase). The first model we consider is decaying vacuum cosmology where the fluctuations of the vacuum are taken into account. In this case, the phantom cosmology (with an effective, observational ω being less than -1 ) emerges even for the case of a real dark energy with a physical equation of state parameter ω larger than -1. The second proposal is a generalized holographic model, which is produced by the presence of an infrared cutoff. It also leads to an effective phantom phase, which is not a transient one as in the first model. However, we show that quantum effects are able to prevent its evolution towards a big rip singularity

No survival of Nonlocalilty of fermionic quantum states with alpha vacuum in the infinite acceleration limit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Younghun, E-mail: yyhkwon@hanyang.ac.kr

2015-09-02

In this article, we investigate the nonlocal behavior of the quantum state of fermionic system having the alpha vacuum. We evaluate the maximum violation of CHSH inequality in the quantum state. Even when the maximally entangled quantum state is initially shared it cannot violate the CHSH inequality, regardless of any alpha vacuum, when the infinite acceleration is applied. It means that the nonlocality of the quantum state in fermionic system with the alpha vacuum cannot survive in the infinite acceleration limit.

Big Bang or vacuum fluctuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zel'dovich, Ya.B.

1980-01-01

Some general properties of vacuum fluctuations in quantum field theory are described. The connection between the ''energy dominance'' of the energy density of vacuum fluctuations in curved space-time and the presence of singularity is discussed. It is pointed out that a de-Sitter space-time (with the energy density of the vacuum fluctuations in the Einstein equations) that matches the expanding Friedman solution may describe the history of the Universe before the Big Bang. (P.L.)

Springer An étude on global vacuum energy sequester

CERN Document Server

D'Amico, Guido; Padilla, Antonio; Stefanyszyn, David; Westphal, Alexander; Zahariade, George

2017-09-18

Recently two of the authors proposed a mechanism of vacuum energy sequester as a means of protecting the observable cosmological constant from quantum radiative corrections. The original proposal was based on using global Lagrange multipliers, but later a local formulation was provided. Subsequently other interesting claims of a different non-local approach to the cosmological constant problem were made, based again on global Lagrange multipliers. We examine some of these proposals and find their mutual relationship. We explain that the proposals which do not treat the cosmological constant counterterm as a dynamical variable require fine tunings to have acceptable solutions. Furthermore, the counterterm often needs to be retuned at every order in the loop expansion to cancel the radiative corrections to the cosmological constant, just like in standard GR. These observations are an important reminder of just how the proposal of vacuum energy sequester avoids such problems.

Cosmology with decaying vacuum energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freese, K.; Adams, F.; Frieman, J.; Mottola, E.

1987-09-01

Motivated by recent attempts to solve the cosmological constant problem, we examine the observational consequences of a vacuum energy density which decays in time. For all times later than t ∼ 1 sec, the ratio of the vacuum to the total energy density of the universe must be small. Although the vacuum cannot provide the ''missing mass'' required to close the universe today, its presence earlier in the history of the universe could have important consequences. We discuss restrictions on the vacuum energy arising from primordial nucleosynthesis, the microwave and gamma ray background spectra, and galaxy formation. A small vacuum component at the era of nucleosynthesis, 0.01 5, but in some cases would severely distort the microwave spectrum. 9 refs., 3 figs

Modified weak energy condition for the energy momentum tensor in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latorre, J.

1998-01-01

The weak energy condition is known to fail in general when applied to expectation values of the energy momentum tensor in flat space quantum field theory. It is shown how the usual counter arguments against its validity are no longer applicable if the states vertical stroke ψ right angle for which the expectation value is considered are restricted to a suitably defined subspace. A possible natural restriction on vertical stroke ψ right angle is suggested and illustrated by two quantum mechanical examples based on a simple perturbed harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian. The proposed alternative quantum weak energy condition is applied to states formed by the action of the scalar, vector and the energy momentum tensor operators on the vacuum. We assume conformal invariance in order to determine almost uniquely three-point functions involving the energy momentum tensor in terms of a few parameters. The positivity conditions lead to non-trivial inequalities for these parameters. They are satisfied in free field theories, except in one case for dimensions close to two. Further restrictions on vertical stroke ψ right angle are suggested which remove this problem. The inequalities which follow from considering the state formed by applying the energy momentum tensor to the vacuum are shown to imply that the coefficient of the topological term in the expectation value of the trace of the energy momentum tensor in an arbitrary curved space background is positive, in accord with calculations in free field theories. (orig.)

A quantum liquid model for the QCD vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, H.B.; Olesen, P.

1979-06-01

It is shown that domains are formed in a homogeneous SU(2) color magnetic field. Due to quantum fluctuations the domains have fluid properties. It is then argued that quantum mechanically superpositions of such domains must be considered. The resulting state is gauge and rotational invariant, in spite of the fact that the original color magnetic field breaks these invariances. It is pointed out that in the model for the QCD vacuum color magnetic monopoles are not confined. (Auth.)

Experimental tests of vacuum energy

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

While the current vacuum energy of the Universe is very small, in our standard cosmological picture it has been much larger at earlier epochs. We try to address the question of what are possible ways to try to experimentally verify this. One direction is to look for systems where vacuum energy constitutes a non-negligible fraction of the total energy, and study the properties of those. Another possibility is to focus on the epochs around cosmic phase transitions, when the vacuum energy is of the same order as the total energy. Along these lines we investigate properties of neutron stars and the imprint of phase transitions on primordial gravitational waves.

Phenomenology of the vacuum in quantum electrodynamics and beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doebrich, Babette

2011-09-30

Determining forces that arise by the restriction of the fluctuation modes of the vacuum by the insertion of boundaries or the observation of altered light propagation in external fields is a versatile means to investigate the vacuum structure of quantum electrodynamics. For these quantum vacuum probes, the vacuum can be understood and effectively modeled as a medium. Investigating the properties of this medium cannot only test and broaden our understanding of known interactions but can also be a valuable tool in the search for particles at low energy scales which arise in extensions of the standard model. In this thesis, we first study the geometry dependence of fluctuation modes in the Dirichlet-scalar analog of Casimir-Polder forces between an atom and a surface with arbitrary uniaxial corrugations. To this end we employ a technique which is fully nonperturbative in the height profile. We parameterize the differences to the distance dependencies in the planar limit in terms of an anomalous dimension quantifying the power-law deviation from the planar case. In numerical studies of experimentally relevant corrugations, we identify a universal regime of the anomalous dimension at larger distances. We argue that this universality arises as the relevant fluctuations average over corrugation structures smaller than the atom-wall distance. Turning to modified light propagation as a probe of the quantum vacuum, we show that a combination of strong, pulsed magnets and gravitational-wave interferometers can not only facilitate the detection of strong-field QED phenomena, but also significantly enlarges the accessible parameter space of hypothetical hidden-sector particles. We identify pulsed magnets as a suitable strong-field source to induce quantum nonlinearities, since their pulse frequency can be perfectly matched with the domain of highest sensitivity of modern gravitational-wave interferometers. Pushing current laboratory field-strengths to their limits, we suggest a

Phenomenology of the vacuum in quantum electrodynamics and beyond

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doebrich, Babette

2011-01-01

Determining forces that arise by the restriction of the fluctuation modes of the vacuum by the insertion of boundaries or the observation of altered light propagation in external fields is a versatile means to investigate the vacuum structure of quantum electrodynamics. For these quantum vacuum probes, the vacuum can be understood and effectively modeled as a medium. Investigating the properties of this medium cannot only test and broaden our understanding of known interactions but can also be a valuable tool in the search for particles at low energy scales which arise in extensions of the standard model. In this thesis, we first study the geometry dependence of fluctuation modes in the Dirichlet-scalar analog of Casimir-Polder forces between an atom and a surface with arbitrary uniaxial corrugations. To this end we employ a technique which is fully nonperturbative in the height profile. We parameterize the differences to the distance dependencies in the planar limit in terms of an anomalous dimension quantifying the power-law deviation from the planar case. In numerical studies of experimentally relevant corrugations, we identify a universal regime of the anomalous dimension at larger distances. We argue that this universality arises as the relevant fluctuations average over corrugation structures smaller than the atom-wall distance. Turning to modified light propagation as a probe of the quantum vacuum, we show that a combination of strong, pulsed magnets and gravitational-wave interferometers can not only facilitate the detection of strong-field QED phenomena, but also significantly enlarges the accessible parameter space of hypothetical hidden-sector particles. We identify pulsed magnets as a suitable strong-field source to induce quantum nonlinearities, since their pulse frequency can be perfectly matched with the domain of highest sensitivity of modern gravitational-wave interferometers. Pushing current laboratory field-strengths to their limits, we suggest a

Gravitational collapse and the vacuum energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos, M

2014-01-01

To explain the accelerated expansion of the universe, models with interacting dark components (dark energy and dark matter) have been considered recently in the literature. Generally, the dark energy component is physically interpreted as the vacuum energy of the all fields that fill the universe. As the other side of the same coin, the influence of the vacuum energy on the gravitational collapse is of great interest. We study such collapse adopting different parameterizations for the evolution of the vacuum energy. We discuss the homogeneous collapsing star fluid, that interacts with a vacuum energy component, using the stiff matter case as example. We conclude this work with a discussion of the Cahill-McVittie mass for the collapsed object.

Quantum teleportation of entangled squeezed vacuum states

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

蔡新华

2003-01-01

An optical scheme for probabilistic teleporting entangled squeezed vacuum states (SVS) is proposed. In this scheme,the teleported state is a bipartite entangled SVS,and the quantum channel is a tripartite entangled SVS.The process of the teleportation is achieved by using a 50/50 symmetric beamsplitter and photon detectors with the help of classical information.

Quantum energy teleportation with an electromagnetic field: discrete versus continuous variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hotta, Masahiro

2010-01-01

It is well known that usual quantum teleportation protocols cannot transport energy. Recently, new protocols called quantum energy teleportation (QET) have been proposed, which transport energy by local operations and classical communication with the ground states of many-body quantum systems. In this paper, we compare two different QET protocols for transporting energy with the electromagnetic field. In the first protocol, a 1/2 spin (a qubit) is coupled with the quantum fluctuation in the vacuum state and measured in order to obtain one-bit information about the fluctuation for the teleportation. In the second protocol, a harmonic oscillator is coupled with the fluctuation and measured in order to obtain continuous-variable information about the fluctuation. In the spin protocol, the amount of teleported energy is suppressed by an exponential damping factor when the amount of input energy increases. This suppression factor becomes power damping in the case of the harmonic oscillator protocol. Therefore, it is concluded that obtaining more information about the quantum fluctuation leads to teleporting more energy. This result suggests a profound relationship between energy and quantum information.

False vacuum decay in quantum mechanics and four dimensional scalar field theory

Science.gov (United States)

Bezuglov, Maxim

2018-04-01

When the Higgs boson was discovered in 2012 it was realized that electroweak vacuum may suffer a possible metastability on the Planck scale and can eventually decay. To understand this problem it is important to have reliable predictions for the vacuum decay rate within the framework of quantum field theory. For now, it can only be done at one loop level, which is apparently is not enough. The aim of this work is to develop a technique for the calculation of two and higher order radiative corrections to the false vacuum decay rate in the framework of four dimensional scalar quantum field theory and then apply it to the case of the Standard Model. To achieve this goal, we first start from the case of d=1 dimensional QFT i.e. quantum mechanics. We show that for some potentials two and three loop corrections can be very important and must be taken into account. Next, we use quantum mechanical example as a template for the general d=4 dimensional theory. In it we are concentrating on the calculations of bounce solution and corresponding Green function in so called thin wall approximation. The obtained Green function is then used as a main ingredient for the calculation of two loop radiative corrections to the false vacuum decay rate.

The weight of the vacuum a scientific history of dark energy

CERN Document Server

Kragh, Helge S

2014-01-01

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the discovery of cosmic acceleration due to dark energy, a discovery that is all the more perplexing as nobody knows what dark energy actually is. We put the modern concept of cosmological vacuum energy into historical context and show how it grew out of disparate roots in quantum mechanics (zero-point energy) and relativity theory (the cosmological constant, Einstein's “greatest blunder”). These two influences have remained strangely aloof and still co-exist in an uneasy alliance that is at the heart of the greatest crisis in theoretical physics, the cosmological-constant problem.

Quantum optical measurements with undetected photons through vacuum field indistinguishability.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sun Kyung; Yoon, Tai Hyun; Cho, Minhaeng

2017-07-26

Quantum spectroscopy and imaging with undetected idler photons have been demonstrated by measuring one-photon interference between the corresponding entangled signal fields from two spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) crystals. In this Report, we present a new quantum optical measurement scheme utilizing three SPDC crystals in a cascading arrangement; here, neither the detection of the idler photons which interact with materials of interest nor their conjugate signal photons which do not interact with the sample is required. The coherence of signal beams in a single photon W-type path-entangled state is induced and modulated by indistinguishabilities of the idler beams and crucially the quantum vacuum fields. As a result, the optical properties of materials or objects interacting with the idler beam from the first SPDC crystal can be measured by detecting second-order interference between the signal beams generated by the other two SPDC crystals further down the set-up. This gedankenexperiment illustrates the fundamental importance of vacuum fields in generating an optical tripartite entangled state and thus its crucial role in quantum optical measurements.

Energy eigenvalues and squeezing properties of general systems of coupled quantum anharmonic oscillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, N. N.; Chew, L. Y.

2007-01-01

We have generalized the two-step approach to the solution of systems of N coupled quantum anharmonic oscillators. By using the squeezed vacuum state of each individual oscillator, we construct the tensor product state, and obtain the optimal squeezed vacuum product state through energy minimization. We then employ this optimal state and its associated bosonic operators to define a basis set to construct the Heisenberg matrix. The diagonalization of the matrix enables us to obtain the energy eigenvalues of the coupled oscillators. In particular, we have applied our formalism to determine the eigenenergies of systems of two coupled quantum anharmonic oscillators perturbed by a general polynomial potential, as well as three and four coupled systems. Furthermore, by performing a first-order perturbation analysis about the optimal squeezed vacuum product state, we have also examined into the squeezing properties of two coupled oscillator systems

Vacuum Energy and Inflation: 4. An Inflationary Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins, Elisha

2013-01-01

This is the fourth paper in a series of four. The first paper in the series, "Vacuum Energy and Inflation: 1. A Liter of Vacuum Energy" [EJ1024183] discusses an example of vacuum energy. Vacuum energy is explained as an energy with a negative pressure whose energy density remains constant in an expanding space. Paper 2, "Vacuum…

The Trace Anomaly and Dynamical Vacuum Energy in Cosmology

CERN Document Server

Mottola, Emil

2010-01-01

The trace anomaly of conformal matter implies the existence of massless scalar poles in physical amplitudes involving the stress-energy tensor. These poles may be described by a local effective action with massless scalar fields, which couple to classical sources, contribute to gravitational scattering processes, and can have long range gravitational effects at macroscopic scales. In an effective field theory approach, the effective action of the anomaly is an infrared relevant term that should be added to the Einstein-Hilbert action of classical General Relativity to take account of macroscopic quantum effects. The additional scalar degrees of freedom contained in this effective action may be understood as responsible for both the Casimir effect in flat spacetime and large quantum backreaction effects at the horizon scale of cosmological spacetimes. These effects of the trace anomaly imply that the cosmological vacuum energy is dynamical, and its value depends on macroscopic boundary conditions at the cosmol...

The Origin of Inertia and Matter as a Superradiant Phase Transition of Quantum Vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

Maxmilian Caligiuri, Luigi

Mass is one of the most important concepts in physics and its real understanding represents the key for the formulation of any consistent physical theory. During the past years, a very interesting model of inertial and gravitational mass as the result of the reaction interaction between the charged particles (electrons and quarks) contained in a given body and a suitable "fraction" of QED Zero Point Fields confined within an ideal resonant cavity, associated to the same body, has been proposed by Haish, Rueda and Puthoff. More recently, the author showed that this interpretation is consistent with a picture of mass (both inertial and gravitational) as the seat of ZPF standing waves whose presence reduces quantum vacuum energy density inside the resonant cavity ideally associated to the body volume. Nevertheless so far, the ultimate physical origin of such resonant cavity as well as the mechanism able to "select" the fraction of ZPF electromagnetic modes interacting within it, remained unrevealed. In this paper, basing on the framework of QED coherence in condensed matter, we'll show mass can be viewed as the result of a spontaneous superradiant phase transition of quantum vacuum giving rise to a more stable, energetically favored, oscopic quantum state characterized by an ensemble of coherence domains, "trapping" the coherent ZPF fluctuations inside a given volume just acting as a resonant cavity. Our model is then able to explain the "natural" emergence of the ideal resonant cavity speculated by Haish, Rueda and Puthoff and its defining parameters as well as the physical mechanism selecting the fraction of ZPF interacting with the body particles. Finally, a generalization of the model to explain the origin of mass of elementary particles is proposed also suggesting a new understanding of Compton's frequency and De Broglie's wavelength. Our results indicates both inertia and matter could truly originate from coherent interaction between quantum matter-wave and

Lamb shift of energy levels in quantum rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryuchkyan, G Yu; Kyriienko, O; Shelykh, I A

2015-01-01

We study the vacuum radiative corrections to energy levels of a confined electron in quantum rings. The calculations are provided for the Lamb shift of energy levels in a low-momentum region of virtual photons and for both one-dimensional and two-dimensional quantum rings. We show that contrary to the well known case of a hydrogen atom the value of the Lamb shift increases with the magnetic momentum quantum number m. We also investigate the dependence of the Lamb shift on magnetic flux piercing the ring and demonstrate a presence of magnetic-flux-dependent oscillations. For a one-dimensional ring the value of the shift strongly depends on the radius of the ring. It is small for semiconductor rings but can attain measurable quantities in natural organic ring-shape molecules, such as benzene, cycloalcanes and porphyrins. (paper)

Quantum friction across the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebelein, C.

1998-01-01

Friction is so ubiquitous that it seems to be almost trivially familiar. The rubbing of two solid surfaces is opposed by a resistance and accompanied by the production of heat. Engineers still dream of perfectly smooth surfaces that can be moved against each other without any friction. However, this dream has now been shattered by John Pendry of Imperial College, London, who has published a theory that shows that even two perfectly smooth surfaces can experience an appreciable friction when moved relative to each other (J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 1997 9 10301-10320). Moreover, the two surfaces he considers are not even in contact but separated by a gap a lattice constant or so wide. The explanation of this lies in what Pendry calls the shearing of the vacuum in the gap. In quantum physics the vacuum is not just empty nothingness; it is full of virtually everything. The vacuum abounds with virtual photons. These zero-point fluctuations cannot normally be seen, but they give the vacuum a structure that manifests itself in a variety of effects (for example, the Casimir effect). A more subtle, yet more familiar, manifestation of these zero-point fluctuations is the van der Waals force. The effect described by Pendry can be understood as a van der Waals interaction between two infinite slabs of dielectric material moving relative to each other. Each slab will be aware of the motion of the other because the virtual photons reflected from the moving surface are Doppler-shifted up or down, depending on the direction of the photon wave vector relative to the motion. Pendry shows that this asymmetry in the exchange of virtual photons can lead to an appreciable effect for materials of reasonably strong dispersion. (author)

Protecting quantum coherence of two-level atoms from vacuum fluctuations of electromagnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xiaobao; Tian, Zehua; Wang, Jieci; Jing, Jiliang

2016-01-01

In the framework of open quantum systems, we study the dynamics of a static polarizable two-level atom interacting with a bath of fluctuating vacuum electromagnetic field and explore under which conditions the coherence of the open quantum system is unaffected by the environment. For both a single-qubit and two-qubit systems, we find that the quantum coherence cannot be protected from noise when the atom interacts with a non-boundary electromagnetic field. However, with the presence of a boundary, the dynamical conditions for the insusceptible of quantum coherence are fulfilled only when the atom is close to the boundary and is transversely polarizable. Otherwise, the quantum coherence can only be protected in some degree in other polarizable direction. -- Highlights: •We study the dynamics of a two-level atom interacting with a bath of fluctuating vacuum electromagnetic field. •For both a single and two-qubit systems, the quantum coherence cannot be protected from noise without a boundary. •The insusceptible of the quantum coherence can be fulfilled only when the atom is close to the boundary and is transversely polarizable. •Otherwise, the quantum coherence can only be protected in some degree in other polarizable direction.

Quantum gravity vacuum and invariants of embedded spin networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikovic, A

2003-01-01

We show that the path integral for the three-dimensional SU(2) BF theory with a Wilson loop or a spin network function inserted can be understood as the Rovelli-Smolin loop transform of a wavefunction in the Ashtekar connection representation, where the wavefunction satisfies the constraints of quantum general relativity with zero cosmological constant. This wavefunction is given as a product of the delta functions of the SU(2) field strength and therefore it can be naturally associated with a flat connection spacetime. The loop transform can be defined rigorously via the quantum SU(2) group, as a spin foam state sum model, so that one obtains invariants of spin networks embedded in a three-manifold. These invariants define a flat connection vacuum state in the q-deformed spin network basis. We then propose a modification of this construction in order to obtain a vacuum state corresponding to the flat metric spacetime

Stochastic dark energy from inflationary quantum fluctuations

Science.gov (United States)

Glavan, Dražen; Prokopec, Tomislav; Starobinsky, Alexei A.

2018-05-01

We study the quantum backreaction from inflationary fluctuations of a very light, non-minimally coupled spectator scalar and show that it is a viable candidate for dark energy. The problem is solved by suitably adapting the formalism of stochastic inflation. This allows us to self-consistently account for the backreaction on the background expansion rate of the Universe where its effects are large. This framework is equivalent to that of semiclassical gravity in which matter vacuum fluctuations are included at the one loop level, but purely quantum gravitational fluctuations are neglected. Our results show that dark energy in our model can be characterized by a distinct effective equation of state parameter (as a function of redshift) which allows for testing of the model at the level of the background.

Hadron Contribution to Vacuum Polarisation

CERN Document Server

Davier, M; Malaescu, B; Zhang, Z

2016-01-01

Precision tests of the Standard Theory require theoretical predictions taking into account higher-order quantum corrections. Among these vacuum polarisation plays a predominant role. Vacuum polarisation originates from creation and annihilation of virtual particle–antiparticle states. Leptonic vacuum polarisation can be computed from quantum electrodynamics. Hadronic vacuum polarisation cannot because of the non-perturbative nature of QCD at low energy. The problem is remedied by establishing dispersion relations involving experimental data on the cross section for e+ e− annihilation into hadrons. This chapter sets the theoretical and experimental scene and reviews the progress achieved in the last decades thanks to more precise and complete data sets. Among the various applications of hadronic vacuum polarisation calculations, two are emphasised: the contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and the running of the fine structure constant α to the Z mass scale. They are fundamental ingre...

The Quantum Focussing Conjecture and Quantum Null Energy Condition

Science.gov (United States)

Koeller, Jason

Evidence has been gathering over the decades that spacetime and gravity are best understood as emergent phenomenon, especially in the context of a unified description of quantum mechanics and gravity. The Quantum Focussing Conjecture (QFC) and Quantum Null Energy Condition (QNEC) are two recently-proposed relationships between entropy and geometry, and energy and entropy, respectively, which further strengthen this idea. In this thesis, we study the QFC and the QNEC. We prove the QNEC in a variety of contexts, including free field theories on Killing horizons, holographic theories on Killing horizons, and in more general curved spacetimes. We also consider the implications of the QFC and QNEC in asymptotically flat space, where they constrain the information content of gravitational radiation arriving at null infinity, and in AdS/CFT, where they are related to other semiclassical inequalities and properties of boundary-anchored extremal area surfaces. It is shown that the assumption of validity and vacuum-state saturation of the QNEC for regions of flat space defined by smooth cuts of null planes implies a local formula for the modular Hamiltonian of these regions. We also demonstrate that the QFC as originally conjectured can be violated in generic theories in d ≥ 5, which led the way to an improved formulation subsequently suggested by Stefan Leichenauer.

Evidence of quantum phase transition in real-space vacuum entanglement of higher derivative scalar quantum field theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, S Santhosh; Shankaranarayanan, S

2017-11-17

In a bipartite set-up, the vacuum state of a free Bosonic scalar field is entangled in real space and satisfies the area-law- entanglement entropy scales linearly with area of the boundary between the two partitions. In this work, we show that the area law is violated in two spatial dimensional model Hamiltonian having dynamical critical exponent z = 3. The model physically corresponds to next-to-next-to-next nearest neighbour coupling terms on a lattice. The result reported here is the first of its kind of violation of area law in Bosonic systems in higher dimensions and signals the evidence of a quantum phase transition. We provide evidence for quantum phase transition both numerically and analytically using quantum Information tools like entanglement spectra, quantum fidelity, and gap in the energy spectra. We identify the cause for this transition due to the accumulation of large number of angular zero modes around the critical point which catalyses the change in the ground state wave function due to the next-to-next-to-next nearest neighbor coupling. Lastly, using Hubbard-Stratanovich transformation, we show that the effective Bosonic Hamiltonian can be obtained from an interacting fermionic theory and provide possible implications for condensed matter systems.

Is the compactified vacuum semiclassically unstable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, K.

1987-01-01

It is shown, by applying the positive-energy theorem, that the present vacuum (M 4 xK D ) in some higher-dimensional theories (e.g. the Candelas-Weinberg model) is stable against decay by quantum tunnelling without change of topology. Frieman and Kolb have found a quantum tunnelling instability of the present vacuum in the same models. But they did not take into account the gravitational effect, which is important and prevents the universe from decaying into the higher-dimensional de Sitter phase. (orig.)

Vacuum energy from noncommutative models

Science.gov (United States)

Mignemi, S.; Samsarov, A.

2018-04-01

The vacuum energy is computed for a scalar field in a noncommutative background in several models of noncommutative geometry. One may expect that the noncommutativity introduces a natural cutoff on the ultraviolet divergences of field theory. Our calculations show however that this depends on the particular model considered: in some cases the divergences are suppressed and the vacuum energy is only logarithmically divergent, in other cases they are stronger than in the commutative theory.

Utilizing scalar electromagnetics to tap vacuum energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweet, F.; Bearden, T.E.

1991-01-01

Based on E.T. Whittaker's previously unnoticed 1903-1904 papers which established a hidden bidirectional EM wave structure in a standing forcefield free scalar potential, a method of directly engineering the ambient potential of the vacuum has been developed and realized experimentally. Adding Whittaker's engineerable hidden variable theory to classical electromagnetic, quantum mechanics, and general relativity produces supersets of each discipline. These supersets are joined by the common Whittaker subset, producing a unified field theory that is engineerable and tested. By treating the nucleus of the atom as a pumped phase conjugate mirror, several working model energy units have been produced which excite and organize the local vacuum, increase the local virtual photon flux between local vacuum and nucleus, establish coherent self-oscillations between the local excited vacuum and the affected nuclei, utilized the self-oscillating standing wave for self-pumping of the nuclei/mirrors, introduce a very tiny signal wave to the mirrors, and output into an external load circuit a powerful, amplified, time-reversed phase conjugate replica wave at 60 Hertz frequency and nominal 120 volt sine wave power. Several models have been built, ranging from 6 watts early on to one of 5 kilowatts. Both closed battery-less systems with damped positive feedback and open loop systems with battery-powered input have been successfully built. Open loop power gains of from 5 x 10 4 to 1.5 x 10 6 have been achieved. Antigravity experiments have also been successfully conducted where the weight of the unit was reduced by 90% in controlled experiments, with a signal wave input of 175 microwatts and an output of 1 kilowatt. The basic theory of the device is briefly explained and experimental results presented

Vacuum polarization and Hawking radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Rahmati, Shohreh

Quantum gravity is one of the interesting fields in contemporary physics which is still in progress. The purpose of quantum gravity is to present a quantum description for spacetime at 10-33cm or find the 'quanta' of gravitational interaction.. At present, the most viable theory to describe gravitational interaction is general relativity which is a classical theory. Semi-classical quantum gravity or quantum field theory in curved spacetime is an approximation to a full quantum theory of gravity. This approximation considers gravity as a classical field and matter fields are quantized. One interesting phenomena in semi-classical quantum gravity is Hawking radiation. Hawking radiation was derived by Stephen Hawking as a thermal emission of particles from the black hole horizon. In this thesis we obtain the spectrum of Hawking radiation using a new method. Vacuum is defined as the possible lowest energy state which is filled with pairs of virtual particle-antiparticle. Vacuum polarization is a consequence of pair creation in the presence of an external field such as an electromagnetic or gravitational field. Vacuum polarization in the vicinity of a black hole horizon can be interpreted as the cause of the emission from black holes known as Hawking radiation. In this thesis we try to obtain the Hawking spectrum using this approach. We re-examine vacuum polarization of a scalar field in a quasi-local volume that includes the horizon. We study the interaction of a scalar field with the background gravitational field of the black hole in the desired quasi-local region. The quasi-local volume is a hollow cylinder enclosed by two membranes, one inside the horizon and one outside the horizon. The net rate of particle emission can be obtained as the difference of the vacuum polarization from the outer boundary and inner boundary of the cylinder. Thus we found a new method to derive Hawking emission which is unitary and well defined in quantum field theory.

Local modular Hamiltonians from the quantum null energy condition

Science.gov (United States)

Koeller, Jason; Leichenauer, Stefan; Levine, Adam; Shahbazi-Moghaddam, Arvin

2018-03-01

The vacuum modular Hamiltonian K of the Rindler wedge in any relativistic quantum field theory is given by the boost generator. Here we investigate the modular Hamiltonian for more general half-spaces which are bounded by an arbitrary smooth cut of a null plane. We derive a formula for the second derivative of the modular Hamiltonian with respect to the coordinates of the cut which schematically reads K''=Tv v . This formula can be integrated twice to obtain a simple expression for the modular Hamiltonian. The result naturally generalizes the standard expression for the Rindler modular Hamiltonian to this larger class of regions. Our primary assumptions are the quantum null energy condition—an inequality between the second derivative of the von Neumann entropy of a region and the stress tensor—and its saturation in the vacuum for these regions. We discuss the validity of these assumptions in free theories and holographic theories to all orders in 1 /N .

Dynamical effects of QCD vacuum structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, Erasmo

1994-01-01

The role of the QCD vacuum structure in the determination of the properties of states and processes occurring in the confinement regime of QCD is reviewed. The finite range of the vacuum correlations is discussed, and an analytical form is suggested for the correlation functions. The role of the vacuum quantum numbers in the phenomenology of high-energy scattering is reviewed. The vacuum correlation model of non-perturbative QCD is mentioned as a bridge between the fundamental theory and the description of the experiments. (author). 13 refs., 1 fig

Quantum fluctuations in the dressed vacuum of a bosonic model system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, R E; Su, Q; Grobe, R; Acosta, S; Glasgow, S A

2012-01-01

Quantum fluctuations and the polarizability of the vacuum state are sometimes interpreted in terms of virtual particles that come into and out of existence for a limited amount of time. We study the spatial and temporal properties of these auxiliary particles on a numerical space-time grid for a one-dimensional model system. This approach permits us to compute the average distance between virtual particles and their lifetime. The creation dynamics of the virtual particles from the bare vacuum state is also examined. (paper)

Approximated calculation of the vacuum wave function and vacuum energy of the LGT with RPA method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hui Ping

2004-01-01

The coupled cluster method is improved with the random phase approximation (RPA) to calculate vacuum wave function and vacuum energy of 2 + 1 - D SU(2) lattice gauge theory. In this calculating, the trial wave function composes of single-hollow graphs. The calculated results of vacuum wave functions show very good scaling behaviors at weak coupling region l/g 2 >1.2 from the third order to the sixth order, and the vacuum energy obtained with RPA method is lower than the vacuum energy obtained without RPA method, which means that this method is a more efficient one

Experimental program to study the physical vacuum: high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willis, W.

1981-01-01

Quarks and gluons exist; they are nearly massless, but it is very hard or even impossible to knock them out of the proton. It is now widely believed that this strange state of affairs is due to the properties of the physical vacuum state as it now exists in our part of the Universe. On this view, the ground state of the vacuum is not that familiar in quantum electrodynamics (QED). That state is basically empty space, perturbed by fluctuations which occasionally give rise to a virtual electron-positron pair. In the quantum chromodynamic (QCD) theory of quarks and gluons, the stronger and more complicated forces give rise to a state which cannot be described as a perturbation on empty space. Instead, the physical vacuum has properties which resemble those of a physical medium. For example, the color field is completely excluded, or at least strongly repelled, from a macroscopic volume of physical vacuum. This effect confines the quarks and gluons which carry color, inside the hadrons. On the scale of hadrons, quantum fluctuations make the phenomena more complex, but a simple picture postulates that the strong color fields inside the hadron create a local volume of space more like the perturbative vacuum state, reverting to the physical vacuum state outside. This concept has been quantitatively expressed by the bag model, with some success. It seems that the physical vacuum has acquired properties reminiscent of Maxwell's ether. At least, so we are asked to believe. Maxwell introduced his ether for plausible reasons, but crucial experimental tests were found, and the theory was found wanting. In this talk, experiments for testing the idea that the physical vacuum is not identical to the perturbative one are discussed

Spinorial space-time and the origin of Quantum Mechanics. The dynamical role of the physical vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

2016-01-01

Is Quantum Mechanics really and ultimate principle of Physics described by a set of intrinsic exact laws? Are standard particles the ultimate constituents of matter? The two questions appear to be closely related, as a preonic structure of the physical vacuum would have an influence on the properties of quantum particles. Although the first preon models were just « quark-like » and assumed preons to be direct constituents of the conventional « elementary » particles, we suggested in 1995 that preons could instead be constituents of the physical vacuum (the superbradyon hypothesis). Standard particles would then be excitations of the preonic vacuum and have substantially different properties from those of preons themselves (critical speed…). The standard laws of Particle Physics would be approximate expressions generated from basic preon dynamics. In parallel, the mathematical properties of space-time structures such as the spinoral space-time (SST) we introduced in 1996-97 can have strong implications for Quantum Mechanics and even be its real origin. We complete here our recent discussion of the subject by pointing out that: i) Quantum Mechanics corresponds to a natural set of properties of vacuum excitations in the presence of a SST geometry ; ii) the recently observed entanglement at long distances would be a logical property if preons are superluminal (superbradyons), so that superluminal signals and correlations can propagate in vacuum ; iii) in a specific description, the function of space-time associated to the extended internal structure of a spin-1/2 particle at very small distances may be incompatible with a continuous motion at space and time scales where the internal structure of vacuum can be felt. In the dynamics associated to iii), and using the SST approach to space-time, a contradiction can appear between macroscopic and microscopic space-times due to an overlap in the time variable directly related to the fact that a spinorial function takes

Quantum processes: probability fluxes, transition probabilities in unit time and vacuum vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oleinik, V.P.; Arepjev, Ju D.

1989-01-01

Transition probabilities in unit time and probability fluxes are compared in studying the elementary quantum processes -the decay of a bound state under the action of time-varying and constant electric fields. It is shown that the difference between these quantities may be considerable, and so the use of transition probabilities W instead of probability fluxes Π, in calculating the particle fluxes, may lead to serious errors. The quantity W represents the rate of change with time of the population of the energy levels relating partly to the real states and partly to the virtual ones, and it cannot be directly measured in experiment. The vacuum background is shown to be continuously distorted when a perturbation acts on a system. Because of this the viewpoint of an observer on the physical properties of real particles continuously varies with time. This fact is not taken into consideration in the conventional theory of quantum transitions based on using the notion of probability amplitude. As a result, the probability amplitudes lose their physical meaning. All the physical information on quantum dynamics of a system is contained in the mean values of physical quantities. The existence of considerable differences between the quantities W and Π permits one in principle to make a choice of the correct theory of quantum transitions on the basis of experimental data. (author)

Quantum noise on a point charge from electromagnetic squeezed vacuum fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Tai-Hung; Hsiang, Jen-Tsung; Lee, Da-Shin

2010-01-01

The effect of quantum noises on a point charge from electromagnetic squeezed vacuum fluctuations is studied. Here a novel reduction phenomenon in velocity dispersion is found in the situation when the particle barely moves. It shows that the velocity dispersion of the charge can be reduced below the value solely given by the normal vacuum states of the electromagnetic fields by using an appropriate choice of the squeeze parameters. This may be viewed as a transient phenomenon. Optimally utilizing this reduction scheme for gravitational wave detection is possible, but challenging.

Quantum noise on a point charge from electromagnetic squeezed vacuum fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Tai-Hung; Hsiang, Jen-Tsung; Lee, Da-Shin [National Dong-Hwa University, Hua-lien, Taiwan (China)

2010-09-15

The effect of quantum noises on a point charge from electromagnetic squeezed vacuum fluctuations is studied. Here a novel reduction phenomenon in velocity dispersion is found in the situation when the particle barely moves. It shows that the velocity dispersion of the charge can be reduced below the value solely given by the normal vacuum states of the electromagnetic fields by using an appropriate choice of the squeeze parameters. This may be viewed as a transient phenomenon. Optimally utilizing this reduction scheme for gravitational wave detection is possible, but challenging.

Vacuum Energy and Inflation: 3. Newtonian Cosmology & GR

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins, Elisha

2013-01-01

This is paper #3 in a series of four papers on "vacuum energy" and inflation. In paper #1 [see EJ1024183] we discussed an example of what we have been calling vacuum energy. It is an energy with negative pressure whose energy density remains constant in an expanding space. We showed that an energy density with these properties exists…

Vacuum-polarization effects in global monopole space-times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzitelli, F.D.; Lousto, C.O.

1991-01-01

The gravitational effect produced by a global monopole may be approximated by a solid deficit angle. As a consequence, the energy-momentum tensor of a quantum field will have a nonzero vacuum expectation value. Here we study this ''vacuum-polarization effect'' around the monopole. We find explicit expressions for both left-angle φ 2 right-angle ren and left-angle T μν right-angle ren for a massless scalar field. The back reaction of the quantum field on the monopole metric is also investigated

Casimir effect and the quantum vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaffe, R.L.

2005-01-01

In discussions of the cosmological constant, the Casimir effect is often invoked as decisive evidence that the zero-point energies of quantum fields are ''real.'' On the contrary, Casimir effects can be formulated and Casimir forces can be computed without reference to zero-point energies. They are relativistic, quantum forces between charges and currents. The Casimir force (per unit area) between parallel plates vanishes as α, the fine structure constant, goes to zero, and the standard result, which appears to be independent of α, corresponds to the α→∞ limit

Comment on "How the huge energy of quantum vacuum gravitates to drive the slow accelerating expansion of the Universe"

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzitelli, Francisco D.; Trombetta, Leonardo G.

2018-03-01

In a recent paper [Q. Wang, Z. Zhu, and W. G. Unruh, Phys. Rev. D 95, 103504 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevD.95.103504] it was argued that, due to the fluctuations around its mean value, vacuum energy gravitates differently from what was previously assumed. As a consequence, the Universe would accelerate with a small Hubble expansion rate, solving the cosmological constant and dark energy problems. We point out here that the results depend on the type of cutoff used to evaluate the vacuum energy. In particular, they are not valid when one uses a covariant cutoff such that the zero-point energy density is positive definite.

