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Showing votes from 2024-01-09 11:30 to 2024-01-12 12:30 | Next meeting is Friday Oct 25th, 11:30 am.
This study aims to investigate the strong gravitational lensing effects in $f(T)$ gravity. We present the theoretical analytic expressions for the lensing effects in $f(T)$ gravity, including deflection angle, magnification, and time delay. On this basis, we also take the plasma lensing effect into consideration. We compare the lensing effects between the General Relativity in a vacuum environment and the $f(T)$ gravity in a plasma environment. From a strongly lensed fast radio burst, the results indicate that in a plasma environment, General Relativity and $f(T)$ gravity can generate indistinguishable image positions, but the magnification and time delay on these positions are significantly different, which can be distinguished by current facilities in principle. Therefore, the discrepancies between observational results and theoretical expectations can serve as clues for a modified gravity theory and provide constraints on $f(T)$ gravity.
We report observations of CO($J$=9$\to$8) and OH$^+$($N$=1$\to$0) toward the four millimeter-selected lensed starburst galaxies SPT 2354-58, 0150-69, 0314-44, and 0452-50, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Compact Array (ALMA/ACA), as part of a larger study of OH$^+$ in the early universe. In this work, we use these observations for the main purpose of spectroscopic redshift measurements. For all sources except 0452-50, we confirm the previously reported most likely redshifts, and we find typical CO and OH$^+$ properties for massive starbursts. For 0452-50, we rule out the previously reported value of $z$=2.0105, measuring a firm redshift of $z$=5.0160 based on [OI], [CII], H$_2$O, and CO emission instead when adding in ancillary ALMA data. Previously, 0452-50 was considered an outlier in relations between dust temperature, far-infrared luminosity and redshift, which may have hinted at an unusually cold starburst with a dust temperature of only $T_{\rm dust}$=(21$\pm$2) K. Instead, our new measurements suggest it to be among highly luminous massive dusty starbursts at $z$$>$5, with rather typical properties within that population. We find a revised dust temperature of $T_{\rm dust}$=(76.2$\pm$2.5) K, and updated lensing-corrected far-infrared and infrared luminosities of (2.35$^{+0.09}_{-0.08}$) and (4.07$^{+0.25}_{-0.27}$)$\times$10$^{13}$ $L_\odot$, respectively - i.e., about an order of magnitude higher than previously reported. We thus do not find evidence for the existence of unusually cold starburst galaxies in the early universe that were missed by previous selection techniques.
Dark matter may be detected in X-ray decay, including from the decay of the dark matter particles that make up the Milky Way (MW) halo. We use a range of density profiles to compute X-ray line intensity profiles, with a focus on the resonantly produced sterile neutrino dark matter candidate. Compared to the Navarro--Frenk--White density profile, we show that using an adiabatically contracted halo profile suppresses the line intensity in the halo outskirts and enhances it in the Galactic Centre (GC), although this enhancement is eliminated by the likely presence of a core within 3~kpc. Comparing our results to MW halo observations, other X-ray observations, and structure formation constraints implies a sterile neutrino mixing angle parameter $s_{11}\equiv\sin^{2}(2\theta)\times10^{11}\sim[3,4]$ (particle lifetime $\tau_{28}\equiv\tau/(10^{28}\mathrm{sec})\sim[1.0,1.3]$), which is nevertheless is strong tension with some reported non-detections. We make predictions for the likely decay flux that the XRISM satellite would measure in the GC, plus the Virgo and Perseus clusters, and outline further steps to determine whether the dark matter is indeed resonantly produced sterile neutrinos as detected in X-ray decay.
It has been claimed that the variability of field quasars resembles gravitational lensing by a large cosmological population of free-floating planets with mass of about 10 Earths. But Galactic photometric monitoring experiments, on the other hand, exclude a large population of such planetary-mass gravitational lenses. These apparently contradictory pieces of evidence can be reconciled if the objects under consideration have a mean column-density that lies between the critical column-densities for gravitational lensing in these two contexts. Dark matter in that form is known to be weakly collisional, so that a core develops in galaxy halo density profiles, and a preferred model has already been established. Here we consider what such a model implies for Q2237+0305, which is the best-studied example of a quasar that is strongly lensed by an intervening galaxy. We construct microlensing magnification maps appropriate to the four macro-images of the quasar -- all of which are seen through the bulge of the galaxy. Each of these maps exhibits a caustic network arising from the stars, plus many small, isolated caustics arising from the free-floating "planets" in the lens galaxy. The "planets" have little influence on the magnification histograms but a large effect on the statistics of the magnification gradients. We compare our predictions to the published OGLE photometry of Q2237+0305 and find that these data are consistent with the presence of the hypothetical "planets". However, the evidence is relatively weak because the OGLE dataset is not well suited to testing our predictions and requires low-pass filtering for this application. New data from a large, space-based telescope are desirable to address this issue.
There is compelling evidence that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in high-density regions have undergone a different evolution than their counterparts in the field, indicating that they are strongly affected by their environment. To investigate the various factors that may affect the prevalence of AGNs in cluster galaxies, we selected a sample of 19 thoroughly studied X-ray-selected galaxy clusters from the LoCuSS survey. All these clusters are considered massive, with $M_{500}\gtrsim 2\times10^{14} M_{solar}$, and span a narrow redshift range between $z\sim$0.16 and 0.28. We divided the cluster surroundings into two concentric annuli with a width of $R_{500}$ radius. We further divided the cluster sample based on the presence of infalling X-ray-detected groups, cluster mass, or dynamical state. We found that the X-ray AGN fraction in the outskirts is consistent with the field, but it is significantly lower in cluster centres, in agreement with previous results for massive clusters. We show that these results do not depend on cluster mass. Furthermore, we did not find any evidence of a spatial correlation between infalling groups and AGNs. Nevertheless, a significant excess of X-ray AGNs is found in the outskirts of relaxed clusters at the 2$\sigma$ confidence level, compared both to non-relaxed clusters and to the field. Our results suggest that the mechanisms that trigger AGN activity may vary between cluster centres and the outskirts. Ram pressure can efficiently remove the gas from infalling galaxies, thereby triggering AGN activity in some cases. However, the reduced availability of gas globally diminishes the fraction of AGNs in cluster centers. The surplus of X-ray AGNs identified in the outskirts of relaxed clusters may be attributed to an increased frequency of galaxy mergers, a notion that is further supported by the disturbed morphology observed in several galaxies.
Self--interactions of dark matter particles impact the distribution of dark matter in halos. The exact nature of the self--interactions can lead to either expansion or collapse of the core within the halo lifetime, leaving distinctive signatures in the dark matter distributions not only at the halo center but throughout the virial region. Optical galaxy surveys, which precisely measure the weak lensing of background galaxies by massive foreground clusters, allow us to directly measure the matter distribution within clusters and probe subtle effects of self--interacting dark matter (SIDM) throughout the halo's full radial range. We compare the weak--lensing measurements reported by Shin et al. 2021, which use lens clusters identified by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Survey and source galaxies from the Dark Energy Survey, with predictions from SIDM models having either elastic or dissipative self--interactions. To model the weak--lensing observables, we use cosmological N-body simulations for elastic self--interactions and semi-analytical fluid simulations for dissipative self--interactions. We find that current weak--lensing measurements already constrain the isotropic and elastic SIDM to a cross-section per mass of $\sigma/m<1~{\rm cm^2/g}$ at a $95\%$ confidence level. The same measurements also impose novel constraints on the energy loss per unit mass for dissipative SIDM. Upcoming surveys are anticipated to enhance the signal-to-noise of weak--lensing observables significantly making them effective tools for investigating the nature of dark matter, including self--interactions, through weak lensing.
The efficiency of radio emission is an important unknown parameter of early galaxies at cosmic dawn, as models with high efficiency have been shown to modify the cosmological 21-cm signal substantially, deepening the absorption trough and boosting the 21-cm power spectrum. Such models have been previously directly constrained by the overall extragalactic radio background as observed by ARCADE-2 and LWA-1. In this work, we constrain the clustering of high redshift radio sources by utilizing the observed upper limits on arcminute-scale anisotropy from the VLA at 4.9~GHz and ATCA at 8.7~GHz. Using a semi-numerical simulation of a plausible astrophysical model for illustration, we show that the clustering constraints on the radio efficiency are much stronger than those from the overall background intensity, by a factor that varies from 12 at redshift 7 to 30 at redshift 22. As a result, the predicted maximum depth of the global 21-cm signal is lowered by a factor of 5 (to 1700~mK), and the maximum 21-cm power spectrum peak at cosmic dawn is lowered by a factor of 24 (to $2\times 10^5$~mK$^2$). We conclude that the observed clustering is the strongest current direct constraint on such models, but strong early radio emission from galaxies remains viable for producing a strongly enhanced 21-cm signal from cosmic dawn.
The Bodeker-Moore thermal friction is usually used to determine whether or not a bubble wall can run away. However, the friction on the wall is not necessarily a monotonous function of the wall velocity and could have a maximum before it reaches the Bodeker-Moore limit. In this paper, we compare the maximal hydrodynamic obstruction, i.e., a frictional force in local thermal equilibrium that originates from inhomogeneous temperature distribution across the wall, and the Bodeker-Moore thermal friction. We study the former in a fully analytical way, clarifying its physical origin and providing a simple expression for its corresponding critical phase transition strength above which the driving force cannot be balanced out by the maximal hydrodynamic obstruction. We find that for large parameter space, the maximal hydrodynamic obstruction is larger than the Bodeker-Moore thermal friction, indicating that the conventional criterion for the runaway behavior of the bubble wall must be modified. We also explain how to apply efficiently the modified criterion to particle physics models and discuss possible limitations of the analysis carried out in this paper.
Based on a recently proposed reinterpretation of gravitational wave memory that builds up on the definition of gravitational waves pioneered by Isaacson, we provide a unifying framework to derive both ordinary and null memory from a single well-defined equation at leading order in the asymptotic expansion. This allows us to formulate a memory equation that is valid for any unbound asymptotic energy-flux that preserves local Lorentz invariance. Using Horndeski gravity as a concrete example metric theory with an additional potentially massive scalar degree of freedom in the gravitational sector, the general memory formula is put into practice by presenting the first account of the memory correction sourced by the emission of massive field waves. Throughout the work, physical degrees of freedom are identified by constructing manifestly gauge invariant perturbation variables within an SVT decomposition on top of the asymptotic Minkowski background, which will in particular prove useful in future studies of gravitational wave memory within vector tensor theories.
Using the pair-count implementaion from the Corrfunc package we show that with a low discrepency sequence we can calculate the two-point correlation function more accurately than with random points at no extra computational cost.
It is shown that the evolution of an axially and reflection symmetric fluid distribution, satisfying the Tolman condition for thermal equilibrium, is not accompanied by the emission of gravitational radiation. This result, which was conjectured by Bondi many years ago, expresses the irreversibility associated to the emission of gravitational waves. The observational consequences emerging from this result are commented. The resulting models are not only non--dissipative and vorticity free, but also shear--free and geodesic, furthermore all their complexity factors vanish.
We present a systematic study of cosmological parameter bias in weak lensing and large-scale structure analyses for upcoming imaging surveys induced by the interplay of intrinsic alignments (IA) and photometric redshift (photo-z) model mis-specification error. We first examine the degeneracies between the parameters of the Tidal Alignment - Tidal Torquing (TATT) model for IA and of a photo-z model including a mean shift ($\Delta \bar{z}$) and variance ($\sigma_{z}$) for each tomographic bin of lenses and sources, under a variety of underlying true IA behaviors. We identify strong degeneracies between: (1) the redshift scaling of the tidal alignment amplitude and the mean shift and variances of source bins, (2) the redshift scaling of the tidal torquing amplitude and the variance of the lowest-$z$ source bin, and (3) the IA source density weighting and the mean shift and variance of several source bins. We then use this information to guide our exploration of the level of cosmological parameter bias which can be induced given incorrect modelling of IA, photo-z, or both. We find that marginalizing over all the parameters of TATT is generally sufficient to preclude cosmological parameter bias in the scenarios we consider. However, this does not necessarily mean that IA and photo-z parameters are themselves unbiased, nor does it mean that the best-fit model is a good fit to the data. We also find scenarios where the inferred parameters produce $\chi^2_{\rm DOF}$ values indicative of a good fit but cosmological parameter bias is significant, particularly when the IA source density weighting parameter is not marginalized over.
The symmetry-breaking first-order phase transition between superfluid phases $^3$He-A and $^3$He-B can be triggered extrinsically by ionising radiation or heterogeneous nucleation arising from the details of the sample cell construction. However, the role of potential homogeneous intrinsic nucleation mechanisms remains elusive. Discovering and resolving the intrinsic processes may have cosmological consequences, since an analogous first-order phase transition, and the production of gravitational waves, has been predicted for the very early stages of the expanding Universe in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. Here we introduce a new approach for probing the phase transition in superfluid $^3$He. The setup consists of a novel stepped-height nanofluidic sample container with close to atomically smooth walls. The $^3$He is confined in five tiny nanofabricated volumes and assayed non-invasively by NMR. Tuning of the state of $^3$He by confinement is used to isolate each of these five volumes so that the phase transitions in them can occur independently and free from any obvious sources of heterogeneous nucleation. The small volumes also ensure that the transitions triggered by ionising radiation are strongly suppressed. Here we present the preliminary measurements using this setup, showing both strong supercooling of $^3$He-A and superheating of $^3$He-B, with stochastic processes dominating the phase transitions between the two. The objective is to study the nucleation as a function of temperature and pressure over the full phase diagram, to both better test the proposed extrinsic mechanisms and seek potential parallel intrinsic mechanisms.
We present a simple but powerful Lagrangian method that can be used to study the post-Newtonian evolution of a compact binary system with environment, including a dark matter spike, around it, and obtain the resulting gravitational wave emission. This formalism allows one to incorporate post-Newtonian effects up to any desired known order, as well as any other environmental effect around the binary, as long as their dissipation power or force formulae are known. In particular, in this work, we employ this method to study a black hole-black hole binary system of mass ratio $10^5$, by including post-Newtonian effects of order 1PN and 2.5PN as well as the effect of relativistic dynamical friction. We obtain the modified orbits and the corresponding modified gravitational waveform. Finally, we contrast these modifications against the LISA sensitivity curve in frequency space and show that this observatory can detect the associated signals.
Dark matter that interacts strongly with baryons can avoid the stringent dark matter direct detection constraints, because, like baryons, they are likely to be absorbed when traversing the rocks, leading to a suppressed flux in deep underground labs. Such strongly interacting dark matter, however, can be probed by dark matter experiments or other experiments operated on the ground level or in the atmosphere. In this paper we carry out systematic analysis of two of these experiments, XQC and CSR, to compute the experimental constraints on the strongly interacting dark matter in the following three scenarios: (1) spin-independent and spin-dependent interactions; (2) different velocity dependent cross sections; (3) different dark matter mass fractions. Some of the scenarios are first analyzed in the literature. We find that the XQC exclusion region has some non-trivial dependencies on the various parameters and the limits in the spin-dependent case is quite different from the spin-independent case. A peculiar region in the parameter space, where the XQC constraint disappears, is also found in our Monte Carlo simulations. This occurs in the case where the interaction cross section is proportional to the square of the velocity. We further compare our XQC and CSR limits to other experimental constraints, and find that a large parameter space is allowed by various experiments if the dark matter mass fraction is sufficiently small, $f_\chi\lesssim 10^{-4}$.
Early dark energy (EDE) is one of the most promising possibilities in order to resolve the Hubble tension: the discrepancy between early and late-Universe measurements of the Hubble constant. In this paper we propose a model of a scalar field which can explain both EDE and late Dark Energy (DE) in a joined manner without additional fine-tuning. The field features kinetic poles as with alpha-attractors. Our model provides an injection of EDE near matter-radiation equality, and redshifts away shortly after via free-fall, later refreezing to become late-time DE at the present day. Using reasonable estimates of the current constraints on EDE from the literature, we find that the parameter space is narrow but viable. As such our model is readily falsifiable. In contrast to other work in EDE, our model is non-oscillatory, which causes its decay to be faster than that of the usual oscillatory EDE, thereby achieving better agreement with observations.
We discuss comparatively local versus gauged Weyl symmetry beyond Standard Model (SM) and Einstein gravity and their geometric interpretation. The SM and Einstein gravity admit a natural embedding in Weyl integrable geometry which is a special limit of Weyl conformal (non-metric) geometry. The theory has a {\it local} Weyl scale symmetry but no associated gauge boson. Unlike previous models with such symmetry, this embedding is truly minimal i.e. with no additional fields beyond SM and underlying geometry. This theory is compared to a similar minimal embedding of SM and Einstein gravity in Weyl conformal geometry (SMW) which has a full {\it gauged} scale invariance, with an associated Weyl gauge boson. At large field values, both theories give realistic, Starobinsky-Higgs like inflation. The broken phase of the current model is the decoupling limit of the massive Weyl gauge boson of the broken phase of SMW, while the local scale symmetry of the current model is part of the larger gauged scale symmetry of SMW. Hence, the current theory has a gauge embedding in SMW. Unlike in the SMW, we note that in models with local scale symmetry the associated current is trivial, which is a concern for the physical meaning of this symmetry. Therefore, the SMW is a more fundamental UV completion of SM in a full gauge theory of scale invariance that generates Einstein gravity in the (spontaneously) broken phase, as an effective theory.
Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) are considered the most reliable \textit{standard candles} and they have played an invaluable role in cosmology since the discovery of the Universe's accelerated expansion. During the last decades, the SNe Ia samples have been improved in number, redshift coverage, calibration methodology, and systematics treatment. These efforts led to the most recent \textit{``Pantheon"} (2018) and \textit{``Pantheon +"} (2022) releases, which enable to constrain cosmological parameters more precisely than previous samples. In this era of precision cosmology, the community strives to find new ways to reduce uncertainties on cosmological parameters. To this end, we start our investigation even from the likelihood assumption of Gaussianity, implicitly used in this domain. Indeed, the usual practise involves constraining parameters through a Gaussian distance moduli likelihood. This method relies on the implicit assumption that the difference between the distance moduli measured and the ones expected from the cosmological model is Gaussianly distributed. In this work, we test this hypothesis for both the \textit{Pantheon} and \textit{Pantheon +} releases. We find that in both cases this requirement is not fulfilled and the actual underlying distributions are a logistic and a Student's t distribution for the \textit{Pantheon} and \textit{Pantheon +} data, respectively. When we apply these new likelihoods fitting a flat $\Lambda$CDM model, we significantly reduce the uncertainties on $\Omega_M$ and $H_0$ of $\sim 40 \%$. This boosts the SNe Ia power in constraining cosmological parameters, thus representing a huge step forward to shed light on the current debated tensions in cosmology.
The recent decade has seen an exponential growth in spatially-resolved metallicity measurements in the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. To first order, these measurements are characterised by the slope of the radial metallicity profile, known as the metallicity gradient. In this work, we model the relative role of star formation feedback, gas transport, cosmic gas accretion, and galactic winds in driving radial metallicity profiles and setting the mass-metallicity gradient relation (MZGR). We include a comprehensive treatment of these processes by including them as sources that supply mass, metals, and energy to marginally unstable galactic discs in pressure and energy balance. We show that both feedback and accretion that can drive turbulence and enhance metal-mixing via diffusion are crucial to reproduce the observed MZGR in local galaxies. Metal transport also contributes to setting metallicity profiles, but it is sensitive to the strength of radial gas flows in galaxies. While the mass loading of galactic winds is important to reproduce the mass metallicity relation (MZR), we find that metal mass loading is more important to reproducing the MZGR. Specifically, our model predicts preferential metal enrichment of galactic winds in low-mass galaxies. This conclusion is robust against our adopted scaling of the wind mass-loading factor, uncertainties in measured wind metallicities, and systematics due to metallicity calibrations. Overall, we find that at $z \sim 0$, galactic winds and metal transport are more important in setting metallicity gradients in low-mass galaxies whereas star formation feedback and gas accretion dominate setting metallicity gradients in massive galaxies.
The main aim of this paper is to present the multi scalar field components as candidates to be the dark energy of the universe and their observational constraints. We start with the canonical Quintessence and Phantom fields with quadratic potentials and show that a more complex model should bear in mind to satisfy current cosmological observations. Then we present some implications for a combination of two fields, named as Quintom models. We consider two types of models, one as the sum of the quintessence and phantom potentials and other including an interacting term between fields. We find that adding one extra degree of freedom, by the interacting term, the dynamics enriches considerably and could lead to an improvement in the fit of $-2\ln\Delta \Like_{\rm max}= 5.19$, compared to $\Lambda$CDM. The resultant effective equation of state is now able to cross the phantom divide line, and in several cases present an oscillatory or discontinuous behavior, depending on the interaction value. The parameter constraints of the scalar field models (quintessence, phantom, quintom and interacting quintom) were performed using Cosmic Chronometers, Supernovae Ia and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations data; and the Log-Bayes factors were computed to compare the performance of the models. We show that single scalar fields may face serious troubles and hence the necessity of a more complex models, i.e. multiple fields.
The low brightness dust emission at high Galactic latitude is of interest to study the interplay between physical processes in shaping the structure of the interstellar medium (ISM), as well as to statistically characterize dust emission as a foreground to the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Progress in this avenue of research have been hampered by the difficulty of separating the dust emission from the Cosmic Infrared Background (CIB). We demonstrate that dust and CIB may be effectively separated based on their different structure on the sky and use the separation to characterize the structure of diffuse dust emission on angular scales where CIB is a significant component in terms of power. We use scattering transform statistics, the Wavelet Phase Harmonics (WPH), to perform a statistical component separation using Herschel SPIRE observations. This component separation is done only from observational data using non-Gaussian properties as a lever arm, and is done at a single 250 microns frequency. This method, that we validate on mock data, gives us access to non-Gaussian statistics of the interstellar dust and an output dust map essentially free from CIB contamination. Our statistical modelling characterizes the non-Gaussian structure of the diffuse ISM down to the smallest scales observed by Herschel. We recover the power-law shape of the dust power spectrum up to a wavenumber of 2 arcmin$^{-1}$ where the dust signal represents 2 percent of the total power. The output dust map reveals coherent structures at the smallest scales which were hidden by the CIB anisotropies. It opens new observational perspectives on the formation of structure in the diffuse ISM which we discuss with reference to past work. We have succeeded to perform a statistical separation from observational data only at a single frequency by using non-Gaussian statistics.
We investigate, in dark matter and galaxy mocks, the effects of approximating the galaxy power spectrum-bispectrum estimated covariance as a diagonal matrix, for an analysis that aligns with the specifications of recent and upcoming galaxy surveys. We find that, for a joint power spectrum and bispectrum data-vector, with corresponding $k$-ranges of $0.02<k\,[h{\rm Mpc}^{-1}]<0.15$ and $0.02<k\,[h{\rm Mpc}^{-1}]<0.12$ each, the diagonal covariance approximation recovers $\sim 10\%$ larger error-bars on the parameters $\{\sigma_8,f,\alpha_\parallel,\alpha_\bot\}$ with respect to the full covariance case, while still underestimating the corresponding true errors on the recovered parameters by $\sim 10\%$. This is caused by the diagonal approximations weighting the elements of the data-vector in a sub-optimal way, resulting in a less efficient estimator, with poor coverage properties, than the maximum likelihood estimator featuring the full covariance matrix. We further investigate intermediate approximations to the full covariance matrix, with up to $\sim 80\%$ of the matrix elements being zero, which could be advantageous for theoretical and hybrid approaches. We expect these results to be qualitatively insensitive to variations of the total cosmological volume, depending primarily on the bin size and shot-noise, thus making them particularly significant for present and future galaxy surveys.
Galaxy clusters, being the most massive objects in the Universe, exhibit the strongest alignment with the large-scale structure. However, mis-identification of members due to projection effects from the large scale structure can occur. We studied the impact of projection effects on the measurement of the intrinsic alignment of galaxy clusters, using galaxy cluster mock catalogs. Our findings showed that projection effects result in a decrease of the large scale intrinsic alignment signal of the cluster and produce a bump at $r_p\sim 1h^{-1}/Mpc$, most likely due to interlopers and missed member galaxies. This decrease in signal explains the observed similar alignment strength between bright central galaxies and clusters in the SDSS redMaPPer cluster catalog. The projection effect and cluster intrinsic alignment signal are coupled, with clusters having lower fractions of missing members or having higher fraction of interlopers exhibiting higher alignment signals in their projected shapes. We aim to use these findings to determine the impact of projection effects on galaxy cluster cosmology in future studies.
[Abridged] In contemporary literature, the calculation of modifications to the inflationary scalar power spectrum due to the loops from the higher order interaction terms in the Hamiltonian have led to a discussion regarding the validity of perturbation theory. Recently, there have been efforts to examine the contributions to the scalar power spectrum due to the loops arising from the cubic order terms in the action describing the perturbations, specifically in inflationary scenarios that permit an epoch of ultra slow roll (USR). A phase of USR inflation leads to significant observational consequences, such as the copious production of primordial black holes. In this work, we study the loop contributions to the scalar power spectrum in a scenario of USR inflation arising due to the quartic order terms in the action describing the scalar perturbations. We compute the loop contributions to the scalar power spectrum due to the dominant term in the action at the quartic order. We consider a scenario wherein a phase of USR is sandwiched between two stages of slow roll inflation and analyze the behavior of the loop contributions in terms of the parameters involved. We examine the late, intermediate and early epochs of USR during inflation. In the inflationary scenario involving a late phase of USR, for reasonable choices of the parameters, we show that the loop corrections are negligible for the entire range of wave numbers. In the intermediate case, the contributions from the loops prove to be scale invariant over large scales, and we find that these contributions can amount to 30% of the leading order power spectrum. In the case wherein USR sets in early, we find that the loop contributions could be negative and can dominate the power spectrum at the leading order, which indicates a breakdown of the perturbative expansion. We conclude with a brief summary and outlook.
We investigate the properties of the gravitational waves (GWs) generated during a strongly first order electroweak phase transition (EWPT) in models with the classical scale invariance (CSI). Here, we distinguish two parameter space regions that correspond to the cases of (1) light dilaton and (2) purely radiative Higgs mass (PRHM). In the CSI models, the dilaton mass, or the Higgs mass in the PRHM case, in addition to some triple scalar couplings are fully triggered by the radiative corrections (RCs). In order to probe the RC effects on the EWPT strength and on the GW spectrum, we extend the standard model by a real singlet to assist the electroweak symmetry breaking and an additional scalar field $Q$ with multiplicity $N_Q$ and mass $m_Q$. After imposing all theoretical and experimental constraints, we show that a strongly first order EWPT with detectable GW spectra can be realized for the two cases of light dilaton and PRHM. We also show the corresponding values of the relative enhancement of the cross section for the di-Higgs production process, which is related to the triple Higgs boson coupling. We obtain the region in which the GW spectrum can be observed by different future experiments such as LISA and DECIGO. We also show that the scenarios (1) and (2) can be discriminated by future GW observations and measurements of the di-Higgs productions at future colliders.
In this work, we investigate the optimal map-making technique for the linear system $d=Ax+n$ while carefully taking into account singularities that may come from either the covariance matrix $C = \langle nn^t \rangle$ or the main matrix $A$. We first describe the general optimal solution, which is quite complex, and then use the modified pseudo inverse to create a near-optimal solution, which is simple, robust, and can significantly alleviate the unwanted noise amplification during map-making. The effectiveness of the nearly optimal solution is then compared to that of the naive co-adding solution and the standard pseudo inverse solution, showing noticeable improvements. Interestingly, all one needs to get the near-optimal solution with singularity is just a tiny change to the classical solution, which is designed for the case without singularity.
