Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Twistor space origins of the Newman-Penrose map

  Kara Farnsworth, Michael L. Graesser, Gabriel Herczeg

  SciPost Phys. 13, 099 (2022) · published 24 October 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Recently, we introduced the "Newman-Penrose map", a novel correspondence between a certain class of solutions of Einstein's equations and self-dual solutions of the vacuum Maxwell equations, which we showed was closely related to the classical double copy. Here, we give an alternative definition of this correspondence in terms of quantities that are defined naturally on twistor space, and a shear-free null geodesic congruence on Minkowski space whose twistorial character is articulated by the Kerr theorem. The advantage of this reformulation is that it is purely geometrical in nature, being manifestly invariant under both spacetime diffeomorphisms and projective transformations on twistor space. While the original formulation of the map may be more convenient for most explicit calculations, the twistorial formulation we present here may be of greater theoretical utility.

  11 citations

• Fusion rules in a Majorana single-charge transistor

  Rubén Seoane Souto, Martin Leijnse

  SciPost Phys. 12, 161 (2022) · published 16 May 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A demonstration of the theoretically predicted non-abelian properties of Majorana bound states (MBSs) would constitute a definite proof of a topological superconducting phase. Alongside the nontrivial braiding statistics, the fusion rules are fundamental properties of all non-abelian anyons. In this work, we propose and theoretically analyze a way to demonstrate MBS fusion rules in a Majorana single-charge transistor. Our proposal reduces both the number of operations and the device complexity compared to previous designs. Furthermore, we show that the fusion protocol can be adapted to pump a quantized amount of charge in each cycle, providing a straightforward method to detect fusion rules through a DC current measurement. We analyze the protocol numerically and analytically and show that the required operational timescales and expected measurement signals are within experimental capabilities in various superconductor-semiconductor hybrid platforms.

  11 citations

• Actual Physics behind Mono-X

  Elias Bernreuther, Jan Horak, Tilman Plehn, Anja Butter

  SciPost Phys. 5, 034 (2018) · published 17 October 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Mono-X searches are standard dark matter search strategies at the LHC. First, we show how in the case of initial state radiation they essentially collapse to mono-jet searches. Second, we systematically study mono-X signatures from decays of heavier dark matter states. Direct detection constraints strongly limit our MSSM expectations, but largely vanish for mono-Z and mono-Higgs signals once we include light NMSSM mediators. Finally, the decay topology motivates mono-W-pair and mono-Higgs-pair searches, strengthening and complementing their mono-X counterparts.

  11 citations

• Transport through interacting defects and lack of thermalisation

  Giuseppe Del Vecchio Del Vecchio, Andrea De Luca, Alvise Bastianello

  SciPost Phys. 12, 060 (2022) · published 14 February 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider 1D integrable systems supporting ballistic propagation of excitations, perturbed by a localised defect that breaks most conservation laws and induces chaotic dynamics. Focusing on classical systems, we study an out-of-equilibrium protocol engineered activating the defect in an initially homogeneous and far from the equilibrium state. We find that large enough defects induce full thermalisation at their center, but nonetheless the outgoing flow of carriers emerging from the defect is non-thermal due to a generalization of the celebrated Boundary Thermal Resistance effect, occurring at the edges of the chaotic region. Our results are obtained combining ab-initio numerical simulations for relatively small-sized defects, with the solution of the Boltzmann equation, which becomes exact in the scaling limit of large, but weak defects.

  11 citations

• An invitation to the principal series

  Tarek Anous, Jim Skulte

  SciPost Phys. 9, 028 (2020) · published 1 September 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Scalar unitary representations of the isometry group of $d$-dimensional de Sitter space $SO(1,d)$ are labeled by their conformal weights $\Delta$. A salient feature of de Sitter space is that scalar fields with sufficiently large mass compared to the de Sitter scale $1/\ell$ have complex conformal weights, and physical modes of these fields fall into the unitary continuous principal series representation of $SO(1,d)$. Our goal is to study these representations in $d=2$, where the relevant group is $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$. We show that the generators of the isometry group of dS$_2$ acting on a massive scalar field reproduce the quantum mechanical model introduced by de Alfaro, Fubini and Furlan (DFF) in the early/late time limit. Motivated by the ambient dS$_2$ construction, we review in detail how the DFF model must be altered in order to accommodate the principal series representation. We point out a difficulty in writing down a classical Lagrangian for this model, whereas the canonical Hamiltonian formulation avoids any problem. We speculate on the meaning of the various de Sitter invariant vacua from the point of view of this toy model and discuss some potential generalizations.