Non-Euclidean Geometry, Nontrivial Topology and Quantum Vacuum Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurii A. Sitenko

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Space out of a topological defect of the Abrikosov–Nielsen–Olesen (ANO vortex type is locally flat but non-Euclidean. If a spinor field is quantized in such a space, then a variety of quantum effects are induced in the vacuum. On the basis of the continuum model for long-wavelength electronic excitations originating in the tight-binding approximation for the nearest-neighbor interaction of atoms in the crystal lattice, we consider quantum ground-state effects in Dirac materials with two-dimensional monolayer structures warped into nanocones by a disclination; the nonzero size of the disclination is taken into account, and a boundary condition at the edge of the disclination is chosen to ensure self-adjointness of the Dirac–Weyl Hamiltonian operator. We show that the quantum ground-state effects are independent of the disclination size, and we find circumstances in which they are independent of parameters of the boundary condition.

Gauge field vacuum structure in geometrical aspect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konopleva, N.P.

2003-01-01

Vacuum conception is one of the main conceptions of quantum field theory. Its meaning in classical field theory is also very profound. In this case the vacuum conception is closely connected with ideas of the space-time geometry. The global and local geometrical space-time conceptions lead to different vacuum definitions and therefore to different ways of physical theory construction. Some aspects of the gauge field vacuum structure are analyzed. It is shown that in the gauge field theory the vacuum Einstein equation solutions describe the relativistic vacuum as common vacuum of all gauge fields and its sources. Instantons (both usual and hyperbolical) are regarded as nongravitating matter, because they have zero energy-momentum tensors and correspond to vacuum Einstein equations

Quantum vacuum effects on the final fate of a collapsing ball of dust

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arfaei, Hessamaddin [Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology,P.O. Box 11155-9161, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); School of Particles and Accelerators, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences(IPM),P.O. Box 19395-5531, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Noorikuhani, Milad [Department of Physics, Sharif University of Technology,P.O. Box 11155-9161, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2017-02-24

We consider the quantum vacuum effects of the massless scalar fields that are non-minimally coupled to the background geometry of a collapsing homogeneous ball of dust. It is shown that for a definite range of coupling constants, there are repulsive quantum vacuum effects, capable of stopping the collapse process inside the black hole and precluding the formation of singularity. The final fate of the collapse will be a black hole with no singularity, inside which the matter stays balanced. The density of the final static matter will be close to the Planck density. We show that the largest possible radius of the stable static ball inside a black hole with Schwarzschild mass M is given by ((1/(90π))(M/(m{sub p}))){sup (1/3)}ℓ{sub p}. If the black hole undergoes Hawking radiation, the final state will be an extremal quantum-corrected black hole, with zero temperature, with a remnant of matter inside. We show that the resolution of singularity is not disrupted under Hawking radiation.

Force sensing based on coherent quantum noise cancellation in a hybrid optomechanical cavity with squeezed-vacuum injection

Science.gov (United States)

Motazedifard, Ali; Bemani, F.; Naderi, M. H.; Roknizadeh, R.; Vitali, D.

2016-07-01

We propose and analyse a feasible experimental scheme for a quantum force sensor based on the elimination of backaction noise through coherent quantum noise cancellation (CQNC) in a hybrid atom-cavity optomechanical setup assisted with squeezed vacuum injection. The force detector, which allows for a continuous, broadband detection of weak forces well below the standard quantum limit (SQL), is formed by a single optical cavity simultaneously coupled to a mechanical oscillator and to an ensemble of ultracold atoms. The latter acts as a negative-mass oscillator so that atomic noise exactly cancels the backaction noise from the mechanical oscillator due to destructive quantum interference. Squeezed vacuum injection enforces this cancellation and allows sub-SQL sensitivity to be reached in a very wide frequency band, and at much lower input laser powers.

Force sensing based on coherent quantum noise cancellation in a hybrid optomechanical cavity with squeezed-vacuum injection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Motazedifard, Ali; Bemani, F; Naderi, M H; Roknizadeh, R; Vitali, D

2016-01-01

We propose and analyse a feasible experimental scheme for a quantum force sensor based on the elimination of backaction noise through coherent quantum noise cancellation (CQNC) in a hybrid atom-cavity optomechanical setup assisted with squeezed vacuum injection. The force detector, which allows for a continuous, broadband detection of weak forces well below the standard quantum limit (SQL), is formed by a single optical cavity simultaneously coupled to a mechanical oscillator and to an ensemble of ultracold atoms. The latter acts as a negative-mass oscillator so that atomic noise exactly cancels the backaction noise from the mechanical oscillator due to destructive quantum interference. Squeezed vacuum injection enforces this cancellation and allows sub-SQL sensitivity to be reached in a very wide frequency band, and at much lower input laser powers. (paper)

Averaged null energy condition and difference inequalities in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yurtsever, U.

1995-01-01

For a large class of quantum states, all local (pointwise) energy conditions widely used in relativity are violated by the renormalized stress-energy tensor of a quantum field. In contrast, certain nonlocal positivity constraints on the quantum stress-energy tensor might hold quite generally, and this possibility has received considerable attention in recent years. In particular, it is now known that the averaged null energy condition, the condition that the null-null component of the stress-energy tensor integrated along a complete null geodesic is non-negative for all states, holds quite generally in a wide class of spacetimes for a minimally coupled scalar field. Apart from the specific class of spacetimes considered (mainly two-dimensional spacetimes and four-dimensional Minkowski space), the most significant restriction on this result is that the null geodesic over which the average is taken must be achronal. Recently, Ford and Roman have explored this restriction in two-dimensional flat spacetime, and discovered that in a flat cylindrical space, although the stress energy tensor itself fails to satisfy the averaged null energy condition (ANEC) along the (nonachronal) null geodesics, when the ''Casimir-vacuum'' contribution is subtracted from the stress-energy the resulting tensor does satisfy the ANEC inequality. Ford and Roman name this class of constraints on the quantum stress-energy tensor ''difference inequalities.'' Here I give a proof of the difference inequality for a minimally coupled massless scalar field in an arbitrary (globally hyperbolic) two-dimensional spacetime, using the same techniques as those we relied on to prove the ANEC in an earlier paper with Wald. I begin with an overview of averaged energy conditions in quantum field theory

Vacuum energy in asymptotically flat 2 + 1 gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miskovic, Olivera, E-mail: olivera.miskovic@pucv.cl [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile); Olea, Rodrigo, E-mail: rodrigo.olea@unab.cl [Departamento de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Andres Bello, Sazié 2212, Piso 7, Santiago (Chile); Roy, Debraj, E-mail: roy.debraj@pucv.cl [Instituto de Física, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Casilla 4059, Valparaíso (Chile)

2017-04-10

We compute the vacuum energy of three-dimensional asymptotically flat space based on a Chern–Simons formulation for the Poincaré group. The equivalent action is nothing but the Einstein–Hilbert term in the bulk plus half of the Gibbons–Hawking term at the boundary. The derivation is based on the evaluation of the Noether charges in the vacuum. We obtain that the vacuum energy of this space has the same value as the one of the asymptotically flat limit of three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space.

Vacuum energy in asymptotically flat 2 + 1 gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miskovic, Olivera; Olea, Rodrigo; Roy, Debraj

2017-01-01

We compute the vacuum energy of three-dimensional asymptotically flat space based on a Chern–Simons formulation for the Poincaré group. The equivalent action is nothing but the Einstein–Hilbert term in the bulk plus half of the Gibbons–Hawking term at the boundary. The derivation is based on the evaluation of the Noether charges in the vacuum. We obtain that the vacuum energy of this space has the same value as the one of the asymptotically flat limit of three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space.

Negative vacuum energy densities and the causal diamond measure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salem, Michael P.

2009-01-01

Arguably a major success of the landscape picture is the prediction of a small, nonzero vacuum energy density. The details of this prediction depend in part on how the diverging spacetime volume of the multiverse is regulated, a question that remains unresolved. One proposal, the causal diamond measure, has demonstrated many phenomenological successes, including predicting a distribution of positive vacuum energy densities in good agreement with observation. In the string landscape, however, the vacuum energy density is expected to take positive and negative values. We find the causal diamond measure gives a poor fit to observation in such a landscape - in particular, 99.6% of observers in galaxies seemingly just like ours measure a vacuum energy density smaller than we do, most of them measuring it to be negative.

Sewerage force adjustment technology for energy conservation in vacuum sanitation systems

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Zhonghua; Li, Xiaoning; Kagawa, Toshiharu

2013-03-01

The vacuum sanitation is the safe and sound disposal approach of human excreta under the specific environments like flights, high speed trains and submarines. However, the propulsive force of current systems is not adjustable and the energy consumption does not adapt to the real time sewerage requirement. Therefore, it is important to study the sewerage force adjustment to improve the energy efficiency. This paper proposes an energy conservation design in vacuum sanitation systems with pneumatic ejector circuits. The sewerage force is controlled by changing the systematic vacuum degree according to the amount of the excreta. In particular, the amount of the excreta is tested by liquid level sensor and mass sensor. According to the amount of the excreta, the relationship between the excreta amount and the sewerage force is studied to provide proper propulsive force. In the other aspect, to provide variable vacuum degrees for different sanitation requirements, the suction and discharge system is designed with pneumatic vacuum ejector. On the basis of the static flow-rate characteristics and the vacuum generation model, the pressure response in the ejector circuit is studied by using the static flow rate characteristics of the ejector and air status equation. The relationship is obtained between supplied compressed air and systematic vacuum degree. When the compressed air is supplied to the ejector continuously, the systematic vacuum degree increases until the vacuum degree reaches the extreme value. Therefore, the variable systematic vacuum degree is obtained by controlling the compressed air supply of the ejector. To verify the effect of energy conservation, experiments are carried out in the artificial excreta collection, and the variable vacuum-degree design saves more than 30% of the energy supply. The energy conservation is realized effectively in the new vacuum sanitation systems with good application prospect. The proposed technology provides technological

Thin walls in regions with vacuum energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garfinkle, D [Florida Univ., Gainesville, FL (USA). Dept. of Physics; Vuille, C [Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Prescott, AZ (USA). Dept. of Math/Physical Science

1989-12-01

The motion of a thin wall is treated in the case where the regions on either side of the wall have vacuum energy. This treatment generalises previous results involving domain walls in vacuum and also previous results involving the properties of false vacuum bubbles. The equation of state for a domain wall is{tau} = {sigma} where {tau} is the tension in the wall and {sigma} is the energy density. We consider the motion of a more general class of walls having equation of state {tau}{Gamma}{sigma} with 0{le}{Gamma}{le}1. Spherically symmetric and planar symmetric walls are examined. We also find the global structure of the wall spacetime. (author).

Quantum tunneling from vacuum in multidimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akal, Ibrahim; Moortgat-Pick, Gudrid

2017-10-01

The tunnelling of virtual matter-antimatter pairs from the quantum vacuum in multidimensions is studied. We consider electric backgrounds as a linear combination of a spatial Sauter field and, interchangeably, certain weaker time dependent fields without poles in the complex plane such as the sinusoidal and Gaussian cases. Based on recent geometric considerations within the worldline formalism, we employ the relevant critical points in order to analytically estimate a characteristic threshold for the temporal inhomogeneity. We set appropriate initial conditions and apply additional symmetry constraints in order to determine the classical periodic paths in spacetime. Using these worldline instantons, we compute the corresponding leading order exponential factors showing large dynamical enhancement in general. We work out the main differences caused by the analytic structure of such composite backgrounds and also discuss the case with a strong temporal variation of Sauter-type.

Effects of the fermionic vacuum polarization in QED

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Medeiros, M.F.X.P.; Barone, F.A. [IFQ-Universidade Federal de Itajuba, Itajuba, MG (Brazil); Barone, F.E.

2018-01-15

Some effects of vacuum polarization in QED due to the presence of field sources are investigated. We focus on effects with no counter-part in Maxwell electrodynamics. The Uehling interaction energy between two stationary point-like charges is calculated exactly in terms of Meijer-G functions. Effects induced on a hydrogen atom by the vacuum polarization in the vicinity of a Dirac string are considered. We also calculate the interaction between two parallel Dirac strings and corrections to the energy levels of a quantum particle constrained to move on a ring circumventing a solenoid. (orig.)

The graviton vacuum as a distributional state in kinematic loop quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varadarajan, Madhavan

2005-01-01

The quantum behaviour of weak gravitational fields admits an adequate, albeit approximate, description by those graviton states in which the expectation values and fluctuations of the linearized gravitational field are small. Such states must approximate corresponding states in full quantum gravity. We analyse the nature of this approximation for the graviton vacuum state in the context of kinematical loop quantum gravity (LQG) wherein the constraints are ignored. We identify the graviton vacuum state with kinematically non-normalizable, distributional states in LQG by demanding that relations between linearized operator actions on the former are mirrored by those of their nonlinear counterparts on the latter. We define a semi-norm on the space of kinematical distributions and show that the identification is approximate up to distributions which are small in this semi-norm. We argue that our candidate states are annihilated by the linearized constraints (expressed as operators in the full theory) to leading order in the parameter characterizing the approximation. This suggests the possibility, in a scheme such as ours, of solving the full constraints order by order in this parameter. The main drawback of our considerations is that they depend on certain auxilliary constructions which, though mathematically well defined, do not arise from physical insight. Our work is an attempt to implement an earlier proposal of Iwasaki and Rovelli

Vacuum-induced Stark shifts for quantum logic using a collective system in a high-quality dispersive cavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabris, A.; Agarwal, G.S.

2005-01-01

A collective system of atoms in a high-quality cavity can be described by a nonlinear interaction which arises due to the Lamb shift of the energy levels due to the cavity vacuum [Agarwal et al., Phys. Rev. A 56, 2249 (1997)]. We show how this collective interaction can be used to perform quantum logic. In particular we produce schemes to realize controlled-NOT gates not only for two-qubit but also for three-qubit systems. We also discuss realizations of Toffoli gates. Our effective Hamiltonian is also realized in other systems such as trapped ions or magnetic molecules

Hadronic vacuum polarization and the test of quantum electrodynamics at low energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerdt, V.P.; Faustov, R.N.; Karimkhodzhaev, A.

1978-01-01

A hadronic vacuum polarization correction to the photon propagator is found by using the Dubnicka-Meshcheryakov parametrization of the pion electromagnetic form factor and new experimental data on the e + e - hadrons annihilation cross section. The contribution from the hadronic vacuum polarization to the muon anomalous magnetic moment and the Lamb shift in muonic atoms are calculated

Quantum fields interacting with colliding plane waves: the stress-energy tensor and backreaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorca, M.; Verdaguer, E.

1997-01-01

Following a previous work on the quantization of a massless scalar field in a space-time representing the head on collision of two plane waves which focus into a Killing-Cauchy horizon, we compute the renormalized expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of the quantum field near that horizon in the physical state which corresponds to the Minkowski vacuum before the collision of the waves. It is found that for minimally coupled and conformally coupled scalar fields the respective stress-energy tensors are unbounded in the horizon. The specific form of the divergences suggests that when the semiclassical Einstein equations describing the backreaction of the quantum fields on the space-time geometry are taken into account, the horizon will acquire a curvature singularity. Thus the Killing-Cauchy horizon which is known to be unstable under ''generic'' classical perturbations is also unstable by vacuum polarization. The calculation is done following the point-splitting regularization technique. The dynamical colliding wave space-time has four quite distinct space-time regions, namely, one flat region, two single plane wave regions, and one interaction region. Exact mode solutions of the quantum field equation cannot be found exactly, but the blueshift suffered by the initial modes in the plane wave and interaction regions makes the use of the WKB expansion a suitable method of solution. To ensure the correct regularization of the stress-energy tensor, the initial flat modes propagated into the interaction region must be given to a rather high adiabatic order of approximation. (orig.)

Quantum energy teleportation in a quantum Hall system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yusa, Go; Izumida, Wataru; Hotta, Masahiro [Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan)

2011-09-15

We propose an experimental method for a quantum protocol termed quantum energy teleportation (QET), which allows energy transportation to a remote location without physical carriers. Using a quantum Hall system as a realistic model, we discuss the physical significance of QET and estimate the order of energy gain using reasonable experimental parameters.

Spherical collapse model in time varying vacuum cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basilakos, Spyros; Plionis, Manolis; Sola, Joan

2010-01-01

We investigate the virialization of cosmic structures in the framework of flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker cosmological models, in which the vacuum energy density evolves with time. In particular, our analysis focuses on the study of spherical matter perturbations, as they decouple from the background expansion, 'turn around', and finally collapse. We generalize the spherical collapse model in the case when the vacuum energy is a running function of the Hubble rate, Λ=Λ(H). A particularly well-motivated model of this type is the so-called quantum field vacuum, in which Λ(H) is a quadratic function, Λ(H)=n 0 +n 2 H 2 , with n 0 ≠0. This model was previously studied by our team using the latest high quality cosmological data to constrain its free parameters, as well as the predicted cluster formation rate. It turns out that the corresponding Hubble expansion history resembles that of the traditional ΛCDM cosmology. We use this Λ(t)CDM framework to illustrate the fact that the properties of the spherical collapse model (virial density, collapse factor, etc.) depend on the choice of the considered vacuum energy (homogeneous or clustered). In particular, if the distribution of the vacuum energy is clustered, then, under specific conditions, we can produce more concentrated structures with respect to the homogeneous vacuum energy case.

Calculating Casimir energies in renormalizable quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milton, Kimball A.

2003-01-01

Quantum vacuum energy has been known to have observable consequences since 1948 when Casimir calculated the force of attraction between parallel uncharged plates, a phenomenon confirmed experimentally with ever increasing precision. Casimir himself suggested that a similar attractive self-stress existed for a conducting spherical shell, but Boyer obtained a repulsive stress. Other geometries and higher dimensions have been considered over the years. Local effects, and divergences associated with surfaces and edges were studied by several authors. Quite recently, Graham et al. have reexamined such calculations, using conventional techniques of perturbative quantum field theory to remove divergences, and have suggested that previous self-stress results may be suspect. Here we show that the examples considered in their work are misleading; in particular, it is well known that in two space dimensions a circular boundary has a divergence in the Casimir energy for massless fields, while for general spatial dimension D not equal to an even integer the corresponding Casimir energy arising from massless fields interior and exterior to a hyperspherical shell is finite. It has also long been recognized that the Casimir energy for massive fields is divergent for curved boundaries. These conclusions are reinforced by a calculation of the relevant leading Feynman diagram in D and in three dimensions. There is therefore no doubt of the validity of the conventional finite Casimir calculations

Vacuum energy of the electromagnetic field in a rotating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hacyan, S.; Sarmiento, A.

1986-01-01

The vacuum energy of the electromagnetic field is calculated for a uniformly rotating observer. The spectrum of vacuum fluctuations is composed of the zero-point energy with a modified density of states and a contribution due to the rotation which is not thermal. (orig.)

Vacuum radiation induced by time dependent electric field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Zhang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Many predictions of new phenomena given by strong field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED will be tested on next generation multi-petawatt laser facilities in the near future. These new phenomena are basis to understand physics in extremely strong electromagnetic fields therefore have attracted wide research interest. Here we discuss a new SFQED phenomenon that is named as vacuum radiation. In vacuum radiation, a virtual electron loop obtain energy from time dependent external electric field and radiate an entangled photon pair. Features of vacuum radiation in a locally time dependent electric field including spectrum, characteristic temperature, production rate and power are given.

Vacuum radiation induced by time dependent electric field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Bo, E-mail: zhangbolfrc@caep.cn [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Zhang, Zhi-meng; Hong, Wei; He, Shu-Kai; Teng, Jian [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Gu, Yu-qiu, E-mail: yqgu@caep.cn [Department of High Energy Density Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China); Laboratory of Science and Technology on Plasma Physics, Research Center of Laser Fusion, 621900, Mianyang, Sichuan (China)

2017-04-10

Many predictions of new phenomena given by strong field quantum electrodynamics (SFQED) will be tested on next generation multi-petawatt laser facilities in the near future. These new phenomena are basis to understand physics in extremely strong electromagnetic fields therefore have attracted wide research interest. Here we discuss a new SFQED phenomenon that is named as vacuum radiation. In vacuum radiation, a virtual electron loop obtain energy from time dependent external electric field and radiate an entangled photon pair. Features of vacuum radiation in a locally time dependent electric field including spectrum, characteristic temperature, production rate and power are given.

Gravity as Quantum Entanglement Force

OpenAIRE

Lee, Jae-Weon; Kim, Hyeong-Chan; Lee, Jungjai

2010-01-01

We conjecture that the total quantum entanglement of matter and vacuum in the universe tends to increase with time, like entropy, and that an effective force is associated with this tendency. We also suggest that gravity and dark energy are types of quantum entanglement forces, similar to Verlinde's entropic force, and give holographic dark energy with an equation of state comparable to current observational data. This connection between quantum entanglement and gravity could give some new in...

Small vacuum energy from small equivalence violation in scalar gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agrawal, Prateek; Sundrum, Raman

2017-01-01

The theory of scalar gravity proposed by Nordström, and refined by Einstein and Fokker, provides a striking analogy to general relativity. In its modern form, scalar gravity appears as the low-energy effective field theory of the spontaneous breaking of conformal symmetry within a CFT, and is AdS/CFT dual to the original Randall-Sundrum I model, but without a UV brane. Scalar gravity faithfully exhibits several qualitative features of the cosmological constant problem of standard gravity coupled to quantum matter, and the Weinberg no-go theorem can be extended to this case as well. Remarkably, a solution to the scalar gravity cosmological constant problem has been proposed, where the key is a very small violation of the scalar equivalence principle, which can be elegantly formulated as a particular type of deformation of the CFT. In the dual AdS picture this involves implementing Goldberger-Wise radion stabilization where the Goldberger-Wise field is a pseudo-Nambu Goldstone boson. In quantum gravity however, global symmetries protecting pNGBs are not expected to be fundamental. We provide a natural six-dimensional gauge theory origin for this global symmetry and show that the violation of the equivalence principle and the size of the vacuum energy seen by scalar gravity can naturally be exponentially small. Our solution may be of interest for study of non-supersymmetric CFTs in the spontaneously broken phase.

Small vacuum energy from small equivalence violation in scalar gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Prateek [Department of Physics, Harvard University,Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Sundrum, Raman [Department of Physics, University of Maryland,College Park, MD 20742 (United States)

2017-05-29

The theory of scalar gravity proposed by Nordström, and refined by Einstein and Fokker, provides a striking analogy to general relativity. In its modern form, scalar gravity appears as the low-energy effective field theory of the spontaneous breaking of conformal symmetry within a CFT, and is AdS/CFT dual to the original Randall-Sundrum I model, but without a UV brane. Scalar gravity faithfully exhibits several qualitative features of the cosmological constant problem of standard gravity coupled to quantum matter, and the Weinberg no-go theorem can be extended to this case as well. Remarkably, a solution to the scalar gravity cosmological constant problem has been proposed, where the key is a very small violation of the scalar equivalence principle, which can be elegantly formulated as a particular type of deformation of the CFT. In the dual AdS picture this involves implementing Goldberger-Wise radion stabilization where the Goldberger-Wise field is a pseudo-Nambu Goldstone boson. In quantum gravity however, global symmetries protecting pNGBs are not expected to be fundamental. We provide a natural six-dimensional gauge theory origin for this global symmetry and show that the violation of the equivalence principle and the size of the vacuum energy seen by scalar gravity can naturally be exponentially small. Our solution may be of interest for study of non-supersymmetric CFTs in the spontaneously broken phase.

Electroweak vacuum instability and renormalized Higgs field vacuum fluctuations in the inflationary universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kohri, Kazunori [Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, KEK, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan); Matsui, Hiroki, E-mail: kohri@post.kek.jp, E-mail: matshiro@post.kek.jp [The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba 305-0801 (Japan)

2017-08-01

In this work, we investigated the electroweak vacuum instability during or after inflation. In the inflationary Universe, i.e., de Sitter space, the vacuum field fluctuations < δ φ {sup 2} > enlarge in proportion to the Hubble scale H {sup 2}. Therefore, the large inflationary vacuum fluctuations of the Higgs field < δ φ {sup 2} > are potentially catastrophic to trigger the vacuum transition to the negative-energy Planck-scale vacuum state and cause an immediate collapse of the Universe. However, the vacuum field fluctuations < δ φ {sup 2} >, i.e., the vacuum expectation values have an ultraviolet divergence, and therefore a renormalization is necessary to estimate the physical effects of the vacuum transition. Thus, in this paper, we revisit the electroweak vacuum instability from the perspective of quantum field theory (QFT) in curved space-time, and discuss the dynamical behavior of the homogeneous Higgs field φ determined by the effective potential V {sub eff}( φ ) in curved space-time and the renormalized vacuum fluctuations < δ φ {sup 2} >{sub ren} via adiabatic regularization and point-splitting regularization. We simply suppose that the Higgs field only couples the gravity via the non-minimal Higgs-gravity coupling ξ(μ). In this scenario, the electroweak vacuum stability is inevitably threatened by the dynamical behavior of the homogeneous Higgs field φ, or the formations of AdS domains or bubbles unless the Hubble scale is small enough H < Λ {sub I} .

Casimir energy between two parallel plates and projective representation of the Poincaré group

Science.gov (United States)

Akita, Takamaru; Matsunaga, Mamoru

2016-06-01

The Casimir effect is a physical manifestation of zero point energy of quantum vacuum. In a relativistic quantum field theory, Poincaré symmetry of the theory seems, at first sight, to imply that nonzero vacuum energy is inconsistent with translational invariance of the vacuum. In the setting of two uniform boundary plates at rest, quantum fields outside the plates have (1 +2 )-dimensional Poincaré symmetry. Taking a massless scalar field as an example, we have examined the consistency between the Poincaré symmetry and the existence of the vacuum energy. We note that, in quantum theory, symmetries are represented projectively in general and show that the Casimir energy is connected to central charges appearing in the algebra of generators in the projective representations.

Interwell coupling effect in Si/SiGe quantum wells grown by ultra high vacuum chemical vapor deposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loh Ter-Hoe

2007-01-01

Full Text Available AbstractSi/Si0.66Ge0.34coupled quantum well (CQW structures with different barrier thickness of 40, 4 and 2 nm were grown on Si substrates using an ultra high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHV-CVD system. The samples were characterized using high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM and photoluminescence (PL spectroscopy. Blue shift in PL peak energy due to interwell coupling was observed in the CQWs following increase in the Si barrier thickness. The Si/SiGe heterostructure growth process and theoretical band structure model was validated by comparing the energy of the no-phonon peak calculated by the 6 + 2-bandk·pmethod with experimental PL data. Close agreement between theoretical calculations and experimental data was obtained.

Vacuum window glazings for energy-efficient buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benson, D.K.; Smith, L.K.; Tracy, C.E.; Potter, T.; Christensen, C. (Solar Energy Research Inst., Golden, CO (USA)); Soule, D.E. (Western Illinois Univ., Macomb, IL (USA))

1990-05-01

The technical feasibility of a patented, laser-welded, evacuated insulating window was studied. The window has two edge-sealed sheets of glass separated by 0.5-mm glass spheres spaced 30 mm apart in a regular array. A highly insulating frame is required and several designs were analyzed. The vacuum window's combination of high solar transmittance and low thermal conductance makes it superior to many other windows in cold climates. In the US Pacific Northwest, the vacuum window could save about 6 MJ of heating energy annually per square meter of window in comparison to conventional, double-glazed windows. A large, vacuum laser-welding facility was designed and installed to conduct glass welding experiments and to fabricate full-sized vacuum windows. Experiments confirmed the feasibility of laser-sealing glass in vacuum but identified two difficulties. Under some circumstances, bubbles of dissolved gases form during welding and weaken the seal. Glass also vaporizes and contaminates the laser beam steering mirror. A novel moving metal foil mirror was developed to circumvent the contamination problem, but it has not yet been used to complete welding experiments and fabricate full-sized vacuum windows. 63 refs., 53 figs., 19 tabs.

Dynamics of holographic vacuum energy in the DGP model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Xing; Zhu Zonghong; Cai Ronggen

2008-01-01

We consider the evolution of the vacuum energy in the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model according to the holographic principle under the assumption that the relation linking the IR and UV cutoffs still holds in this scenario. The model is studied when the IR cutoff is chosen to be the Hubble scale H -1 , the particle horizon R ph , and the future event horizon R eh , respectively. The two branches of the DGP model are also taken into account. Through numerical analysis, we find that in the cases of H -1 in the (+) branch and R eh in both branches, the vacuum energy can play the role of dark energy. Moreover, when considering the combination of the vacuum energy and the 5D gravity effect in both branches, the equation of state of the effective dark energy may cross -1, which may lead to the big rip singularity. Besides, we constrain the model with the Type Ia supernovae and baryon oscillation data and find that our model is consistent with current data within 1σ, and that the observations prefer either a pure holographic dark energy or a pure DGP model

Vacuum stress energy density and its gravitational implications

Science.gov (United States)

Estrada, Ricardo; Fulling, Stephen A.; Kaplan, Lev; Kirsten, Klaus; Liu, Zhonghai; Milton, Kimball A.

2008-04-01

In nongravitational physics the local density of energy is often regarded as merely a bookkeeping device; only total energy has an experimental meaning—and it is only modulo a constant term. But in general relativity the local stress-energy tensor is the source term in Einstein's equation. In closed universes, and those with Kaluza-Klein dimensions, theoretical consistency demands that quantum vacuum energy should exist and have gravitational effects, although there are no boundary materials giving rise to that energy by van der Waals interactions. In the lab there are boundaries, and in general the energy density has a nonintegrable singularity as a boundary is approached (for idealized boundary conditions). As pointed out long ago by Candelas and Deutsch, in this situation there is doubt about the viability of the semiclassical Einstein equation. Our goal is to show that the divergences in the linearized Einstein equation can be renormalized to yield a plausible approximation to the finite theory that presumably exists for realistic boundary conditions. For a scalar field with Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions inside a rectangular parallelepiped, we have calculated by the method of images all components of the stress tensor, for all values of the conformal coupling parameter and an exponential ultraviolet cutoff parameter. The qualitative features of contributions from various classes of closed classical paths are noted. Then the Estrada-Kanwal distributional theory of asymptotics, particularly the moment expansion, is used to show that the linearized Einstein equation with the stress-energy near a plane boundary as source converges to a consistent theory when the cutoff is removed. This paper reports work in progress on a project combining researchers in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. It is supported by NSF Grants PHY-0554849 and PHY-0554926.

Operator product expansions on the vacuum in conformal quantum field theory in two spacetime dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luescher, M.

1975-11-01

Let phi 1 (x) and phi 2 (y) be two local fields in a conformal quantum field theory (CQFT) in two-dimensional spacetime. It is then shown that the vector-valued distribution phi 1 (x) phi 2 (y) /0 > is a boundary value of a vector-valued holomorphic function which is defined on a large conformally invariant domain. By group theoretical arguments alone it is proved that phi 1 (x) phi 2 (y) /0 > can be expanded into conformal partial waves. These have all the properties of a global version of Wilson's operator product expansions when applied to the vacuum state /0 >. Finally, the corresponding calculations are carried out more explicitly in the Thirring model. Here, a complete set of local conformally covariant fields is found, which is closed under vacuum expansion of any two of its elements (a vacuum expansion is an operator product expansion applied to the vacuum). (orig.) [de

Probing a Possible Vacuum Refractive Index with Gamma-Ray Telescopes

CERN Document Server

Ellis, John; Nanopoulos, D V; PH-TH

2009-01-01

We have used a stringy model of quantum space-time foam to suggest that the vacuum may exhibit a non-trivial refractive index depending linearly on gamma-ray energy: eta -1 ~ E_gamma/M_QG1, where M_QG1 is some mass scale typical of quantum gravity that may be ~ 10^18 GeV: see Phys. Lett. B 665, 412 (2008) and references therein. The MAGIC, HESS and Fermi gamma-ray telescopes have recently probed the possible existence of such an energy-dependent vacuum refractive index. All find indications of time-lags for higher-energy photons, but cannot exclude the possibility that they are due to intrinsic delays at the sources. However, the MAGIC and HESS observations of time-lags in emissions from AGNs Mkn 501 and PKS 2155-304 are compatible with each other and a refractive index depending linearly on the gamma-ray energy, with M_QG1 ~ 10^18 GeV. We combine their results to estimate the time-lag Delta t to be expected for the highest-energy photon from GRB 080916c measured by the Fermi telescope, which has an energy ~ ...

Vacuum nanoelectronic devices novel electron sources and applications

CERN Document Server

Evtukh, Anatoliy; Yilmazoglu, Oktay; Mimura, Hidenori; Pavlidis, Dimitris

2015-01-01

Introducing up-to-date coverage of research in electron field emission from nanostructures, Vacuum Nanoelectronic Devices outlines the physics of quantum nanostructures, basic principles of electron field emission, and vacuum nanoelectronic devices operation, and offers as insight state-of-the-art and future researches and developments.  This book also evaluates the results of research and development of novel quantum electron sources that will determine the future development of vacuum nanoelectronics. Further to this, the influence of quantum mechanical effects on high frequency vacuum nanoelectronic devices is also assessed. Key features: In-depth description and analysis of the fundamentals of Quantum Electron effects in novel electron sources. Comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the physics and technologies for THz sources for students of physical and engineering specialties and electronics engineers. Unique coverage of quantum physical results for electron-field emission and novel electron sourc...

Comment on 'Quantum Friction-Fact or Fiction?'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonhardt, Ulf, E-mail: ulf@st-andrews.ac.u [University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews KY16 9SS (United Kingdom)

2010-06-15

If quantum friction existed (Pendry 2010 New J. Phys. 12 033028) an unlimited amount of useful energy could be extracted from the quantum vacuum and Lifshitz theory would fail. Both are unlikely to be true.

BQP-completeness of scattering in scalar quantum field theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen P. Jordan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Recent work has shown that quantum computers can compute scattering probabilities in massive quantum field theories, with a run time that is polynomial in the number of particles, their energy, and the desired precision. Here we study a closely related quantum field-theoretical problem: estimating the vacuum-to-vacuum transition amplitude, in the presence of spacetime-dependent classical sources, for a massive scalar field theory in (1+1 dimensions. We show that this problem is BQP-hard; in other words, its solution enables one to solve any problem that is solvable in polynomial time by a quantum computer. Hence, the vacuum-to-vacuum amplitude cannot be accurately estimated by any efficient classical algorithm, even if the field theory is very weakly coupled, unless BQP=BPP. Furthermore, the corresponding decision problem can be solved by a quantum computer in a time scaling polynomially with the number of bits needed to specify the classical source fields, and this problem is therefore BQP-complete. Our construction can be regarded as an idealized architecture for a universal quantum computer in a laboratory system described by massive phi^4 theory coupled to classical spacetime-dependent sources.

Effect of vacuum energy on evolution of primordial black holes in Einstein gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nayak, Bibekananda; Jamil, Mubasher

2012-01-01

We study the evolution of primordial black holes by considering present universe is no more matter dominated rather vacuum energy dominated. We also consider the accretion of radiation, matter and vacuum energy during respective dominance period. In this scenario, we found that radiation accretion efficiency should be less than 0.366 and accretion rate is much larger than previous analysis by Nayak et al. (2009) . Thus here primordial black holes live longer than previous works Nayak and Singh (2011). Again matter accretion slightly increases the mass and lifetime of primordial black holes. However, the vacuum energy accretion is slightly complicated one, where accretion is possible only up to a critical time. If a primordial black hole lives beyond critical time, then its' lifespan increases due to vacuum energy accretion. But for presently evaporating primordial black holes, critical time comes much later than their evaporating time and thus vacuum energy could not affect those primordial black holes.

Energy entanglement relation for quantum energy teleportation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hotta, Masahiro, E-mail: hotta@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.j [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan)

2010-07-26

Protocols of quantum energy teleportation (QET), while retaining causality and local energy conservation, enable the transportation of energy from a subsystem of a many-body quantum system to a distant subsystem by local operations and classical communication through ground-state entanglement. We prove two energy-entanglement inequalities for a minimal QET model. These relations help us to gain a profound understanding of entanglement itself as a physical resource by relating entanglement to energy as an evident physical resource.

A theology of matter. The strong interaction at strong resonance at the meeting point of I and not-I. Conjectures about oscillating strings and fluctuating vacuum energy; Eine Theologie der Materie. Die starke Wechselwirkung bei starker Resonanz am Begegnungs-Ort von Ich und Nicht-Ich. Mutmassungen ueber oszillierende Strings und fluktuierende Vakuum-Energie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boes, Roderick H.

2011-07-01

This book shows that matter and consciousness are intertwined and mutually produce. Quantum vacuum fluctuations ensure that the latent energy of each event is present as zero-point energy simultaneously at all points of the cosmos.

Feasibilty study of renewable energy powered seawater desalination technology using natural vacuum technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ayhan, Teoman; Al Madani, Hussain [Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Bahrain, P.O. box 32038, Isatown 32036 (Bahrain)

2010-02-15

With an ever-increasing population and rapid growth of industrialization, there is great demand for fresh water. Desalination has been a key proponent to meet the future challenges due to decreasing availability of fresh water. However, desalination uses significant amount of energy, today mostly from fossil fuels. It is, therefore, reasonable to rely on renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy, ocean thermal energy, waste heat from the industry and other renewable sources. The present study deals with the energy-efficient seawater desalination system utilizing renewable energy sources and natural vacuum technique. A new desalination technology named Natural Vacuum Desalination is proposed. The novel desalination technique achieve remarkable energy efficiency through the evaporation of seawater under vacuum and will be described in sufficient detail to demonstrate that it requires much less electric energy compared to any conventional desalination plant of fresh water production of similar capacity. The discussion will highlight the main operative and maintenance features of the proposed natural vacuum seawater desalination technology which seems to have promising techno-economic potential providing also advantageous coupling with renewable energy sources. (author)

Vacuum polarization on black hole space times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, B.P.

1985-01-01

The effects of vacuum polarization in black hole space times are examined. Particular attention is given to the vacuum physics inside the event horizon. The analytic properties of the solutions to the radial wave equation in Schwarzs child space time as functions of argument, frequency, and angular momentum are given. These functions are employed to define the Feynmann Green function (G/sub F/(x,x') for a scalar field subject to the Hartle-Hawking boundary conditions. An examination of the Schwarzschild mode functions near r = 0 is provided. This work is necessary background for a future calculation of 2 > and the quantum stress-energy tensor for small r. Some opinions are given on how this calculation might be performed. A solution of the one-loop Einstein equations for Schwarzs child Anti-deSitter (SAdS) space time is presented, using Page's approximation to the quantum stress tensor. The resulting perturbed metric is shown to be unphysical, as it leads to a system of fields with infinite total energy. This problem is believed to be due to a failure of Page's method in SAdS. Suggestions are given on how one might correct the method

Starobinsky-Like Inflation and Running Vacuum in the Context of Supergravity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spyros Basilakos

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We describe the primeval inflationary phase of the early Universe within a quantum field theoretical (QFT framework that can be viewed as the effective action of vacuum decay in the early times. Interestingly enough, the model accounts for the “graceful exit” of the inflationary phase into the standard radiation regime. The underlying QFT framework considered here is supergravity (SUGRA, more specifically an existing formulation in which the Starobinsky-type inflation (de Sitter background emerges from the quantum corrections to the effective action after integrating out the gravitino fields in their (dynamically induced massive phase. We also demonstrate that the structure of the effective action in this model is consistent with the generic idea of re-normalization group (RG running of the cosmological parameters; specifically, it follows from the corresponding RG equation for the vacuum energy density as a function of the Hubble rate, ρ Λ ( H . Overall, our combined approach amounts to a concrete-model realization of inflation triggered by vacuum decay in a fundamental physics context, which, as it turns out, can also be extended for the remaining epochs of the cosmological evolution until the current dark energy era.

