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Showing votes from 2024-01-30 11:30 to 2024-02-02 12:30 | Next meeting is Friday Oct 25th, 11:30 am.
In the framework of the extended Einstein-aether-axion theory we study the model of a two-level aetheric control over the evolution of a spatially isotropic homogeneous Universe filled with axionic dark matter. Two guiding functions are introduced, which depend on the expansion scalar of the aether flow, equal to the tripled Hubble function. The guiding function of the first type enters the aetheric effective metric, which modifies the kinetic term of the axionic system; the guiding function of the second type predetermines the structure of the potential of the axion field. We obtained new exact solutions of the total set of master equations of the model (with and without cosmological constant), and studied in detail four analytically solvable submodels, for which both guiding functions are reconstructed and illustrations of their behavior are presented.
We present a new high-precision strong lensing model of PLCK G287.0$+$32.9, a massive lens galaxy cluster at $z=0.383$, with the aim to get an accurate estimation of its effective Einstein radius and total mass distribution. We also present a spectroscopic catalog containing accurate redshift measurements for 490 objects, including multiply-lensed sources and cluster member galaxies. We exploit high-quality spectroscopic data from three pointings of the VLT Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, covering a central $3~\rm{arcmin}^2$ region of the cluster. We complete the spectroscopic catalog by including redshift measurements from VLT-VIMOS and KECK-DEIMOS. We identify 129 spectroscopic cluster member galaxies, with redshift values $0.360 \leq z \leq 0.405$ and $m_{\rm{F160W}} \leq 21$, and 24 photometric ones identified with a Convolutional Neural Network from ancillary HST imaging. We also identify 114 multiple images from 28 background sources, of which 84 images from 16 sources are new and the remaining ones were identified in previous work. The best-fitting lens model shows a root mean square separation value between the predicted and observed positions of the multiple images of $0.75''$, corresponding to an improvement in reconstructing the observed positions of the multiple images of a factor of $2.5$ with respect to previous models. Using the predictive power of our new lens model we find 3 new multiple images and we confirm the configuration of three systems of multiple images that were not used for the optimization of the model. The derived total mass distribution confirms this cluster to be a very prominent gravitational lens with an effective Einstein $\theta_{E} = \left( 43.41_{-0.06}^{+0.05} \right)''$, that is in agreement with previous estimates and corresponds to a total mass enclosed in the critical curve of $M_E = {3.33}_{-0.07}^{+0.02} \times{ 10^{14} M_\odot}$.
We update the publicly available weak lensing shear measurement algorithm pyRRG for the James Webb Space Telescope, and apply it to UNCOVER DR1 imaging of galaxy cluster Abell 2744. At short wavelengths (< 2.5$\mu$m), shear measurements are consistent between independent observations through different JWST bandpasses, and calibrated within 1.5% of those from the Hubble Space Telescope. At longer wavelengths, shear is underestimated by ~5%, probably due to coarser pixellisation. We model the spatially varying Point Spread Function (PSF) using WebbPSF, whose moments are within 0.05 of real stars near the centre of the mosaic, where there are sufficient stars to also generate an empirical model. We measure shear from up to 162 galaxies arcminute$^2$ to derive a map of (dark plus baryonic) mass with 12 arcsecond (55 kpc) spatial resolution. All code, catalogues and maps are available from https://github.com/davidharvey1986/pyRRG.
I argue that research in physics operates under an implicit community philosophy, and I offer a definition I think physicists would accept, by and large. I compare this definition to what philosophers, sociologists, and historians of science, with physicists, say we are doing.
We present mock JWST observations for more than 215,000 different galaxies from the Astrid simulation with $3 \leq z \leq 6$. The mock observations are made using the BPASS stellar SED model, and a simple dust model. They are then viewed through NIRCam filters, convolved with a PSF, have noise added, and are drizzled together to emulate the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey. We analyse this dataset by computing a number of morphological measures and find our catalog to have comparable statistics to similar mock catalogs, and the first release of CEERS data. We find that most of the Sersic indices of galaxies in our redshift range are lower than observed, with most having n less than one. Additionally, we observe the sizes of galaxies of all masses to increase from redshift z=6 to redshift z=3 consistent with other results. The number of galaxies in our catalog allows us to examine how relationships like the mass-size relation evolve with redshift, and compare the accuracy of a variety of traditional galaxy classification techniques (Sersic fit, Asymmetry-Concentration, and Gini-$M_{20}$) within our redshift range. We find the mass-size relation to be nearly flat at redshift z=6, and consistently increases as redshift decreases, and find the galaxy classification methods have minimal correlation with each other in our redshift range. We also investigate the impact that different stages of our imaging pipeline have on these morphological measures to determine how robust mock catalogs are to different choices at each step. Finally, we test the addition of incorporating light from AGNs into our pipeline and find that while the population of galaxies that have significant AGN luminosity is low, those galaxies do tend to have higher Sersic indices once the AGN luminosity is added, rectifying some of the systematic bias towards lower Sersic indices present in our dataset.
Tens of thousands of galaxy-galaxy strong lensing systems are expected to be discovered by the end of the decade. These will form a vast new dataset that can be used to probe subgalactic dark matter structures through its gravitational effects, which will in turn allow us to study the nature of dark matter at small length scales. This work shows how we can leverage machine learning to search through the data and identify which systems are most likely to contain dark matter substructure and thus can be studied in greater depth. We use a UNet, an image segmentation architecture, on a simulated strongly-lensed dataset with realistic sources (COSMOS galaxies), lenses (power-law elliptical profiles with multipoles and external shear), and noise. Our machine learning algorithm is able to quickly detect most substructure at high image resolution and subhalo concentration. At a false positive rate of $10\%$, we are able to identify systems with substructure at a true positive rate of $71\%$ for a subhalo mass range of $10^{9}\text{-}10^{9.5}\,M_\odot$. While recent detections are consistent with higher concentrations, we find that our algorithm fails at detecting subhalos with lower concentrations (expected from $\Lambda$CDM simulations).
Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) as a standard candle is an ideal tool to measure cosmic distance and expansion history of the Universe. Here we investigate the SN Ia photometric measurement in the China Space Station Telescope Ultra Deep Field (CSST-UDF) survey, and study the constraint power on the cosmological parameters, such as the equation of state of dark energy. The CSST-UDF survey is expected to cover a 9 deg$^2$ sky area in two years with 60 exposures. The magnitude limit can reach $i\simeq26$ AB mag for 5$\sigma$ point source detection. We generate light curve mock data for SNe Ia and different types of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), based on the relevant SN SED templates, natural generation rates, luminosity functions, CSST instrumental design and survey strategy. After selecting high-quality data and fitting the light curves, we derive the light curve parameters and identify CCSNe as contamination, resulting in $\sim2200$ SNe with a $\sim7\%$ CCSN contamination rate. We adopt a calibration method similar to Chauvenet's criterion, and apply it to the distance modulus data to further reduce the contamination. We find that this method is effective and can suppress the contamination fraction to $\sim3.5\%$ with 2012 SNe Ia and 73 CCSNe. About 16\% of SNe Ia are at $z>1$ in the final CSST-UDF SN sample. By checking the cosmological constraints, the result derived from this calibrated SN sample is in good agreement with that using the pure SN Ia sample. The constraint accuracies on $\Omega_{\rm M}$, $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ and $w$ are about $10\%\sim20\%$, which is about two times better than the current SN surveys, and it could be further improved by a factor of $\sim$1.4 if including the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data from the CSST spectroscopic survey. This indicates that CSST can provide accurate measurements for the cosmic expansion history and the nature of dark energy.
Population III (pop III) stars were born in halos characterised by a pristine gas composition. In such a halo, once the gas density reaches n$_{\mathrm{H}} \sim$ 1 cm$^{-3}$, molecular cooling leads to the collapse of the gas and the birth of pop III stars. Halo properties, such as the chemical abundances, mass, and angular momentum can affect the collapse of the gas, thereby leading to the pop III initial mass function (IMF) of star formation. We want to study the properties of primordial halos and how halos that host early star formation differ from other types of halos. The aim of this study is to obtain a representative population of halos at a given redshift hosting a cold and massive gas cloud that enables the birth of the first stars. We investigated the growth of primordial halos in a $\Lambda$CDM Universe in a large cosmological simulation. We used the hydrodynamic code RAMSES and the chemical solver KROME to study halo formation with non-equilibrium thermochemistry. We then identified structures in the dark and baryonic matter fields, thereby linking the presence or absence of dense gas clouds to the mass and the physical properties of the hosting halos. In our simulations, the mass threshold for a halo for hosting a cold dense gas cloud is $\simeq 7 \times 10^5 M_{\odot}$ and the threshold in the H$_2$ mass fraction is found to be $\simeq 2 \times 10^{-4}$. This is in agreement with previous works. We find that the halo history and accretion rate play a minor role. Here, we present halos with higher HD abundances, which are shown to be colder, as the temperature in the range between $10^2 - 10^4 \, \mathrm{cm^{-3}}$ depends on the HD abundance to a large extent. The higher fraction of HD is linked to the higher spin parameter that is seen for the dense gas.
We investigate inflationary particle production associated with a spectator ultralight scalar field, which has been recently proposed as a plausible dark matter candidate. In this framework, we select the Starobinsky potential to drive the inflationary epoch, also discussing the case of a nonminimally coupled inflaton field fueled by a quartic symmetry-breaking potential. We focus on particle production arising from spacetime perturbations, which are induced by inflaton fluctuations during the quasi-de Sitter stage of inflation. In particular, we construct the first order Lagrangian describing interaction between inhomogeneities and the spectator field, quantifying superhorizon particle production during slow-roll. We then compare this mechanism with gravitational particle production associated with an instantaneous transition from inflation to the radiation dominated era. We show that the amount of particles obtained from perturbations is typically non-negligible and it is significantly enhanced on super-Hubble scales by the nonadiabatic inflationary expansion. Possible implications for primordial entanglement generation are also debated.
The recently reported signal of common red noise between pulsars by several pulsar timing array collaborations has been thought as evidence of the stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) due to the Helling-Downs correlation. In this study, we will search for the non-linearities of SGWB through its effect on the overlap reduction function in NANOGrav 15-year data set. In particular, we focus on a folded non-Gaussian component to SGWB whose amplitude is quantified with a single parameter $\alpha$ in the unpolarized case. The results reveal that such a non-Gaussianity of SGWB is favored, and $\alpha=0$ (the Gaussian SGWB) is excluded at about $3\sigma$ level.
We investigate the prospect of reconstructing the ``cosmic distance ladder'' of the Universe using a novel deep learning framework called LADDER - Learning Algorithm for Deep Distance Estimation and Reconstruction. LADDER is trained on the apparent magnitude data from the Pantheon Type Ia supernovae compilation, incorporating the full covariance information among data points, to produce predictions along with corresponding errors. After employing several validation tests with a number of deep learning models, we pick LADDER as the best performing one. We then demonstrate applications of our method in the cosmological context, that include serving as a model-independent tool for consistency checks for other datasets like baryon acoustic oscillations, calibration of high-redshift datasets such as gamma ray bursts, use as a model-independent mock catalog generator for future probes, etc. Our analysis advocates for interesting yet cautious consideration of machine learning applications in these contexts.
Cold dark matter axions produced in the post-inflationary Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking scenario serve as clear targets for their experimental detection, since it is in principle possible to give a sharp prediction for their mass once we understand precisely how they are produced from the decay of global cosmic strings in the early Universe. In this paper, we perform a dedicated analysis of the spectrum of axions radiated from strings based on large scale numerical simulations of the cosmological evolution of the Peccei-Quinn field on a static lattice. Making full use of the massively parallel code and computing resources, we executed the simulations with up to $11264^3$ lattice sites, which allows us to improve our understanding of the dependence on the parameter controlling the string tension and thus give a more accurate extrapolation of the numerical results. We found that there are several systematic effects that have been overlooked in previous works, such as the dependence on the initial conditions, contaminations due to oscillations in the spectrum, and discretisation effects, some of which could explain the discrepancy in the literature. We confirmed the trend that the spectral index of the axion emission spectrum increases with the string tension, but did not find a clear evidence of whether it continues to increase or saturates to a constant at larger values of the string tension due to the severe discretisation effects. Taking this uncertainty into account and performing the extrapolation with a simple power law assumption on the spectrum, we find that the dark matter mass is predicted in the range of $m_a \approx 95$-$450\,\mu\mathrm{eV}$.
We investigate production of non-thermal dark matter particle and heavy sterile neutrino from inflaton during the reheating era which is preceded by a slow-roll inflationary epoch with a quartic potential and non-minimal coupling ($\xi$) between the inflaton and the gravity. We compare our analysis between metric and Palatini formalism. For the latter with $\xi=0.5$ and number of $e$-folds $\sim 60$, $r$ can be as small as $\sim {\cal O}\left(10^{-3}\right)$ which may be validated at $1-\sigma$ CL of prospective future reaches of upcoming CMB observation such as CMB-S4~etc. We identify that permissible range of Yukawa coupling $y_\chi$ between inflaton and fermionic DM $\chi$, to be ${\cal O}\left(10^{-3.5}\right)\gtrsim y_\chi \gtrsim {\cal O}\left(10^{-20}\right)$ for metric formalism and ${\cal O}\left(10^{-4}\right)\gtrsim y_\chi \gtrsim {\cal O}\left(10^{-11}\right)$ for Palatini formalism which is consistent with current PLANCK data and also be within the reach of future CMB experiments. For the scenario of leptogenesis via the decay of sterile neutrino produced from inflaton decay, we also investigate the parameter space of heavy neutrino mass $m_{N_1}$ and Yukawa coupling $y_{N_1}$ of sterile neutrino with inflaton, which are consistent with current CMB data and successful generation of the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe via leptogenesis. In contrast to metric formalism, in the case of Palatini formalism for successful leptogenesis to occur we find that $y_{N_1}$ has a very narrow allowable range and is severely constrained from the consistency with CMB predictions.