In this paper we demonstrate the generation of gravitational caustics that appear due to the geodesic focusing in a self-gravitating N-body system. The gravitational caustics are space regions where the density of particles is higher than the average density in the surrounding space. It is suggested that the intrinsic mechanism of caustics generation is responsible for the formation of the cosmological Large Scale Structure that consists of matter concentrations in the form of galaxies, galactic clusters, filaments and vast regions devoid of galaxies. In our approach the dynamics of a self-gravitating N-body system is formulated in terms of a geodesic flow on a curved Riemannian manifold of dimension 3N equipped by the Maupertuis's metric. We investigate the sign of the sectional curvatures that defines the stability of geodesic trajectories in different parts of the phase space. The regions of negative sectional curvatures are responsible for the exponential instability of geodesic trajectories, deterministic chaos and relaxation phenomena of globular clusters and galaxies, while the regions of positive sectional curvatures are responsible for the gravitational geodesic focusing and generation of caustics. By solving the Jacobi and the Raychaundhuri equations we estimated the characteristic time scale of generation of gravitational caustics, calculated the density contrast on the caustics and compared it with the density contrasts generated by the Jeans-Bonnor-Lifshitz-Khalatnikov gravitational instability and that of the spherical top-hat model of Gunn and Gott.
Genetic algorithms are a powerful tool in optimization for single and multi-modal functions. This paper provides an overview of their fundamentals with some analytical examples. In addition, we explore how they can be used as a parameter estimation tool in cosmological models to maximize the likelihood function, complementing the analysis with the traditional Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. We analyze that genetic algorithms provide fast estimates by focusing on maximizing the likelihood function, although they cannot provide confidence regions with the same statistical meaning as Bayesian approaches. Moreover, we show that implementing sharing and niching techniques ensures an effective exploration of the parameter space, even in the presence of local optima, always helping to find the global optima. This approach is invaluable in the cosmological context, where exhaustive space exploration of parameters is essential. We use dark energy models to exemplify the use of genetic algorithms in cosmological parameter estimation, including a multimodal problem, and we also show how to use the output of a genetic algorithm to obtain derived cosmological functions. This paper concludes that genetic algorithms are a handy tool within cosmological data analysis, without replacing the traditional Bayesian methods but providing different advantages.
Differential equations of the form $\ddot R=-kR^\gamma$, with a positive constant $k$ and real parameter $\gamma$, are fundamental in describing phenomena such as the spherical gravitational collapse ($\gamma=-2$), the implosion of cavitation bubbles ($\gamma=-4$) and the orbital decay in binary black holes ($\gamma=-7$). While explicit elemental solutions exist for select integer values of $\gamma$, more comprehensive solutions encompassing larger subsets of $\gamma$ have been independently developed in hydrostatics (see Lane-Emden equation) and hydrodynamics (see Rayleigh-Plesset equation). This paper introduces a general explicit solution for all real $\gamma$, employing the quantile function of the beta distribution, readily available in most modern programming languages. This solution bridges between distinct fields and reveals insights, such as a critical branch point at $\gamma=-1$, thereby enhancing our understanding of these pervasive differential equations.
The Galactic electron density model NE2001 describes the multicomponent ionized structure of the Milky Way interstellar medium. NE2001 forward models the dispersion and scattering of compact radio sources, including pulsars, fast radio bursts, AGNs, and masers, and the model is routinely used to predict the distances of radio sources lacking independent distance measures. Here we present the open-source package NE2001p, a fully Python implementation of NE2001. The model parameters are identical to NE2001 but the computational architecture is optimized for Python, yielding small (<1%) numerical differences between NE2001p and the Fortran code. NE2001p can be used on the command-line and through Python scripts available on PyPI. Future package releases will include modular extensions aimed at providing short-term improvements to model accuracy, including a modified thick disk scale height and additional clumps and voids. This implementation of NE2001 is a springboard to a next-generation Galactic electron density model now in development.
We use local stratified shearing-box simulations with magnetic field-aligned thermal conduction to study an idealized model of the coupling between a cold, radiatively efficient accretion disc, and an overlying, hot, two-temperature corona. Evaporation of a cold disc by conduction from the hot corona has been proposed as a means of mediating the soft-to-hard state transitions observed in X-ray binary systems. We model the coronal plasma in our local disc patch as an MHD fluid subject to both free-streaming ion conduction and a parameterized cooling function that captures the collisional transfer of energy from hot ions to colder, rapidly cooling leptons. In all of our models, independent of the initial net vertical magnetic flux (NF) threading the disc, we find no evidence of disc evaporation. The ion heat flux into the disc is radiated away before conduction can heat the disc's surface layers. When an initial NF is present, steady-state temperature, density, and outflow velocities in our model coronae are unaffected by conduction. Instead of facilitating disc evaporation, thermal conduction is more likely to feed the disc with plasma condensing out of the corona, particularly in flows without NF. Our work indicates that uncertainties in the amount of NF threading the disc hold far greater influence over whether or not the disc will evaporate into a radiatively inefficient accretion flow compared to thermal conduction. We speculate that a change in net flux mediates disc truncation/evaporation.
We report the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae discovery of the tidal disruption event (TDE) ASASSN-23bd (AT 2023clx) in NGC 3799, a LINER galaxy with no evidence of strong AGN activity over the past decade. With a redshift of $z = 0.01107$ and a peak UV/optical luminosity of $(5.4\pm0.4)\times10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$, ASASSN-23bd is the lowest-redshift and least-luminous TDE discovered to date. Spectroscopically, ASASSN-23bd shows H$\alpha$ and He I emission throughout its spectral time series, and the UV spectrum shows nitrogen lines without the strong carbon and magnesium lines typically seen for AGN. Fits to the rising ASAS-SN light curve show that ASASSN-23bd started to brighten on MJD 59988$^{+1}_{-1}$, $\sim$9 days before discovery, with a nearly linear rise in flux, peaking in the $g$ band on MJD $60000^{+3}_{-3}$. Scaling relations and TDE light curve modelling find a black hole mass of $\sim$10$^6$ $M_\odot$, which is on the lower end of supermassive black hole masses. ASASSN-23bd is a dim X-ray source, with an upper limit of $L_{0.3-10\,\mathrm{keV}} < 1.0\times10^{40}$ erg s$^{-1}$ from stacking all \emph{Swift} observations prior to MJD 60061, but with soft ($\sim 0.1$ keV) thermal emission with a luminosity of $L_{0.3-2 \,\mathrm{keV}}\sim4\times10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in \emph{XMM-Newton} observations on MJD 60095. The rapid $(t < 15$ days) light curve rise, low UV/optical luminosity, and a luminosity decline over 40 days of $\Delta L_{40}\approx-0.7$ make ASASSN-23bd one of the dimmest TDEs to date and a member of the growing ``Low Luminosity and Fast'' class of TDEs.
The ''twin birth'' of a positron and an electron by a photon in the presence of a nucleus, known as Bethe-Heitler pair production, is a key process in astroparticle physics. The Bethe-Heitler process offers a way of channeling energy stored in a population of relativistic protons (or nuclei) to relativistic pairs with extended distributions. Contrary to accelerated leptons, whose maximum energy is limited by radiative losses, the maximal energy of pairs is determined by the kinematics of the process and can be as high as the parent proton energy. We take a closer look at the features of the injected pair distribution, and provide a novel empirical function that describes the spectrum of pairs produced by interactions of single-energy protons with single-energy photons. The function is the kernel of the Bethe-Heitler pair production spectrum that replaces a double numerical integration involving the complex differential cross section of the process, and can be easily implemented in numerical codes. We further examine under which conditions Bethe-Heitler pairs produced in blazar jets can emit $\gamma$-ray photons via synchrotron radiation, thus providing an alternative to the inverse Compton scattering process for high-energy emission in jetted active galactic nuclei. After taking into consideration the broadband spectral characteristics of the source, the jet energetics, and the properties of radiation fields present in the blazar environment, we conclude that $\gamma$-rays in low- and intermediate-peaked blazars may arise from Bethe-Heitler pairs in regions of the jet with typical transverse size $\sim 10^{15}$ cm and co-moving magnetic field $5-500$ G.
We identified Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) candidates as counterparts to unidentified gamma-ray sources (UGS) from the Fermi-LAT Fourth Source Catalogue at lower Galactic latitudes. Our methodology is based on the use of near- and mid-infrared photometric data from the VISTA Variables in the V\'ia L\'actea (VVV) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) surveys. The AGN candidates associated with the UGS occupy very different regions from the stars and extragalactic sources in the colour space defined by the VVV and WISE infrared colours. We found 27 near-infrared AGN candidates possibly associated with 14 Fermi-LAT sources using the VVV survey. We also found 2 blazar candidates in the regions of 2 Fermi-LAT sources using WISE data. There is no match between VVV and WISE candidates. We have also examined the K$_\mathrm{s}$ light curves of the VVV candidates and applied the fractional variability amplitude ($\mathrm{\sigma_{rms}}$) and the slope of variation in the K$_\mathrm{s}$ passband to characterise the near-infrared variability. This analysis shows that more than 85% of the candidates have slopes in the K$_\mathrm{s}$ passband $ > 10^{-4}$ mag/day and present $\mathrm{\sigma_{rms}}$ values consistent with a moderate variability. This is in good agreement with typical results seen from type-1 AGN. The combination of YJHK$_\mathrm{s}$ colours and K$_\mathrm{s}$ variability criteria was useful for AGN selection, including its use in identifying counterparts to Fermi $\gamma$-ray sources.
We present a new model to calculate reflection spectra of thin accretion disks in Kerr spacetimes. Our model includes the effect of returning radiation, which is the radiation that is emitted by the disk and returns to the disk because of the strong light bending near a black hole. The major improvement with respect to the existing models is that it calculates the reflection spectrum at every point on the disk by using the actual spectrum of the incident radiation. Assuming a lamppost coronal geometry, we simulate simultaneous observations of NICER and NuSTAR of bright Galactic black holes and we fit the simulated data with the latest version of RELXILL (modified to read the table of REFLIONX, which is the non-relativistic reflection model used in our calculations). We find that RELXILL with returning radiation cannot fit well the simulated data when the black hole spin parameter is very high and the coronal height and disk's ionization parameter are low, and some parameters can be significantly overestimated or underestimated. We can find better fits and recover the correct input parameters as the value of the black hole spin parameter decreases and the values of the coronal height and of the disk's ionization parameter increase.
The issue of radiation mechanisms had triggered in 1950-60s the first applications of plasma physics to understand the nature of radio galaxies. This interplay has steadily intensified during the past five decades, due to the premise of in-situ acceleration of relativistic electrons occurring in the lobes of radio galaxies. This article briefly traces the chain of these remarkable developments, largely from an observational perspective. We recount several observational and theoretical milestones established along the way and the lessons drawn from them. We also present a new observational clue about in-situ acceleration of the relativistic particles radiating in the lobes of radio galaxies, gleaned by us from the very recently published sensitive radio observations of a tailed radio source in the galaxy cluster Abell 1033.
The extreme temperatures and densities of many astrophysical environments tends to destabilize nuclear isomers by inducing transitions to higher energy states. Those states may then cascade to ground. However, not all environments destabilize all isomers. Nuclear isomers which retain their metastable character in pertinent astrophysical environments are known as astrophysically metastable nuclear isomers, or ``astromers''. Astromers can influence nucleosynthesis, altering abundances or even creating new pathways that would otherwise be inaccessible. Astromers may also release energy faster or slower relative to their associated ground state, acting as heating accelerants or batteries, respectively. In stable isotopes, they may even simply remain populated after a cataclysmic event and emit observable x- or $\gamma$-rays. The variety of behaviors of these nuclear species and the effects they can have merit careful consideration in nearly every possible astrophysical environment. Here we provide a brief overview of astromers past and present, and we outline future work that will help to illuminate their role in the cosmos.
Superfluid vortices pinned to nuclear lattice sites or magnetic flux tubes in a neutron star evolve abruptly through a sequence of metastable spatial configurations, punctuated by unpinning avalanches associated with rotational glitches, as the stellar crust spins down electromagnetically. The metastable configurations are approximately but not exactly axisymmetric, causing the emission of persistent, quasimonochromatic, current quadrupole gravitational radiation. The characteristic gravitational wave strain $h_0$ as a function of the spin frequency $f$ and distance $D$ from the Earth is bounded above by $h_0 = 1.2\substack{+1.3 \\ -0.9} \times 10^{-32} (f/30\;{\rm Hz})^{2.5} (D/1\;{\rm kpc})^{-1}$, corresponding to a Poissonian spatial configuration (equal probability per unit area, i.e. zero inter-vortex repulsion), and bounded below by $h_0 = 1.8\substack{+2.0 \\ -1.5} \times 10^{-50} (f/30\;{\rm Hz})^{1.5} (D/1\;{\rm kpc})^{-1}$, corresponding to a regular array (periodic separation, i.e.\ maximum inter-vortex repulsion). N-body point vortex simulations predict an intermediate scaling, $h_0 = 7.3\substack{+7.9 \\ -5.4} \times 10^{-42} (f/30\;{\rm Hz})^{1.9} (D/1\;{\rm kpc})^{-1}$, which reflects a balance between the randomizing but spatially correlated action of superfluid vortex avalanches and the regularizing action of inter-vortex repulsion. The scaling is calibrated by conducting simulations with ${N_{\rm v}} \leq 5\times10^3$ vortices and extrapolated to the astrophysical regime ${N_{\rm v}} \sim 10^{17} (f/30\;{\rm Hz})$. The scaling is provisional, pending future computational advances to raise ${N_{\rm v}}$ and include three-dimensional effects such as vortex tension and turbulence.
Gravitational wave observations of binary black hole mergers probe their astrophysical origins via the binary spin, namely the spin magnitudes and directions of each component black hole, together described by six degrees of freedom. However, the emitted signals primarily depend on two effective spin parameters that condense the spin degrees of freedom to those parallel and those perpendicular to the orbital plane. Given this reduction in dimensionality between the physically relevant problem and what is typically measurable, we revisit the question of whether information about the component spin magnitudes and directions can successfully be recovered via gravitational-wave observations, or if we simply extrapolate information about the distributions of effective spin parameters.To this end, we simulate three astrophysical populations with the same underlying effective-spin distribution but different spin magnitude and tilt distributions, on which we conduct full individual-event and population-level parameter estimation. We find that parameterized population models can indeed qualitatively distinguish between populations with different spin magnitude and tilt distributions at current sensitivity. However, it remains challenging to either accurately recover the true distribution or to diagnose biases due to model misspecification. We attribute the former to practical challenges of dealing with high-dimensional posterior distributions, and the latter to the fact that each individual event carries very little information about the full six spin degrees of freedom.
We present low-frequency radio observations of the Galactic symbiotic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi during its 2021 outburst. The observations were carried out with the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) spanning a frequency range of 0.15$-$1.4 GHz during 23$-$287 days post the outburst. The average value of the optically thin spectral index is $\alpha \sim$ $-$0.4 ($F_{\nu} \propto \nu^\alpha$), indicating a non-thermal origin of the radio emission at the observed frequencies. The radio light curves are best represented by shock-driven synchrotron emission, initially absorbed by a clumpy ionized circumbinary medium. We estimate the mass-loss rate of the red giant companion star to be $\dot{M} \sim$ 7.5 $\times$ 10$^{-8}$ $M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ for an assumed stellar wind velocity of 20 km/s. The 0.15--1.4 GHz radio light curves of the 2021 outburst are systematically brighter than those of the 2006 outburst. Considering similar shock properties between the two outbursts, this is indicative of a relatively higher particle number density in the synchrotron emitting plasma in the current outburst.
Neutrinos from a Galactic core collapse supernova can undergo elastic scattering with electrons in xenon atoms in liquid xenon based dark matter detectors giving rise to electrons of kinetic energy up to a few MeV. We calculate the scattered electron spectrum and the number of such elastic scattering events expected for a typical Galactic core collapse supernova in a xenon target. Although the expected number of events is small (compared to, for example, inelastic neutrino-nucleus charged current interaction with xenon nuclei, that also gives rise to final state electrons), the distinct spectral shape of the scattered electrons may allow identification of the elastic scattering events. Further, while the process is dominated by neutrinos and antineutrinos of electron flavor, it receives contributions from all the six neutrino species. Identification of the electron scattering events may, therefore, allow an estimation of the relative fractions of the total supernova explosion energy going into electron flavored and non-electron flavored neutrinos.
In this note, I describe a gravitational effect that generically limits the kinetic energy of a single massive elementary particle in the vicinity of a compact object. In the rest frame of a scattering trajectory, tidal accelerations have a quadratic dependence on the specific kinetic energy. As the kinetic energy is increased, the differences in the tidal potential over a Compton wavelength will at some point become large enough to create additional particles. A straightforward calculation reveals that neutrinos scattering off a $10 M_\odot$ black hole within three Schwarzschild radii are roughly limited to about $1~\text{GeV}$, so that an incident neutrino of significantly higher energy passing through such a region decays into a shower of neutrinos with individual energies below the threshold.
This study is devoted to the inference problem of extracting the nuclear matter properties directly from a set of mass-radius observations. We employ Bayesian neural networks (BNNs), which is a probabilistic model capable of estimating the uncertainties associated with its predictions. To simulate different noise levels on the $M(R)$ observations, we create three different sets of mock data. Our results show BNNs as an accurate and reliable tool for predicting the nuclear matter properties whenever the true values are not completely outside the training dataset statistics, i.e., if the model is not heavily dependent on its extrapolating capacities. Using real mass-radius pulsar data, the model predicted, for instance, $L_{\text{sym}}=39.80\pm17.52 $ MeV and $K_{\text{sym}}=-101.67\pm62.86 $ MeV ($2\sigma$ interval). Our study provides a valuable inference framework when new NS data becomes available.
We present photometric, spectroscopic and polarimetric observations of the intermediate-luminosity Type IIP supernova (SN) 2021gmj from 1 to 386 days after the explosion. The peak absolute V-band magnitude of SN 2021gmj is -15.5 mag, which is fainter than that of normal Type IIP SNe. The spectral evolution of SN 2021gmj resembles that of other sub-luminous supernovae: the optical spectra show narrow P-Cygni profiles, indicating a low expansion velocity. We estimate the progenitor mass to be about 12 Msun from the nebular spectrum and the 56Ni mass to be about 0.02 Msun from the bolometric light curve. We also derive the explosion energy to be about 3 x 10^{50} erg by comparing numerical light curve models with the observed light curves. Polarization in the plateau phase is not very large, suggesting nearly spherical outer envelope. The early photometric observations capture the rapid rise of the light curve, which is likely due to the interaction with a circumstellar material (CSM). The broad emission feature formed by highly-ionized lines on top of a blue continuum in the earliest spectrum gives further indication of the CSM at the vicinity of the progenitor. Our work suggests that a relatively low-mass progenitor of an intermediate-luminosity Type IIP SN can also experience an enhanced mass loss just before the explosion, as suggested for normal Type IIP SNe.
HESS J1832-093 is a member of the rare class of gamma-ray binaries, as recently confirmed by the detection of orbitally modulated X-ray and gamma-ray emission with a period of ~86 d. The spectral type of the massive companion star has been difficult to retrieve as there is no optical counterpart, but the system is coincident with a near-infrared source. Previous results have shown that the infrared counterpart is consistent with an O or B type star, but a clear classification is still lacking. We observed the counterpart twice, in 2019 and 2021, with the X-Shooter spectrograph operating on the VLT. The obtained spectra classify the counterpart as an O6 V type star. We estimate a distance to the source of $6.7 \pm 0.5$ kpc, although this estimate can be severely affected by the high extinction towards the source. This new O6 V classification for the companion star in HESS J1832-093 provides further support to an apparent grouping around a given spectral type for all discovered gamma-ray binaries that contain an O-type star. This may be due to the interplay between the initial mass function and the wind-momentum-luminosity relation.
The recent detection of significant neutrino flux from the inner Galactic plane by the IceCube detector has provided us valuable insights on the spectrum of cosmic rays in our Galaxy. This flux can be produced either by a population of Galactic point sources or by diffused emission from cosmic ray interactions with the interstellar medium or by a mixture of both. In this work, we compute diffused gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes produced by a population of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in our Galaxy, assuming different parametrizations of the Galactic diffused cosmic ray distribution. In particular, we take into account two main cases: (I) constant cosmic ray luminosity in our Galaxy, and (II) space-dependent cosmic ray luminosity based on the supernovae distribution in our Galaxy. For Case-I, we found that the neutrino flux from GMCs is a factor of $\sim 10$ below compared to $\pi^0$ and KRA$_\gamma$ best-fitted models of IceCube observations at $10^5$ GeV. Instead, for Case-II the model can explain up to $\sim 90 \%$ of the neutrino flux at that energy. Moreover, for this scenario IceCube detector could be able to detect neutrino events from the Galactic centre regions. We then calculated the gamma-ray and neutrino fluxes from individual GMCs and noticed that several current and future Cherenkov telescopes and neutrino observatories have the right sensitivities to study these objects. In particular, very neutrino-bright region such as Aquila Rift is favourable for detection by the IceCube-Gen2 observatory.
Neutrinos from the cosmos have proven to be ideal for probing the nature of space-time. Previous studies on high-energy events of IceCube suggested that some of these events might be gamma-ray burst neutrinos, with their speeds varying linearly with their energy, implying also the coexistence of subluminal and superluminal propagation. However, a recent reanalysis of the data, incorporating revised directional information, reveals stronger signals that neutrinos are actually being slowed down compared to previous suggestion of neutrino speed variation. Thus, it is worth discussing its implications for the brane/string inspired framework of space-time foam, which has been used to explain previous observations. We revisit effects on neutrino propagation from specific foam models within the framework, indicating that the implied violation of Lorentz invariance could necessarily cause the neutrino to decelerate. We therefore argue that this sort of model is in agreement with the updated phenomenological indication just mentioned. An extended analysis of the revised IceCube data will further test these observations and stringy quantum gravity.
We present 206 unpublished optical spectra of 104 type II supernovae obtained by the Xinglong 2.16m telescope and Lijiang 2.4m telescope during the period from 2011 to 2018, spanning the phases from about 1 to 200 days after the SN explosion. The spectral line identifications, evolution of line velocities and pseudo equivalent widths, as well as correlations between some important spectral parameters are presented. Our sample displays a large range in expansion velocities. For instance, the Fe~{\sc ii} $5169$ velocities measured from spectra at $t\sim 50$ days after the explosion vary from ${\rm 2000\ km\ s^{-1}}$ to ${\rm 5500\ km\ s^{-1}}$, with an average value of ${\rm 3872 \pm 949\ km\ s^{-1}}$. Power-law functions can be used to fit the velocity evolution, with the power-law exponent quantifying the velocity decline rate. We found an anticorrelation existing between H$\beta$ velocity at mid-plateau phase and its velocity decay exponent, SNe II with higher velocities tending to have smaller velocity decay rate. Moreover, we noticed that the velocity decay rate inferred from the Balmer lines (i.e., H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$) have moderate correlations with the ratio of absorption to emission for H$\alpha$ (a/e). In our sample, two objects show possibly flash-ionized features at early phases. Besides, we noticed that multiple high-velocity components may exist on the blue side of hydrogen lines of SN 2013ab, possibly suggesting that these features arise from complex line forming region. All our spectra can be found in WISeREP and Zenodo.
Type II supernovae (SNe II), which show abundant hydrogen in their spectra, belong to a class of SNe with diverse observed properties. It is commonly accepted that SNe II are produced by core collapse and explosion of massive stars. However, the large photometric and spectroscopic diversity of SNe II, and the mechanisms responsible for these diversities, have not been thoroughly understood. In this review, we first briefly introduce the optical characteristics and possible progenitors of each subtype of SNe II. We then highlight the role of the Chinese Space Station Telescope in future SN studies. With a deep limiting magnitude, the main survey project could detect SN IIP-like objects as distant as $z\sim 1.2$, and obtain UV-optical follow-up for peculiar transients, especially those long-lived events. With a high resolution and a large field of view, the main survey camera is powerful in linking a nearby SN with its progenitor, while the integral field spectrograph is powerful in revealing the SN environment. All this information has the potential to help enrich our understanding of supernova physics.
The minimum variation timescale (MVT) and spectral lag of hundreds of X-ray bursts (XRBs) from soft gamma-ray repeater (SGR) J1935+2154 were analyzed in detail for the first time in our recent work, which are important probes for studying the physical mechanism and radiation region. In this work, we investigate their differential and cumulative distributions carefully and find that they follow power-law models. Besides, the distributions of fluctuations in both parameters follow the Tsallis $q$-Gaussian distributions and the $q$ values are consistent for different scale intervals. Therefore, these results indicate that both parameters are scale-invariant, which provides new parameters for the study of self-organized criticality systems. Interestingly, we find that the $q$ values for MVT and spectral lag are similar with duration and fluence, respectively.
We report results of optical identification and multi-wavelength study of a new polar-type magnetic cataclysmic variable (MCV), SRGA J213151.5+491400, discovered by Spectrum Roentgen-Gamma ($SRG$) observatory in the course of the all-sky survey. We present optical data from telescopes in Turkey (RTT-150 and T100 at the T\"UBITAK National Observatory), and in Russia (6-m and 1-m at SAO RAS), together with the X-ray data obtained with $ART-XC$ and $eROSITA$ telescopes aboard $SRG$ and the $NICER$ observatory. We detect SRGA J213151.5+491400 in a high state in 2020 (17.9 mag) that decreases about 3 mag into a low state (21 mag) in 2021. We find only one significant period using optical photometric time series analysis which reveals the white dwarf spin/orbital period to be 0.059710(1) days (85.982 min). The long slit spectroscopy in the high state yields a power law continuum increasing towards the blue with a prominent He II line along with the Balmer line emissions with no cyclotron humps; consistent with MCV nature. Doppler Tomography confirms the polar nature revealing ballistic stream accretion along with magnetic stream during the high state. These characteristics show that the new source is a polar-type MCV. $SRG$ $ART-XC$ detections yield an X-ray flux of (4.0-7.0)$\times$10$^{-12}$ erg cm$^2$ s$^{-1}$ in the high state. $eROSITA$ detects a dominating hot plasma component (kT$_{\rm{max}}$ $>$ 21 keV in the high state) declining to (4.0-6.0)$\times$10$^{-13}$ erg cm$^2$ s$^{-1}$ in 2021 (low state). The $NICER$ data obtained in the low state reveal a two-pole accretor showing a soft X-ray component at (6-7)$\sigma$ significance with a blackbody temperature of 15-18 eV. A soft X-ray component has never been detected for a polar in the low state before.
HESS J1825-137 is one of the most powerful and luminous TeV gamma-ray pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe), making it an excellent laboratory to study particle transportation around pulsars. We present a model of the (diffusive and advective) transport and radiative losses of electrons from the pulsar PSRJ1826-1334 powering HESSJ1825-137 using interstellar medium gas (ISM) data, soft photon fields and a spatially varying magnetic field. We find that for the characteristic age of 21 kyr, PSR J1826-1334 is unable to meet the energy requirements to match the observed X-ray and gamma-ray emission. An older age of 40 kyr, together with an electron conversion efficiency of 0.14 and advective flow of $v = 0.002c$, can reproduce the observed multi-wavelengh emission towards HESS J1825-137. A turbulent ISM with magnetic field of $B = 20\,{\mu}G$ to $60\,{\mu}G$ to the north of HESS J1825-137 (as suggested by ISM observations) is required to prevent significant gamma-ray contamination towards the northern TeV source HESS J1826-130.
The Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) is motivated by the premise that spacetime fluctuations near the Planck scale impose a lower bound on the achievable resolution of distances, leading to a minimum length. Inspired by a semiclassical method that integrates the GUP into the partition function by deforming its phase space, we induce a modification on the thermodynamic quantities of the MIT bag model that we propose serves as an effective semiclassical description of deconfined quark matter in a space with minimal length. We investigate the consequences of this deformation on the zero-temperature limit, revealing a saturation limit for the energy density, pressure and baryon number density and an overall decrease of the thermodynamic quantities which suggests an enhanced stability against gravitational collapse. These findings extend existing research on GUP-deformed Fermi gases. Ultimately, our description introduces effects of quantum gravity in the equations of state for compact stars in a mathematically simple manner, suggesting potential for extension to more complex systems.