Anomalous vacuum expectation values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, H.

1986-01-01

The anomalous vacuum expectation value is defined as the expectation value of a quantity that vanishes by means of the field equations. Although this value is expected to vanish in quantum systems, regularization in general produces a finite value of this quantity. Calculation of this anomalous vacuum expectation value can be carried out in the general framework of field theory. The result is derived by subtraction of divergences and by zeta-function regularization. Various anomalies are included in these anomalous vacuum expectation values. This method is useful for deriving not only the conformal, chiral, and gravitational anomalies but also the supercurrent anomaly. The supercurrent anomaly is obtained in the case of N = 1 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in four, six, and ten dimensions. The original form of the energy-momentum tensor and the supercurrent have anomalies in their conservation laws. But the modification of these quantities to be equivalent to the original one on-shell causes no anomaly in their conservation laws and gives rise to anomalous traces

Melting the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafelski, J.

1998-01-01

Results presented at the Quark Matter 97 conference, held in December in Tsukuba, Japan, have provided new insights into the confinement of quarks in matter. The current physics paradigm is that the inertial masses of protons and neutrons, and hence of practically all of the matter around us, originate in the zero-point energy caused by the confinement of quarks inside the small volume of the nucleon. Today, 25 years after Harald Fritzsch, Heinrich Leutwyler and Murray Gell-Mann proposed quantum chromodynamics (QCD) as a means for understanding strongly interacting particles such as nucleons and mesons, our understanding of strong interactions and quark confinement remains incomplete. Quarks and the gluons that bind them together have a ''colour'' charge that may be red, green or blue. But quarks are seen in particles that are white: baryons such as protons and neutrons consist of three quarks with different colour charges, while mesons consist of a quark and an antiquark, and again the colour charge cancels out. To prove that confinement arises from quark-gluon fluctuations in the vacuum that quantum theories dictate exists today, we need to find a way of freeing the colour charge of quarks. Experiments must therefore ''melt'' the vacuum to deconfine quarks and the colour charge. By colliding nuclei at high energies, we hope to produce regions of space filled with free quarks and gluons. This deconfined phase is known as the quark-gluon plasma. At the Tsukuba meeting, Scott Pratt of Michigan State University in the US discussed measurements that show that the hot dense state of matter created in these collisions exists for only 2x10 -23 s. So does the quark gluon plasma exist? No-one doubts that it did at one time, before the vacuum froze into its current state about 20 into the life of the universe, causing the nucleons to form as we know them today. The issue is whether we can recreate this early stage of the universe in laboratory experiments. And if we did

Reduction of quantum noise in the Michelson interferometer by use of squeezed vacuum states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assaf, Ohad; Ben-Aryeh, Yacob

2002-01-01

We develop further the unified model for treating photon-counting and radiation-pressure fluctuations in the Michelson interferometer with input of squeezed vacuum state. The dependence of the quantum fluctuations on the phase of the input light is calculated. The analysis is restricted to a single-mode interferometer, but generalized in a way that includes both harmonic-oscillator and floating mirrors. We compare our results with those of other authors

Vacuum stability of asymptotically safe gauge-Yukawa theories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Litim, Daniel F.; Mojaza, Matin; Sannino, Francesco

2016-01-01

We study the phase diagram and the stability of the ground state for certain four-dimensional gauge-Yukawa theories whose high-energy behaviour is controlled by an interacting fixed point. We also provide analytical and numerical results for running couplings, their crossover scales, the separatr......, and the Coleman-Weinberg effective potential. Classical and quantum stability of the vacuum is established....

Vacuum system design for the PEP-II B Factory High-Energy Ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, C.; Bostic, D.; Daly, E.

1994-06-01

The design of the vacuum system for the PEP-II B Factory High-Energy Ring is reviewed. The thermal design and vacuum requirements are particularly challenging in PEP-II due to high stored beam currents up to 3.0 amps in 1658 bunches. The vacuum chambers for the HER arcs are fabricated by electron beam welding extruded copper sections up to 6 m long. Design of these chambers and the vacuum PumPing configuration is described with results from vacuum and thermal analyses

Biexciton binding energy in ZnSe quantum wells and quantum wires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wagner, Hans-Peter; Langbein, Wolfgang; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

2002-01-01

The biexciton binding energy E-XX is investigated in ZnSe/ZnMgSe quantum wells and quantum wires as a function of the lateral confinement by transient four-wave mixing. In the quantum wells one observes for decreasing well width a significant increase in the relative binding energy, saturating...... for well widths less than 8 nm. In the quantum wires an increase of 30% is found in the smallest quantum wire structures compared to the corresponding quantum well value. A simple analytical model taking into account the quantum confinement in these low-dimensional systems is used to explain...

Fast-opening vacuum switches for high-power inductive energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooperstein, G.

1988-01-01

The subject of fast-opening vacuum switches for high-power inductive energy storage is emerging as an exciting new area of plasma science research. This opening switch technology, which generally involves the use of plasmas as the switching medium, is key to the development of inductive energy storage techniques for pulsed power which have a number of advantages over conventional capacitive techniques with regard to cost and size. This paper reviews the state of the art in this area with emphasis on applications to inductive storage pulsed power generators. Discussion focuses on fast-opening vacuum switches capable of operating at high power (≥10 12 W). These include plasma erosion opening switches, ion beam opening switches, plasma filled diodes, reflex diodes, plasma flow switches, and other novel vacuum opening switches

Waveguide quantum electrodynamics in squeezed vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

You, Jieyu; Liao, Zeyang; Li, Sheng-Wen; Zubairy, M. Suhail

2018-02-01

We study the dynamics of a general multiemitter system coupled to the squeezed vacuum reservoir and derive a master equation for this system based on the Weisskopf-Wigner approximation. In this theory, we include the effect of positions of the squeezing sources which is usually neglected in the previous studies. We apply this theory to a quasi-one-dimensional waveguide case where the squeezing in one dimension is experimentally achievable. We show that while dipole-dipole interaction induced by ordinary vacuum depends on the emitter separation, the two-photon process due to the squeezed vacuum depends on the positions of the emitters with respect to the squeezing sources. The dephasing rate, decay rate, and the resonance fluorescence of the waveguide-QED in the squeezed vacuum are controllable by changing the positions of emitters. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the stationary maximum entangled NOON state for identical emitters can be reached with arbitrary initial state when the center-of-mass position of the emitters satisfies certain conditions.

Interacting vacuum energy in the dark sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chimento, L. P. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Cuidad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina); Carneiro, S. [Instituto de Física, Uníversídade Federal da Bahia, 40210-340, Salvador, BA (Brazil)

2015-03-26

We analyse three cosmological scenarios with interaction in the dark sector, which are particular cases of a general expression for the energy flux from vacuum to matter. In the first case the interaction leads to a transition from an unstable de Sitter phase to a radiation dominated universe, avoiding in this way the initial singularity. In the second case the interaction gives rise to a slow-roll power-law inflation. Finally, the third scenario is a concordance model for the late-time universe, with the vacuum term decaying into cold dark matter. We identify the physics behind these forms of interaction and show that they can be described as particular types of the modified Chaplygin gas.

Bare Quantum Null Energy Condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Zicao; Marolf, Donald

2018-02-16

The quantum null energy condition (QNEC) is a conjectured relation between a null version of quantum field theory energy and derivatives of quantum field theory von Neumann entropy. In some cases, divergences cancel between these two terms and the QNEC is intrinsically finite. We study the more general case here where they do not and argue that a QNEC can still hold for bare (unrenormalized) quantities. While the original QNEC applied only to locally stationary null congruences in backgrounds that solve semiclassical theories of quantum gravity, at least in the formal perturbation theory at a small Planck length, the quantum focusing conjecture can be viewed as the special case of our bare QNEC for which the metric is on shell.

Static black hole and vacuum energy: thin shell and incompressible fluid

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Pei-Ming; Matsuo, Yoshinori

2018-03-01

With the back reaction of the vacuum energy-momentum tensor consistently taken into account, we study static spherically symmetric black-hole-like solutions to the semi-classical Einstein equation. The vacuum energy is assumed to be given by that of 2-dimensional massless scalar fields, as a widely used model in the literature for black holes. The solutions have no horizon. Instead, there is a local minimum in the radius. We consider thin shells as well as incompressible fluid as the matter content of the black-hole-like geometry. The geometry has several interesting features due to the back reaction of vacuum energy. In particular, Buchdahl's inequality can be violated without divergence in pressure, even if the surface is below the Schwarzschild radius. At the same time, the surface of the star can not be far below the Schwarzschild radius for a density not much higher than the Planck scale, and the proper distance from its surface to the origin can be very short even for very large Schwarzschild radius. The results also imply that, contrary to the folklore, in principle the Boulware vacuum can be physical for black holes.

Bukhvostov–Lipatov model and quantum-classical duality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir V. Bazhanov

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The Bukhvostov–Lipatov model is an exactly soluble model of two interacting Dirac fermions in 1+1 dimensions. The model describes weakly interacting instantons and anti-instantons in the O(3 non-linear sigma model. In our previous work [arXiv:1607.04839] we have proposed an exact formula for the vacuum energy of the Bukhvostov–Lipatov model in terms of special solutions of the classical sinh-Gordon equation, which can be viewed as an example of a remarkable duality between integrable quantum field theories and integrable classical field theories in two dimensions. Here we present a complete derivation of this duality based on the classical inverse scattering transform method, traditional Bethe ansatz techniques and analytic theory of ordinary differential equations. In particular, we show that the Bethe ansatz equations defining the vacuum state of the quantum theory also define connection coefficients of an auxiliary linear problem for the classical sinh-Gordon equation. Moreover, we also present details of the derivation of the non-linear integral equations determining the vacuum energy and other spectral characteristics of the model in the case when the vacuum state is filled by 2-string solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations.

Bukhvostov-Lipatov model and quantum-classical duality

Science.gov (United States)

Bazhanov, Vladimir V.; Lukyanov, Sergei L.; Runov, Boris A.

2018-02-01

The Bukhvostov-Lipatov model is an exactly soluble model of two interacting Dirac fermions in 1 + 1 dimensions. The model describes weakly interacting instantons and anti-instantons in the O (3) non-linear sigma model. In our previous work [arxiv:arXiv:1607.04839] we have proposed an exact formula for the vacuum energy of the Bukhvostov-Lipatov model in terms of special solutions of the classical sinh-Gordon equation, which can be viewed as an example of a remarkable duality between integrable quantum field theories and integrable classical field theories in two dimensions. Here we present a complete derivation of this duality based on the classical inverse scattering transform method, traditional Bethe ansatz techniques and analytic theory of ordinary differential equations. In particular, we show that the Bethe ansatz equations defining the vacuum state of the quantum theory also define connection coefficients of an auxiliary linear problem for the classical sinh-Gordon equation. Moreover, we also present details of the derivation of the non-linear integral equations determining the vacuum energy and other spectral characteristics of the model in the case when the vacuum state is filled by 2-string solutions of the Bethe ansatz equations.

Approximate calculation of electronic energy levels of axially symmetric quantum dot and quantum ring by using energy dependent effective mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu-Min, Liu; Zhong-Yuan, Yu; Xiao-Min, Ren

2009-01-01

Calculations of electronic structures about the semiconductor quantum dot and the semiconductor quantum ring are presented in this paper. To reduce the calculation costs, for the quantum dot and the quantum ring, their simplified axially symmetric shapes are utilized in our analysis. The energy dependent effective mass is taken into account in solving the Schrödinger equations in the single band effective mass approximation. The calculated results show that the energy dependent effective mass should be considered only for relatively small volume quantum dots or small quantum rings. For large size quantum materials, both the energy dependent effective mass and the parabolic effective mass can give the same results. The energy states and the effective masses of the quantum dot and the quantum ring as a function of geometric parameters are also discussed in detail. (general)

Einstein's Gravity and Dark Energy/Matter

CERN Document Server

Sarfatti, J

2003-01-01

Should Einstein's general relativity be quantized in the usual way even though it is not renormalizable the way the spin 1/2 lepto-quark - spin 1 gauge force boson local field theories are? Condensed matter theorists using P.W. Anderson's "More is different" approach, consistent with Andrei Sakharov's idea of "metric elasticity" with gravity emergent out of quantum electrodynamic zero point vacuum fluctuations, is the approach I take in this paper. The QED vacuum in globally-flat Minkowski space-time is unstable due to exchange of virtual photons between virtual electrons and positron "holes" near the -mc2 Fermi surface well inside the 2mc2 energy gap. This results in a non-perturbative emergence of both Einstein's gravity and a unified dark energy/dark matter w = -1 exotic vacuum zero point fluctuation field controlled by the local macro-quantum vacuum coherent field. The latter is a Bose-Einstein condensate of virtual off-mass-shell bound electron-positron pairs. The dark matter exotic vacuum phase with pos...

Vacuum system of the compact Energy Recovery Linac

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Honda, T., E-mail: tohru.honda@kek.jp; Tanimoto, Y.; Nogami, T.; Takai, R.; Obina, T.; Asaoka, S.; Uchiyama, T.; Nakamura, N. [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) (1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan) (Japan)

2016-07-27

The compact Energy Recovery Linac (cERL), a test accelerator to establish important technologies demanded for future ERL-based light sources, was constructed in late 2013 at KEK. The accelerator was successfully commissioned in early 2014, and demonstrated beam circulation with energy recovery. In the cERL vacuum system, low-impedance vacuum components are required to circulate high-intensity, low-emittance and short-bunch electron beams. We therefore developed ultra-high-vacuum (UHV)-compatible flanges that can connect beam tubes seamlessly, and employed retractable beam monitors, namely, a movable Faraday cup and screen monitors. In most parts of the accelerator, pressures below 1×10{sup −7} Pa are required to mitigate beam-gas interactions. Particularly, near the photocathode electron gun and the superconducting (SC) cavities, pressures below 1×10{sup −8} Pa are required. The beam tubes in the sections adjoining the SC cavities were coated with non-evaporable getter (NEG) materials, to reduce gas condensation on the cryo-surfaces. During the accelerator commissioning, stray magnetic fields from the permanent magnets of some cold cathode gauges (CCGs) were identified as a source of the disturbance to the beam orbit. Magnetic shielding was specially designed as a remedy for this issue.

Scalable Quantum Simulation of Molecular Energies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. J. J. O’Malley

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We report the first electronic structure calculation performed on a quantum computer without exponentially costly precompilation. We use a programmable array of superconducting qubits to compute the energy surface of molecular hydrogen using two distinct quantum algorithms. First, we experimentally execute the unitary coupled cluster method using the variational quantum eigensolver. Our efficient implementation predicts the correct dissociation energy to within chemical accuracy of the numerically exact result. Second, we experimentally demonstrate the canonical quantum algorithm for chemistry, which consists of Trotterization and quantum phase estimation. We compare the experimental performance of these approaches to show clear evidence that the variational quantum eigensolver is robust to certain errors. This error tolerance inspires hope that variational quantum simulations of classically intractable molecules may be viable in the near future.

Is it safe to disturb the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hut, P.

1984-01-01

Ultra-relativistic U 238 -U 238 collisions, which are now being envisioned for the next generation of heavy ion accelerators, do not occur in large quantities anywhere in the universe at present. Nor have they ever occurred abundantly in the past. When U 238 nuclei were first synthesized the universe had grown already for too cold. This raises the question whether such a novel type of experiment could trigger a catastrophic phase transition of the vacuum to a lower energy state, a possibility naturally occurring in many spontaneously broken quantum field theories. Theoretical calculations of the collisionally induced nucleation rate of critical bubbles precipitating such phase transitions are not yet available, and nothing is known about the parameters describing the barrier separating our vacuum from a possibly lower energy state. Fortunately, available cosmic ray evidence suggests that sporadic individual U 238 -U 238 collisions have indeed occurred at ultra-relativistic energies inside our past light cone, which would imply that the proposed experiments do not tread potentially dangerous new ground. Direct confirmation of the predicted small abundance of U 238 and other actinides in cosmic rays at energies in the interesting range 10 13 -10 15 eV, corresponding to 40 GeV/n-4 TeV/n, is not feasible at present. Nevertheless, even indirect detection of at least some ultra-heavy nuclei in the actinide group (Z>88) in this energy range would more affirmatively answer the question: 'Do we dare disturb the vacuum. (orig.)

Polarized X-Ray Emission from Magnetized Neutron Stars: Signature of Strong-Field Vacuum Polarization

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Dong; Ho, Wynn C.

2003-08-01

In the atmospheric plasma of a strongly magnetized neutron star, vacuum polarization can induce a Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein type resonance across which an x-ray photon may (depending on its energy) convert from one mode into the other, with significant changes in opacities and polarizations. We show that this vacuum resonance effect gives rise to a unique energy-dependent polarization signature in the surface emission from neutron stars. The detection of polarized x rays from neutron stars can provide a direct probe of strong-field quantum electrodynamics and constrain the neutron star magnetic field and geometry.

Polarized x-ray emission from magnetized neutron stars: signature of strong-field vacuum polarization.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Dong; Ho, Wynn C G

2003-08-15

In the atmospheric plasma of a strongly magnetized neutron star, vacuum polarization can induce a Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein type resonance across which an x-ray photon may (depending on its energy) convert from one mode into the other, with significant changes in opacities and polarizations. We show that this vacuum resonance effect gives rise to a unique energy-dependent polarization signature in the surface emission from neutron stars. The detection of polarized x rays from neutron stars can provide a direct probe of strong-field quantum electrodynamics and constrain the neutron star magnetic field and geometry.

Standard Model Vacuum Stability and Weyl Consistency Conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Antipin, Oleg; Gillioz, Marc; Krog, Jens

2013-01-01

At high energy the standard model possesses conformal symmetry at the classical level. This is reflected at the quantum level by relations between the different beta functions of the model. These relations are known as the Weyl consistency conditions. We show that it is possible to satisfy them...... order by order in perturbation theory, provided that a suitable coupling constant counting scheme is used. As a direct phenomenological application, we study the stability of the standard model vacuum at high energies and compare with previous computations violating the Weyl consistency conditions....

Quantum Efficiency of Hybrid Photon Detectors for the LHCb RICH

CERN Document Server

Lambert, R W

2008-01-01

The production of Hybrid Photon Detectors to be used as the single-photon sensors for the RICH detectors of the LHCb experiment has recently finished. We present the quantum efficiency measurements of the entire sample of 550 tubes. The manufacturer has succeeded in consistently improving the quantum efficiency of the employed S20-type multi-alkali photocathode above our expectations, by a relative 27 % integrated over the energy spectrum. We also report measurements of the vacuum quality using the photocurrent of the device as a monitor for possible vacuum degradation.

Towards measuring quantum electrodynamic torque with a levitated nanorod

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Zhujing; Bang, Jaehoon; Ahn, Jonghoon; Hoang, Thai M.; Li, Tongcang

2017-04-01

According to quantum electrodynamics, quantum fluctuations of electromagnetic fields give rise to a zero-point energy that never vanishes, even in the absence of electromagnetic sources. The interaction energy will not only lead to the well-known Casimir force but will also contribute to the Casimir torque for anisotropic materials. We propose to use an optically levitated nanorod in vacuum and a birefringent substrate to experimentally investigate the QED torque. We have previously observed the libration of an optically levitated non-spherical nanoparticle in vacuum and found it to be an ultrasensitive torque sensor. A nanorod with a long axis of 300nm and a diameter of 60nm levitated in vacuum at 10 (- 8) torr will have a remarkable torque detection sensitivity on the order of 10 (- 28) Nm/ √Hz, which will be sufficient to detect the Casimir torque. This work is partially supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.1555035-PHY.

Quantum electrodynamics based on self-energy, without second quantization: The Lamb shift and long-range Casimir-Polder van der Waals forces near boundaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barut, A.O.; Dowling, J.P.

1986-12-01

Using a previously formulated theory of quantum electrodynamics based on self-energy, we give a general method for computing the Lamb shift and related Casimir-Polder energies for a quantum system in the vicinity of perfectly conducting boundaries. Our results are exact and easily extendable to a full covariant relativistic form. As a particular example we apply the method to an atom near an infinite conducting plane, and we recover the standard QED results (which are known only in the dipole approximation) in a simple and straightforward manner. This is accomplished in the context of the new theory which is not second quantized and contains no vacuum fluctuations. (author)

Quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markov, M.A.; West, P.C.

1984-01-01

This book discusses the state of the art of quantum gravity, quantum effects in cosmology, quantum black-hole physics, recent developments in supergravity, and quantum gauge theories. Topics considered include the problems of general relativity, pregeometry, complete cosmological theories, quantum fluctuations in cosmology and galaxy formation, a new inflationary universe scenario, grand unified phase transitions and the early Universe, the generalized second law of thermodynamics, vacuum polarization near black holes, the relativity of vacuum, black hole evaporations and their cosmological consequences, currents in supersymmetric theories, the Kaluza-Klein theories, gauge algebra and quantization, and twistor theory. This volume constitutes the proceedings of the Second Seminar on Quantum Gravity held in Moscow in 1981

Nonperturbative QED vacuum birefringence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denisov, V.I.; Dolgaya, E.E.; Sokolov, V.A. [Physics Department, Moscow State University,Moscow, 119991 (Russian Federation)

2017-05-19

In this paper we represent nonperturbative calculation for one-loop Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) vacuum birefringence in presence of strong magnetic field. The dispersion relations for electromagnetic wave propagating in strong magnetic field point to retention of vacuum birefringence even in case when the field strength greatly exceeds Sauter-Schwinger limit. This gives a possibility to extend some predictions of perturbative QED such as electromagnetic waves delay in pulsars neighbourhood or wave polarization state changing (tested in PVLAS) to arbitrary magnetic field values. Such expansion is especially important in astrophysics because magnetic fields of some pulsars and magnetars greatly exceed quantum magnetic field limit, so the estimates of perturbative QED effects in this case require clarification.

Energy spectra of quantum rings.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuhrer, A; Lüscher, S; Ihn, T; Heinzel, T; Ensslin, K; Wegscheider, W; Bichler, M

2001-10-25

Quantum mechanical experiments in ring geometries have long fascinated physicists. Open rings connected to leads, for example, allow the observation of the Aharonov-Bohm effect, one of the best examples of quantum mechanical phase coherence. The phase coherence of electrons travelling through a quantum dot embedded in one arm of an open ring has also been demonstrated. The energy spectra of closed rings have only recently been studied by optical spectroscopy. The prediction that they allow persistent current has been explored in various experiments. Here we report magnetotransport experiments on closed rings in the Coulomb blockade regime. Our experiments show that a microscopic understanding of energy levels, so far limited to few-electron quantum dots, can be extended to a many-electron system. A semiclassical interpretation of our results indicates that electron motion in the rings is governed by regular rather than chaotic motion, an unexplored regime in many-electron quantum dots. This opens a way to experiments where even more complex structures can be investigated at a quantum mechanical level.

Capillary condensation and quantum vacuum effects on the pull-in voltage of electrostatic switches with self-affine rough plates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Palasantzas, George

2006-01-01

In this work, we study the influence of capillary forces in combination with electrostatic and quantum vacuum generated forces on the pull-in voltage of microswitches having self-affine rough surfaces. This type of roughness is described by the rms roughness amplitude w, the in-plane correlation

Color ferromagnetic vacuum states in QCD and two-loop energy densities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, H.B.; Ninomiya, M.

1979-12-01

Two-loop energy densities of color ferromagnetic states are obtained using the β-function calculated to two-loop approximation and the exact formula for the energy density of such a state. This is used to derive bounds on the MIT bag constant correcting the previous bound in one-loop approximation. For a constant field color ferromagnetic ansatz state the bound on the QCD scale parameter Λsub(p) 3 -vacuum ansatz with two-loop and instanton correction gives Λsub(p)<= 0.16 GeV. Tt is stressed that the 'perturbative vacuum', which is identified with the inside bag state is a somewhat ill defined concept due to a path-dependence in the integral giving the energy density. (Auth.)

Desalination of salty water using vacuum spray dryer driven by solar energy

KAUST Repository

Hamawand, Ihsan

2016-11-18

This paper addresses evaporation under vacuum condition with the aid from solar energy and the recovered waste heat from the vacuum pump. It is a preliminary attempt to design an innovative solar-based evaporation system under vacuum. The design details, equipment required, theoretical background and work methodology are covered in this article. Theoretically, based on the energy provided by the sun during the day, the production rate of pure water can be around 15 kg/m2/day. Assumptions were made for the worst case scenario where only 30% of the latent heat of evaporation is recycled and the ability of the dark droplet to absorb sun energy is around 50%. Both the waste heat from the pump and the heat collected from the photovoltaic (PV) panels are proposed to raise the temperature of the inlet water to the system to its boiling point at the selected reduced pressure.

Desalination of salty water using vacuum spray dryer driven by solar energy

KAUST Repository

Hamawand, Ihsan; Lewis, Larry; Ghaffour, NorEddine; Bundschuh, Jochen

2016-01-01

This paper addresses evaporation under vacuum condition with the aid from solar energy and the recovered waste heat from the vacuum pump. It is a preliminary attempt to design an innovative solar-based evaporation system under vacuum. The design details, equipment required, theoretical background and work methodology are covered in this article. Theoretically, based on the energy provided by the sun during the day, the production rate of pure water can be around 15 kg/m2/day. Assumptions were made for the worst case scenario where only 30% of the latent heat of evaporation is recycled and the ability of the dark droplet to absorb sun energy is around 50%. Both the waste heat from the pump and the heat collected from the photovoltaic (PV) panels are proposed to raise the temperature of the inlet water to the system to its boiling point at the selected reduced pressure.

Gases and vacua handbook of vacuum physics

CERN Document Server

Beck, A H

2013-01-01

Handbook of Vacuum Physics, Volume 1: Gases and Vacua provides information on the many aspects of vacuum technology, from material on the quantum theoretical aspects of the complex semi-conductors used for thermionic and photo-electric emission to data on the performance of commercially available pumps, gauges, and high-vacuum materials. The handbook satisfies the need of workers using vacuum apparatuses or works on the diverse applications of high-vacuum technology in research and industry. The book is a compilation of long articles prepared by experts in vacuum technology. Sufficient theoret

Effects of an anode sheath on energy and momentum transfer in vacuum arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhenxing; Zhou, Zhipeng; Tian, Yunbo; Wang, Haoran; Wang, Jianhua; Geng, Yingsan; Liu, Zhiyuan

2017-01-01

Anode phenomena under high-current vacuum arcs have a significant impact on the interrupting capacity of vacuum interrupters. However, the vacuum arc energy flux and momentum flux on the anode—which are necessary boundary conditions for simulations—are either set to an imaginary distribution or calculated using simple formulas without considering anode sheath regulatory effects. The objective of this paper is to reveal the anode sheath effects on regulating the energy and momentum transfer from the arc column to the anode surface in vacuum arcs. A particle-in-cell model for the anode sheath is developed. The required input parameters are obtained from a magnetohydrodynamic model for the arc column. From the results, there exists a sheath near the anode with a negative voltage drop. Both the electron density and the ion density significantly decline in the anode sheath region. The kinetic energy of the ions absorbed by the anode consists of directed kinetic energy, random kinetic energy, and sheath acceleration energy. The sheath acceleration energy contribution is the largest, and the random kinetic energy also accounts for a large part that cannot be ignored. The arc pressure on the anode surface is mainly caused by ion impact, and the accelerating effect of the anode sheath on the ions cannot be neglected in pressure calculations. In addition, in the case of an arc current at 15 kA, the input energy and momentum upon the anode surface is not obviously affected by the evaporated atoms at surface temperatures of 1600 K and 2000 K. (paper)

Loss energy states of nonstationary quantum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dodonov, V.V.; Man'ko, V.I.

1978-01-01

The concept of loss energy states is introduced. The loss energy states of the quantum harmonic damping oscillator are considered in detail. The method of constructing the loss energy states for general multidimensional quadratic nonstationary quantum systems is briefly discussed

Nonlinear generalization of special relativity at very high energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winterberg, F.

1984-01-01

It is shown, that the introduction of a fundamental length constant into the operator representation of the quantum mechanical commutation relations, as suggested by Bagge, leads to a nonlinear generalization of the Lorentz transformations. The theory requires the introduction of a substratum (ether) and which can be identified as the zero point vacuum energy. At very high energies a non-Lorentz invariant behaviour for the cross sections between elementary particles is predicted. Using the Einstein clock synchronisation definition, the velocity of light is also constant and equal to c in the new theory, but the zero point vacuum energy becomes finite, as are all other quantities which are divergent in Lorentz invariant quantum field theories. In the limiting case where the length constant is set equal to zero, the zero point vacuum energy diverges and special relativity is recovered. (orig.) [de

Quantum corrections in thermal states of fermions on anti-de Sitter space-time

Science.gov (United States)

Ambruş, Victor E.; Winstanley, Elizabeth

2017-12-01

We study the energy density and pressure of a relativistic thermal gas of massless fermions on four-dimensional Minkowski and anti-de Sitter space-times using relativistic kinetic theory. The corresponding quantum field theory quantities are given by components of the renormalized expectation value of the stress-energy tensor operator acting on a thermal state. On Minkowski space-time, the renormalized vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor is by definition zero, while on anti-de Sitter space-time the vacuum contribution to this expectation value is in general nonzero. We compare the properties of the vacuum and thermal expectation values of the energy density and pressure for massless fermions and discuss the circumstances in which the thermal contribution dominates over the vacuum one.

Vacuum metastability with black holes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burda, Philipp [Centre for Particle Theory, Durham University,South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Gregory, Ruth [Centre for Particle Theory, Durham University,South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Perimeter Institute, 31 Caroline Street North,Waterloo, ON, N2L 2Y5 (Canada); Moss, Ian G. annd [School of Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University,Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU (United Kingdom)

2015-08-24

We consider the possibility that small black holes can act as nucleation seeds for the decay of a metastable vacuum, focussing particularly on the Higgs potential. Using a thin-wall bubble approximation for the nucleation process, which is possible when generic quantum gravity corrections are added to the Higgs potential, we show that primordial black holes can stimulate vacuum decay. We demonstrate that for suitable parameter ranges, the vacuum decay process dominates over the Hawking evaporation process. Finally, we comment on the application of these results to vacuum decay seeded by black holes produced in particle collisions.

Vacuum metastability with black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burda, Philipp; Gregory, Ruth; Moss, Ian G. annd

2015-01-01

We consider the possibility that small black holes can act as nucleation seeds for the decay of a metastable vacuum, focussing particularly on the Higgs potential. Using a thin-wall bubble approximation for the nucleation process, which is possible when generic quantum gravity corrections are added to the Higgs potential, we show that primordial black holes can stimulate vacuum decay. We demonstrate that for suitable parameter ranges, the vacuum decay process dominates over the Hawking evaporation process. Finally, we comment on the application of these results to vacuum decay seeded by black holes produced in particle collisions.

The realm of the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchholz, D.; Wanzenberg, R.

1992-01-01

The spacelike asymptotic structure of physical states in local quantum theory is analysed. It is shown that this structure can be described in terms of a vacuum state if the theory satisfies a condition of timelike asymptotic abelianess. Theories which violate this condition can have an involved asymptotic vacuum structure as is illustrated by a simple example. (orig.)

Quantum effects and hypothesis of cosmic censorship

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parnovskij, S.L.

1989-01-01

It is shown that filamentary characteristics with linear mass of less than 10 25 g/cm distort slightly the space-time at distances, exceeding Planck ones. Their formation doesn't change vacuum energy and doesn't lead to strong quantum radiation. Therefore, the problem of their occurrence can be considered within the framework of classical collapse. Quantum effects can be ignored when considering the problem of validity of cosmic censorship hypothesis

Energy-momentum tensor in thermal strong-field QED with unstable vacuum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gavrilov, S P [Department of General and Experimental Physics, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Moyka emb. 48, 191186 St Petersburg (Russian Federation); Gitman, D M [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, CP 66318, CEP 05315-970 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: gavrilovsergeyp@yahoo.com, E-mail: gitman@dfn.if.usp.br

2008-04-25

The mean value of the one-loop energy-momentum tensor in thermal QED with an electric-like background that creates particles from vacuum is calculated. The problem is essentially different from calculations of effective actions (similar to the action of Heisenberg-Euler) in backgrounds that respect the stability of vacuum. The role of a constant electric background in the violation of both the stability of vacuum and the thermal character of particle distribution is investigated. Restrictions on the electric field and the duration over which one can neglect the back-reaction of created particles are established.

Energy-momentum tensor in thermal strong-field QED with unstable vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavrilov, S P; Gitman, D M

2008-01-01

The mean value of the one-loop energy-momentum tensor in thermal QED with an electric-like background that creates particles from vacuum is calculated. The problem is essentially different from calculations of effective actions (similar to the action of Heisenberg-Euler) in backgrounds that respect the stability of vacuum. The role of a constant electric background in the violation of both the stability of vacuum and the thermal character of particle distribution is investigated. Restrictions on the electric field and the duration over which one can neglect the back-reaction of created particles are established

Observation of the Phononic Lamb Shift with a Synthetic Vacuum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Rentrop

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In contrast to classical empty space, the quantum vacuum fundamentally alters the properties of embedded particles. This paradigm shift allows one to explain the discovery of the celebrated Lamb shift in the spectrum of the hydrogen atom. Here, we engineer a synthetic vacuum, building on the unique properties of ultracold atomic gas mixtures, offering the ability to switch between empty space and quantum vacuum. Using high-precision spectroscopy, we observe the phononic Lamb shift, an intriguing many-body effect originally conjectured in the context of solid-state physics. We find good agreement with theoretical predictions based on the Fröhlich model. Our observations establish this experimental platform as a new tool for precision benchmarking of open theoretical challenges, especially in the regime of strong coupling between the particles and the quantum vacuum.

Control of the electromagnetic environment of a quantum emitter by shaping the vacuum field in a coupled-cavity system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Johne, R.; Schutjens, H.A.W.; Fattahpoor, S.; Jin, C.; Fiore, A.

2015-01-01

We propose a scheme for the ultrafast control of the emitter-field coupling rate in cavity quantum electrodynamics. This is achieved by the control of the vacuum field seen by the emitter through a modulation of the optical modes in a coupled-cavity structure. The scheme allows the on-off switching

The VAK of vacuum fluctuation, Spontaneous self-organization and complexity theory interpretation of high energy particle physics and the mass spectrum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Naschie, M.S.

2003-01-01

The paper is a rather informal introduction to the concepts and results of the E-infinity Cantorian theory of quantum physics. The fundamental tools of complexity theory and non-linear dynamics (Hausdorff dimensions, fat fractals, etc.) are used to give what we think to be a new interpretation of high energy physics and to determine the corresponding mass-spectrum. Particular attention is paid to the role played by the VAK, KAM theorem, Arnold diffusion, Newhaus sinks and knot theory in determining the stability of an elementary 'particle-wave' which emerges in self-organizatory manner out of sizzling vacuum fluctuation

Exact vacuum polarization in 1 + 1 dimensional finite nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferree, T.C.

1992-01-01

There is considerable interest in the use of renormalizable quantum field theories to describe nuclear structure. In particular, theories which employ hadronic degrees of freedom are used widely and lead to efficient models which allow self-consistent solutions of the many-body problem. An interesting feature inherent to relativistic field theories (like QHD) is the presence of an infinite sea of negative energy fermion (nucleon) states, which interact dynamically with positive energy fermions via other fields. Such interactions give rise to, for example, vacuum polarization effects, in which virtual particle-antiparticle pairs interact with positive energy valence nucleons as well as with each other, and can significantly influence the ground and excited states of nuclear systems. Several authors have addressed this question in various approximations for finite nuclei, mostly based on extensions of results derived for a uniform system of nucleons. Some attempts have also been made to include vacuum effects in finite systems exactly, but the presence of a vector potential can be problematic when working in a spectral representation. In this paper, the author presents a computational method by which vacuum polarization effects in finite nuclei can be calculated exactly in the RHA by employing matrix diagonalization methods in a discrete Fourier representation of the Dirac equation, and an approximate method for including deep negative energy states based on a derivative expansion of the effective action. This efficient approach is shown to provide well-behaved vacuum polarization densities which remain so even in the presence of strong vector potential

Motivating quantum field theory: the boosted particle in a box

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vutha, Amar C

2013-01-01

It is a maxim often stated, yet rarely illustrated, that the combination of special relativity and quantum mechanics necessarily leads to quantum field theory. An elementary illustration is provided using the familiar particle in a box, boosted to relativistic speeds. It is shown that quantum fluctuations of momentum lead to energy fluctuations, which are inexplicable without a framework that endows the vacuum with dynamical degrees of freedom and allows particle creation/annihilation. (letters and comments)

Structure of the vacuum in the color dielectric model: confinement and chiral symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazzolo, A.

1992-01-01

Two of the most important properties of Quantum Chromodynamic (QCD), spontaneous symmetry breaking of the vacuum and quark confinement at low energy, are first presented. Some important effective models for hadronic physics are then described. Putting QCD on the lattice and using the block-spin method, the color-dielectric model effective Lagrangian is obtained. The structure of the vacuum and the behaviour of uniform quark matter at high intensity are investigated in this model. Its original formulation is extended to handle chiral symmetry (by use of sigma model) and to include negative energy orbitals. At high baryonic density, the model describes the two phase transitions which are expected in QCD: deconfinement of quarks and chiral symmetry restoration. Finally, a heavy meson composed by a charmed quark anti-quark pair, is constructed, and the valence quarks confinement and the vacuum structure around them are studied

Sequestration of vacuum energy and the end of the universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaloper, Nemanja; Padilla, Antonio

2015-03-13

Recently, we proposed a mechanism for sequestering the standard model vacuum energy that predicts that the Universe will collapse. Here we present a simple mechanism for bringing about this collapse, employing a scalar field whose potential is linear and becomes negative, providing the negative energy density required to end the expansion. The slope of the potential is chosen to allow for the expansion to last until the current Hubble time, about 10^{10} years, to accommodate our Universe. Crucially, this choice is technically natural due to a shift symmetry. Moreover, vacuum energy sequestering selects radiatively stable initial conditions for the collapse, which guarantee that immediately before the turnaround the Universe is dominated by the linear potential which drives an epoch of accelerated expansion for at least an e fold. Thus, a single, technically natural choice for the slope ensures that the collapse is imminent and is preceded by the current stage of cosmic acceleration, giving a new answer to the "why now?"