We investigate the impact of AGN feedback, on the entropy and characteristic temperature measurements of galaxy groups detected in the SRG/eROSITA's first All-Sky Survey (eRASS1) to shed light on the characteristics of the feedback mechanisms. We analyze deeper eROSITA observations of 1178 galaxy groups detected in eRASS1. We divide the sample into 271 subsamples and extract average thermodynamic properties, including electron density, temperature, and entropy at three characteristic radii along with the integrated temperature by jointly analyzing X-ray images and spectra following a Bayesian approach. We present the tightest constraints on the impact of AGN feedback through our average entropy and characteristic temperature measurements of the largest group sample used in X-ray studies, incorporating major systematics in our analysis. We find that entropy shows an increasing trend with temperature in the form of a power-law-like relation at the higher intra-group medium temperatures, while for the low mass groups, a slight flattening is observed on the average entropy. Overall, the observed entropy measurements agree well with the earlier measurements in the literature. The comparisons with the state-of-the-art cosmological hydrodynamic simulations (MillenniumTNG, Magneticum, OWL simulations) after the applications of the selection function calibrated for our galaxy groups reveal that observed entropy profiles in the cores are below the predictions of simulations. At the mid-region, the entropy measurements agree well with the Magneticum simulations, whereas the predictions of MillenniumTNG and OWL simulations fall below observations. At the outskirts, the overall agreement between the observations and simulations improves, with Magneticum simulations reproducing the observations the best. Our measurements will pave the way for more realistic AGN feedback implementations in simulations.
The new Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA X-ray telescope has a superior response to extended soft X-rays in terms of effective area, energy resolution, and field-of-view (FoV). This makes SRG/eROSITA ideal for studying low X-ray surface brightness emission of cosmic filaments. We search for extended X-ray emission between the two nearby galaxy clusters Abell 3667 and Abell 3651 that are separated by a projected transverse distance of ${\sim} 13\,\mathrm{Mpc}$, using data from the SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey. Detailed X-ray image analysis of the region between the two galaxy clusters and redshift analysis of sources between them is performed. We carried out thorough surface brightness analysis between the clusters and in their outskirts studying enhanced emission in different directions. The analysis is complemented with an X-ray pointed observation from XMM-Newton, infrared 2MASS data and redshift information from NED. We discover an emission filament beyond the known radio relic in the northwest of A3667 and even beyond three times its virial radius, smoothly connecting to A3651. The X-ray emission in the direction of the filament shows a $30\pm3\,\%$ enhancement with a significance of $11\,\sigma$. The 2MASS map and redshift analysis show an alignment of sources along the filament and make a projection effect unlikely. Taking the redshift progression of sources within the filament into account, its three-dimensional length is estimated to be in the range of $25\,\mathrm{Mpc} - 32\,\mathrm{Mpc}$. Surface brightness analysis in combination with assumptions for ranges of plausible temperatures and metallicities leads to estimates of total flux, gas mass and central baryon overdensity of $F_\mathrm{X}= (7.1^{+2.1}_{-1.0})\times 10^{-12}\,\mathrm{erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}}$, $M_\mathrm{g}=(2.8^{+5.4}_{-1.0})\times 10^{14}\,\mathrm{M_\odot}$ and $\delta_0=220^{+390}_{-65}$, respectively.
Most baryonic matter resides in the intergalactic medium (IGM), a diffuse gas primarily composed of ionized hydrogen and helium, filling the space between galaxies. Observations of such an environment are crucial to better understanding the physical processes involved in such an environment. We present an analysis of the IGM absorption using blazar spectra from the first eROSITA all-sky survey (eRASS1) performed onboard of the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission (SRG) and {\it XMM-Newton} X-ray observations. First, we fitted the continuum spectra using a log-parabolic spectrum model and fixed the Galactic absorption. Then, we included a collisional ionization equilibrium model, namely {\tt IONeq}, to account for the IGM absorption. The column density $N({\rm H})$ and metallicity ($Z$) were set as free parameters. At the same time, the redshift of the absorber was fixed to half the blazar redshift as an approximation of the full line-of-sight absorber. We measured IGM-$N({\rm H})$ for 147 sources for SRG and 10 sources for {\it XMM-Newton}. We found a clear trend between IGM-$N({\rm H})$ and the blazar redshifts which scales as $(1+z)^{1.63\pm 0.12}$. The mean hydrogen density at $z=0$ is $n_{0}=(2.75\pm 0.63)\times 10^{-7}$ cm$^{-3}$. The mean temperature over the redshift range is $\log(T/K)=5.6\pm 0.6$ while the mean metallicity is $Z=0.16\pm 0.09$. We found no acceptable fit using a power-law model for either temperatures or metallicities as a function of the redshift. These results indicate that the IGM contributes substantially to the total absorption seen in the blazar spectra.
As the closest galaxy cluster, the Virgo Cluster is an exemplary environment for the study of large-scale filamentary structure and physical effects that are present in cluster outskirts but absent from the more easily studied inner regions. Here, we present an exploration of the SRG/eROSITA data from five all-sky surveys. eROSITA allows us to resolve the entire Virgo cluster and its outskirts on scales between 1 kpc and 3 Mpc, covering a total area on the sky of about 25 by 25 degrees. We utilize image manipulation techniques and surface brightness profiles to search for extended emission, surface brightness edges, and features in the outskirts. We employ a method of comparing mean and median profiles to measure gas clumping beyond the virial radius. Surface brightness analysis of the cluster and individual sectors of the cluster reveal the full extent of previously identified cold fronts to the north and south. The emissivity bias due to gas clumping, which we quantify over three orders of magnitude in radial range, is found to be mild, consistent with previous findings. We find an estimated virial gas mass of $M_{\mathrm{gas},r<r_{200}} = (1.98 \pm 0.70) \times 10^{13}$ M$_\odot$. Through imaging analysis we detect the presence of extended emission spanning 320 kpc to the southwest of M49. The extension has a significance of 3.15sigma and is coincident with radio emission detected with LOFAR, which could be evidence of an accretion shock or turbulent re-acceleration as the background W' cloud or M49 group falls into the cluster and interacts with the ICM.
Galaxy cluster gas temperatures ($T$) play a crucial role in many cosmological and astrophysical studies. However, it has been shown that $T$ measurements can vary between different X-ray telescopes. These $T$ biases can propagate to several cluster applications for which $T$ can be used. Thus, it is important to accurately cross-calibrate X-ray instruments to account for systematic biases. In this work, we present the cross-calibration between SRG/eROSITA and Chandra/ACIS, and between SRG/eROSITA and XMM-Newton/EPIC, using for the first time a large sample of galaxy cluster $T$. To do so, we use the first eROSITA All-Sky Survey data and a large X-ray flux-limited cluster catalog. We measure X-ray $T$ for 186 independent cluster regions with both SRG/eROSITA and Chandra/ACIS in a self-consistent way, for three energy bands; 0.7-7 keV (full), 0.5-4 keV (soft), and 1.5-7 keV (hard). We do the same with SRG/eROSITA and XMM-Newton/EPIC for 71 different cluster regions and all three bands. We find that SRG/eROSITA measures systematically lower $T$ than the other two instruments. For the full band, SRG/eROSITA returns 20$\%$ and 14$\%$ lower $T$ than Chandra/ACIS and XMM-Newton/EPIC respectively, when the two latter instruments measure $k_{\text{B}}T\approx 3$ keV each. The discrepancy increases to 38\% and 32\% when Chandra/ACIS and XMM-Newton/EPIC measure $k_{\text{B}}T\approx 10$ keV respectively. For low-$T$ galaxy groups, the discrepancy becomes milder. The soft band shows a marginally lower discrepancy than the full band. In the hard band, the cross-calibration of SRG/eROSITA and the other instruments show stronger differences. We could not identify any possible systematic biases that significantly alleviated the tension. Finally, we provide conversion factors between SRG/eROSITA, Chandra/ACIS, and XMM-Newton/EPIC $T$ which will be beneficial for future cluster studies.
We present an analysis of 102 type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in nearby (z < 0.1), x-ray selected galaxy clusters. This is the largest such sample to date and is based on archival data primarily from ZTF and ATLAS. We divide our SNe Ia into an inner cluster sample projected within $r_{500}$ of the cluster center and an outer cluster sample projected between $r_{500}$ and $2\,r_{500}$. We compare these to field samples of SNe Ia at similar redshifts in both quiescent and star-forming host galaxies. Based on SALT3 fits to the light curves, we find that the inner cluster SNe Ia have a higher fraction of fast-evolving objects (SALT3 $x_1 < -1$) than the outer cluster or field quiescent samples. This implies an intrinsically different population of SNe Ia occurs in inner cluster environments, beyond known correlations based on host galaxy alone. Our cluster samples show a strongly bimodal $x_1$ distribution with a fast-evolving component that dominates the inner cluster objects ($\gtrsim$ 75%) but is just a small fraction of SNe Ia in field star-forming galaxies ($\lesssim$ 10%). We do not see strong evidence for variations in the color (SALT3 $c$) distributions among the samples and find only minor differences in SN Ia standardization parameters and Hubble residuals. We suggest that the age of the stellar population drives the observed distributions, with the oldest populations nearly exclusively producing fast-evolving SNe Ia.
We study how well perturbative forward modeling can constrain cosmological parameters compared to conventional analyses. We exploit the fact that in perturbation theory the field-level posterior can be computed analytically in the limit of small noise. In the idealized case where the only relevant parameter for the nonlinear evolution is the nonlinear scale, we argue that information content in this posterior is the same as in the $n$-point correlation functions computed at the same perturbative order. In the real universe other parameters can be important, and there are possibly enhanced effects due to nonlinear interactions of long and short wavelength fluctuations that can either degrade the signal or increase covariance matrices. We identify several different parameters that control these enhancements and show that for some shapes of the linear power spectrum they can be large. This leads to degradation of constraints in the standard analyses, even though the effects are not dramatic for a $\Lambda$CDM-like cosmology. The aforementioned long-short couplings do not affect the field-level inference which remains optimal. Finally, we show how in these examples calculation of the perturbative posterior motivates new estimators that are easier to implement in practice than the full forward modelling but lead to nearly optimal constraints on cosmological parameters.
We investigate an Early Coupled Quintessence model where a light scalar mediates a fifth force stronger than gravity among dark matter particles and leads to the growth of perturbations prior to matter-radiation equality. Using cosmological data from the $\textit{Planck}$ Cosmic Microwave Background power spectra, the Pantheon+ Type 1a Supernovae, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, we constrain the coupling strength $\beta$ and the redshift $z_{\rm OFF}$ at which the interaction becomes effectively inactive, finding a firm degeneracy between these two parameters which holds true regardless of when the scaling regime begins.
We present a measurement of gravitational lensing over 1500 deg$^2$ of the Southern sky using SPT-3G temperature data at 95 and 150 GHz taken in 2018. The lensing amplitude relative to a fiducial Planck 2018 $\Lambda$CDM cosmology is found to be $1.020\pm0.060$, excluding instrumental and astrophysical systematic uncertainties. We conduct extensive systematic and null tests to check the robustness of the lensing measurements, and report a minimum-variance combined lensing power spectrum over angular multipoles of $50<L<2000$, which we use to constrain cosmological models. When analyzed alone and jointly with primary cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectra within the $\Lambda$CDM model, our lensing amplitude measurements are consistent with measurements from SPT-SZ, SPTpol, ACT, and Planck. Incorporating loose priors on the baryon density and other parameters including uncertainties on a foreground bias template, we obtain a $1\sigma$ constraint on $\sigma_8 \Omega_{\rm m}^{0.25}=0.595 \pm 0.026$ using the SPT-3G 2018 lensing data alone, where $\sigma_8$ is a common measure of the amplitude of structure today and $\Omega_{\rm m}$ is the matter density parameter. Combining SPT-3G 2018 lensing measurements with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) data, we derive parameter constraints of $\sigma_8 = 0.810 \pm 0.033$, $S_8 \equiv \sigma_8(\Omega_{\rm m}/0.3)^{0.5}= 0.836 \pm 0.039$, and Hubble constant $H_0 =68.8^{+1.3}_{-1.6}$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$. Using CMB anisotropy and lensing measurements from SPT-3G only, we provide independent constraints on the spatial curvature of $\Omega_{K} = 0.014^{+0.023}_{-0.026}$ (95% C.L.) and the dark energy density of $\Omega_\Lambda = 0.722^{+0.031}_{-0.026}$ (68% C.L.). When combining SPT-3G lensing data with SPT-3G CMB anisotropy and BAO data, we find an upper limit on the sum of the neutrino masses of $\sum m_{\nu}< 0.30$ eV (95% C.L.).
Inspired by an exponential $f(R)$ gravity model studied in the literature, in this work we introduce a new and viable $f(Q)$ gravity model, which can be represented as a perturbation of $\Lambda$CDM. Typically, within the realm of $f(Q)$ gravity, the customary approach to investigate cosmological evolution involves employing a parametrization of the Hubble expansion rate in terms of the redshift, $H(z)$, among other strategies. In this work we have implemented a different strategy, deriving an analytical approximation for $H(z)$, from which we deduce approximated analytical expressions for the parameters $w_{\rm{DE}}$, $w_{\rm{eff}}$, and $\Omega_{\rm{DE}}$, as well as the deceleration parameter $q$. In order to verify the viability of this approximate analytical solution, we examined the behavior of the these parameters in the late-time regime\textbf, in terms of the free parameter of the model, $b$. We find that for $b>0$, $w_{\rm{DE}}$ shows a quintessence-like behavior, while for $b<0$, it shows a phantom-like behavior. However, regardless of the sign of $b$, $w_{\rm{eff}}$ exhibits a quintessence-like behavior. Furthermore, it has been deduced that as the magnitude of the parameter $b$ increases, the present model deviates progressively from $\Lambda$CDM. We have also performed a Markov Chain Monte Carlo statistical analysis to test the model predictions with the Hubble parameter, the Pantheon supernova (SN) observational data, and the combination of those samples, obtaining constraints on the parameters of the model and the current values of the Hubble parameter and the matter density. Our findings indicate that this $f(Q)$ gravity model is indeed a viable candidate for describing the late-time evolution of the Universe at the background level.
Gravitational waves (GWs) induced by primordial fluctuations can be affected by the modification of the sound speed $c^2_{\rm s}$ and the equation of state parameter $w$ once the curvature fluctuations reenter the cosmological horizon. That softening can also significantly boost the production of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) at the mass scale where the softening arises. In this work, we consider a hypothetical softening of $w$ and $c^2_{\rm s}$ caused by a smooth crossover beyond Standard Model theories, for what we numerically compute the secondary induced GW considering the case of a flat scale-invariant power spectrum. We find that if the amplitude of the power spectrum is sufficiently large, the characteristic feature of the GW signal caused by the smooth crossover can be detected by future space-based gravitational wave interferometers and differentiated from the pure radiation case. At the same time, depending on the mass scale where the crossover occurs, such a scenario can have compatibility with PBHs being all the dark matter when $\mathcal{A} \sim \mathcal{O}(10^{-3})$, with a mass function very sharply peaked around the horizon mass scale of the minimum of the sound speed. Our results show that the GW signal can be used to resolve the existing degeneracy of sharply peaked mass function caused by peaked power spectrums and broad ones in the presence of softenings of $w$ and $c^2_{\rm s}$.
