Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Freezing In with lepton flavored fermions

  G. D'Ambrosio, Shiuli Chatterjee, Ranjan Laha, Sudhir K Vempati

  SciPost Phys. 11, 006 (2021) · published 12 July 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Dark, chiral fermions carrying lepton flavor quantum numbers are natural candidates for freeze-in. Small couplings with the Standard Model fermions of the order of lepton Yukawas are `automatic' in the limit of Minimal Flavor Violation. In the absence of total lepton number violating interactions, particles with certain representations under the flavor group remain absolutely stable. For masses in the GeV-TeV range, the simplest model with three flavors, leads to signals at future direct detection experiments like DARWIN. Interestingly, freeze-in with a smaller flavor group such as $SU(2)$ is already being probed by XENON1T.

  3 citations

• Modulation induced transport signatures in correlated electron waveguides

  Gal Shavit, Yuval Oreg

  SciPost Phys. 9, 051 (2020) · published 14 October 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recent transport experiments in spatially modulated quasi-1D structures created on top of LaAlO$_3$/SrTiO$_3$ interfaces have revealed some interesting features, including phenomena conspicuously absent without the modulation. In this work, we focus on two of these remarkable features and provide theoretical analysis allowing their interpretation. The first one is the appearance of two-terminal conductance plateaus at rational fractions of $e^2/h$. We explain how this phenomenon, previously believed to be possible only in systems with strong repulsive interactions, can be stabilized in a system with attraction in the presence of the modulation. Using our theoretical framework we find the plateau amplitude and shape, and characterize the correlated phase which develops in the system due to the partial gap, namely a Luttinger liquid of electronic trions. The second observation is a sharp conductance dip below a conductance of $1\times e^2/h$, which changes its value over a wide range when tuning the system. We theorize that it is due to resonant backscattering caused by a periodic spin-orbit field. The behavior of this dip can be reliably accounted for by considering the finite length of the electronic waveguides, as well as the interactions therein. The phenomena discussed in this work exemplify the intricate interplay of strong interactions and spatial modulations, and reveal the potential for novel strongly correlated phases of matter in systems which prominently feature both.

  3 citations

• Spontaneous symmetry breaking in free theories with boundary potentials

  Vladimir Procházka, Alexander Söderberg

  SciPost Phys. 11, 035 (2021) · published 19 August 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Patterns of symmetry breaking induced by potentials at the boundary of free $O(N)$-models in $d=3- \epsilon$ dimensions are studied. We show that the spontaneous symmetry breaking in these theories leads to a boundary RG flow ending with $N - 1$ Neumann modes in the IR. The possibility of fluctuation-induced symmetry breaking is examined and we derive a general formula for computing one-loop effective potentials at the boundary. Using the $\epsilon$-expansion we test these ideas in an $O(N)\oplus O(N)$-model with boundary interactions. We determine the RG flow diagram of this theory and find that it has an IR-stable critical point satisfying conformal boundary conditions. The leading correction to the effective potential is computed and we argue the existence of a phase boundary separating the region flowing to the symmetric fixed point from the region flowing to a symmetry-broken phase with a combination of Neumann and Dirchlet boundary conditions.

  3 citations

• Topological quantum phase transition of nickelocene on Cu(100)

  Germán G. Blesio, Rok Žitko, Luis O. Manuel, Armando A. Aligia

  SciPost Phys. 14, 042 (2023) · published 21 March 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Local quantum phase transitions driven by Kondo correlations have been theoretically proposed in several magnetic nanosystems; however, clear experimental signatures are scant. Modeling a nickelocene molecule on a Cu(100) substrate as a two-orbital Anderson impurity with single-ion anisotropy coupled to two conduction bands, we find that recent scanning tunneling spectra reveal the existence of a topological quantum phase transition from the usual local Fermi liquid with high zero-bias conductance to a non-Landau Fermi liquid, characterized by a non-trivial quantized Luttinger integral, with a small conductance. The effects of intermediate valence, finite temperature, and structural relaxation of the molecule position allow us to explain the different observed behaviors.

  3 citations

• Laser-induced heating for the experimental study of critical Casimir forces with optical trapping

  Ignacio A. Martinez, Artyom Petrosyan, Sergio Ciliberto

  SciPost Phys. 15, 247 (2023) · published 20 December 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Critical Casimir interactions represent a perfect example of bath-induced forces at mesoscales. These forces may have a relevant role in the living systems as well as a role in the design of nanomachines fueled by environmental fluctuations. Since the thermal fluctuations are enhanced in the vicinity of a demixing point of a second-order phase transition, we can modulate the magnitude and range of these Casimir-like forces by slight changes in the temperature. Here, we consider two optical trapped colloidal beads inside a binary mixture. The Casimir interaction is controlled by warming the mixture by laser-induced heating, whose local application ensures high reproducibility. Once this two-particle system is warmed, the critical behavior of different observables allows the system to become its self-thermometer. We use this experimental scheme for analyzing the energetics of a critical colloidal system under a non-equilibrium-driven protocol. We quantify how the injected work can be dissipated to the environment as heat or stored as free energy. Indeed, our system allows us to use the fluctuation theorems framework for analyzing the performance of this critically driven toy model. Our work paves the way for future experimental studies on the non-equilibrium features of bath-induced forces and the design of critically driven nanosystems.