Vacuum-packaged piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters: damping contributions and autonomy for a wireless sensor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elfrink, R; Renaud, M; Kamel, T M; De Nooijer, C; Jambunathan, M; Goedbloed, M; Hohlfeld, D; Matova, S; Pop, V; Caballero, L; Van Schaijk, R

2010-01-01

This paper describes the characterization of thin-film MEMS vibration energy harvesters based on aluminum nitride as piezoelectric material. A record output power of 85 µW is measured. The parasitic-damping and the energy-harvesting performances of unpackaged and packaged devices are investigated. Vacuum and atmospheric pressure levels are considered for the packaged devices. When dealing with packaged devices, it is found that vacuum packaging is essential for maximizing the output power. Therefore, a wafer-scale vacuum package process is developed. The energy harvesters are used to power a small prototype (1 cm 3 volume) of a wireless autonomous sensor system. The average power consumption of the whole system is less than 10 µW, and it is continuously provided by the vibration energy harvester

Starobinsky-like inflation and running vacuum in the context of Supergravity

CERN Document Server

Basilakos, Spyros; Solà, Joan

2016-01-01

We describe the primeval inflationary phase of the early Universe within a quantum field theoretical (QFT) framework that can be viewed as the effective action of vacuum decay in the early times. Interestingly enough, the model accounts for the "graceful exit" of the inflationary phase into the standard radiation regime. The underlying QFT framework considered here is Supergravity (SUGRA), more specifically an existing formulation in which the Starobinsky-type inflation (de-Sitter background) emerges from the quantum corrections to the effective action after integrating out the gravitino fields in their (dynamically induced) massive phase. We also demonstrate that the structure of the effective action in this model is consistent with the generic idea of renormalization group (RG) running of the cosmological parameters, specifically it follows from the corresponding RG equation for the vacuum energy density as a function of the Hubble rate, $\\rho_{\\Lambda}(H)$. Overall our combined approach amounts to a concre...

Radiation perturbation theory in gravity and quantum universe as a hydrogen atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pervushin, V.N.

1992-01-01

In quantum theory of gravity of the (n+1)-dimensional space-time the Faddeev-Popov functional integral is constructed for radiation perturbation theory. In this version the Universe expansion looks as the collective superfluid motion of quantum space, and the vacuum energy density plays the role of the hidden mass. 6 refs

Quasi-superradiant soliton state of matter in quantum metamaterials

Science.gov (United States)

Asai, Hidehiro; Kawabata, Shiro; Savel'ev, Sergey E.; Zagoskin, Alexandre M.

2018-02-01

Strong interaction of a system of quantum emitters (e.g., two-level atoms) with electromagnetic field induces specific correlations in the system accompanied by a drastic increase of emitted radiation (superradiation or superfluorescence). Despite the fact that since its prediction this phenomenon was subject to a vigorous experimental and theoretical research, there remain open question, in particular, concerning the possibility of a first order phase transition to the superradiant state from the vacuum state. In systems of natural and charge-based artificial atom this transition is prohibited by "no-go" theorems. Here we demonstrate numerically and confirm analytically a similar transition in a one-dimensional quantum metamaterial - a chain of artificial atoms (qubits) strongly interacting with classical electromagnetic fields in a transmission line. The system switches from vacuum state to the quasi-superradiant (QS) phase with one or several magnetic solitons and finite average occupation of qubit excited states along the transmission line. A quantum metamaterial in the QS phase circumvents the "no-go" restrictions by considerably decreasing its total energy relative to the vacuum state by exciting nonlinear electromagnetic solitons.

The Application of Quantum Energy Saver on Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Xiong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In order to reduce diesel fuel consumption, this paper conducts the research in view of a new type of quantum energy saving device, and then produce the sample and applied on automobile engine, Detect fuel use of an automobile by automobile fuel saving technology as-sessment methods from the department of transportation. Compare the changes of fuel use be-fore and after installation of quantum energy saving device on the same car, and give the feed-back of energy saving capability. The result shows, after installed quantum energy saver, both fuel consumption and the smoke of tail gas has decreased. The analysis and application of this paper carry out the conclusion that the quantum energy saver can play an important role in en-ergy saving and emission reduction, and provide a reference for other related research.

Gravitational vacuum and energy release in microworld

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mel'nikov, V.N.; Nikolaev, Yu.M.; Stanyukovich, K.P.

1981-01-01

It is shown that gravitati.onal interaction can be connected with the processes of energy release in microworld. Suggested is a planckeon model within the frames of which gradual production of the observed substance of the Universe during the whole evolution is explained. Burst processes in nuclei of the Galaxy are explained. It is concluded that the theory of gravitational vacuum creates preconditions for developing the general theory of the field explaining the basic peculiarities of the micro- and macroworld, reveals significant applications in the physics of elementary particles and atomic nucleus. The process of 235 U fission is considered for testing the hypothesis that the coefficient of energy release depends on the nature of the reaction in different processes of energy release in the micro- and macroworld [ru

Applications of Canonical transformations and nontrivial vacuum solutions to flavor mixing and critical phenomena in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishchenko, Yuriy

2004-01-01

MISHCHENKO, YURIY. Applications of Canonical Transformations and Nontrivial Vacuum Solutions to flavor mixing and critical phenomena in Quantum Field Theory. (Under the direction of Chueng-Ryong Ji.) In this dissertation we consider two recent applications of Bogoliubov Transformation to the phenomenology of quantum mixing and the theory of critical phenomena. In recent years quantum mixing got in the focus of the searches for New Physics due to its unparalleled sensitivity to SM parameters and indications of neutrino mixing. It was recently suggested that Bogoliubov Transformation may be important in proper definition of the flavor states that otherwise results in problems in perturbative treatment. As first part of this dissertation we investigate this conjecture and develop a complete formulation of such a mixing field theory involving introduction of general formalism, analysis of space-time conversion and phenomenological implications. As second part of this dissertati

Applications of Canonical transformations and nontrivial vacuum solutions to flavor mixing and critical phenomena in quantum field theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mishchenko, Yuriy [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)

2004-12-01

MISHCHENKO, YURIY. Applications of Canonical Transformations and Nontrivial Vacuum Solutions to flavor mixing and critical phenomena in Quantum Field Theory. (Under the direction of Chueng-Ryong Ji.) In this dissertation we consider two recent applications of Bogoliubov Transformation to the phenomenology of quantum mixing and the theory of critical phenomena. In recent years quantum mixing got in the focus of the searches for New Physics due to its unparalleled sensitivity to SM parameters and indications of neutrino mixing. It was recently suggested that Bogoliubov Transformation may be important in proper definition of the flavor states that otherwise results in problems in perturbative treatment. As first part of this dissertation we investigate this conjecture and develop a complete formulation of such a mixing field theory involving introduction of general formalism, analysis of space-time conversion and phenomenological implications. As second part of this dissertati

Vacuum energy is non-positive for (2 + 1)-dimensional holographic CFTs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickling, Andrew; Wiseman, Toby

2016-01-01

We consider a (2 + 1)-dimensional holographic CFT on a static spacetime with globally timelike Killing vector. Taking the spatial geometry to be closed but otherwise general we expect a non-trivial vacuum energy at zero temperature due to the Casimir effect. We assume a thermal state has an AdS/CFT dual description as a static smooth solution to gravity with a negative cosmological constant, which ends only on the conformal boundary or horizons. A bulk geometric argument then provides an upper bound on the ratio of CFT free energy to temperature. Considering the zero temperature limit of this bound implies the vacuum energy of the CFT is non-positive. Furthermore the vacuum energy must be negative unless the boundary metric is locally conformal to a product of time with a constant curvature space. We emphasise the argument does not require the zero temperature bulk geometry to be smooth, but only that singularities are ‘good’ so are hidden by horizons at finite temperature. (paper)

The vacuum system for the PEP II high energy ring straight sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wienands, U.; Daly, E.; Heifets, S.A.; Kulikov, A.; Kurita, N.; Nordby, M.; Perkins, C.; Reuter, E.; Seeman, J.T.; Belser, F.C.; Berg, J.; Holdener, F.R.; Kerns, J.A.; McDaniel, M.R.; Stoeffl, W.

1995-01-01

The six straight sections of the PEP II High Energy Ring (HER) serve various functions: lattice tuning, beam injection and abort, providing space for rf cavities, longitudinal and transverse feedback, beam diagnostics and the interaction point. A stainless steel vacuum system has been designed; prototypes are currently being built. Cooling is required due to radiation coming from the last arc dipole and resistive losses in the vacuum chamber. Although the nominal beam current of the HER is 1 A the vacuum system is designed for 3 A to provide margin and an upgrade path. 5 refs., 7 figs

Vacuum energy and Casimir force in the presence of a dimensional parameter in the boundary condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebedev, S.L.

2001-01-01

The Hamiltonian for a scalar field that satisfies the boundary condition -∂ n φ=(1/δ)φ must include a surface potential energy. The corresponding term in the Casimir energy E-tilde C proves to be a leading one when the dimension of the region is l ∼ δ. The energy E-tilde C does not involve arbitrariness associated with regularization and is an unambiguously determined function of the field mass m, the size l, and the penetration depth δ. The inclusion of the surface term is of importance for ensuring that the derivative -∂ E-tilde C /∂l is equal to the ll component of the vacuum energy-momentum tensor. The Casimir energy E-tilde C is related to its volume component E C by a Legendre transformation where the quantity conjugate to 1/δ is the product of the vacuum surface energy and δ. If δ is negative and if h-bar/mc> vertical bar δ vertical bar, there exists a critical value l=l c (δ) above which (l>l c ) the vacuum is unstable; if a self-interaction of the form φ 4 is taken into account, this will lead to a phase transition accompanied by the formation of a condensate of the field φ. If δ=+0 or ∞ and if the dimensionalities are even, it is possible to construct a vacuum energy-momentum tensor (not only energy) that is finite over the entire space. Specially chosen counterterms leave unchanged the analytic dependence of the vacuum energy on the dimensionality of space and the character of the coordinate dependence of the energy density for x>h-bar/mc

Stark interaction of identical particles with the vacuum electromagnetic field as quantum Poisson process suppressing collective spontaneous emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basharov, A. M.

2011-01-01

The effective Hamiltonian describing resonant interaction of an ensemble of identical quantum particles with a photon-free vacuum electromagnetic field has been obtained with allowance for terms of second order in the coupling constant (the Stark interaction) by means of the perturbation theory on the basis of the unitary transformation of the system quantum state. It has been shown that in the Markov approximation the effective Hamiltonian terms of first order in the coupling constant are represented by the quantum Wiener process, whereas terms of second order are expressed by the quantum Poisson process. During the course of the investigation, it was established that the Stark interaction played a significant role in the ensemble dynamics, thus influencing the collective spontaneous decay of the ensemble of an appreciably high number of identical particles. Fundamental effects have been discovered, i.e., the excitation conservation in a sufficiently dense ensemble of identical particles and superradiance suppression in the collective decaying process of an excited ensemble with a determined number of particles.

Condensation energy of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio vacuum and the MIT bag constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, S.; Bhalerao, R.S.; Bhaduri, R.K.

1991-01-01

In this paper the energy densities of the vacuum in the Wigner and the Goldstone modes of the Nambu- Jona-Lasinio Hamiltonian are calculated. The difference of these two quantities is analogous to the condensation energy of a BCS superconductor, and is used here to estimate the temperature dependence of the MIT bag constant. The formalism of da Providencia et al is generalized to finite temperatures, yielding the same gap equation as the finite- temperature field theory. The thermodynamics of the vacuum in the two phases is studied

Cosmic vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernin, Artur D

2001-01-01

Recent observational studies of distant supernovae have suggested the existence of cosmic vacuum whose energy density exceeds the total density of all the other energy components in the Universe. The vacuum produces the field of antigravity that causes the cosmological expansion to accelerate. It is this accelerated expansion that has been discovered in the observations. The discovery of cosmic vacuum radically changes our current understanding of the present state of the Universe. It also poses new challenges to both cosmology and fundamental physics. Why is the density of vacuum what it is? Why do the densities of the cosmic energy components differ in exact value but agree in order of magnitude? On the other hand, the discovery made at large cosmological distances of hundreds and thousands Mpc provides new insights into the dynamics of the nearby Universe, the motions of galaxies in the local volume of 10 - 20 Mpc where the cosmological expansion was originally discovered. (reviews of topical problems)

Cosmic vacuum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chernin, Artur D [P.K. Shternberg State Astronomical Institute at the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2001-11-30

Recent observational studies of distant supernovae have suggested the existence of cosmic vacuum whose energy density exceeds the total density of all the other energy components in the Universe. The vacuum produces the field of antigravity that causes the cosmological expansion to accelerate. It is this accelerated expansion that has been discovered in the observations. The discovery of cosmic vacuum radically changes our current understanding of the present state of the Universe. It also poses new challenges to both cosmology and fundamental physics. Why is the density of vacuum what it is? Why do the densities of the cosmic energy components differ in exact value but agree in order of magnitude? On the other hand, the discovery made at large cosmological distances of hundreds and thousands Mpc provides new insights into the dynamics of the nearby Universe, the motions of galaxies in the local volume of 10 - 20 Mpc where the cosmological expansion was originally discovered. (reviews of topical problems)

Metasurface-Enabled Remote Quantum Interference.

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Pankaj K; Ni, Xingjie; Wu, Chihhui; Wang, Yuan; Zhang, Xiang

2015-07-10

An anisotropic quantum vacuum (AQV) opens novel pathways for controlling light-matter interaction in quantum optics, condensed matter physics, etc. Here, we theoretically demonstrate a strong AQV over macroscopic distances enabled by a judiciously designed array of subwavelength-scale nanoantennas-a metasurface. We harness the phase-control ability and the polarization-dependent response of the metasurface to achieve strong anisotropy in the decay rate of a quantum emitter located over distances of hundreds of wavelengths. Such an AQV induces quantum interference among radiative decay channels in an atom with orthogonal transitions. Quantum vacuum engineering with metasurfaces holds promise for exploring new paradigms of long-range light-matter interaction for atom optics, solid-state quantum optics, quantum information processing, etc.

Energy balance for a dissipative quantum system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Jishad

2014-01-01

The role of random force in maintaining equilibrium in a dissipative quantum system is studied here. We compute the instantaneous power supplied by the fluctuating (random) force, which provides information about the work done by the random force on the quantum subsystem of interest. The quantum Langevin equation formalism is used here to verify that, at equilibrium, the work done by the fluctuating force balances the energy lost by the quantum subsystem to the heat bath. The quantum subsystem we choose to couple to the heat bath is the charged oscillator in a magnetic field. We perform the calculations using the Drude regularized spectral density of bath oscillators instead of using a strict ohmic spectral density that gives memoryless damping. We also discuss the energy balance for our dissipative quantum system and in this regard it is to be understood that the physical system is the charged magneto-oscillator coupled to the heat bath, not the uncoupled charged magneto-oscillator. (paper)

Vacuum quantum effect for curved boundaries in static Robertson-Walker space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setare, M.R.; Sadeghi, J.

2009-01-01

The energy-momentum tensor for a massless conformally coupled scalar field in the region between two curved boundaries in k=-1 static Robertson-Walker space-time is investigated. We assume that the scalar field satisfies the Dirichlet boundary condition on the boundaries. k=-1 Robertson-Walker space is conformally related to the Rindler space, as a result we can obtain vacuum expectation values of energy-momentum tensor for conformally invariant field in Robertson-Walker space from the corresponding Rindler counterpart by the conformal transformation.

Tests and prospects of new physics at very high energy. Beyond the standard basic principles, and beyond conventional matter and space-time. On the possible origin of Quantum Mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

2015-05-01

Recent results and announcements by Planck and BICEP2 have led to important controversies in the fields of Cosmology and Particle Physics. As new ideas and alternative approaches can since then more easily emerge, the link between the Mathematical Physics aspects of theories and the interpretation of experimental results becomes more direct. This evolution is also relevant for Particle Physics experiments at very high energy, where the interpretation of data on the highest-energy cosmic rays remains a major theoretical and phenomenological challenge. Alternative particle physics and cosmology can raise fundamental questions such as that of the structure of vacuum and space-time. In particular, the simplified description of the physical vacuum contained in standard quantum field theory does not necessarily correspond to reality at a deeper level, and similarly for the relativistic space-time based on four real variables. In a more general approach, the definition itself of vacuum can be a difficult task. The spinorial space-time (SST) we suggested in 1996-97 automatically incorporates a local privileged space direction (PSD) for each comoving observer, possibly leading to a locally anisotropic vacuum structure. As the existence of the PSD may have been confirmed by Planck, and a possible discovery of primordial B-modes in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) may turn out to contain new evidence for the SST, we explore other possible implications of this approach to space-time. The SST structure can naturally be at the origin of Quantum Mechanics at distance scales larger than the fundamental one if standard particles are dealt with as vacuum excitations. We also discuss possible implications of our lack of knowledge of the structure of vacuum, as well as related theoretical, phenomenological and cosmological uncertainties. Pre-Big Bang scenarios and new ultimate constituents of matter (including superbradyons) are crucial open subjects

Tests and prospects of new physics at very high energy. Beyond the standard basic principles, and beyond conventional matter and space-time. On the possible origin of Quantum Mechanics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalez-Mestres Luis

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recent results and announcements by Planck and BICEP2 have led to important controversies in the fields of Cosmology and Particle Physics. As new ideas and alternative approaches can since then more easily emerge, the link between the Mathematical Physics aspects of theories and the interpretation of experimental results becomes more direct. This evolution is also relevant for Particle Physics experiments at very high energy, where the interpretation of data on the highest-energy cosmic rays remains a major theoretical and phenomenological challenge. Alternative particle physics and cosmology can raise fundamental questions such as that of the structure of vacuum and space-time. In particular, the simplified description of the physical vacuum contained in standard quantum field theory does not necessarily correspond to reality at a deeper level, and similarly for the relativistic space-time based on four real variables. In a more general approach, the definition itself of vacuum can be a difficult task. The spinorial space-time (SST we suggested in 1996-97 automatically incorporates a local privileged space direction (PSD for each comoving observer, possibly leading to a locally anisotropic vacuum structure. As the existence of the PSD may have been confirmed by Planck, and a possible discovery of primordial B-modes in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB may turn out to contain new evidence for the SST, we explore other possible implications of this approach to space-time. The SST structure can naturally be at the origin of Quantum Mechanics at distance scales larger than the fundamental one if standard particles are dealt with as vacuum excitations. We also discuss possible implications of our lack of knowledge of the structure of vacuum, as well as related theoretical, phenomenological and cosmological uncertainties. Pre-Big Bang scenarios and new ultimate constituents of matter (including superbradyons are

Ion kinetic energy distribution in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giuliani, L; Grondona, D; Kelly, H; Minotti, F

2008-01-01

In vacuum arcs of interest for film deposition the ion kinetic energy is of importance because it influences the coating properties. In this kind of discharge, the ions come out from the cathode spots with a high kinetic energy (20-150 eV). In the present work, we present measurements of vacuum arc ion energy distributions in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter. A retarding field analyser (RFA) was used to perform the measurements that were carried out with a variable magnetic field strength (of the order of 10 mT). Since the interpretation of the results obtained from the RFA lies in the knowledge of the plasma and floating potential values, we have employed also Langmuir probes for determining those quantities. The obtained results for the ion kinetic energy are similar to those reported by other authors, but they were also found to be independent of the magnetic field strength. The electron temperature was also found to be independent of the magnetic field strength and of the axial position along the filter, indicating the absence of collisions.

Topology of classical vacuum space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Y.M.

2007-04-01

We present a topological classification of classical vacuum space-time. Assuming the 3-dimensional space allows a global chart, we show that the static vacuum space-time of Einstein's theory can be classified by the knot topology π 3 (S 3 ) = π 3 (S 2 ). Viewing Einstein's theory as a gauge theory of Lorentz group and identifying the gravitational connection as the gauge potential of Lorentz group, we construct all possible vacuum gravitational connections which give a vanishing curvature tensor. With this we show that the vacuum connection has the knot topology, the same topology which describes the multiple vacua of SU(2) gauge theory. We discuss the physical implications of our result in quantum gravity. (author)

Inflation and quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linde, A.

1990-01-01

We investigate an interplay between elementary particle physics, quantum cosmology and inflation. These results obtained within this approach are compared with the results obtained in the context of Euclidean quantum cosmology. In particular, we discuss relations between the stochastic approach to inflationary cosmology and the approaches based on the investigation of the Hartle-Hawking and tunneling wave functions of the universe. We argue that neither of these wave functions can be used for a complete description of the inflationary universe, but in certain cases they can be used for a description of some particular stages of inflation. It is shown that if the present vacuum energy density ρ υ exceeds some extremely small critical value ρ c (ρ c ∼ 10 -107 ) g cm -3 for chaotic inflation in the theory 1/2m 2 φ 2 ), then the lifetime of mankind in the inflationary universe should be finite, even though the universe as a whole will exist without end. A possible way to justify the anthropic principle in the context of the baby universe theory and to apply it to the evaluation of masses of elementary particles, of their coupling constants and of the vacuum energy density is also discussed. (author)

Quantum field theory in stationary coordinate systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfautsch, J.D.

1981-01-01

Quantum field theory is examined in stationary coordinate systems in Minkowski space. Preliminary to quantization of the scalar field, all of the possible stationary coordinate systems in flat spacetime are classified and explicitly constructed. Six distinct classes of such systems are found. Of these six, three have (identical) event horizons associated with them and five have Killing horizons. Two classes have distinct Killing and event horizons, with an intervening region analogous to the ergosphere in rotating black holes. Particular representatives of each class are selected for subsequent use in the quantum field theory. The scalar field is canonically quantized and a vacuum defined in each of the particular coordinate systems chosen. The vacuum states can be regarded as adapted to the six classes of stationary motions. There are only two vacuum states found, the Minkowski vacuum in those coordinate systems without event horizons and the Fulling vacuum in those with event horizons. The responses of monopole detectors traveling along stationary world lines are calculated in both the Minkowski and Fulling vacuums. The responses for each class of motions are distinct from those for every other class. A vacuum defined by the response of a detector must therefore not be equivalent in general to a vacuum defined by canonical quantization. Quantization of the scalar field within a rotating wedge is examined. It has not been possible to construct mode functions satisfying appropriate boundary conditions on the surface of the wedge. The asymptotic form of the renormalized stress tensor near the surfaces had been calculated and is found to include momentum terms which represent a circulation of energy within the wedge

Intrinsic measurement errors for the speed of light in vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Daniel; Schneiter, Fabienne; Fischer, Uwe R.

2017-09-01

The speed of light in vacuum, one of the most important and precisely measured natural constants, is fixed by convention to c=299 792 458 m s-1 . Advanced theories predict possible deviations from this universal value, or even quantum fluctuations of c. Combining arguments from quantum parameter estimation theory and classical general relativity, we here establish rigorously the existence of lower bounds on the uncertainty to which the speed of light in vacuum can be determined in a given region of space-time, subject to several reasonable restrictions. They provide a novel perspective on the experimental falsifiability of predictions for the quantum fluctuations of space-time.

One-loop quantum gravity repulsion in the early Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Broda, Bogusław

2011-03-11

Perturbative quantum gravity formalism is applied to compute the lowest order corrections to the classical spatially flat cosmological Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker solution (for the radiation). The presented approach is analogous to the approach applied to compute quantum corrections to the Coulomb potential in electrodynamics, or rather to the approach applied to compute quantum corrections to the Schwarzschild solution in gravity. In the framework of the standard perturbative quantum gravity, it is shown that the corrections to the classical deceleration, coming from the one-loop graviton vacuum polarization (self-energy), have (UV cutoff free) opposite to the classical repulsive properties which are not negligible in the very early Universe. The repulsive "quantum forces" resemble those known from loop quantum cosmology.

Entanglement between smeared field operators in the Klein-Gordon vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zych, Magdalena; Costa, Fabio; Kofler, Johannes; Brukner, Caslav

2010-01-01

Quantum field theory is the application of quantum physics to fields. It provides a theoretical framework widely used in particle physics and condensed matter physics. One of the most distinct features of quantum physics with respect to classical physics is entanglement or the existence of strong correlations between subsystems that can even be spacelike separated. In quantum fields, observables restricted to a region of space define a subsystem. While there are proofs on the existence of local observables that would allow a violation of Bell's inequalities in the vacuum states of quantum fields as well as some explicit but technically demanding schemes requiring an extreme fine-tuning of the interaction between the fields and detectors, an experimentally accessible entanglement witness for quantum fields is still missing. Here we introduce smeared field operators which allow reducing the vacuum to a system of two effective bosonic modes. The introduction of such collective observables is motivated by the fact that no physical probe has access to fields in single spatial (mathematical) points but rather smeared over finite volumes. We first give explicit collective observables whose correlations reveal vacuum entanglement in the Klein-Gordon field. We then show that the critical distance between the two regions of space above which two effective bosonic modes become separable is of the order of the Compton wavelength of the particle corresponding to the massive Klein-Gordon field.

Quark virtuality and QCD vacuum condensates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Lijuan; Ma Weixing

2004-01-01

Based on the Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSEs) in the 'rainbow' approximation, the authors investigate the quark virtuality in the vacuum state and quantum-chromodynamics (QCD) vacuum condensates. In particular, authors calculate the local quark vacuum condensate and quark-gluon mixed condensates, and then the virtuality of quark. The calculated quark virtualities are λ u,d 2 =0.7 GeV 2 for u, d quarks, and λ s 2 =1.6 GeV 2 for s quark. The theoretical predictions are consistent with empirical values used in QCD sum rules, and also fit to lattice QCD predictions

Regulating vacuum pump speed with feedback control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludington, D.C.; Aneshansley, D.J.; Pellerin, R.; Guo, F.

1992-01-01

Considerable energy is wasted by the vacuum pump/motor on dairy farms. The output capacity (m 3 /min or cfm) of the vacuum pump always exceeds the capacity needed to milk cows and wash pipelines. Vacuum pumps run at full speed and load regardless of actual need for air. Excess air is admitted through a controller. Energy can be saved from electrical demand reduced by regulating vacuum pump speed according to air based on air usage. An adjustable speed drive (ASD) on the motor and controlled based upon air usage, can reduce the energy used by the vacuum pump. However, the ASD unit tested could not maintain vacuum levels within generally accepted guidelines when air usage changed. Adding a high vacuum reserve and a dual vacuum controller between the vacuum pump and the milking pipeline brought vacuum stability within guidelines. The ASD/dual vacuum system can reduce energy consumption and demand by at least 50 percent during milking and provide better vacuum stability than conventional systems. Tests were not run during washing cycles. Using 1990 costs and only the energy saved during milking, the simple payback on investment in new equipment for a 5 hp motor, speed controller and vacuum regulator would be about 5 years

Photosynthetic Energy Transfer at the Quantum/Classical Border.

Science.gov (United States)

Keren, Nir; Paltiel, Yossi

2018-06-01

Quantum mechanics diverges from the classical description of our world when very small scales or very fast processes are involved. Unlike classical mechanics, quantum effects cannot be easily related to our everyday experience and are often counterintuitive to us. Nevertheless, the dimensions and time scales of the photosynthetic energy transfer processes puts them close to the quantum/classical border, bringing them into the range of measurable quantum effects. Here we review recent advances in the field and suggest that photosynthetic processes can take advantage of the sensitivity of quantum effects to the environmental 'noise' as means of tuning exciton energy transfer efficiency. If true, this design principle could be a base for 'nontrivial' coherent wave property nano-devices. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creating Very True Quantum Algorithms for Quantum Energy Based Computing

Science.gov (United States)

Nagata, Koji; Nakamura, Tadao; Geurdes, Han; Batle, Josep; Abdalla, Soliman; Farouk, Ahmed; Diep, Do Ngoc

2018-04-01

An interpretation of quantum mechanics is discussed. It is assumed that quantum is energy. An algorithm by means of the energy interpretation is discussed. An algorithm, based on the energy interpretation, for fast determining a homogeneous linear function f( x) := s. x = s 1 x 1 + s 2 x 2 + ⋯ + s N x N is proposed. Here x = ( x 1, … , x N ), x j ∈ R and the coefficients s = ( s 1, … , s N ), s j ∈ N. Given the interpolation values (f(1), f(2),...,f(N))=ěc {y}, the unknown coefficients s = (s1(ěc {y}),\\dots , sN(ěc {y})) of the linear function shall be determined, simultaneously. The speed of determining the values is shown to outperform the classical case by a factor of N. Our method is based on the generalized Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm to qudit systems. Next, by using M parallel quantum systems, M homogeneous linear functions are determined, simultaneously. The speed of obtaining the set of M homogeneous linear functions is shown to outperform the classical case by a factor of N × M.

Nonsingular cosmology from evolutionary quantum gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Cianfrani, Francesco; Montani, Giovanni; Pittorino, Fabrizio

2014-11-01

We provide a cosmological implementation of the evolutionary quantum gravity, describing an isotropic Universe, in the presence of a negative cosmological constant and a massive (preinflationary) scalar field. We demonstrate that the considered Universe has a nonsingular quantum behavior, associated to a primordial bounce, whose ground state has a high occupation number. Furthermore, in such a vacuum state, the super-Hamiltonian eigenvalue is negative, corresponding to a positive emerging dust energy density. The regularization of the model is performed via a polymer quantum approach to the Universe scale factor and the proper classical limit is then recovered, in agreement with a preinflationary state of the Universe. Since the dust energy density is redshifted by the Universe de Sitter phase and the cosmological constant does not enter the ground state eigenvalue, we get a late-time cosmology, compatible with the present observations, endowed with a turning point in the far future.

Exponential vanishing of the ground-state gap of the quantum random energy model via adiabatic quantum computing

Science.gov (United States)

Adame, J.; Warzel, S.

2015-11-01

In this note, we use ideas of Farhi et al. [Int. J. Quantum. Inf. 6, 503 (2008) and Quantum Inf. Comput. 11, 840 (2011)] who link a lower bound on the run time of their quantum adiabatic search algorithm to an upper bound on the energy gap above the ground-state of the generators of this algorithm. We apply these ideas to the quantum random energy model (QREM). Our main result is a simple proof of the conjectured exponential vanishing of the energy gap of the QREM.

Exponential vanishing of the ground-state gap of the quantum random energy model via adiabatic quantum computing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adame, J.; Warzel, S.

2015-01-01

In this note, we use ideas of Farhi et al. [Int. J. Quantum. Inf. 6, 503 (2008) and Quantum Inf. Comput. 11, 840 (2011)] who link a lower bound on the run time of their quantum adiabatic search algorithm to an upper bound on the energy gap above the ground-state of the generators of this algorithm. We apply these ideas to the quantum random energy model (QREM). Our main result is a simple proof of the conjectured exponential vanishing of the energy gap of the QREM

On microscopic structure of the QCD vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

Pak, D. G.; Lee, Bum-Hoon; Kim, Youngman; Tsukioka, Takuya; Zhang, P. M.

2018-05-01

We propose a new class of regular stationary axially symmetric solutions in a pure QCD which correspond to monopole-antimonopole pairs at macroscopic scale. The solutions represent vacuum field configurations which are locally stable against quantum gluon fluctuations in any small space-time vicinity. This implies that the monopole-antimonopole pair can serve as a structural element in microscopic description of QCD vacuum formation.

Detection of negative energy: 4-dimensional examples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, P.C.W.; Ottewill, Adrian C.

2002-01-01

We study the response of switched particle detectors to static negative energy densities and negative energy fluxes. It is demonstrated how the switching leads to excitation even in the vacuum and how negative energy can lead to a suppression of this excitation. We obtain quantum inequalities on the detection similar to those obtained for the energy density by Ford and co-workers and in an 'operational' context by Helfer. We reexamine the question 'Is there a quantum equivalence principle?' in terms of our model. Finally, we briefly address the issue of negative energy and the second law of thermodynamics

Quantum Sensing for High Energy Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, Zeeshan; et al.

2018-03-29

Report of the first workshop to identify approaches and techniques in the domain of quantum sensing that can be utilized by future High Energy Physics applications to further the scientific goals of High Energy Physics.

Optical properties of semiconductors quantum microcavity structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afshar, A.M.

1996-12-01

The principal phenomenon investigated in this thesis is vacuum Rabi coupling in semiconductor microcavity structures. In these structures quantum well excitons are embedded in a Fabry - Perot like cavity, defined by two semiconductor dielectric mirrors. In such a system the coupled exciton and cavity photon mode form a mixed - mode polariton, where on - resonance there are two branches, each having 50% exciton and 50% photon character. The separation between the upper and lower branches is a measure of the coupling strength where the strength is dependent on the exciton oscillator strength. This interaction is known as vacuum Rabi coupling, and clear anticrossing is seen when the exciton is tuned through the cavity. In our reflectivity experiments we demonstrate control of the coupling between the cavity mode and the exciton by varying temperature, applied electric or magnetic field. Modelling of the reflectivity spectra and the tuning was done using a Transfer Matrix Reflectivity (TMR) model or a linear dispersion model, where in both cases the excitons are treated as Lorentz oscillators. Temperature tuning is achieved because exciton energy decreases with temperature at a much faster rate than the cavity mode. We have demonstrated vacuum Rabi coupling of the cavity mode with both the heavy - hole and light - hole excitons. Electric field tuning is achieved via the quantum confined Stark effect which decreases the exciton energy with increasing field, whilst at the same time the cavity mode energy remains constant. A study of how the electric field reduction of exciton oscillator strength reduces the vacuum Rabi coupling strength is performed. We report the first observation in a semiconductor structure of motional narrowing, seen in both electric field and in temperature tuning experiments at high magnetic field. In magnetic field studies we show how magnetic field induced increase in exciton oscillator strength affects the vacuum Rabi coupling. We also show by

Quark and gluon condensate in vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vajnshtejn, A.I.; Zakharov, V.I.; Shifman, M.A.

1979-01-01

The mechanism of quark confinement has been reviewed. The fact that coloured particles in a free state cannot be observed is connected with specific properties of vacuum in quantum chromodynamics. The basic hypothesis consists in the existence of vacuum fields, quark and gluon condensates, which affect the coloured objects. The vacuum transparent relative to noncharged ''white'' states serves as a source of the force acting upon the coloured particles. It has been a sucess to examine strictly the action of the vacuum fields on quarks when the distance between them is relatively small and the force of the vacuum fields on quarks is relatively small too. It is shown that the interaction with the vacuum fields manifests itself earlier than the forces connected with the gluon exchange do. It is assumed that the vacuum condensate of quarks and gluons and its relation to properties of resonances and to the bag model exist in reality. The dispersion sum rules are used for calculating masses and lepton widths of resonances

Inter-Universal Quantum Entanglement

Science.gov (United States)

Robles-Pérez, S. J.; González-Díaz, P. F.

2015-01-01

The boundary conditions to be imposed on the quantum state of the whole multiverse could be such that the universes would be created in entangled pairs. Then, interuniversal entanglement would provide us with a vacuum energy for each single universe that might be fitted with observational data, making testable not only the multiverse proposal but also the boundary conditions of the multiverse. Furthermore, the second law of the entanglement thermodynamics would enhance the expansion of the single universes.

Cosmologies with a time dependent vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sola, Joan

2011-01-01

The idea that the cosmological term Λ should be a time dependent quantity in cosmology is a most natural one. It is difficult to conceive an expanding universe with a strictly constant vacuum energy density, ρ Λ = Λ/(8π G), namely one that has remained immutable since the origin of time. A smoothly evolving vacuum energy density ρ Λ = ρ Λ (ξ(t)) that inherits its time-dependence from cosmological functions ξ = ξ(t), such as the Hubble rate H(t) or the scale factor a(t), is not only a qualitatively more plausible and intuitive idea, but is also suggested by fundamental physics, in particular by quantum field theory (QFT) in curved space-time. To implement this notion, is not strictly necessary to resort to ad hoc scalar fields, as usually done in the literature (e.g. in quintessence formulations and the like). A 'running' Λ term can be expected on very similar grounds as one expects (and observes) the running of couplings and masses with a physical energy scale in QFT. Furthermore, the experimental evidence that the equation of state (EOS) of the dark energy (DE) could be evolving with time/redshift (including the possibility that it might currently behave phantom-like) suggests that a time-variable Λ = Λ(t) term (possibly accompanied by a variable Newton's gravitational coupling too, G = G(t)) could account in a natural way for all these features. Remarkably enough, a class of these models (the 'new cosmon') could even be the clue for solving the old cosmological constant problem, including the coincidence problem.

Implementation of EPICS based vacuum control system for variable energy cyclotron centre, Kolkata

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Anindya; Bhole, R. B.; Nandy, Partha P.; Yadav, R. C.; Pal, Sarbajit; Roy, Amitava

2015-03-01

The vacuum system of the Room Temperature (K = 130) Cyclotron of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre is comprised of vacuum systems of main machine and Beam Transport System. The vacuum control system is upgraded to a PLC based Automated system from the initial relay based Manual system. The supervisory control of the vacuum system is implemented in Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). An EPICS embedded ARM based vacuum gauge controller is developed to mitigate the requirement of vendor specific gauge controller for gauges and also for seamless integration of the gauge controllers with the control system. A set of MS-Windows ActiveX components with embedded EPICS Channel Access interface are developed to build operator interfaces with less complex programming and to incorporate typical Windows feature, e.g., user authentication, file handling, better fonts, colors, mouse actions etc. into the operator interfaces. The control parameters, monitoring parameters, and system interlocks of the system are archived in MySQL based EPICS MySQL Archiver developed indigenously. In this paper, we describe the architecture, the implementation details, and the performance of the system.

Implementation of EPICS based vacuum control system for variable energy cyclotron centre, Kolkata

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roy, Anindya, E-mail: r-ani@vecc.gov.in; Bhole, R. B.; Nandy, Partha P.; Yadav, R. C.; Pal, Sarbajit; Roy, Amitava [Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, 1/AF Bidhan Nagar, Kolkata 700064 (India)

2015-03-15

The vacuum system of the Room Temperature (K = 130) Cyclotron of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre is comprised of vacuum systems of main machine and Beam Transport System. The vacuum control system is upgraded to a PLC based Automated system from the initial relay based Manual system. The supervisory control of the vacuum system is implemented in Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). An EPICS embedded ARM based vacuum gauge controller is developed to mitigate the requirement of vendor specific gauge controller for gauges and also for seamless integration of the gauge controllers with the control system. A set of MS-Windows ActiveX components with embedded EPICS Channel Access interface are developed to build operator interfaces with less complex programming and to incorporate typical Windows feature, e.g., user authentication, file handling, better fonts, colors, mouse actions etc. into the operator interfaces. The control parameters, monitoring parameters, and system interlocks of the system are archived in MySQL based EPICS MySQL Archiver developed indigenously. In this paper, we describe the architecture, the implementation details, and the performance of the system.