The ``Codazzi formulation'', based on a Codazzi tensor, provides a more robust and straightforward theoretical framework for `Cotton Gravity'' (CG) than its original formulation in terms of the Cotton tensor. Using this formulation we provide a self-consistent procedure to generate non-trivial exact solutions in CG that generalize well known General Relativity (GR) solutions. We re-derive a known CG solution that generalizes the Schwarzschild solution of GR, showing that it is the unique vacuum solution of static spherical symmetry in CG, extending this result to a CG generalization of the Reissner-Nordstrom solution of GR, all of which places a strong case supporting the fulfillment of Birkhoff's theorem. When applied to Friedman-Lema\^\i tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) models CG naturally identifies the $\Lambda$CDM model as the unique FLRW dust model with constant negative spatial curvature. We also obtain CG generalizations of the Lema\^\i tre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) and Szekeres dust solutions of GR, allowing for time and space dependent changes from decelerated to accelerated evolution, without necessarily assuming a dark energy source. The CG generalization of static perfect fluid spheres allows in the weak field regime to model the flattening of rotation velocities in spherical galactic systems without assuming dark matter. We also generalize non-static spherically symmetric perfect fluid solutions with a shear-free 4 velocity. Our results suggest the need for further research using the Codazzi formulation to explore the potential for applications of CG to current open problems in gravitational systems.
We estimate the redshift-dependent, anisotropic clustering signal in DESI's Year 1 Survey created by tidal alignments of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) and a selection-induced galaxy orientation bias. To this end, we measured the correlation between LRG shapes and the tidal field with DESI's Year 1 redshifts, as traced by LRGs and Emission-Line Galaxies (ELGs). We also estimate the galaxy orientation bias of LRGs caused by DESI's aperture-based selection, and find it to increase by a factor of seven between redshifts 0.4 - 1.1 due to redder, fainter galaxies falling closer to DESI's imaging selection cuts. These effects combine to dampen measurements of the quadrupole of the correlation function caused by structure growth on scales of 10 - 80 Mpc/h by about 0.15% for low redshifts (0.4<z<0.6) and 0.8% for high (0.8<z<1.1). We provide estimates of the quadrupole signal created by intrinsic alignments that can be used to correct this effect, which is necessary to meet DESI's forecasted precision on measuring the growth rate of structure. While imaging quality varies across DESI's footprint, we find no significant difference in this effect between imaging regions in the Legacy Imaging Survey.
Neutron star contains a large number of nucleons and muons, if coupled with hidden ultralight particles, the orbit motion can produce sizable energy flux in addition to the gravitational quadrupole radiation. Here, we explore a scenario in which the scalar boson sourced by the binary is also coupled to the lowest dimensional photon operator, through which indirect electromagnetic radiation is generated for orbital frequency below the scalar's mass threshold. Using the observational data of two pulsar binaries, we place simultaneous constraints on the strength of such couplings.
Mergers of binary compact objects, accompanied with electromagnetic (EM) counterparts, offer excellent opportunities to explore varied cosmological models, since gravitational waves (GWs) and EM counterparts always carry the information of luminosity distance and redshift, respectively. $f(T)$ gravity, which alters the background evolution and provides a friction term in the propagation of GWs, can be tested by comparing the modified GW luminosity distance with the EM luminosity distance. Considering the third-generation gravitational-wave detectors, Einstein Telescope and two cosmic explorers, we simulate a series of GW events of binary neutron stars and neutron-star-black-hole binaries with EM counterparts. These simulations can be used to constrain $f(T)$ gravity [especially the power-law model $f(T)=T+\alpha(-T)^\beta$ in this work] and other cosmological parameters, such as $\beta$ and the Hubble constant. In addition, combining simulations with current observations of type Ia supernovae and baryon acoustic oscillations, we obtain tighter limitations for $f(T)$ gravity. We find that the estimated precision significantly improved when all three datasets are combined ($\Delta \beta \sim 0.03$), compared to analyzing the current observations alone ($\Delta \beta \sim 0.3$). Simultaneously, the uncertainty of the Hubble constant can be reduced to approximately $1\%$.
The effective action in renormalizable quantum theory of gravity provides entropy because the total Hamiltonian vanishes. Since it is a renormalization group invariant that is constant in the process of cosmic evolution, we can show conservation of entropy, that is an ansatz in the standard cosmology. Here we study renormalizable quantum gravity that exhibits conformal dominance at high energy beyond the Planck scale. The current entropy of the universe is derived by calculating the effective action under the scenario of quantum gravity inflation caused by its dynamics. We then argue that ghost modes must be unphysical, but necessary for the Hamiltonian to vanish and for entropy to exist in gravitational systems.
Classical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have two distinct emission episodes: prompt emission from ultra-relativistic ejecta and afterglow from shocked circumstellar material. While both components are extremely luminous in known GRBs, a variety of scenarios predict the existence of luminous afterglow emission with little or no associated high-energy prompt emission. We present AT 2019pim, the first secure example of this phenomenon to be identified. Serendipitously discovered during follow-up observations of a gravitational-wave trigger and located in a contemporaneous TESS sector, it is hallmarked by a fast-rising (t ~ 2 hr), luminous (M_UV,peak ~ -24.4 mag) optical transient with accompanying luminous X-ray and radio emission. No gamma-ray emission consistent with the time and location of the transient was detected by Fermi-GBM or by Konus, placing strong limits on an accompanying GRB. We investigate several independent observational aspects of the afterglow in the context of constraints on relativistic motion and find all of them are consistent with an initial Lorentz factor of Gamma_0 ~ 30-50, significantly lower than in any well-observed GRB and consistent with the theoretically-predicted "dirty fireball" scenario in which the high-energy prompt emission is stifled by pair production. However, we cannot rule out a structured jet model in which only the line-of-sight material was ejected at low-Gamma, off-axis from a classical high-Gamma jet core. This event represents a milestone in orphan afterglow searches, demonstrating that luminous afterglows with weak or no detectable gamma-ray radiation exist in nature and can be discovered by high-cadence optical surveys.
Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) are thought to represent the first step in the evolutionary path of radio galaxies. In this work, we investigate the X-ray emission of two CSOs confirmed to emit at GeV energies: PKS 1718-649 and TXS 1146+596. Unveiling the origin of their observed high-energy emission is crucial to establishing the physical parameters of the radio source and understanding how CSOs interact with the surrounding medium. We combined archival and new NuSTAR observations of PKS 1718-649 and TXS 1146+596 to have a broadband X-ray coverage. For both sources, we model the broadband spectral energy distribution, from radio band up to $\gamma$-rays, to derive their physical parameters. We also discuss the role of the ambient medium in confining the source expansion, which we investigate using X-ray obscuration. For the first time, we report on X-ray detections of PKS 1718-649 and 1146+596 with NuSTAR at energies higher than 10 keV. Combining Chandra and NuSTAR observations of TXS 1146+596, we reveal the presence of a multi-temperature thermal component dominating the soft X-ray spectrum, and we interpret this finding as indicative of an AGN feedback process in action in this source. In addition, we show that two emitting electrons populations are necessary to reproduce the observed broadband spectral energy distribution of TXS 1146+596: in our models, the X-ray emission could be produced either by synchrotron radiation or by a weak X-ray corona or an ADAF-type emission. Interestingly, an additional X-ray component, i.e. a weak corona, is also required for PKS 1718-649. Moreover, we argue that heavily obscured, and possibly frustrated, sources tend to show different radio sizes with respect to unobscured, free to expand, ones.
As the brightest galaxy cluster in the X-ray sky, Perseus is an excellent target for studying the Intracluster Medium (ICM), but until recently, its active galactic nucleus (AGN) made studies of the diffuse emission near its center nearly impossible to accomplish with NuSTAR due to the extended wings of NuSTAR's PSF. The development of a new open source software package -- nucrossarf -- now allows the contribution from point and diffuse sources to be modeled so that scattered light from the AGN can be accounted for. Using this technique, we present an analysis of diffuse hard X-ray (3-25keV) emission from the ICM using three archival NuSTAR observations of the Perseus cluster. We find a ~10% excess of emission beyond 20keV not describable by purely thermal models. By performing similar analyses of AGN in archival observations, we have characterized the systematic uncertainty of the modeled AGN contribution to be 3.4%. However, in order to explain the excess, the total scattered AGN emission would have to be 39% stronger than we have measured. We test physical explanations for the excess, such as diffuse inverse Compton emission potentially originating from the radio mini-halo, but we determine that none of the models are compelling. An upper limit on inverse Compton flux ($\leq1.5\times10^{-11}$erg s$^{-1}$cm$^{-2}$) and a corresponding lower limit on global magnetic field strength ($\geq 0.35~\mu G$) is derived. We discuss the potential origin and implications of the excess and present our characterization of the nucrossarf systematic uncertainty, which should be useful for future work.
The inclination angle of substructures in active galaxies gives insights into physical components from scales of the vicinity of the central black hole to the entire host galaxy. We use the self-consistent reflection spectral model \textsc{RELXILL} to measure the inclination of the inner region of accretion disks with broadband ($0.3-78\,\rm keV$) X-ray observations, systematically studying the reliability of this methodology. To test the capability of the model to return statistically consistent results, we analyze multi-epoch, joint XMM-Newton and NuSTAR data of the narrow-line Seyfert~1 galaxy I\,Zwicky\,1 and the broad-line radio galaxy 3C\,382, which exhibit different degrees of spectral complexity and reflection features. As expected, we find that adding more data for analysis narrows the confidence interval and that multi-epoch, joint observations return optimal measurements; however, even single-epoch data can be well-fitted if the reflection component is sufficiently dominant. Mock spectra are used to test the capability of \textsc{RELXILL} to recover input parameters from typical single-epoch, joint observations. We find that inclination is well-recovered at 90\% confidence, with improved constraints at higher reflection fraction and higher inclination. Higher iron abundance and corona temperature tighten the constraints as well, but the effect is not as significant as a higher reflection fraction. The spin, however, have little effect in reflection-based inclination measurements. We conclude that broadband reflection spectroscopy can reliably measure inner accretion disk inclination.
A novel, data-driven model of deflagration-to-detonationtransition (DDT) is constructed for application to explosions of thermonuclear supernovae (SN Ia). The DDT mechanism has been suggested as the necessary physics process to obtain qualitative agreement between SN Ia observations and computational explosion models. This work builds upon a series of studies of turbulent combustion that develops during the final stages of the SN explosion. These studies suggest that DDT can occur in the turbulerized flame of the white dwarf via the Zel'dovich reactivity gradient mechanism when hotspots are formed. We construct a large database of direct numerical simulations that explore the parameter space of the Zel'dovich initiated detonation. We use this database to construct a neural network classifier for hotspots. The classifier is integrated into our supernova simulation code, FLASH/Proteus, and is used as the basis for a subgrid-scale model for DDT. The classifier is evaluated both in the training environment and in reactive turbulence simulations to verify its accuracy in realistic conditions.
Many well motivated dark matter (DM) particle candidates can decay into detectable X-ray photons. We analyze eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS) from eROSITA early data release to search for unexplained X-ray lines that could indicate DM signal. Having discovered no extra line, we set limits on DM decay rate in mass range between 1.8-18 keV, and constrain the parameter space of two DM particles: sterile neutrino and axion-like particles. Finally we also study the projected sensitivity of eROSITA full sky search, showing that eROSITA all-sky survey is expected to set the most stringent limits in the soft X-ray band.
It was recently discovered that the time correlations of repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs) are similar to the properties of earthquake aftershocks. Motivated by the association between FRBs and magnetars, here we report two-point correlation function analyses in the time-energy space for the 563 periodic radio pulses detected by FAST and the 579 X-ray short bursts detected by NICER from the magnetar SGR 1935+2154, which is known to have generated FRBs. Although radio pulses are concentrated near the fixed phase of the rotational cycle, we find that when multiple pulses occur within a single cycle, their correlation properties (aftershock production probability, aftershock rate decaying in power of time, and more) are similar to those of extragalactic FRBs and earthquakes. A possible interpretation is that the radio pulses are produced by rupture of the neutron star crust, and the first pulse within one cycle is triggered by external force or torque periodically exerted on the crust. The source of the periodic external force may be the interaction of the magnetosphere with the material ejected in an outburst. For X-ray bursts, we found no significant correlation signal. The similarity in the aftershock nature between the periodic radio pulsation and FRBs is surprising, given that the two are energetically very different, and therefore the energy sources would be different. This suggests that the essence of FRB-like phenomena is starquakes, regardless of the energy source, and it is important to search for FRB-like bursts from neutron stars with various properties or environments.
We present a long-term X-ray study of a nearby Active Galactic Nucleus Mrk 6, utilizing observations from XMM-Newton, Suzaku, Swift and NuSTAR observatories, spanning 22 years from 2001 to 2022. From timing analysis, we estimated variance, normalized variance, and fractional rms amplitude in different energy bands.The temporal study shows fractional rms amplitude ($F_{\rm var}$) below $10\%$ for the shorter timescale $(\sim60 ~\rm ks)$ and above $20\%$ for the longer timescale ($\sim \rm weeks$ ). A complex correlation is observed between the soft $(0.5-3.0$ keV) and hard $(3.0-10.0$ keV) X-ray bands of different epochs of observations. This result prompts a detailed investigation through spectral analysis, employing various phenomenological and physical models on the X-ray spectra. Our analysis reveals a heterogeneous structure of the obscuring material surrounding Mrk 6. A partially ionized absorber exhibits a rapid change in location and extends up to the narrow line regions or torus. In contrast, another component, located far from the central engine, remained relatively stable. During the observation period, the source luminosity in the 3.0--10.0 keV range varies between $(3-15) \times10^{42}$ erg $\rm sec^{-1}$.
Magnetars, whose magnetic fields are strongest in the neutron stars, show diverse bursting activities. The shape of the magnetar deviates from an exactly pure spherical shape because of its strong magnetic field, and it can be a triaxial body. We study the free precession of the triaxial magnetar focusing on the unstable situation, in which the main rotation axis turns upside-down. This flip is the so-called Dzhanibekov effect. We find that during the flip, the Euler force can suddenly disturb the force balance on the magnetar surface, which may result in a crack at the surface. We suggest that the crack can trigger bursting activities of the magnetar, such as X-ray short bursts and flares with sufficiently large baryon fractions. In the burst with a large baryon fraction, right- or left-handed circularly polarized photons are selectively scattered, depending on the magnetic field direction. The association between the flip and the X-ray bursts will be confirmed by the observations of X-ray circular polarization. We also discuss the association of fast radio bursts, ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, and gravitational waves.