  3 citations

• Spin-polarized two-dimensional electron/hole gases on LiCoO$_2$ layers.

  Santosh Kumar Radha, Walter R. L. Lambrecht

  SciPost Phys. 10, 057 (2021) · published 8 March 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  First-principles calculations show the formation of a 2D spin polarized electron (hole) gas on the Li (CoO$_2$) terminated surfaces of finite slabs down to a monolayer, in remarkable contrast with the bulk band structure, which is stabilized by Li donating its electron to the CoO$_2$ layer forming a Co-$d-t_{2g}^6$ insulator. By mapping the first-principles computational results to a minimal tight-binding models corresponding to a non-chiral 3D generalization of the quadripartite Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH4) model and symmetry analysis, we show that these surface states have topological origin.

  3 citations

• Hitting two BSM particles with one lepton-jet: search for a top partner decaying to a dark photon, resulting in a lepton-jet

  K. du Plessis, M. M. Flores, D. Kar, S. Sinha, H. van der Schyf

  SciPost Phys. 13, 018 (2022) · published 15 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A maverick top partner model, decaying to a dark photon was suggested. The dark photon decays to two overlapping electrons for dark photon masses of $\approx 100$ GeV, and results in a so-called lepton-jet. The event includes a top quark as well, which results in events with two boosted objects, one heavy and the other light. We propose a search strategy exploiting the unique signal topology. We show that for a set of kinematic selections, both in hadronic and leptonic decay channel of the SM top quark, almost all background can be eliminated, leaving enough signal events up to top partner mass of about 3 TeV for the search to be viable at the LHC.

  3 citations

• LHC tau-pair production constraints on $a_\tau$ and $d_\tau$

  Ulrich Haisch, Luc Schnell, Joachim Weiss

  SciPost Phys. 16, 048 (2024) · published 14 February 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We point out that relevant constraints on the anomalous magnetic ($a_\tau$) and electric ($d_\tau$) moment of the tau lepton can be derived from tau-pair production measurements performed at the LHC. Our conclusion is based on the observation that the leading relative deviations from the Standard Model prediction for $pp \to \tau^+ \tau^-$ due to $a_\tau$ and $d_\tau$ are enhanced at high energies. Less precise measurements at hadron colliders can therefore offer the same or better sensitivity to new physics with respect to high-precision low-energy measurements performed at lepton machines. We derive bounds on $a_\tau$ and $d_\tau$ using the full LHC Run II data set on tau-pair production and compare our findings with the current best limits on the tau anomalous moments.

  3 citations

• A scanning quantum cryogenic atom microscope at 6 K

  Stephen F. Taylor, Fan Yang, Brandon A. Freudenstein, Benjamin L. Lev

  SciPost Phys. 10, 060 (2021) · published 9 March 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The Scanning Quantum Cryogenic Atom Microscope (SQCRAMscope) is a quantum sensor in which a quasi-1D quantum gas images electromagnetic fields emitted from a nearby sample. We report improvements to the microscope. Cryogen usage is reduced by replacing the liquid cryostat with a closed-cycle system and modified cold finger, and cryogenic cooling is enhanced by adding a radiation shield. The minimum accessible sample temperature is reduced from 35 K to 5.7 K while maintaining low sample vibrations. A new sample mount is easier to exchange, and quantum gas preparation is streamlined.

  3 citations

• Tensor network variational optimizations for real-time dynamics: Application to the time-evolution of spin liquids

  Ravi Teja Ponnaganti, Matthieu Mambrini, Didier Poilblanc

  SciPost Phys. 15, 158 (2023) · published 12 October 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Within the Projected Entangled Pair State (PEPS) tensor network formalism, a simple update (SU) method has been used to investigate the time evolution of a two-dimensional U(1) critical spin-1/2 spin liquid under Hamiltonian quench [Phys. Rev. B 106, 195132 (2022)]. Here we introduce two different variational frameworks to describe the time dynamics of SU(2)-symmetric translationally-invariant PEPS, aiming to improve the accuracy. In one approach, after using a Trotter-Suzuki decomposition of the time evolution operator in term of two-site elementary gates, one considers a single bond embedded in an environment approximated by a Corner Transfer Matrix Renormalization Group (CTMRG). A variational update of the two tensors on the bond is performed under the application of the elementary gate and then, after symmetrization of the site tensors, the environment is updated. In the second approach, a cluster optimization is performed on a finite (periodic) cluster, maximizing the overlap of the exact time-evolved state with a symmetric finite-size PEPS ansatz. Observables are then computed on the infinite lattice contracting the infinite-PEPS (iPEPS) by CTMRG. We show that the variational schemes outperform the SU method and remain accurate over a significant time interval before hitting the entanglement barrier. Studying the spectrum of the transfer matrix, we find that the asymptotic correlations are very well preserved under time evolution, including the critical nature of the singlet correlations, as expected from the Lieb-Robinson (LR) bound theorem. Consistently, the system (asymptotic) boundary is found to be described by the same Conformal Field Theory of central charge $c = 1$ during time evolution. We also compute the time-evolution of the short distance spin-spin correlations and estimate the LR velocity.

  3 citations