Implementation of EPICS based vacuum control system for variable energy cyclotron centre, Kolkata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Anindya; Bhole, R. B.; Nandy, Partha P.; Yadav, R. C.; Pal, Sarbajit; Roy, Amitava

2015-01-01

The vacuum system of the Room Temperature (K = 130) Cyclotron of Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre is comprised of vacuum systems of main machine and Beam Transport System. The vacuum control system is upgraded to a PLC based Automated system from the initial relay based Manual system. The supervisory control of the vacuum system is implemented in Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). An EPICS embedded ARM based vacuum gauge controller is developed to mitigate the requirement of vendor specific gauge controller for gauges and also for seamless integration of the gauge controllers with the control system. A set of MS-Windows ActiveX components with embedded EPICS Channel Access interface are developed to build operator interfaces with less complex programming and to incorporate typical Windows feature, e.g., user authentication, file handling, better fonts, colors, mouse actions etc. into the operator interfaces. The control parameters, monitoring parameters, and system interlocks of the system are archived in MySQL based EPICS MySQL Archiver developed indigenously. In this paper, we describe the architecture, the implementation details, and the performance of the system

Exciton binding energy in a pyramidal quantum dot

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A ANITHA

2018-03-27

Mar 27, 2018 ... screening function on exciton binding energy in a pyramid-shaped quantum dot of ... tures may generate unique properties and they show .... where Ee is the ground-state energy of the electron in ... Figure 1. The geometry of the pyramidal quantum dot. base and H is the height of the pyramid which is taken.

The vacuum profile of the energy spectrum compressor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuijsten, W.J.

1988-12-01

A finite element model has been made of the vacuum system of the Energy Spectrum Compressor. It gives the possibility to calculate the average pressure profile of the system in a fast way. It is required that the average pressure in the system does not influence the present performance of the linac nor the performance of the beam switch yard. Calculations show that with standard pumps of 60 l/s an average pressure of -5 Pa can be obtained. 7 refs.; 8 figs.; 2 tabs

Quantum net dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finkelstein, D.

1989-01-01

The quantum net unifies the basic principles of quantum theory and relativity in a quantum spacetime having no ultraviolet infinities, supporting the Dirac equation, and having the usual vacuum as a quantum condensation. A correspondence principle connects nets to Schwinger sources and further unifies the vertical structure of the theory, so that the functions of the many hierarchic levels of quantum field theory (predicate algebra, set theory, topology,hor-ellipsis, quantum dynamics) are served by one in quantum net dynamics

Local P violation effects and thermalization in QCD: Views from quantum field theory and holography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhitnitsky, Ariel R.

2012-01-01

We argue that the local violation of P and CP invariance in heavy ion collisions and the universal thermal aspects observed in high energy collisions are in fact two sides of the same coin, and both are related to quantum anomalies of QCD. We argue that the low energy relations representing the quantum anomalies of QCD are saturated by coherent low-dimensional vacuum configurations as observed in Monte Carlo lattice studies. The thermal spectrum and approximate universality of the temperature with no dependence on energy of colliding particles in this framework is due to the fact that the emission results from the distortion of these low-dimensional vacuum sheets rather than from the colliding particles themselves. The emergence of the long-range correlations of P odd domains (a feature which is apparently required for explanation of the asymmetry observed at RHIC and LHC) is also a result of the same distortion of the QCD vacuum configurations. We formulate the corresponding physics using the effective low energy effective Lagrangian. We also formulate the same physics in terms of the dual holographic picture when low-dimensional sheets of topological charge embedded in 4d space, as observed in Monte Carlo simulations, are identified with D2 branes. Finally, we argue that study of these long-range correlations in heavy ion collisions could serve as a perfect test of a proposal that the observed dark energy in present epoch is a result of a tiny deviation of the QCD vacuum energy in expanding universe from its conventional value in Minkowski space–time.

On Einsteinization of background curved space in the induced quantum gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novozhilov, Y.V.; Vassilevich, D.V.

1989-09-01

It is shown within the induced quantum gravity approach that approximate invariance of the vacuum (up to topological terms) under rescaling of background tetrads requires that these tetrads should satisfy the Einstein equation with the Newton and cosmological constants defined by low energy parameters. (author). 7 refs

Vacuum decay in a soluble model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camargo Filho, A.F. de; Shellard, R.C.; Marques, G.C.

1983-03-01

A field-theoretical model is studied, where the decay rate of the false vacuum can be computed up to the first quantum corrections in both the high-temperature and zero-temperature limits. It is found that the dependence of the decay rate on the height and width of the potential barrier does not follow the same simple area rule as in the quantum-mechanical case. Furthermore, its behaviour is strongly model-dependent. (Author) [pt

Anti-Zeno-effect recovery and Lamb-shift modification in modified vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Dawei; Wang Ligang; Li Zhenghong; Zhu Shiyao

2009-01-01

The influence of the modification of the free vacuum on the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects, as well as the Lamb (energy) shift of a multilevel atom, is studied. A unitary transformation method has been used to include the counter-rotating terms and to obtain the ground state of the whole Hamiltonian. The anti-Zeno effect is recovered if the modified density of states (DOS) has a dip near the transition frequency. The modification of DOS by a dip or a peak will change the Lamb shift compared with that in the free vacuum. Together with our unitary transformation method, there are three different methods to obtain the change in the Lamb shift. Using our method we investigate the change in the Lamb shift and obtain a formula for the change, which is the same as obtained with the method of Louisell [Quantum Statistical Properties of Radiation (Wiley, New York, 1973)] but different from the method of Cohen-Tannoudji et al. [Atom-Photon Interactions: Basic Processes and Applications (Wiley, New York, 1992), pp. 317 and 417]. The correctness of the Lamb shift formulas obtained by the three methods can be easily testified experimentally.

Interaction Induced Quantum Valley Hall Effect in Graphene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. C. Marino

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We use pseudo-quantum electrodynamics in order to describe the full electromagnetic interaction of the p electrons in graphene in a consistent 2D formulation. We first consider the effect of this interaction in the vacuum polarization tensor or, equivalently, in the current correlator. This allows us to obtain the T→0 conductivity after a smooth zero-frequency limit is taken in Kubo’s formula. Thereby, we obtain the usual expression for the minimal conductivity plus corrections due to the interaction that bring it closer to the experimental value. We then predict the onset of an interaction-driven spontaneous quantum valley Hall effect below an activation temperature of the order of 2 K. The transverse (Hall valley conductivity is evaluated exactly and shown to coincide with the one in the usual quantum Hall effect. Finally, by considering the effects of pseudo-quantum electrodynamics, we show that the electron self-energy is such that a set of P- and T-symmetric gapped electron energy eigenstates are dynamically generated, in association with the quantum valley Hall effect.

Neutrino mixing, flavor states and dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blasone, M.; Capolupo, A.; Capozziello, S.; Vitiello, G.

2008-01-01

We shortly summarize the quantum field theory formalism for the neutrino mixing and report on recent results showing that the vacuum condensate induced by neutrino mixing can be interpreted as a dark energy component of the Universe

The Electromagnetic Zero-Point Field and the Flat Polarizable Vacuum Representation

CERN Document Server

Desiato, J T

2003-01-01

There are several interpretations of the Polarizable Vacuum (PV). One is the variable speed of light (VSL) approach, that has been shown to be isomorphic to General Relativity (GR) within experimental limits. However, another interpretation is representative of flat geometry, in which intervals of time and distance are measured in local inertial reference frames where the speed of light remains constant. The Flat PV approach leads to variable impedance transformations, governed by the spectral energy content of the Quantum Vacuum’s Electromagnetic (EM) Zero-Point Field (ZPF). The EM ZPF consists of photons. An unlimited number of photons may occupy the same quantum state at an arbitrary set of coordinates. Therefore, the spectral energy of the ZPF may be varied smoothly, represented by a superposition of EM waves with a large number of photons per cubic wavelength. Utilizing the Flat PV representation, a family of frequency dependent solutions of Poisson’s equation are derived, that may be applied as tool...

Quantum field in η-ξ spacetime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gui, Y.

1990-01-01

A new spacetime, η-ξ spacetime, is constructed. The quantum field in η-ξ spacetime is discussed. It is shown that the vacuum state of quantum field in η-ξ spacetime is a thermal state for an inertial observer in Minkowski spacetime, and the vacuum Green's functions in η-ξ spacetime are just the thermal Green's functions in usual statistical mechanics

Particle creation during vacuum decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rubakov, V.A.

1984-01-01

The hamiltonian approach is developed with regard to the problem of particle creation during the tunneling process, leading to the decay of the false vacuum in quantum field theory. It is shown that, to the lowest order in (h/2π), the particle creation is described by the euclidean Schroedinger equation in an external field of a bounce. A technique for solving this equation is developed in an analogy to the Bogoliubov transformation technique, in the theory of particle creation in the presence of classical background fields. The technique is illustrated by two examples, namely, the particle creation during homogeneous vacuum decay and during the tunneling process leading to the materialization of the thin-wall bubble of a new vacuum in the metastable one. The curious phenomenon of intensive particle annihilation during vacuum decay is discussed and explicitly illustrated within the former example. The non-unitary extension of the Bogoliubov u, v transformations is described in the appendix. (orig.)

Nonlocal astrophysics dark matter, dark energy and physical vacuum

CERN Document Server

Alexeev, Boris V

2017-01-01

Non-Local Astrophysics: Dark Matter, Dark Energy and Physical Vacuum highlights the most significant features of non-local theory, a highly effective tool for solving many physical problems in areas where classical local theory runs into difficulties. The book provides the fundamental science behind new non-local astrophysics, discussing non-local kinetic and generalized hydrodynamic equations, non-local parameters in several physical systems, dark matter, dark energy, black holes and gravitational waves. Devoted to the solution of astrophysical problems from the position of non-local physics Provides a solution for dark matter and dark energy Discusses cosmological aspects of the theory of non-local physics Includes a solution for the problem of the Hubble Universe expansion, and of the dependence of the orbital velocity from the center of gravity

Inductive energy storage using high voltage vacuum circuit breakers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCann, R.B.; Woodson, H.H.; Mukutmoni, T.

1976-01-01

Controlled thermonuclear fusion experiments currently being planned require large amounts of pulsed energy. Inductive energy storage systems (IES) appear to be attractive for at least two applications in the fusion research program: high beta devices and those employing turbulent heating. The well-known roadblock to successful implementation of IES is the development of a reliable and cost-effective off-switch capable of handling high currents and withstanding high recovery voltages. The University of Texas at Austin has a program to explore the application of conventional vacuum circuit breakers designed for use in AC systems, in conjunction with appropriate counter pulse circuits, as off-switches in inductive energy storage systems. The present paper describes the IES employing vacuum circuit breakers as off-switches. Since the deionization property of these circuit breakers is of great importance to the design and the cost of the counter-pulse circuit, a synthetic test installation to test these breakers has been conceived, designed and is being installed in the Fusion Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. Some design aspects of the facility will be discussed here. Finally, the results of the study on a mathematical model developed and optimized to determine the least cost system which meets both the requirements of an off-switch for IES Systems and the ratings of circuit breakers used in power systems has been discussed. This analysis indicates that the most important factor with respect to the system cost is the derating of the circuit breakers to obtain satisfactory lifetimes

A low loss Faraday isolator for squeezed vacuum injection in Advanced LIGO

Science.gov (United States)

Goetz, Ryan; Tanner, David; Mueller, Guido

2016-03-01

Using conventional interferometry, the strain sensitivity of Advanced LIGO is limited by a quantum noise floor known as the standard quantum limit (SQL). Injecting squeezed vacuum states into the output port of the interferometer allows for detector sensitivities below the SQL at frequencies within a band of observational interest. The effectiveness of squeezing in reducing quantum noise is strongly dependent upon the optical loss in the squeezed path. Thus, to combine the squeezed vacuum state with the interferometer output we require a Faraday isolator with both high power-throughput efficiency and high isolation ratio. A prototype isolator is currently being developed, and we will discuss the design goals and current status.

Characterization of an in-vacuum PILATUS 1M detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Wernecke, Jan; Gollwitzer, Christian; Müller, Peter; Krumrey, Michael

2014-05-01

A dedicated in-vacuum X-ray detector based on the hybrid pixel PILATUS 1M detector has been installed at the four-crystal monochromator beamline of the PTB at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin, Germany. Owing to its windowless operation, the detector can be used in the entire photon energy range of the beamline from 10 keV down to 1.75 keV for small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments and anomalous SAXS at absorption edges of light elements. The radiometric and geometric properties of the detector such as quantum efficiency, pixel pitch and module alignment have been determined with low uncertainties. The first grazing-incidence SAXS results demonstrate the superior resolution in momentum transfer achievable at low photon energies.

Wilson loops, instantons and quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schiereck, Marc

2014-05-01

In this thesis we examine two different problems. The first is the computation of vacuum expectation values of Wilson loop operators in ABJM theory, the other problem is finding the instanton series of the refined topological string on certain local Calabi-Yau geometries in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit. Based on the description of ABJM theory as a matrix model, it is possible to find a description of it in terms of an ideal Fermi gas with a non-trivial one-particle Hamiltonian. The vacuum-expectation-values of Wilson loop operators in ABJM theory correspond to averages of operators in the statistical-mechanical problem. Using the WKB expansion, it is possible to extract the full 1/N expansion of the vevs, up to exponentially small contributions, for arbitrary Chern-Simons coupling. We compute these vevs for the 1/6 and 1/2 BPS Wilson loops at any winding number. These can be written in terms of the Airy function. The expressions we found reproduce the low genus results previously obtained in the 't Hooft expansion. In another problem we use mirror symmetry, quantum geometry and modularity properties of elliptic curves to calculate the refined free energies, given in terms of an instanton sum, in the Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit on non-compact toric Calabi-Yau manifolds, based on del Pezzo surfaces. Quantum geometry here is to be understood as a quantum deformed version of rigid special geometry, which has its origin in the quantum mechanical behavior of branes in the topological string B-model. We argue that in the Seiberg-Witten picture only the Coulomb parameters lead to quantum corrections, while the mass parameters remain uncorrected. In certain cases we also compute the expansion of the free energies at the orbifold point and the conifold locus. We compute the quantum corrections order by order on ℎ by deriving second order differential operators, which act on the classical periods.

Cooling the Motion of Diamond Nanocrystals in a Magneto-Gravitational Trap in High Vacuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Jen-Feng; Ji, Peng; Lewandowski, Charles W; D'Urso, Brian

2016-07-22

Levitated diamond nanocrystals with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres in high vacuum have been proposed as a unique system for experiments in fundamental quantum mechanics, including the generation of large quantum superposition states and tests of quantum gravity. This system promises extreme isolation from its environment while providing quantum control and sensing through the NV centre spin. While optical trapping has been the most explored method of levitation, recent results indicate that excessive optical heating of the nanodiamonds under vacuum may make the method impractical with currently available materials. Here, we study an alternative magneto-gravitational trap for diamagnetic particles, such as diamond nanocrystals, with stable levitation from atmospheric pressure to high vacuum. Magnetic field gradients from permanent magnets confine the particle in two dimensions, while confinement in the third dimension is gravitational. We demonstrate that feedback cooling of the centre-of-mass motion of a trapped nanodiamond cluster results in cooling of one degree of freedom to less than 1 K.

Quantum fields on manifolds: an interplay between quantum theory, statistical thermodynamics and general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sewell, G.L.

1986-01-01

The author shows how the basic axioms of quantum field theory, general relativity and statistical thermodynamics lead, in a model-independent way, to a generalized Hawking-Unruh effect, whereby the gravitational fields carried by a class of space-time manifolds with event horizons thermalize ambient quantum fields. The author is concerned with a quantum field on a space-time x containing a submanifold X' bounded by event horizons. The objective is to show that, for a wide class of space-times, the global vacuum state of the field reduces, in X', to a thermal state, whose temperature depends on the geometry. The statistical thermodynaical, geometrical, and quantum field theoretical essential ingredients for the reduction of the vacuum state are discussed

Energy-density spectrum of the vacuum around a cosmic string

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarmiento, A.; Hacyan, S.

1988-01-01

The explicit form of the spectrum of the energy density of the vacuum surrounding a cosmic string as would be seen by an observer at rest is calculated. Spin-0, -half, or -1 massless fields are considered and it is found that the result is independent of the spin value. An interpretation which differs from the one usually found in the literature is also given

The three loop two-mass contribution to the gluon vacuum polarization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bluemlein, J.; Freitas, A. de; Schoenwald, K. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Schneider, C. [Johannes Kepler Univ., Linz (Austria). Research Inst. for Symbolic Computation (RISC)

2017-10-15

We calculate the two-mass contribution to the 3-loop vacuum polarization of the gluon in Quantum Chromodynamics at virtuality p{sup 2}=0 for general masses and also present the analogous result for the photon in Quantum Electrodynamics.

The emergence of gravity as a retro-causal post-inflation macro-quantum-coherent holographic vacuum Higgs-Goldstone field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarfatti, Jack; Levit, Creon

2009-01-01

We present a model for the origin of gravity, dark energy and dark matter: Dark energy and dark matter are residual pre-inflation false vacuum random zero point energy (w = - 1) of large-scale negative, and short-scale positive pressure, respectively, corresponding to the 'zero point' (incoherent) component of a superfluid (supersolid) ground state. Gravity, in contrast, arises from the 2nd order topological defects in the post-inflation virtual 'condensate' (coherent) component. We predict, as a consequence, that the LHC will never detect exotic real on-mass-shell particles that can explain dark matter ΩM DM ∼ 0.23. We also point out that the future holographic dark energy de Sitter horizon is a total absorber (in the sense of retro-causal Wheeler-Feynman action-at-a-distance electrodynamics) because it is an infinite redshift surface for static detectors. Therefore, the advanced Hawking-Unruh thermal radiation from the future de Sitter horizon is a candidate for the negative pressure dark vacuum energy.

Compton Operator in Quantum Electrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Hector Luna; Garcia, Luz Maria

2015-01-01

In the frame in the quantum electrodynamics exist four basic operators; the electron self-energy, vacuum polarization, vertex correction, and the Compton operator. The first three operators are very important by its relation with renormalized and Ward identity. However, the Compton operator has equal importance, but without divergence, and little attention has been given it. We have calculated the Compton operator and obtained the closed expression for it in the frame of dimensionally continuous integration and hypergeometric functions

On the Effective Equation of State of Dark Energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sloth, Martin Snoager

2010-01-01

In an effective field theory model with an ultraviolet momentum cutoff, there is a relation between the effective equation of state of dark energy and the ultraviolet cutoff scale. It implies that a measure of the equation of state of dark energy different from minus one, does not rule out vacuum...... energy as dark energy. It also indicates an interesting possibility that precise measurements of the infrared properties of dark energy can be used to probe the ultraviolet cutoff scale of effective quantum field theory coupled to gravity. In a toy model with a vacuum energy dominated universe...... with a Planck scale cutoff, the dark energy effective equation of state is -0.96....

Quantum properties of a superposition of squeezed displaced two-mode vacuum and single-photon states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Orany, Faisal A A; Obada, A-S F; M Asker, Zafer; Perina, J

2009-01-01

In this paper, we study some quantum properties of a superposition of displaced squeezed two-mode vacuum and single-photon states, such as the second-order correlation function, the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, quadrature squeezing, quasiprobability distribution functions and purity. These type of states include two mechanisms, namely interference in phase space and entanglement. We show that these states can exhibit sub-Poissonian statistics, squeezing and deviate from the classical Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Moreover, the amount of entanglement in the system can be increased by increasing the squeezing mechanism. In the framework of the quasiprobability distribution functions, we show that the single-mode state can tend to the thermal state based on the correlation mechanism. A generation scheme for such states is given.

Bohm's quantum potential as an internal energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dennis, Glen, E-mail: gdennis502@gmail.com [TPRU, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX (United Kingdom); Gosson, Maurice A. de, E-mail: maurice.de.gosson@univie.ac.at [University of Vienna, Faculty of Mathematics, NuHAG, Oskar-Morgenstern-Platz 1, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Hiley, Basil J., E-mail: b.hiley@bbk.ac.uk [TPRU, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, WC1E 7HX (United Kingdom)

2015-06-26

Highlights: • The quantum potential is seen as internal energy associated with a phase space region. • Fermi's trick shows that Bohm's particle is an extended structure in phase space. • We associate Bohm's quantum potential with a context-dependent energy redistribution. • A physically motivated derivation of Schrodinger's equation is provided. • We show the Fermi set associated with a 3-D coherent state contains a quantum blob. - Abstract: We pursue our discussion of Fermi's surface initiated by Dennis, de Gosson and Hiley and show that Bohm's quantum potential can be viewed as an internal energy of a quantum system, giving further insight into its role in stationary states. This implies that the ‘particle’ referred to in Bohm's theory is not a classical point-like object but rather has an extended structure in phase space which can be linked to the notion of a symplectic capacity, a topological feature of the underlying symplectic geometry. This structure provides us with a new, physically motivated derivation of Schrödinger's equation provided we interpret Gleason's theorem as a derivation of the Born rule from fundamental assumptions about quantum probabilities.

Design of coherent quantum observers for linear quantum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuglar, Shanon L; Amini, Hadis

2014-01-01

Quantum versions of control problems are often more difficult than their classical counterparts because of the additional constraints imposed by quantum dynamics. For example, the quantum LQG and quantum H ∞ optimal control problems remain open. To make further progress, new, systematic and tractable methods need to be developed. This paper gives three algorithms for designing coherent quantum observers, i.e., quantum systems that are connected to a quantum plant and their outputs provide information about the internal state of the plant. Importantly, coherent quantum observers avoid measurements of the plant outputs. We compare our coherent quantum observers with a classical (measurement-based) observer by way of an example involving an optical cavity with thermal and vacuum noises as inputs. (paper)

Quantum field theory in Schwarzschild and Rindler spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boulware, D.G.

1975-01-01

The problem of defining a scalar quantum field in the space-times described by the Schwarzschild and Rindler metrics is discussed. The matrix elements of the field operators are found by calculating the Green's functions for the fields. The requirement of positive frequencies for asymptotic timelike separations combined with a careful analysis of the continuity conditions at the event horizons yields a unique prescription for the Green's function. This in turn defines the vacuum state. In the Schwarzschild space the vacuum is shown to be stable and the lowest-energy state. In the Rindler space the quantization procedure yields the same results as quantization in Minkowski coordinates

Conservation of topological quantum numbers in energy bands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, L.N.; Liang, Y.

1988-01-01

Quantum systems described by parametrized Hamiltinians are studied in a general context. Within this context, the classification scheme of Avron-Seiler-Simon for non-degenerate energy bands is extended to cover general parameter spaces, whole their sum rule is generalized to cover cases with degenerate bands as well. Additive topological quantum numbers are defined, and these are shown to be conserved in energy band ''collisions''. The conservation laws dictate that when some invariants are non-vanishing, no energy gap can develop in a set of degenerate bands. This gives rise to a series of splitting rules

Vacuum Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biltoft, P J

2004-10-15

The environmental condition called vacuum is created any time the pressure of a gas is reduced compared to atmospheric pressure. On earth we typically create a vacuum by connecting a pump capable of moving gas to a relatively leak free vessel. Through operation of the gas pump the number of gas molecules per unit volume is decreased within the vessel. As soon as one creates a vacuum natural forces (in this case entropy) work to restore equilibrium pressure; the practical effect of this is that gas molecules attempt to enter the evacuated space by any means possible. It is useful to think of vacuum in terms of a gas at a pressure below atmospheric pressure. In even the best vacuum vessels ever created there are approximately 3,500,000 molecules of gas per cubic meter of volume remaining inside the vessel. The lowest pressure environment known is in interstellar space where there are approximately four molecules of gas per cubic meter. Researchers are currently developing vacuum technology components (pumps, gauges, valves, etc.) using micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Miniature vacuum components and systems will open the possibility for significant savings in energy cost and will open the doors to advances in electronics, manufacturing and semiconductor fabrication. In conclusion, an understanding of the basic principles of vacuum technology as presented in this summary is essential for the successful execution of all projects that involve vacuum technology. Using the principles described above, a practitioner of vacuum technology can design a vacuum system that will achieve the project requirements.

Measurements of the intrinsic quantum efficiency and absorption length of tetraphenyl butadiene thin films in the vacuum ultraviolet regime

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Christopher; Gann, Gabriel Orebi; Gehman, Victor

2018-04-01

A key enabling technology for many liquid noble gas (LNG) detectors is the use of the common wavelength shifting medium tetraphenyl butadiene (TPB). TPB thin films are used to shift ultraviolet scintillation light into the visible spectrum for detection and event reconstruction. Understanding the wavelength shifting efficiency and optical properties of these films are critical aspects in detector performance and modeling and hence in the ultimate physics sensitivity of such experiments. This article presents the first measurements of the room-temperature microphysical quantum efficiency for vacuum-deposited TPB thin films - a result that is independent of the optics of the TPB or substrate. Also presented are measurements of the absorption length in the vacuum ultraviolet regime, the secondary re-emission efficiency, and more precise results for the "black-box" efficiency across a broader spectrum of wavelengths than previous results. The low-wavelength sensitivity, in particular, would allow construction of LNG scintillator detectors with lighter elements (Ne, He) to target light mass WIMPs.

The energy-level crossing behavior and quantum Fisher information in a quantum well with spin-orbit coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Z. H.; Zheng, Q.; Wang, Xiaoguang; Li, Yong

2016-03-01

We study the energy-level crossing behavior in a two-dimensional quantum well with the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit couplings (SOCs). By mapping the SOC Hamiltonian onto an anisotropic Rabi model, we obtain the approximate ground state and its quantum Fisher information (QFI) via performing a unitary transformation. We find that the energy-level crossing can occur in the quantum well system within the available parameters rather than in cavity and circuit quantum eletrodynamics systems. Furthermore, the influence of two kinds of SOCs on the QFI is investigated and an intuitive explanation from the viewpoint of the stationary perturbation theory is given.

The vacuum in non-inertial systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soto, F.; Cocho, G.; Villarreal, C.; Hacyan, S.; Sarmiento, A.

1987-01-01

A brief presentation of the attemps made by our group on understanding the physics of the thermal effects appearing in quantum field theory in the non-inertial frames or in curved spacetime is made. The idea of the vacuum field being directly responsible for the thermal effects in non-inertial frames is introduced and explored; the thermal distributions observed from a non-inertial frame are due to the Doppler distortion undergone by the vacuum field. To support this idea we use the results obtained by T.H. Boyer in stochastic field theory, and further on we develop a formalism which leads to consistent results. We also show that the thermal character of the denominators in the distributions, appearing in quantum field theory in non-inertia frames, is directly linked to the discreteness originated by confining the space where the field is being quantized. This confinement implies the absence of some long wave modes, which in turn implies a modification of the states density in phase space. (author)

Quantum mechanical theory behind "dark energy"?

CERN Multimedia

Colin Johnson, R

2007-01-01

"The mysterious increase in the acceleration of the universe, when intuition says it should be slowing down, is postulated to be caused by dark energy - "dark" because it is undetected. Now a group of scientists in the international collaboration Essence has suggested that a quantum mechanical interpretation of Einstein's proposed "cosmological constant" is the simplest explanation for dark energy. The group measured dark energy to within 10 percent." (1,5 page)

Imaging and Manipulating Energy Transfer Among Quantum Dots at Individual Dot Resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Duc; Nguyen, Huy A; Lyding, Joseph W; Gruebele, Martin

2017-06-27

Many processes of interest in quantum dots involve charge or energy transfer from one dot to another. Energy transfer in films of quantum dots as well as between linked quantum dots has been demonstrated by luminescence shift, and the ultrafast time-dependence of energy transfer processes has been resolved. Bandgap variation among dots (energy disorder) and dot separation are known to play an important role in how energy diffuses. Thus, it would be very useful if energy transfer could be visualized directly on a dot-by-dot basis among small clusters or within films of quantum dots. To that effect, we report single molecule optical absorption detected by scanning tunneling microscopy (SMA-STM) to image energy pooling from donor into acceptor dots on a dot-by-dot basis. We show that we can manipulate groups of quantum dots by pruning away the dominant acceptor dot, and switching the energy transfer path to a different acceptor dot. Our experimental data agrees well with a simple Monte Carlo lattice model of energy transfer, similar to models in the literature, in which excitation energy is transferred preferentially from dots with a larger bandgap to dots with a smaller bandgap.

Self-induced coherence in a single pair of quantum dots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sitek, Anna; Machnikowski, Pawel [Institute of Physics, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw (Poland)

2011-04-15

We study self-induced coherence (SIC) in a system composed of two coupled quantum dots (QDs). SIC consists in a coherent transfer of excitation between two systems (atoms or QDs) resulting from their collective interaction with the quantum electromagnetic vacuum. This leads to population trapping in a delocalized, optically inactive state. We focus on the effect of a difference in transition energies and coupling between the two emitters on the evolution of exciton occupation in the two QD system. (Copyright copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Time as a Quantum Observable, Canonically Conjugated to Energy, and Foundations of Self-Consistent Time Analysis of Quantum Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. S. Olkhovsky

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Recent developments are reviewed and some new results are presented in the study of time in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics as an observable, canonically conjugate to energy. This paper deals with the maximal Hermitian (but nonself-adjoint operator for time which appears in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and in quantum electrodynamics for systems with continuous energy spectra and also, briefly, with the four-momentum and four-position operators, for relativistic spin-zero particles. Two measures of averaging over time and connection between them are analyzed. The results of the study of time as a quantum observable in the cases of the discrete energy spectra are also presented, and in this case the quasi-self-adjoint time operator appears. Then, the general foundations of time analysis of quantum processes (collisions and decays are developed on the base of time operator with the proper measures of averaging over time. Finally, some applications of time analysis of quantum processes (concretely, tunneling phenomena and nuclear processes are reviewed.

Free energies of binding from large-scale first-principles quantum mechanical calculations: application to ligand hydration energies.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Stephen J; Pittock, Chris; Tautermann, Christofer S; Fox, Thomas; Christ, Clara; Malcolm, N O J; Essex, Jonathan W; Skylaris, Chris-Kriton

2013-08-15

Schemes of increasing sophistication for obtaining free energies of binding have been developed over the years, where configurational sampling is used to include the all-important entropic contributions to the free energies. However, the quality of the results will also depend on the accuracy with which the intermolecular interactions are computed at each molecular configuration. In this context, the energy change associated with the rearrangement of electrons (electronic polarization and charge transfer) upon binding is a very important effect. Classical molecular mechanics force fields do not take this effect into account explicitly, and polarizable force fields and semiempirical quantum or hybrid quantum-classical (QM/MM) calculations are increasingly employed (at higher computational cost) to compute intermolecular interactions in free-energy schemes. In this work, we investigate the use of large-scale quantum mechanical calculations from first-principles as a way of fully taking into account electronic effects in free-energy calculations. We employ a one-step free-energy perturbation (FEP) scheme from a molecular mechanical (MM) potential to a quantum mechanical (QM) potential as a correction to thermodynamic integration calculations within the MM potential. We use this approach to calculate relative free energies of hydration of small aromatic molecules. Our quantum calculations are performed on multiple configurations from classical molecular dynamics simulations. The quantum energy of each configuration is obtained from density functional theory calculations with a near-complete psinc basis set on over 600 atoms using the ONETEP program.

High-energy limit of collision-induced false vacuum decay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demidov, Sergei; Levkov, Dmitry [Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences,60-th October Anniversary Prospect 7a, Moscow, 117312 (Russian Federation)

2015-06-17

We develop a consistent semiclassical description of field-theoretic collision-induced tunneling at arbitrary high collision energies. As a playground we consider a (1+1)-dimensional false vacuum decay initiated by a collision of N particles at energy E, paying special attention to the realistic case of N=2 particles. We demonstrate that the cross section of this process is exponentially suppressed at all energies. Moreover, the respective suppressesion exponent F{sub N}(E) exhibits a specific behavior which is significant for our semiclassical method and assumed to be general: it decreases with energy, reaches absolute minimum F=F{sub min}(N) at a certain threshold energy E=E{sub rt}(N), and stays constant at higher energies. We show that the minimal suppression F{sub min}(N) and threshold energy can be evaluated using a special class of semiclassical solutions which describe exponentially suppressed transitions but nevertheless evolve in real time. Importantly, we argue that the cross section at energies above E{sub rt}(N) is computed perturbatively in the background of the latter solutions, and the terms of this perturbative expansion stay bounded in the infinite-energy limit. Transitions in the high-energy regime proceed via emission of many soft quanta with total energy E{sub rt}; the energy excess E−E{sub rt} remains in the colliding particles till the end of the process.

Observation of vacuum-enhanced electron spin resonance of optically levitated nanodiamonds

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tongcang; Hoang, Thai; Ahn, Jonghoon; Bang, Jaehoon

Electron spins of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers are important quantum resources for nanoscale sensing and quantum information. Combining such NV spin systems with levitated optomechanical resonators will provide a hybrid quantum system for many novel applications. Here we optically levitate a nanodiamond and demonstrate electron spin control of its built-in NV centers in low vacuum. We observe that the strength of electron spin resonance (ESR) is enhanced when the air pressure is reduced. To better understand this novel system, we also investigate the effects of trap power and measure the absolute internal temperature of levitated nanodiamonds with ESR after calibration of the strain effect. Our results show that optical levitation of nanodiamonds in vacuum not only can improve the mechanical quality of its oscillation, but also enhance the ESR contrast, which pave the way towards a novel levitated spin-optomechanical system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics. The results also indicate potential applications of NV centers in gas sensing.

Solar energy converters based on multi-junction photoemission solar cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Tereshchenko, O E; Golyashov, V A; Rodionov, A A; Chistokhin, I B; Kislykh, N V; Mironov, A V; Aksenov, V V

2017-11-23

Multi-junction solar cells with multiple p-n junctions made of different semiconductor materials have multiple bandgaps that allow reducing the relaxation energy loss and substantially increase the power-conversion efficiency. The choice of materials for each sub-cell is very limited due to the difficulties in extracting the current between the layers caused by the requirements for lattice- and current-matching. We propose a new vacuum multi-junction solar cell with multiple p-n junctions separated by vacuum gaps that allow using different semiconductor materials as cathode and anode, both activated to the state of effective negative electron affinity (NEA). In this work, the compact proximity focused vacuum tube with the GaAs(Cs,O) photocathode and AlGaAs/GaAs-(Cs,O) anode with GaAs quantum wells (QWs) is used as a prototype of a vacuum single-junction solar cell. The photodiode with the p-AlGaAs/GaAs anode showed the spectral power-conversion efficiency of about 1% at V bias  = 0 in transmission and reflection modes, while, at V bias  = 0.5 V, the efficiency increased up to 10%. In terms of energy conservation, we found the condition at which the energy cathode-to-anode transition was close to 1. Considering only the energy conservation part, the NEA-cell power-conversion efficiency can rich a quantum yield value which is measured up to more than 50%.

Exciton shelves for charge and energy transport in third-generation quantum-dot devices

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Samuel; Singh, Vivek; Noh, Hyunwoo; Casamada, Josep; Chatterjee, Anushree; Cha, Jennifer; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-03-01

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystallites with size-dependent quantum-confined energy levels. While they have been intensively investigated to utilize hot-carriers for photovoltaic applications, to bridge the mismatch between incident solar photons and finite bandgap of semiconductor photocells, efficient charge or exciton transport in quantum-dot films has proven challenging. Here we show development of new coupled conjugated molecular wires with ``exciton shelves'', or different energy levels, matched with the multiple energy levels of quantum dots. Using single nanoparticle and ensemble device measurements we show successful extraction and transport of both bandedge and high-energy charge carriers, and energy transport of excitons. We demonstrate using measurements of electronic density of states, that careful matching of energy states of quantum-dot with molecular wires is important, and any mismatch can generate midgap states leading to charge recombination and reduced efficiency. Therefore, these exciton-shelves and quantum dots can lead to development of next-generation photovoltaic and photodetection devices using simultaneous transport of bandedge and hot-carriers or energy transport of excitons in these nanostructured solution-processed films.

Vacuum alignment and radiatively induced Fermi scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alanne, Tommi

2017-01-01

We extend the discussion about vacuum misalignment by quantum corrections in models with composite pseudo-Goldstone Higgs boson to renormalisable models with elementary scalars. As a concrete example, we propose a framework, where the hierarchy between the unification and the Fermi scale emerges ...

Improvement of an Atomic Clock using Squeezed Vacuum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, I.; Lange, K; Peise, Jan

2016-01-01

, the vacuum noise restricts the precision of the interferometer to the standard quantum limit (SQL). Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel clock configuration that surpasses the SQL by squeezing the vacuum in the empty input state. We create a squeezed vacuum state containing an average of 0.......75 atoms to improve the clock sensitivity of 10000 atoms by 2.05+0.34−0.37  dB. The SQL poses a significant limitation for today’s microwave fountain clocks, which serve as the main time reference. We evaluate the major technical limitations and challenges for devising a next generation of fountain clocks...

All-optical signatures of strong-field QED in the vacuum emission picture

Science.gov (United States)

Gies, Holger; Karbstein, Felix; Kohlfürst, Christian

2018-02-01

We study all-optical signatures of the effective nonlinear couplings among electromagnetic fields in the quantum vacuum, using the collision of two focused high-intensity laser pulses as an example. The experimental signatures of quantum vacuum nonlinearities are encoded in signal photons, whose kinematic and polarization properties differ from the photons constituting the macroscopic laser fields. We implement an efficient numerical algorithm allowing for the theoretical investigation of such signatures in realistic field configurations accessible in experiment. This algorithm is based on a vacuum emission scheme and can readily be adapted to the collision of more laser beams or further involved field configurations. We solve the case of two colliding pulses in full 3 +1 -dimensional spacetime and identify experimental geometries and parameter regimes with improved signal-to-noise ratios.

Energy conversion assessment of vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis processes for low and high ash paper waste sludge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ridout, Angelo J.; Carrier, Marion; Collard, François-Xavier; Görgens, Johann

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis of low and high ash paper waste sludge (PWS) is compared. • Reactor temperature and pellet size optimised to maximise liquid and solid product yields. • Gross energy recovery from solid and liquid was assessed. • Fast pyrolysis of low and high ash PWS offers higher energy conversions. - Abstract: The performance of vacuum, slow and fast pyrolysis processes to transfer energy from the paper waste sludge (PWS) to liquid and solid products was compared. Paper waste sludges with low and high ash content (8.5 and 46.7 wt.%) were converted under optimised conditions for temperature and pellet size to maximise both product yields and energy content. Comparison of the gross energy conversions, as a combination of the bio-oil/tarry phase and char (EC_s_u_m), revealed that the fast pyrolysis performance was between 18.5% and 20.1% higher for the low ash PWS, and 18.4% and 36.5% higher for high ash PWS, when compared to the slow and vacuum pyrolysis processes respectively. For both PWSs, this finding was mainly attributed to higher production of condensable organic compounds and lower water yields during FP. The low ash PWS chars, fast pyrolysis bio-oils and vacuum pyrolysis tarry phase products had high calorific values (∼18–23 MJ kg"−"1) making them promising for energy applications. Considering the low calorific values of the chars from alternative pyrolysis processes (∼4–7 MJ kg"−"1), the high ash PWS should rather be converted to fast pyrolysis bio-oil to maximise the recovery of usable energy products.

Influence of Superconducting Leads Energy Gap on Electron Transport Through Double Quantum Dot by Markovian Quantum Master Equation Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afsaneh, E.; Yavari, H.