A stellar-mass black hole (BH) or a millisecond magnetar is believed to be born as the central engine of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The presence of plateaus in the X-ray extended emission or afterglow of GRBs is widely accepted as an indicator of magnetar central engine, particularly those with a sharp decay (faster than $t^{-3}$), so-called internal plateau. However, an alternative model, by taking the evolution of the magnetic flux at the BH horizon into account, suggests that an internal plateau can also arise from a Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism powered jet (hereafter referred to as the BZ jet). In this study, we propose that a precessional BZ jet would manifest a Quasi-Periodic Oscillation (QPO) signature on the internal plateau and the subsequent sharp decay. Such lightcurves cannot be readily explained by the activity of a short-lived, supermassive magnetar, thus favoring a Kerr BH as the central engine. The X-ray afterglow of GRB 050904, comprising nine flares, is characterized by a QPO-modulated plateau and sharp decay, which can be well reproduced by a precessional BZ jet model. Therefore, one potential clue for distinguishing between these two engines lies in whether QPO signature throughout the entire plateau and the subsequent sharp decay, as the magnetar scenario suggests a collapse at the end of the plateau.
We have conducted a study on the thermal properties of the recently developed nuclear energy density functional known as BCPM. This functional is founded on microscopic calculations that incorporate the realistic Argonne $v_{18}$ potential along with Urbana-type three-body forces. BCPM has demonstrated success in describing finite nuclei and cold neutron stars. However, investigating the properties of hot $\beta$-stable matter under both neutrino-free and neutrino-trapped scenarios is vital for astrophysical applications. In this study, we investigate the BCPM equation of state for $\beta$-stable, neutrino-free matter at finite temperatures, taking into consideration the hot inner crust and applying the frozen correlation approximation. Such an equation of state holds significant importance for hot compact objects, such as the final result of a binary neutron star merger event. Our exploration has unveiled the presence of cluster regions, persisting up to a temperature of approximately $7.2$ MeV, denoted as the limiting temperature. Beyond this limiting temperature, clusters are not anticipated to manifest. At temperatures below the limiting threshold, clusters within the inner crust are encompassed by uniform matter with varying densities, facilitating the distinction between the higher and lower transition density branches. Furthermore, we have computed mass-radius relationship, while assuming an isothermal profile for neutron star matter at diverse temperature values. Our findings indicate that the results of the hot inner crust substantially influences the mass-radius relationship, resulting in the formation of larger, more inflated neutron stars. A thorough analysis of the hot inner crust is therefore essential for the study of proto-neutron stars.
Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) of gamma ray observatory TAIGA detect the Extesnive Air Showers (EASs) originating from the cosmic or gamma rays interactions with the atmosphere. Thereby, telescopes obtain images of the EASs. The ability to segregate gamma rays images from the hadronic cosmic ray background is one of the main features of this type of detectors. However, in actual IACT observations simultaneous observation of the background and the source of gamma ray is needed. This observation mode (called wobbling) modifies images of events, which affects the quality of selection by neural networks. Thus, in this work, the results of the application of neural networks (NN) for image classification task on Monte Carlo (MC) images of TAIGA-IACTs are presented. The wobbling mode is considered together with the image adaptation for adequate analysis by NNs. Simultaneously, we explore several neural network structures that classify events both directly from images or through Hillas parameters extracted from images. In addition, by employing NNs, MC simulation data are used to evaluate the quality of the segregation of rare gamma events with the account of all necessary image modifications.
We present a new method and implementation to obtain Bayesian posteriors on the amplitude parameters $\{h_0, \cos \iota, \psi, \phi_0\}$ of continuous-gravitational waves emitted by known pulsars. This approach leverages the well-established $\mathcal{F}$-statistic framework and software. We further explore the benefits of employing a likelihood function that is analytically marginalized over $\phi_0$, which avoids signal degeneracy problems in the $\psi$-$\phi_0$ subspace. The method is tested on simulated signals, hardware injections in Advanced-LIGO detector data, and by performing percentile-percentile (PP) self-consistency tests of the posteriors via Monte-Carlo simulations. We apply our methodology to PSR J1526-2744, a recently discovered millisecond pulsar. We find no evidence for a signal and obtain a Bayesian upper limit $h_0^{95\%}$ on the gravitational-wave amplitude of approximately $7 \times 10^{-27}$, consistent with a previous frequentist upper limit.
Intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs, $\sim 10^2-10^5M_{\odot}$) are often dubbed as the missing link between stellar mass ($\lesssim 10^2M_{\odot}$) and super-massive ($\gtrsim 10^{5-6} M_{\odot}$) black holes. Observational signatures of these can result from tidal disruption of white dwarfs (WDs), which would otherwise be captured as a whole by super-massive black holes. Recent observations indicate that IMBHs might be rapidly spinning, while it is also known that isolated white dwarfs might have large spins, with spin periods of the order of minutes. Here, we aim to understand the effects of ``coupling'' between black hole and stellar spin, focussing on the tidal disruption of spinning WDs in the background of spinning IMBHs. Using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, we perform a suite of numerical simulations of partial tidal disruptions, where spinning WDs are in eccentric orbits about spinning IMBHs. We take a hybrid approach, where we integrate the Kerr geodesic equations while being in a regime where we can treat the internal stellar fluid dynamics in the Newtonian limit. We find substantial effects of the ``coupling'' between the black hole spin and the spin of the white dwarf, although the pericenter distance of the white dwarf is taken to be large enough so that the Newtonian limit of its fluid dynamics is a robust approximation. In particular, the core mass, the bound tail mass, and the mass difference between the two tidal tails strongly depend on such ``coupled'' spin effects. However, the late time fallback rate of the debris behaves similar to the non-spinning cases. We also compute gravitational wave amplitudes and find that while the black hole spin influences the same, there is no evidence of influence of stellar spin on such amplitudes in our regime of interest.
We have analyzed the total intensity, spectral index, linear polarization, and RM distributions at pc scale for the quasar 1604+159. The source was observed in 2002 and 2020 with the VLBA. Combining the MOJAVE results, we studied the evolution of the magnetic field. We detected a core-jet structure. The jet extends to a distance of ~25 mas. The jet shape varies slightly with time. We divided the source structure into the central region and the jet region. In the jet region, we find the polarized emission varies with time. The flatter spectral index values and EVPA direction indicate the possible existence of shocks, contributing to the variation. In the central region, the derived core shift index k_r values indicate that the core in 2002 is close to the equipartition case while deviating from it in 2020. The measured magnetic field strength in 2020 is two orders of magnitude lower than that in 2002. We detected transverse RM gradients, evidence of a helical magnetic field, in the core. At 15 GHz, in the place close to the jet base, the polarization direction changes significantly with time from perpendicular to parallel to the jet direction. The evolution of RM and magnetic field structure are potential reasons for the observed polarization change. The core |RM| in 2020 increases with frequency following a power law with index a = 2.7, suggesting a fast electron density fall-off in the medium with distance from the jet base.
We investigate the fate of a collapsing stellar core, which is the final state of evolution of a massive, rotating star of a Wolf-Rayet type. Such stars explode as type I b/c supernovae, which have been observed in association with long gamma ray bursts (GRBs). The core of the star is potentially forming a black hole, which is embedded in a dense, rotating, and possibly highly magnetized envelope. We study the process of collapse using General Relativistic MHD simulations, and we account for the growth of the black hole mass and its spin, as well as related evolution of the spacetime metric. We find that some particular configurations of the initial black hole spin, the content of angular momentum in the stellar core, and the magnetic field configuration and its strength, are favored for producing a bright electromagnetic transient (i.e., a gamma ray burst). On the other hand, most of the typical configurations studied in our models do not lead to a transient electromagnetic explosion and will end up in a direct collapse, accompanied by some residual variability induced by changing accretion rate. We also study the role of self-gravity in the stellar core and quantify the relative strength of the interfacial instabilities, such as Self-Gravity Interfacial (SGI) instability and Rayleigh-Taylor (RT), which may account for the production of an inhomogeneous structure, including spikes and bubbles, through the inner radii of the collapsing core (inside $\sim 200~r_{g}$). %Furthermore, we investigate the axisymmetric modes of gravitational instability based on the generalized Toomre parameter. We find that in self-gravitating collapsars the RT modes cannot grow efficiently. We also conclude that transonic shocks are formed in the collapsing envelope, but they are weaker in magnetized stars.
Since the discovery of synchrotron X-ray emission from the shell of the supernova remnant (SNR) SN 1006, multiple observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton have shown that many young SNRs produce synchrotron emission in X-rays. Among those, a few peculiar SNRs have their X-ray emission largely dominated by synchrotron radiation, showing no or only faint traces of thermal emission. In this paper, we report our mapping of the thermal emission in three emblematic synchrotron-dominated SNRs: G330.2+1.0, 3C58, and RX J1713.7-3946. We used a blind source separation method able to retrieve faint components from X-ray data in the form of Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. The thermal candidates disentangled by the algorithm were then used to select regions of extraction. We then analyzed the extracted spectra to assess their physical nature. We conclude that the components retrieved by the algorithm indeed represent the spatial distribution of the thermal emission in G330.2+1.0 and 3C58, and a likely thermal candidate in RX J1713.7-3946. Our findings confirm and expand on past studies.
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are short-duration radio pulses of cosmological origin. Among the most common sources predicted to explain this phenomenon are bright pulses from a class of extremely highly magnetized neutron stars known as magnetars. Motivated by the discovery of an FRB-like pulse from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154, we searched for similar events in Messier 82 (M82). With a star formation rate 40 times that of the Milky Way, one might expect that the implied rate of events similar to that seen from SGR 1935+2154 from M82 should be 40 times higher than that of the Milky Way. We observed M82 at 1.4 GHz with the 20-m telescope at the Green Bank Observatory for 34.8 days. While we found many candidate events, none had a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 8. We also show that there are insufficient numbers of repeating low-significance events at similar dispersion measures to constitute a statistically significant detection. From these results, we place an upper bound for the rate of radio pulses from M82 to be 30 per year above a fluence limit of 8.5 Jy ms. While this is less than 9 times the rate of radio bursts from magnetars in the Milky Way inferred from the previous radio detections of SGR 1935+2154, it is possible that propagation effects from interstellar scattering are currently limiting our ability to detect sources in M82. Further searches of M82 and other nearby galaxies are encouraged to probe this putative FRB population.
The Simeis~147 nebula (S147), particularly well known for a spectacular net of ${\rm H}_\alpha$-emitting filaments, is often considered one of the largest and oldest known supernova remnants in the Milky Way. Here, and in a companion paper, we present studies of X-ray emission from the S147 nebula using the data of SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey observations. In this paper, we argue that many inferred properties of the X-ray emitting gas are broadly consistent with a scenario of the supernova explosion in a low-density cavity, e.g. a wind-blown-bubble. This scenario assumes that a $\sim 20\,{\rm M_\odot}$ progenitor star has had small velocity with respect to the ambient ISM, so it stayed close to the center of a dense shell created during its Main Sequence evolution till the moment of the core-collapse explosion. The ejecta first propagate through the low-density cavity until they collide with the dense shell, and only then the reverse shock goes deeper into the ejecta and powers the observed X-ray emission of the nebula. The part of the remnant inside the dense shell remains non-radiative till now and, plausibly, in a state with $T_e<T_i$ and Non-Equilibrium Ionization (NEI). On the contrary, the forward shock becomes radiative immediately after entering the dense shell, and, being subject to instabilities, creates a characteristic "foamy" appearance of the nebula in ${\rm H}_\alpha$ and radio emission.
The eROSITA telescope array aboard the Spektrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) satellite began surveying the sky in December 2019, with the aim of producing all-sky X-ray source lists and sky maps of an unprecedented depth. Here we present catalogues of both point-like and extended sources using the data acquired in the first six months of survey operations (eRASS1; completed June 2020) over the half sky whose proprietary data rights lie with the German eROSITA Consortium. We describe the observation process, the data analysis pipelines, and the characteristics of the X-ray sources. With nearly 930000 entries detected in the most sensitive 0.2-2.3 keV energy range, the eRASS1 main catalogue presented here increases the number of known X-ray sources in the published literature by more than 60%, and provides a comprehensive inventory of all classes of X-ray celestial objects, covering a wide range of physical processes. A smaller catalogue of 5466 sources detected in the less sensitive but harder 2.3-5 keV band is the result of the first true imaging survey of the entire sky above 2 keV. We show that the number counts of X-ray sources in eRASS1 are consistent with those derived over narrower fields by past X-ray surveys of a similar depth, and we explore the number counts variation as a function of the location in the sky. Adopting a uniform all-sky flux limit (at 50% completeness) of F_{0.5-2 keV} > 5 \times 10^{-14}$ erg\,s$^{-1}$\,cm$^{-2}$, we estimate that the eROSITA all-sky survey resolves into individual sources about 20% of the cosmic X-ray background in the 1-2 keV range. The catalogues presented here form part of the first data release (DR1) of the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey. Beyond the X-ray catalogues, DR1 contains all detected and calibrated event files, source products (light curves and spectra), and all-sky maps. Illustrative examples of these are provided.
X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are a novel addition to the group of extragalactic transients. In this work, we report the discovery of two further galaxies showing QPEs, eRO-QPE3 and eRO-QPE4, with the eROSITA X-ray telescope on board the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma observatory. Among the properties in common with those of known QPEs are: the thermal-like spectral shape in eruption (up to $kT\sim110-120$ eV) and quiescence ($kT\sim50-90$ eV) and its evolution during the eruptions (with a harder rise than decay); the lack of strong canonical signatures of active nuclei (from current optical, UV, infrared and radio data); and the low-mass nature of the host galaxies ($\log M_*\approx 9-10$) and their massive central black holes ($\log M_{\rm BH}\approx 5-7$). These discoveries also bring several new insights into the QPE population: i) eRO-QPE3 shows eruptions on top of a decaying quiescence flux, providing further evidence for a connection between QPEs and a preceding tidal disruption event; ii) eRO-QPE3 exhibits the longest recurrence times and faintest peak luminosity of QPEs, compared to the known QPE population, excluding a correlation between the two; iii) we find evidence, for the first time, of a transient component that is harder, albeit much fainter, than the thermal QPE spectrum in eRO-QPE4; and iv) eRO-QPE4 displays the appearance (or significant brightening) of the quiescence disk component after the detection of QPEs, supporting its short-lived nature against a preexisting active galactic nucleus. Overall, the newly discovered properties (e.g., recent origin and/or transient nature of the quiescent accretion disk; lack of correlation between eruption recurrence timescales and luminosity) are qualitatively consistent with recent models that identify QPEs as extreme mass-ratio inspirals.