The equations of state (EoSs) governing neutron star (NS) matter obtained for both non-relativistic and relativistic mean-field models are systematically confronted with a diverse set of terrestrial data and astrophysical observations within the Bayesian framework. The terrestrial data spans from bulk properties of finite nuclei to the heavy-ion collisions which constrain the symmetric nuclear matter EoS and the symmetry energy up to twice the saturation density ($\rho_0$= 0.16 fm$^{-3}$). The astrophysical observations encompass the NS radius, the tidal deformability, and the lower bound on maximum mass. Three sets of EoSs distributions are generated by gradually updating them with different constraints: (i) we use only the maximum NS mass, (ii) then incorporate additional terrestrial data, (iii) and finally, we include further astrophysical observations. We compare these sets using the Kullback-Liebler divergence. Our results for the Kullback-Liebler divergence highlight the significant constraints imposed on the EoSs by the currently available lower bound of neutron star maximum mass and terrestrial data. The remaining astrophysical observations further refine the EoS within the density range $\sim$ 2-3$\rho_0$.
Neural networks are being extensively used for modelling data, especially in the case where no likelihood can be formulated. Although in the case of X-ray spectral fitting, the likelihood is known, we aim to investigate the neural networks ability to recover the model parameters but also their associated uncertainties, and compare its performance with standard X-ray spectral fitting, whether following a frequentist or Bayesian approach. We apply Simulation-Based Inference with Neural Posterior Estimation (SBI-NPE) to X-ray spectra. We train a network with simulated spectra, and then it learns the mapping between the simulated spectra and their parameters and returns the posterior distribution. The model parameters are sampled from a predefined prior distribution. To maximize the efficiency of the training of the neural network, yet limiting the size of the training sample to speed up the inference, we introduce a way to reduce the range of the priors, either through a classifier or a coarse and quick inference of one or multiple observations. SBI-NPE is demonstrated to work equally well as standard X-ray spectral fitting, both in the Gaussian and Poisson regimes, both on simulated and real data, yielding fully consistent results in terms of best fit parameters and posterior distributions. The inference time is comparable to or smaller than the one needed for Bayesian inference. On the other hand, once properly trained, an amortized SBI-NPE network generates the posterior distributions in no time. We show that SBI-NPE is less sensitive to local minima trapping than standard fit statistic minimization techniques. We find that the neural network can be trained equally well on dimension-reduced spectra, via a Principal Component Decomposition, leading to a shorter inference time. Neural posterior estimation thus adds up as a complementary tool for X-ray spectral fitting. (abridged).
The ever-growing sample of observed supernovae enhances our capacity for comprehensive supernova population studies, providing a richer dataset for understanding the diverse characteristics of Type Ia supernovae and possibly that of their progenitors. Here, we present a data-driven analysis of observed Type Ia supernova photometric light curves collected in the Open Supernova Catalog. Where available, we add the environmental information from the host galaxy. We focus on identifying sub-classes of Type Ia supernovae without imposing the pre-defined sub-classes found in the literature to date. To do so, we employ an implicit-rank minimizing autoencoder neural network for developing low-dimensional data representations, providing a compact representation of the supernova light curve diversity. When we analyze light curves alone, we find that one of our resulting latent variables is strongly correlated with redshift, allowing us to approximately ``de-redshift'' the other latent variables describing each event. After doing so, we find that three of our latent variables account for $\sim$95\% of the variance in our sample, and provide a natural separation between 91T and 91bg thermonuclear supernovae. Of note, the 02cx subclass is not unambiguously delineated from the 91bg sample in our results, nor do either the over-luminous 91T or the under-luminous 91bg/02cx samples form a clearly distinct population from the broader sample of ``other'' SN Ia events. We identify the physical characteristics of supernova light curves which best distinguish SNe 91T from SNe 91bg \& 02cx, and discuss prospects for future refinements and applications to other classes of supernovae as well as other transients.
Black holes (BHs) formed by collapsing and/or merging of magnetized progenitors, have magnetic fields penetrating the event horizon, and there are several possible scenarios. Thus, the no-hair theorem that assumes the outside medium is a vacuum, is not applicable in this case. Bearing this in mind and considering a Schwarzschild BH of mass $M$ immersed in a uniform magnetic field $B$, we show that all three frequencies related to the equatorial circular orbit of a test particle become imaginary for the orbits of radii $r_B > 2B^{-1}$. It signifies that if a BH is surrounded by a magnetic field of order $B \sim R_g^{-1}$ (where $R_g$ is the gravitational radius of the BH), a test particle could unable to continue its regular geodesic motion from/at $r > r_B$, hence the accretion disk could not be formed, and the motion of other stellar objects around the BH could be absent. As the BHs are generally detected by watching for their effects on nearby stars and gas, a magnetic field of order $B \sim R_g^{-1}$ could be able to shield a BH in such a way that it could remain undetectable. Motivated with this theoretical investigation and considering the sphere (of radius $r_f$) of magnetic influence around an astrophysical BH, we constrain $B$, above which a magnetized BH could remain undetectable. For example, $M=10^9M_{\odot}$ BH surrounded by $B > 10^6$ G and $M=10M_{\odot}$ BH surrounded by $B > 10^{14}$ G could remain undetectable for $r_f \sim 10^5R_g$. In other words, our result also explains why a detected SMBH has surprisingly weak magnetic field.
When hypothetical neutrino secret interactions ($\nu$SI) are large, they form a fluid in a supernova (SN) core, flow out with sonic speed, and stream away as a fireball. For the first time, we tackle the complete dynamical problem and solve all steps, systematically using relativistic hydrodynamics. The impact on SN physics and the neutrino signal is remarkably small. For complete thermalization within the fireball, the observable spectrum changes in a way that is independent of the coupling strength. One potentially large effect beyond our study is quick deleptonization if $\nu$SI violate lepton number. By present evidence, however, SN physics leaves open a large region in parameter space, where laboratory searches and future high-energy neutrino telescopes will probe $\nu$SI.
Neutrino-neutrino scattering could have a large secret component that would turn neutrinos within a supernova (SN) core into a self-coupled fluid. Neutrino transport within the SN core, emission from its surface, expansion into space, and the flux spectrum and time structure at Earth might all be affected. We examine these questions from first principles. First, diffusive transport differs only by a modified spectral average of the interaction rate. We next study the fluid energy transfer between a hot and a cold blackbody surface in plane-parallel and spherical geometry. The key element is the decoupling process within the radiating bodies, which themselves are taken to be isothermal. For a zero-temperature cold plate, mimicking radiation into free space by the hot plate, the energy flux is 3--4\% smaller than the usual Stefan-Boltzmann Law. The fluid energy density just outside the hot plate is numerically 0.70 of the standard case, the outflow velocity is the speed of sound $v_s=c/\sqrt{3}$, conspiring to a nearly unchanged energy flux. Our results provide the crucial boundary condition for the expansion of the self-interacting fluid into space, assuming an isothermal neutrino sphere. We also derive a dynamical solution, assuming the emission suddenly begins at some instant. A neutrino front expands in space with luminal speed, whereas the outflow velocity at the radiating surface asymptotically approaches $v_s$ from above. Asymptotically, one thus recovers the steady-state emission found in the two-plate model. A sudden end to neutrino emission leads to a fireball with constant thickness equal to the duration of neutrino emission.
The decay or annihilation of dark matter particles may produce a steady flux of very-high-energy gamma rays detectable above the diffuse background. Nearby clusters of galaxies provide excellent targets to search for the signatures of particle dark matter interactions. In particular, the Virgo cluster spans several degrees across the sky and can be efficiently probed with a wide field-of-view instrument. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, due to its wide field of view and sensitivity to gamma rays at an energy scale of 300 GeV--100 TeV is well-suited for this search. Using 2141 days of data, we search for gamma-ray emission from the Virgo cluster, assuming well-motivated dark matter sub-structure models. Our results provide some of the strongest constraints on the decay lifetime of dark matter for masses above 10 TeV.
In recent years, the CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment) interferometer has revealed a large number of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), including a sizable population that demonstrates repeating behavior. This transit facility, employing a real-time FRB search pipeline, continually scans the sky with declinations between $-10^{\circ}$ and $90^{\circ}$ for events with fluences $\gtrapprox 0.4$ Jy ms. We simulate a population of repeating FRBs by performing Monte Carlo simulations of underlying source populations processed through a mock CHIME/FRB observing pipeline. Assuming intrinsic repeater rates follow a Poisson distribution, we test assumptions about the burst populations of the repeater sample, and construct models of the FRB sample assuming various cosmological distributions. We infer the completeness of CHIME/FRB observations as a function of observing cadence and redshifts out to 0.5. We find that, if all simulated bursts have a fixed Poisson probability of repetition over their integrated time of observation, repeating burst detections across comoving volume should continue to grow near linearly on the order of decades. We predict that around 170 of the current CHIME/FRB one-off sources will ultimately repeat. We also make projections for FRB repeaters by future facilities and demonstrate that the number of repeaters they find could saturate on a $\sim$3 yr timescale.
Whether astrophysical black holes (BHs) can have charge is a question to be addressed by observations. In the era of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy, one can constrain the charge of a merged BH remnant using the merger-ringdown signal of the GW data. Extending earlier studies, we analyze five GW events in GWTC-3, assuming Kerr-Newman BHs. Our results show no strong evidence for a charged BH, and give a limit on the charge-to-mass-ratio $Q<0.37$ at $90\%$ credible level (CL). Due to the charge-spin degeneracy in the waveform and the limited signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), it is challenging for LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA observations to provide better constraints. We further simulate data for the Einstein Telescope (ET), where SNRs can be as large as $\sim270$ in the ringdown signal. These simulated events allow us to consider the 220, 221, and 330 ringdown modes altogether, which can help break the charge-spin degeneracy. The analysis of a simulated GW150914-like signal shows that ET can improve the constraints on the charge-to-mass-ratio to $Q \lesssim 0.2$ at $90\%$ CL with one ringdown signal.
Andreev-Bashkin entrainment makes the hydrodynamics of the binary superfluid solution particularly interesting. We investigate stability and motion of quantum vortices in such system.
A superradiant cloud of ultralight bosons near a rotating black hole provides a smoking gun for particle physics in the infrared. However, tidal perturbations from a nearby binary companion can destabilise the boson cloud and even terminate superradiance. In this work, we consider the backreaction of superradiance termination to the dynamics of general binary orbits parametrised by their semi-latus rectum, eccentricity and inclination angle. Our analysis focuses on Extreme Mass Ratio Inspiral (EMRI) systems and employs the period-average approximation to derive evolution equations of these binary parameters in the Newtonian limit. We find that the binary evolution history can be significantly modulated by the backreaction towards large circular equatorial orbits with reduced termination rate. This process can generically happen even away from the resonance bands. Our work therefore serves as a first step towards probing ultralight bosons through the statistics of EMRI binary parameters in the future.
AT2018cqh is a unique tidal disruption event (TDE) candidate discovered in a dwarf galaxy. Both the light curve fitting and galaxy scaling relationships suggest a central black hole mass in the range of 5.9<logM_BH/M_sun<6.4. A delayed X-ray brightening was found around 590 days after the optical discovery, but shows unusual long-time rising to peak over at least 558 days, which could be coming from delayed accretion of a newly forming debris disk. We report the discovery of delayed radio flares around 1105 days since its discovery, characterized by an initial steep rise of ~>175 days, a flattening lasting about 544 days, and a phase with another steep rise. The rapid rise in radio flux coupled with the slow decay in the X-ray emission points to a delayed launching of outflow, perhaps due to a transition in the accretion state. However, known accretion models can hardly explain the origins of the secondary radio flare that is rising even more rapidly in comparison with the initial one. If confirmed, AT2018cqh would be a rare TDE in a dwarf galaxy exhibiting optical, X-ray and radio flares. We call for continued multi-frequency radio observations to monitor its spectral and temporal evolution, which may help to reveal new physical processes that are not included in standard TDE models.
The gravitational wave signature of a binary black hole (BBH) merger is dependent on its component mass and spin. If such black holes originate from rapidly rotating progenitors, the large angular momentum reserve in the star could drive a collapsar-like supernova explosion, hence substantially impacting these characteristics of the black holes in the binary. To examine the effect of stellar rotation on the resulting black hole mass and spin, we conduct a 1D general relativistic study of the end phase of the collapse. We find that the resulting black hole mass at times differ significantly from the previously assumed values. We quantify the dependence of the black hole spin magnitude on the hydrodynamics of the accretion flow, providing analytical relations for calculating the mass and spin based on the progenitor's pre-collapse properties. Depending on the nature of the accretion flow, our findings have implications for the black hole upper mass gap resulting from pair-instability supernovae, the maximum mass of a maximally rotating stellar black hole ($M_{\rm BH, max} \approx 35M_\odot$), and the maximum effective spin of a BBH formed in tidally locked helium star - black hole binary ($\chi_{\rm eff, max} \approx 0.325$).
Recent inference results of the sound velocity in the cores of neutron stars are summarized. Implications for the equation of state and the phase structure of highly compressed baryonic matter are discussed. In view of the strong constraints imposed by the heaviest known pulsars, the equation of state must be very stiff in order to ensure the stability of these extreme objects. This required stiffness limits the possible appearance of phase transitions in neutron star cores. For example, a Bayes factor analysis quantifies strong evidence for squared sound velocities $c_s^2 > 0.1$ in the cores of 2.1 solar-mass and lighter neutron stars. Only weak first-order phase transitions with a small phase coexistence density range $\Delta\rho/\rho < 0.2$ (at 68\% level) in a Maxwell construction turn out to be still possible within neutron stars. The central baryon densities in even the heaviest neutron stars do not exceed five times the density of normal nuclear matter. In view of these data-based constraints, much discussed issues such as the quest for a phase transition towards restored chiral symmetry, and the active degrees of freedom in cold and dense baryonic matter, are reexamined.
A cosmological model based on two scalar fields is proposed. The first of these, $\varphi$, has mass $\mu$, while the second, $\chi$, is massless. The pair are coupled through a ``Higgs portal''. First, we show how the model reproduces the Friedmann equations if the square of the mass of $\varphi$ is proportional to the cosmological constant and $\chi$ represents the quintessence field. Quantum corrections break the conformal symmetry and $\chi$ acquires a mass that is equal to $\sqrt{3g \Lambda}$. Using dimensional analysis, we estimate the coupling constant and the mass of $\chi$ and obtain that $g\sim 10^{-26}$ and $m_\chi \sim 4.5\times10^{-10}\,$ eV, which is in accordance with what is expected in the quintessence scenario. the acceleration of the universe is proportional to $\chi^2$, we conclude that for very long times, the solution of the equation of motion goes to ${m_\chi}/{{\sqrt\lambda}}$ and the universe, although it continues to accelerate, the acceleration is constant
Rest-UV spectroscopy can constrain properties of the stellar populations, outflows, covering fractions, and can indirectly constrain the Lyman continuum escape fraction of galaxies. Many works have studied the rest-UV spectra of more massive star forming galaxies and low-mass galaxies selected via strong nebular line emission or via Ly$\alpha$ emission. However, studies of rest-UV spectroscopy have yet to be done on an unbiased sample at low mass during the epoch of peak star formation ($z\sim2$). We present a stacked rest-UV spectrum of a complete sample of 16 dwarf galaxies ($\rm \langle log(M^*/M_\odot)\rangle_{median} = 8.2$) at $z\sim2$. The rest-UV Keck/LRIS spectroscopy is complemented by rest-optical Keck/MOSFIRE spectroscopy and Hubble photometry. We find generally larger Ly$\alpha$ equivalent widths ($\rm EW_{Ly\alpha} = 11.2\;$\AA) when compared with higher mass ($\rm \langle log(M^*/M_\odot)\rangle_{median} = 10.3$) composites from KBSS ($\rm EW_{Ly\alpha} = -5\;$\AA). The average low- and high-ionization absorption line EWs ($\rm EW_{LIS}$ and $\rm EW_{HIS}$, respectively) are weaker ($\rm EW_{LIS}$=-1.18 \AA, $\rm EW_{HIS}=$-0.99 \AA) in dwarf galaxies than in higher mass galaxies ($\rm EW_{LIS}$=-2.04 \AA, $\rm EW_{HIS}=$-1.42 \AA). The LIS absorption lines are optically thick and is thus a good tracer of the neutral hydrogen covering fraction. Both higher $\rm EW_{Ly\alpha}$ and lower $\rm EW_{LIS}$ measurements imply that the escape fraction of ionizing radiation is larger in lower-mass galaxies at $z\sim2$.
We have identified 189 candidate $z > 1.3$ protoclusters and clusters in the LSST Deep Drilling Fields. This sample will enable the measurement of the metal enrichment and star formation history of clusters during their early assembly period through the direct measurement of the rate of supernovae identified through the LSST. The protocluster sample was selected from galaxy overdensities in a $Spitzer$/IRAC colour-selected sample using criteria that were optimised for protocluster purity using a realistic lightcone. Our tests reveal that $60-80\%$ of the identified candidates are likely to be genuine protoclusters or clusters, which is corroborated by a $\sim4\sigma$ stacked X-ray signal from these structures. We provide photometric redshift estimates for 47 candidates which exhibit strong peaks in the photo-$z$ distribution of their candidate members. However, the lack of a photo-$z$ peak does not mean a candidate is not genuine, since we find a stacked X-ray signal of similar significance from both the candidates that exhibit photo-$z$ peaks and those that do not. Tests on the lightcone reveal that our pursuit of a pure sample of protoclusters results in that sample being highly incomplete ($\sim4\%$) and heavily biased towards larger, richer, more massive, and more centrally concentrated protoclusters than the total protocluster population. Most ($\sim75\%$) of the selected protoclusters are likely to have a maximum collapsed halo mass of between $10^{13}-10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$, with only $\sim25\%$ likely to be collapsed clusters above $10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$. However, the aforementioned bias ensures our sample is $\sim50\%$ complete for structures that have already collapsed into clusters more massive than $10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$.
SPectra Analysis and Retrievable Catalog Lab (SPARCL) at NOIRLab's Astro Data Lab was created to efficiently serve large optical and infrared spectroscopic datasets. It consists of services, tools, example workflows and currently contains spectra for over 7.5 million stars, galaxies and quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We aim to eventually support the broad range of spectroscopic datasets that will be hosted at NOIRLab and beyond. Major elements of SPARCL include capabilities to discover and query for spectra based on parameters of interest, a fast web service that delivers desired spectra either individually or in bulk as well as documentation and example Jupyter Notebooks to empower users in their research. More information is available on the SPARCL website (https://astrosparcl.datalab.noirlab.edu).
We present a novel, deep-learning based method -- dubbed Galactic-Seismology Substructures and Streams Hunter, or GS$^{3}$ Hunter for short, to search for substructures and streams in stellar kinematics data. GS$^{3}$ Hunter relies on a combined application of Siamese Neural Networks to transform the phase space information and the K-means algorithm for the clustering. As a validation test, we apply GS$^{3}$ Hunter to a subset of the Feedback in Realistic Environments (FIRE) cosmological simulations. The stellar streams and substructures thus identified are in good agreement with corresponding results reported earlier by the FIRE team. In the same vein, we apply our method to a subset of local halo stars from the Gaia Early Data Release 3 and GALAH DR3 datasets, and recover several, previously known dynamical groups, such as Thamnos 1+2, Hot Thick Disk, ED-1, L-RL3, Helmi 1+2, and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, Sequoia, VRM, Cronus, Nereus. Finally, we apply our method without fine-tuning to a subset of K-giant stars located in the inner halo region, obtained from the LAMOST Data Release 5 (DR5) dataset. We recover three, previously known structures (Sagittarius, Hercules-Aquila Cloud, and the Virgo Overdensity), but we also discover a number of new substructures. We anticipate that GS$^{3}$ Hunter will become a useful tool for the community dedicated to the search of stellar streams and structures in the Milky Way (MW) and the Local group, thus helping advance our understanding of the stellar inner and outer halos, and of the assembly and tidal stripping history in and around the MW.
Multispectral studies of nearby, forming stars provide insights into all classes of accreting systems. Objects which have magnetic fields, spin, and accrete produce jets and collimated outflows. Jets are seen in systems ranging from brown dwarf stars to supermassive black holes. Outflow speeds are typically a few times the escape speed from the launch region - 100s of \kms\ for young stars to nearly the speed of light for black-holes. Because many young stellar objects (YSOs) are nearby, we can see outflow evolution and measure proper motions on times scales of years. Because the shocks in YSO outflows emit in atoms, ions, and molecules in addition to the continuum, many physical properties such as temperatures, densities, and velocities can be measured. Momenta and kinetic energies can be computed. YSO outflows are a major source of feedback in the self-regulation of star formation. The lessons learned can be applied to much more distant and energetic cosmic sources such as AGN and galactic nuclear super winds - systems in which evolution occurs on time-scales of hundreds to millions of years. Some dense star-forming regions produce powerful explosions. The nearest massive star-forming region, Orion OMC1, powered a $\sim 10^{48}$ erg explosion about 550 years ago (that is when the light from the event would have reached the Solar System). The OMC1 explosion was likely powered by an N-body interaction which resulted in the formation of a compact, AU-scale binary or resulted in a protostellar merger. The binary or merger remnant, the $\sim$15 \Msol\ object known as radio source I (Src I) was ejected from the core with a speed of $\sim$10 \kms\ along with two other stars. The $\sim$10~\Msol\ BN object was ejected with $\sim$30~\kms\ and a $\sim$3~\Msol\ star was ejected with $\sim$55~\kms .
We search for high-velocity stars in the inner region of the Galactic bulge using a selected sample of red clump stars. Some of those stars might be considered hypervelocity stars (HVSs). Even though the HVSs ejection relies on an interaction with the supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the centre of the Galaxy, there are no confirmed detections of HVSs in the inner region of our Galaxy. With the detection of HVSs, ejection mechanism models can be constrained by exploring the stellar dynamics in the Galactic centre through a recent stellar interaction with the SMBH. Based on a previously developed methodology by our group, we searched with a sample of preliminary data from version 2 of the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) Infrared Astrometric Catalogue (VIRAC2) and Gaia DR3 data, including accurate optical and NIR proper motions. This search resulted in a sample of 46 stars with transverse velocities larger than the local escape velocity within the Galactic bulge, of which 4 are prime candidate HVSs with high-proper motions consistent with being ejections from the Galactic centre. Adding to that, we studied a sample of reddened stars without a Gaia DR3 counterpart and found 481 stars with transverse velocities larger than the local escape velocity, from which 65 stars have proper motions pointing out of the Galactic centre and are candidate HVSs. In total, we found 69 candidate HVSs pointing away from the Galactic centre with transverse velocities larger than the local escape velocity.
We present a sample of 950 edge-on spiral galaxies found with the use of an artificial neural network in the Hubble Space Telescope COSMOS field. This is currently the largest sample of distant edge-on galaxies. For all galaxies we analyzed the 2D brightness distributions in the F814W filter and measured the radial and vertical exponential scales ($h$ and $h_z$ correspondingly) of the brightness distribution. By comparing the characteristics of distant galaxies with those of nearby objects, we conclude that thin stellar discs with $h/h_z \geq 10$ at $z \approx 0.5$ should be rarer than today. Both exponential scales of the stellar disc show evidence of luminosity-dependent evolution: in faint galaxies the $h$ and $h_z$ values do not change with $z$, in bright (and massive) spiral galaxies both scales, on average, grow towards our epoch.
We present a study of a sample of 45 spectroscopically confirmed, UV luminous galaxies at $z\sim 6$. They were selected as bright Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) using deep multi-band optical images in more than 2 deg$^2$ of the sky, and subsequently identified via their strong Ly$\alpha$ emission. The majority of these LBGs span an absolute UV magnitude range from $-22.0$ to $-20.5$ mag with Ly$\alpha$ equivalent width (EW) between $\sim$10 and $\sim$200 \AA, representing the most luminous galaxies at $z\sim 6$ in terms of both UV continuum emission and Ly$\alpha$ line emission. We model the SEDs of 10 LBGs that have deep infrared observations from HST, JWST, and/or Spitzer, and find that they have a wide range of stellar masses and ages. They also have high star-formation rates ranging from a few tens to a few hundreds of Solar mass per year. Five of the LBGs have JWST or HST images and four of them show compact morphology in these images, including one that is roughly consistent with a point source, suggesting that UV luminous galaxies at this redshift are generally compact. The fraction of our photometrically selected LBGs with strong Ly$\alpha$ emission ($\mathrm{EW}>25$ \AA) is about $0.2$, which is consistent with previous results and supports a moderate evolution of the IGM opacity at the end of cosmic reionization. Using deep X-ray images, we do not find evidence of strong AGN activity in these galaxies, but our constraint is loose and we are not able to rule out the possibility of any weak AGN activity.
We present ALMA observations of two dense gas tracers, HCN(1-0) and HCO$^{+}$(1-0), for three galaxies in the green valley and two galaxies on the star-forming main sequence with comparable molecular gas fractions as traced by the CO(1-0) emissions, selected from the ALMaQUEST survey. We investigate whether the deficit of molecular gas star formation efficiency (SFE$_{\rm mol}$) that leads to the low specific star formation rate in these green valley galaxies is due to a lack of dense gas (characterized by the dense gas fraction $f_{\rm dense}$) or the low star formation efficiency of dense gas (SFE$_{\rm dense}$). We find that SFE$_{\rm mol}$ as traced by the CO emissions, when considering both star-forming and retired spaxels together, is tightly correlated with SFE$_{\rm dense}$ and depends only weakly on $f_{\rm dense}$. The specific star formation rate (sSFR) on kpc scales is primarily driven by SFE$_{\rm mol}$ and SFE$_{\rm dense}$, followed by the dependence on $f_{\rm mol}$, and is least correlated with $f_{\rm dense}$ or the dense-to-stellar mass ratio ($R_{\rm dense}$). When compared with other works in the literature, we find that our green valley sample shows lower global SFE$_{\rm mol}$ as well as lower SFE$_{\rm dense}$ while exhibiting similar dense gas fractions when compared to star-forming and starburst galaxies. We conclude that the star formation of the 3 green valley galaxies with a normal abundance of molecular gas is suppressed mainly due to the reduced SFE$_{\rm dense}$ rather than the lack of dense gas.
We apply methods of particle track reconstruction in High Energy Physics (HEP) to the search for distinct stellar populations in the Milky Way, using the Gaia EDR3 dataset. This was motivated by analogies between the 3D space points in HEP detectors and the positions of stars (which are also points in a coordinate space) and the way collections of space points correspond to particle trajectories in the HEP, while collections of stars from distinct populations (such as stellar streams) can resemble tracks. Track reconstruction consists of multiple steps, the first one being seeding. In this note we describe our implementation and results of the seeding step to the search for distinct stellar populations, and we indicate how the next step will proceed. Our seeding method uses machine learning tools from the FAISS library, such as the kNN nearest neighbor search.
To probe the star formation process, we present an observational investigation of the Pillar IV and an ionized knot HH 216 in the Eagle Nebula (M16). Pillar IV is known to host a Class I protostar that drives a bipolar outflow. The outflow has produced the bow shock, HH 216, which is associated with the red-shifted outflow lobe. The James Webb Space Telescope's near- and mid-infrared images (resolution $\sim$0.07 arcsec - 0.7 arcsec) reveal the protostar as a single, isolated object (below 1000 AU). The outer boundary of Pillar IV is depicted with the 3.3 $\mu$m Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission. HH 216 is traced with the 4.05 $\mu$m Br$\alpha$ and the radio continuum emission, however it is undetected with 4.693 $\mu$m H$_{2}$ emission. HH 216 seems to be associated with both thermal and non-thermal radio emissions. High-resolution images reveal entangled ionized structures (below 3000 AU) of HH 216, which appear to be located toward termination shocks. New knots in 4.693 $\mu$m H$_{2}$ emission are detected, and are mainly found on Pillar IV's northern side. This particular result supports the previously proposed episodic accretion in the powering source of HH 216. One part of the ionized jet (extent $\sim$0.16 pc) is discovered on the southern side of the driving source. Using the $^{12}$CO($J$ = 1-0), $^{12}$CO($J$ = 3-2), and $^{13}$CO($J$ = 1-0) emission, observational signposts of Cloud-Cloud Collision (or interacting clouds) toward Pillar IV are investigated. Overall, our results suggest that the interaction of molecular cloud components around 23 and 26 km s$^{-1}$ might have influenced star formation activity in Pillar IV.
