Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Critical energy landscape of linear soft spheres

  Silvio Franz, Antonio Sclocchi, Pierfrancesco Urbani

  SciPost Phys. 9, 012 (2020) · published 23 July 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We show that soft spheres interacting with a linear ramp potential when overcompressed beyond the jamming point fall in an amorphous solid phase which is critical, mechanically marginally stable and share many features with the jamming point itself. In the whole phase, the relevant local minima of the potential energy landscape display an isostatic contact network of perfectly touching spheres whose statistics is controlled by an infinite lengthscale. Excitations around such energy minima are non-linear, system spanning, and characterized by a set of non-trivial critical exponents. We perform numerical simulations to measure their values and show that, while they coincide, within numerical precision, with the critical exponents appearing at jamming, the nature of the corresponding excitations is richer. Therefore, linear soft spheres appear as a novel class of finite dimensional systems that self-organize into new, critical, marginally stable, states.

  9 citations

• Asymptotic temperature of a lossy condensate

  Isabelle Bouchoule, Max Schemmer

  SciPost Phys. 8, 060 (2020) · published 16 April 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We monitor the time evolution of the temperature of phononic collective modes in a one-dimensional quasicondensate submitted to losses. At long times the ratio between the temperature and the energy scale $mc^2$, where $m$ is the atomic mass and $c$ the sound velocity takes, within a precision of 20\%, an asymptotic value. This asymptotic value is observed while $mc^2$ decreases in time by a factor as large as 2.5. Moreover this ratio is shown to be independent on the loss rate and on the strength of interactions. These results confirm theoretical predictions and the measured stationary ratio is in quantitative agreement with the theoretical calculations.

  9 citations

• Geometry and topology tango in ordered and amorphous chiral matter

  Marcelo Guzmán, Denis Bartolo, David Carpentier

  SciPost Phys. 12, 038 (2022) · published 25 January 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Systems as diverse as mechanical structures and photonic metamaterials enjoy a common geometrical feature: a sublattice or chiral symmetry first introduced to characterize electronic insulators. We show how a real-space observable, the chiral polarization, distinguishes chiral insulators from one another and resolve long-standing ambiguities in the very concept of their bulk-boundary correspondence. We use it to lay out generic geometrical rules to engineer topologically distinct phases, and design zero-energy topological boundary modes in both crystalline and amorphous metamaterials.

  9 citations

• Laser excitation of the 1s-hyperfine transition in muonic hydrogen

  P. Amaro, A. Adamczak, M. Abdou Ahmed, L. Affolter, F. D. Amaro, P. Carvalho, T. -L. Chen, L. M. P. Fernandes, M. Ferro, D. Goeldi, T. Graf, M. Guerra, T. W. Hänsch, C. A. O. Henriques, Y. -C. Huang, P. Indelicato, O. Kara, K. Kirch, A. Knecht, F. Kottmann, Y. -W. Liu, J. Machado, M. Marszalek, R. D. P. Mano, C. M. B. Monteiro, F. Nez, J. Nuber, A. Ouf, N. Paul, R. Pohl, E. Rapisarda, J. M. F. dos Santos, J. P. Santos, P. A. O. C. Silva, L. Sinkunaite, J. -T. Shy, K. Schuhmann, S. Rajamohanan, A. Soter, L. Sustelo, D. Taqqu, L. -B. Wang, F. Wauters, P. Yzombard, M. Zeyen, A. Antognini

  SciPost Phys. 13, 020 (2022) · published 15 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The CREMA collaboration is pursuing a measurement of the ground-state hyperfine splitting (HFS) in muonic hydrogen ($\mu$p) with 1 ppm accuracy by means of pulsed laser spectroscopy to determine the two-photon-exchange contribution with $2\times10^{-4}$ relative accuracy. In the proposed experiment, the $\mu$p atom undergoes a laser excitation from the singlet hyperfine state to the triplet hyperfine state, then is quenched back to the singlet state by an inelastic collision with a H$_2$ molecule. The resulting increase of kinetic energy after the collisional deexcitation is used as a signature of a successful laser transition between hyperfine states. In this paper, we calculate the combined probability that a $\mu$p atom initially in the singlet hyperfine state undergoes a laser excitation to the triplet state followed by a collisional-induced deexcitation back to the singlet state. This combined probability has been computed using the optical Bloch equations including the inelastic and elastic collisions. Omitting the decoherence effects caused by the laser bandwidth and collisions would overestimate the transition probability by more than a factor of two in the experimental conditions. Moreover, we also account for Doppler effects and provide the matrix element, the saturation fluence, the elastic and inelastic collision rates for the singlet and triplet states, and the resonance linewidth. This calculation thus quantifies one of the key unknowns of the HFS experiment, leading to a precise definition of the requirements for the laser system and to an optimization of the hydrogen gas target where $\mu$p is formed and the laser spectroscopy will occur.

  9 citations

• The Global Higgs Picture at 27 TeV

  Anke Biekoetter, Dorival Gonçalves, Tilman Plehn, Michihisa Takeuchi, Dirk Zerwas

  SciPost Phys. 6, 024 (2019) · published 25 February 2019 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We estimate the reach of global Higgs analyses at a 27 TeV hadron collider in terms of Higgs couplings and in terms of a gauge-invariant effective Lagrangian, including invisible Higgs decays and the Higgs self-coupling. The new collider will indirectly probe new physics in the TeV range and allow for a meaningful test of the Higgs self-coupling also embedded in a global analysis.