Aims: During its all-sky survey phase, the eROSITA X-ray telescope onboard SRG scans through the ecliptic poles every 4 hours. This extensive data set of long-duration, frequent, and consistent observations of thousands of X-ray sources is ideal for a detailed long-term X-ray variability analysis. However, individual observations are short, are separated by long but consistent gaps, and have varying exposure times. Therefore, the identification of variable sources, and the characterisation and quantification of their variability requires a unique methodology. We aim to develop and evaluate such methods for eROSITA observations, focusing on sources close to the survey poles. Methods: We simulate eROSITA-like light curves to evaluate and quantify the effect of survey mode observations on the measured periodogram and normalised excess variance. We introduce a new method for estimating the normalised intrinsic variance of a source based on the Bayesian excess variance (bexvar) method. Results: We determine thresholds for identifying likely variable sources while minimising the false-positive rate, as a function of the number of bins, and the average count rate in the light curve. The bexvar normalised intrinsic variance estimate is significantly more accurate than the normalised excess variance method in the Poisson regime. At high count rates, the two methods are comparable. We quantify the scatter in the intrinsic variance of a stationary pink noise process, and investigate how to reduce it. Finally, we determine a description of the excess noise in a periodogram caused by varying exposure times throughout a light curve. Although most of these methods were developed specifically for analysing variable AGN in the eROSITA all-sky survey, they can also be used for the variability analysis of other datasets from other telescopes, with slight modifications.
Aims: During the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/ eROSITA all-sky surveys, X-ray sources close to the South Ecliptic Pole (SEP) are observed almost every 4 hours. We aim to identify the sources exhibiting the most significant long-term X-ray variability within 3 degrees of the SEP in the first three surveys, and investigate their properties. Methods: We determined the variability significance of all sources observed by eROSITA within 3 degrees of the SEP by using thresholds on the Bayesian excess variance (SCATT_LO) and the maximum amplitude deviation (AMPL_SIG). Sources exhibiting a variability significance above $3\sigma$ were subdivided into likely Galactic and extragalactic sources, by using spectral and photometric information of their optical counterparts. We quantified the X-ray normalised excess variances of all variable sources, and also calculated the periodograms of the brightest ones. Results: Out of more than $10^4$ X-ray sources detected by eROSITA within 3 degrees of the SEP, we identified 453 that exhibit significant X-ray variability. SCATT_LO is significantly more sensitive to detecting variable sources in this field, but AMPL_SIG helps provide a more complete variability sample. Of those variable sources, 168 were classified as likely extragalactic, and 235 as likely Galactic. The periodograms of most bright and variable extragalactic sources are approximately described by an aliased power law ($P\propto\nu^{-\alpha}$) with an index of $\alpha\approx 1$. We identified a potential tidal disruption event, and long-term transient sources. The stellar X-ray variability was predominantly caused by bright X-ray flares from coronally active stars.
The extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission with its first All-Sky Survey (eRASS1) has offered an unprecedented, comprehensive view of the variable X-ray sky. With enhanced sensitivity, broader energy coverage, and improved resolution compared to prior surveys, the eRASS1 Data Release 1 (DR1) catalogue underwent a variability analysis, focusing on a substantial subset of 128,669 sources. We performed multiple variability tests, utilizing conventional normalized excess variance, maximum amplitude variability, and Bayesian excess variance methods. Among the 128,669 DR1 sources, our research identified 557 objects exhibiting variability through NEV and AMPLMAX tests. After applying suitable thresholds, 108 sources demonstrated significant variability via NEV, while 73 did so through AMPLMAX. The utilization of the bexvar method extended our detection capabilities to lower count rates, unveiling a total of 1307 sources manifesting variability. Furthermore, our comparative analysis spanning 2.5 years encompassed observations from consecutive eROSITA surveys, eRASS2, eRASS3, eRASS4, and eRASS5. Notably, the Gamma-ray burst afterglow GRB 200120A, which was the most variable DR1 source, was as expected absent in subsequent eROSITA survey scans. Observations of the Low-Mass X-ray Binary GX 339-4 across various eROSITA survey scans unveiled substantial variability. These outbursts involve the movement of the inner radius of the accretion disk, fluctuating inward and outward. Combining eROSITA and MAXI data reveals that the most effective tracer for monitoring the onset of the outbursts is the softest eROSITA band. Magnetically active stars are commonly found among the more variable X-ray sources. We analyzed the AGN sample to identify variability patterns and instances of efficiency limit violations.
We present a detailed study of the hydrogen density distribution in the local interstellar medium (ISM) using the X-ray absorption technique. Hydrogen column densities were precisely measured by fitting X-ray spectra from coronal sources observed during the initial {\it eROSITA} all-sky survey (eRASS1). Accurate distance measurements were obtained through cross-matching Galactic sources with the {\it Gaia} third data release (DR3). Despite the absence of a discernible correlation between column densities and distances or Galactic longitude, a robust correlation with Galactic latitude was identified. This suggests a decrease in ISM material density along the vertical direction away from the Galactic plane. To further investigate, we employed multiple density laws to fit the measured column densities, revealing constraints on height scale values ($8 < h_{z} < 30$~pc). Unfortunately, radial scales and central density remain unconstrained due to the scarcity of sources near the Galactic center. Subsequently, a 3D density map of the ISM was computed using a Gaussian processing approach, inferring hydrogen density distribution from hydrogen column densities. The results unveiled the presence of multiple beams and clouds of various sizes, indicative of small-scale structures. Large density regions were identified at approximately 100~pc, consistent with findings in dust reddening studies, potentially associated with the Galactic Perseus arm. Moreover, high-density regions were pinpointed in proximity to the Orion star-forming region and the Chamaeleon molecular complex, enriching our understanding of the intricate structure of the local interstellar medium.
Although flux variability is one of the defining properties of accretion flows onto supermassive black holes, its dependence on physical parameters such as the mass of the compact object and the Eddington ratio remain under discussion. In this paper we address this issue using the structure function statistic to measure the variability at X-ray wavelengths of a sample of optically selected QSOs with available black hole masses and Eddington ratios. We present a new Bayesian methodology for estimating the structure function tailored to the Poisson nature of the X-ray data. This is applied to 15,548 SDSS DRQ16 QSOs with repeat observations in the XMM-Newton archive and/or the SRG/eROSITA All Sky Survey. The X-ray structure function monotonically increases to time intervals of about 10-15 years, suggesting a preference for scenarios in which instabilities of the accretion disk contribute to the X-ray variability on long timescales. Additionally, there is evidence that the amplitude of the stochastic X-ray flux variations rises with decreasing black hole mass and Eddington ratio. This finding imposes stringent constraints on empirical models of Active Galactic Nuclei variability derived from local samples, emphasizing the significance of high-redshift population studies for comprehending the stochastic flux variations in active black holes.
We present an extensive radio monitoring campaign of the nuclear transient eRASSt J234403-352640 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, one of the most X-ray luminous TDE candidates discovered by the SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey. The observations reveal a radio flare lasting more than 1000 d, coincident with the X-ray, UV, optical, and infra-red flare of this transient event. Through modelling of the 10 epochs of radio spectral observations obtained, we find that the radio emission is well-described by an expanding synchrotron emitting region, consisting of a single ejection of material launched coincident with the optical flare. We conclude that the radio flare properties of eRASSt J234403-352640 are consistent with the population of radio-emitting outflows launched by non-relativistic tidal disruption events, and that the flare is likely due to an outflow launched by a tidal disruption event (but could also be a due to a new AGN accretion event) in a previously turned-off AGN.
We study variability through simultaneous optical and X-ray observations for the first time in a statistical sample of 256 M dwarfs. Such observations are required to constrain the flare frequency and energetics and to understand the physics of flares. Using light curves from extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) on board the Russian Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission (SRG) and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we identify 256 M dwarfs with simultaneous detections. The 25 brightest or most variable in X-rays are selected. Stellar parameters are obtained from Gaia and 2MASS, while X-ray fluxes are derived from eROSITA count rates. Proximity (<100 pc), fast rotation (P_rot < 9 d), and high flare frequency characterize our sample. Optical and X-ray duty cycles correlate positively, with faster rotators exhibiting more variability. Stars with frequent X-ray flares often coincide with optical flares. Analyzing individual X-ray flares is hindered by eROSITA's low cadence, mitigated by leveraging TESS optical flares and solar flare knowledge. An exponential fit to 21 X-ray light curves post-optical flares reveals a correlation between X-ray and optical flare energies. Despite uncertainties due to poor eROSITA sampling, our study underscores the significance of simultaneous all-sky surveys in diverse wavelengths for unprecedented insights into stellar variability.
The Gemini-Monoceros X-ray enhancement is a rich field for studying diffuse X-ray emission and supernova remnants (SNRs). With the launch of eROSITA onboard the SRG platform in 2019, we are now able to fully study these sources. Many of the SNRs in the vicinity are suspected to be very old remnants, which are severely understudied in X-rays due to numerous observational challenges. In addition, identification of new faint large SNRs might help to solve the long-standing discrepancy of observed and expected number of Galactic SNRs. We performed a detailed X-ray spectral analysis of the entire diffuse structure and a detailed background analysis of the vicinity. We also made use of multi-wavelength data to better understand the morphology and to constrain the distances to the different sources. We estimated the plasma properties of the sources and calculated a grid of model SNRs to determine the individual SNR properties. Most of the diffuse plasma of the Monogem Ring SNR is well described by a single non-equilibrium ionization (NEI) component with an average temperature of $kT = 0.14\pm 0.03$ keV. We obtain an age of $\approx 1.2\cdot 10^5$ yr - consistent with PSR B0656+14 - for the Monogem Ring. In the south-east, we found evidence for a hotter second plasma component and a possible new SNR candidate at $\approx 300$ pc, with the new candidate having an age of $\approx 50,000$ yr. We were also able to improve on previous studies on the more distant Monoceros Loop and PKS 0646+06 SNRs. We obtained significantly higher temperatures than previous studies, and for PKS 0646+06 a much lower estimated age of the SNR. We also found a new SNR candidate G190.4+12.5 which most likely is located at $D > 1.5 $ kpc, expanding into a low density medium at a high distance from the Galactic plane, with an estimated age of $40,000-60,000$ yr.
The X-ray source eRASSU J131716.9-402647 was recently identified from observations with Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA as a promising X-ray dim isolated neutron star (XDINS) candidate on the premise of a soft energy distribution, absence of catalogued counterparts, and a high X-ray-to-optical flux ratio. Here, we report the results of a multi-wavelength observational campaign with XMM-Newton, NICER and the FORS2 instrument at the ESO-VLT. We found in both the XMM-Newton and NICER data that the X-ray emission is strongly pulsed at a period of $12.757$ s (pulsed fraction $p_\mathrm{f} = (29.1 \pm 2.6)$% in the 0.2-2 keV band). The pulse profile is double-humped, and the pulsed fraction increases with energy. The XMM-Newton and NICER epochs allow us to derive a 3$\sigma$ upper limit of $\dot{P}\leq 8\times 10^{-11}$ s s$^{-1}$ on the spin-down rate of the neutron star. The source spectrum is well described by a purely thermal continuum, either a blackbody with $kT\sim95$ eV or a magnetised neutron star atmosphere model with $kT \sim 35$ eV. Similarly to other thermally emitting isolated neutron stars, we found in either case strong deviations from the continuum, a broad absorption feature at energy $\sim260$ eV and a narrow one around $590$ eV. The FORS2 instrument at ESO-VLT has not detected the optical counterpart ($m_\mathrm{R}>27.5$ mag, $5\sigma$ detection limit), implying an X-ray-to-optical flux ratio of $10^4$ at least. The properties of eRASSU J131716.9-402647 strongly resemble those of a highly magnetised isolated neutron star and favour an XDINS or high-B pulsar nature.
We aim at advancing our understanding of magnetic activity and the underlying dynamo mechanism at the end of the main-sequence. To this end, we collected simultaneous X-ray and radio observations for a sample of M7-L0 dwarfs using XMM-Newton jointly with the JVLA and the ATCA. We also included data from the all-sky surveys of eROSITA on board the Russian Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma mission (SRG) and rotation periods from TESS together with an archival compilation of X-ray and radio data for UCDs from the literature. We limit the sample to objects with rotation period <1d, focusing on the study of a transition in magnetic behavior suggested by a drastic change in the radio detection rate at vsini \approx 38 km/s. We compiled the most up-to-date radio/X-ray luminosity relation for 26 UCDs with rotation periods lower than 1d, finding that rapid rotators lie the furthest away from the G\"udel-Benz relation previously studied for earlier-type stars. Radio bursts are mainly experienced by very fast UCDs, while X-ray flares are seen along the whole range of rotation. We examined the L_{\rm x}/L_{\rm bol} vs P_{\rm rot} relation, finding no evident relation between the X-ray emission and rotation, reinforcing previous speculations on a bimodal dynamo across late-type dwarfs. One radio-detected object has a rotation period consistent with the range of auroral bursting sources; while it displays moderately circularly polarized emission. A radio flare from this object is interpreted as gyrosynchrotron emission, and it displays X-ray and optical flares. We also found a slowly rotating apparent auroral emitter, that is also one of the X-ray brightest radio-detected UCDs. We speculate that this UCD is experiencing a transition of its magnetic behavior since it produces signatures expected from higher mass M dwarfs along with emerging evidence of auroral emission.
Context. During four all-sky surveys (eRASS1--4), eROSITA, the soft X-ray instrument aboard Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) detected a new supersoft X-ray source, eRASSU J060839.5-704014, in the direction of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Methods. We arranged follow-up observations in the X-ray and optical wavelengths and further searched in archival observations to reveal the nature of the object. Results. We discover pulsations at ~374 s with a pulse profile consistent with 100% modulation. We identify two other periodicities in the eROSITA data, which we establish as aliases due to the sampling of the eROSITA light curve. We identify a multi-wavelength counterpart to the X-ray source in UVW1 and g, r, i, and z images obtained by the optical/UV monitor on XMM-Newton and the Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The timing and spectral characteristics of the source are consistent with a double degenerate ultra-compact binary system in the foreground of the LMC. eRASSU J060839.5-704014 belongs to a rare class of AM CVns, which are important to study in the context of progenitors of SN Ia and for persistent gravitational wave detection. Conclusions. We identify eRASSU J060839.5-704014 as a new double degenerate ultra-compact binary located in the foreground of the LMC.
