Publications

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• Fingerprints of quantum criticality in locally resolved transport

  Xiaoyang Huang, Andrew Lucas

  SciPost Phys. 13, 004 (2022) · published 21 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Understanding electrical transport in strange metals, including the seeming universality of Planckian $T$-linear resistivity, remains a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. We propose that local imaging techniques, such as nitrogen vacancy center magnetometry, can locally identify signatures of quantum critical response which are invisible in measurements of a bulk electrical resistivity. As an illustrative example, we use a minimal holographic model for a strange metal in two spatial dimensions to predict how electrical current will flow in regimes dominated by quantum critical dynamics on the Planckian length scale. We describe the crossover between quantum critical transport and hydrodynamic transport (including Ohmic regimes), both in charge neutral and finite density systems. We compare our holographic predictions to experiments on charge neutral graphene, finding quantitative agreement with available data; we suggest further experiments which may determine the relevance of our framework to transport on Planckian scales in this material. More broadly, we propose that locally imaged transport be used to test the universality (or lack thereof) of microscopic dynamics in the diverse set of quantum materials exhibiting $T$-linear resistivity.

  1 citation

• Hidden dependencies in model independent tests of DAMA

  Madeleine J. Zurowski

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 12, 027 (2023) · published 4 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  For nearly two decades the DAMA Collaboration has been observing a modulating signal compatible with that expected from a dark matter presence in our galaxy. However, interpretations of this with the standard assumptions for dark matter particles are strongly ruled out by a large number of other experiments. This tension can be relaxed somewhat by making more tailored choices for the dark matter model and properties of interest, but expanding the models of interest in such a way makes it impossible to test the DAMA modulation conclusively. In order to understand the exact nature of this signal, we need to use a detector based on the same target (NaI(Tl)), which would be sensitive to exactly the same particle interaction models as DAMA. There are a number of such experiments in the data taking or commissioning stages designed to do just this, two of which (ANAIS and COSINE) recently released their results after 3 years of data taking. Interestingly, the modulation observed by the two experiments deviate from each other by 2$\sigma$, while being within 3$\sigma$ of the DAMA result. This paper addresses potential differences between NaI(Tl) based detectors that could lead to the differing results to date, with a particular focus on the quenching factor

  1 citation

• Variance reduction via simultaneous importance sampling and control variates techniques using vegas

  Prasanth Shyamsundar, Jacob L. Scott, Stephen Mrenna, Konstantin T. Matchev, Kyoungchul Kong

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 28 (2024) · published 4 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Monte Carlo (MC) integration is an important calculational technique in the physical sciences. Practical considerations require that the calculations are performed as accurately as possible for a given set of computational resources. To improve the accuracy of MC integration, a number of useful variance reduction algorithms have been developed, including importance sampling and control variates. In this work, we demonstrate how these two methods can be applied simultaneously, thus combining their benefits. We provide a python wrapper, named CoVVVR, which implements our approach in the VEGAS program. The improvements are quantified with several benchmark examples from the literature.

  1 citation

• The scalar and tensor glueball in production and decay

  Eberhard Klempt

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 6, 001 (2022) · published 31 May 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Evidence for the scalar and the tensor glueball is reported. The evidence stems from an analysis of BESIII data on radiative $J/\psi$ data into $\pi^0\pi^0$, $K_SK_S$, $\eta\eta$, and $\phi\omega$ [1]. The coupled-channel analysis is contrained by a large number of further data. The scalar intensity is described by ten scalar isoscalar mesons, covering the range from $f_0(500)$ to $f_0(2330)$. Five resonances are interpreted as mainly-singlet states in SU(3), five as mainly-octet states. The mainly-singlet resonances are produced over the full mass range, the production of octet states is limited to the 1500 to 2100 MeV mass range and shows a large peak. The peak is interpreted as scalar glueball. Its mass, width and yield are determined to $\rm M_{glueball}=(1865\pm 25)$ MeV, $\Gamma_{\rm glueball} =\rm (370\pm 50^{+30}_{-20}) MeV$, $\rm Y_{J/\psi\to \gamma G_0}=(5.8\pm1.0)\cdot 10^{-3}$. The study of the decays of the scalar mesons identifies significant glueball fractions [2]. The tensor wave shows the $f_2(1270)$ and $f_2'(1525)$ and a small enhancement at $M=2210\pm40$ MeV, $\Gamma=\rm (355^{+60}_{-30}) MeV$ [3]. An interpretation of these data is suggested.

  1 citation

• The Floquet Baxterisation

  Yuan Miao, Vladimir Gritsev, Denis V. Kurlov

  SciPost Phys. 16, 078 (2024) · published 18 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum integrability has proven to be a useful tool to study quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium. In this paper we construct a generic framework for integrable quantum circuits through the procedure of Floquet Baxterisation. The integrability is guaranteed by establishing a connection between Floquet evolution operators and inhomogeneous transfer matrices obtained from the Yang-Baxter relations. This allows us to construct integrable Floquet evolution operators with arbitrary depths and various boundary conditions. Furthermore, we focus on the example related to the staggered 6-vertex model. In the scaling limit we establish a connection of this Floquet protocol with a non-rational conformal field theory. Employing the properties of the underlying affine Temperley-Lieb algebraic structure, we demonstrate the dynamical anti-unitary symmetry breaking in the easy-plane regime. We also give an overview of integrability-related quantum circuits, highlighting future research directions.