We use high-resolution cosmological simulations to compare the effect of bursty star formation histories on dwarf galaxy structure for two different subgrid supernovae (SNe) feedback models in dwarf galaxies with stellar masses from $5000 <$ M$_*$/M$_\odot$ $< 10^{9}$. Our simulations are run using two distinct supernova feedback models: superbubble and blastwave. We show that both models are capable of producing galaxies that are cored and reproduce observed scaling relations for metallicity, luminosity, mass, and size. We show that continuous bursty star formation and the resulting stellar feedback are able to sustain dark matter cores in the higher dwarf galaxy mass regime, while the majority of ultra-faint and classical dwarfs retain cuspy central dark matter density profiles. We find that both subgrid SN models are able to create bursty star formation histories. We find that effective core formation peaks at M$_*$/M$_\odot$ $\simeq 5 \times 10^{-3}$ for both feedback models. Galaxies simulated with superbubble feedback peak at lower mean burstiness values relative to blastwave feedback, indicating that core formation in the superbubble sample may be less motivated by the burstiness of star formation.
Explore alien solar systems via local star power using interstellar photovoltaics, tailored for the particular target star for maximum power and low mass. We consider tailored organic thin-film photovoltaics. Key for sensing, sending more data back and powering A.I. to send back observational summaries and interesting events and observations. This plus other technology developments are necessary for exploring Alien Solar Systems in the not too distant future.
We present a catalog of 717 candidate galaxies at $z > 8$ selected from 125 square arcminutes of NIRCam imaging as part of the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES). We combine the full JADES imaging dataset with data from the JEMS and FRESCO JWST surveys along with extremely deep existing observations from HST/ACS for a final filter set that includes fifteen JWST/NIRCam filters and five HST/ACS filters. The high-redshift galaxy candidates were selected from their estimated photometric redshifts calculated using a template fitting approach, followed by visual inspection from seven independent reviewers. We explore these candidates in detail, highlighting interesting resolved or extended sources, sources with very red long-wavelength slopes, and our highest redshift candidates, which extend to $z_{phot} = 18$. We also investigate potential contamination by stellar objects, and do not find strong evidence from SED fitting that these faint high-redshift galaxy candidates are low-mass stars. Over 93\% of the sources are newly identified from our deep JADES imaging, including 31 new galaxy candidates at $z_{phot} > 12$. Using 42 sources in our sample with measured spectroscopic redshifts from NIRSpec and FRESCO, we find excellent agreement to our photometric redshift estimates, with no catastrophic outliers and an average difference of $\langle \Delta z = z_{phot}- z_{spec} \rangle= 0.26$. These sources comprise one of the most robust samples for probing the early buildup of galaxies within the first few hundred million years of the Universe's history.
As a considerable investment of time from various telescope facilities were dedicated toward studying the Spiderweb protocluster at $z=2.2$, it so far remains one of the most extensively studied protocluster. We report here the latest results in this field, adding a new dimension to previous research on cluster formation at high redshift. Previous studies have reported a significant overdensity ($\delta\sim10$) of massive H$\alpha$ (+ [Nii]) -emitting galaxies in 3700 comoving Mpc$^3$. Many of these were previously considered to be dusty, actively star-forming galaxies, given their rest-frame optical and infrared features. However, this study argues that a third of them are more likely to be "passively-evolving" galaxies with low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) rather than star-forming galaxies, given the multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting including an AGN component. For their SED-based star formation rates to be valid, bulk of their H$\alpha$ + [Nii] emission should come from the central AGNs. This difference in interpretation between this work and past studies, including ours, is particularly supported by the recent deep Chandra X-ray observation. Furthermore, we have spectroscopically confirmed a quiescent nature for one of these AGNs, with its multiple stellar absorption lines but also low ionisation emission lines. This important update provides new insights into the role of AGNs in forming the cluster red sequence observed in the present-day universe.
Investigating Protostellar Accretion (IPA) is a JWST Cycle~1 GO program that uses NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS to obtain 2.9--28~$\mu$m spectral cubes of young, deeply embedded protostars with luminosities of 0.2 to 10,000~L$_{\odot}$ and central masses of 0.15 to 12~M$_{\odot}$. In this Letter, we report the discovery of a highly collimated atomic jet from the Class~0 protostar IRAS~16253$-$2429, the lowest luminosity source ($L_\mathrm{bol}$ = 0.2 $L_\odot$) in the IPA program. The collimated jet is detected in multiple [Fe~II] lines, [Ne~II], [Ni~II], and H~I lines, but not in molecular emission. The atomic jet has a velocity of about 169~$\pm$~15~km\,s$^{-1}$, after correcting for inclination. The width of the jet increases with distance from the central protostar from 23 to~60 au, corresponding to an opening angle of 2.6~$\pm$~0.5\arcdeg. By comparing the measured flux ratios of various fine structure lines to those predicted by simple shock models, we derive a shock velocity of 54~km\,s$^{-1}$ and a preshock density of 2.0$\times10^{3}$~cm$^{-3}$ at the base of the jet. From these quantities, and assuming a cylindrical cross-section for the jet, we derive an upper limit for the mass loss rate from the protostar of 1.1$\times10^{-10}~M_{\odot}$~yr~$^{-1}$. The low mass loss rate is consistent with simultaneous measurements of low mass accretion rate ($2.4~\pm~0.8~\times~10^{-9}~M_{\odot}$~yr$^{-1}$) for IRAS~16253$-$2429 from JWST observations (Watson et al. in prep), indicating that the protostar is in a quiescent accretion phase. Our results demonstrate that very low-mass protostars can drive highly collimated, atomic jets, even during the quiescent phase.
Far-infrared observations from the \textit{Herschel Space Observatory} are used to estimate the infrared (IR) properties of ultraviolet-selected galaxies. We stack the PACS (100, 160 $\mu \mathrm{m}$) and SPIRE (250, 350 and 500$\mu \mathrm{m}$) maps of the Chandra deep field south (CDFS) on a source list of galaxies selected in the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) in a redshift range of $0.6-1.2$. This source list is created using observations from the XMM-OM telescope survey in the CDFS using the UVW1 (2910 {\AA}) filter. The stacked data are binned according to the UV luminosity function of these sources, and the average photometry of the UV-selected galaxies is estimated. By fitting modified black bodies and IR model templates to the stacked photometry, average dust temperatures and total IR luminosity are determined. The luminosity-weighted average temperatures are consistent with a weak trend of increasing temperature with redshift found by previous studies. Infrared excess, unobscured, and obscured star formation rate (SFR) values are obtained from the UV and IR luminosities. We see a trend in which dust attenuation increases as UV luminosity decreases. It remains constant as a function of IR luminosities at fixed redshift across the luminosity range of our sources. In comparison to local luminous infrared galaxies with similar SFRs, the higher redshift star-forming galaxies in the sample show a lesser degree of dust attenuation. Finally, the inferred dust attenuation is used to correct the unobscured SFR density in the redshift range $0.6-1.2$. The dust-corrected SFR density is consistent with measurements from IR-selected samples at similar redshifts.
We combine photometric data from GALEX GR6+7 AIS and Gaia EDR3 with stellar parameters from the SAGA and PASTEL catalogs to construct high-quality training samples for dwarfs ($\rm 0.4< BP-RP<1.6$) and giants ($\rm 0.6< BP-RP <1.6$). We apply careful reddening corrections using empirical temperature- and extinction-dependent extinction coefficients. Using the two samples, we establish a relationship between stellar loci (NUV$-$BP vs. BP$-$RP colors), metallicity, and $\rm M_G$. For a given BP$-$RP color, a 1 dex change in [Fe/H] corresponds to an approximately 1 magnitude change in NUV$-$BP color for solar-type stars. These relationships are employed to estimate metallicities based on NUV$-$BP, BP$-$RP, and $\rm M_G$. Thanks to the strong metallicity dependence in the GALEX NUV-band, our models enable a typical photometric-metallicity precision of approximately $\sigma_{\rm [Fe/H]}$ = 0.11 dex for dwarfs and $\sigma_{\rm [Fe/H]}$ = 0.17 dex for giants, with an effective metallicity range extending down to [Fe/H] $= -3.0$ for dwarfs and [Fe/H] $= -4.0$ for giants. We also find that the NUV-band based photometric-metallicity estimate is not as strongly affected by carbon enhancement as previous photometric techniques. With the Gaia and GALEX data, we have estimated metallicities for about 5 million stars across almost the entire sky, including approximately 4.5 million dwarfs and 0.5 million giants. This work demonstrates the potential of the NUV-band for estimating photometric metallicities, and sets the groundwork for utilizing the NUV data from space telescopes such as the upcoming Chinese Space Station Telescope.
Filamentary flows toward the centre of molecular clouds have been recognized as a crucial process in the formation and evolution of stellar clusters. In this paper, we present a comprehensive observational study that investigates the gas properties and kinematics of the Giant Molecular Cloud G148.24+00.41 using the observations of CO (1-0) isotopologues. We find that the cloud is massive (10$^5$ M$_\odot$) and is one of the most massive clouds of the outer Galaxy. We identified six likely velocity coherent filaments in the cloud having length, width, and mass in the range of 14$-$38 pc, 2.5$-$4.2 pc, and (1.3$-$6.9) $\times$ 10$^3$ M$_\odot$, respectively. We find that the filaments are converging towards the central area of the cloud, and the longitudinal accretion flows along the filaments are in the range of $\sim$ 26$-$264 M$_\odot$ Myr$^{-1}$. The cloud has fragmented into 7 clumps having mass in the range of $\sim$ 260$-$2100 M$_\odot$ and average size around $\sim$ 1.4 pc, out of which the most massive clump is located at the hub of the filamentary structures, near the geometric centre of the cloud. Three filaments are found to be directly connected to the massive clump and transferring matter at a rate of $\sim$ 675 M$_\odot$ Myr$^{-1}$. The clump hosts a near-infrared cluster. Our results show that large-scale filamentary accretion flows towards the central region of the collapsing cloud is an important mechanism for supplying the matter necessary to form the central high-mass clump and subsequent stellar cluster.
Spectral lightcurves consisting of time series single-pixel spectral measurements of spacecraft are used to infer the spacecraft's attitude and rotation. Two methods are used. One based on numerical optimisation of a regularised least squares cost function, and another based on machine learning with a neural network model. The aim is to work with minimal information, thus no prior is available on the attitude nor on the inertia tensor. The theoretical and practical aspects of this task are investigated, and the methodology is tested on synthetic data. Results are shown based on synthetic data.
Searches for signals at low signal-to-noise ratios frequently involve the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). For high-throughput searches, we here consider FFT on the homogeneous mesh of Processing Elements (PEs) of a wafer-scale engine (WSE). To minimize memory overhead in the inherently non-local FFT algorithm, we introduce a new synchronous slide operation ({\em Slide}) exploiting the fast interconnect between adjacent PEs. Feasibility of compute-limited performance is demonstrated in linear scaling of Slide execution times with varying array size in preliminary benchmarks on the CS-2 WSE. The proposed implementation appears opportune to accelerate and open the full discovery potential of FFT-based signal processing in multi-messenger astronomy.
Although instruments for measuring the radial velocities (RVs) of stars now routinely reach sub-meter per second accuracy, the detection of low-mass planets is still very challenging. The rotational modulation and evolution of spots and/or faculae can induce variations in the RVs at the level of a few m/s in Sun-like stars. To overcome this, a multi-dimensional Gaussian Process framework has been developed to model the stellar activity signal using spectroscopic activity indicators together with the RVs. A recently published computationally efficient implementation of this framework, S+LEAF 2, enables the rapid analysis of large samples of targets with sizeable data sets. In this work, we apply this framework to HARPS observations of 268 well-observed targets with precisely determined stellar parameters. Our long-term goal is to quantify the effectiveness of this framework to model and mitigate activity signals for stars of different spectral types and activity levels. In this first paper in the series, we initially focus on the activity indicators (S-index and Bisector Inverse Slope), and use them to a) measure rotation periods for 49 slow rotators in our sample, b) explore the impact of these results on the spin-down of middle-aged late F, G & K stars, and c) explore indirectly how the spot to facular ratio varies across our sample. Our results should provide valuable clues for planning future RV planet surveys such as the Terra Hunting Experiment or the PLATO ground-based follow-up observations program, and help fine-tune current stellar structure and evolution models.
Deriving atmospheric parameters of a large sample of stars is of vital importance to understand the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. Photometric surveys, especially those with near-ultraviolet filters, can offer accurate measurements of stellar parameters, with the precision comparable to that from low/medium resolution spectroscopy. In this study, we explore the capability of measuring stellar atmospheric parameters from CSST broad-band photometry (particularly the near-ultraviolet bands), based on synthetic colors derived from model spectra. We find that colors from the optical and near-ultraviolet filter systems adopted by CSST show significant sensitivities to the stellar atmospheric parameters, especially the metallicity. According to our mock data tests, the precision of the photometric metallicity is quite high, with typical values of 0.17 dex and 0.20 dex for dwarf and giant stars, respectively. The precision of the effective temperature estimated from broad-band colors are within 50 K.
Future space observatories achieve detection of gravitational waves by interferometric measurements of a carrier phase, allowing to determine relative distance changes, in combination with an absolute distance measurement based on the transmission of pseudo-random noise chip sequences. In addition, usage of direct-sequence spread spectrum modulation enables data transmission. Hereafter, we report on the findings of a novel performance evaluation of planned receiver architectures, performing phase and distance readout sequentially, addressing the interplay between both measurements. An analytical model is presented identifying the power spectral density of the chip modulation at frequencies within the measurement bandwidth as the main driver for phase noise. This model, verified by numerical simulations, excludes binary phase-shift keying modulations for missions requiring pico-meter noise levels at the phase readout, while binary offset carrier modulation, where most of the power has been shifted outside the measurement bandwidth, exhibits superior phase measurement performance. Ranging analyses of the delay-locked loop reveal strong distortion of the pulse shape due to the preceding phase tracking introducing ranging bias variations. Numerical simulations show that these variations, however, which originate from data transitions, are compensated by the delay tracking loop, enabling sub-meter ranging accuracy, irrespective of the modulation type.
With the advent of large-scale astronomical surveys such as the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), the number of alerts generated by transient, variable and moving astronomical objects is growing rapidly, reaching millions per night. Concerning solar system minor planets, their identification requires linking the alerts of many observations over a potentially large time, leading to a very large combinatorial number. This work aims to identify new candidates for solar system objects from massive alert data streams produced by large-scale surveys, such as the ZTF and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Our analysis used the Fink alert broker capabilities to reduce the 111,275,131 processed alerts from ZTF between November 2019 and December 2022 to only 389,530 new solar system alert candidates over the same period. We then implemented a linking algorithm, Fink-FAT, to create real-time trajectory candidates from alert data and extract orbital parameters. The analysis was validated on ZTF alert packets linked to confirmed solar system objects from the Minor Planet Center database. Finally, the results were confronted against follow-up observations. Between November 2019 and December 2022, Fink-FAT extracted 327 new orbits from solar system object candidates at the time of the observations, over which 65 were still unreported in the MPC database as of March 2023. After two late follow-up observation campaigns of six orbit candidates, four were associated with known solar system minor planets, and two remain unknown. Fink-FAT is deployed in the Fink broker and successfully analyzes in real time the alert data from the ZTF survey by regularly extracting new candidates for solar system objects. Our scalability tests also show that Fink-FAT can handle the even larger volume of alert data that the Rubin Observatory will send.
In the context of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), the laser subsystems exhibit frequency fluctuations that introduce significant levels of noise into the measurements, surpassing the gravitational wave signal by several orders of magnitude. Mitigation is achieved via time-shifting individual measurements in a data processing step known as time-delay interferometry (TDI). The suppression performance of TDI relies on accurate knowledge and consideration of the delays experienced by the interfering lasers. While considerable efforts have been dedicated to the accurate determination of inter-spacecraft ranging delays, the sources for onboard delays have been either neglected or assumed to be known. Contrary to these assumptions, analog delays of the phasemeter front end and the laser modulator are not only large but also prone to change with temperature and heterodyne frequency. This motivates our proposal for a novel method enabling a calibration of these delays on-ground and in-space, based on minimal functional additions to the receiver architecture. Specifically, we establish a set of calibration measurements and elucidate how these measurements are utilized in data processing, leading to the mitigation of the delays in the TDI Michelson variables. Following a performance analysis of the calibration measurements, proposed calibration scheme is assessed through numerical simulations. We find that in the absence of the calibration scheme, the assumed drifts of the analog delays increase residual laser noise at high frequencies of the LISA measurement band. A single, on-ground calibration of the analog delays leads to an improvement by roughly one order of magnitude, while re-calibration in space may improve performance by yet another order of magnitude. Towards lower frequencies, ranging error is always found to be the limiting factor for which countermeasures are discussed.
Model-based approaches to imaging, like specialized image enhancements in astronomy, facilitate explanations of relationships between observed inputs and computed outputs. These models may be expressed with extended matrix-vector (EMV) algebra, especially when they involve only scalars, vectors, and matrices, and with n-mode or index notations, when they involve multidimensional arrays, also called numeric tensors or, simply, tensors. While this paper features an example, inspired by exoplanet imaging, that employs tensors to reveal embedded 2D fast Fourier transforms in an image enhancement model, the work is actually about the tensor algebra and software, or tensor frameworks, available for model-based imaging. The paper proposes a Ricci-notation tensor (RT) framework, comprising a dual-variant index notation, with Einstein summation convention, and codesigned object-oriented software, called the RTToolbox for MATLAB. Extensions to Ricci notation offer novel representations for entrywise, pagewise, and broadcasting operations popular in EMV frameworks for imaging. Complementing the EMV algebra computable with MATLAB, the RTToolbox demonstrates programmatic and computational efficiency thanks to careful design of tensor and dual-variant index classes. Compared to its closest competitor, also a numeric tensor framework that uses index notation, the RT framework enables superior ways to model imaging problems and, thereby, to develop solutions.
In this article, we consider a newly proposed parameterization of the viscosity coefficient $\zeta$, specifically $\zeta=\bar{\zeta}_0 {\Omega^s_m} H $, where $\bar{\zeta}_0 = \frac{\zeta_0}{{\Omega^s_{m_0}}} $ within the coincident $f(Q)$ gravity formalism. We consider a non-linear function $f(Q)= -Q +\alpha Q^n$, where $\alpha$ and $n$ are arbitrary model parameters, which is a power-law correction to the STEGR scenario. We find an autonomous system by invoking the dimensionless density parameters as the governing phase-space variables. We discuss the physical significance of the model corresponding to the parameter choices $n=-1$ and $n=2$ along with the exponent choices $s=0, 0.5$, and $1.05$. We find that model I shows the stable de-Sitter type or stable phantom type (depending on the choice of exponent $s$) behavior with no transition epoch, whereas model II shows the evolutionary phase from the radiation epoch to the accelerated de-Sitter epoch via passing through the matter-dominated epoch. Hence, we conclude that model I provides a good description of the late-time cosmology but fails to describe the transition epoch, whereas model II modifies the description in the context of the early universe and provides a good description of the matter and radiation era along with the transition phase.
Recent observational data from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration provide convincing realistic evidence for the existence of black hole rotation. From a phenomenological perspective, a recently proposed stable rotating regular (SRR) black hole circumvents the theoretical flaws of the Kerr solution. For the purpose of obtaining observational signatures of this black hole, we study its gravitational lensing effect. In the strong field limit, we calculate the deflection angle of light, the radius of the photon sphere, and other observables. The observables include the relativistic image position, separation, magnification, and time delays between different images. Then, by modeling M87* and Sgr A* as the SRR black hole, we compute their observables and evaluate the deviation of the observables from the Kerr case. In the weak field limit, we calculate the light deflection angle of M87* and Sgr A* via the Gauss-Bonnet theorem (GBT). With the growth of deviation parameter $e$, the gravitational lensing effect in the weak field limit intensifies monotonically, and the gravitational lensing effect in the strong field limit changes dramatically only at high spins. Our research may contribute to distinguish between SRR black holes from Kerr black holes under higher-precision astronomical observations.
Cosmological dynamics are investigated in detail through systematic procedures by using the autonomous system analyses of gravitational field equations in higher-order symmetric teleparallel equivalent of general relativity. The explicit analyses of the late-time cosmic evolutions are demonstrated for fundamental three types of models under the presence of non-relativistic matter (i.e., dark matter and baryons) as well as radiation. The stability of cosmological solutions is also explored by examining non-hyperbolic critical points based on the center manifold theory. It is shown that the acceleration of the universe can be achieved with the higher curvature gravity. Three different models were considered for the study and dynamical systems analysis technique is incorporated. The main finding of the present analyses is that cosmological solutions in higher-order symmetric teleparallel equivalent of general relativity can effectively fit observable datasets. This is depicted by phase space portraits and qualitative evolution of the cosmological models.
In this article, we compute the two observables, impulse and waveform, in a black hole scattering event for the Scalar-Tensor theory of gravity with a generic scalar potential using the techniques of Worldline Quantum Field Theory. We mainly investigate the corrections to the above mentioned observables due to the extra scalar degree of freedom. For the computation of impulse, we consider the most general scenario by making the scalar field massive and then show that each computed diagram has a smooth massless limit. We compute the waveform for scalar and graviton up to 2PM, taking the scalar as massless. Furthermore, we discuss if the scalar has mass and how the radiation integrals get more involved than the massless case. We also arrive at some analytical results using stationary phase approximation. Interestingly, we also show that the $\lambda_4 \varphi^4$ interaction vertex does not contribute to the radiation by showing that the integral has no non-zero finite value.
It has been established that Black Hole (BH) spacetimes obeying some general set of assumptions always possess, at least, one light ring (per rotation sense) [arXiv:2003.06445]. This theorem was originally established for asymptotically flat, stationary, axial symmetric, 1+3 dimensional circular spacetimes harbouring a non-extremal and topologically spherical Killing horizon. Following the mantra that a theorem is only as strong as its assumptions in this work we extend this theorem to non topologically spherical (toroidal) BHs and to spacetimes harbouring more than one BH. As in [arXiv:2003.06445], we show that each BH still contributes with, at least, one LR (per rotation sense).
When classical degrees of freedom and quantum degrees of freedom are consistently coupled, the former diffuse, while the latter undergo decoherence. Here, we construct a theory of quantum matter fields and Nordstrom gravity in which the space-time metric is treated classically. The dynamics is constructed via the classical-quantum path integral and is completely positive, trace preserving (CPTP), and respects the classical-quantum split. The weak field limit of the model matches the Newtonian limit of the full covariant path integral but it is easier to show that the theory is both diffeomorphism invariant, CPTP, and has the appropriate classical limit.
The General Relativity Effective Field Theory (GREFT) introduces higher-derivative interactions to parameterise the gravitational effects of massive degrees of freedom which are too heavy to be probed directly. The coefficients of these interactions have recently been constrained using causality: both from the analytic structure of 4-point graviton scattering and the time delay of gravitational waves on a black hole background. In this work, causality is used to constrain the quasi-normal mode spectrum of GREFT black holes. Demanding that quasi-normal mode perturbations decay faster in the GREFT than in General Relativity -- a new kind of causality condition which stems from the analytic structure of 2-point functions on a black hole background -- leads to further constraints on the GREFT coefficients. The causality constraints and compact expressions for the GREFT quasi-normal mode frequencies presented here will inform future parameterised gravitational waveforms, and the observational prospects for gravitational wave observatories are briefly discussed.
The article reviews recent progress in computational quantum gravity caused by the framework that efficiently computes Feynman's rules. The framework is implemented in the FeynGrav package, which extends the functionality of the widely used FeynCalc package. FeynGrav provides all the tools to study quantum gravitational effects within the standard model. We review the framework, provide the theoretical background for the efficient computation of Feynman rules, and present the proof of its completeness. We review the derivation of Feynman rules for general relativity, Horndeski gravity, Dirac fermions, Proca field, electromagnetic field, and SU(N) Yang-Mills model. We conclude with a discussion of the current state of the FeynGrav package and discuss its further development.
In this paper, we investigate the shadow and optical appearance of the hairy Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m (RN) black hole illuminated by two toy models of static accretion. The hairy RN black hole describes the deformation of a Schwarzschild black hole due to the inclusion of additional arbitrary source (scalar field, tensor field, fluidlike dark matter, etc.), which is characterized by the parameters: mass ($M$), deformation factor ($\alpha$), electric charge ($Q$) and the additional hairy charge ($l_o$). We find that for the hairy RN black hole, the event horizon, radius of photon sphere and critical impact parameter all increase as the increasings of $Q$ and $l_o$,but decrease as $\alpha$ grows. Furthermore, the three characterized parameters are found to have significant effects on the photon trajectories, and shadows as well as images of the hairy RN black hole surrounded by the static accretion disk and spherical accretion, respectively. In particular, both $Q$ and $l_o$ have mutually reinforcing effects on the optical appearance and shadows of the hairy RN black hole, which implies that we may not distinguish the electric charge and hairy charge from the shadow and image of black hole in this scenario. Additionally, because of the competing effects of the charge parameters ($Q, l_o$) and the deviation parameter $\alpha$ on the observed intensities of brightness, the optical appearance between the hairy RN black hole and RN black hole could have degeneracies, indicating the indistinguishability.
Using the Ernst formalism, a novel solution of vacuum General Relativity was recently obtained [1], describing a Schwarzschild black hole (BH) immersed in a non-asymptotically flat rotating background, dubbed swirling universe, with the peculiar property that north and south hemispheres spin in opposite directions. We investigate the null geodesic flow and, in particular, the existence of light rings in this vacuum geometry. By evaluating the total topological charge $w$, we show that there exists one unstable light ring ($w=-1$) for each rotation sense of the background. We observe that the swirling background drives the Schwarzschild BH light rings outside the equatorial plane, displaying counter-rotating motion with respect to each other, while (both) co-rotating with respect to the swirling universe. Using backwards ray-tracing, we obtain the shadow and gravitational lensing effects, revealing a novel feature for observers on the equatorial plane: the BH shadow displays an odd $\mathbb{Z}_2$ (north-south) symmetry, inherited from the same type of symmetry of the spacetime itself: a twisted shadow.
Here, we present an algebraic and kinematical analysis of non-commutative $\kappa$-Minkowski spaces within Galilean (non-relativistic) and Carrollian (ultra-relativistic) regimes. Utilizing the theory of Wigner-In\"{o}nu contractions, we begin with a brief review of how one can apply these contractions to the well-known Poincar\'{e} algebra, yielding the corresponding Galilean (both massive and mass-less) and Carrollian algebras as $c \to \infty$ and $c\to 0$, respectively. Subsequently, we methodically apply these contractions to non-commutative $\kappa$-deformed spaces, revealing compelling insights into the interplay among the non-commutative parameters $a^\mu$ (with $|a^\nu|$ being of the order of Planck length scale) and the speed of light $c$ as it approaches both infinity and zero. Our exploration predicts a sort of "branching" of the non-commutative parameters $a^\mu$, leading to the emergence of a novel length scale and time scale in either limit. Furthermore, our investigation extends to the examination of curved momentum spaces and their geodesic distances in appropriate subspaces of the $\kappa$-deformed Newtonian and Carrollian space-times. We finally delve into the study of their deformed dispersion relations, arising from these deformed geodesic distances, providing a comprehensive understanding of the nature of these space-times.
This study introduces a novel approach for solving the cosmological field equations within scalar field theory by employing the Eisenhart lift. The field equations are reformulated as a system of geodesic equations for the Eisenhart metric. In the case of an exponential potential, the Eisenhart metric is shown to be conformally flat. By applying basic geometric principles, a new set of dynamical variables is identified, allowing for the linearization of the field equations and the derivation of classical cosmological solutions. However, the quantization of the Eisenhart system reveals a distinct set of solutions for the wavefunction, particularly in the presence of symmetry breaking at the quantum level.
We develop a relativistic framework to investigate the evolution of cosmological structures from the initial density perturbations to the highly non-linear regime. Our approach involves proposing a procedure to match 'best-fit', exact Bianchi IX (BIX) spacetimes to finite regions within the perturbed Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe characterized by a positive averaged spatial curvature. This method enables us to approximately track the non-linear evolution of the initial perturbation using an exact solution. Unlike standard perturbation theory and exact solutions with a high degree of symmetry (such as spherical symmetry), our approach is applicable to a generic initial data, with the only requirement being positive spatial curvature. By employing the BIX symmetries, we can systematically incorporate the approximate effects of shear and curvature into the process of collapse. Our approach addresses the limitations of both standard perturbation theory and highly symmetric exact solutions, providing valuable insights into the non-linear evolution of cosmological structures.