Detecting a supernova remnant (SNR) along the Galactic plane can be quite challenging. Any new detection reduces the discrepancy between the expected and known number of remnants. In this paper, we present results from a large selection of radio and X-ray data that cover the position of G321.3-3.9. We identified G321.3-3.9 as a new SNR using data collected by several radio surveys spanning a frequency range from 200 MHz to 2300 MHz. Stacked eROSITA data from four consecutive all-sky surveys (eRASS:4) provide spectro-imaging information in the energy band 0.2-8.0 keV. G321.3-3.9 has an elliptical shape with major and minor axes of about 1.7 deg x 1.1 deg. From CHIPASS and S-PASS data, we calculate a spectral index -0.8 +- 0.4, consistent with synchrotron emission from an expanding shell in the Sedov Taylor phase. The eROSITA data show an X-ray diffuse structure filling almost the entire radio shell. Depending on the tested spectral model, a plasma temperature between 0.2 keV (VAPEC) and 0.7 keV (NEI) can be fit. The X-ray spectral analysis allowed us to estimate the column absorption towards G321.3-3.9, which suggests a remnant distance of about 1 kpc by comparison with optical extinction maps.
The latest source catalog of the Fermi-LAT telescope contains more than 7000 $\gamma$-ray sources at GeV energies, with the two dominant source classes thought to be blazars and rotation-powered pulsars. Our target is the identification of possible (young and recycled) pulsar candidates in the sample of 2600 unassociated $\gamma$-ray sources, via their characteristic X-ray and $\gamma$-ray emission. To achieve this, we cross-match the Fermi-LAT catalog with the catalog of X-ray sources in the western Galactic hemisphere from the first four all-sky surveys of SRG/eROSITA. We complement this by identifying X-ray counterparts of known pulsars detected at $\gamma$-ray and radio energies in the eROSITA data. We use a Bayesian cross-matching scheme to construct a probabilistic catalog of possible pulsar-type X-ray counterparts to Fermi-LAT sources. Our method combines the overlap of X-ray and $\gamma$-ray source positions with a probabilistic classification (into pulsar and blazar candidates) of each source based on its $\gamma$-ray properties and a prediction on the X-ray flux of pulsar- or blazar-type counterparts. We provide a catalog of our prior $\gamma$-ray-based classifications of all 2600 unassociated sources in the Fermi-LAT catalog, with around equal numbers of pulsar and blazar candidates. Our final list of candidate X-ray pulsar counterparts, cleaned for spurious detections and sources with obvious non-pulsar counterparts, contains around 900 X-ray sources. We predict between 30 and 40 new pulsars among our top 200 candidates, with around equal expected numbers of young and recycled pulsars. This candidate list may serve as input to future follow-up campaigns, looking directly for pulsations or for the orbital modulation of possible binary companions. We furthermore detect the X-ray counterparts of 15 known rotation-powered pulsars, which were not seen in X-rays before.
Context. Cataclysmic variables with degenerate donors which have evolved past the period minimum, also known as period-bouncers, are predicted to make up a great portion of the cataclysmic variable population, between 40 and 70 percent. However, either due to shortcomings in the models or due to the intrinsic faintness of these strongly evolved systems, only a few have been confidently identified so far. Aims. We have compiled a multi-wavelength catalog of period-bouncers and cataclysmic variables around the period minimum from the literature in order to provide an in-depth characterization of the elusive subclass of period-bounce CVs that will help in the identification of new candidates. Methods. In this study we combine published or archival multi-wavelength data with new X-ray observations from the all-sky surveys carried out with the extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) onboard the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma spacecraft (SRG). Our catalog comprises 192 cataclysmic variables around the period minimum that were chosen as likely period bounce candidates based on reported short orbital periods and low donor mass. This sample helped us establish specific selection parameters that have been used to compile a scorecard which rates a systems likelihood of being a period-bouncer. Results. Our scorecard correctly assigns high scores to the already confirmed period-bouncers in our literature catalog and it identifies 80 additional strong period-bounce candidates present in the literature that have not been classified as such. We established two selection cuts based on the X-ray-to-optical flux ratio and the typical X-ray luminosity observed from the 8 already confirmed period-bouncers with eROSITA data. These X-ray selection cuts led to the categorization of 5 systems as new period-bouncers, increasing their population number to 22 systems.
During its calibration and performance verification phase, the eROSITA instrument aboard the SRG satellite performed a uniform wide--area X-ray survey of approximately 140 deg$^{2}$ in a region of the sky known as the eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS). The primary aim of eFEDS is to demonstrate the scientific performance to be expected at the end of the 8-pass eROSITA all sky survey. This will provide the first focussed image of the whole sky in the hard X-ray ($>2$~keV) bandpass. The expected source population in this energy range is thus of great interest, particularly for AGN studies. We use the 2.3--5 keV selection presented by Brunner et al. (2022) to construct a sample of 246 point-like hard X-ray sources for further study and characterization. These are classified as either extragalactic ($\sim 90$~\%) or Galactic ($\sim 10$~\%), with the former consisting overwhelmingly of AGN and the latter active stars. We concentrate our further analysis on the extragalactic/AGN sample, describing their X-ray and multiwavelength properties and comparing them to the eFEDS main AGN sample selected in the softer 0.2-2.3 keV band. The eROSITA hard band selects a subsample of sources that is a factor $>10$ brighter than the eFEDS main sample. The AGN within the hard population reach up to $z=3.2$ but on the whole are relatively nearby, with median $z$=0.34 compared to $z$=0.94 for the main sample. The hard survey probes typical luminosities in the range $\log L_{\rm X} = 43-46$. X-ray spectral analysis shows significant intrinsic absorption (with $\log N_{\rm H}>21$) in $\sim 20$~\% of the sources, with a hard X-ray power law continuum with mean $<\Gamma>=1.83\pm0.04$, typical of AGN, but slightly harder than the soft-selected eROSITA sample. (abridged)
The high-energy environment of the host stars could be deleterious for their planets. It is crucial to ascertain this contextual information to fully characterize the atmospheres of terrestrial exoplanets. We aim to fully characterize a unique triple system, LTT 1445, with three known rocky exoplanets around LTT 1445A. The X-ray irradiation and flaring of this system are studied through a new 50 ks Chandra observation, which is divided into 10 ks, 10 ks, and 30 ks segments conducted two days apart, and two months apart, respectively. This is complemented by an archival Chandra observation approximately one year earlier and repeated observations with eROSITA (extended ROentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array), the soft X-ray instrument on the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission, enabling the investigation of X-ray flux behavior across multiple time scales. The flux data acquired from these observations serve as a basis for estimating the photo-evaporation mass loss of the individual exoplanets with their host stars. To gain deeper insights into the environmental context influenced by XUV flux and to better understand the anticipated atmospheric conditions of the planets orbiting the A component, we integrate the use of the planet modeling package, VPLanet. Our findings indicate that LTT 1445C is the primary contributor to X-ray emissions, with additional input from LTT 1445B. Moreover, our study confirms that LTT1445A, recognized as a slowly-rotating star, exhibits no significant flare activity in the observed dataset. The observed results also suggest that the X-ray emissions from the LTT 1445BC components do not pose a greater threat to the planets orbiting LTT 1445A than the emissions from A itself. According to simulation results, LTT 1445Ad might have the capacity to retain its water surface.
Aims. Compact white-dwarf binaries are selected from spectra obtained in the early SDSS-V plate program. A dedicated set of SDSS plate observations were carried out in the eFEDS field, providing spectroscopic classifications for a significant fraction of the optically bright end (r < 22.5) of the X-ray sample. The identification and subclassification rests on visual inspections of the SDSS spectra, spectral variability, color-magnitude and color-color diagrams involving optical and X-ray fluxes, optical variability and literature work. Results. Upon visual inspection of SDSS spectra and various auxiliary data products we have identified 26 accreting compact white-dwarf binaries (aCWDBs) in eFEDS, of which 24 are proven X-ray emitters. Among those 26 objects are 12 dwarf novae, three WZ Sge-like disk-accreting non-magnetic CVs with low accretion rates, five likely non-magnetic high accretion rate novalike CVs, two magnetic CVs of the polar subcategory, and three double degenerates (AM CVn objects). Period bouncing candidates and magnetic systems are rarer than expected in this sample, but it is too small for a thorough statistical analysis. Fourteen of the systems are new discoveries, of which five are fainter than the Gaia magnitude limit. Thirteen aCWDBs have measured or estimated orbital periods, of which five were presented here. Through a Zeeman analysis we revise the magnetic field estimate of the polar system J0926+0105, which is likely a low-field polar at B = 16 MG. We quantify the success of X-ray versus optical/UV selection of compact white-dwarf binaries which will be relevant for the full SDSS-V survey. We also identify six white-dwarf main-sequence (WDMS) systems, among them one confirmed pre-CV at an orbital period of 17.6 hours and another pre-CV candidate.
The soft X-ray instrument eROSITA on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) observatory has successfully completed four of the eight planned all-sky surveys, detecting almost one million X-ray sources during the first survey (eRASS1). The catalog of this survey will be released as part of the first eROSITA data release (DR1). Based on X-ray aperture photometry, we provide flux upper limits for eRASS1 in several energy bands. We cover galactic longitudes between $180^{\circ}\lesssim l \lesssim 360^{\circ}$ (eROSITA-DE). These data are crucial for studying the X-ray properties of variable and transient objects, as well as non-detected sources in the eROSITA all-sky survey data. We performed aperture photometry on every pixel of the SRG/eROSITA standard pipeline data products for all available sky tiles in the single detection band ($0.2 - 2.3$ keV). Simultaneously, we performed the same analysis in the three-band detection at soft ($0.2-0.6$ keV), medium ($0.6-2.3$ keV), and hard ($2.3-5.0$ keV) energy bands. Based on the combination of products for the individual bands, we are also able to provide aperture photometry products and flux upper limits for the $0.2 - 5.0$ keV energy band. The upper limits were calculated based on a Bayesian approach that utilizes detected counts and background within the circular aperture. The final data products consist of tables with the aperture photometry products (detected counts, background counts, and exposure time), a close-neighbor flag, and the upper flux limit based on an absorbed power-law spectral model ($\Gamma=2.0, \; N_{\rm H}=3\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$). The upper limits are calculated using the one-sided $3\sigma$ confidence interval (CL) of a normal distribution, representing CL = 99.87\%. The aperture photometry products allow for an easy computation of upper limits at any other confidence interval and spectral model. ...
The eROSITA instrument aboard the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) satellite has performed its first all-sky survey between December 2019 and June 2020. This paper presents the resulting hard X-ray (2.3-5 keV) sample, the first created from an all-sky imaging survey in the 2-8 keV band, for sources within western galactic sky. The 5466 hard X-ray selected sources detected with eROSITA are presented and discussed. The Bayesian statistics-based code NWAY is used to identify the counterparts for the X-ray sources. These sources are classified based on their multiwavelength properties, and the literature is searched to identify spectroscopic redshifts, which further inform the source classification. A total of 2547 sources are found to have good-quality counterparts, and 111 of these are detected only in the hard band. Comparing with other hard X-ray selected surveys, the eROSITA hard sample covers a larger redshift range and probes dimmer sources, providing a complementary and expanded sample as compared to Swift-BAT. Examining the column density distribution of missed and detected eROSITA sources present in the follow-up catalog of Swift BAT 70 month sources, it is demonstrated that eROSITA can detect obscured sources with column densities $>10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, but that the completeness drops rapidly after $10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. A sample of hard-only sources, many of which are likely to be heavily obscured AGN, is also presented and discussed. X-ray spectral fitting reveals that these sources have extremely faint soft X-ray emission and their optical images suggest that they are found in more edge-on galaxies with lower b/a. The resulting X-ray catalog is demonstrated to be a powerful tool for understanding AGN, in particular heavily obscured AGN found in the hard-only sample.
The study of the entire population of SNRs in a galaxy helps us to understand the underlying stellar populations, the environments, in which the SNRs are evolving, and the stellar feedback on the ISM. The all-sky survey carried out by the extended Roentgen Survey with an Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) on board Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma (Spektr-RG, SRG) has provided us with spatially and spectrally resolved X-ray data of the entire Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and its immediate surroundings in the soft X-ray band down to 0.2 keV. We performed a multiwavelength analysis of previously known SNR candidates and newly detected SNRs and SNR candidates. We applied the Gaussian gradient magnitude (GGM) filter to the eROSITA images of the LMC to highlight the edges of the shocked gas in order to find new SNRs. We compared the X-ray images with those of their optical and radio counterparts to investigate the true nature of the extended emission. We used the Magellanic Cloud Emission Line Survey (MCELS) for the optical data. For the radio comparison, we used data from the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) survey of the LMC. Using the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds (VMC) we have investigated the possible progenitors of the new SNRs and SNR candidates in our sample. We present the most updated catalogue of SNRs in the LMC. The eROSITA data have allowed us to confirm two of the previous SNR candidates and discover 16 new extended sources. We confirm 3 of them as new SNRs, while we propose the remaining 13 as new X-ray SNR candidates. We also present the first analysis of the follow-up XMM-Newton observation of MCSNR J0456-6533 discovered with eROSITA. Among the new candidates, we propose J0614-7251 (4eRASSU J061438.1-725112) as the first X-ray SNR candidate in the outskirts of the LMC.
