Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• The quantum cartpole: A benchmark environment for non-linear reinforcement learning

  Kai Meinerz, Simon Trebst, Mark Rudner, Evert van Nieuwenburg

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 026 (2024) · published 7 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Feedback-based control is the de-facto standard when it comes to controlling classical stochastic systems and processes. However, standard feedback-based control methods are challenged by quantum systems due to measurement induced backaction and partial observability. Here we remedy this by using weak quantum measurements and model-free reinforcement learning agents to perform quantum control. By comparing control algorithms with and without state estimators to stabilize a quantum particle in an unstable state near a local potential energy maximum, we show how a trade-off between state estimation and controllability arises. For the scenario where the classical analogue is highly nonlinear, the reinforcement learned controller has an advantage over the standard controller. Additionally, we demonstrate the feasibility of using transfer learning to develop a quantum control agent trained via reinforcement learning on a classical surrogate of the quantum control problem. Finally, we present results showing how the reinforcement learning control strategy differs from the classical controller in the non-linear scenarios.

• Strengthening the atom-field coupling through the deep-strong regime via pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians

  M. A. de Ponte, F. Oliveira Neto, P. M. Soares, M. H. Y. Moussa

  SciPost Phys. 15, 091 (2023) · published 13 September 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present a strategy for strengthening the atom-field interaction through a pseudo-Hermitian Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. Apart from the engineering of an effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, our strategy also relies on the accomplishment of short-time measurements on canonically conjugate variables. The resulting fast Rabi oscillations may be used for many quantum optics purposes and specially to shorten the processing time of quantum information.

• Exotic structures in exotic nuclei

  F. Miguel Marqués

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 3, 001 (2020) · published 24 February 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Nuclei with proton and neutron numbers away from stability are known as exotic, and provide stringent tests of nuclear models, mainly developed for the description of stable nuclei. However, only the most extreme combinations lead to literally exotic structures, with sometimes unexpected properties. In this contribution we review some selected examples around the neutron dripline of very light elements: neutron halo structures with embedded substructures in the boron chain; the emission of neutron pairs in $^{16}$Be; and the existence of multi-neutron resonances in `superheavy' hydrogen isotopes.

• State diagrams to determine tree tensor network operators

  Richard M. Milbradt, Qunsheng Huang, Christian B. Mendl

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 036 (2024) · published 19 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  This work is concerned with tree tensor network operators (TTNOs) for representing quantum Hamiltonians. We first establish a mathematical framework connecting tree topologies with state diagrams. Based on these, we devise an algorithm for constructing a TTNO given a Hamiltonian. The algorithm exploits the tensor product structure of the Hamiltonian to add paths to a state diagram, while combining local operators if possible. We test the capabilities of our algorithm on random Hamiltonians for a given tree structure. Additionally, we construct explicit TTNOs for nearest neighbour interactions on a tree topology. Furthermore, we derive a bound on the bond dimension of tensor operators representing arbitrary interactions on trees. Finally, we consider an open quantum system in the form of a Heisenberg spin chain coupled to bosonic bath sites as a concrete example. We find that tree structures allow for lower bond dimensions of the Hamiltonian tensor network representation compared to a matrix product operator structure. This reduction is large enough to reduce the number of total tensor elements required as soon as the number of baths per spin reaches 3.

• Quasi-particle functional renormalisation group calculations in the two-dimensional t-t'-Hubbard model

  Daniel Rohe

  SciPost Phys. 15, 192 (2023) · published 13 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We extend and apply a recently introduced quasi-particle functional renormalisation group scheme to the two-dimensional Hubbard model with next-nearest-neighbour hopping and away from half filling. We confirm the generation of superconducting correlations in some regions of the phase diagram, but also find that the inclusion of self-energy feedback by means of a decreasing quasi-particle weight can suppress superconducting tendencies more than anti-ferromagnetic correlations by which they are generated. As a supplement, we provide sample results for the self-energy in second-order perturbation theory and address some conceptual matters.

• Impact of uncertainties of unbound 10Li on the ground state of two-neutron halo 11Li

  Jagjit Singh, Wataru Horiuchi

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 3, 007 (2020) · published 24 February 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recently, the energy spectrum of 10Li was measured upto 4.6 MeV, via one-neutron transfer reaction d(9Li, p)10Li. Considering the ambiguities on the 10Li continuum spectrum with reference to new data, we report the con guration mixing in the ground state of the two-neutron halo nucleus 11Li for two different choices of the 9Li+n potential. For the present study, we employ a three-body (core+n+n) structure model developed for describing the two-neutron halo system by explicit coupling of unbound continuum states of the subsystem (core+n), and discuss the two-neutron correlations in the ground state of 11Li.