The behaviour of a chaotic system and its effect on existing quantum correlation has been holographically studied in presence of non-conformality. Keeping in mind the gauge/gravity duality framework, the non-conformality in the dual field theory has been introduced by considering a Liouville type dilaton potential for the gravitational theory. The resulting black brane solution is associated with a parameter $\eta$ which represents the deviation from conformality. The parameters of chaos, namely, the Lyapunov exponent and butterfly velocity are computed by following the well-known shock wave analysis. The obtained results reveal that presence of non-conformality leads to suppression of the chaotic nature of a system. Further, for a particular value of the nonconformal parameter $\eta$, the system achieves Lyapunov stability resulting from the vanishing of both Lyapunov exponent and butterfly velocity. Interestingly, this particular value of $\eta$ matches with the previously given upper bound of $\eta$. The effects of chaos and non-conformality on the existing correlation of a thermofield doublet state have been quantified by holographically computing the two-sided mutual information in both the presence and absence of the shock wave. Furthermore, the entanglement velocity is also computed and the effect of non-conformality on it have been observed. Finally, the obtained results of Lyapunov exponent and butterfly velocity have also been verified from the pole-skipping analysis.
Motivated by the potential connection between metric-affine gravity and linear Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) in the phase space, we develop a covariant form of linear GUP and an associated modified Poincar\'e algebra, which exhibits distinctive behavior, nearing nullity at the minimal length scale proposed by linear GUP. We use 3-torus geometry to visually represent linear GUP within a covariant framework. The 3-torus area provides an exact geometric representation of Bekenstein's universal bound. We depart from Bousso's approach, which adapts Bekenstein's bound by substituting the Schwarzschild radius ($r_s$) with the radius ($R$) of the smallest sphere enclosing the physical system, thereby basing the covariant entropy bound on the sphere's area. Instead, our revised covariant entropy bound is described by the area of a 3-torus, determined by both the inner radius $r_s$ and outer radius $R$ where $r_s\leq R $ due to gravitational stability. This approach results in a more precise geometric representation of Bekenstein's bound, notably for larger systems where Bousso's bound is typically much larger than Bekensetin's universal bound. Furthermore, we derive an equation that turns the standard uncertainty inequality into an equation when considering the contribution of the 3-torus covariant entropy bound, suggesting a new avenue of quantum gravity.
The ringdown phase of a binary black hole merger is modelled by the quasi-normal modes of a perturbed Kerr black hole within general relativity. According to the black hole no-hair theorem, the emitted ringdown spectra are constrained by the mass and spin of the remnant black hole and thus offer an excellent test of the Kerr-nature of black holes. We employ the Johannsen-Psaltis metric ansatz as a parameterization of beyond-Kerr effects and analyze the ringdown of two binary black hole merger events- GW150914 and GW190521 to constrain the deviation from Kerr. Due to the larger signal-to-noise ratio and the presence of the additional subdominant mode in the ringdown phase, we find a factor of ~2 improvement in constraints on the deviation parameter in the case of GW190521 as compared to GW150914. Moreover, we find that the deviation parameter is anti-correlated to the spin of the remnant black hole. We also explore the effect of priors for other physical parameters on the Kerr deviation.
We introduce a notion of residual diffeomorphism covariance in quantum Kantowski-Sachs (KS), describing the interior of a Schwarzschild black hole. We solve for the family of Hamiltonian constraint operators satisfying the associated covariance condition, as well as parity invariance, preservation of the Bohr Hilbert space of Loop Quantum KS and a correct (na\"ive) classical limit. We further explore imposing minimality of the number of terms, and compare the solution with other Hamiltonian constraints proposed for Loop Quantum KS in the literature. In particular, we discuss a lapse recently commonly chosen due to the resulting decoupling of evolution of the two degrees of freedom and exact solubility of the model. We show that such a lapse choice can indeed be quantized as an operator densely defined on the Bohr Hilbert space, and that any such operator must include an infinite number of shift operators.
The Hubble tension in cosmology is not showing signs of alleviation and thus it is important to look for alternative approaches into it. One such example would be an eventual detection of a time-delay between simultaneously emitted high energy and low energy photons in gamma-ray bursts (GRB). This would signal a possible Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) and in the case of non-zero quantum gravity time-delay, it can be used to study cosmology as well. In this work, we use various astrophysical datasets (BAO, Pantheon Plus and the CMB distance priors), combined with two GRB time-delay datasets with their respective models for the {\em intrinsic time-delay}. Since the intrinsic time delay is considered the largest source of uncertainty in such studies, finding a better model is important. Our results yield as quantum gravity energy bound $E_{QG}\ge 10^{17}$ GeV and $E_{QG}\ge 10^{18}$ GeV respectively. The difference between standard approximation (constant intrinsic lag) and the extended (non-constant) approximations is minimal in most cases we consider. On the contrary, the biggest effect on the results comes from the prior on the parameter $\frac{c}{H_0 r_d}$ emphasizing once again that at current precision, cosmology is the dominant factor. We estimate the energies above which cosmology gets significantly affected by the time-delay dataset.
The minimal-length paradigm is a cornerstone of quantum gravity phenomenology. Recently, it has been demonstrated that minimal-length quantum mechanics can alternatively be described as an undeformed theory set on a nontrivial momentum space. However, there is no fully consistent formulation of these theories beyond Cartesian coordinates in flat space and, in particular, no position representation. This paper is intended to take the first steps in bridging this gap. We find a natural position representation of the position and momentum operators on general curved cotangent bundles. In an expansion akin to Riemann normal coordinates with curvature in both position and momentum space, we apply the formalism perturbatively to the isotropic harmonic oscillator and the hydrogenic atom. Due to the symmetry of the harmonic oscillator under exchange of positions and momenta, we show that it is impossible to distinguish position- from momentum- space curvature with oscillators alone. Thus, we obtain an instantiation of Born reciprocity on the curved cotangent bundle, i. e. in precisely the way Born originally envisioned. It manifests itself as a symmetry mixing UV and IR physics, reminiscent of T-duality in string theory.
We establish the global existence and stability to the future of non-linear perturbation of de Sitter-like solutions to the Einstein-Yang-Mills system in $n \geq 4$ spacetime dimension. This generalizes Friedrich's Einstein-Yang-Mills stability results in dimension $n=4$ [ J Differ Geom 34 (1991), 275-345] to all higher dimensions.
Lattice regularization of the theory of gravity provides a new possibility for study of the Big Bang problem. Moreover, the very possibility of studying the state of the Universe at the highest temperatures appears. In the 2D and 4D lattice theories of gravity, the existence of a high-temperature phase is proved, which is characterized by the folding of space into a point and zeroing of the energy-momentum tensor. This fact leads to the hypothesis that there are at least two phases in the 4D lattice theory, and the main properties of the high-temperature phase are similar to those described above. The solution of the Einstein equation in the low temperature phase within the framework of the Friedmann paradigm with a finite bare cosmological constant is mathematically correct, since all local physical quantities (energy density including vacuum energy, etc.) on the lattice are finite. As a result, a solution is obtained that demonstrates an exponential growth of the cosmological scale factor $a(t)$ in the initial period of evolution (inflation phase of the Universe) and then passes into a power law ($a(t)\propto\sqrt{t}$).
In this work, we study the existence of gradient (proper) CKVs in locally rotationally symmetric spacetimes (LRS), those CKVs in the space spanned by the tangent to observers' congruence and the preferred spatial direction, allowing us to provide a (partial) characterization of gradient conformally static (GCSt) LRS solutions. Irrrotational solutions with non-zero spatial twist admit an irrotational timelike gradient conformal Killing vector field and hence are GCSt. In the case that both the vorticity and twist vanish, that is, restricting to the LRS II subclass, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition for the spacetime to admit a gradient CKV. This is given by a single wave-like PDE, whose solutions are in bijection to the gradient CKVs on the spacetime. We then introduce a characterization of these spacetimes as GCSt using the character of the divergence of the CKV, provided that the metric functions of the spacetimes obey certain inequalities.
We formulate $f(Q,C)$ gravity and cosmology. Such a construction is based on the symmetric teleparallel geometry, but apart form the non-metricity scalar $Q$ we incorporate in the Lagrangian the boundary term $C$ of its difference form the standard Levi-Civita Ricci scalar $\mathring R$. We extract the general metric and affine connection field equations, we apply them at a cosmological framework, and adopting three different types of symmetric teleparallel affine connections we obtain the modified Friedmann equations. As we show, we acquire an effective dark-energy sector of geometrical origin, which can lead to interesting cosmological phenomenology. Additionally, we may obtain an effective interaction between matter and dark energy. Finally, examining a specific model, we show that we can obtain the usual thermal history of the universe, with the sequence of matter and dark-energy epochs, while the effective dark-energy equation-of-state parameter can be quintessence-like, phantom-like, or cross the phantom-divide during evolution.
It was shown in previous work that when a gravitational wave (GW) passes through a viscous shell of matter the magnitude of the GW will be damped and there are astrohysical circumstances in which the damping is almost complete. The energy transfer from the GWs to the fluid will increase its temperature. We construct a model for this process and obtain an expression for the temperature distribution inside the shell in terms of spherical harmonics. Further, it is shown that this effect is astrophysically significant: a model problem is constructed for which the temperature increase is of order $10^6{}^\circ$K.
We consider dimensional reduction of cigar geometries which are obtained by a Wick rotation of black hole solutions. Originally the cigar geometry is smooth around the tip, but after the dimensional reduction along the Euclidean time direction, there appears an end-of-the-world brane (ETW brane). We derive the tension of the brane by two methods: bulk equations of motion and boundary equations of motion. In particular, for AdS7-soliton cross S4 and AdS4-soliton cross S7 backgrounds in M-theory, we find that the tension of the emerging ETW branes behaves as exp(-3Phi) in the string frame. This indicates the existence of such ETW branes in the strongly coupled regime of type 0A string theory.
We develop a formalism for calculating the entanglement entropy of an arbitrary spatial region of a gravitating spacetime at a moment of time symmetry. The crucial ingredient is a path integral over embeddings of the region into the overall spacetime, interpretable as a sum over the edge modes associated with the region. We find that the entanglement entropy of a gravitating region equals the minimal surface area among all regions that enclose it. This suggests a notion of "terrestrial holography" where regions of space can encode larger ones, in contrast to the standard form of holography, in which degrees of freedom on the celestial sphere at the boundary of the universe encode the interior.
In this paper, we investigate the optical properties of the black hole in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar (EMS) theory. We evaluate the shadow cast by the black hole and obtain analytical solutions for both the radius of the photon sphere and the shadow radius. We observe that the black hole parameters $\gamma$ and $\beta$ both influence the shadow of black hole. It is shown that the photon sphere and the shadow radius increase as a consequence of the presence of parameter $\gamma$. Interestingly, we show that shadow radius decreases first and then remains unchanged due to the impact of parameter $\beta$. Finally, we consider the weak gravitational lensing and the total magnification of lensed images around black hole. We find that the black hole charge and parameter $\beta$ both give rise to a significant effect, reducing the deflection angle. Similarly, the same behaviour for the total magnification is observed due to the effect of black hole charge and parameter $\beta$.
Scattering amplitudes for the simplest theory of colored scalar particles - the Tr($\phi^3$) theory - have recently been the subject of active investigations. In this letter we describe an unanticipated wider implication of this work: the Tr($\phi^3$) theory secretly contains Non-linear Sigma Model (NLSM) amplitudes to all loop orders. At tree level, the NLSM amplitudes are obtained from Tr$(\phi^3)$ amplitudes by a unique shift of kinematic variables, guaranteeing the correct pole structure, factorization, and the Adler zero. Remarkably, essentially the same shifts for tree and loop kinematic variables of the planar Tr$(\phi^3)$ integrand produce the planar loop integrand of the NLSM with correct poles and residues, exhibiting the Adler zero for the integrated amplitudes. Similar kinematic shifts produce certain infinite classes of mixed amplitudes of pions and Tr($\phi^3$) scalars.
A major objective of the strong ongoing drive to realize quantum simulators of gauge theories is achieving the capability to probe collider-relevant physics on them. In this regard, a highly pertinent and sought-after application is the controlled collisions of elementary and composite particles, as well as the scattering processes in their wake. Here, we propose particle-collision experiments in a cold-atom quantum simulator for a $1+1$D $\mathrm{U}(1)$ lattice gauge theory with a tunable topological $\theta$-term, where we demonstrate an experimentally feasible protocol to impart momenta to elementary (anti)particles and their meson composites. We numerically benchmark the collisions of moving wave packets for both elementary and composite particles, uncovering a plethora of rich phenomena, such as oscillatory string dynamics in the wake of elementary (anti)particle collisions due to confinement. We also probe string inversion and entropy production processes across Coleman's phase transition through far-from-equilibrium quenches. We further demonstrate how collisions of composite particles unveil their internal structure. Our work paves the way towards the experimental investigation of collision dynamics in state-of-the-art quantum simulators of gauge theories, and sets the stage for microscopic understanding of collider-relevant physics in these platforms.
The hadron mass can be obtained through the calculation of the trace of the energy momentum tensor (EMT) in the hadron which includes the trace anomaly and sigma terms. The anomaly due to the conformal symmetry breaking is believed to be an important ingredient for hadron mass generation and confinement. In this work, we will present the calculation of the glue part of the trace anomaly form factors of the pion up to $Q^2\sim 4.3~\mathrm{GeV}^2$ and the nucleon up to $Q^2\sim 1~\mathrm{GeV}^2$. The calculations are performed on a domain wall fermion (DWF) ensemble with overlap valence quarks at 7 valence pion masses varying from $\sim 250$ $\mathrm{MeV}$ to $\sim 540$ $\mathrm{MeV}$, including the unitary point $\sim 340$ $\mathrm{MeV}$. We calculate the radius of the glue trace anomaly for the pion and the nucleon from the $z$-expansion. By performing a two-dimensional Fourier transform on the glue trace anomaly form factors in the infinite momentum frame with no energy transfer, we also obtain their spatial distributions for several valence quark masses. The results are extrapolated to the physical pion mass. We find the pion's form factor changes sign, as does its spatial distribution, for light quark masses. This explains how the trace anomaly contribution to the pion mass approaches zero toward the chiral limit.
We construct an exact solution to the revised small-$x$ orbital angular momentum (OAM) evolution equations derived recently, based on an earlier work. These equations are derived in the double logarithmic approximation (summing powers of $\alpha_s \ln^2(1/x)$ with $\alpha_s$ the strong coupling constant and $x$ the Bjorken $x$ variable) and the large-$N_c$ limit, with $N_c$ the number of quark colors. From our solution, we extract the small-$x$, large-$N_c$ expressions of the quark and gluon OAM distributions. Additionally, we determine the large-$N_c$ small-$x$ asymptotics of the OAM distributions to be \begin{align} \notag L_{q+\bar{q}}(x,Q^2) \sim L_G(x,Q^2) \sim \Delta \Sigma (x,Q^2) \sim \Delta G(x,Q^2) \sim \left(\frac{1}{x} \right)^{\alpha_h}, \end{align} with the intercept $\alpha_h$ the same as obtained in the small-$x$ helicity evolution, which can be approximated as $\alpha_h \approx 3.66074 \sqrt{\frac{\alpha_s N_c}{2\pi}}$. This result is in complete agreement with the literature. Additionally, we calculate the ratio of the quark and gluon OAM distributions to the flavor-singlet quark and gluon helicity parton distribution functions respectively in the small-$x$ region.
Using simulations at multiple imaginary chemical potentials for $(2+1)$-flavor QCD, we construct multi-point Pad\'e approximants. We determine the singularties of the Pad\'e approximants and demonstrate that they are consistent with the expected universal scaling behaviour of the Lee-Yang edge singularities. We also use a machine learning model, Masked Autoregressive Density Estimator (MADE), to estimate the density of the Lee-Yang edge singularities at each temperature. This ML model allows us to interpolate between the temperatures. Finally, we extrapolate to the QCD critical point using an appropriate scaling ansatz.
We review recent progress on the numerical determination of the Hadronic Light-by-Light contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. We advocate for a slight increase of the White Paper number for its Standard Model prediction, to $(102\pm17)\times10^{-11}$, accounting for a revised contribution from axial-vector mesons and short-distance constraints. This $\sim10\%$ larger result seems to be supported by the most recent lattice QCD evaluations.
We discuss the notion of cumulative activity for elastic events in hadron collisions, its energy dependence and connection with the reflective scattering mode. The interrelation between centrality and cumulative activities of the elastic and inelastic events has been established for hadron scattering. Considerations on its application are presented.
Because of color confinement, hadrons are crucial when studying strong interactions. This paper focuses on the factorization of coupling constants of strong interactions within the hadronic background field. We discovered that the coupling constant within the background field is made up of two components: the gluon distribution function of the background field and a constant. This finding provides a foundational comprehension of coupling constants, which significantly contributes to our understanding of reaction processes and the perturbative nature of the theory.
The inclusion of two triplet scalars in the Standard Model (SM) enables to accommodate neutrino mass generation as well as baryogenesis through leptogenesis. One of the essential ingredients of leptogenesis is the violation of charge conjugation and parity (CP) symmetry in lepton number-violating decays of the triplet scalars. We work on the promising sector of spontaneous CP violation (SCPV) which is manifested by the involvement of one scalar singlet and two scalar fields, added to the SM. The predictive aspect of the model is accomplished by imposing $A_4 \times Z_4$ symmetry which results in the traditional tribimaximal mixing pattern. With updated data on neutrino oscillation, we study the parameter space of the model. The phase of the complex vacuum expectation value (VEV) of the singlet scalar acts as the common source of CP violation in both low and high-energy sectors. Due to the flavor symmetry of the model, required baryon asymmetry cannot be accomplished via unflavored leptogenesis. In the temperature regime, $\left[ 10^{9}, 10^{12} \right]$ GeV when flavor effects become important in the study of leptogenesis, it is shown that baryogenesis is achievable. The rich flavor interplay is explored through the study of the density matrix equations. We also study the interplay of hierarchical branching ratios of the decay of the triplet scalars and SCPV phase to accommodate the required CP asymmetry to account for the final baryon asymmetry in the observational range. Considering all possible mass hierarchies among the triplet scalars, the flavor structure of the triplet Yukawa couplings results in different scales of leptogenesis.
The complex Langevin (CL) method shows great promise in enabling the calculation of observables for theories with complex actions. Nevertheless, real-time quantum field theories have remained largely unsolved due to the particular severity of the sign problem. In this contribution, we discuss our recent progress in applying CL to a thermal SU(2) Yang-Mills theory on a 3+1 dimensional lattice. We present our anisotropic kernel that stabilizes the CL approach for real times longer than the inverse temperature - a first for Yang-Mills theory. We provide explicit evidence of reproducing symmetries and relations among different types of propagators when the complex time path approaches the Schwinger-Keldysh contour. This method paves the way for calculating transport coefficients and other real-time observables from first principles.
It is commonly believed that string theory amplitudes cannot be expanded in terms of poles of all channels, thereby distinguishing them from the usual Feynman diagram expansion in quantum field theory. We present here new representations of the Euler-Beta function and string theory amplitudes which are analytic everywhere except at the poles but sum over poles in all channels, and, crucially, include contact diagrams, very much in the spirit of quantum field theory. This enables us to consider mass-level truncation, which preserves all the features of the original amplitude. By starting with such expansions for generalized Euler-Beta functions and demanding QFT like features, we single out the open string amplitude. Our considerations also lead to new field theory inspired representations of the Zeta function, which have very fast convergence. We demonstrate the difficulty in deforming away from the string amplitude and show that a class of such deformations can be potentially interesting when there is level truncation.
In this paper, we study the $R^2$ corrections to the spectral functions of heavy mesons in Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We discuss the effect of Gauss-Bonnet parameter $\lambda_{GB}$ on the 1S states and 2S states of charmonium and bottomonium. It is found that $\lambda_{GB}$ reduces the height and increases the width of the 1S states peak. The 2S states of charmonium and bottomonium dissociate gradually as increasing $\lambda_{GB}$. It is obvious that $\lambda_{GB}$ enhances the dissociation of charmonium and bottomonium.
We investigate the role of the electromagnetic interaction in the formation and decay of the $X(3872)$. The binding properties of the $X(3872)$ are studied by assuming the molecular nature and considering the $S$-$D$ wave mixing, isospin breaking, and coupled channel effects, and in particular the correction from the electromagnetic interaction. The radiative decays can better reflect the difference between the charged and neutral $D\bar D^*$ components, since the electromagnetic interaction explicitly breaks the isospin symmetry. We further study the radiative decay widths with the obtained wave functions for different $D\bar D^*$ channels. We also explore other similar hidden-charm molecular states. The electromagnetic interaction can make the molecule tighter. Our result of the radiative decay width for $X(3872)\rightarrow \gamma J/\psi$ is in agreement with the experiment. The branching ratio $R_{\gamma\psi}$ is less than 1 in our framework, which supports the Belle and BESIII measurements.
The MUonE experiment aims at providing a novel determination of the leading hadronic contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment through the study of elastic muon-electron scattering. Since the initial-state electrons are bound in a low-$Z$ atomic target, the interaction between the incoming muons and the nuclei is expected to be the main source of experimental background. In this article, we study the production of a real lepton pair from the muon-nucleus scattering, discussing its numerical impact in the MUonE kinematic configuration. The process is described as a scattering of a muon in an external Coulomb field with the addition of a form factor to describe the nuclear charge distribution. The calculation is implemented in the fully differential Monte Carlo event generator MESMER, without introducing any approximation on the angular variables.
Pseudo-Hermitian field theories possess a global continuous ``similarity'' symmetry, interconnecting the theories with the same physical particle content and an identical mass spectrum. In their regimes with real spectra, within this family of similarity transformations, there is a map from the non-Hermitian theory to its Hermitian similarity partner. We promote the similarity transformation to a local symmetry, which requires the introduction of a new vector similarity field as a connection in the similarity space of non-Hermitian theories. In the case of non-Hermitian two-flavour scalar or fermion mixing, and by virtue of a novel IR/UV mixing effect, the effect of inhomogeneous non-Hermiticity then reveals itself via anomalous dispersion, instabilities and superluminal group velocities at very high momenta, thus setting an upper bound on the particle momentum propagating through inhomogeneous backgrounds characterised by Lagrangians with non-Hermitian mass matrices. Such a non-Hermitian extension of the Standard Model of particle physics, encoded in a weak inhomogeneity of the non-Hermitian part of the fermion mass matrix, may nevertheless provide us with a low-energy particle spectrum consistent with experimentally observed properties.
Symmetry is a powerful tool for studying dynamics in QFT as they provide selection rules, constrain RG flows, and allow for simplified dynamics. Currently, our understanding is that the most general form of symmetry is described by categorical symmetries which can be realized via Symmetry TQFTs or ``SymTFTs." In this paper, we show how the framework of the SymTFT, which is understood for discrete symmetries (i.e. finite categorical symmetries), can be generalized to continuous symmetries. In addition to demonstrating how $U(1)$ global symmetries can be incorporated into the paradigm of the SymTFT, we apply our formalism to construct the SymTFT for the $\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$ non-invertible chiral symmetry in $4d$ theories, demonstrate how symmetry fractionalization is realized SymTFTs, and conjecture the SymTFT for general continuous $G^{(0)}$ global symmetries.
To date numerical simulations of lattice QCD have not found a chiral phase transition of first order which is expected to occur for sufficiently light pions. We show how the restoration of an exact global chiral symmetry can strongly decrease the breaking of the approximate, anomalous $U_A(1)$ symmetry. This is testable on the lattice through simulations for one through four flavors. In QCD a small breaking of the $U_A(1)$ symmetry in the chirally symmetric phase generates novel experimental signals.
The unfolding of detector effects is crucial for the comparison of data to theory predictions. While traditional methods are limited to representing the data in a low number of dimensions, machine learning has enabled new unfolding techniques while retaining the full dimensionality. Generative networks like invertible neural networks~(INN) enable a probabilistic unfolding, which map individual events to their corresponding unfolded probability distribution. The accuracy of such methods is however limited by how well simulated training samples model the actual data that is unfolded. We introduce the iterative conditional INN~(IcINN) for unfolding that adjusts for deviations between simulated training samples and data. The IcINN unfolding is first validated on toy data and then applied to pseudo-data for the $pp \to Z \gamma \gamma$ process.
We consider a flavour conserving two Higgs doublet model that consists of a type I (or X) quark sector and a generalized lepton sector where the Yukawa couplings of the charged leptons to the new scalars are not proportional to the lepton masses. The model, previously proposed to solve both muon and electron $g-2$ anomalies simultaneously, is also capable to accommodate the ATLAS excess in $pp \rightarrow S \rightarrow \tau^{+}\tau^{-}$ with gluon-gluon fusion production in the invariant mass range [0.2; 0.6] TeV, including all relevant low and high energy constraints. The excess is reproduced taking into account the new contributions from the scalar H, the pseudoscalar A, or both. In particular, detailed numerical analyses favoured the solution with a significant hierarchy among the vevs of the two Higgs doublets, $t_{\beta} \sim 10$, and light neutral scalars satisfying $m_\mathrm{A} > m_\mathrm{H}$ with sizable couplings to $\tau$ leptons. In this region of the parameter space, the muon $g-2$ anomaly receives one and two loop (Barr-Zee) contributions of similar size, while the electron anomaly is explained at two loops. An analogous ATLAS excess in $b$-associated production and the CMS excess in ditop production are also studied. Further New Physics prospects concerning the anomalous magnetic moment of the $\tau$ lepton and the implications of the CDF $M_W$ measurement on the final results are discussed.
We calculate the masses and leptonic decay widths of the bottomonium $b\bar b$ and charmonium $c\bar c$ states in a constituent quark model where the Cornell-like potential and spin-dependent interaction are employed, with all model parameters predetermined by studying ground and first radial excited states of S- and P-wave heavy quarkonium mesons. By comparing the theoretical predictions for $J^{PC}=1^{--}$ quarkonium states with experimental data and considering possible mixtures of $nS$ and $(n-1)D$ states, we provide tentative assignments for all observed $J^{PC}=1^{--}$ heavy quarkonia. The work suggests that the $\Upsilon$(10860) and $\Upsilon$(11020) are $b\bar b$ $5S-4D$ mixture states, and the $\psi$(4360) and $\psi$(4415) are largely $4S$ and $3D$ $c\bar c$ states respectively. The $\psi$(4260) may not be accommodated with the conventional meson picture in the present work.
The effects of a finite system volume on thermodynamic quantities, such as the pressure, energy density, specific heat, speed of sound, conserved charge susceptibilities and correlations, in hot and dense strongly interacting matter are studied within the parity-doublet Chiral Mean Field (CMF) model. Such an investigation is motivated by relativistic heavy-ion collisions, which create a blob of hot QCD matter of a finite volume, consisting of strongly interacting hadrons and potentially deconfined quarks and gluons. The effect of the finite volume of the system is incorporated by introducing a lower momentum cut-offs in the momentum integrals appearing in the model, the numerical value of the momentum cut-off being related to the de Broglie wavelength of the given particle species. It is found that some of these quantities show a significant volume dependence, in particular those sensitive to pion degrees of freedom, and the crossover transition is generally observed to become smoother in finite volume. These findings are relevant for the effective equation of state used in fluid dynamical simulations of heavy-ion collisions and efforts to extract the freeze out properties of heavy-ion collisions with susceptibilities involving electric charge and strangeness.
Recent advancements in charmoniumlike state have significantly enriched the discovery of new hadronic states, providing exciting opportunities for further investigations into the fascinating realm of charmonium physics. In this letter, we focus on the vector charmonium family and perform a detailed analysis of the recently observed $e^+e^-\to \pi^+ D^0 D^{*-}$ process. Our findings demonstrate a striking agreement between the observed peak structures and the predicted characterized energy level structure of higher vector charmonia including the $\psi(4220)$, $\psi(4380)$, $\psi(4415)$, and $\psi(4500)$, which are derived from an unquenched potential model. This discovery challenges conventional understanding of higher charmonia above 4 GeV and offers fresh insights into the dynamics of charm and anti-charm quarks in the formation of these states. Furthermore, the identification of these higher charmonia in the precisely measured $\pi^+ D^0D^{*-}$ open-charm decay channel would serve as compelling evidence supporting the unquenched scenario and contribute to a deeper understanding of the nonperturbative aspects of the strong interaction.