We apply a stacking technique to gain enough statistics to detect the hot CGM around galaxies. We use the X-ray data from the first four SRG/eROSITA all-sky surveys (eRASS:4). We discuss how the satellite galaxies could bias the stacking and carefully build the central galaxy samples based on the SDSS spectroscopic survey and halo-based group finder algorithm and isolated galaxy sample from the ninth data release of the DESI Legacy survey (LS DR9, photometric). We mask the detected X-ray point sources and carefully model the X-ray emission from the unresolved active galactic nuclei (AGN) and X-ray binaries (XRB) to obtain the X-ray emission from the hot CGM. The X-ray surface brightness profiles are measured for $\log(M_*)>10.0$ or $\log(M_{\rm 200m})>11.5$ central galaxies, and $\log(M_*)>9.5$ isolated galaxies. We detect the X-ray emission around MW-mass ($\log(M_*)=10.5-11.0$) and more massive central galaxies extending up to the virial radius ($R_{\rm vir}$). The signal-to-noise ratio of the extended emission around the MW-mass galaxy is about $8.1\sigma$ within $R_{\rm vir}$. We use the $\beta$ model to describe the X-ray surface brightness profiles of the hot CGM. We obtain a central surface brightness of $S_{\rm X,0}\approx 3.1\times10^{35}\rm erg/s/kpc^2$ and $\beta \approx0.42$ for MW-mass galaxy. We estimate the baryon budget of the hot CGM and obtain a value lower than the $\Lambda CDM$ cosmology predicted. Our results set a firm footing for the presence of a hot CGM around MW-mass and more massive central galaxies. These measurements constitute a new benchmark for galaxy evolution models and possible implementations of feedback processes therein.
Understanding how the hot circum-galactic medium (CGM) properties relate to the galaxy's properties can constrain galaxy evolution models. We aim to measure the scaling relations between the X-ray luminosity of the hot CGM and the fundamental properties of a galaxy, i.e., its stellar mass and halo mass. We calculate the X-ray luminosity of the hot CGM based on the surface brightness profiles of central galaxy samples measured in Zhang et al. (2024a, submitted) from Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA all-sky survey data. We relate the X-ray luminosity to the galaxies' stellar and halo mass. We compare the observed relations to the TNG, EAGLE, and SIMBA simulations. The hot CGM X-ray luminosity correlates with the galaxy's stellar mass ($M_*$). It increases from $2.1 \pm 1.3\times10^{39} \rm erg/s$ to $2.0 \pm 0.1\times10^{41} \rm erg/s$, when $\log(M_*)$ increases from 10.0 to 11.5. A double power law describes the correlation, with a break at $\log(M_*)=11.28\pm 0.03$ and a power-law index or $1.9\pm 0.2$ ($4.2\pm0.1$) below (above) the break. The hot CGM X-ray luminosity as a function of halo mass is measured within $\log(M_{\rm 500c})=11.3-13.7$, extending our knowledge of the scaling relation by more than two orders of magnitude. $L_{\rm X,CGM}$ increases with $M_{\rm 500c}$ from $2.7 \pm 0.9\times10^{39}\ \rm erg/s$ at $\log(M_{\rm 500c})=11.3$ to $9.2 \pm 0.4\times10^{41}\ \rm erg/s$ at $\log(M_{\rm 500c})=13.7$. The relation follows a power law of $\log(L_{\rm X,CGM})= (1.35\pm 0.04)\times \log(M_{\rm 500c})+(23.8\pm0.5)$. We find a general agreement between simulations and observation. We explore, at the low mass end, the average scaling relations between the CGM X-ray luminosity and the galaxy's stellar mass or halo mass, which constitutes a new benchmark for galaxy evolution models and feedback processes.
A thorough inspection of known Galactic Supernova Remnants (SNRs) along the Galactic plane with SRG/eROSITA yielded the detection of the X-ray counterpart of the SNR G279.0+01.1. The SNR is located just 1.5 deg above the Galactic plane. Its X-ray emission emerges as an incomplete, partial shell of $\sim$3 deg angular extension. It is strongly correlated to the fragmented shell-type morphology of its radio continuum emission. The X-ray spatial morphology of the SNR seems to be linked to the presence of dust clouds in the surroundings. The majority of its X-ray emission is soft (exhibiting strong O, Ne and Mg lines), and occurs in a narrow range of energies between 0.3 and 1.5 keV. Above 2.0 keV the remnant remains undetected. The remnant's X-ray spectrum is of purely thermal nature. Constraining the X-ray absorption column to values which are consistent with optical extinction data from the remnant's location favours non-equilibrium over equilibrium models. A non-equilibrium two-temperature plasma model of $\mathrm{kT}\sim0.3$~keV and $\mathrm{kT}\sim0.6$~keV, and an absorption column density of $\mathrm{N_{H}}\sim0.3~\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ describes the spectrum of the entire remnant well. Significant temperature variations across the remnant have been detected. Employing 14.5 years of Fermi-LAT data, we carried out a comprehensive study of the extended GeV source 4FGL J1000.0-5312e. By refining and properly modeling the GeV excess originating from the location of the remnant, we conclude that the emission is likely related to the remnant itself rather than being co-located by chance. We also discuss implications of the new X-ray data to the estimates of the distance and age of the remnant.
Simeis 147 (S147, G180.0-01.7, ``Spaghetti nebula'') is a supernova remnant (SNR) extensively studied across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio to GeV $\gamma$-rays, except in X-rays. In this study, we report the first detection of significant X-ray emission from the entire SNR. Here, and in a companion paper, we present studies of X-ray emission from the S147 nebula using the data of the extended ROentgen Survey Imaging Telescope Array (eROSITA) onboard the Russian-German Spektrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG). The object is located at the Galactic anti-center, and its 3 deg size classifies it among the largest SNRs ever detected in X-rays. Overall, the X-ray emission morphology as observed with eROSITA is fully confined within the boundaries of both radio synchrotron and H$\alpha$ emission, except for the Western edge of the remnant where radio and H$\alpha$ emission appears to extend further to the West compared to X-rays. The X-ray emission is predominantly soft with a strong detection between 0.5-1.0 keV, leaving S147 undetected above 2.3 keV. The X-ray emission is purely thermal, exhibiting strong O, Ne, and Mg lines, whereas it lacks heavier-Z elements. A model of non-equilibrium collisional plasma, with a gas temperature of $kT=0.22^{-0.03}_{+0.02}$~keV, and an absorption column density of $N_\mathrm{{H}}=0.30_{-0.03}^{+0.04}\cdot10^{22}~\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ ($\tau=4.27^{+1.87}_{-0.99}~\mathrm{\cdot10^{10}s~ cm^{-3}}$), is preferred over a collisional plasma model in equilibrium with $kT=0.11\pm0.01$~keV and with $N_\mathrm{{H}}=0.51\pm0.02\cdot10^{22}~\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$. By employing $\sim$14.5 years of Fermi-LAT data, our study confirms the association of the remnant with a spatially coincident diffuse GeV excess, namely 4FGL J0540.3+2756e or FGES J0537.6+2751. Age and distance estimates of the remnant are also reported based on the eROSITA data.
Magnetic reconnection drives multi-species particle acceleration broadly in space and astrophysics. We perform the first 3D hybrid simulations (fluid electrons, kinetic ions) that contain sufficient scale separation to produce nonthermal heavy-ion acceleration, with fragmented flux ropes critical for accelerating all species. We demonstrate the acceleration of all ion species (up to Fe) into power-law spectra with similar indices, by a common Fermi acceleration mechanism. The upstream ion velocities influence the first Fermi reflection for injection. The subsequent onsets of Fermi acceleration are delayed for ions with lower charge-mass ratios (Q/M), until growing flux ropes magnetize them. This leads to a species-dependent maximum energy/nucleon $\propto(Q/M)^\alpha$. These findings are consistent with in-situ observations in reconnection regions, suggesting Fermi acceleration as the dominant multi-species ion acceleration mechanism.
The microwave radio dynamic spectra of the Crab pulsar interpulse contain fine structures represented via narrowband quasiharmonic stripes. The pattern significantly constrains any potential emission mechanism. Similar to the zebra patterns observed, for example, in type IV solar radio bursts or decameter and kilometer Jupiter radio emission, the double plasma resonance (DPR) effect of the cyclotron maser instability may allow for interpretion of observations of pulsar radio zebras. We present electromagnetic relativistic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of the electron-positron cyclotron maser for cyclotron frequency smaller than the plasma frequency. In four distinct simulation cycles, we focused on the effects of varying the plasma parameters on the instability growth rate and saturation energy. The physical parameters were the ratio between the plasma and cyclotron frequency, the density ratio of the "hot" loss-cone to the "cold" background plasma, the loss-cone characteristic velocity, and comparison with electron-proton plasma. In contrast to the results obtained from electron-proton plasma simulations, we find that the pulsar electron-positron maser instability does not generate distinguishable X and Z modes. On the contrary, a singular electromagnetic XZ mode was generated in all studied configurations close to or above the plasma frequency. For low density ratios, the highest peak of the XZ mode is at double the frequency of the highest peak of the Bernstein modes, indicating that the radio emission is produced by a coalescence of two Bernstein modes with the same frequency and opposite wave numbers. Our estimate of the radiative flux generated from the simulation is up to $\sim$30 mJy from an area of 100 km$^2$ for an observer at 1 kpc distance without the inclusion of relativistic beaming effects, which may account for multiple orders of magnitude.
Context. The study of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations (QPO) at low and high frequency in the variability of the high-energy emission from black-hole binaries and their physical interpretation in terms of signatures of General Relativity in the strong-field regime. Aims. To understand the nature of the 67 Hz QPOs observed in the X-ray emission of the peculiar black-hole binary GRS 1915+105 within the general classification of QPO and to determine the spin of the black hole in the system by applying the Relativistic Precession Model (RPM). Methods. Within the RPM, the only relativistic frequency that is stable in time over a large range of accretion rates and can be as low as 67 Hz (for a black-hole mass as measured dynamically) is the Lense-Thirring frequency at the Innermost Stable Circular Orbit (ISCO). In the application of the model, this corresponds to type-C QPOs. Under this assumption, it is possible to measure the spin of the black hole. We re-analysed a large number of RossiXTE observations to check whether other timing features confirm this hypothesis. Results. The identification of the 67 Hz QPO as the Lense-Thirring frequency at ISCO yields a value of 0.706 +/- 0.034 for the black hole spin. With this spin, the only two QPO detections at higher frequencies available in the literature are consistent with being orbital frequencies at a radius outside ISCO. The high-frequency bumps often observed at frequencies between 10 and 200 Hz follow the correlation expected for orbital and periastron-precession frequencies at even larger radii.
We study the prospects for detection of solar and atmospheric neutrino fluxes at future large-scale dark matter detectors through both electron and nuclear recoils. We specifically examine how the detection prospects change for several prospective detector locations (SURF, SNOlab, Gran Sasso, CJPL, and Kamioka), and improve upon the statistical methodologies used in previous studies. Due to its ability to measure lower neutrino energies than other locations, we find that the best prospects for the atmospheric neutrino flux are at the SURF location, while the prospects are weakest at CJPL because it is restricted to higher neutrino energies. On the contrary, the prospects for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB) are best at CJPL, due largely to the reduced atmospheric neutrino background at this location. Including full detector resolution and efficiency models, the CNO component of the solar flux is detectable via the electron recoil channel with exposures of $\sim 10^3$ ton-yr for all locations. These results highlight the benefits for employing two detector locations, one at high and one at low latitude.
We conduct a comprehensive spectro-temporal analysis of repeating Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) utilizing nine distinct sources, the largest sample to date. Our data set includes 175 sub-bursts and 31 multi-component bursts from 11 data sets, with centre frequencies ranging from 149--7144 MHz and durations spanning from 73 $\mu$s--13 ms. Our findings are consistent with the predictions of the Triggered Relativistic Dynamical Model (TRDM) of FRB emission. We affirm the predicted quadratic relationship between sub-burst slope and central frequency, as well as a linear dependence of the sub-burst bandwidth on central frequency that is consistent with mildly-relativistic Doppler broadening of narrow-band emission. Most importantly, we confirm the sub-burst slope law, a predicted inverse relationship between sub-burst slope and duration, to hold consistently across different sources. Remarkably, we also discover that the drift rates of multi-component bursts follow the same law as the sub-burst slopes, an unexplained result that warrants further investigation. These findings not only support the TRDM as a viable framework for explaining several aspects of FRB emission, but also provide new insights into the complex spectro-temporal properties of FRBs.
The nonlinear character of general relativity leaves its imprint in the coalescence of two black holes, from the inspiral to the final ringdown stage. To quantify the impact of nonlinearities, we work at second order in black hole perturbation theory and we study the excitation of second-order modes relative to the first-order modes that drive them as we vary the black hole spin and the initial data for the perturbations. The relative amplitude of second-order modes is only mildly dependent on the initial data that we consider, but it strongly decreases for large black hole spins. This implies that the extrapolation of calculations based on the Kerr-CFT correspondence to subextremal Kerr black holes should be viewed with caution
We study the quasinormal modes (QNM) of the charged C-metric, which physically stands for a charged accelerating black hole, with the help of Nekrasov's partition function of 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ superconformal field theories (SCFTs). The QNM in the charged C-metric are classified into three types: the photon-surface modes, the accelerating modes and the near-extremal modes, and it is curious how the single quantization condition proposed in arXiv:2006.06111 can reproduce all the different families. We show that the connection formula encoded in terms of Nekrasov's partition function captures all these families of QNM numerically and recovers the asymptotic behavior of the accelerating and the near-extremal modes analytically. Using the connection formulae of different 4d $\mathcal{N}=2$ SCFTs, one can solve both the radial and the angular part of the scalar perturbation equation respectively. The same algorithm can be applied to the de Sitter (dS) black holes to calculate both the dS modes and the photon-sphere modes.
We present a method to estimate the detection expectations of host galaxies of long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) in the {\it grizJHKL} bands. It is found that given the same limiting magnitude $m_{grizJHKL,\rm lim}$ in each band, the {\it z} band produces the largest number of overall LGRB hosts and low-mass hosts ($M_\ast\leq10^8$ M$_\odot$) at $m_{grizJHKL,\rm lim}\gtrsim 26$ mag. For the detection of high-redshift LGRB hosts (redshift $\geq5$), it is recommended to prioritize the {\it L} band due to its good performance at both low and high limiting magnitudes. We specifically estimate the expectation of LGRB-host detection with $m_{grizJHKL,\rm lim}=28$ mag, which the James Webb Space Telescope can partially attain. We find that there may exist 116, 259, 277, 439, 266, 294, 274, and 316 LGRB hosts, including 0.54, 31, 28, 143, 12, 20, 14, and 35 low-mass ones in the {\it grizJHKL} bands and 13, 14, 15, 14, and 15 high-redshift ones in the {\it zJHKL} bands, for 15 yr {\it Swift} LGRBs with $S\geq10^{-6}$ erg cm$^{-2}$. The results show that the study of LGRB hosts under next-generation observational conditions holds significant potential, especially for low-mass host studies. However, it appears that deeper sensitivities of galaxy telescopes may not significantly enhance statistical studies of high-redshift hosts. Strategies aimed at increasing the number of distant LGRB hosts may require the expansion of high-redshift LGRB detection.