  9 citations

• Global symmetry and conformal bootstrap in the two-dimensional $O(n)$ model

  Linnea Grans-Samuelsson, Rongvoram Nivesvivat, Jesper Lykke Jacobsen, Sylvain Ribault, Hubert Saleur

  SciPost Phys. 12, 147 (2022) · published 6 May 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We define the two-dimensional $O(n)$ conformal field theory as a theory that includes the critical dilute and dense $O(n)$ models as special cases, and depends analytically on the central charge. For generic values of $n\in\mathbb{C}$, we write a conjecture for the decomposition of the spectrum into irreducible representations of $O(n)$. We then explain how to numerically bootstrap arbitrary four-point functions of primary fields in the presence of the global $O(n)$ symmetry. We determine the needed conformal blocks, including logarithmic blocks, including in singular cases. We argue that $O(n)$ representation theory provides upper bounds on the number of solutions of crossing symmetry for any given four-point function. We study some of the simplest correlation functions in detail, and determine a few fusion rules. We count the solutions of crossing symmetry for the $30$ simplest four-point functions. The number of solutions varies from $2$ to $6$, and saturates the bound from $O(n)$ representation theory in $21$ out of $30$ cases.

  9 citations

• Boundary RG flows for fermions and the mod 2 anomaly

  Philip Boyle Smith, David Tong

  SciPost Phys. 10, 010 (2021) · published 19 January 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Boundary conditions for Majorana fermions in d=1+1 dimensions fall into one of two SPT phases, associated to a mod 2 anomaly. Here we consider boundary conditions for 2N Majorana fermions that preserve a $U(1)^N$ symmetry. In general, the left-moving and right-moving fermions carry different charges under this symmetry, and implementation of the boundary condition requires new degrees of freedom, which manifest themselves in a boundary central charge, $g$. We follow the boundary RG flow induced by turning on relevant boundary operators. We identify the infra-red boundary state. In many cases, the boundary state flips SPT class, resulting in an emergent Majorana mode needed to cancel the anomaly. We show that the ratio of UV and IR boundary central charges is given by $g^2_{IR} / g^2_{UV} = {\rm dim}\,({\cal O})$, the dimension of the perturbing boundary operator. Any relevant operator necessarily has ${\rm dim}({\cal O}) < 1$, ensuring that the central charge decreases in accord with the g-theorem.

  9 citations

• Four-derivative couplings and BPS dyons in heterotic CHL orbifolds

  Guillaume Bossard, Charles Cosnier-Horeau, Boris Pioline

  SciPost Phys. 3, 008 (2017) · published 31 July 2017 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Three-dimensional string models with half-maximal supersymmetry are believed to be invariant under a large U-duality group which unifies the S and T dualities in four dimensions. We propose an exact, U-duality invariant formula for four-derivative scalar couplings of the form $F(\Phi) (\nabla\Phi)^4$ in a class of string vacua known as CHL $\mathbb{Z}_N$ heterotic orbifolds with $N$ prime, generalizing our previous work which dealt with the case of heterotic string on $T^6$. We derive the Ward identities that $F(\Phi)$ must satisfy, and check that our formula obeys them. We analyze the weak coupling expansion of $F(\Phi)$, and show that it reproduces the correct tree-level and one-loop contributions, plus an infinite series of non-perturbative contributions. Similarly, the large radius expansion reproduces the exact $F^4$ coupling in four dimensions, including both supersymmetric invariants, plus infinite series of instanton corrections from half-BPS dyons winding around the large circle, and from Taub-NUT instantons. The summation measure for dyonic instantons agrees with the helicity supertrace for half-BPS dyons in 4 dimensions in all charge sectors. In the process we clarify several subtleties about CHL models in $D=4$ and $D=3$, in particular we obtain the exact helicity supertraces for 1/2-BPS dyonic states in all duality orbits.

  9 citations

• Electric manipulation of domain walls in magnetic Weyl semimetals via the axial anomaly

  Julia D. Hannukainen, Alberto Cortijo, Jens H. Bardarson, Yago Ferreiros

  SciPost Phys. 10, 102 (2021) · published 11 May 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We show how the axial (chiral) anomaly induces a spin torque on the magnetization in magnetic Weyl semimetals. The anomaly produces an imbalance in left- and right-handed chirality carriers when non-orthogonal electric and magnetic fields are applied. Such imbalance generates a spin density which exerts a torque on the magnetization, the strength of which can be controlled by the intensity of the applied electric field. We show how this results in an electric control of the chirality of domain walls, as well as in an improvement of the domain wall dynamics, by delaying the onset of the Walker breakdown. The measurement of the electric field mediated changes in the domain wall chirality would constitute a direct proof of the axial anomaly. Additionally, we show how quantum fluctuations of electronic Fermi arc states bound to the domain wall naturally induce an effective magnetic anisotropy, allowing for high domain wall velocities even if the intrinsic anisotropy of the magnetic Weyl semimetal is small.

  9 citations

• Hierarchy of many-body invariants and quantized magnetization in anomalous Floquet insulators

  Frederik Nathan, Dmitry A. Abanin, Netanel H. Lindner, Erez Berg, Mark S. Rudner

  SciPost Phys. 10, 128 (2021) · published 3 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We uncover a new family of few-body topological phases in periodically driven fermionic systems in two dimensions. These phases, which we term correlation-induced anomalous Floquet insulators (CIAFIs), are characterized by quantized contributions to the bulk magnetization from multi-particle correlations, and are classified by a family of integer-valued topological invariants. The CIAFI phases do not require many-body localization, but arise in the generic situation of $k$-particle localization, where the system is localized (due to disorder) for any finite number of particles up to a maximum number, $k$. We moreover show that, when fully many-body localized, periodically driven systems of interacting fermions in two dimensions are characterized by a quantized magnetization in the bulk, thus confirming the quantization of magnetization of the anomalous Floquet insulator. We demonstrate our results with numerical simulations.

  9 citations