In this work, we explore the possibilities of producing Axion-Like Particles (ALPs) in a future $e^-p$ collider. Specifically, we focus on the proposed Large Hadron electron collider (LHeC), which can achieve a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s} \approx 1.3$~TeV, enabling us to probe relatively high ALP masses with $m_a \lesssim 300$~GeV. The production of ALPs can occur through various channels, including $W^+W^-$, $\gamma\gamma$, $ZZ$, and $Z\gamma$-fusion within the collider environment. To investigate this, we conduct a comprehensive analysis that involves estimating the production cross section and constraining the limits on the associated couplings of ALPs, namely $g_{WW}$, $g_{\gamma\gamma}$, $g_{ZZ}$, and $g_{Z\gamma}$. To achieve this, we utilize a multiple-bin $\chi^2$ analysis on sensitive differential distributions. Through the analysis of these distributions, we determine upper bounds on the associated couplings within the mass range of 5~GeV $\leq m_a \leq$ 300~GeV. The obtained upper bounds are of the order of ${\cal O}(10^{-1})$ for $g_{\gamma\gamma}$ ($g_{WW}$, $g_{ZZ}$, $g_{Z\gamma}$) in $m_a \in$~[5, 200 (300)]~GeV considering an integrated luminosity of 1~ab$^{-1}$. Furthermore, we compare the results of our study with those obtained from other available experiments. We emphasize the limits obtained through our analysis and showcase the potential of the LHeC in probing the properties of ALPs.
Assuming that the $P_c(4312)^+$ is a $I(J^P)=\frac12(\frac32^-)$ compact pentaquark, we study the mass spectrum of its S-wave hidden-charm partner states in a color-magnetic interaction model. Combining the information from their decays obtained in a simple rearrangement scheme, one finds that the quantum numbers of $P_c(4457)^+$, $ P_c(4440)^+$, and $P_c(4337)^+$ can be assigned to be $I(J^P)=\frac12(\frac32^-)$, $\frac12(\frac12^-)$, and $\frac12(\frac12^-)$, respectively, while both $P_{cs}(4338)^0$ and $P_{cs}(4459)^0$ can be interpreted as $I(J^P)=0(\frac12^-)$ $udsc\bar{c}$ compact states. Based on the numerical results, we also find narrow pentaquarks in $ssnc\bar{c}$ ($n=u,d$) and $sssc\bar{c}$ systems. The decay properties of the studied pentaquarks and the searching channels for them can be tested in future experiments.
The $S$ matrix rephasing invariance is one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics that originates in its probabilistic interpretation. For a given $S$ matrix which describes neutrino oscillation, one can define the two different rephased amplitudes $S_{\alpha \beta}^{ \text{Reph-1} } \equiv e^{ i (\lambda_{1} / 2E) x} S_{\alpha \beta}$ and $S_{\alpha \beta}^{ \text{Reph-2} } \equiv e^{ i (\lambda_{2} / 2E) x} S_{\alpha \beta}$, which are physically equivalent to each other, where $\lambda_{k} / 2E$ denotes the energy eigenvalue of the $k$-th mass eigenstate. We point out that the transformation of the reparametrization (Rep) symmetry obtained with ``Symmetry Finder'' maps $S_{\alpha \beta}^{ \text{Reph-1} }$ to $S_{\alpha \beta}^{ \text{Reph-2} }$, and vice versa, providing a local and manifest realization of the $S$ matrix rephasing invariance by the Rep symmetry of the 1-2 state exchange type. It is strongly indicative of quantum mechanical nature of the Rep symmetry. The rephasing and Rep symmetry relation, though its all-order treatment remains incomplete, is shown to imply absence of the pure 1-3 exchange symmetry in Denton~{\it et al.}~perturbation theory. It then triggers a study of convergence of perturbation series.
We present preliminary numerical evidence for the hypothesis that the Hamiltonian SU(2) gauge theory discretized on a lattice obeys the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH). To do so we study three approximations: (a) a linear plaquette chain in a reduced Hilbert space limiting the electric field basis to $j=0,\frac{1}{2}$ , (b) a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice with periodic or closed boundary condition and the same Hilbert space constraint, and (c) a chain of only three plaquettes but such a sufficiently large electric field Hilbert space ($j \leq \frac{7}{2})$ that convergence of all energy eigenvalues in the analyzed energy window is observed. While an unconstrained Hilbert space is required to reach the continuum limit of SU(2) gauge theory, numerical resource constraints do not permit us to realize this requirement for all values of the coupling constant and large lattices. In each of the three studied cases we check first for random matrix theory (RMT) behavior in the eigenenergy spectrum and then analyze the diagonal as well as the off-diagonal matrix elements between energy eigenstates for a few operators. Within current uncertainties all results for (a), (b) and (c) agree with ETH predictions. Furthermore, we find the off-diagonal matrix elements of the electric energy operator exhibit RMT behavior in frequency windows that are small enough in (b) and (c). To unambiguously establish ETH behavior and determine for which class of operators it applies, an extension of our investigations is necessary.
The 1973 Kobayashi Maskawa paper proposed a compelling link between Cabibbo's flavor-mixing scheme and CP violation but, since it required the existence of six quarks at a time when the physics community was happy with only three, it received zero attention. However, two years after the paper appeared -- at which time it had received a grand total of two citations -- the charmed quark was discovered and it finally got some notice and acceptance. After this stumbling start, it subsequently emerged as the focal point of an enormous amount of experimental and theoretical research activity. In an invited talk at a KEK symposium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the KM paper, I reviewed some of the less well known circumstances that occurred in the years preceding and following the paper's appearance.
In this work we explore multiple search strategies for higgsinos and mixed higgsino-wino states in the MSSM and project the results onto the $(\mu,M_2)$ plane. Assuming associated production of higgsino-like pairs with a $W/Z$ boson, we develop a search in a channel characterized by a hadronically tagged vector boson accompanied by missing energy. We use as our template an ATLAS search for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson, but upgrade the search by implementing a joint likelihood analysis, binning the missing transverse energy distribution, which greatly improves the search sensitivity. For higgsino-like states (more than 96% admixture) we find sensitivity to masses up to 550 GeV. For well-mixed higgsino-wino states (70-30% higgsino) we still find sensitivities above 300 GeV. Using this newly proposed search, we draw a phenomenological map of the wino-higgsino parameter space, recasting several complementary searches for disappearing tracks, soft leptons, trileptons, and hadronic diboson events in order to predict LHC coverage of the $(\mu,M_2)$ mass plane at integrated luminosities of up to $3\,\text{ab}^{-1}$. Altogether, the full run of the HL-LHC can exclude much of the "natural" ($\mu,M_2 <$ 500 GeV) wino-higgsino parameter space.
In an effort to understand nuclei in terms of quarks we develop an effective theory to low-energy quantum chromodynamics in which a single quark contained in a nucleus is driven by a mean field due to other constituents of the nucleus. We analyze the reason why the number of $d$ quarks in light stable nuclei is much the same as that of $u$ quarks, while for heavier nuclei beginning with ${\rm Ca}^{40}$, the number of $d$ quarks is greater than the number of $u$ quarks. To account for the finiteness of the periodic table, we invoke a version of gauge/gravity duality between the dynamical affair in stable nuclei and that in extremal black holes. With the assumption that the end of stability for heavy nuclei is dual to the occurrence of a naked singularity, we find that the maximal number of protons in stable nuclei is $Z_{\max}^{\rm H}\approx 82$.
In these lecture notes, I review how to use large N techniques to solve quantum field theories in various dimensions. In particular, the case of N-dimensional quantum mechanics, non-relativistic cold and dense neutron matter, and scalar field theory in four dimensions are covered. A recurring theme is that large N solutions are fully non-perturbative, and can be used to reliably access quantum field theory for parameter regions where weak-coupling expansions simply fail.
It is well-known that the $SU(5)$ grand unified theory, with the standard model quarks and leptons unified in $\overline{5}$ and $10$ and the electroweak Higgs doublet residing in $5$ dimensional representations, leads to relation, $Y_d=Y_e^T$, between the Yukawa couplings of the down-type quarks and the charged leptons. We show that this degeneracy can be lifted in a phenomenologically viable way when quantum corrections to the tree-level matching conditions are taken into account in the presence of one or more copies of gauge singlet fermions. The 1-loop threshold corrections arising from heavy leptoquark scalar and vector bosons, already present in the minimal model, and heavy singlet fermions can lead to realistic Yukawa couplings provided their masses differ by at least two orders of magnitude. The latter can also lead to a realistic light neutrino mass spectrum through the type I seesaw mechanism if the colour partner of the Higgs stays close to the Planck scale. Most importantly, our findings demonstrate the viability of the simplest Yukawa sector when quantum corrections are considered and sizeable threshold effects are present.
We describe the approach to lattice extraction of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) that is based on the use of the double distributions (DDs) formalism within the pseudo-distribution framework. The advantage of using DDs is that GPDs obtained in this way have the mandatory polynomiality property, a non-trivial correlation between $x$- and $\xi$-dependences of GPDs. Another advantage of using DDs is that the $D$-term appears as an independent entity in the DD formalism rather than a part of GPDs $H$ and $E$. We relate the $\xi$-dependence of GPDs to the width of the $\alpha$-profiles of the corresponding DDs, and discuss strategies for fitting lattice-extracted pseudo-distributions by DDs.
I study QCD at large isospin density, which is known to be in the superfluid state with Cooper pairs carrying the same quantum number as pions. I solve the gap equation derived from the perturbation theory up to the next-to-leading order corrections. The pairing gap at large isospin chemical potential is found to be enhanced compared to the color-superconducting gap at large baryon chemical potential due to the $\sqrt{2}$ difference in the exponent arising from the stronger attraction in one-gluon exchange in the singlet channel. Then, using the gap function, I evaluate the contribution of the condensation energy of the superfluid state to the QCD equation of state. At isospin chemical potential of a few GeV, where the lattice QCD and the perturbative QCD can be both applied, the effect of the condensation energy becomes dominant even compared to the next-to-leading order corrections to the pressure in the perturbation theory. It resolves the discrepancy between the recent lattice QCD results and the perturbative QCD result.
Motivated by recent study of DSSYK and the non-commutative nature of its bulk dual, we review and analyze an example of a non-commutative spacetime known as the quantum disk proposed by L. Vaksman. The quantum disk is defined as the space whose isometries are generated by the quantum algebra $U_q(\mathfrak{su}_{1,1})$. We review how this algebra is defined and its associated group $SU_q(1,1)$ that it generates, highlighting its non-trivial coproduct that sources bulk non-commutativity. We analyze the structure of holography on the quantum disk and study the imprint of non-commutativity on the putative boundary dual.
This thesis is dedicated to the study of (super)spin projection operators and their applications on maximally symmetric (super)space backgrounds in three and four dimensions. On such backgrounds, the irreducible representations of the associated isometry (super)algebra may be realised on the space of tensor (super)fields satisfying certain differential constraints. The (super)spin projectors isolate the component of an unconstrained (super)field which furnishes the irreducible representation with maximal (super)spin. The explicit form of these (super)projectors are found in the following backgrounds: three-dimensional ($3d$) $\mathcal{N}$-extended Minkowski superspace $\mathbb{M}^{3|2 \mathcal{N}}$; $3d$ (anti-)de Sitter space (A)dS$_3$; $3d$ $\mathcal{N} = 1$ anti-de Sitter superspace AdS$^{3|2}$; four-dimensional ($4d$) $\mathcal{N} = 1$ anti-de Sitter superspace AdS$^{4|4}$; and $4d$ $\mathcal{N} = 2$ anti-de Sitter superspace AdS$^{4|8}$. An array of novel applications are investigated, with an emphasis placed on the interplay between (super)projectors and (super)conformal higher-spin theory. Another major component of this thesis consists of a detailed study of massless higher-spin gauge models with $\mathcal{N} = 2$ AdS supersymmetry in three dimensions. We find that every known higher-spin theory with $(1, 1)$ AdS supersymmetry decomposes into a sum of two off-shell $(1, 0)$ supermultiplets which belong to three series of inequivalent higher-spin gauge models.
We report on a lattice fermion formulation with a curved domain-wall mass term to nonperturbatively describe fermions in a gravitational background. In our previous work in 2022, we showed under the time-reversal symmetry that the edge-localized massless Dirac fermion appears on one and two-dimensional spherical domain-walls and the spin connection is induced on the lattice in a consistent way with continuum theory. In this work, we extend our study to the Shamir type curved domain-wall fermions without the time-reversal symmetry. We find in the free fermion case that a single Weyl fermion appears on the edge, and feels gravity through the induced spin connection. With a topologically nontrivial $U(1)$ gauge potential, however, we find an oppositely chiral zero mode at the center where the gauge field is singular.
We show that nearest-neighbor spin chains composed of projectors to 2-qudit product states are integrable. The $R$-matrices (with a multidimensional spectral parameter) include additive as well as non-additive parameters. They satisfy the colored Yang-Baxter equation. The local terms of the resulting Hamiltonians exhaust projectors with all possible ranks for a 2-qudit space. The Hamiltonian can be Hermitian or not, with or without frustration. The ground state structures of the frustration-free qubit spin chains are analysed. These systems have either global or local non-invertible symmetries. In particular, the rank 1 case has two product ground states that break global non-invertible symmetries (analogous to the case of the two ferromagnetic states breaking the global $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry of the $XXX$ spin chain). The Bravyi-Gosset conditions for spectral gaps show that these systems are gapped. The associated Yang-Baxter algebra and the spectrum of the transfer matrix are also studied.
The 't Hooft anomaly matching condition provides constraints on the phase structure at $\theta=\pi$ in 4D SU($N$) Yang-Mills theory. In particular, assuming that the theory is confined and the CP symmetry is spontaneously broken at low temperature, it cannot be restored below the deconfining temperature at $\theta=\pi$. Here we investigate the CP restoration at $\theta=\pi$ in the 4D SU(2) case and provide numerical evidence that the CP restoration occurs at a temperature higher than the deconfining temperature unlike the known results in the large-$N$ limit, where the CP restoration occurs precisely at the deconfining temperature. The severe sign problem at $\theta=\pi$ is avoided by focusing on the tail of the topological charge distribution at $\theta=0$, which can be probed by performing simulations at imaginary $\theta$. By analytic continuation with respect to $\theta$, we obtain the topological charge at real $\theta$.
In this article, we analyze a magnetic monopole in topological insulators. The monopole obtain a fractional electric charge because of the Witten effect. We consider this system with a microscopic view by adding the Wilson term to the ordinary Dirac Hamiltonian. The Wilson term yields the positive mass shift to the effective mass of the electrons, then the curved domain-wall is dynamically generated around the monopole. The zero-modes of the electrons are localized on the domain-wall, which can be identified as the source of the electric charge.
Searching for exotic spin-dependent interactions that beyond the standard model has been of interest for past decades and is crucial for unraveling the mysteries of the universe. Previous laboratory searches primarily focus on searching for either static or modulated energy-level shifts caused by exotic spin-dependent interactions. Here, we introduce a theoretical model based on thermal motion of particles, providing another efficient way to search for exotic spin-dependent interactions. The theoretical model indicates that as the exotic spin-dependent interactions are related with the relative displacements and velocities of atoms, atoms undergoing thermal motion would experience a fluctuating energy-level shift induced by the exotic interactions. Moreover, the resulting exotic energy-level shift noise could be sensed by high-sensitivity instruments. By using the model and taking the high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer as an example, we set the most stringent laboratory experiment constraints on eight different kinds of exotic spin- and velocity-dependent interactions, with five of which at the force range below 1 cm have not been covered previously. Furthermore, this theoretical model can be easily applied in other fields of quantum sensing, such as atomic clocks, atom interferometers and NV-diamond sensors, to further improve the laboratory constraints on exotic spin-dependent interactions.
The entanglement entropy of a black hole, and that of its Hawking radiation, are expected to follow the so-called Page curve: After an increase in line with Hawking's calculation, it is expected to decrease back to zero once the black hole has fully evaporated, as demanded by unitarity. Recently, a simple system-plus-bath model has been proposed which shows a similar behaviour. Here, we make a general argument as to why such a Page-curve-like entanglement dynamics should be expected to hold generally for system-plus-bath models at small coupling and low temperatures, when the system is initialised in a pure state far from equilibrium. The interaction with the bath will then generate entanglement entropy, but it eventually has to decrease to the value prescribed by the corresponding mean-force Gibbs state. Under those conditions, it is close to the system ground state. We illustrate this on two paradigmatic open-quantum-system models, the exactly solvable harmonic quantum Brownian motion and the spin-boson model, which we study numerically. In the first example we find that the entanglement entropy peaks at intermediate times even if the impurity state stays close to the ground state during the whole evolution. In the second example, for an impurity initialised in the excited state, the Page time--when the entropy reaches its maximum--occurs when the excitation has half decayed.
We evaluated all two loop conformal integrals appearing in five point correlation functions of protected operators of $\mathcal{N} = 4$ Super Yang-Mills in several kinematical regimes. Starting from the correlation function of the lightest operators of the theory, we were able to extract structure constants of up to two spinning operators for small and large values of polarizations and spin. We conjectured an universal all loop behaviour for the large spin small polarization structure constants and comment on the subtleties of analytically continuing it from finite to large spin. We also consider correlation functions of heavier operators that get factorized in the more fundamental object called decagon. We fixed this object at two loops in general kinematics and studied its physical properties under OPE and null limits.
In this note we show how the solutions to the scattering equations in the NMHV sector fully decompose into subsectors in the $z\to \infty$ limit of a Risager deformation. Each subsector is characterized by the punctures that coalesce in the limit. This naturally decomposes the $E(n-3,1)$ solutions into sets characterized by partitions of $n-3$ elements so that exactly one subset has more than one element. We present analytic expressions for the leading order of the solutions in an expansion around infinite $z$ for any $n$. We also give a simple algorithm for numerically computing arbitrarily high orders in the same expansion. As a consequence, one has the ability to compute Yang-Mills and gravity amplitudes purely from this expansion around infinity. Moreover, we present a new analytic computation of the residue at infinity of the $n=12$ NMHV tree-level gravity amplitude which agrees with the results of Conde and Rajabi. In fact, we present the analytic form of the leading order in $1/z$ of the Cachazo-Skinner-Mason/CHY formula for graviton amplitudes for each subsector and to all multiplicity. As a byproduct of the all-order algorithm, one has access to the numerical value of the residue at infinity for any $n$ and hence to the corrected CSW (or MHV) expansion for NMHV gravity amplitudes.
We rigorously prove that the spin-1/2 XYZ chain with a magnetic field has no local conserved quantity. Any nontrivial conserved quantity of this model is shown to be a sum of operators supported by contiguous sites with at least half of the entire system. We establish that the absence of local conserved quantity in concrete models is provable in a rigorous form.
We derive the stabiliser group of the four-vector, also known as Wigner's little group, in case of massless particle states, as the maximal solvable subgroup of the proper orthochronous Lorentz group of dimension four, known as the Borel subgroup. In the absence of mass, particle states are disentangled into left- and right-handed chiral states, governed by the maximal solvable subgroups ${\rm sol}_2^\pm$ of order two. Induced Lorentz transformations are constructed and applied to general representations of particle states. Finally, in our conclusions it is argued how the spin-flip contribution might be closely related to the occurrence of nonphysical spin operators.
In a two sided black hole, systems falling in from opposite asymptotic regions can meet inside the black hole and interact. This is the case even while the two CFTs describing each asymptotic region are non-interacting. Here, we relate these behind the horizon interactions to non-local quantum computations. This gives a quantum circuit perspective on these interactions, which applies whenever the interaction occurs in the past of a certain extremal surface that sits inside the black hole and in arbitrary dimension. Whenever our perspective applies, we obtain a boundary signature for these interior collisions which is stated in terms of the mutual information. We further revisit the connection discussed earlier between bulk interactions in one sided AdS geometries and non-local computation, and recycle some of our techniques to offer a new perspective on making that connection precise.
In this paper we study the geometric origin of non-invertible symmetries of 2d theories arising from the reduction of 6d $(2,0)$ theories on four-manifolds. This generalizes and extends our previous results in the context of class $\mathcal S$ theories to a wider realm of models. In particular, we find that relative 2d field theories, such as the chiral boson, have a higher dimensional origin in four-manifolds that are not null cobordant. Moreover, we see that for the 2d theories with a 6d origin, the non-invertible symmetries have a geometric origin as a sum over topologies from the perspective of the 7d symmetry TFT. In particular, we show that the Tambara-Yamagami non-invertible symmetries $TY(\mathbb Z_N)$ can be given a geometric origin of this kind. We focus on examples that do not depend on spin structures, but we analyse the simplest of such cases, finding an interesting parallel between the extra choices arising in that context and symmetry fractionalization in Maxwell theories.
We find the connection between relativistic and non-relativistic string vacua in AdS$_5 \times$S$^5$ in terms of a free parameter $c$ flow. First, we show that the famous relativistic BMN vacuum flows in the large $c$ parameter to an unphysical solution of the non-relativistic theory. Then, we consider the simplest non-relativistic vacuum, found in arXiv:2109.13240 (called BMN-like), and we identify its relativistic origin, namely a non-compact version of the folded string with zero spin, ignored in the past due to its infinite energy. We show that, once the critical closed B-field required by the non-relativistic limit is included, the total energy of such relativistic solution is finite, and in the large $c$ parameter it precisely matches the one of the BMN-like string. We also analyse the case with spin in the transverse AdS directions.
We construct new supersymmetric solutions corresponding to M5-branes wrapped on a topological disc by turning on additional scalars in the background. The presence of such scalar fields breaks one of the U(1) isometries of the internal space, explicitly realising the breaking by the Stuckelberg mechanism observed previously. In addition, we construct a consistent truncation of maximal seven-dimensional gauged supergravity on the disc to five-dimensional Romans' SU (2) x U(1) gauged supergravity, allowing us to construct a plethora of new supergravity solutions corresponding to more general states in the dual SCFTs as well as solutions corresponding to M5-branes wrapping four-dimensional orbifolds.
We consider chiral fermionic conformal field theories constructed from classical error-correcting codes and provide a systematic way of computing their elliptic genera. We exploit the $\mathrm{U}(1)$ current of the $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal algebra to obtain the $\mathrm{U}(1)$-graded partition function that is invariant under the modular transformation and the spectral flow. We demonstrate our method by constructing extremal $\mathcal{N}=2$ elliptic genera from classical codes for relatively small central charges. Also, we give near-extremal elliptic genera and decompose them into $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal characters.
We discuss the nonlocal nature of quantum mechanics and the link with relativistic quantum mechanics such as formulated by quantum field theory. We use here a nonlocal quantum field theory (NLQFT) which is finite, satisfies Poincar\'e invariance, unitarity and microscopic causality. This nonlocal quantum field theory associates infinite derivative entire functions with propagators and vertices. We focus on proving causality and discussing its importance when constructing a relativistic field theory. We formulate scalar field theory using the functional integral in order to characterize quantum entanglement and the entanglement entropy of the theory. Using the replica trick, we compute the entanglement entropy for the theory in 3 + 1 dimensions on a cone. The result is free of UV divergences and we recover the area law.
We use the radial null energy condition to construct a monotonic $a$-function for a certain type of non-relativistic holographic RG flows. We test our $a$-function in three different geometries that feature a Boomerang RG flow, characterized by a domain wall between two AdS spaces with the same AdS radius, but with different (and sometimes directions dependent) speeds of light. We find that the $a$-function monotonically decreases and goes to a constant in the asymptotic regimes of the geometry. Using the holographic dictionary in this asymptotic AdS spaces, we find that the $a$-function not only reads the fixed point central charge but also the speed of light, suggesting what the correct RG charge might be for non-relativistic RG flows.
In this paper, we propose a new representation of the minimal form factors in integrable quantum field theories. These are solutions of the two-particle form factor equations, which have no poles on the physical sheet. Their expression constitutes the starting point for deriving higher particle form factors and, from these, the correlation functions of the theory. As such, minimal form factors are essential elements in the analysis of integrable quantum field theories. The proposed new representation arises from our recent study of form factors in $\mathrm{T}\overline{\mathrm{T}}$-perturbed theories, where we showed that the minimal form factors decompose into elementary building blocks. Here, focusing on the paradigmatic sinh-Gordon model, we explicitly express the standard integral representation of the minimal form factor as a combination of infinitely many elementary terms, each representing the minimal form factor of a generalised $\mathrm{T}\overline{\mathrm{T}}$ perturbation of the free fermion. Our results can be readily extended to other integrable quantum field theories and open various relevant questions and discussions, from the efficiency of numerical methods in evaluating correlation functions to the foundational question of what constitutes a "reasonable" choice for the minimal form factor.
This paper explores the use of geometric algebra to study the Galilean spacetime and its physical implications. The authors introduce the concept of geometric algebra and its advantages over tensor algebra for describing physical phenomena. They define the Galilean-spacetime algebra (GSTA) as a geometric algebra generated by a four-dimensional vector space with a degenerate metric. They show how the GSTA can be used to represent Galilean transformations, rotations, translations, and boosts. The authors also derive the general form of Galilean transformations in the GSTA and show how they preserve the scalar product and the pseudoscalar. They develop a tensor formulation of Galilean electromagnetism using the GSTA and show how it reduces to the usual Maxwell equations in the non-relativistic limit. They introduce the concept of Galilean spinors as elements of the minimal left ideals of the GSTA and show how the Galilean spinors can be used to construct the Levy-Leblond equation for a free electron and its matrix representation. They provide a suitable matrix representation for the Galilean gamma matrices and the Galilean pseudoscalar. They relate the GSTA to the four component dual numbers introduced by Majernik to express Galilean transformations and show how the dual numbers can be used to develop a Newton-Cartan theory of gravity. The paper concludes by summarizing the main results and suggesting some possible applications and extensions of the GSTA.
Based on $(27.12\pm 0.14)\times 10^{8}$ $\psi(2S)$ events collected with the BESIII detector, we search for the decay $\eta_c (2S) \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-} \eta_c$ with $\eta_c\rightarrow K_S^0 K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}$ and $\eta_c\rightarrow K^{+}K^{-}\pi^{0}$. No significant signal is observed, and the upper limit on the product branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\psi(2S)\rightarrow \gamma \eta_{c}(2S))\times\mathcal{B}$($\eta_c (2S) \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-} \eta_c$) is determined to be $2.21\times10^{-5}$ at the 90\% confidence level. In addition, the analysis of the process $\psi(2S)\to\gamma \eta_{c}(2S), \eta_{c}(2S)\rightarrow \pi^{+}\pi^{-}K^{0}_{S}K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp}$ gives a clear $\eta_c(2S)$ signal with a statistical significance of $10\sigma$ for the first time, %The product branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\psi(2S)\rightarrow \gamma \eta_{c}(2S))\times\mathcal{B}(\eta_{c}(2S)\rightarrow \pi^{+}\pi^{-}K^{0}_{S}K\pi) $ is measured to be $(9.31 \pm 0.72 \pm 2.77)\times 10^{-6}$, and and the branching fraction $\mathcal{B}(\eta_{c}(2S)\rightarrow \pi^{+}\pi^{-}K^{0}_{S}K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp})$ is determined to be ($1.33 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.4 \pm 0.95 $)$\times 10^{-2}$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third uncertainty is due to the quoted $\mathcal{B}(\psi(2S)\rightarrow \gamma \eta_{c}(2S))$.