2014-01-01

The superconducting reservoir effect on the current carrying transport of a double quantum dot in Markovian regime is investigated. For this purpose, a quantum master equation at finite temperature is derived for the many-body density matrix of an open quantum system. The dynamics and the steady-state properties of the double quantum dot system for arbitrary bias are studied. We will show that how the populations and coherencies of the system states are affected by superconducting leads. The energy parameter of system contains essentially four contributions due to dots system-electrodes coupling, intra dot coupling, two quantum dots inter coupling and superconducting gap. The coupling effect of each energy contribution is applied to currents and coherencies results. In addition, the effect of energy gap is studied by considering the amplitude and lifetime of coherencies to get more current through the system. (author)

Structure of Nonlocal quark vacuum condensate in non-perturbative QCD vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiang Qianfei; Ma Weixing; Zhou Lijuan; Jiang Weizhou

2014-01-01

Based on the Dyson-Schwinger Equations (DSEs) with the rainbow truncation, and Operator Product Expansion, the structure of nonlocal quark vacuum condensate in QCD, described by quark self-energy functions A_f and B_f given usually by the solutions of the DSEs of quark propagator, is predicted numerically. We also calculate the local quark vacuum condensate, quark-gluon mixed local vacuum condensate, and quark virtuality. The self-energy functions A_f and B_f are given by the parameterized quark propagator functions σ_v"f (p"2) and σ_s"f (p"2) of Roberts and Williams, instead of the numerical solutions of the DSEs. Our calculated results are in reasonable agreement with those of QCD sum rules, Lattice QCD calculations, and instanton model predictions, although the resulting local quark vacuum condensate for light quarks, u, d, s, are a little bit larger than those of the above theoretical predictions. We think the differences are caused by model dependence. The larger of strange quark vacuum condensate than u, d quark is due to the s quark mass which is more larger than u, d quark masses. Of course, the Roberts-Williams parameterized quark propagator is an empirical formulism, which approximately describes quark propagation. (authors)

A Planck Vacuum Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daywitt W. C.

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Both the big-bang and the quasi-steady-state cosmologies originate in some type of Planck state. This paper presents a new cosmological theory based on the Planck- vacuum negative-energy state, a state consisting of a degenerate collection of negative- energy Planck particles. A heuristic look at the Einstein field equation provides a con- vincing argument that such a vacuum state could provide a theoretical explanation for the visible universe.

Non-cyclic phases for neutrino oscillations in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blasone, Massimo; Capolupo, Antonio; Celeghini, Enrico; Vitiello, Giuseppe

2009-01-01

We show the presence of non-cyclic phases for oscillating neutrinos in the context of quantum field theory. Such phases carry information about the non-perturbative vacuum structure associated with the field mixing. By subtracting the condensate contribution of the flavor vacuum, the previously studied quantum mechanics geometric phase is recovered.

The HIE-ISOLDE Vacuum System

CERN Document Server

Vandoni, G; Radwan, K; Chiggiato, P

2014-01-01

The High Intensity and Energy Isolde (HIE-Isolde) project aims at increasing the energy and intensity of the radioactive ion beams (RIB) delivered by the present Rex-Isolde facility. Energy up to 10MeV/amu will be reached by a new post-accelerating, superconducting (SC) linac. Beam will be delivered via a HEBT to three experimental stations for nuclear physics. To keep the SC linac compact and avoid cold-warm transitions, the cryomodules feature a common beam and insulation vacuum. Radioactive ion beams require a hermetically sealed vacuum, with transfer of the effluents to the nuclear ventilation chimney. Hermetically sealed, dry, gas transfer vacuum pumps are preferred to gas binding pumps, for an optimized management of radioactive contamination risk during maintenance and intervention. The vacuum system of the SC-linac is isolated by two fast valves, triggered by fast reacting cold cathode gauges installed on the warm linac, the HEBT and the experimental stations. Rough pumping is distributed, while the H...

Coexistence of different vacua in the effective quantum field theory and multiple point principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volovik, G.E.

2004-01-01

According to the multiple point principle our Universe in on the coexistence curve of two or more phases of the quantum vacuum. The coexistence of different quantum vacua can be regulated by the exchange of the global fermionic charges between the vacua. If the coexistence is regulated by the baryonic charge, all the coexisting vacua exhibit the baryonic asymmetry. Due to the exchange of the baryonic charge between the vacuum and matter which occurs above the electroweak transition, the baryonic asymmetry of the vacuum induces the baryonic asymmetry of matter in our Standard-Model phase of the quantum vacuum [ru

QED vacuum loops and inflation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fried, H.M. [Brown University, Department of Physics, Providence, RI (United States); Gabellini, Y. [UMR 6618 CNRS, Institut Non Lineaire de Nice, Valbonne (France)

2015-03-01

A QED-based model of a new version of vacuum energy has recently been suggested, which leads to a simple, finite, one parameter representation of dark energy. An elementary, obvious, but perhaps radical generalization is then able to describe both dark energy and inflation in the same framework of vacuum energy. One further, obvious generalization then leads to a relation between inflation and the big bang, to the automatic inclusion of dark matter, and to a possible understanding of the birth (and death) of a universe. (orig.)

QED vacuum loops and inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fried, H.M.; Gabellini, Y.

2015-01-01

A QED-based model of a new version of vacuum energy has recently been suggested, which leads to a simple, finite, one parameter representation of dark energy. An elementary, obvious, but perhaps radical generalization is then able to describe both dark energy and inflation in the same framework of vacuum energy. One further, obvious generalization then leads to a relation between inflation and the big bang, to the automatic inclusion of dark matter, and to a possible understanding of the birth (and death) of a universe. (orig.)

Cosmological evolution of vacuum and cosmic acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaya, Ali

2010-01-01

It is known that the unregularized expressions for the stress-energy tensor components corresponding to subhorizon and superhorizon vacuum fluctuations of a massless scalar field in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background are characterized by the equation of state parameters ω = 1/3 and ω = -1/3, which are not sufficient to produce cosmological acceleration. However, the form of the adiabatically regularized finite stress-energy tensor turns out to be completely different. By using the fact that vacuum subhorizon modes evolve nearly adiabatically and superhorizon modes have ω = -1/3, we approximately determine the regularized stress-energy tensor, whose conservation is utilized to fix the time dependence of the vacuum energy density. We then show that vacuum energy density grows from zero up to H 4 in about one Hubble time, vacuum fluctuations give positive acceleration of the order of H 4 /M 2 p and they can completely alter the cosmic evolution of the universe dominated otherwise by the cosmological constant, radiation or pressureless dust. Although the magnitude of the acceleration is tiny to explain the observed value today, our findings indicate that the cosmological backreaction of vacuum fluctuations must be taken into account in early stages of cosmic evolution.

Large numbers hypothesis. IV - The cosmological constant and quantum physics

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, P. J.

1983-01-01

In standard physics quantum field theory is based on a flat vacuum space-time. This quantum field theory predicts a nonzero cosmological constant. Hence the gravitational field equations do not admit a flat vacuum space-time. This dilemma is resolved using the units covariant gravitational field equations. This paper shows that the field equations admit a flat vacuum space-time with nonzero cosmological constant if and only if the canonical LNH is valid. This allows an interpretation of the LNH phenomena in terms of a time-dependent vacuum state. If this is correct then the cosmological constant must be positive.

Sustainability of environment-assisted energy transfer in quantum photobiological complexes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zloshchastiev, Konstantin G. [Institute of Systems Science, Durban University of Technology (South Africa)

2017-09-15

It is shown that quantum sustainability is a universal phenomenon which emerges during environment-assisted electronic excitation energy transfer (EET) in photobiological complexes (PBCs), such as photosynthetic reaction centers and centers of melanogenesis. We demonstrate that quantum photobiological systems must be sustainable for them to simultaneously endure continuous energy transfer and keep their internal structure from destruction or critical instability. These quantum effects occur due to the interaction of PBCs with their environment which can be described by means of the reduced density operator and effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian (NH). Sustainable NH models of EET predict the coherence beats, followed by the decrease of coherence down to a small, yet non-zero value. This indicates that in sustainable PBCs, quantum effects survive on a much larger time scale than the energy relaxation of an exciton. We show that sustainable evolution significantly lowers the entropy of PBCs and improves the speed and capacity of EET. (copyright 2017 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Flavor condensates in brane models and dark energy

Science.gov (United States)

Mavromatos, Nick E.; Sarkar, Sarben; Tarantino, Walter

2009-10-01

In the context of a microscopic model of string-inspired foam, in which foamy structures are provided by brany pointlike defects (D-particles) in space-time, we discuss flavor mixing as a result of flavor nonpreserving interactions of (low-energy) fermionic stringy matter excitations with the defects. Such interactions involve splitting and capture of the matter string state by the defect, and subsequent re-emission. As a result of charge conservation, only electrically neutral matter can interact with the D-particles. Quantum fluctuations of the D-particles induce a nontrivial space-time background; in some circumstances, this could be akin to a cosmological Friedman-Robertson-Walker expanding-universe, with weak (but nonzero) particle production. Furthermore, the D-particle medium can induce an Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein-type effect. We have argued previously, in the context of bosons, that the so-called flavor vacuum is the appropriate state to be used, at least for low-energy excitations, with energies/momenta up to a dynamically determined cutoff scale. Given the intriguing mass scale provided by neutrino flavor mass differences from the point of view of dark energy, we evaluate the flavor-vacuum expectation value (condensate) of the stress-energy tensor of the 1/2-spin fields with mixing in an effective-low-energy quantum field theory in this foam-induced curved space-time. We demonstrate, at late epochs of the Universe, that the fermionic vacuum condensate behaves as a fluid with negative pressure and positive energy; however, the equation of state has wfermion>-1/3 and so the contribution of the fermion-fluid flavor vacuum alone could not yield accelerating universes. Such contributions to the vacuum energy should be considered as (algebraically) additive to the flavored boson contributions, evaluated in our previous works; this should be considered as natural from (broken) target-space supersymmetry that characterizes realistic superstring

Quantum scattering at low energies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Derezinski, Jan; Skibsted, Erik

For a class of negative slowly decaying potentials, including with , we study the quantum mechanical scattering theory in the low-energy regime. Using modifiers of the Isozaki--Kitada type we show that scattering theory is well behaved on the {\\it whole} continuous spectrum of the Hamiltonian......, including the energy . We show that the --matrices are well-defined and strongly continuous down to the zero energy threshold. Similarly, we prove that the wave matrices and generalized eigenfunctions are norm continuous down to the zero energy if we use appropriate weighted spaces. These results are used...... from positive energies to the limiting energy . This change corresponds to the behaviour of the classical orbits. Under stronger conditions we extract the leading term of the asymptotics of the kernel of at its singularities; this leading term defines a Fourier integral operator in the sense...

Addressing student models of energy loss in quantum tunnelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wittmann, Michael C; Morgan, Jeffrey T; Bao Lei

2005-01-01

We report on a multi-year, multi-institution study to investigate students' reasoning about energy in the context of quantum tunnelling. We use ungraded surveys, graded examination questions, individual clinical interviews and multiple-choice exams to build a picture of the types of responses that students typically give. We find that two descriptions of tunnelling through a square barrier are particularly common. Students often state that tunnelling particles lose energy while tunnelling. When sketching wavefunctions, students also show a shift in the axis of oscillation, as if the height of the axis of oscillation indicated the energy of the particle. We find inconsistencies between students' conceptual, mathematical and graphical models of quantum tunnelling. As part of a curriculum in quantum physics, we have developed instructional materials designed to help students develop a more robust and less inconsistent picture of tunnelling, and present data suggesting that we have succeeded in doing so

Raby chaotic vacuum oscillations in resonator quantum electrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kon'kov, L.E.; Prants, S.V.

1997-01-01

It is shown in numerical experiments with two-level atoms, moving through a single-mode high-quality resonator, that a new type of spontaneous radiation - the Raby chaotic vacuum oscillation - originates in the mode of strong atom-field bonds

Color-magnetic permeability of QCD vacuum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saito, T [Kyoto Prefectural Univ. of Medicine (Japan); Shigemoto, K

1980-03-01

In the very strong background gauge field the QCD true vacuum has been shown to have lower energy than the ''perturbative vacuum.'' The color-magnetic permeability of the QCD true vacuum is then calculated to be 1/2 within the quark-one-loop approximation.

Colour particle states behaviour in the QCD vacuum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuvshinov V.I.

2016-01-01

The behaviour of squeezed and entangled quantum states, the interaction of colour superpositions and multiparticle states with stochastic QCD vacuum is described. It is shown that it leads to a fully mixed quantum state with equal probabilities for different colours. Decoherence rate is found to be proportional to the product of the distance between colour charges and the time during which this interaction has taken place. I.e. such an interaction seems to lead naturally to confinement of quarks.

A Summary of Recent Experimental Research on Ion Energy and Charge States of Pulsed Vacuum Arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oks, Efim M.; Yushkov, Georgy Yu.; Anders, Andre

2008-01-01

The paper reviews the results of vacuum arc experimental investigations made collaboratively by research groups from Berkeley and Tomsk over the last two years, i.e. since the last ISDEIV in 2006. Vacuum arc plasma of various metals was produced in pulses of a few hundred microseconds duration, and the research focused on three topics: (i) the energy distribution functions for different ion charge states, (ii) the temporal development of the ion charge state distribution, and (iii) the evolution of the mean directed ion velocities during plasma expansion. A combined quadruple mass-to-charge and energy analyzer (EQP by HIDEN Ltd) and a time-of-flight spectrometer were employed. Cross-checking data by those complimentary techniques helped to avoid possible pitfalls in interpretation. It was found that the ion energy distribution functions in the plasma were independent of the ion charge state, which implies that the energy distribution on a substrate are not equal to due to acceleration in the substrate's sheath. In pulsed arc mode, the individual ion charge states fractions showed changes leading to a decrease of the mean charge state toward a steady-state value. This decrease can be reduced by lower arc current, higher pulse repetition rate and reduced length of the discharge gap. It was also found that the directed ion velocity slightly decreased as the plasma expanded into vacuum

Quasi-stationary states and fermion pair creation from a vacuum in supercritical Coulomb field

Science.gov (United States)

Khalilov, V. R.

2017-12-01

Creation of charged fermion pair from a vacuum in so-called supercritical Coulomb potential is examined for the case when fermions can move only in the same (one) plane. In which case, quantum dynamics of charged massive or massless fermions can be described by the two-dimensional Dirac Hamiltonians with an usual (-a/r) Coulomb potential. These Hamiltonians are singular and require the additional definition in order for them to be treated as self-adjoint quantum-mechanical operators. We construct the self-adjoint two-dimensional Dirac Hamiltonians with a Coulomb potential and determine the quantum-mechanical states for such Hamiltonians in the corresponding Hilbert spaces of square-integrable functions. We determine the scattering amplitude in which the self-adjoint extension parameter is incorporated and then obtain equations implicitly defining possible discrete energy spectra of the self-adjoint Dirac Hamiltonians with a Coulomb potential. It is shown that this quantum system becomes unstable in the presence of a supercritical Coulomb potential which manifests in the appearance of quasi-stationary states in the lower (negative) energy continuum. The energy spectrum of those states is quasi-discrete, consists of broadened levels with widths related to the inverse lifetimes of the quasi-stationary states as well as the probability of creation of charged fermion pair by a supercritical Coulomb field. Explicit analytical expressions for the creation probabilities of charged (massive or massless) fermion pair are obtained in a supercritical Coulomb field.

Decay of the vacuum in heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, B.

1984-10-01

The neutral electron-positron vacuum state becomes unstable in very strong electric fields of nuclei with Z>173 and decays into a charged vacuum by spontaneous positron emission. Such giant nuclear systems can be formed in collisions of very heavy ions (U+U, U+Cm, etc.) for a period of 10 -20 s or more. Recent experimental results revealing line structures in the positron spectra observed in these collisions are discussed and their implications for quantum electrodynamics and nuclear physics are pointed out. (orig.)

Random numbers from vacuum fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Yicheng; Kurtsiefer, Christian; Chng, Brenda

2016-01-01

We implement a quantum random number generator based on a balanced homodyne measurement of vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. The digitized signal is directly processed with a fast randomness extraction scheme based on a linear feedback shift register. The random bit stream is continuously read in a computer at a rate of about 480 Mbit/s and passes an extended test suite for random numbers.

Random numbers from vacuum fluctuations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Yicheng; Kurtsiefer, Christian, E-mail: christian.kurtsiefer@gmail.com [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542 (Singapore); Center for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117543 (Singapore); Chng, Brenda [Center for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117543 (Singapore)

2016-07-25

We implement a quantum random number generator based on a balanced homodyne measurement of vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. The digitized signal is directly processed with a fast randomness extraction scheme based on a linear feedback shift register. The random bit stream is continuously read in a computer at a rate of about 480 Mbit/s and passes an extended test suite for random numbers.

Quantum Yang–Mills Dark Energy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Pasechnik

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this short review, I discuss basic qualitative characteristics of quantum non-Abelian gauge dynamics in the non-stationary background of the expanding Universe in the framework of the standard Einstein–Yang–Mills formulation. A brief outlook of existing studies of cosmological Yang–Mills fields and their properties will be given. Quantum effects have a profound impact on the gauge field-driven cosmological evolution. In particular, a dynamical formation of the spatially-homogeneous and isotropic gauge field condensate may be responsible for both early and late-time acceleration, as well as for dynamical compensation of non-perturbative quantum vacua contributions to the ground state of the Universe. The main properties of such a condensate in the effective QCD theory at the flat Friedmann–Lemaítre–Robertson–Walker (FLRW background will be discussed within and beyond perturbation theory. Finally, a phenomenologically consistent dark energy can be induced dynamically as a remnant of the QCD vacua compensation arising from leading-order graviton-mediated corrections to the QCD ground state.

Quantum optical measurement with tripartite entangled photons generated by triple parametric down-conversion

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Minhaeng

2018-05-01

Parametric down-conversion is a second-order nonlinear optical process annihilating a pump photon and creating a pair of photons in the signal and idler modes. Then, by using two parametric down-converters and introducing a path indistinguishability for the two generated idler modes, a quantum coherence between two conjugate signal beams can be induced. Such a double spontaneous or stimulated parametric down-conversion scheme has been used to demonstrate quantum spectroscopy and imaging with undetected idler photons via measuring one-photon interference between their correlated signal beams. Recently, we considered another quantum optical measurement scheme utilizing W-type tripartite entangled signal photons that can be generated by employing three spontaneous parametric down-conversion crystals and by inducing coherences or path-indistinguishabilities between their correlated idler beams and between quantum vacuum fields. Here, we consider an extended triple stimulated parametric down-conversion scheme for quantum optical measurement of sample properties with undetected idler and photons. Noting the real effect of vacuum field indistinguishability on the fringe visibility as well as the role of zero-point field energy in the interferometry, we show that this scheme is an ideal and efficient way to create a coherent state of W-type entangled signal photons. We anticipate that this scheme would be of critical use in further developing quantum optical measurements in spectroscopy and microscopy with undetected photons.

Quantum optical measurement with tripartite entangled photons generated by triple parametric down-conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Minhaeng

2018-05-14

Parametric down-conversion is a second-order nonlinear optical process annihilating a pump photon and creating a pair of photons in the signal and idler modes. Then, by using two parametric down-converters and introducing a path indistinguishability for the two generated idler modes, a quantum coherence between two conjugate signal beams can be induced. Such a double spontaneous or stimulated parametric down-conversion scheme has been used to demonstrate quantum spectroscopy and imaging with undetected idler photons via measuring one-photon interference between their correlated signal beams. Recently, we considered another quantum optical measurement scheme utilizing W-type tripartite entangled signal photons that can be generated by employing three spontaneous parametric down-conversion crystals and by inducing coherences or path-indistinguishabilities between their correlated idler beams and between quantum vacuum fields. Here, we consider an extended triple stimulated parametric down-conversion scheme for quantum optical measurement of sample properties with undetected idler and photons. Noting the real effect of vacuum field indistinguishability on the fringe visibility as well as the role of zero-point field energy in the interferometry, we show that this scheme is an ideal and efficient way to create a coherent state of W-type entangled signal photons. We anticipate that this scheme would be of critical use in further developing quantum optical measurements in spectroscopy and microscopy with undetected photons.

Maximum Power Output of Quantum Heat Engine with Energy Bath

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengnan Liu

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The difference between quantum isoenergetic process and quantum isothermal process comes from the violation of the law of equipartition of energy in the quantum regime. To reveal an important physical meaning of this fact, here we study a special type of quantum heat engine consisting of three processes: isoenergetic, isothermal and adiabatic processes. Therefore, this engine works between the energy and heat baths. Combining two engines of this kind, it is possible to realize the quantum Carnot engine. Furthermore, considering finite velocity of change of the potential shape, here an infinite square well with moving walls, the power output of the engine is discussed. It is found that the efficiency and power output are both closely dependent on the initial and final states of the quantum isothermal process. The performance of the engine cycle is shown to be optimized by control of the occupation probability of the ground state, which is determined by the temperature and the potential width. The relation between the efficiency and power output is also discussed.

Dynamics of the Vacuum and Casimir Analogs to the Hydrogen Atom

Science.gov (United States)

White, Harold; Vera, Jerry; Bailey, Paul; March, Paul; Lawrence, Tim; Sylvester, Andre; Brady, David

2015-01-01

This paper will discuss the current viewpoint of the vacuum state and explore the idea of a "natural" vacuum as opposed to immutable, non-degradable vacuum. This concept will be explored for all primary quantum numbers to show consistency with observation at the level of Bohr theory. A comparison with the Casimir force per unit area will be made, and an explicit function for the spatial variation of the vacuum density around the atomic nucleus will be derived. This explicit function will be numerically modeled using the industry multi-physics tool, COMSOL(trademark), and the eigenfrequencies for the n = 1 to n = 7 states will be found and compared to expectation.

Vacuum energy induced by an external magnetic field in a curved space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sitenko, Yu.A.; Rakityansky, D.G.

1998-01-01

The asymptotic expansion of the product of an operator raised to an arbitrary power and an exponential function of this operator is obtained. With the aid of this expansion, the density of vacuum energy induced by a static external magnetic field of an Abelian or a non-Abelian nature is expressed in terms of the DeWitt-Seeley-Gilkey coefficients

Comment on ''Vacuum stress-energy tensor of the electromagnetic field in rotating frames''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mane, S.R.

1991-01-01

Hacyan and Sarmiento have found that an observer accelerating in a circle will detect a nonzero energy flux (Poynting vector) caused by the vacuum electromagnetic fluctuations in that frame. I wish to suggest that the above flux is related to synchrotron radiation. I treat only the leading order of perturbation theory

The energy cost of quantum information losses

Science.gov (United States)

Romanelli, Alejandro; de Lima Marquezino, Franklin; Portugal, Renato; Donangelo, Raul

2018-05-01

We explore the energy cost of the information loss resulting from the passage of an initial density operator to a reduced one. We use the concept of entanglement temperature in order to obtain a lower bound for the energy change associated with this operation. We determine the minimal energy required for the case of the information losses associated with the trace over the space coordinates of a two-dimensional quantum walk.

Quantum scattering at low energies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Derezinski, Jan; Skibsted, Erik

2009-01-01

For a class of negative slowly decaying potentials, including V(x):=−γ|x|−μ with 0quantum mechanical scattering theory in the low-energy regime. Using appropriate modifiers of the Isozaki–Kitada type we show that scattering theory is well behaved on the whole continuous spectrum...... of the Hamiltonian, including the energy 0. We show that the modified scattering matrices S(λ) are well-defined and strongly continuous down to the zero energy threshold. Similarly, we prove that the modified wave matrices and generalized eigenfunctions are norm continuous down to the zero energy if we use...... of the kernel of S(λ) experiences an abrupt change from passing from positive energies λ to the limiting energy λ=0 . This change corresponds to the behaviour of the classical orbits. Under stronger conditions one can extract the leading term of the asymptotics of the kernel of S(λ) at its singularities....

Disordered locality as an explanation for the dark energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prescod-Weinstein, Chanda; Smolin, Lee

2009-01-01

We discuss a novel explanation of the dark energy as a manifestation of macroscopic nonlocality coming from quantum gravity, as proposed by Markopoulou [F. Markopoulou (private communication)]. It has been previously suggested that in a transition from an early quantum geometric phase of the Universe to a low temperature phase characterized by an emergent spacetime metric, locality might have been 'disordered'. This means that there is a mismatch of micro-locality, as determined by the microscopic quantum dynamics and macro-locality as determined by the classical metric that governs the emergent low energy physics. In this paper we discuss the consequences for cosmology by studying a simple extension of the standard cosmological models with disordered locality. We show that the consequences can include a naturally small vacuum energy.

Controlling the exciton energy of a nanowire quantum dot by strain fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Yan; Zhang, Jiaxiang; Ding, Fei, E-mail: f.ding@ifw-dresden.de [Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, Helmholtz Strasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Zadeh, Iman Esmaeil; Jöns, Klaus D.; Fognini, Andreas; Zwiller, Val [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2600 GA Delft (Netherlands); Reimer, Michael E. [Institute for Quantum Computing and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Dalacu, Dan; Poole, Philip J. [National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6 (Canada); Schmidt, Oliver G. [Institute for Integrative Nanosciences, IFW Dresden, Helmholtz Strasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Material Systems for Nanoelectronics, Chemnitz University of Technology, Reichenhainer Strasse 70, 09107 Chemnitz (Germany)

2016-05-02

We present an experimental route to engineer the exciton energies of single quantum dots in nanowires. By integrating the nanowires onto a piezoelectric crystal, we controllably apply strain fields to the nanowire quantum dots. Consequently, the exciton energy of a single quantum dot in the nanowire is shifted by several meVs without degrading its optical intensity and single-photon purity. Second-order autocorrelation measurements are performed at different strain fields on the same nanowire quantum dot. The suppressed multi-photon events at zero time delay clearly verify that the quantum nature of single-photon emission is well preserved under external strain fields. The work presented here could facilitate on-chip optical quantum information processing with the nanowire based single photon emitters.

Entanglement of a two-atom system driven by the quantum vacuum in arbitrary cavity size

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flores-Hidalgo, G., E-mail: gfloreshidalgo@unifei.edu.br [Instituto de Física e Química, Universidade Federal de Itajubá, 37500-903, Itajubá, MG (Brazil); Rojas, M., E-mail: moises.leyva@dfi.ufla.br [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Lavras, CP 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG (Brazil); Rojas, Onofre, E-mail: ors@dfi.ufla.br [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Lavras, CP 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG (Brazil)

2017-05-10

We study the entanglement dynamics of two distinguishable atoms confined into a cavity and interacting with a quantum vacuum field. As a simplified model for this system, we consider two harmonic oscillators linearly coupled to a massless scalar field which are inside a spherical cavity of radius R. Through the concurrence, the entanglement dynamics for the two-atom system is discussed for a range of initial states composed of a superposition of atomic states. Our results reveal how the entanglement of the two atoms behaves through the time evolution, in a precise way, for arbitrary cavity size and for arbitrary coupling constant. All our computations are analytical and only the final step is numerical. - Highlights: • Entanglement time evolution in arbitrary cavity size is considered. • In free space concurrence approaches a fixed value at large time. • For finite cavity, concurrence behaves almost as a periodic function of time.

The self-energy of a heavy quark in the gluonic vacuum and the effective mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizuka, W.; Kikuchi, Y.

1983-01-01

We calculate, be use of the multipole expansion, the self-energy of the heavy quark in the gluonic vacuum from which the momentum dependent effective mass is derived. A phenomenological consequence is discussed also. (orig.)

Electron energy spectrum in core-shell elliptic quantum wire

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.Holovatsky

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The electron energy spectrum in core-shell elliptic quantum wire and elliptic semiconductor nanotubes are investigated within the effective mass approximation. The solution of Schrodinger equation based on the Mathieu functions is obtained in elliptic coordinates. The dependencies of the electron size quantization spectrum on the size and shape of the core-shell nanowire and nanotube are calculated. It is shown that the ellipticity of a quantum wire leads to break of degeneration of quasiparticle energy spectrum. The dependences of the energy of odd and even electron states on the ratio between semiaxes are of a nonmonotonous character. The anticrosing effects are observed at the dependencies of electron energy spectrum on the transversal size of the core-shell nanowire.

Hamiltonian approach to GR. Pt. 2. Covariant theory of quantum gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cremaschini, Claudio [Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Silesian University in Opava, Institute of Physics and Research Center for Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Opava (Czech Republic); Tessarotto, Massimo [University of Trieste, Department of Mathematics and Geosciences, Trieste (Italy); Faculty of Philosophy and Science, Silesian University in Opava, Institute of Physics, Opava (Czech Republic)

2017-05-15

A non-perturbative quantum field theory of General Relativity is presented which leads to a new realization of the theory of covariant quantum gravity (CQG-theory). The treatment is founded on the recently identified Hamiltonian structure associated with the classical space-time, i.e., the corresponding manifestly covariant Hamilton equations and the related Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The quantum Hamiltonian operator and the CQG-wave equation for the corresponding CQG-state and wave function are realized in 4-scalar form. The new quantum wave equation is shown to be equivalent to a set of quantum hydrodynamic equations which warrant the consistency with the classical GR Hamilton-Jacobi equation in the semiclassical limit. A perturbative approximation scheme is developed, which permits the adoption of the harmonic oscillator approximation for the treatment of the Hamiltonian potential. As an application of the theory, the stationary vacuum CQG-wave equation is studied, yielding a stationary equation for the CQG-state in terms of the 4-scalar invariant-energy eigenvalue associated with the corresponding approximate quantum Hamiltonian operator. The conditions for the existence of a discrete invariant-energy spectrum are pointed out. This yields a possible estimate for the graviton mass together with a new interpretation about the quantum origin of the cosmological constant. (orig.)

Lower Bound on the Energy Density in Classical and Quantum Field Theories.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, Aron C

2017-04-14

A novel method for deriving energy conditions in stable field theories is described. In a local classical theory with one spatial dimension, a local energy condition always exists. For a relativistic field theory, one obtains the dominant energy condition. In a quantum field theory, there instead exists a quantum energy condition, i.e., a lower bound on the energy density that depends on information-theoretic quantities. Some extensions to higher dimensions are briefly discussed.

Polarization of the vacuum by a stochastic external field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krive, I.V.; Pastur, L.A.; Rozhavskii, A.S.

1988-01-01

The effect of disorder, realized in the form of a fluctuating extra mass term, on the bosonic vacuum and fermionic vacuum of models of quantum field theory is studied. A method is developed for calculating the mean effective potential in the stochastic external field. For a model of interacting scalar and fermion fields in (3+1)-dimensional space-time it is shown that random fluctuations of the mass lead to an increase of the equilibrium mean scalar field in the system

Vacuum systems for the ILC helical undulator

CERN Document Server

Malyshev, O B; Clarke, J A; Bailey, I R; Dainton, J B; Malysheva, L I; Barber, D P; Cooke, P; Baynham, E; Bradshaw, T; Brummitt, A; Carr, S; Ivanyushenkov, Y; Rochford, J; Moortgat-Pick, G A

2007-01-01

The International Linear Collider (ILC) positron source uses a helical undulator to generate polarized photons of ∼10MeV∼10MeV at the first harmonic. Unlike many undulators used in synchrotron radiation sources, the ILC helical undulator vacuum chamber will be bombarded by photons, generated by the undulator, with energies mostly below that of the first harmonic. Achieving the vacuum specification of ∼100nTorr∼100nTorr in a narrow chamber of 4–6mm4–6mm inner diameter, with a long length of 100–200m100–200m, makes the design of the vacuum system challenging. This article describes the vacuum specifications and calculations of the flux and energy of photons irradiating the undulator vacuum chamber and considers possible vacuum system design solutions for two cases: cryogenic and room temperature.

Absence of higher derivatives in the renormalization of propagators in quantum field theories with infinitely many couplings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anselmi, Damiano

2003-01-01

I study some aspects of the renormalization of quantum field theories with infinitely many couplings in arbitrary spacetime dimensions. I prove that when the spacetime manifold admits a metric of constant curvature, the propagator is not affected by terms with higher derivatives. More generally, certain Lagrangian terms are not turned on by renormalization, if they are absent at the tree level. This restricts the form of the action of a non-renormalizable theory, and has applications to quantum gravity. The new action contains infinitely many couplings, but not all of the ones that might have been expected. In quantum gravity, the metric of constant curvature is an extremal, but not a minimum, of the complete action. Nonetheless, it appears to be the right perturbative vacuum, at least when the curvature is negative, suggesting that the quantum vacuum has a negative asymptotically constant curvature. The results of this paper give also a set of rules for a more economical use of effective quantum field theories and suggest that it might be possible to give mathematical sense to theories with infinitely many couplings at high energies, to search for physical predictions

Towards a self-consistent computation of vacuum energy in 11-dimensional supergravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Randjbar-Daemi, S.; Salam, A.; Strathdee, J.

1984-02-01

An attempt is made to balance the negative vacuum energy associated with the Freund-Rubin compactification of the 11-dimensional supergravity theory against the contribution from vacuum fluctuations. We do this in order to obtain a ground state geometry which has four physical (flat) dimensions and is of the form (Minkowski) 4 xB 7 where B 7 is one of the 7-dimensional manifolds: S 7 , S 5 xS 2 , S 4 xS 3 , CP 2 xS 3 , S 3 xS 2 xS 2 or a 5-parameter family of SU(3)xSU(2)xU(1) invariant spaces Msup(pqrst). We find that all of these solutions are unstable. As a side-issue the facility for computation of the particle spectra, which results from the use of lightcone gauge, is emphasized. (author)

High energy approximations in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orzalesi, C.A.

1975-01-01

New theoretical methods in hadron physics based on a high-energy perturbation theory are discussed. The approximated solutions to quantum field theory obtained by this method appear to be sufficiently simple and rich in structure to encourage hadron dynamics studies. Operator eikonal form for field - theoretic Green's functions is derived and discussion is held on how the eikonal perturbation theory is to be renormalized. This method is extended to massive quantum electrodynamics of scalar charged bosons. Possible developments and applications of this theory are given [pt

Additive manufacturing of magnetic shielding and ultra-high vacuum flange for cold atom sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Vovrosh, Jamie; Voulazeris, Georgios; Petrov, Plamen G; Zou, Ji; Gaber, Youssef; Benn, Laura; Woolger, David; Attallah, Moataz M; Boyer, Vincent; Bongs, Kai; Holynski, Michael

2018-01-31

Recent advances in the understanding and control of quantum technologies, such as those based on cold atoms, have resulted in devices with extraordinary metrological performance. To realise this potential outside of a lab environment the size, weight and power consumption need to be reduced. Here we demonstrate the use of laser powder bed fusion, an additive manufacturing technique, as a production technique relevant to the manufacture of quantum sensors. As a demonstration we have constructed two key components using additive manufacturing, namely magnetic shielding and vacuum chambers. The initial prototypes for magnetic shields show shielding factors within a factor of 3 of conventional approaches. The vacuum demonstrator device shows that 3D-printed titanium structures are suitable for use as vacuum chambers, with the test system reaching base pressures of 5 ± 0.5 × 10 -10 mbar. These demonstrations show considerable promise for the use of additive manufacturing for cold atom based quantum technologies, in future enabling improved integrated structures, allowing for the reduction in size, weight and assembly complexity.

Resonant electronic excitation energy transfer by Dexter mechanism in the quantum dot system

Science.gov (United States)

Samosvat, D. M.; Chikalova-Luzina, O. P.; Vyatkin, V. M.; Zegrya, G. G.

2016-11-01

In present work the energy transfer between quantum dots by the exchange (Dexter) mechanism is analysed. The interdot Coulomb interaction is taken into consideration. It is assumed that the quantum dot-donor and the quantum dot-acceptor are made from the same compound A3B5 and embedded in the matrix of other material creating potential barriers for electron and holes. The dependences of the energy transfer rate on the quantum-dot system parameters are found using the Kane model that provides the most adequate description spectra of semiconductors A3B5. Numerical calculations show that the rate of the energy transfer by Dexter mechanism is comparable to the rate of the energy transfer by electrostatic mechanism at the distances approaching to the contact ones.

Quantum nuclear pasta and nuclear symmetry energy

Science.gov (United States)

Fattoyev, F. J.; Horowitz, C. J.; Schuetrumpf, B.

2017-05-01

Complex and exotic nuclear geometries, collectively referred to as "nuclear pasta," are expected to appear naturally in dense nuclear matter found in the crusts of neutron stars and supernovae environments. The pasta geometries depend on the average baryon density, proton fraction, and temperature and are critically important in the determination of many transport properties of matter in supernovae and the crusts of neutron stars. Using a set of self-consistent microscopic nuclear energy density functionals, we present the first results of large scale quantum simulations of pasta phases at baryon densities 0.03 ≤ρ ≤0.10 fm-3 , proton fractions 0.05 ≤Yp≤0.40 , and zero temperature. The full quantum simulations, in particular, allow us to thoroughly investigate the role and impact of the nuclear symmetry energy on pasta configurations. We use the Sky3D code that solves the Skyrme Hartree-Fock equations on a three-dimensional Cartesian grid. For the nuclear interaction we use the state-of-the-art UNEDF1 parametrization, which was introduced to study largely deformed nuclei, hence is suitable for studies of the nuclear pasta. Density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy is simulated by tuning two purely isovector observables that are insensitive to the current available experimental data. We find that a minimum total number of nucleons A =2000 is necessary to prevent the results from containing spurious shell effects and to minimize finite size effects. We find that a variety of nuclear pasta geometries are present in the neutron star crust, and the result strongly depends on the nuclear symmetry energy. The impact of the nuclear symmetry energy is less pronounced as the proton fractions increase. Quantum nuclear pasta calculations at T =0 MeV are shown to get easily trapped in metastable states, and possible remedies to avoid metastable solutions are discussed.

Search for Z′, vacuum (instability and hints of high-energy structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Accomando Elena

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We study the high-energy behaviour of a class of anomaly-free abelian extensions of the Standard Model. We focus on the interplay among the phenomenological characterisation of the model and the use of precise renormalisation group methods. Using as boundary conditions regions of the parameter space at the verge of current LHC probe, interesting unification patterns emerge linked to thresholds belonging to a SO(10 grand unification theory (GUT. We stress how the evolution of the mixing between the two abelian factors may provide a valuable tool to address the candidate high-energy embedding. The emerging unification scenarios are then challenged to be perturbative and to allow for a stable vacuum.

Luminescence model with quantum impact parameter for low energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cruz G, H.S.; Michaelian, K.; Galindo U, S.; Martinez D, A.; Belmont M, E.