• Cosmic censorship of trans-Planckian field ranges in gravitational collapse

  Himanshu Chaudhary, Chethan Krishnan

  SciPost Phys. 9, 036 (2020) · published 11 September 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A classical solution where the (scalar) field value moves by an ${\cal O}(1)$ range in Planck units is believed to signal the breakdown of Effective Field Theory (EFT). One heuristic argument for this is that such a field will have enough energy to be inside its own Schwarzschild radius, and will result in collapse. In this paper, we consider an inverse problem: what kind of field ranges arise during the gravitational collapse of a classical field? Despite the fact that collapse has been studied for almost a hundred years, most of the discussion is phrased in terms of fluid stress tensors, and not fields. An exception is the scalar collapse made famous by Choptuik. We re-consider Choptuik-like systems, but with the emphasis now on the evolution of the scalar. We give strong evidence that generic spherically symmetric collapse of a massless scalar field leads to super-Planckian field movement. But we also note that in every such supercritical collapse scenario, the large field range is hidden behind an apparent horizon. We also discuss how the familiar perfect fluid models for collapse like Oppenheimer-Snyder and Vaidya should be viewed in light of our results.

• Symmetry energy in holographic QCD

  Lorenzo Bartolini, Sven Bjarke Gudnason

  SciPost Phys. 16, 156 (2024) · published 19 June 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the symmetry energy (SE), an important quantity in nuclear physics, in the Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model and in a much simpler hard-wall model of holographic QCD. The SE is the energy contribution to the nucleus due to having an unequal number of neutrons and protons. Using a homogeneous Ansatz representing smeared instantons and quantizing their isospin, we extract the SE and the proton fraction assuming charge neutrality and beta-equilibrium, using quantization of the isospin zeromode. We also show the equivalence between our method adapted from solitons and the usual way of the isospin controlled by a chemical potential at the holographic boundary. We find that the SE can be well described in the WSS model if we allow for a larger 't Hooft coupling and lower Kaluza-Klein scale than is normally used in phenomenological fits.

• Low-energy neutron scattering on light nuclei and $^{19}$B as a $^{17}$B-$n$-$n$ three-body system in the unitary limit

  Jaume Carbonell, Emiko Hiyama, Rimantas Lazauskas, F. Miguel Marqués

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 3, 008 (2020) · published 24 February 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider the evolution of the neutron-nucleus scattering length for the lightest nuclei. We show that, when increasing the number of neutrons in the target nucleus, the strong Pauli repulsion is weakened and the balance with the attractive nucleon-nucleon interaction results into a resonant virtual state in $^{18}$B. We describe $^{19}$B in terms of a $^{17}$B-$n$-$n$ three-body system where the two-body subsystems $^{17}$B-$n$ and $n$-$n$ are unbound (virtual) states close to the unitary limit. The energy of $^{19}$B ground state is well reproduced and two low-lying resonances are predicted. Their eventual link with the Efimov physics is discussed. This model can be extended to describe the recently discovered resonant states in $^{20,21}$B.

• Muon measurements at the Pierre Auger Observatory

  Dariusz Góra

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 15, 020 (2024) · published 3 April 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The Pierre Auger Observatory is the world's largest detector for observation of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) (above the energy of $10^{17}$ eV). It consists of a Fluorescence Detector (FD) and an array of particle detectors known as the Surface Detector (SD). Observations of extensive air showers by the Observatory can be used to probe hadronic interactions at high energy, in a kinematic and energy region inaccessible to experiments at man-made accelerators and to measure the muon component of the shower. Air showers induced by different primaries have different muon contents. With increasing mass of the primary cosmic ray particle, it is expected that the muon content in the corresponding air showers should also increase. Therefore, the determination of the muon component in the air shower is crucial to infer the mass of the primary particle. This is a key ingredient in the searches conducted to pinpoint the sources of UHECRs. Recent results obtained from the Pierre Auger Observatory and other experiments indicate that all the shower simulations underestimate the number of muons in the showers compared to the data. This is the so-called muon deficit. In this paper we briefly review the muon measurements, and present in more detail recent results on fluctuations in the muon number. These results provide new insights into the origin of the muon deficit in air shower simulations and constrain the models of hadronic interactions at ultrahigh energies. With the current design of the surface detectors it is also difficult to reliably separate the contributions of muons to the SD signal from the contributions of photons, electrons, and positrons. Therefore, we also present a new method to extract the muon component of the signal time traces recorded by each SD station using recurrent neural networks. The combination of such algorithms, with the future data collected by the upgraded Pierre Auger Observatory, will be a major step forward, as we are likely to achieve an unprecedented resolution in mass estimation on an event-by-event basis.