The possibility of the existence of multiquark hadrons made of 4-quark for mesons and 5-quark for baryons was predicted by Gell-Mann in Ref. [1]. The renewed interest for the search of exotic pentaquark states was initiated by the paper by Diakonov, Petrov, and Polyakov in Ref. [2]. The 2003 experimental reports on the observation of {\Theta^+} pentaquark with a uudd{\bar s} quark content created a big excitement and many following experiments have reported its observation [3]. After high-statistics experiments at JLab, which did not confirm previous claims by the CLAS collaboration, the community concluded that the {\Theta^+} pentaquark either does not exist at all or has an extremely small cross section, making it currently unobserved. There were different review papers on this subject, either questioning the existence of the {\Theta^+} or attempting to explain the reasons why reaching a conclusion based on production experiments is challenging [4]. To address the challenge of minimal 3-body final states, a formation experiment with a projectile kaon beam is proposed. Below, we discuss how the {\Theta^+} could be observed in the KLp \to {\Theta^+} \to {K^+}n reaction in the KLF experiment at JLab [5].
A search for the exclusive decays of the Higgs and $Z$ bosons to a $\phi$ or $\rho$ meson and a photon is performed with a $pp$ collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 35.6 $fb^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. These decays have been suggested as a probe of the Higgs boson couplings to light quarks. No significant excess of events is observed above the background, as expected from the Standard Model. Upper limits at 95$\% $ confidence level were obtained on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays to $\phi\gamma$ and $\rho\gamma$ of $5.0\times10^{-4}$ and $10.4\times10^{-4}$, respectively. The corresponding 95$\% $ confidence level upper limits for the $Z$ boson decays are $0.7\times10^{-6}$ and $4.0\times10^{-6}$ for $\phi\gamma$ and $\rho\gamma$, respectively.
We report the results of the first search for $B^-$ decays to the $\bar{\Xi}_{c}^{0} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-}$ final state using 711~${\rm fb^{-1}}$ of data collected at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The results are interpreted in terms of both direct baryon-number-violating $B^-$ decay and $\Xi_{c}^{0}-\bar{\Xi}_{c}^{0}$ oscillations which follow the Standard Model decay $B^- \to \Xi_{c}^{0} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-}$. We observe no evidence for baryon number violation and set the 95\% confidence-level upper limits on the ratio of baryon-number-violating and Standard Model branching fractions ${\mathcal{B}(B^- \rightarrow \bar{\Xi}_{c}^{0} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-})}/{\mathcal{B}(B^- \rightarrow \Xi_{c}^{0} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-})}$ to be $< 2.7\%$ and on the $\Xi_{c}^{0} - \bar{\Xi}_{c}^{0}$ oscillation angular frequency $\omega$ to be $< 0.76\ \mathrm{ps}^{-1}$ (equivalent to $\tau_{\rm mix} > 1.3$~ps).
The study of Opinion Dynamics, which explores how individual opinions and beliefs evolve and how societal consensus is formed, has been examined across social science, physics, and mathematics. Historically based on statistical physics models like the Ising model, recent research integrates quantum information theory concepts, such as Graph States, Stabilizer States, and Toric Codes. These quantum approaches offer fresh perspectives for analyzing complex relationships and interactions in opinion formation, such as modeling local interactions, using topological features for error resistance, and applying quantum mechanics for deeper insights into opinion polarization and entanglement. However, these applications face challenges in complexity, interpretation, and empirical validation. Quantum concepts are abstract and not easily translated into social science contexts, and direct observation of social opinion processes differs significantly from quantum experiments, leading to a gap between theoretical models and real-world applicability. Despite its potential, the practical use of the Toric Code Hamiltonian in Opinion Dynamics requires further exploration and research.
Constructor theory is a meta-theoretic approach that seeks to characterise concrete theories of physics in terms of the (im)possibility to implement certain abstract "tasks" by means of physical processes. Process theory, on the other hand, pursues analogous characterisation goals in terms of the compositional structure of said processes, concretely presented through the lens of (symmetric monoidal) category theory. In this work, we show how to formulate fundamental notions of constructor theory within the canvas of process theory. Specifically, we exploit the functorial interplay between the symmetric monoidal structure of the category of sets and relations, where the abstract tasks live, and that of symmetric monoidal categories from physics, where concrete processes can be found to implement said tasks. Through this, we answer the question of how constructor theory relates to the broader body of process-theoretic literature, and provide the impetus for future collaborative work between the fields.
Given a state of light, how do its properties change when only some of the constituent photons are observed and the rest are neglected (traced out)? By developing formulae for mode-agnostic removal of photons from a beam, we show how the expectation value of any operator changes when only $q$ photons are inspected from a beam, ignoring the rest. We use this to reexpress expectation values of operators in terms of the state obtained by randomly selecting $q$ photons. Remarkably, this only equals the true expectation value for a unique value of $q$: expressing the operator as a monomial in normally ordered form, $q$ must be equal to the number of photons annihilated by the operator. A useful corollary is that the coefficients of any $q$-photon state chosen at random from an arbitrary state are exactly the $q$th order correlations of the original state; one can inspect the intensity moments to learn what any random photon will be doing and, conversely, one need only look at the $n$-photon subspace to discern what all of the $n$th order correlation functions are. The astute reader will be pleased to find no surprises here, only mathematical justification for intuition. Our results hold for any completely symmetric state of any type of particle with any combination of numbers of particles and can be used wherever bosonic correlations are found.
Dirac fluids - interacting systems obeying particle-hole symmetry and Lorentz invariance - are among the simplest hydrodynamic systems; they have also been studied as effective descriptions of transport in strongly interacting Dirac semimetals. Direct experimental signatures of the Dirac fluid are elusive, as its charge transport is diffusive as in conventional metals. In this paper we point out a striking consequence of fluctuating relativistic hydrodynamics: the full counting statistics (FCS) of charge transport is highly non-gaussian. We predict the exact asymptotic form of the FCS, which generalizes a result previously derived for certain interacting integrable systems. A consequence is that, starting from quasi-one dimensional nonequilibrium initial conditions, charge noise in the hydrodynamic regime is parametrically enhanced relative to that in conventional diffusive metals.
We investigate the domain of correlated non-Markovian channels, exploring the potential memory arising from the correlated action of the channels and the inherent memory due to non-Markovian dynamics. This paper examines how quantum states change when subjected to correlated non-Markovian channels and how the channel correlation factor affects the degree of non-Markovianity. We further propose a correlated CP-divisible modified Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise where non-Markovianity arises from retaining the correlation for a longer time. The correlated Random Telegraph Noise and non-Markovian amplitude damping channels are constructed, and their non-Markovianity is analysed using the Breuer-Laine-Piilo measure and a measure based on entanglement. In addition, the non-Markovianity of the correlated CP-divisible channel was computed using the Shrikant-Srikanth-Subhashish measure. The channels constructed are unital as well as non-unital in nature, adding versatility to the study. The link between the correlation factor and error correction success probability is highlighted.
Quantum computing devices require exceptional control of their experimental parameters to prepare quantum states and simulate other quantum systems. Classical optimization procedures used to find such optimal control parameters, have further been shown in idealized settings to exhibit different regimes of learning. Of interest in this work is the overparameterization regime, where for systems with a sufficient number of parameters, global optima for prepared state and compiled unitary fidelities may potentially be reached exponentially quickly. Here, we study the robustness of overparameterization phenomena in the presence of experimental constraints on the controls, such as bounding or sharing parameters across operators, as well as in the presence of noise inherent to experimental setups. We observe that overparameterization phenomena are resilient in these realistic settings at short times, however fidelities decay to zero past a critical simulation duration due to accumulation of either quantum or classical noise. This critical depth is found to be logarithmic in the scale of noise, and optimal fidelities initially increase exponentially with depth, before decreasing polynomially with depth, and with noise. Our results demonstrate that parameterized ansatze can mitigate entropic effects from their environment, offering tantalizing opportunities for their application and experimental realization in near term quantum devices.
The concept of weak value exhibits numerous intriguing characteristics, leading to unexpected and potentially advantageous phenomena. In this paper, we analyze, from a computational perspective, the performance of the weak measurement protocol for measuring the weak value within various noise channels. A mathematical framework is developed for addressing the less explored case of noise acting on the primary rather than probe system. We pinpoint specific instances where the sensitivity to noise is reduced quadratically with the weak measurement protocol while this cannot be achieved with the standard measurement protocol. Specifically, when confronted with the challenge of learning an operator under the influence of either a Pauli noise channel, a unital noise channel, or an amplitude and phase damping channel, the weak measurement of the weak value can yield significant benefits. Notably, in the first two cases, and especially in the context of the unital noise channel, initializing the system in the maximally mixed state (but postselecting it in a pure state) has proven to be particularly advantageous.
Parameterized Quantum Circuits (PQC) have obtained increasing popularity thanks to their great potential for near-term Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) computers. Achieving quantum advantages usually requires a large number of qubits and quantum circuits with enough capacity. However, limited coherence time and massive quantum noises severely constrain the size of quantum circuits that can be executed reliably on real machines. To address these two pain points, we propose QuantumSEA, an in-time sparse exploration for noise-adaptive quantum circuits, aiming to achieve two key objectives: (1) implicit circuits capacity during training - by dynamically exploring the circuit's sparse connectivity and sticking a fixed small number of quantum gates throughout the training which satisfies the coherence time and enjoy light noises, enabling feasible executions on real quantum devices; (2) noise robustness - by jointly optimizing the topology and parameters of quantum circuits under real device noise models. In each update step of sparsity, we leverage the moving average of historical gradients to grow necessary gates and utilize salience-based pruning to eliminate insignificant gates. Extensive experiments are conducted with 7 Quantum Machine Learning (QML) and Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) benchmarks on 6 simulated or real quantum computers, where QuantumSEA consistently surpasses noise-aware search, human-designed, and randomly generated quantum circuit baselines by a clear performance margin. For example, even in the most challenging on-chip training regime, our method establishes state-of-the-art results with only half the number of quantum gates and ~2x time saving of circuit executions. Codes are available at https://github.com/VITA-Group/QuantumSEA.
The quantum Rabi model is essential for understanding interacting quantum systems. It serves as the simplest non-integrable yet solvable model describing the interaction between a two-level system and a single mode of a bosonic field. In this study, we delve into the exploration of the generalized quantum Rabi model, wherein the bosonic mode of the field undergoes squeezing. Utilizing the Segal-Bargmann representation of the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, we demonstrate that the energy spectrum of the generalized quantum Rabi model, when both the Rabi coupling strength and the squeezing strength are not significantly large compared to the field mode frequency, can be analytically determined by a bi-confluent Fuchsian equation with two regular singularities at 0 and 1 and an irregular singularity of rank two at infinity.
We experimentally demonstrate the optical frequency tuning of a squeezed vacuum state generated from an optical parametric oscillator by using an acousto-optic modulator based bi-frequency interferometer. The systematic efficiency of the frequency tuning device is $91\%$, which is only confined by the optical transmission efficiency of the acousto-optic modulators. The amount of frequency tuning is 80 MHz, which is orders of magnitude larger than the line-width of the laser used to generate the squeezed state, and can in principle be further extended to GHz range. Our investigation shows the interferometric enhanced Bragg diffraction effect can be applied to a variety of other quantum optical states as well, and will serve as a handy tool for quantum network.
The popular qubit framework has dominated recent work on quantum kernels, with results characterising expressability, learnability and generalisation. As yet, there is no comparative framework to understand these concepts for continuous variable (CV) quantum computing platforms. In this paper we represent CV quantum kernels as holomorphic functions and use this representation to provide several important theoretical insights. The approach permits a general closed form solution for all CV quantum kernels and shows every such kernel can be expressed as the product of Gaussian and polynomial terms. Furthermore, it enables quantification of a quantum-classical separation for all such kernels via a notion of "stellar rank", and provides intuition for how bandwidth hyper-parameter tuning results in trades-off between learnability and efficient classical simulability.
In this work, we discuss properties with no static counterpart arising in Floquet topological insulators with a dynamical chiral symmetry (DCS), i.e., a chiral symmetry which is present while driving. We explore the topological properties of Floquet insulators possessing a DCS which either does or does not survive upon taking the static limit. We consider the case of harmonic drives and employ a general framework using the quasi-energy operator in frequency space. We find that for a DCS with no static analog, the presence of driving has a negligible impact on the topological phases associated with zero quasi-energy. In stark contrast, topological gaps can open at $\pi$ quasi-energy and mainly occur at momenta where the driving perturbation vanishes. We confirm the above general predictions for an extended Kitaev chain model in the BDI symmetry class. Another possibility that opens up when adding the drive, while preserving chiral symmetry, is symmetry-class conversion. We demonstrate such an effect for a static CI class Hamiltonian which is topologically trivial in 1D. By considering a suitable driving, we obtain a CI$\rightarrow$AIII transition, which now enables the system to harbor topological $\pi$-modes. Notably, the arising topological phases strongly depend on whether the DCS has a static analog or not. Our results bring Floquet insulators with nonstandard DCS forward as ideal candidate platforms for engineering and manipulating topological $\pi$-modes.
In [1], Collins et al. showed that the quantum entropy of random graph states satisfies the so-called area law as the local dimension tends to be large. In this paper, we continue to study the fluctuation of the convergence and thus prove the area law holds almost surely.
A full-fledged quantum network relies on the formation of entangled links between remote location with the help of quantum repeaters. The famous Duan-Lukin-Cirac-Zoller quantum repeater protocol is based on long distance single-photon interference, which not only requires high phase stability but also cannot generate maximally entangled state. Here, we propose a quantum repeater protocol using the idea of post-matching, which retains the same efficiency as the single-photon interference protocol, reduces the phase-stability requirement and can generate maximally entangled state in principle. Numerical simulations show that our protocol has its superiority by comparing with existing protocols under a generic noise model. Our work provides a promising solution to a long-distance quantum communication link. We believe this represents a crucial step towards the construction of a fully-connected quantum network.
The no-go theorem regarding unconditionally secure Quantum Bit Commitment protocols is a relevant result in quantum cryptography. Such result has been used to prove the impossibility of unconditional security for other protocols, such as Quantum Oblivious Transfer or One-Sided Two Party Computation. In this paper, we formally define two non-deterministic versions of Quantum Private Queries, a protocol addressing the Symmetric-Private Information Retrieval problem. We show that the strongest variant of such scheme is formally equivalent to Quantum Bit Commitment, Quantum Oblivious Transfer and One-Sided Two Party Computation protocols. This equivalence serves as conclusive evidence of the impracticality of achieving unconditionally secure Strong Probabilistic Quantum Private Queries.
Quantum control techniques represent one of the most efficient tools to attain high-fidelity quantum operations and a convenient approach for quantum sensing and quantum noise spectroscopy. In this work, we investigate dynamical decoupling while processing an entangling two-qubit gate based on an Ising-xx interaction, each qubit being affected by pure dephasing classical correlated 1/ f -noises. To evaluate the gate error, we used the Magnus expansion introducing generalized filter functions that describe decoupling while processing and allow us to derive an approximate analytic expression as a hierarchy of nested integrals of noise cumulants. The error is separated in contributions of Gaussian and non-Gaussian noise, the corresponding generalized filter functions being calculated up to the fourth order. By exploiting the properties of selected pulse sequences, we show that it is possible to extract the second-order statistics (spectrum and cross-spectrum) and to highlight non-Gaussian features contained in the fourth-order cumulant. We discuss the applicability of these results to state-of-the-art small networks based on solid-state platforms.
In this paper we establish almost-optimal stability estimates in quantum optimal transport pseudometrics for the semiclassical limit of the Hartree dynamics to the Vlasov-Poisson equation, in the regime where the solutions have bounded densities. We combine Golse and Paul's method from [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 223:57-94, 2017], which uses a semiclassical version of the optimal transport distance and which was adapted to the case of the Coulomb and gravitational interactions by the second author in [J. Stat. Phys. 177:20-60, 2019], with a new approach developed by the first author in [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 244:27-50, 2022] to quantitatively improve stability estimates in kinetic theory.
We explore the spatial features of various orders of Fraunhofer diffraction patterns in a four-level N-type atomic system. The system interacts with a weak probe light, a standing wave (SW) coupling field in the x-direction, and a cylindrical beam of composite optical vortex type. We derive the first-order linear and third-order cross-Kerr nonlinear parts of the probe susceptibility by expanding the probe susceptibility of the system into the second order of the SW beam. This allows us to solve the integral equation of Fraunhofer diffraction, decoding its varying degrees to specific degrees of Bessel functions containing the nonlinear susceptibility. Notably, the nonlinear susceptibility exhibits dependence on the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) of the light beam, leading to spatial variations in the Bessel functions and, consequently, in the different orders of Fraunhofer diffraction. Leveraging the manipulation of OAM, we achieve precise control over the spatial mapping of diverse diffraction orders at various locations. Our research sheds new light on the spatial behavior of Fraunhofer diffraction in complex atomic systems. It presents exciting prospects for harnessing the OAM characteristics of light in future optical technologies.
The Mpemba effect is a counter-intuitive phenomena in which a hot system reaches a cold temperature faster than a colder system, under otherwise identical conditions. Here we propose a quantum analog of the Mpemba effect, on the simplest quantum system, a qubit. Specifically, we show it exhibits an inverse effect, in which a cold qubit reaches a hot temperature faster than a hot qubit. Furthermore, in our system a cold qubit can heat up exponentially faster, manifesting the strong version of the effect. This occurs only for sufficiently coherent systems, making this effect quantum mechanical, i.e. due to interference effects. We experimentally demonstrate our findings on a single $^{88}\text{Sr}^+$ trapped ion qubit.
The quantum wave nature of matter is a cornerstone of modern physics, which has been demonstrated for a wide range of fundamental and composite particles. While diffraction at nanomechanical masks is usually regarded to be independent of atomic or molecular internal states, the particles' polarisabilities and dipole moments lead to dispersive interactions with the grating surface. In prior experiments, such forces largely prevented matter-wave experiments with polar molecules, as they led to dephasing of the matter wave in the presence of randomly distributed charges incorporated into the grating. Here we show that ion-beam milling using neon facilitates the fabrication of lowly-charged nanomasks in gold-capped silicon nitride membranes. This allows us to observe the diffraction of polar molecules with a four times larger electric dipole moment than in previous experiments. This new capability opens a path to the assessment of the structure of polar molecules in matter-wave diffraction experiments.
Grover's quantum search algorithm promises a quadratic speedup for unstructured search over its classical counterpart. But this advantage is gradually reduced with noise acting on the search space. In this article, we demonstrate that a quantum switch can act as a resource operation in mitigating the effect of the noise in the search space. In this scenario, fault-tolerant model quantum computing is costly. In addition to the noise modeled by a depolarizing channel, which coherently acts on the entire quantum register, such an error correction method can not be trivially implemented. We show that a quantum switch can significantly add value by reducing this error. In particular, we propose two frameworks for the application of switches. In the first framework, we apply the superposition of channels' orders in the form of a switch and do a post-selection at every iteration of the applications of the Grover operator. In the second framework, we delay the post-selection until the very end. In other words, if we want to look at the switch's action at the kth step, we already have k-1 post-selection measurements in place for the first framework. In the second case, we only have a single measurement. The number of post selections is minimal in the second scenario, so its effect is more credited to the switch. It also gives a significant advantage regarding the success probability of Grover's algorithm. We take the success probability as the sole quantifier of the switch's action in diminishing the effect of noise in search space.
The aim of the channel estimation is to estimate the parameters encoded in a quantum channel. For this aim, it is allowed to choose the input state as well as the measurement to get the outcome. Various precision bounds are known for the state estimation. For the channel estimation, the respective bounds are determined depending on the choice of the input state. However, determining the optimal input probe state and the corresponding precision bounds in estimation is a non-trivial problem, particularly in the multi-parameter setting, where parameters are often incompatible. In this paper, we present a conic programming framework that allows us to determine the optimal probe state for the corresponding multi-parameter precision bounds. The precision bounds we consider include the Holevo-Nagaoka bound and the tight precision bound that give the optimal performances of correlated and uncorrelated measurement strategies, respectively. Using our conic programming framework, we discuss the optimality of a maximally entangled probe state in various settings. We also apply our theory to analyze the canonical field sensing problem using entangled quantum probe states.
The nuclear-polarization corrections to the energy levels of highly charged ions are systematically investigated to leading order in the fine-structure constant. To this end, the notion of effective photon propagators with nuclear-polarization insertions is employed, where the nuclear excitation spectrum is calculated by means of the Hartree-Fock-based random-phase approximation. The effective Skyrme force is used to describe the interaction between nucleons, and the model dependence is analyzed. To leading order, the formalism predicts two contributions given by the effective vacuum-polarization and self-energy diagrams. The existing ambiguity around the vacuum-polarization term is resolved by demonstrating that it is effectively absorbed in the standard finite-nuclear-size correction. The self-energy part is evaluated with the full electromagnetic electron-nucleus interaction taken into account, where the importance of the effects of the nuclear three-currents is emphasized.
Driving a quantum many-body system across the quantum phase transition (QPT) in finite time has been concerned in different branches of physics to explore various fundamental questions. Here, we analyze how the underlying QPT affects the work distribution, when the controlling parameter of a ferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensates is tuned through the critical point in finite time.We show that the work distribution undergoes a dramatic change with increasing the driving time $\tau$, which is further captured by employing the entropy of the work distribution.We observe three distinct regions in the evolution of entropy as a function of $\tau$.Specifically, the entropy is insensitive to the driving time in the region of very short $\tau$. However, in the region with intermediate value of $\tau$, it exhibits a universal power-law decay consistent with the well-known Kibble-Zurek mechanism. For the region with large $\tau$, the validity of the adiabatic perturbation theory leads to the entropy decay as $\tau^{-2}\ln\tau$. Our results verify the usefulness of the entropy of the work distribution for understanding the critical dynamics and provide an alternative way to experimentally study nonequilibrium properties in quantum many-body systems.
Within a cavity quantum electrodynamics description, we characterize the fluorescent spectrum from ultracold bosons atoms, in the second harmonic generation (SHG) and resonant cases. Two situations are considered: i) bosons loaded into an optical lattice and ii) in a trapped two-component dilute Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC), in the regime where the Bogoliubov approximation is often employed. Atom and photon degrees of freedom are treated on equal footing within an exact time-dependent configuration interaction scheme, and cavity leakage is included by including classical oscillator baths. For optical lattices, we consider few bosons in short chains, described via the Bose-Hubbard model with two levels per site, and we find that the spectral response grows on increasing the number of atoms at weak interactions, but diminishes at high interactions (if the number of chain sites does not exceed the number of atoms), and is shifted to lower frequency. In the BEC regime, the spectra display at noticeable extent a scaling behavior with the number of particles and a suitable rescaling of the BEC-cavity and inter-particle interactions, whilst the SHG spectrum redshifts at large atom-atom correlations. Overall, our results provide some general trends for the fluorescence from ultracold bosons in optical cavities, which can be of reference to experimental studies and further theoretical work.
The spatial Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) is applied to the Kitaev chain with inhomogeneous pairing interactions that vanish in half of the lattice and result in a quantum critical point separating the superfluid and normal-gas phases in real space. The weakly-interacting BCS theory predicts scaling behavior of the penetration of the pair wavefunction into the normal-gas region different from conventional power-law results due to the non-analytic dependence of the BCS order parameter on the interaction. The Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equation produces numerical results confirming the scaling behavior and hints complications in the strong-interaction regime. The limiting case of the step-function quench shows the dominance of the BCS coherence length in absence of additional length scale. Furthermore, the energy spectrum and wavefunctions from the BdG equation show abundant in-gap states from the normal-gas region in addition to the topological edge states.
The long-range electrostatic interactions between molecules depend strongly on their relative orientation, which manifests as a rotational state dependence. Interactions between molecules in the same rotational quantum state are well-known attractive rotational van der Waals interactions. Interactions in rotational states that differ by one quantum show resonant dipole-dipole interactions. We show that where molecules are in rotational states that differ by more than one quantum, they exhibit repulsive van der Waals interactions. At temperatures below a millikelvin, this effect can reduce collisional loss by multiple orders of magnitude. These repulsive interactions lead to applications in quantum simulation and impurity physics with ultracold polar molecules.
Larger multi-qubit quantum gates allow shallower, more efficient quantum circuits, which could decrease the prohibitive effect of noise on algorithms for noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices and fault-tolerant error correction schemes. Such multi-qubit gates can potentially be generated by time-independent Hamiltonians comprising only physical (one- and two-local) interaction terms. Here, we present an algorithm that finds the strengths of the Hamiltonian terms by using the direction of the geodesic to the target quantum gate on the Riemannian manifold of $\mathrm{SU}(2^n)$ for $n$ qubits. Differential programming is used to determine how the Hamiltonian terms should be updated in order to follow the geodesic to the target unitary as closely as possible. We numerically compare our geodesic algorithm to gradient descent methods and show that it finds solutions with considerably fewer steps for standard multi-qubit gates such as Toffoli and Fredkin. The geodesic algorithm is then used to find previously unavailable multi-qubit gates implementing high fidelity parity checks, which could be used in a wide array of quantum codes and increase the clock speed of fault-tolerant quantum computers.
It has been shown that the spontaneous emission rate of photons by free electrons, unlike stimulated emission, is independent of the shape or modulation of the quantum electron wavefunction (QEW). Nevertheless, here we show that the quantum state of the emitted photons is non-classical and does depend on the QEW shape. This non-classicality originates from the shape dependent off-diagonal terms of the photon density matrix. This is manifested in the Wigner distribution function and would be observable experimentally through Homodyne detection techniques as a squeezing effect. Considering a scheme of electrons interaction with a single microcavity mode, we present a QED formulation of spontaneous emission by multiple modulated QEWs through a build-up process. Our findings indicate that in the case of a density modulated QEWs beam, the phase of the off-diagonal terms of the photon state emitted by the modulated QEWs is the harbinger of bunched beam superradiance, where the spontaneous emission is proportional to N_e^2. This observation offers a potential for enhancement of other quantum electron interactions with quantum systems by a modulated QEWs beam carrying coherence and quantum properties of the modulation.
We propose to repeatedly load laser-cooled molecules into optical tweezers, and transfer them to storage states that are rotationally excited by two additional quanta. Collisional loss of molecules in these storage states is suppressed, and a dipolar blockade prevents the accumulation of more than one molecule. Applying three cycles loads tweezers with single molecules at an 80~\% success rate, limited by residual collisional loss. This improved loading efficiency reduces the time needed for rearrangement of tweezer arrays, which would otherwise limit the scalability of neutral molecule quantum computers.
A major difficulty in quantum simulation is the adequate treatment of a large collection of entangled particles, synonymous with electron correlation in electronic structure theory, with coupled cluster (CC) theory being the leading framework in dealing with this problem. Augmenting computationally affordable low-rank approximations in CC theory with a perturbative account of higher-rank excitations is a tractable and effective way of accounting for the missing electron correlation in those approximations. This is perhaps best exemplified by the "gold standard" CCSD(T) method, which bolsters the baseline CCSD with effects of triple excitations using considerations from many-body perturbation theory (MBPT). Despite this established success, such a synergy between MBPT and the unitary analog of CC theory (UCC) has not been explored. In this work, we propose a similar approach wherein converged UCCSD amplitudes, which can be obtained on a quantum computer, are leveraged by a classical computer to evaluate energy corrections associated with triple excitations - leading to the UCCSD[T] and UCCSD(T*) methods. The rationale behind these choices is shown to be rigorous by studying the properties of finite-order UCC energy functionals. Although our efforts do not support the addition of the fifth-order contribution as in the (T) correction, comparisons are nevertheless made using a hybrid UCCSD(T) approach. We assess the performance of these approaches on a collection of small molecules, and demonstrate the benefits of harnessing the inherent synergy between MBPT and UCC theories.
Quantum states of angular momentum and spin generally are not invariant under rotations of the reference frame. Therefore, they can be used as a resource of relative orientation, which is encoded in the asymmetry of the state under consideration. In this paper we introduce the analytical characterization of the rotational information by parameterizing the group characteristic function by polynomial functions. By doing so, we show that the set of states achievable through $SU(2)$-covariant channels admits an analytical characterization and can be studied through the use of semidefinite optimization techniques. We demonstrate the developed methods via examples.