2000-01-01

The analytical model of induced light production in scintillator materials by energetic ions proposed by Michaelian and Menchaca (M-M) adjusts very well the luminescence substance data in a wide energy interval of the incident ions (10-100 MeV). However at low energies, that is, under to 10 MeV, the experimental deviations of the predictions of M-M model, show that the causes may be certain physical effects, all they important at low energies, which were not considered. We have modified lightly the M-M model using the basic fact that the Quantum mechanics gives to a different limit for the quantum impact parameter instead of the classic approximation. (Author)

Nonperturbative Dynamical Casimir Effect in Optomechanical Systems: Vacuum Casimir-Rabi Splittings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincenzo Macrì

2018-02-01

Full Text Available We study the dynamical Casimir effect using a fully quantum-mechanical description of both the cavity field and the oscillating mirror. We do not linearize the dynamics, nor do we adopt any parametric or perturbative approximation. By numerically diagonalizing the full optomechanical Hamiltonian, we show that the resonant generation of photons from the vacuum is determined by a ladder of mirror-field vacuum Rabi splittings. We find that vacuum emission can originate from the free evolution of an initial pure mechanical excited state, in analogy with the spontaneous emission from excited atoms. By considering a coherent drive of the mirror, using a master-equation approach to take losses into account, we are able to study the dynamical Casimir effect for optomechanical coupling strengths ranging from weak to ultrastrong. We find that a resonant production of photons out of the vacuum can be observed even for mechanical frequencies lower than the cavity-mode frequency. Since high mechanical frequencies, which are hard to achieve experimentally, were thought to be imperative for realizing the dynamical Casimir effect, this result removes one of the major obstacles for the observation of this long-sought effect. We also find that the dynamical Casimir effect can create entanglement between the oscillating mirror and the radiation produced by its motion in the vacuum field, and that vacuum Casimir-Rabi oscillations can occur. Finally, we also show that all these findings apply not only to optomechanical systems, but also to parametric amplifiers operating in the fully quantum regime.

Optimal yield value of a collector in a vacuum thermoemission energy converter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bulyga, A.V.

1977-01-01

An analytical expression is formulated for determining the optimal height of a potential barrier which limits electron yield from a collector across the near-collector region of the inter-electrode interval of a vacuum thermoemission energy converter. The analysis is based on the concept that thermoemission properties of the emitter are independent of changes in load resistance in which case the resistance of the conducting wires was considered to be given.

Planar density of vacuum charge induced by a supercritical Coulomb potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V.R. Khalilov

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Analytical expressions for the planar density of an induced vacuum charge are obtained in a strong Coulomb potential in coordinate space. Treatment is based on a self-adjoint extension approach for constructing of the Green's function of a charged fermion in an external electromagnetic field. Induced vacuum charge density is calculated and analyzed in subcritical and supercritical Coulomb potentials for massless and massive fermions. We argue that the virtual and so-called real vacuum polarizations contribute in an induced vacuum charge in a supercritical Coulomb potential. The behavior of the polarization vacuum charge density is investigated at long and short distances from the Coulomb center. The induced vacuum charge has a screening sign. Screening of a Coulomb impurity in graphene is briefly discussed. The real vacuum polarization charge density that acquires the quantum electrodynamics vacuum in a supercritical Coulomb potential due to the real vacuum polarization is calculated. It is shown that the vacuum charge densities essentially differ in massive and massless cases. We expect that our results can, as a matter of principle, be tested in graphene with a supercritical Coulomb impurity.

Planar density of vacuum charge induced by a supercritical Coulomb potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalilov, V.R., E-mail: khalilov@phys.msu.ru; Mamsurov, I.V.

2017-06-10

Analytical expressions for the planar density of an induced vacuum charge are obtained in a strong Coulomb potential in coordinate space. Treatment is based on a self-adjoint extension approach for constructing of the Green's function of a charged fermion in an external electromagnetic field. Induced vacuum charge density is calculated and analyzed in subcritical and supercritical Coulomb potentials for massless and massive fermions. We argue that the virtual and so-called real vacuum polarizations contribute in an induced vacuum charge in a supercritical Coulomb potential. The behavior of the polarization vacuum charge density is investigated at long and short distances from the Coulomb center. The induced vacuum charge has a screening sign. Screening of a Coulomb impurity in graphene is briefly discussed. The real vacuum polarization charge density that acquires the quantum electrodynamics vacuum in a supercritical Coulomb potential due to the real vacuum polarization is calculated. It is shown that the vacuum charge densities essentially differ in massive and massless cases. We expect that our results can, as a matter of principle, be tested in graphene with a supercritical Coulomb impurity.

Seawater desalination with solar-energy-integrated vacuum membrane distillation system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fang Wang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study designed and tested a novel type of solar-energy-integrated vacuum membrane distillation (VMD system for seawater desalination under actual environmental conditions in Wuhan, China. The system consists of eight parts: a seawater tank, solar collector, solar cooker, inclined VMD evaporator, circulating water vacuum pump, heat exchanger, fresh water tank, and brine tank. Natural seawater was used as feed and a hydrophobic hollow-fiber membrane module was used to improve seawater desalination. The experiment was conducted during a typical summer day. Results showed that when the highest ambient temperature was 33 °C, the maximum value of the average solar intensity was 1,080 W/m2. The system was able to generate 36 kg (per m2 membrane module distilled fresh water during 1 day (7:00 am until 6:00 pm, the retention rate was between 99.67 and 99.987%, and electrical conductivity was between 0.00276 and 0.0673 mS/cm. The average salt rejection was over 90%. The proposed VMD system shows favorable potential application in desalination of brackish waters or high-salt wastewater treatment, as well.

Classical and quantum aspects of topological solitons (using numerical methods)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weidig, T.

1999-08-01

In Introduction, we review integrable and topological solitons. In Numerical Methods, we describe how to minimise functionals, time-integrate configurations and solve eigenvalue problems. We also present the Simulated Annealing scheme for minimisation in solitonic systems. In Classical Aspects, we analyse the effect of the potential term on the structure of minimal-energy solutions for any topological charge n. The simplest holomorphic baby Skyrme model has no known stable minimal-energy solution for n > 1. The one-vacuum baby Skyrme model possesses non-radially symmetric multi-skyrmions that look like 'skyrmion lattices' formed by skyrmions with n = 2. The two-vacua baby Skyrme model has radially symmetric multi-skyrmions. We implement Simulated Annealing and it works well for higher order terms. We find that the spatial part of the six-derivative term is zero. In Quantum Aspects, we find the first order quantum mass correction for the φ 4 kink using the semi-classical expansion. We derive a trace formula which gives the mass correction by using the eigenmodes and values of the soliton and vacuum perturbations. We show that the zero mode is the most important contribution. We compute the mass correction of φ 4 kink and Sine-Gordon numerically by solving the eigenvalue equations and substituting into the trace formula. (author)

Resonant electronic excitation energy transfer by Dexter mechanism in the quantum dot system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samosvat, D M; Chikalova-Luzina, O P; Zegrya, G G; Vyatkin, V M

2016-01-01

In present work the energy transfer between quantum dots by the exchange (Dexter) mechanism is analysed. The interdot Coulomb interaction is taken into consideration. It is assumed that the quantum dot-donor and the quantum dot-acceptor are made from the same compound A3B5 and embedded in the matrix of other material creating potential barriers for electron and holes. The dependences of the energy transfer rate on the quantum-dot system parameters are found using the Kane model that provides the most adequate description spectra of semiconductors A3B5. Numerical calculations show that the rate of the energy transfer by Dexter mechanism is comparable to the rate of the energy transfer by electrostatic mechanism at the distances approaching to the contact ones. (paper)

A Study on the Development of Nonglass Solar Vacuum Tube Collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Seung Jin

2008-02-01

Nature has been providing us energy from the beginning of the world. However human has hardly used it wisely. Solar energy is a kind of renewable energy from the nature. This study has been carried out to study the use of solar energy as it is harnessed in the form of thermal energy. Solar energy is one of the most promising energy resources such as hydrogen, biomass, wind and geothermal energy, because it is clean and inexhaustible. Space heating in buildings can be provided from solar energy by systems that are similar in many respects to water heater systems. By tapping into solar energy, we can not only solve the problem of energy shortage, but also can protect the environment and benefit the human beings. There are currently two types of evacuated tube; a single glass tube and a double glass tube. The former consists of a single glass tube which contains a flat or curved aluminium plate attached to a copper heat pipe or water flow pipe. The latter consists of rows of parallel transparent glass tubes, each of which contains an absorber tube. Evacuated tube collectors introduced above, however, pose some problems as they break rather easily under mechanical stresses. This paper introduces some preliminary results in design and fabrication of a non-glass solar vacuum tube collector in which the thermosyphon(heat pipe)made of copper is used as a heat transfer device. A series of tests have been performed to assess the ability of a non-glass solar vacuum tube collector. The series of experiments are as follows: 1)Vacuum level inside a vacuum tube. 2)Effects of the air remaining inside a vacuum tube on the temperature on the absorber plate. 3)Comparison of a non-glass vacuum solar collector with a single glass evacuated tube(SEIDO 5). Different vacuum levels inside non-glass vacuum tubes were applied to check any leakage or unexpected physical or chemical developments with time. The vacuum level changed from 10 -2 torr to 5torr in 5 days due to air infiltration from

Breakdown of the equivalence between active gravitational mass and energy for a quantum body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebed, Andrei G.

2016-01-01

We determine active gravitational mass operator of the simplest composite quantum body - a hydrogen atom - within the semiclassical approach to the Einstein equation for a gravitational field. We show that the expectation value of the mass is equivalent to energy for stationary quantum states. On the other hand, it occurs that, for quantum superpositions of stationary states with constant expectation values of energy, the expectation values of the gravitational mass exhibit time-dependent oscillations. This breaks the equivalence between active gravitational mass and energy and can be observed as a macroscopic effect for a macroscopic ensemble of coherent quantum states of the atoms. The corresponding experiment could be the first direct observation of quantum effects in General Relativity. (paper)

Harnessing Sun's Energy with Quantum Dots Based Next Generation Solar Cell.

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Mohammad A

2012-12-27

Our energy consumption relies heavily on the three components of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) and nearly 83% of our current energy is consumed from those sources. The use of fossil fuels, however, has been viewed as a major environmental threat because of their substantial contribution to greenhouse gases which are responsible for increasing the global average temperature. Last four decades, scientists have been searching for alternative sources of energy which need to be environmentally clean, efficient, cost-effective, renewable, and sustainable. One of the promising sustainable sources of energy can be achieved by harnessing sun energy through silicon wafer, organic polymer, inorganic dye, and quantum dots based solar cells. Among them, quantum dots have an exceptional property in that they can excite multiple electrons using only one photon. These dots can easily be synthesized, processed in solution, and incorporated into solar cell application. Interestingly, the quantum dots solar cells can exceed the Shockley - Queisser limit; however, it is a great challenge for other solar cell materials to exceed the limit. Theoretically, the quantum dots solar cell can boost the power conversion efficiency up to 66% and even higher to 80%. Moreover, in changing the size of the quantum dots one can utilize the Sun's broad spectrum of visible and infrared ranges. This review briefly overviews the present performance of different materials-based solar cells including silicon wafer, dye-sensitized, and organic solar cells. In addition, recent advances of the quantum dots based solar cells which utilize cadmium sulfide/selenide, lead sulfide/selenide, and new carbon dots as light harvesting materials has been reviewed. A future outlook is sketched as to how one could improve the efficiency up to 10% from the current highest efficiency of 6.6%.

Real-time dynamics of lattice gauge theories with a few-qubit quantum computer

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Esteban A.; Muschik, Christine A.; Schindler, Philipp; Nigg, Daniel; Erhard, Alexander; Heyl, Markus; Hauke, Philipp; Dalmonte, Marcello; Monz, Thomas; Zoller, Peter; Blatt, Rainer

2016-06-01

Gauge theories are fundamental to our understanding of interactions between the elementary constituents of matter as mediated by gauge bosons. However, computing the real-time dynamics in gauge theories is a notorious challenge for classical computational methods. This has recently stimulated theoretical effort, using Feynman’s idea of a quantum simulator, to devise schemes for simulating such theories on engineered quantum-mechanical devices, with the difficulty that gauge invariance and the associated local conservation laws (Gauss laws) need to be implemented. Here we report the experimental demonstration of a digital quantum simulation of a lattice gauge theory, by realizing (1 + 1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (the Schwinger model) on a few-qubit trapped-ion quantum computer. We are interested in the real-time evolution of the Schwinger mechanism, describing the instability of the bare vacuum due to quantum fluctuations, which manifests itself in the spontaneous creation of electron-positron pairs. To make efficient use of our quantum resources, we map the original problem to a spin model by eliminating the gauge fields in favour of exotic long-range interactions, which can be directly and efficiently implemented on an ion trap architecture. We explore the Schwinger mechanism of particle-antiparticle generation by monitoring the mass production and the vacuum persistence amplitude. Moreover, we track the real-time evolution of entanglement in the system, which illustrates how particle creation and entanglement generation are directly related. Our work represents a first step towards quantum simulation of high-energy theories using atomic physics experiments—the long-term intention is to extend this approach to real-time quantum simulations of non-Abelian lattice gauge theories.

Quantum-to-classical transition and gravity-induced instabilities (in progress)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, William C.C.

2013-01-01

Full text: It has been argued that gravitational fields produced by realistic matter distributions can induce the vacuum fluctuations of some non-minimally coupled free scalar field to go through a phase of exponential amplification. For the particular case of the formation of a neutron star, the energy density of the field in its initial vacuum state rivals the one of the star in a lapse of just a few milliseconds after the effect has been triggered. From this point on back reaction effects must be taken into account in order to predict the fate of both the star and scalar field. Classical analyses have shown that, at least for some values of the mass-radius ratio of the star and the non-minimal coupling parameter, a non-null scalar field profile could stabilize the system. The aim of our study is to shed some light on the back reaction process from the perspective of the quantum-to-classical transition that will occur once the classical background spacetime reacts to the unstable quantum field. In particular, the transition to a classical regime requires the specification of a well-defined classical initial state for the field. This can be accomplished analyzing the quantum state of the field around the time back reaction effects become important. (author)

Note: Ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal vacuum glass cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brakhane, Stefan, E-mail: brakhane@iap.uni-bonn.de; Alt, Wolfgang; Meschede, Dieter; Robens, Carsten; Moon, Geol; Alberti, Andrea [Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstr. 8, D-53115 Bonn (Germany)

2015-12-15

We report on an ultra-low birefringence dodecagonal glass cell for ultra-high vacuum applications. The epoxy-bonded trapezoidal windows of the cell are made of SF57 glass, which exhibits a very low stress-induced birefringence. We characterize the birefringence Δn of each window with the cell under vacuum conditions, obtaining values around 10{sup −8}. After baking the cell at 150 °C, we reach a pressure below 10{sup −10} mbar. In addition, each window is antireflection coated on both sides, which is highly desirable for quantum optics experiments and precision measurements.

Comments on conformal Killing vector fields and quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, M.R.; Ottewill, A.C.; Siklos, S.T.C.

1982-01-01

We give a comprehensive analysis of those vacuums for flat and conformally flat space-times which can be defined by timelike, hypersurface-orthogonal, conformal Killing vector fields. We obtain formulas for the difference in stress-energy density between any two such states and display the correspondence with the renormalized stress tensors. A brief discussion is given of the relevance of these results to quantum-mechanical measurements made by noninertial observers moving through flat space

Interqubit coupling mediated by a high-excitation-energy quantum object

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashhab, S.; Niskanen, A.O.; Harrabi, K.; Nakamura, Y.; Picot, T.; De Groot, P.C.; Harmans, C.J.P.M.; Mooij, J.E.; Nori, F.

2008-01-01

We consider a system composed of two qubits and a high excitation energy quantum object used to mediate coupling between the qubits. We treat the entire system quantum mechanically and analyze the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenstates of the total Hamiltonian. After reproducing well known

Quantum localization and protein-assisted vibrational energy flow in cofactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitner, David M

2010-01-01

Quantum effects influence vibrational dynamics and energy flow in biomolecules, which play a central role in biomolecule function, including control of reaction kinetics. Lifetimes of many vibrational modes of proteins and their temperature dependence, as determined by quantum golden-rule-based calculations, exhibit trends consistent with experimental observation and distinct from estimates based on classical modeling. Particularly notable are quantum coherence effects that give rise to localization of vibrational states of sizable organic molecules in the gas phase. Even when such a molecule, for instance a cofactor, is embedded in a protein, remnants of quantum localization survive that influence vibrational energy flow and its dependence on temperature. We discuss these effects on the mode-damping rates of a cofactor embedded in a protein, using the green fluorescent protein chromophore as a specific example. We find that for cofactors of this size embedded in their protein and solvent environment at room temperature a golden-rule calculation often overestimates the mode-damping rate.

Solar Energy Gain and Space-Heating Energy Supply Analyses for Solid-Wall Dwelling Retrofitted with the Experimentally Achievable U-value of Novel Triple Vacuum Glazing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saim Memon

2017-06-01

Full Text Available A considerable effort is devoted to devising retrofit solutions for reducing space-heating energy in the domestic sector. Existing UK solid-wall dwellings, which have both heritage values and historic fabric, are being improved but they tend to have meagre thermal performance, partly, due to the heat-loss through glazings. This paper takes comparative analyses approach to envisage space-heating supply required in order to maintain thermal comfort temperatures and attainable solar energy gains to households with the retrofit of an experimentally achievable thermal performance of the fabricated sample of triple vacuum glazing to a UK solid-wall dwelling. 3D dynamic thermal models (timely regimes of heating, occupancy, ventilation and internal heat gains of an externally-insulated solid-wall detached dwelling with a range of existing glazing types along with triple vacuum glazings are modelled. A dramatic decrease of space-heating load and moderate increase of solar gains are resulted with the dwelling of newly achievable triple vacuum glazings (having centre-of-pane U-value of 0.33 Wm-2K-1 compared to conventional glazing types. The space-heating annual cost of single glazed dwellings was minimised to 15.31% (≈USD 90.7 with the retrofit of triple-vacuum glazings. An influence of total heat-loss through the fabric of solid-wall dwelling was analysed with steady-state calculations which indicates a fall of 10.23 % with triple vacuum glazings compared to single glazings.

Conjugate dynamical systems: classical analogue of the quantum energy translation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres-Vega, Gabino

2012-01-01

An aspect of quantum mechanics that has not been fully understood is the energy shift generated by the time operator. In this study, we introduce the use of the eigensurfaces of dynamical variables and commutators in classical mechanics to study the classical analogue of the quantum translation of energy. We determine that there is a conjugate dynamical system that is conjugate to Hamilton's equations of motion, and then we generate the analogue of the time operator and use it in the translation of points along the energy direction, i.e. the classical analogue of the Pauli theorem. The theory is illustrated with a nonlinear oscillator model. (paper)

A Brown Mesoporous TiO2-x /MCF Composite with an Extremely High Quantum Yield of Solar Energy Photocatalysis for H2 Evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Mingyang; Zhang, Jinlong; Qiu, Bocheng; Tian, Baozhu; Anpo, Masakazu; Che, Michel

2015-04-24

A brown mesoporous TiO2-x /MCF composite with a high fluorine dopant concentration (8.01 at%) is synthesized by a vacuum activation method. It exhibits an excellent solar absorption and a record-breaking quantum yield (Φ = 46%) and a high photon-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency (η = 34%,) for solar photocatalytic H2 production, which are all higher than that of the black hydrogen-doped TiO2 (Φ = 35%, η = 24%). The MCFs serve to improve the adsorption of F atoms onto the TiO2 /MCF composite surface, which after the formation of oxygen vacancies by vacuum activation, facilitate the abundant substitution of these vacancies with F atoms. The decrease of recombination sites induced by high-concentration F doping and the synergistic effect between lattice Ti(3+)-F and surface Ti(3+)-F are responsible for the enhanced lifetime of electrons, the observed excellent absorption of solar light, and the photocatalytic production of H2 for these catalysts. The as-prepared F-doped composite is an ideal solar light-driven photocatalyst with great potential for applications ranging from the remediation of environmental pollution to the harnessing of solar energy for H2 production. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Zero Point Energy and the Dirac Equation

OpenAIRE

Forouzbakhsh, Farshid

2007-01-01

Zero Point Energy (ZPE) describes the random electromagnetic oscillations that are left in the vacuum after all other energy has been removed. One way to explain this is by means of the uncertainty principle of quantum physics, which implies that it is impossible to have a zero energy condition.I this article, the ZPE is explained by using a novel description of the graviton. This is based on the behavior of photons in gravitational field, leading to a new definition of the graviton. In effec...

Heavy-quark QCD vacuum polarisation function. Analytical results at four loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kniehl, B.A.; Kotikov, A.V.

2006-07-01

The first two moments of the heavy-quark vacuum polarisation function at four loops in quantum chromo-dynamics are found in fully analytical form by evaluating the missing massive four-loop tadpole master integrals. (orig.)

Resilience of the quantum Rabi model in circuit QED

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manucharyan, Vladimir E; Baksic, Alexandre; Ciuti, Cristiano

2017-01-01

In circuit quantum electrodynamics (circuit QED), an artificial ‘circuit atom’ can couple to a quantized microwave radiation much stronger than its real atomic counterpart. The celebrated quantum Rabi model describes the simplest interaction of a two-level system with a single-mode boson field. When the coupling is large enough, the bare multilevel structure of a realistic circuit atom cannot be ignored even if the circuit is strongly anharmonic. We explored this situation theoretically for flux (fluxonium) and charge (Cooper pair box) type multi-level circuits tuned to their respective flux/charge degeneracy points. We identified which spectral features of the quantum Rabi model survive and which are renormalized for large coupling. Despite significant renormalization of the low-energy spectrum in the fluxonium case, the key quantum Rabi feature—nearly-degenerate vacuum consisting of an atomic state entangled with a multi-photon field—appears in both types of circuits when the coupling is sufficiently large. Like in the quantum Rabi model, for very large couplings the entanglement spectrum is dominated by only two, nearly equal eigenvalues, in spite of the fact that a large number of bare atomic states are actually involved in the atom-resonator ground state. We interpret the emergence of the two-fold degeneracy of the vacuum of both circuits as an environmental suppression of flux/charge tunneling due to their dressing by virtual low-/high-impedance photons in the resonator. For flux tunneling, the dressing is nothing else than the shunting of a Josephson atom with a large capacitance of the resonator. Suppression of charge tunneling is a manifestation of the dynamical Coulomb blockade of transport in tunnel junctions connected to resistive leads. (paper)

Vacuum alignment and radiatively induced Fermi scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alanne Tommi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We extend the discussion about vacuum misalignment by quantum corrections in models with composite pseudo-Goldstone Higgs boson to renormalisable models with elementary scalars. As a concrete example, we propose a framework, where the hierarchy between the unification and the Fermi scale emerges radiatively. This scenario provides an interesting link between the unification and Fermi scale physics.

Nonlinearly-enhanced energy transport in many dimensional quantum chaos

KAUST Repository

Brambila, D. S.; Fratalocchi, Andrea

2013-01-01

By employing a nonlinear quantum kicked rotor model, we investigate the transport of energy in multidimensional quantum chaos. This problem has profound implications in many fields of science ranging from Anderson localization to time reversal of classical and quantum waves. We begin our analysis with a series of parallel numerical simulations, whose results show an unexpected and anomalous behavior. We tackle the problem by a fully analytical approach characterized by Lie groups and solitons theory, demonstrating the existence of a universal, nonlinearly-enhanced diffusion of the energy in the system, which is entirely sustained by soliton waves. Numerical simulations, performed with different models, show a perfect agreement with universal predictions. A realistic experiment is discussed in two dimensional dipolar Bose-Einstein-Condensates (BEC). Besides the obvious implications at the fundamental level, our results show that solitons can form the building block for the realization of new systems for the enhanced transport of matter.

Nonlinearly-enhanced energy transport in many dimensional quantum chaos

KAUST Repository

Brambila, D. S.

2013-08-05

By employing a nonlinear quantum kicked rotor model, we investigate the transport of energy in multidimensional quantum chaos. This problem has profound implications in many fields of science ranging from Anderson localization to time reversal of classical and quantum waves. We begin our analysis with a series of parallel numerical simulations, whose results show an unexpected and anomalous behavior. We tackle the problem by a fully analytical approach characterized by Lie groups and solitons theory, demonstrating the existence of a universal, nonlinearly-enhanced diffusion of the energy in the system, which is entirely sustained by soliton waves. Numerical simulations, performed with different models, show a perfect agreement with universal predictions. A realistic experiment is discussed in two dimensional dipolar Bose-Einstein-Condensates (BEC). Besides the obvious implications at the fundamental level, our results show that solitons can form the building block for the realization of new systems for the enhanced transport of matter.

CERN Vacuum-System Activities during the Long Shutdown 1: The LHC Beam Vacuum

CERN Document Server

Baglin, V; Chiggiato, P; Jimenez, JM; Lanza, G

2014-01-01

After the Long Shutdown 1 (LS1) and the consolidation of the magnet bus bars, the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will operate with nominal beam parameters. Larger beam energy, beam intensities and luminosity are expected. Despite the very good performance of the beam vacuum system during the 2010-12 physics run (Run 1), some particular areas require attention for repair, consolidation and upgrade. Among the main activities, a large campaign aiming at the repair of the RF bridges of some vacuum modules is conducted. Moreover, consolidation of the cryogenic beam vacuum systems with burst disk for safety reasons is implemented. In addition, NEG cartridges, NEG coated inserts and new instruments for the vacuum system upgrade are installed. Besides these activities, repair, consolidation and upgrades of other beam equipment such as collimators, kickers and beam instrumentations are carried out. In this paper, the motivation and the description for such activities, together with the expected beam vacuum performa...

Amorphous Ge quantum dots embedded in SiO2 formed by low energy ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, J. P.; Huang, D. X.; Jacobson, A. J.; Chen, Z. Y.; Makarenkov, B.; Chu, W. K.; Bahrim, B.; Rabalais, J. W.

2008-01-01

Under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, extremely small Ge nanodots embedded in SiO 2 , i.e., Ge-SiO 2 quantum dot composites, have been formed by ion implantation of 74 Ge + isotope into (0001) Z-cut quartz at a low kinetic energy of 9 keV using varying implantation temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and micro-Raman scattering show that amorphous Ge nanodots are formed at all temperatures. The formation of amorphous Ge nanodots is different from reported crystalline Ge nanodot formation by high energy ion implantation followed by a necessary high temperature annealing process. At room temperature, a confined spatial distribution of the amorphous Ge nanodots can be obtained. Ge inward diffusion was found to be significantly enhanced by a synergetic effect of high implantation temperature and preferential sputtering of surface oxygen, which induced a much wider and deeper Ge nanodot distribution at elevated implantation temperature. The bimodal size distribution that is often observed in high energy implantation was not observed in the present study. Cross-sectional TEM observation and the depth profile of Ge atoms in SiO 2 obtained from x-ray photoelectron spectra revealed a critical Ge concentration for observable amorphous nanodot formation. The mechanism of formation of amorphous Ge nanodots and the change in spatial distribution with implantation temperature are discussed

Casimir Forces and Quantum Friction from Ginzburg Radiation in Atomic Bose-Einstein Condensates.

Science.gov (United States)

Marino, Jamir; Recati, Alessio; Carusotto, Iacopo

2017-01-27

We theoretically propose an experimentally viable scheme to use an impurity atom in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, in order to realize condensed-matter analogs of quantum vacuum effects. In a suitable atomic level configuration, the collisional interaction between the impurity atom and the density fluctuations in the condensate can be tailored to closely reproduce the electric-dipole coupling of quantum electrodynamics. By virtue of this analogy, we recover and extend the paradigm of electromagnetic vacuum forces to the domain of cold atoms, showing in particular the emergence, at supersonic atomic speeds, of a novel power-law scaling of the Casimir force felt by the atomic impurity, as well as the occurrence of a quantum frictional force, accompanied by the Ginzburg emission of Bogoliubov quanta. Observable consequences of these quantum vacuum effects in realistic spectroscopic experiments are discussed.

Design consideration on the synchrotron ultrahigh vacuum system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsujikawa, H.; Chida, K.; Mizobuchi, A.; Miyahara, A.

1982-01-01

Ultrahigh vacuum production for the high-energy heavy-ion accelerator poses special problems concerning beam-gas molecule and beam-wall interactions. In this paper, summary of the TARN ultrahigh vacuum system and design criteria of the synchrotron ultrahigh vacuum system are presented. On-beam pressure of 4 x 10 -11 Torr is achieved in the TARN ultrahigh vacuum system, of which experiences through the construction and the operation are described and discussed. With emphasis on the application of newly developed technique in the fabrication of vacuum chamber and ultrahigh vacuum pump for the synchrotron ultrahigh vacuum system. (author)

Vacuum Systems Consensus Guideline for Department of Energy Accelerator Laboratories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casey,R.; Haas, E.; Hseuh, H-C.; Kane, S.; Lessard, E.; Sharma, S.; Collins, J.; Toter, W. F.; Olis, D. R.; Pushka, D. R.; Ladd, P.; Jobe, R. K.

2008-09-09

Vacuum vessels, including evacuated chambers and insulated jacketed dewars, can pose a potential hazard to equipment and personnel from collapse, rupture due to back-fill pressurization, or implosion due to vacuum window failure. It is therefore important to design and operate vacuum systems in accordance with applicable and sound engineering principles. 10 CFR 851 defines requirements for pressure systems that also apply to vacuum vessels subject to back-fill pressurization. Such vacuum vessels are potentially subject to the requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII (hereafter referred to as the 'Code'). However, the scope of the Code excludes vessels with internal or external operating pressure that do not exceed 15 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). Therefore, the requirements of the Code do not apply to vacuum systems provided that adequate pressure relief assures that the maximum internal pressure within the vacuum vessel is limited to less than 15 psig from all credible pressure sources, including failure scenarios. Vacuum vessels that cannot be protected from pressurization exceeding 15 psig are subject to the requirements of the Code. 10 CFR 851, Appendix A, Part 4, Pressure Safety, Section C addresses vacuum system requirements for such cases as follows: (c) When national consensus codes are not applicable (because of pressure range, vessel geometry, use of special materials, etc.), contractors must implement measures to provide equivalent protection and ensure a level of safety greater than or equal to the level of protection afforded by the ASME or applicable state or local code. Measures must include the following: (1) Design drawings, sketches, and calculations must be reviewed and approved by a qualified independent design professional (i.e., professional engineer). Documented organizational peer review is acceptable. (2) Qualified personnel must be used to perform examinations

Vacuum-Ultraviolet Photovoltaic Detector.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Wei; Lin, Richeng; Ran, Junxue; Zhang, Zhaojun; Ji, Xu; Huang, Feng

2018-01-23

Over the past two decades, solar- and astrophysicists and material scientists have been researching and developing new-generation semiconductor-based vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detectors with low power consumption and small size for replacing traditional heavy and high-energy-consuming microchannel-detection systems, to study the formation and evolution of stars. However, the most desirable semiconductor-based VUV photovoltaic detector capable of achieving zero power consumption has not yet been achieved. With high-crystallinity multistep epitaxial grown AlN as a VUV-absorbing layer for photogenerated carriers and p-type graphene (with unexpected VUV transmittance >96%) as a transparent electrode to collect excited holes, we constructed a heterojunction device with photovoltaic detection for VUV light. The device exhibits an encouraging VUV photoresponse, high external quantum efficiency (EQE) and extremely fast tempera response (80 ns, 10 4 -10 6 times faster than that of the currently reported VUV photoconductive devices). This work has provided an idea for developing zero power consumption and integrated VUV photovoltaic detectors with ultrafast and high-sensitivity VUV detection capability, which not only allows future spacecraft to operate with longer service time and lower launching cost but also ensures an ultrafast evolution of interstellar objects.

Exponential energy growth due to slow parameter oscillations in quantum mechanical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Turaev, Dmitry

2016-05-01

It is shown that a periodic emergence and destruction of an additional quantum number leads to an exponential growth of energy of a quantum mechanical system subjected to a slow periodic variation of parameters. The main example is given by systems (e.g., quantum billiards and quantum graphs) with periodically divided configuration space. In special cases, the process can also lead to a long period of cooling that precedes the acceleration, and to the desertion of the states with a particular value of the quantum number.

Coherently-enabled environmental control of optics and energy transfer pathways of hybrid quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatef, Ali; Sadeghi, Seyed M; Fortin-Deschênes, Simon; Boulais, Etienne; Meunier, Michel

2013-03-11

It is well-known that optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots can be controlled using optical cavities or near fields of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of metallic nanoparticles. In this paper we study the optics, energy transfer pathways, and exciton states of quantum dots when they are influenced by the near fields associated with plasmonic meta-resonances. Such resonances are formed via coherent coupling of excitons and LSPRs when the quantum dots are close to metallic nanorods and driven by a laser beam. Our results suggest an unprecedented sensitivity to the refractive index of the environment, causing significant spectral changes in the Förster resonance energy transfer from the quantum dots to the nanorods and in exciton transition energies. We demonstrate that when a quantum dot-metallic nanorod system is close to its plasmonic meta-resonance, we can adjust the refractive index to: (i) control the frequency range where the energy transfer from the quantum dot to the metallic nanorod is inhibited, (ii) manipulate the exciton transition energy shift of the quantum dot, and (iii) disengage the quantum dot from the metallic nanoparticle and laser field. Our results show that near meta-resonances the spectral forms of energy transfer and exciton energy shifts are strongly correlated to each other.

Induced vacuum energy-momentum tensor in the background of a cosmic string

OpenAIRE

Sitenko, Yu. A.; Vlasii, N. D.

2011-01-01

A massive scalar field is quantized in the background of a cosmic string which is generalized to a static flux-carrying codimension-2 brane in the locally flat multidimensional space-time. We find that the finite energy-momentum tensor is induced in the vacuum. The dependence of the tensor components on the brane flux and tension, as well as on the coupling to the space-time curvature scalar, is comprehensively analyzed. The tensor components are holomorphic functions of space dimension, decr...

Harnessing Sun’s Energy with Quantum Dots Based Next Generation Solar Cell

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, Mohammad A.

2012-01-01

Our energy consumption relies heavily on the three components of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) and nearly 83% of our current energy is consumed from those sources. The use of fossil fuels, however, has been viewed as a major environmental threat because of their substantial contribution to greenhouse gases which are responsible for increasing the global average temperature. Last four decades, scientists have been searching for alternative sources of energy which need to be environmentally clean, efficient, cost-effective, renewable, and sustainable. One of the promising sustainable sources of energy can be achieved by harnessing sun energy through silicon wafer, organic polymer, inorganic dye, and quantum dots based solar cells. Among them, quantum dots have an exceptional property in that they can excite multiple electrons using only one photon. These dots can easily be synthesized, processed in solution, and incorporated into solar cell application. Interestingly, the quantum dots solar cells can exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit; however, it is a great challenge for other solar cell materials to exceed the limit. Theoretically, the quantum dots solar cell can boost the power conversion efficiency up to 66% and even higher to 80%. Moreover, in changing the size of the quantum dots one can utilize the Sun’s broad spectrum of visible and infrared ranges. This review briefly overviews the present performance of different materials-based solar cells including silicon wafer, dye-sensitized, and organic solar cells. In addition, recent advances of the quantum dots based solar cells which utilize cadmium sulfide/selenide, lead sulfide/selenide, and new carbon dots as light harvesting materials has been reviewed. A future outlook is sketched as to how one could improve the efficiency up to 10% from the current highest efficiency of 6.6%. PMID:28348320

Onion like growth and inverted many-particle energies in quantum dots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bimberg, D.

2008-01-01

Use of surfactants like antimony in MOCVD growth enables novel growth regimes for quantum dots (QDs). The quantum dot ensemble luminescence no longer appears as a single inhomogeneously broadened peak but shows a multi-modal structure. Quantum dot subensembles are forming which differ in height by exactly one monolayer. For the first time the systematic dependence of excitonic properties on quantum dot size and shape can be investigated in detail. Both biexcitonic binding energy and excitonic fine-structure splitting vary from large positive through zero to negative values. Correlation and piezoelectric effects explain the observations

Wave-packet revivals for quantum systems with nondegenerate energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluhm, R.; Tudose, B.

1996-01-01

The revival structure of wave packets is examined for quantum systems having energies that depend on two nondegenerate quantum numbers. For such systems, the evolution of the wave packet is controlled by two classical periods and three revival times. These wave packets exhibit quantum beats in the initial motion as well as new types of long-term revivals. The issue of whether fractional revivals can form is addressed. We present an analytical proof showing that at certain times equal to rational fractions of the revival times the wave packet can reform as a sum of subsidiary waves and that both conventional and new types of fractional revivals can occur. (orig.)

Photosynthesis Revisited: Optimization of Charge and Energy Transfer in Quantum Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Gabor, Nathaniel

2014-03-01

The integration of new nano- and molecular-scale quantum materials into ultra-efficient energy harvesting devices presents significant scientific challenges. Of the many challenges, the most difficult is achieving high photon-to-electron conversion efficiency while maintaining broadband absorption. Due to exciton effects, devices composed of quantum materials may allow near-unity optical absorption efficiency yet require the choice of precisely one fundamental energy (HOMO-LUMO gap). To maximize absorption, the simplest device would absorb at the peak of the solar spectrum, which spans the visible wavelengths. If the peak of the solar spectrum spans the visible wavelengths, then why are terrestrial plants green? Here, I discuss a physical model of photosynthetic absorption and photoprotection in which the cell utilizes active feedback to optimize charge and energy transfer, thus maximizing stored energy rather than absorption. This model, which addresses the question of terrestrial greenness, is supported by several recent results that have begun to unravel the details of photoprotection in higher plants. More importantly, this model indicates a novel route for the design of next-generation energy harvesting systems based on nano- and molecular-scale quantum materials.

Quantum random bit generation using energy fluctuations in stimulated Raman scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Bustard, Philip J; England, Duncan G; Nunn, Josh; Moffatt, Doug; Spanner, Michael; Lausten, Rune; Sussman, Benjamin J

2013-12-02

Random number sequences are a critical resource in modern information processing systems, with applications in cryptography, numerical simulation, and data sampling. We introduce a quantum random number generator based on the measurement of pulse energy quantum fluctuations in Stokes light generated by spontaneously-initiated stimulated Raman scattering. Bright Stokes pulse energy fluctuations up to five times the mean energy are measured with fast photodiodes and converted to unbiased random binary strings. Since the pulse energy is a continuous variable, multiple bits can be extracted from a single measurement. Our approach can be generalized to a wide range of Raman active materials; here we demonstrate a prototype using the optical phonon line in bulk diamond.

Periodic electromagnetic vacuum in the two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with the Chern-Simons mass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skalozub, V.V.; Vilensky, S.A.; Zaslavsky, A.Yu.

1993-06-01

The periodic vacuum structure formed from magnetic and electric fields is derived in the two-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with the Chern-Simons term. It is shown that both the magnetic flux quantization in the fundamental sell and conductivity quantization inherent to the vacuum. Hence, the quantum Hall effect gets its natural explanation. (author). 10 refs

Vacuum ultra-violet and electron energy loss spectroscopy of gaseous and solid organic compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, E.E.; Otto, A.