  1 citation

• Faraday rotation and transmittance as markers of topological phase transitions in 2D materials

  Manuel Calixto, Alberto Mayorgas, Nicolás A. Cordero, Elvira Romera, Octavio Héctor Castaños Garza

  SciPost Phys. 16, 077 (2024) · published 18 March 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We analyze the magneto-optical conductivity (and related magnitudes like transmittance and Faraday rotation of the irradiated polarized light) of some elemental two-dimensional Dirac materials of group IV (graphene analogues, buckled honeycomb lattices, like silicene, germanene, stannane, etc.), group V (phosphorene), and zincblende heterostructures (like HgTe/CdTe quantum wells) near the Dirac and gamma points, under out-of-plane magnetic and electric fields, to characterize topological-band insulator phase transitions and their critical points. We provide plots of the Faraday angle and transmittance as a function of the polarized light frequency, for different external electric and magnetic fields, chemical potential, HgTe layer thickness and temperature, to tune the material magneto-optical properties. We have shown that absortance/transmittance acquires extremal values at the critical point, where the Faraday angle changes sign, thus providing fine markers of the topological phase transition. In the case of non-topological materials as phosphorene, a minimum of the transmittance is also observed due to the energy gap closing by an external electric field.

  1 citation

• A new derivation of the relationship between diffusion coefficient and entropy in classical Brownian motion by the ensemble method

  Yi Liao, Xiao-Bo Gong

  SciPost Phys. Core 4, 015 (2021) · published 2 June 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The diffusion coefficient--a measure of dissipation, and the entropy--a measure of fluctuation are found to be intimately correlated in many physical systems. Unlike the fluctuation dissipation theorem in linear response theory, the correlation is often strongly non-linear. To understand this complex dependence, we consider the classical Brownian diffusion in this work. Under certain rational assumption, i.e. in the bi-component fluid mixture, the mass of the Brownian particle $M$ is far greater than that of the bath molecule $m$, we can adopt the weakly couple limit. Only considering the first-order approximation of the mass ratio $m/M$, we obtain a linear motion equation in the reference frame of the observer as a Brownian particle. Based on this equivalent equation, we get the Hamiltonian at equilibrium. Finally, using canonical ensemble method, we define a new entropy that is similar to the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy. Further, we present an analytic expression of the relationship between the diffusion coefficient $D$ and the entropy $S$ in the thermal equilibrium, that is to say, $D =\frac{\hbar}{eM} \exp{[S/(k_Bd)]}$, where $d$ is the dimension of the space, $k_B$ the Boltzmann constant, $\hbar $ the reduced Planck constant and $e$ the Euler number. This kind of scaling relation has been well-known and well-tested since the similar one for single component is firstly derived by Rosenfeld with the expansion of volume ratio.

  1 citation

• Can we really detect relic neutrinos?

  Yevheniia Cheipesh, Ivan Ridkokasha, Vadim Cheianov, Alexey Boyarsky

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 12, 042 (2023) · published 4 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Detecting relic neutrinos is a longstanding goal in fundamental physics. Experimentally, this goal is extremely challenging as the required energy resolution is defined by the tiny neutrino masses ($\sim$ 10 meV). The current consensus is that sufficient statistics together with a clean spectrum could only be achieved if beta decayers are attached to a solid state substrate. However, this inevitably imposes irreducible intrinsic limitations on the energy resolution coming from Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. This limitation appears to be critical for the currently accepted decayer - Tritium. Here, we analyze the state of the art approaches to mitigate this limitation and conclude that the most promising solution is to change Tritium for a heavier emitter. We find that the two suitable candidates are $^{171}$Tm, $^{63}$Ni.

  1 citation

• Intermittency in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 0.9, 7 and 8 TeV from the CMS collaboration

  Z. Ong, P. Agarwal, H. W. Ang, A. H. Chan, C. H. Oh

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 10, 032 (2022) · published 11 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The intermittency-type fluctuations as outlined by Bialas and Peschanski in the 1980s is analysed in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 0.9, 7 and 8 TeV from the CMS collaboration at CERN. Our preliminary analysis shows that the intermittency exponents in the bin-averaged scaled factorial moments decrease in magnitude with increasing collision energy at the TeV scale, which suggests that the cascading nature of multiparticle production described by the $\alpha$-model is weakening. We outline possible areas planned for future studies.

  1 citation

• Electric polarization and magnetization in metals

  Perry T. Mahon, John E. Sipe

  SciPost Phys. 14, 058 (2023) · published 3 April 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A feature of the "modern theory" is that electric polarization is not well-defined in a metallic ground state. A different approach invokes the general existence of a complete set of exponentially localized Wannier functions, with respect to which general definitions of microscopic electronic polarization and magnetization fields, and free charge and current densities are always admitted. These definitions assume no particular initial electronic state of the crystal, and the set of microscopic fields satisfy the usual relations of classical electrodynamics. Notably, when applied to a trivial insulator initially occupying its $T=0$ ground state, the expressions for the unperturbed polarization and orbital magnetization, and for the orbital magnetoelectric polarizability tensor obtained from these different approaches can agree. However, the "modern theory of magnetization" has been extended via thermodynamic arguments to include metals and Chern insulators. We here compare with that generalization and find disagreement; the manner in which the expressions differ elucidates the distinct philosophies of these approaches. Our approach leads to the usual electrical conductivity tensor in the long-wavelength limit; in the absence of any scattering mechanisms, the dc divergence of that tensor is due to the free current density and the finite-frequency generalization of the anomalous Hall contribution arises from a combination of bound and free current densities. As well, in the limit that the electronic ground state is that of a trivial insulator, our expressions reduce to those expected for the unperturbed polarization and magnetization, and the electric susceptibility.

  1 citation