Programmable linear optical interferometers are promising for classical and quantum applications. Their integrated design makes it possible to create more scalable and stable devices. To use them in practice, one has to reconstruct the whole device model taking the manufacturing errors into account. The inability to address individual interferometer elements complicates the reconstruction problem. A naive approach is to train the model via some complex optimization procedure. A faster optimization-free algorithm has been recently proposed [Opt. Express 31, 16729 (2023)]. However, it requires the full transfer matrix tomography while a more practical setup measures only the fields intensities at the interferometer output. In this paper, we propose the modification of the fast algorithm, which uses additional set of interferometer configurations in order to reconstruct the model in the case of intensity-only measurements. We show that it performs slightly worse than the original fast algorithm but it is more practical and still does not require intensive numerical optimization.
Emitters in high refractive index materials like 4H-SiC suffer from reduced detection of photons because of losses caused by total internal reflection. Thus, integration into efficient nanophotonic structures which couple the emission of photons to a well defined waveguide mode can significantly enhance the photon detection efficiency. In addition, interfacing this waveguide to a classical fiber network is of similar importance to detect the photons and perform experiments. Here, we show a waveguide fiber interface in SiC. By careful measurements we determine efficiencies exceeding 93 % for the transfer of photons from SiC nanobeams to fibers. We use this interface to create a bright single photon source based on waveguide integrated V2 defects in 4H-SiC and achieve an overall photon count rate of 181,000 counts/s, the highest value so far achieved for this system. We observe and quantify the strain induced shift of the ground state spin states and demonstrate coherent control of the electron spin with a coherence time of T2=42.5 $\rm\mu$s.
Multimode squeezed states of light have been proposed as a resource for achieving quantum advantage in computing and sensing. Recent experiments that demonstrate multimode Gaussian states to this end have most commonly opted for spatial or temporal modes, whereas a complete system based on frequency modes has yet to be realized. Instead, we show how to use the frequency modes simultaneously squeezed in a conventional, single-spatial-mode, optical parametric amplifier when pumped by ultrashort pulses. Specifically, we show how adiabatic frequency conversion can be used not only to convert the quantum state from infrared to visible wavelengths, but to concurrently manipulate the joint spectrum. This near unity-efficiency quantum frequency conversion, over a bandwidth >45 THz and, to our knowledge, the broadest to date, allows us to measure the state with an electron-multiplying CCD (EMCCD) camera-based spectrometer, at non-cryogenic temperatures. We demonstrate the squeezing of >400 frequency modes, with a mean of approximately 700 visible photons per shot. Our work shows how many-mode quantum states of light can be generated, manipulated, and measured with efficient use of hardware resources -- in our case, using one pulsed laser, two nonlinear crystals, and one camera. This ability to produce, with modest hardware resources, large multimode squeezed states with partial programmability motivates the use of frequency encoding for photonics-based quantum information processing.
We develop a field-nonlinear theory of sub-Doppler spectroscopy in a gas of two-level atoms, based on a self-consistent solution of the Maxwell-Bloch equations in the mean field and single-atom density matrix approximations. This makes it possible to correctly take into account the effects caused by the free motion of atoms in a gas, which lead to a nonlinear dependence of the spectroscopic signal on the atomic density even in the absent of a direct interatomic interaction (e.g., dipole-dipole interaction). Within the framework of this approach, analytical expressions for the light field were obtained for an arbitrary number of resonant waves and arbitrary optical thickness of a gas medium. Sub-Doppler spectroscopy in the transmission signal for two counterpropagating and co-propagating waves has been studied in detail. A previously unknown red shift of a narrow sub-Doppler resonance is predicted in a counterpropagating waves scheme, when the frequency of one wave is fixed and the frequency of the other wave is varied. The magnitude of this shift depends on the atomic density and can be more than an order of magnitude greater than the known shift from the interatomic dipole-dipole interaction (Lorentz-Lorenz shift). The found effects, caused by the free motion of atoms, require a significant revision of the existing picture of spectroscopic effects depending on the density of atoms in a gas. Apart of fundamental aspect, obtained results are important for precision laser spectroscopy and optical atomic clocks.
The computation of the diameter is one of the most central problems in distributed computation. In the standard CONGEST model, in which two adjacent nodes can exchange $O(\log n)$ bits per round (here $n$ denotes the number of nodes of the network), it is known that exact computation of the diameter requires $\tilde \Omega(n)$ rounds, even in networks with constant diameter. In this paper we investigate quantum distributed algorithms for this problem in the quantum CONGEST model, where two adjacent nodes can exchange $O(\log n)$ quantum bits per round. Our main result is a $\tilde O(\sqrt{nD})$-round quantum distributed algorithm for exact diameter computation, where $D$ denotes the diameter. This shows a separation between the computational power of quantum and classical algorithms in the CONGEST model. We also show an unconditional lower bound $\tilde \Omega(\sqrt{n})$ on the round complexity of any quantum algorithm computing the diameter, and furthermore show a tight lower bound $\tilde \Omega(\sqrt{nD})$ for any distributed quantum algorithm in which each node can use only $\textrm{poly}(\log n)$ quantum bits of memory.
The advent of quantum technologies brought forward much attention to the theoretical characterization of the computational resources they provide. A method to quantify quantum resources is to use a class of functions called magic monotones and stabilizer entropies, which are, however, notoriously hard and impractical to evaluate for large system sizes. In recent studies, a fundamental connection between information scrambling, the magic monotone mana and 2-Renyi stabilizer entropy was established. This connection simplified magic monotone calculation, but this class of methods still suffers from exponential scaling with respect to the number of qubits. In this work, we establish a way to sample an out-of-time-order correlator that approximates magic monotones and 2-Renyi stabilizer entropy. We numerically show the relation of these sampled correlators to different non-stabilizerness measures for both qubit and qutrit systems and provide an analytical relation to 2-Renyi stabilizer entropy. Furthermore, we put forward and simulate a protocol to measure the monotonic behaviour of magic for the time evolution of local Hamiltonians.
Correlated quantum systems feature a wide range of nontrivial effects emerging from interactions between their constituting particles. In nonequilibrium scenarios, these manifest in phenomena such as many-body insulating states and anomalous scaling laws of currents of conserved quantities, crucial for applications in quantum circuit technologies. In this work we propose a giant rectification scheme based on the asymmetric interplay between strong particle interactions and a tilted potential, each of which induces an insulating state on their own. While for reverse bias both cooperate and induce a strengthened insulator with an exponentially suppressed current, for forward bias they compete generating conduction resonances; this leads to a rectification coefficient of many orders of magnitude. We uncover the mechanism underlying these resonances as enhanced coherences between energy eigenstates occurring at avoided crossings in the system's bulk energy spectrum. Furthermore, we demonstrate the complexity of the many-body nonequilibrium conducting state through the emergence of enhanced density matrix impurity and operator space entanglement entropy close to the resonances. Our proposal paves the way for implementing a perfect diode in currently-available electronic and quantum simulation platforms.
We show a general method to estimate with optimum precision, i.e., the best precision determined by the light-matter interaction process, a set of parameters that characterize a phase object. The method derives from ideas presented by Pezze et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 130504 (2017)]. Our goal is to illuminate the main characteristics of this method as well as its applications to the physics community, probably not familiar with the formal quantum language usually employed in works related to quantum estimation theory. First, we derive precision bounds for the estimation of the set of parameters characterizing the phase object. We compute the Cr\`amer-Rao lower bound for two experimentally relevant types of illumination: a multimode coherent state with mean photon number N, and N copies of a multimode single-photon quantum state. We show under which conditions these two models are equivalent. Second, we show that the optimum precision can be achieved by projecting the light reflected/transmitted from the object onto a set of modes with engineered spatial shape. We describe how to construct these modes, and demonstrate explicitly that the precision of the estimation using these measurements is optimum. As example, we apply these results to the estimation of the height and sidewall angle of a cliff-like nanostructure, an object relevant in semiconductor industry for the evaluation of nanofabrication techniques.
With the recent development of quantum information theory, some attempts exist to construct information theory beyond quantum theory. Here we consider hypothesis testing relative entropy and one-shot classical capacity, that is, the optimal rate of classical information transmitted by using a single channel under a constraint of a certain error probability, in general physical theories where states and measurements are operationally defined. Then we obtain the upper bound of one-shot classical capacity by generalizing the method given by Wang and Renner [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 200501 (2012)]. Also, we derive the lower bound of the capacity by showing the existence of a good code that can transmit classical information with a certain error probability. Applying the above two bounds, we prove the asymptotic equivalence between classical capacity and hypothesis testing relative entropy even in any general physical theorem.
Quantum dynamics in a strongly disordered quantum many-body system show localization properties. The initial state memory is maintained owing to slow relaxation when the system is in the localized regime. This work demonstrates how localization can be observed using a noisy quantum computer by evaluating the magnetization and twist overlap in a quantum spin chain after short-time evolution. The quantities obtained from quantum-circuit simulation and real-device computation show their apparent dependence on disorder strength, although real-device computation suffers from noise-induced errors significantly. Using the exact diagonalization of the Hamiltonian, we analyze how noise-induced errors affect those quantities. The analysis also suggests how the twist overlap can reflect the information on the eigenstates of the Hamiltonian.
Quantum coherence will undoubtedly play a fundamental role in understanding the dynamics of quantum many-body systems, thereby to reveal its genuine contribution is of great importance. In this paper, we specialize our discussions on the one-dimensional transverse field quantum Ising model initialized in the coherent Gibbs state, and investigate the effects of quantum coherence on dynamical phase transition (DQPT). After quenching the strength of the transverse field, the effects of quantum coherence are studied by Fisher zeros, rate function and winding number. We find that quantum coherence not only recovers the traditional DQPT related to quantum phase transition, but also generates some entirely new DQPTs which are independent of equilibrium quantum critical point. In these entirely new QDPTs, the line of Fisher zeros cuts the imaginary axis twice, i.e., there are two critical modes, one makes the winding number jump down but another makes it jump up. We also find that the rate function can not be used to describe DQPT at high temperature, because the critical mode no longer dominates. This work sheds new light on the fundamental connection between quantum critical phenomena and quantum coherence.
We study the competing effects of collective generalized measurements and interaction-induced scrambling in the dynamics of an ensemble of spin-1/2 particles at the level of quantum trajectories. This setup can be considered as analogous to the one leading to measurement-induced transitions in quantum circuits. We show that the interplay between collective unitary dynamics and measurements leads to three regimes of the average Quantum Fisher Information (QFI), which is a witness of multipartite entanglement, as a function of the monitoring strength. While both weak and strong measurements lead to extensive QFI density (i.e., individual quantum trajectories yield states displaying Heisenberg scaling), an intermediate regime of classical-like states emerges for all system sizes where the measurement effectively competes with the scrambling dynamics and precludes the development of quantum correlations, leading to sub-Heisenberg-limited states. We characterize these regimes and the crossovers between them using numerical and analytical tools, and discuss the connections between our findings, entanglement phases in monitored many-body systems, and the quantum-to-classical transition.
Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is a leading candidate algorithm for solving combinatorial optimization problems on quantum computers. However, in many cases QAOA requires computationally intensive parameter optimization. The challenge of parameter optimization is particularly acute in the case of weighted problems, for which the eigenvalues of the phase operator are non-integer and the QAOA energy landscape is not periodic. In this work, we develop parameter setting heuristics for QAOA applied to a general class of weighted problems. First, we derive optimal parameters for QAOA with depth $p=1$ applied to the weighted MaxCut problem under different assumptions on the weights. In particular, we rigorously prove the conventional wisdom that in the average case the first local optimum near zero gives globally-optimal QAOA parameters. Second, for $p\geq 1$ we prove that the QAOA energy landscape for weighted MaxCut approaches that for the unweighted case under a simple rescaling of parameters. Therefore, we can use parameters previously obtained for unweighted MaxCut for weighted problems. Finally, we prove that for $p=1$ the QAOA objective sharply concentrates around its expectation, which means that our parameter setting rules hold with high probability for a random weighted instance. We numerically validate this approach on general weighted graphs and show that on average the QAOA energy with the proposed fixed parameters is only $1.1$ percentage points away from that with optimized parameters. Third, we propose a general heuristic rescaling scheme inspired by the analytical results for weighted MaxCut and demonstrate its effectiveness using QAOA with the XY Hamming-weight-preserving mixer applied to the portfolio optimization problem. Our heuristic improves the convergence of local optimizers, reducing the number of iterations by 7.4x on average.
Spatially-structured laser beams, eventually carrying orbital angular momentum, affect electronic transitions of atoms and their motional states in a complex way. We present a general framework, based on the spherical tensor decomposition of the interaction Hamiltonian, for computing atomic transition matrix elements for light fields of arbitrary spatial mode and polarization structures. We study both the bare electronic matrix elements, corresponding to transitions with no coupling to the atomic center-of-mass motion, as well as the matrix elements describing the coupling to the quantized atomic motion in the resolved side-band regime. We calculate the spatial dependence of electronic and motional matrix elements for tightly focused Hermite-Gaussian, Laguerre-Gaussian and for radially and azimuthally polarized beams. We show that near the diffraction limit, all these beams exhibit longitudinal fields and field gradients, which strongly affect the selection rules and could be used to tailor the light-matter interaction. The presented framework is useful for describing trapped atoms or ions in spatially-structured light fields and therefore for designing new protocols and setups in quantum optics, -sensing and -information processing.
We present an analysis of chaos and regularity in the open Dicke model, when dissipation is due to cavity losses. Due to the infinite Liouville space of this model, we also introduce a criterion to numerically find a complex spectrum which approximately represents the system spectrum. The isolated Dicke model has a well-defined classical limit with two degrees of freedom. We select two case studies where the classical isolated system shows regularity and where chaos appears. To characterize the open system as regular or chaotic, we study regions of the complex spectrum taking windows over the absolute value of its eigenvalues. Our results for this infinite-dimensional system agree with the Grobe-Haake-Sommers (GHS) conjecture for Markovian dissipative open quantum systems, finding the expected 2D Poisson distribution for regular regimes, and the distribution of the Ginibre unitary ensemble (GinUE) for the chaotic ones, respectively.
We investigate the effect that spatially modulated continuous conserved quantities can have on quantum ground states. We do so by introducing a family of one-dimensional local quantum rotor and bosonic models which conserve finite Fourier momenta of the particle number, but not the particle number itself. These correspond to generalizations of the standard Bose-Hubbard model (BHM), and relate to the physics of Bose surfaces. First, we show that while having an infinite-dimensional local Hilbert space, such systems feature a non-trivial Hilbert space fragmentation for momenta incommensurate with the lattice. This is linked to the nature of the conserved quantities having a dense spectrum and provides the first such example. We then characterize the zero-temperature phase diagram for both commensurate and incommensurate momenta. In both cases, analytical and numerical calculations predict a phase transition between a gapped (Mott insulating) and quasi-long range order phase; the latter is characterized by a two-species Luttinger liquid in the infrared, but dressed by oscillatory contributions when computing microscopic expectation values. Following a rigorous Villain formulation of the corresponding rotor model, we derive a dual description, from where we estimate the robustness of this phase using renormalization group arguments, where the driving perturbation has ultra-local correlations in space but power law correlations in time. We support this conclusion using an equivalent representation of the system as a two-dimensional vortex gas with modulated Coulomb interactions within a fixed symmetry sector. We conjecture that a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-type transition is driven by the unbinding of vortices along the temporal direction.
Efficient methods for the simulation of quantum circuits on classic computers are crucial for their analysis due to the exponential growth of the problem size with the number of qubits. Here we study lumping methods based on bisimulation, an established class of techniques that has been proven successful for (classic) stochastic and deterministic systems such as Markov chains and ordinary differential equations. Forward constrained bisimulation yields a lower-dimensional model which exactly preserves quantum measurements projected on a linear subspace of interest. Backward constrained bisimulation gives a reduction that is valid on a subspace containing the circuit input, from which the circuit result can be fully recovered. We provide an algorithm to compute the constraint bisimulations yielding coarsest reductions in both cases, using a duality result relating the two notions. As applications, we provide theoretical bounds on the size of the reduced state space for well-known quantum algorithms for search, optimization, and factorization. Using a prototype implementation, we report significant reductions on a set of benchmarks. Furthermore, we show that constraint bisimulation complements state-of-the-art methods for the simulation of quantum circuits based on decision diagrams.
Among the most fundamental questions in the manipulation of quantum resources such as entanglement is the possibility of reversibly transforming all resource states. The most important consequence of this would be the identification of a unique entropic resource measure that exactly quantifies the limits of achievable transformation rates. Remarkably, previous results claimed that such asymptotic reversibility holds true in very general settings; however, recently those findings have been found to be incomplete, casting doubt on the conjecture. Here we show that it is indeed possible to reversibly interconvert all states in general quantum resource theories, as long as one allows protocols that may only succeed probabilistically. Although such transformations have some chance of failure, we show that their success probability can be ensured to be bounded away from zero, even in the asymptotic limit of infinitely many manipulated copies. As in previously conjectured approaches, the achievability here is realised through operations that are asymptotically resource non-generating. Our methods are based on connecting the transformation rates under probabilistic protocols with strong converse rates for deterministic transformations. We strengthen this connection into an exact equivalence in the case of entanglement distillation.
The problem of Fleet Conversion aims to reduce the carbon emissions and cost of operating a fleet of vehicles for a given set of tours. It can be modelled as a column generation scheme with the Maximum Weighted Independent Set (MWIS) problem as the slave. Quantum variational algorithms have gained significant interest in the past several years. Recently, a method to represent Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) problems using logarithmically fewer qubits was proposed. Here we use this method to solve the MWIS Slaves and demonstrate how quantum and classical solvers can be used together to approach an industrial-sized use-case (up to 64 tours).
Entanglement potentials are a promising way to quantify the nonclassicality of single-mode states. They are defined by the amount of entanglement (expressed by, e.g., the Wootters concurrence) obtained after mixing the examined single-mode state with a purely classical state; such as the vacuum or a coherent state. We generalize the idea of entanglement potentials to other quantum correlations: the EPR steering and Bell nonlocality, thus enabling us to study mutual hierarchies of these nonclassicality potentials. Instead of the usual vacuum and one-photon superposition states, we experimentally test this concept using specially tailored polarization-encoded single-photon states. One polarization encodes a given nonclassical single-mode state, while the other serves as the vacuum place-holder. This technique proves to be experimentally more convenient in comparison to the vacuum and a one-photon superposition as it does not require the vacuum detection.
Chimera states are a captivating occurrence in which a system composed of multiple interconnected elements exhibits a distinctive combination of synchronized and desynchronized behavior. The emergence of these states can be attributed to the complex interdependence between quantum entanglement and the delicate balance of interactions among system constituents. The emergence of discrete-time crystal (DTC) in typical many-body periodically driven systems occurs when there is a breaking of time translation symmetry. Coexisting coupled DTC and a ferromagnetic dynamically many-body localized (DMBL) phase at distinct regions have been investigated under the controlled spin rotational error of a disorder-free spin-1/2 chain for different types of spin-spin interactions. We contribute a novel approach for the emergence of the DTC-DMBL-chimera phase, which is robust against external static fields in a periodically driven quantum many-body system.
The sine-Gordon model captures the low-energy effective dynamics of a wealth of one-dimensional quantum systems, stimulating the experimental efforts in building a versatile quantum simulator of this field theory and fueling the parallel development of new theoretical toolkits able to capture far-from-equilibrium settings. In this work, we analyze the realization of sine-Gordon from the interference pattern of two one-dimensional quasicondensates: we argue the emergent field theory is well described by its classical limit and develop its large-scale description based on Generalized Hydrodynamics. We show how, despite sine-Gordon being an integrable field theory, trap-induced inhomogeneities cause instabilities of excitations and provide exact analytical results to capture this effect.
One-way functions are central to classical cryptography. They are both necessary for the existence of non-trivial classical cryptosystems, and sufficient to realize meaningful primitives including commitments, pseudorandom generators and digital signatures. At the same time, a mounting body of evidence suggests that assumptions even weaker than one-way functions may suffice for many cryptographic tasks of interest in a quantum world, including bit commitments and secure multi-party computation. This work studies one-way state generators [Morimae-Yamakawa, CRYPTO 2022], a natural quantum relaxation of one-way functions. Given a secret key, a one-way state generator outputs a hard to invert quantum state. A fundamental question is whether this type of quantum one-wayness suffices to realize quantum cryptography. We obtain an affirmative answer to this question, by proving that one-way state generators with pure state outputs imply quantum bit commitments and secure multiparty computation. Along the way, we build an intermediate primitive with classical outputs, which we call a (quantum) one-way puzzle. Our main technical contribution is a proof that one-way puzzles imply quantum bit commitments.
Quasiperiodic systems extend the concept of Anderson transition to the quasi-random and low-dimensional realm, exhibiting intricate behaviors even in the one-dimension, while their investigation in higher dimensions remains less explored. Here, we delve into a series of two-dimensional lattice models of Hall systems with asymptotically incommensurate flux, and reveal the impact of asymptotic incommensurability together with relaxation on transport phenomena. Specifically, we demonstrate anomalous bulk transport with universal scaling characteristics in the wave-packet dynamics and conductivity, and predict novel interplay effects involving asymptotic incommensurability, temperature, and relaxation, leading to unprecedented multiple anisotropic metal-insulator transitions. The asymptotic quasiperiodicity also leads to the quantized anisotropic edge tunneling transport. Our work enriches the universal quantum transport phenomena, and add to the fundamental mechanisms underlying the metal-insulator transitions driven by incommensurability in higher dimensions, potentially opening a new avenue for exploring novel transport physics in quasiperiodic systems.
The Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz (QAOA+) is one of the Variational Quantum Algorithm (VQA) specifically developed to tackle combinatorial optimization problems by exploring the feasible space in search of a target solution. For constrained optimization problems with unconstrained variables, which we call Unconstrained-Variables Problems (UVPs), the mixed operators in the QAOA+ circuit are applied to the constrained variables, while the single-qubit rotating gates $R_X$ operate on the unconstrained variables. The expressibility of this circuit is limited by the shortage of two-qubit gates and the parameter sharing in the $R_X$, which consequently impacts the performance of QAOA+ for solving UVPs. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a suitable ansatz for UVPs. In this paper, we propose the Variational Quantum Algorithm-Preserving Feasible Space (VQA-PFS) ansatz, exemplified by the Uncapacitated Facility Location Problem (UFLP), that applies mixed operators on constrained variables while employing Hardware-Efficient Ansatz (HEA) on unconstrained variables. The numerical results demonstrate that VQA-PFS significantly enhances the success probability and exhibits faster convergence compared to QAOA+, Quantum Approximation Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), and HEA. Furthermore, VQA-PFS reduces the circuit depth dramatically in comparison to QAOA+ and QAOA. Our algorithm is general and instructive in tackling UVPs.
We propose to use wavefunction overlaps obtained from a quantum computer as inputs for the classical split-amplitude techniques, tailored and externally corrected coupled cluster, to achieve balanced treatment of static and dynamic correlation effects in molecular electronic structure simulations. By combining insights from statistical properties of matchgate shadows, which are used to measure quantum trial state overlaps, with classical correlation diagnostics, we are able to provide quantum resource estimates well into the classically no longer exactly solvable regime. We find that rather imperfect wavefunctions and remarkably low shot counts are sufficient to cure qualitative failures of plain coupled cluster singles doubles and to obtain chemically precise dynamic correlation energy corrections. We provide insights into which wavefunction preparation schemes have a chance of yielding quantum advantage, and we test our proposed method using overlaps measured on Google's Sycamore device.
The ability of quantum computers to overcome the exponential memory scaling of many-body problems is expected to transform quantum chemistry. Quantum algorithms require accurate representations of electronic states on a quantum device, but current approximations struggle to combine chemical accuracy and gate-efficiency while preserving physical symmetries, and rely on measurement-intensive adaptive methods that tailor the wave function ansatz to each molecule. In this contribution, we present a spin-symmetry-preserving, gate-efficient ansatz that provides chemically accurate molecular energies with a well-defined circuit structure. Our approach exploits local qubit connectivity, orbital optimisation, and connections with generalised valence bond theory to maximise the accuracy that is obtained with shallow quantum circuits. Numerical simulations for molecules with weak and strong electron correlation, including benzene, water, and the singlet-triplet gap in tetramethyleneethane, demonstrate that chemically accurate energies are achieved with as much as 84% fewer two-qubit gates compared to the current state-of-the-art. These advances pave the way for the next generation of electronic structure approximations for future quantum computing.
Controlled operations are fundamental building blocks of quantum algorithms. Decomposing $n$-control-NOT gates ($C^n(X)$) into arbitrary single-qubit and CNOT gates, is a crucial but non-trivial task. This study introduces $C^n(X)$ circuits outperforming previous methods in the asymptotic and non-asymptotic regimes. Three distinct decompositions are presented: an exact one using one borrowed ancilla with a circuit depth $\Theta\left(\log(n)^{3}\right)$, an approximating one without ancilla qubits with a circuit depth $\mathcal O \left(\log(n)^{3}\log(1/\epsilon)\right)$ and an exact one with an adjustable-depth circuit which decreases with the number $m\leq n$ of ancilla qubits available as $O(log(2n/m)^3+log(m/2))$. The resulting exponential speedup is likely to have a substantial impact on fault-tolerant quantum computing by improving the complexities of countless quantum algorithms with applications ranging from quantum chemistry to physics, finance and quantum machine learning.
We introduce an elementary measure of non-commutativity between two algebras of quantum operators acting on the same Hilbert space. This quantity, which we call Mutual Averaged Non-commutativity (MAN), is a simple generalization of a type of averaged Out-of-Time-Order-Correlators used in the study of quantum scrambling and chaos. MAN is defined by a Haar averaged squared norm of a commutator and for some types of algebras is manifestly of entropic nature. In particular, when the two algebras coincide the corresponding self-MAN can be fully computed in terms of the structural data of the associated Hilbert space decomposition. Properties and bounds of MAN are established in general and several concrete examples are discussed. Remarkably, for an important class of algebras, -- which includes factors and maximal abelian ones -- MAN can be expressed in the terms of the algebras projections CP-maps. Assuming that the latter can be enacted as physical processes, one can devise operational protocols to directly estimate the MAN of a pair of algebras.
Delay lines capable of storing quantum information are crucial for advancing quantum repeaters and hardware efficient quantum computers. Traditionally, they are physically realized as extended systems that support wave propagation, such as waveguides. But such delay lines typically provide limited control over the propagating fields. Here, we introduce a parametrically addressed delay line (PADL) for microwave photons that provides a high level of control over the dynamics of stored pulses, enabling us to arbitrarily delay or even swap pulses. By parametrically driving a three-waving mixing superconducting circuit element that is weakly hybridized with an ensemble of resonators, we engineer a spectral response that simulates that of a physical delay line, while providing fast control over the delay line's properties and granting access to its internal modes. We illustrate the main features of the PADL, operating on pulses with energies on the order of a single photon, through a series of experiments, which include choosing which photon echo to emit, translating pulses in time, and swapping two pulses. We also measure the noise added to the delay line from our parametric interactions and find that the added noise is much less than one photon.
Collective effects on the light scattered by disordered media such as Anderson localization and coherent backscattering critically depend on the reciprocity between interfering optical paths. In this work, we explore the breaking of reciprocity for the light scattered by a disordered cold atom setup, taking advantage of the non-commutation of optical elements that manipulate the polarization of the interfering paths. This breaking of symmetry manifests itself in the reduction of the fringes contrast as the light scattered by the cloud interferes with that from its mirror image. We provide a geometrical interpretation in terms of the Pancharatnam-Berry phase, which we directly access from the fringes displacement. Our work paves the way toward the manipulation of path reciprocity and interference for light scattered by disordered media.
Motivated by an experiment on a superconducting quantum processor [Mi et al., Science 378, 785 (2022)], we study level pairings in the many-body spectrum of the random-field Floquet quantum Ising model. The pairings derive from Majorana zero and $\pi$ modes when writing the spin model in Jordan-Wigner fermions. Both splittings have lognormal distributions with random transverse fields. In contrast, random longitudinal fields affect the zero and $\pi$ splittings in drastically different ways. While zero pairings are rapidly lifted, the $\pi$ pairings are remarkably robust, or even strengthened, up to vastly larger disorder strengths. We explain our results within a self-consistent Floquet perturbation theory and study implications for boundary spin correlations. The robustness of $\pi$ pairings against longitudinal disorder may be useful for quantum information processing.