1976-01-01

The experimental arrangements used by the authors for the study of optical vacuum ultra-violet and electron energy loss spectra of organic compounds are described and some theoretical aspects of studies of higher excited states are considered. Results for alkanes, benzene, naphthalene, anthracene and some more complex hydrocarbons are reviewed. Recent results obtained by reflection and electron energy loss spectroscopy for single crystals of anthracene are included and their relevance for gas phase work as well as for the understanding of exciton effects in organic solids is described. (author)

Inflationary power spectra with quantum holonomy corrections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mielczarek, Jakub, E-mail: jakub.mielczarek@uj.edu.pl [Institute of Physics, Jagiellonian University, Reymonta 4, Cracow, 30-059 Poland (Poland)

2014-03-01

In this paper we study slow-roll inflation with holonomy corrections from loop quantum cosmology. It was previously shown that, in the Planck epoch, these corrections lead to such effects as singularity avoidance, metric signature change and a state of silence. Here, we consider holonomy corrections affecting the phase of cosmic inflation, which takes place away from the Planck epoch. Both tensor and scalar power spectra of primordial inflationary perturbations are computed up to the first order in slow-roll parameters and V/ρ{sub c}, where V is a potential of the scalar field and ρ{sub c} is a critical energy density (expected to be of the order of the Planck energy density). Possible normalizations of modes at short scales are discussed. In case the normalization is performed with use of the Wronskian condition applied to adiabatic vacuum, the tensor and scalar spectral indices are not quantum corrected in the leading order. However, by choosing an alternative method of normalization one can obtain quantum corrections in the leading order. Furthermore, we show that the holonomy-corrected equations of motion for tensor and scalar modes can be derived based on effective background metrics. This allows us to show that the classical Wronskian normalization condition is well defined for the cosmological perturbations with holonomy corrections.

Energy efficiency analysis of steam ejector and electric vacuum pump for a turbine condenser air extraction system based on supervised machine learning modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strušnik, Dušan; Marčič, Milan; Golob, Marjan; Hribernik, Aleš; Živić, Marija; Avsec, Jurij

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Steam ejector pump and electric liquid ring vacuum pump are analysed and modelled. • A supervised machine learning models by using real process data are applied. • The equation of ejector pumped mass flow from steam turbine condenser was solved. • The loss of specific energy capable of work in a SEPS or LRVP component was analysed. • The economic efficiency analysis per different coal heating values was made. - Abstract: This paper compares the vapour ejector and electric vacuum pump power consumptions with machine learning algorithms by using real process data and presents some novelty guideline for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pump system of a steam turbine power plant. The machine learning algorithms are made by using the supervised machine learning methods such as artificial neural network model and local linear neuro-fuzzy models. The proposed non-linear models are designed by using a wide range of real process operation data sets from the CHP system in the thermal power plant. The novelty guideline for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pumps system is expressed in the comparative analysis of the energy consumption and use of specific energy capable of work. Furthermore, the novelty is expressed in the economic efficiency analysis of the investment taking into consideration the operating costs of the vacuum pump systems and may serve as basic guidelines for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pump system of a steam turbine.

Nonthermal Quantum Channels as a Thermodynamical Resource

Science.gov (United States)

Navascués, Miguel; García-Pintos, Luis Pedro

2015-07-01

Quantum thermodynamics can be understood as a resource theory, whereby thermal states are free and the only allowed operations are unitary transformations commuting with the total Hamiltonian of the system. Previous literature on the subject has just focused on transformations between different state resources, overlooking the fact that quantum operations which do not commute with the total energy also constitute a potentially valuable resource. In this Letter, given a number of nonthermal quantum channels, we study the problem of how to integrate them in a thermal engine so as to distill a maximum amount of work. We find that, in the limit of asymptotically many uses of each channel, the distillable work is an additive function of the considered channels, computable for both finite dimensional quantum operations and bosonic channels. We apply our results to bound the amount of distillable work due to the natural nonthermal processes postulated in the Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber (GRW) collapse model. We find that, although GRW theory predicts the possibility of extracting work from the vacuum at no cost, the power which a collapse engine could, in principle, generate is extremely low.

A quantum optical transistor with a single quantum dot in a photonic crystal nanocavity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jinjin; Zhu Kadi

2011-01-01

Laser and strong coupling can coexist in a single quantum dot (QD) coupled to a photonic crystal nanocavity. This provides an important clue towards the realization of a quantum optical transistor. Using experimentally realistic parameters, in this work, theoretical analysis shows that such a quantum optical transistor can be switched on or off by turning on or off the pump laser, which corresponds to attenuation or amplification of the probe laser, respectively. Furthermore, based on this quantum optical transistor, an all-optical measurement of the vacuum Rabi splitting is also presented. The idea of associating a quantum optical transistor with this coupled QD-nanocavity system may achieve images of light controlling light in all-optical logic circuits and quantum computers.

A quantum optical transistor with a single quantum dot in a photonic crystal nanocavity.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jin-Jin; Zhu, Ka-Di

2011-02-04

Laser and strong coupling can coexist in a single quantum dot (QD) coupled to a photonic crystal nanocavity. This provides an important clue towards the realization of a quantum optical transistor. Using experimentally realistic parameters, in this work, theoretical analysis shows that such a quantum optical transistor can be switched on or off by turning on or off the pump laser, which corresponds to attenuation or amplification of the probe laser, respectively. Furthermore, based on this quantum optical transistor, an all-optical measurement of the vacuum Rabi splitting is also presented. The idea of associating a quantum optical transistor with this coupled QD-nanocavity system may achieve images of light controlling light in all-optical logic circuits and quantum computers.

Vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field in curved background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilić, Neven; Domazet, Silvije; Guberina, Branko

2012-01-01

We study a supersymmetric model in curved background spacetime. We calculate the effective action and the vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor using a covariant regularization procedure. A soft supersymmetry breaking induces a nonzero contribution to the vacuum energy density and pressure. Assuming the presence of a cosmic fluid in addition to the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field an effective equation of state is derived in a self-consistent approach at one loop order. The net effect of the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric fields in the leading adiabatic order is a renormalization of the Newton and cosmological constants.

Vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field in curved background

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bilic, Neven, E-mail: bilic@thphys.irb.hr [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, POB 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Domazet, Silvije, E-mail: sdomazet@irb.hr [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, POB 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Guberina, Branko, E-mail: guberina@thphys.irb.hr [Rudjer Boskovic Institute, POB 180, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia)

2012-01-16

We study a supersymmetric model in curved background spacetime. We calculate the effective action and the vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor using a covariant regularization procedure. A soft supersymmetry breaking induces a nonzero contribution to the vacuum energy density and pressure. Assuming the presence of a cosmic fluid in addition to the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric field an effective equation of state is derived in a self-consistent approach at one loop order. The net effect of the vacuum fluctuations of the supersymmetric fields in the leading adiabatic order is a renormalization of the Newton and cosmological constants.

Vacuum instability in the quantum sine-gordon model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogolyubov, N.M.; Izergin, A.G.; Korepin, V.E.

1985-01-01

A review is given of papers dealing with regularization of the sine-Gordon model and the construction of the integrable lattice sine-Gordon (LSG) model. The regularization by means of LSG model seems to be much more natural as it is done in terms of initial boson fields entering Hamiltonian which describes relativistic scalar field with essentially nonlinear self-interaction. Changes in physical vacuum due to regularizations of the sine-Gordon model is shown

Long-range energy transfer in self-assembled quantum dot-DNA cascades

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Samuel M.; Siu, Albert; Singh, Vivek; Nagpal, Prashant

2015-11-01

The size-dependent energy bandgaps of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) can be utilized in converting broadband incident radiation efficiently into electric current by cascade energy transfer (ET) between layers of different sized quantum dots, followed by charge dissociation and transport in the bottom layer. Self-assembling such cascade structures with angstrom-scale spatial precision is important for building realistic devices, and DNA-based QD self-assembly can provide an important alternative. Here we show long-range Dexter energy transfer in QD-DNA self-assembled single constructs and ensemble devices. Using photoluminescence, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, current-sensing AFM measurements in single QD-DNA cascade constructs, and temperature-dependent ensemble devices using TiO2 nanotubes, we show that Dexter energy transfer, likely mediated by the exciton-shelves formed in these QD-DNA self-assembled structures, can be used for efficient transport of energy across QD-DNA thin films.The size-dependent energy bandgaps of semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) can be utilized in converting broadband incident radiation efficiently into electric current by cascade energy transfer (ET) between layers of different sized quantum dots, followed by charge dissociation and transport in the bottom layer. Self-assembling such cascade structures with angstrom-scale spatial precision is important for building realistic devices, and DNA-based QD self-assembly can provide an important alternative. Here we show long-range Dexter energy transfer in QD-DNA self-assembled single constructs and ensemble devices. Using photoluminescence, scanning tunneling spectroscopy, current-sensing AFM measurements in single QD-DNA cascade constructs, and temperature-dependent ensemble devices using TiO2 nanotubes, we show that Dexter energy transfer, likely mediated by the exciton-shelves formed in these QD-DNA self-assembled structures, can be used for efficient

Tuning Surface Energy Landscapes in Metallic Quantum Films using Alkali Adsorbates

Science.gov (United States)

Khajetoorians, Alexander; Qin, Shengyong; Zhu, Wenguang; Eisele, Holger; Zhang, Zhenyu; Shih, Chih-Kang

2008-03-01

Quantum confinement shows a strong interplay with growth and kinetics in thin metal systems where the Fermi wavelength has a special relationship to the surface normal lattice constant. In the case of Pb/Si(111) systems, this relationship reveals an interesting thickness-dependent bilayer oscillation in the density of states and surface energy up to a phase. In this paper, we report on a novel effect: tuning of the energy landscape of a flat-top quantum Pb mesa using Cs adsorbates. Using STM/STS, we show that depositing Cs adsorbates on a thin Pb mesa promotes quantum stable Pb nanoislands on preferentially unstable thicknesses. Thickness-dependent nanoisland densities show a strong bilayer oscillation correlating with quantum stability. By modifying the Cs coverage on the mesa surface, we can tune the lateral size distribution of the nanoislands and the overall amplitude of the island density oscillation. Nanoisland formation is linked to a step decoration of Cs adatoms along the step edge of the nanoisland.

Cooling and manipulation of nanoparticles in high vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

Millen, J.; Kuhn, S.; Patolsky, F.; Kosloff, A.; Arndt, M.

2016-09-01

Optomechanical systems, where the mechanical motion of objects is measured and controlled using light, have a huge range of applications, from the metre-scale mirrors of LIGO which detect gravitational waves, to micron scale superconducting systems that can transduce quantum signals. A fascinating addition to this field are free or levitated optomechanical systems, where the oscillator is not physically tethered. We study a variety of nanoparticles which are launched through vacuum (10-8 mbar) and interact with an optical cavity. The centre of mass motion of a nanoparticle can be cooled by the optical cavity field. It is predicted that the quantum ground state of motion can be reached, leaving the particle free to evolve after release from the light field, thus preparing nanoscale matter for quantum interference experiments.

Self field electromagnetism and quantum phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Schatten, Kenneth H.

1994-07-01

Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) has been extremely successful inits predictive capability for atomic phenomena. Thus the greatest hope for any alternative view is solely to mimic the predictive capability of quantum mechanics (QM), and perhaps its usefulness will lie in gaining a better understanding of microscopic phenomena. Many ?paradoxes? and problematic situations emerge in QED. To combat the QED problems, the field of Stochastics Electrodynamics (SE) emerged, wherein a random ?zero point radiation? is assumed to fill all of space in an attmept to explain quantum phenomena, without some of the paradoxical concerns. SE, however, has greater failings. One is that the electromagnetic field energy must be infinit eto work. We have examined a deterministic side branch of SE, ?self field? electrodynamics, which may overcome the probelms of SE. Self field electrodynamics (SFE) utilizes the chaotic nature of electromagnetic emissions, as charges lose energy near atomic dimensions, to try to understand and mimic quantum phenomena. These fields and charges can ?interact with themselves? in a non-linear fashion, and may thereby explain many quantum phenomena from a semi-classical viewpoint. Referred to as self fields, they have gone by other names in the literature: ?evanesccent radiation?, ?virtual photons?, and ?vacuum fluctuations?. Using self fields, we discuss the uncertainty principles, the Casimir effects, and the black-body radiation spectrum, diffraction and interference effects, Schrodinger's equation, Planck's constant, and the nature of the electron and how they might be understood in the present framework. No new theory could ever replace QED. The self field view (if correct) would, at best, only serve to provide some understanding of the processes by which strange quantum phenomena occur at the atomic level. We discuss possible areas where experiments might be employed to test SFE, and areas where future work may lie.

CdZnTe quantum dots study: energy and phase relaxation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viale, Yannick

2004-01-01

We present a study of the electron-hole pair energy and phase relaxation processes in a CdTe/ZnTe heterostructure, in which quantum dots are embedded. CdZnTe quantum wells with a high Zinc concentration, separated by ZnTe barriers, contain islands with a high cadmium concentration. In photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy experiments, we evidence two types of electron hole pair relaxation processes. After being excited in the CdZnTe quantum well, the pairs relax their energy by emitting a cascade of longitudinal optical phonons until they are trapped in the quantum dots. Before their radiative recombination follows an intra-dot relaxation, which is attributed to a lattice polarization mechanism of the quantum dots. It is related to the coupling between the electronic and the vibrational states. Both relaxation mechanisms are reinforced by the strong polar character of the chemical bond in II-VI compounds. Time resolved measurements of transmission variations in a pump-probe configuration allowed us to investigate the population dynamics of the electron-hole pairs during the relaxation process. We observe a relaxation time of about 2 ps for the longitudinal phonon emission cascade in the quantum well before a saturation of the quantum dot transition. We also measured an intra-box relaxation time of 25 ps. The comparison of various cascades allows us to estimate the emission time of a longitudinal optical phonon in the quantum well to be about 100 fs. In four waves mixing experiments, we observe oscillations that we attribute to quantum beats between excitonic and bi-excitonic transitions. The dephasing times that we measure as function of the density of photons shows that excitons are strongly localized in the quantum dots. The excitonic dephasing time is much shorter than the radiative lifetime and is thus controlled by the intra-dot relaxation time. (author) [fr

Quantum effects in strong fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roessler, Lars

2014-01-01

This work is devoted to quantum effects for photons in spatially inhomogeneous fields. Since the purely analytical solution of the corresponding equations is an unsolved problem even today, a main aspect of this work is to use the worldline formalism for scalar QED to develop numerical algorithms for correlation functions beyond perturbative constructions. In a first step we take a look at the 2-Point photon correlation function, in order to understand effects like vacuum polarization or quantum reflection. For a benchmark test of the numerical algorithm we reproduce analytical results in a constant magnetic background. For inhomogeneous fields we calculate for the first time local refractive indices of the quantum vacuum. In this way we find a new de-focusing effect of inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Furthermore the numerical algorithm confirms analytical results for quantum reflection obtained within the local field approximation. In a second step we take a look at higher N-Point functions, with the help of our numerical algorithm. An interesting effect at the level of the 3-Point function is photon splitting. First investigations show that the Adler theorem remains also approximately valid for inhomogeneous fields.

Indian Vacuum Society: The Indian Vacuum Society

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, T. K.

2008-03-01

has instituted the `IVS- Professor D Y Phadke Memorial Prize' in memory of our founder president, the late Professor D Y Phadke at the University of Mumbai. The prize is given every year to the student ranked top in the MSc (PHY.) examination conducted by the university. The IVS Kolkata Chapter has established the Dr A S Divatia Memorial Trust with the objective of organizing the Dr A S Divatia Memorial Lecture and a seminar once a year and to set up a vacuum testing and calibration facility. IVS has instituted an award in memory of the late Shri C Ambasankaran, its past president and pioneer of vacuum technology in India. This award is given to one of the best papers presented in the national symposium conducted by IVS. One more best paper award `Smt. Shakuntalabai Vyawahare Memorial Prize' is established from a donation given by Shri Mohan R Vyawahare, a life member and a present EC member of the society, in memory of his mother. During the symposia, IVS felicitates two of its members, one from Industry and one from an R & D Institution for their lifetime contribution to vacuum science and technology. Dr A K Gupta, Ex BARC, Ex Generla Manager, IBP, Head, Energy Group, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co Ltd (Industry), and Dr S R Gowariker, Ex BARC, Ex Director, CSIO, Chandigarh, Director, Tolani Education Foundation (R & D) are being honoured this year. T K Saha Geneneral Secretary, IVS

The study of some physical properties and energy aspects of potatoes drying process by the infrared-vacuum method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N Hafezi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction Potato (Solanumtuberosum L. is one of the unique and most potential crops having high productivity, supplementing major food requirement in the world. Drying is generally carried out for two main reasons, one to reduce the water activity which eventually increases the shelf life of food and second to reduce the weight and bulk of food for cheaper transport and storage. The quality evaluation of the dried product was carried out on the basis of response variables such as rehydration ratio, shrinkage percentage, color and the overall acceptability. Drying is the most energy intensive process in food industry. Therefore, new drying techniques and dryers must be designed and studied to minimize the energy cost in drying process. Considering the fact that the highest energy consumption in agriculture is associated with drying operations, different drying methods can be evaluated to determine and compare the energy requirements for drying a particular product. Thermal drying operations are found in almost all industrial sectors and are known, according to various estimates, to consume 10-25% of the national industrial energy in the developed world. Infrared radiation drying has the unique characteristics of energy transfer mechanism. Kantrong et al. (2012 were studied the drying characteristics and quality of shiitake mushroom undergoing microwave-vacuum combined with infrared drying. Motevali et al. (2011 were evaluated energy consumption for drying of mushroom slices using various drying methods including hot air, microwave, vacuum, infrared, microwave-vacuum and hot air-infrared. The objectives of this research were to experimental study of drying kinetics considering quality characteristics including the rehydration and color distribution of potato slices in a vacuum- infrared dryer and also assessment of specific energy consumption and thermal utilization efficiency of potato slices during drying process. Materials and Methods A

PREFACE: Quantum Field Theory Under the Influence of External Conditions (QFEXT07)

Science.gov (United States)

Bordag, M.; Mostepanenko, V. M.

2008-04-01

This special issue contains papers reflecting talks presented at the 8th Workshop on Quantum Field Theory Under the Influence of External Conditions (QFEXT07), held on 17 21 September 2007, at Leipzig University. This workshop gathered 108 physicists and mathematicians working on problems which are focused on the following topics: •Casimir and van der Waals forces—progress in theory and new experiments, applications at micro- and nano-scale •Casimir effect—exact results, approximate methods and mathematical problems •Vacuum quantum effects in classical background fields—renormalization issues, singular backgrounds, applications to particle and high energy physics •Vacuum energy and gravity, vacuum energy in supersymmetric and noncommutative theories. This workshop is part of a series started in 1989 and 1992 in Leipzig by Dieter Robaschik, and continued in 1995, 1998 and 2001 in Leipzig by Michael Bordag. In 2003 this Workshop was organized by Kimball A Milton in Oklahoma, in 2005 by Emilio Elizalde in Barcelona and in 2007 it returned to Leipzig. The field of physics after which this series of workshops is named is remarkably broad. It stretches from experimental work on the measurement of dispersion forces between macroscopic bodies to quantum corrections in the presence of classical background fields. The underlying physical idea is that even in its ground state (vacuum) a quantum system responds to changes in its environment. The universality of this idea makes the field of its application so very broad. The most prominent manifestation of vacuum energy is the Casimir effect. This is, in its original formulation, the attraction between conducting planes due to the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. In a sense, this is the long-range tail of the more general dispersion forces acting between macroscopic bodies. With the progress in nanotechnology, dispersion forces become of direct practical significance. On a more theoretical side

Quantum complex rotation and uniform semiclassical calculations of complex energy eigenvalues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Connor, J.N.L.; Smith, A.D.

1983-01-01

Quantum and semiclassical calculations of complex energy eigenvalues have been carried out for an exponential potential of the form V 0 r 2 exp(-r) and Lennard-Jones (12,6) potential. A straightforward method, based on the complex coordinate rotation technique, is described for the quantum calculation of complex eigenenergies. For singular potentials, the method involves an inward and outward integration of the radial Schroedinger equation, followed by matching of the logarithmic derivatives of the wave functions at an intermediate point. For regular potentials, the method is simpler, as only an inward integration is required. Attention is drawn to the World War II researches of Hartree and co-workers who anticipated later quantum mechanical work on the complex rotation method. Complex eigenenergies are also calculated from a uniform semiclassical three turning point quantization formula, which allows for the proximity of the outer pair of complex turning points. Limiting cases of this formula, which are valid for very narrow or very broad widths, are also used in the calculations. We obtain good agreement between the semiclassical and quantum results. For the Lennard-Jones (12,6) potential, we compare resonance energies and widths from the complex energy definition of a resonance with those obtained from the time delay definition

Quantum energy teleportation with a linear harmonic chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nambu, Yasusada; Hotta, Masahiro

2010-01-01

A protocol of quantum energy teleportation is proposed for a one-dimensional harmonic chain. A coherent-state positive operator-valued measure (POVM) measurement is performed on coupled oscillators of the chain in the ground state accompanied by energy infusion to the system. This measurement consumes a part of the ground-state entanglement. Depending on the measurement result, a displacement operation is performed on a distant oscillator accompanied by energy extraction from the zero-point fluctuation of the oscillator. We find that the amount of consumed entanglement is bounded from below by a positive value that is proportional to the amount of teleported energy.

High vacuum test of the dynamic components of the cyclotron dee chamber at the 224 cm variable energy cyclotron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chintalapudi, S.N.; Bandopadhyay, D.K.; Ghosh, D.K.; Gowariker, S.R.

1979-01-01

The 224 cm Variable Energy Cyclotron constructed and commissioned at Calcutta comprises a number of dynamic components in the high vacuum Dee Chamber. The static and dynamic conditions of these components have to be tested for high vacuum worthiness prior to their installation in the Dee Tank. A special set up was fabricated and used for simulating the Dee Chamber conditions and testing the components. A high vacuum of the order of 1 x 10 -5 torr was achieved under both dynamic and static conditions with and without coolant hydraulic pressures. The details of the set up, methods employed for the various tests carried out and the results obtained are described. (auth.)

Parameter restoration of a soft X radiation spectrum by the signals of X-ray vacuum diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Branitskij, A.V.; Olejnik, G.M.

2000-01-01

The multichannel measurement complex on the basis of vacuum X-ray diodes with various filters and the methodology of signals treatment, making it possible to obtained with nanosecond time resolution the radiation capacity in several spectral intervals, ranging from 0.1 up to 4 keV, the radiation capacity within the whole spectral range and the quantum average energy, are described. The method of linear combinations and the two-parametric models, providing close capacity values, are the most acceptable algorithms. This methodology was used at the Angara-5-1 facility in experiments on the cascade liners implosion and with the Z-pinch [ru

Quantum states of light

CERN Document Server

Furusawa, Akira

2015-01-01

This book explains what quantum states of light look like. Of special interest, a single photon state is explained by using a wave picture, showing that it corresponds to the complementarity of a quantum. Also explained is how light waves are created by photons, again corresponding to the complementarity of a quantum. The author shows how an optical wave is created by superposition of a "vacuum" and a single photon as a typical example. Moreover, squeezed states of light are explained as "longitudinal" waves of light and Schrödinger's cat states as macroscopic superposition states.

Review of the inverse scattering problem at fixed energy in quantum mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Sabatier, P. C.

1972-01-01

Methods of solution of the inverse scattering problem at fixed energy in quantum mechanics are presented. Scattering experiments of a beam of particles at a nonrelativisitic energy by a target made up of particles are analyzed. The Schroedinger equation is used to develop the quantum mechanical description of the system and one of several functions depending on the relative distance of the particles. The inverse problem is the construction of the potentials from experimental measurements.

Quantum hadrodynamic and nuclear matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serot, B.D.

1984-01-01

The properties of infinite nuclear matter are studied in the model relativistic quantum field theory of Walecka. Neutral scalar and vector meson exchange reproduces the basic Lorentz structure of the observed nucleon-nucleon interaction, and the consequences of this structure are studied in detail. In the mean-field approximation, nuclear saturation involves a cancellation between large attractive and repulsive components in the average potential energy. The attractive scalar field decreases the nucleon mass significantly, and the strong vector repulsion implies a stiff high-density equation of state. Corrections to the mean-field approach arising from vacuum fluctuations, self-consistent nucleon exchange, and two-nucleon correlations are examined. These have a small effect on the condensed meson fields but may produce significant changes in the binding energy. Corrections to the mean-field equation of state are small at high density

Split kinetic energy method for quantum systems with competing potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mineo, H.; Chao, Sheng D.

2012-01-01

For quantum systems with competing potentials, the conventional perturbation theory often yields an asymptotic series and the subsequent numerical outcome becomes uncertain. To tackle such a kind of problems, we develop a general solution scheme based on a new energy dissection idea. Instead of dividing the potential energy into “unperturbed” and “perturbed” terms, a partition of the kinetic energy is performed. By distributing the kinetic energy term in part into each individual potential, the Hamiltonian can be expressed as the sum of the subsystem Hamiltonians with respective competing potentials. The total wavefunction is expanded by using a linear combination of the basis sets of respective subsystem Hamiltonians. We first illustrate the solution procedure using a simple system consisting of a particle under the action of double δ-function potentials. Next, this method is applied to the prototype systems of a charged harmonic oscillator in strong magnetic field and the hydrogen molecule ion. Compared with the usual perturbation approach, this new scheme converges much faster to the exact solutions for both eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. When properly extended, this new solution scheme can be very useful for dealing with strongly coupling quantum systems. - Highlights: ► A new basis set expansion method is proposed. ► Split kinetic energy method is proposed to solve quantum eigenvalue problems. ► Significant improvement has been obtained in converging to exact results. ► Extension of such methods is promising and discussed.

Quantum hadrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serot, B.D.

1992-01-01

It is therefore essential to develop reliable nuclear models that go beyond the traditional non-relativistic many-body framework. The arguments for renormalizable models based on hadronic degrees of freedom (quantum hadrodynamics) are presented, and the assumptions underlying this framework are discussed. The Walecka model, which contains neutrons, protons, and neutral scalar and vector mesons, is considered first as a simple example. The development is based on the relativistic mean-field and Hartree approximations, and their application to infinite matter and atomic nuclei. Some successes of this model are discussed, such as the nuclear equation of state, the derivation of the shell model, the prediction of nuclear properties throughout the periodic table, and the inclusion of zero-point vacuum corrections. The important concepts of Lorentz covariance and self-consistency are emphasized and the new dynamical features that arise in a relativistic many-body framework are highlighted. The computation of isoscalar magnetic moments is presented as an illustrative example. Calculations beyond the relativistic mean-field and Hartree approximations (for example, Dirac-Hartree-Fock and Dirac-Brueckner) are considered next, as well as recent efforts to incorporate the full role of the quantum vacuum in a consistent fashion. An extended model containing isovector pi and rho mesons is then developed; the dynamics is based on the chirally invariant linear sigma model. The difficulties in constructing realistic chiral descriptions of nuclear matter and nuclei are analysed, and the connection between the sigma model and the Walecka model is established. Finally, the relationship between quantum hadrodynamics and quantum chromodynamics is briefly addressed. (Author)

Advanced Photon Source accelerator ultrahigh vacuum guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, C.; Noonan, J.

1994-03-01

In this document the authors summarize the following: (1) an overview of basic concepts of ultrahigh vacuum needed for the APS project, (2) a description of vacuum design and calculations for major parts of APS, including linac, linac waveguide, low energy undulator test line, positron accumulator ring (PAR), booster synchrotron ring, storage ring, and insertion devices, and (3) cleaning procedures of ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) components presently used at APS

Electron Energy Level Statistics in Graphene Quantum Dots

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Raedt, H.; Katsnellson, M. I.; Katsnelson, M.I.

2008-01-01

Motivated by recent experimental observations of size quantization of electron energy levels in graphene quantum dots [7] we investigate the level statistics in the simplest tight-binding model for different dot shapes by computer simulation. The results are in a reasonable agreement with the

Does the Equivalence between Gravitational Mass and Energy Survive for a Quantum Body?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lebed A. G.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available We consider the simplest quantum composite body, a hydrogen atom, in the presence of a weak external gravitational field. We show that passive gravitational mass operator of the atom in the post-Newtonian approximation of general relativity does not commute with its energy operator, taken in the absence of the field. Nevertheless, the equivalence between the expectations values of passive gravitational mass and energy is shown to survive at a macroscopic level for stationary quantum states. Breakdown of the equiva- lence between passive gravitational mass and energy at a microscopic level for station- ary quantum states can be experimentally detected by studying unusual electromagnetic radiation, emitted by the atoms, supported and moved in the Earth gravitational field with constant velocity, using spacecraft or satellite.

Electron spin control of optically levitated nanodiamonds in vacuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Thai M; Ahn, Jonghoon; Bang, Jaehoon; Li, Tongcang

2016-07-19

Electron spins of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres are important quantum resources for nanoscale sensing and quantum information. Combining NV spins with levitated optomechanical resonators will provide a hybrid quantum system for novel applications. Here we optically levitate a nanodiamond and demonstrate electron spin control of its built-in NV centres in low vacuum. We observe that the strength of electron spin resonance (ESR) is enhanced when the air pressure is reduced. To better understand this system, we investigate the effects of trap power and measure the absolute internal temperature of levitated nanodiamonds with ESR after calibration of the strain effect. We also observe that oxygen and helium gases have different effects on both the photoluminescence and the ESR contrast of nanodiamond NV centres, indicating potential applications of NV centres in oxygen gas sensing. Our results pave the way towards a levitated spin-optomechanical system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics.

Electron spin control of optically levitated nanodiamonds in vacuum

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Thai M.; Ahn, Jonghoon; Bang, Jaehoon; Li, Tongcang

2016-07-01

Electron spins of diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres are important quantum resources for nanoscale sensing and quantum information. Combining NV spins with levitated optomechanical resonators will provide a hybrid quantum system for novel applications. Here we optically levitate a nanodiamond and demonstrate electron spin control of its built-in NV centres in low vacuum. We observe that the strength of electron spin resonance (ESR) is enhanced when the air pressure is reduced. To better understand this system, we investigate the effects of trap power and measure the absolute internal temperature of levitated nanodiamonds with ESR after calibration of the strain effect. We also observe that oxygen and helium gases have different effects on both the photoluminescence and the ESR contrast of nanodiamond NV centres, indicating potential applications of NV centres in oxygen gas sensing. Our results pave the way towards a levitated spin-optomechanical system for studying macroscopic quantum mechanics.

Renormalized powers of quantum white noise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Accardi, L.; Boukas, A.

2009-01-01

Giving meaning to the powers of the creation and annihilation densities (quantum white noise) is an old and important problem in quantum field theory. In this paper we present an account of some new ideas that have recently emerged in the attempt to solve this problem. We emphasize the connection between the Lie algebra of the renormalized higher powers of quantum white noise (RHPWN), which can be interpreted as a suitably deformed (due to renormalization) current algebra over the 1-mode full oscillator algebra, and the current algebra over the centerless Virasoro (or Witt)-Zamolodchikov-ω ∞ Lie algebras of conformal field theory. Through a suitable definition of the action on the vacuum vector we describe how to obtain a Fock representation of all these algebras. We prove that the restriction of the vacuum to the abelian subalgebra generated by the field operators gives an infinitely divisible process whose marginal distribution is the beta (or continuous binomial). (authors)

Description of quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes requires constraints beyond free energy

Science.gov (United States)

Lostaglio, Matteo; Jennings, David; Rudolph, Terry

2015-03-01

Recent studies have developed fundamental limitations on nanoscale thermodynamics, in terms of a set of independent free energy relations. Here we show that free energy relations cannot properly describe quantum coherence in thermodynamic processes. By casting time-asymmetry as a quantifiable, fundamental resource of a quantum state, we arrive at an additional, independent set of thermodynamic constraints that naturally extend the existing ones. These asymmetry relations reveal that the traditional Szilárd engine argument does not extend automatically to quantum coherences, but instead only relational coherences in a multipartite scenario can contribute to thermodynamic work. We find that coherence transformations are always irreversible. Our results also reveal additional structural parallels between thermodynamics and the theory of entanglement.

Interferences, ghost images and other quantum correlations according to stochastic optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca da Silva, Luciano; Dechoum, Kaled

2012-01-01

There are an extensive variety of experiments in quantum optics that emphasize the non-local character of the coincidence measurements recorded by spatially separated photocounters. These are the cases of ghost image and other interference experiments based on correlated photons produced in, for instance, the process of parametric down-conversion or photon cascades. We propose to analyse some of these correlations in the light of stochastic optics, a local formalism based on classical electrodynamics with added background fluctuations that simulate the vacuum field of quantum electrodynamics, and raise the following question: can these experiments be used to distinguish between quantum entanglement and classical correlations? - Highlights: ► We analyse some quantum correlations in the light of stochastic optics. ► We study how vacuum fluctuations can rule quantum correlations. ► Many criteria cannot be considered a boundary between quantum and classical theories. ► Non-locality is a misused term in relation to many observed experiments.

Quantum well effect in bulk PbI(2) crystals revealed by the anisotropy of photoluminescence and Raman spectra.

Science.gov (United States)

Baltog, I; Baibarac, M; Lefrant, S

2009-01-14

On subjecting a bulk 2H-PbI(2) crystal to vacuum annealing at 500 K followed by a sudden cooling at liquid nitrogen temperature stacking faults are generated that separate distinct layers of nanometric thickness in which different numbers of I-Pb-I atomic layers are bundled together. Such structures, containing two, three, four, five etc I-Pb-I atomic layers, behave as quantum wells of different widths. The signature of such a transformation is given by a shift towards higher energies of the fundamental absorption edge, which is experimentally revealed by specific anisotropies in the photoluminescence and Raman spectra. The quantum confining effect is made visible by specific variations of a wide extra-excitonic band (G) at 2.06 eV that originates in the radiative recombination of carriers (electrons and holes), trapped on the surface defects. The excitation spectrum of the G band, with p polarized exciting light, reveals a fine structure comprised of narrow bands at 2.75, 2.64, 2.59 and 2.56 eV, which are associated with the PbI(2) quantum wells formed from two, three, four and five I-Pb-I atomic layers of 0.7 nm thickness. Regardless of the polarization state of the laser exciting light of 514.5 nm (2.41 eV), which is close to the band gap energy of PbI(2) (2.52 eV), the Raman scattering on bulk as-grown PbI(2) crystals has the character of a resonant process. For p polarized exciting light, the Raman scattering process on vacuum annealed PbI(2) becomes non-resonant. This originates from the quantum well structures generated inside the crystal, whose band gap energies are higher than the energy of the exciting light.

Elastic scattering of protons by 16O, 40Ca and 208Pb at 200, 500 and 800 MeV: 2, Effects of vacuum polarization and Pauli blocking corrections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ottenstein, N.; Wallace, S.J.; Tjon, J.A.

1987-11-01

Dirac impulse approximation predictions for cross sections and spin observables in elastic proton scattering by 40 Ca and 208 Pb at energies of 200, 500 and 800 MeV are presented. The analysis is based on complete sets of Lorentz invariant NN amplitudes determined from a meson exchange model of the nuclear force. Effects of relativistic nuclear densities are explored including estimates of the vacuum polarization corrections based on quantum hadrodynamics. Effects of Pauli blocking are considered using the approximations of Murdock and Horowitz. A good description of the experimental data is obtained over a broad energy range and over a wide variation of nuclear size based on the generalized impulse approximation. Vacuum polarization corrections are found to enhance the agreement between theory and experiment. 18 refs., 8 figs

Late time properties of a decaying false vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urbanowski, K.

2014-01-01

The false vacuum states are unstable and they decay by tunneling. Some of them may survive up to times when their survival probability has a non-exponential form. At times much latter than the transition time, when contributions to the survival probability of its exponential and non-exponential parts are comparable, the survival probability as a function of time t has an inverse power-like form. We show that at this time region the instantaneous energy of the false vacuum states tends to the energy of the true vacuum state as 1/t 2 for t → ∞. (author)

Quantum Field Theory of Interacting Dark Matter/Dark Energy: Dark Monodromies

CERN Document Server

D'Amico, Guido; Kaloper, Nemanja

2016-11-28

We discuss how to formulate a quantum field theory of dark energy interacting with dark matter. We show that the proposals based on the assumption that dark matter is made up of heavy particles with masses which are very sensitive to the value of dark energy are strongly constrained. Quintessence-generated long range forces and radiative stability of the quintessence potential require that such dark matter and dark energy are completely decoupled. However, if dark energy and a fraction of dark matter are very light axions, they can have significant mixings which are radiatively stable and perfectly consistent with quantum field theory. Such models can naturally occur in multi-axion realizations of monodromies. The mixings yield interesting signatures which are observable and are within current cosmological limits but could be constrained further by future observations.

Quantum electrodynamics of strong fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greiner, W.

1983-01-01

Quantum Electrodynamics of Strong Fields provides a broad survey of the theoretical and experimental work accomplished, presenting papers by a group of international researchers who have made significant contributions to this developing area. Exploring the quantum theory of strong fields, the volume focuses on the phase transition to a charged vacuum in strong electric fields. The contributors also discuss such related topics as QED at short distances, precision tests of QED, nonperturbative QCD and confinement, pion condensation, and strong gravitational fields In addition, the volume features a historical paper on the roots of quantum field theory in the history of quantum physics by noted researcher Friedrich Hund

Quantum transfer energy in the framework of time-dependent dipole-dipole interaction

Science.gov (United States)

El-Shishtawy, Reda M.; Haddon, Robert C.; Al-Heniti, Saleh H.; Raffah, Bahaaudin M.; Berrada, K.; Abdel-Khalek, S.; Al-Hadeethi, Yas F.

2018-03-01

In this work, we examine the process of the quantum transfer of energy considering time-dependent dipole-dipole interaction in a dimer system characterized by two-level atom systems. By taking into account the effect of the acceleration and speed of the atoms in the dimer coupling, we demonstrate that the improvement of the probability for a single-excitation transfer energy extremely benefits from the incorporation of atomic motion effectiveness and the energy detuning. We explore the relevance between the population and entanglement during the time-evolution and show that this kind of nonlocal correlation may be generated during the process of the transfer of energy. Our work may provide optimal conditions to implement realistic experimental scenario in the transfer of the quantum energy.

Magnetic field effects on the quantum wire energy spectrum and Green's function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgenstern Horing, Norman J.

2010-01-01

We analyze the energy spectrum and propagation of electrons in a quantum wire on a 2D host medium in a normal magnetic field, representing the wire by a 1D Dirac delta function potential which would support just a single subband state in the absence of the magnetic field. The associated Schroedinger Green's function for the quantum wire is derived in closed form in terms of known functions and the Landau quantized subband energy spectrum is examined.

Scaling of the Coulomb Energy Due to Quantum Fluctuations in the Charge on a Quantum Dot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Molenkamp, L. W; Flensberg, Karsten; Kemerink, M.

1995-01-01

The charging energy of a quantum dot is measured through the effect of its potential on the conductance of a second dot. This technique allows a measurement of the scaling of the dot's charging energy with the conductance of the tunnel barriers leading to the dot. We find that the charging energy...... scales quadratically with the reflection probability of the barriers. The observed power law agrees with a recent theory....

Quantum computing applied to calculations of molecular energies

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pittner, Jiří; Veis, L.

2011-01-01

Roč. 241, - (2011), 151-phys ISSN 0065-7727. [National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS) /241./. 27.03.2011-31.03.2011, Anaheim] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40400503 Keywords : molecular energie * quantum computers Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry

Energy distribution of ions produced by laser ablation of silver in vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)