  11 citations

• Peacock patterns and new integer invariants in topological string theory

  Jie Gu, Marcos Mariño

  SciPost Phys. 12, 058 (2022) · published 11 February 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Topological string theory near the conifold point of a Calabi-Yau threefold gives rise to factorially divergent power series which encode the all-genus enumerative information. These series lead to infinite towers of singularities in their Borel plane (also known as "peacock patterns"), and we conjecture that the corresponding Stokes constants are integer invariants of the Calabi-Yau threefold. We calculate these Stokes constants in some toric examples, confirming our conjecture and providing in some cases explicit generating functions for the new integer invariants, in the form of q-series. Our calculations in the toric case rely on the TS/ST correspondence, which promotes the asymptotic series near the conifold point to spectral traces of operators, and makes it easier to identify the Stokes data. The resulting mathematical structure turns out to be very similar to the one of complex Chern-Simons theory. In particular, spectral traces correspond to state integral invariants and factorize in holomorphic/anti-holomorphic blocks.

  11 citations

• Fast simulation of detector effects in Rivet

  Andy Buckley, Deepak Kar, Karl Nordström

  SciPost Phys. 8, 025 (2020) · published 10 February 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We describe the design and implementation of detector-bias emulation in the Rivet MC event analysis system. Implemented using C++ efficiency and kinematic smearing functors, it allows detector effects to be specified within an analysis routine, customised to the exact phase-space and reconstruction working points of the analysis. A set of standard detector functions for the physics objects of Runs 1 and 2 of the ATLAS and CMS experiments is also provided. Finally, as jet substructure is an important class of physics observable usually considered to require an explicit detector simulation, we demonstrate that a smearing approach, tuned to available substructure data and implemented in Rivet, can accurately reproduce jet-structure biases observed by ATLAS.

  11 citations

• Charge order from structured coupling in VSe$_2$

  Jans Henke, Felix Flicker, Jude Laverock, Jasper van Wezel

  SciPost Phys. 9, 056 (2020) · published 21 October 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Charge order -- ubiquitous among correlated materials -- is customarily described purely as an instability of the electronic structure. However, the resulting theoretical predictions often do not match high-resolution experimental data. A pertinent case is $1T$-VSe$_2$, whose single-band Fermi surface and weak-coupling nature make it qualitatively similar to the Peierls model underlying the traditional approach. Despite this, its Fermi surface is poorly nested, the thermal evolution of its charge density wave (CDW) ordering vectors displays an unexpected jump, and the CDW gap itself evades detection in direct probes of the electronic structure. We demonstrate that the thermal variation of the CDW vectors is naturally reproduced by the electronic susceptibility when incorporating a structured, momentum-dependent electron-phonon coupling, while the evasive CDW gap presents itself as a localized suppression of spectral weight centered above the Fermi level. Our results showcase the general utility of incorporating a structured coupling in the description of charge ordered materials, including those that appear unconventional.

  11 citations

• Breathing distortions in the metallic, antiferromagnetic phase of LaNiO$_3$

  Alaska Subedi

  SciPost Phys. 5, 020 (2018) · published 5 September 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  I study the structural and magnetic instabilities in LaNiO$_3$ using density functional theory calculations. From the non-spin-polarized structural relaxations, I find that several structures with different Glazer tilts lie close in energy. The $Pnma$ structure is marginally favored compared to the $R\overline{3}c$ structure in my calculations, suggesting the presence of finite-temperature structural fluctuations and a possible proximity to a structural quantum critical point. In the spin-polarized relaxations, both structures exhibit the $\uparrow\!\!0\!\!\downarrow\!\!0$ antiferromagnetic ordering with a rock-salt arrangement of the octahedral breathing distortions. The energy gain due to the breathing distortions is larger than that due to the antiferromagnetic ordering. These phases are semimetallic with small three-dimensional Fermi pockets, which is largely consistent with the recent observation of the coexistence of antiferromagnetism and metallicity in LaNiO$_3$ single crystals by Guo et al. [Nat. Commun. 9, 43 (2018)].

  11 citations

• Time-resolved electrical detection of chiral edge vortex braiding

  İnanç Adagideli, Fabian Hassler, Aurélien Grabsch, Michał Pacholski, Carlo W. J. Beenakker

  SciPost Phys. 8, 013 (2020) · published 29 January 2020 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  A $\boldsymbol{2\pi}$ phase shift across a Josephson junction in a topological superconductor injects vortices into the chiral edge modes at opposite ends of the junction. When two vortices are fused they transfer charge into a metal contact. We calculate the time dependent current profile for the fusion process, which consists of $\boldsymbol{\pm e/2}$ charge pulses that flip sign if the world lines of the vortices are braided prior to the fusion. This is an electrical signature of the non-Abelian exchange of Majorana zero-modes.

  11 citations