Measuring the relation between star formation and galactic winds is observationally difficult. In this work we make an indirect measurement of the mass loading factor (the ratio between mass outflow rate and star formation rate) in low-mass galaxies using a differential approach to modeling the low-redshift evolution of the star-forming main sequence and mass-metallicity relation. We use the SAGA (Satellites Around Galactic Analogs) background galaxies, those spectra observed by the SAGA survey that are not associated with the main SAGA host galaxies, to construct a sample of 11925 spectroscopically confirmed low-mass galaxies from $0.01\lesssim z \leq 0.21$ and measure a auroral line metallicity for 120 galaxies. The crux of the method is to use the lowest redshift galaxies as the boundary condition of our model, and to infer a mass-loading factor for the sample by comparing the expected evolution of the low redshift reference sample in stellar mass, gas-phase metallicity, and star formation rate against the observed properties of the sample at higher redshift. We infer a mass-loading factor of $\eta_{\rm m}=0.92^{+1.76}_{-0.74}$, which is in line with direct measurements of the mass-loading factor from the literature despite the drastically different set of assumptions needed for each approach. While our estimate of the mass-loading factor is in good agreement with recent galaxy simulations that focus on resolving the dynamics of the interstellar medium, it is smaller by over an order of magnitude than the mass-loading factor produced by many contemporary cosmological simulations.
CO emission has been widely used as a tracer of molecular gas mass. However, it has been a long-standing issue to accurately constrain the CO-to-H$_2$ conversion factor ($\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$) that converts CO luminosity to molecular gas mass, especially in starburst galaxy. We present the first resolved $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ modeling results with multiple ALMA CO and $^{13}$CO transition observations at both giant molecular cloud (GMC) scale down to 150 pc and kpc scale for one of the closest starburst mergers, the Antennae. By combining our CO modeling results and measurements of 350 GHz dust continuum, we find that most GMCs in the Antennae have $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ values $\sim$4 times smaller than the commonly adopted Milky Way value of 4.3. We find $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ at GMC scales shows a strong dependence on CO intensity, $^{13}$CO/CO ratio and GMC velocity dispersion, which is consistent with various theoretical and simulation predictions. Specifically, we suggest that $^{13}$CO/CO line ratio and the velocity dispersion can be used to calibrate $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ in starburst regions. By applying our modeled $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ in GMC analyses, we find that GMCs in the Antennae are less gravitationally bound than in normal spiral galaxies, which is more consistent with what is predicted by merger simulations. At kpc scale, we find that our modeled $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ values are smaller than the modeled $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ at GMC scale by 40%, which can be due to inclusion of diffuse gas component with lower $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ values. We also find a similar correlation of $\alpha_{\mathrm{CO}}$ and CO intensity at kpc scale to that at GMC scale.
Sun-like stars are thought to accrete most of their final mass during the protostellar phase, during which the stellar embryo is surrounded by an infalling dense envelope. We present an analysis of 26 $K$-band spectra of Class 0 protostars, which are the youngest protostars. 18 of these are new observations made with the Keck MOSFIRE instrument. HI Br$\gamma$ , several H$_2$, and CO $\Delta\,v\;=\;2$ features are detected and analyzed. We detect Br$\gamma$ emission in 62%, CO overtone emission in 50%, and H$_2$ emission in 90% of sources. The HI and CO emission is associated with accretion while the H$_2$ lines are consistent with shock excitation indicating jets/outflows. Six objects exhibit photospheric absorption features, with almost no outflow activity, and no detection of the accretion-related Br$\gamma$ emission line. Comparing these results with archival sample of Class I $K$-band spectra, we find that the CO and Br$\gamma$ emission lines are systematically more luminous in Class 0s, suggesting the accretion is on average more vigorous in the Class 0 phase. Typically associated with the heated inner accretion disk, the much higher detection rate of CO overtone emission in Class 0s indicate also that episodes of high accretion activity are more frequent in Class 0 systems. The kinematics of the Class 0 CO overtone emission suggest either an accretion-heated inner disk, or material directly infalling onto the central region. This could point toward an accretion mechanism of different nature in Class 0 systems than the typical picture of magnetospheric accretion.
We present new observations of the central 1 kpc of the M 82 starburst obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument at a resolution ~0.05"-0.1" (~1-2 pc). The data comprises images in three mostly continuum filters (F140M, F250M, and F360M), and filters that contain [FeII] (F164N), H2 v=1-0 (F212N), and the 3.3 um PAH feature (F335M). We find prominent plumes of PAH emission extending outward from the central starburst region, together with a network of complex filamentary substructure and edge-brightened bubble-like features. The structure of the PAH emission closely resembles that of the ionized gas, as revealed in Paschen alpha and free-free radio emission. We discuss the origin of the structure, and suggest the PAHs are embedded in a combination of neutral, molecular, and photoionized gas.
We explore the chemodynamical properties of the Galaxy in the azimuthal velocity $V_\phi$ and metallicity [Fe/H] space using red giant stars from Gaia Data Release 3. The row-normalized $V_\phi$-[Fe/H] maps form a coherent sequence from the bulge to the outer disk, clearly revealing the thin/thick disk and the Splash. The metal-rich stars display bar-like kinematics while the metal-poor stars show dispersion-dominated kinematics. The intermediate-metallicity population ($-1<$[Fe/H]$<-0.4$) can be separated into two populations, one that is bar-like, i.e. dynamically cold ($\sigma_{V_R}\sim80$ $\rm km\ s^{-1}$) and fast rotating ($V_\phi\gtrsim100$ $\rm km\ s^{-1}$), and the Splash, which is dynamically hot ($\sigma_{V_R}\sim110$ $\rm km\ s^{-1}$) and slow rotating ($V_\phi\lesssim100$ $\rm km\ s^{-1}$). We compare the observations in the bulge region with an Auriga simulation where the last major merger event concluded $\sim10$ Gyr ago: only stars born around the time of the merger reveal a Splash-like feature in the $V_\phi$-[Fe/H] space, suggesting that the Splash is likely merger-induced, predominantly made-up of heated disk stars and the starburst associated with the last major merger. Since the Splash formed from the proto-disk, its lower metallicity limit coincides with that of the thick disk. The bar formed later from the dynamically hot disk with [Fe/H] $>-1$ dex, with the Splash not participating in the bar formation and growth. Moreover, with a set of isolated evolving $N$-body disk simulations, we confirm that a non-rotating classical bulge can be spun up by the bar and develop cylindrical rotation, consistent with the observation for the metal-poor stars.
The Hunting Outbursting Young Stars (HOYS) project performs long-term, optical, multi-filter, high cadence monitoring of 25 nearby young clusters and star forming regions. Utilising Gaia DR3 data we have identified about 17000 potential young stellar members in 45 coherent astrometric groups in these fields. Twenty one of them are clear young groups or clusters of stars within one kiloparsec and they contain 9143 Gaia selected potential members. The cluster distances, proper motions and membership numbers are determined. We analyse long term (about 7yr) V, R, and I-band light curves from HOYS for 1687 of the potential cluster members. One quarter of the stars are variable in all three optical filters, and two thirds of these have light curves that are symmetric around the mean. Light curves affected by obscuration from circumstellar materials are more common than those affected by accretion bursts, by a factor of 2-4. The variability fraction in the clusters ranges from 10 to almost 100 percent, and correlates positively with the fraction of stars with detectable inner disks, indicating that a lot of variability is driven by the disk. About one in six variables shows detectable periodicity, mostly caused by magnetic spots. Two thirds of the periodic variables with disk excess emission are slow rotators, and amongst the stars without disk excess two thirds are fast rotators - in agreement with rotation being slowed down by the presence of a disk.
Extreme emission line galaxies (EELGs) exhibit large equivalent widths (EW) in their rest-optical emission lines ([OIII]$\lambda5007$ or H$\alpha$ rest-frame EW$ > 750\r{A}$) which can be tied to a recent upturn in star formation rate, due to the sensitivity of the nebular line emission and the rest-optical continuum to young ($<10$Myr) and evolved stellar populations, respectively. By studying a sample of 85 star forming galaxies (SFGs), spanning the redshift and magnitude interval $3 <z<9.5$ and $-16>$ M$_{UV}>-21$, in the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) with NIRSpec/prism spectroscopy, we determine that SFGs initiate an EELG phase when entering a significant burst of star formation, with the highest EWs observed in EELGs with the youngest mass-weighted ages ($<5$ Myr old) and the highest burst intensity (those with the highest proportion of their total stellar mass formed in the last 10 Myr). We spectroscopically confirm that a greater proportion of SFGs are in an EELG phase at high redshift in our UV-selected sample ($61\pm4\%$ in our $z>5.7$ high-redshift bin, compared to $23^{+4}_{-1}\%$ in our lowest-redshift bin $3<z<4.1$) due to the combined evolution of metallicity, ionisation parameter and star formation histories (SFH) with redshift. We report that the EELGs within our sample exhibit a higher average ionisation efficiency ($\log_{10}(\xi_{ion}^{HII}/$erg$^{-1}$Hz)$=25.5\pm0.2$) than the non-EELGs. High-redshift EELGs therefore comprise a population of efficient ionising photon producers. Additionally, we report that $53\%$ (9/17) of EELGs at $z>5.7$ have observed Lyman-$\alpha$ emission, potentially lying within large ionised regions. The high detection rate of Lyman-$\alpha$ emitters in our EELG selection suggests that the physical conditions associated with entering an EELG phase also promote the escape of Lyman-$\alpha$ photons.
In this study, we explored the impact of isolated and group environments on stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), and specific star formation rate (SSFR, i.e., the rate of star formation per unit stellar mass) using the galaxy dataset from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 (SDSS DR12) for $z\lesssim0.2$. To mitigate the Malmquist bias, we partitioned the entire dataset into fifteen subsamples with a redshift bin size of $\Delta z = 0.01$ and examined the environmental dependencies of these properties within each redshift bin. A strong correlation between environment, stellar mass, SFR, and SSFR was observed across nearly all redshift bins. In the lower redshift bins $(z<0.1)$, the proportion of galaxies within the isolated environment exceeded that within the group environment. On the other hand, in the higher redshift bins $(z\geq 0.12)$, the isolated environment's galaxy fraction is found to be lower than that of the group environment. For the intermediate redshift bins $(0.1 \leq z < 0.12)$, an approximately equal proportion of galaxies is observed in both isolated and group environments.
Star formation is essential in galaxy evolution and the cycling of matter. The support of interstellar clouds against gravitational collapse by magnetic (B-) fields has been proposed to explain the low observed star formation efficiency in galaxies and the Milky Way. Despite the Planck satellite providing a 5-15' all-sky map of the B-field geometry in the diffuse interstellar medium, higher spatial resolution observations are required to understand the transition from diffuse gas to gravitationally unstable filaments. NGC 2024, the Flame Nebula, in the nearby Orion B molecular cloud, contains a young, expanding HII region and a dense filament that harbors embedded protostellar objects. Therefore, NGC 2024 is an excellent opportunity to study the role of B-fields in the formation, evolution, and collapse of filaments, as well as the dynamics and effects of young HII regions on the surrounding molecular gas. We combine new 154 and 216 micron dust polarization measurements carried out using the HAWC+ instrument aboard SOFIA with molecular line observations of 12CN(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) from the IRAM 30-meter telescope to determine the B-field geometry and to estimate the plane of the sky magnetic field strength across the NGC 2024. The HAWC+ observations show an ordered B-field geometry in NGC 2024 that follows the morphology of the expanding HII region and the direction of the main filament. The derived plane of the sky B-field strength is moderate, ranging from 30 to 80 micro G. The strongest B-field is found at the northern-west edge of the HII region, characterized by the highest gas densities and molecular line widths. In contrast, the weakest field is found toward the filament in NGC 2024. The B-field has a non-negligible influence on the gas stability at the edges of the expanding HII shell (gas impacted by the stellar feedback) and the filament (site of the current star formation).
W43-main is a massive molecular complex located at the interaction of the Scutum arm and the Galactic bar undergoing starburst activities. We aim to investigate the gas dynamics, in particular, the prevailing shock signatures from the cloud to clump scale and assess the impact of shocks on the formation of dense gas and early-stage cores. We have carried out NOEMA and IRAM-30m observations at 3 mm with an angular resolution of $\sim$0.1 pc towards five massive clumps in W43 main. We use CH$_{3}$CCH and H$_{2}$CS lines to trace the extended gas temperature and CH$_{3}$OH lines to probe the volume density of the dense gas ($\gtrsim$10$^{5}$ cm$^{-3}$). The emission of SiO (2-1) is extensive across the region ($\sim$4 pc) and is mostly contained within a low-velocity regime, hinting at a large-scale origin of the shocks. The position-velocity maps of multiple tracers show systematic spatio-kinematic offsets supporting the cloud-cloud collision/merging scenario. We identify an additional extended velocity component in CCH emission, which coincides with one of the velocity components of the larger scale $^{13}$CO (2-1) emission, likely representing an outer, less dense gas layer in the cloud merging process. We find that the V-shaped, asymmetric SiO wings are tightly correlated with localised gas density enhancements, which is direct evidence of dense gas formation and accumulation in shocks. We resolve two categories of NH$_{2}$D cores: ones exhibiting only subsonic to transonic velocity dispersion, and the others with an additional supersonic velocity dispersion. The centroid velocities of the latter cores are correlated with the shock front seen by SiO. The kinematics of the $\sim$0.1 pc NH$_{2}$D cores are heavily imprinted by shock activities, and may represent a population of early-stage cores forming around the shock interface.
We present the results of the first X-ray all-sky survey (eRASS1) performed by the eROSITA instrument onboard the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission on X-ray emitting red giants and supergiants. Focussing on stars positioned at high galactic latitudes above 20 deg, we construct a complete sample of such objects using the Gaia DR3 catalog and identify a sample 96 stars appearing as bona fide entries in the eRASS1 source catalog. Restricting again the sample to objects nearer than 1300~pc and eliminating all catalog entries which are due to optical contamination, we end up with a sample of 16 genuine red giant/supergiant X-ray sources, which represent -- with the exception of one source (CL~Hyi) -- new X-ray detections. We furthermore present a low SNR X-ray spectrum of the nearby low activity giant Arcturus obtained from a pointed observation with the XMM-Newton satellite and give a detailed account of our data analysis. We show that Arcturus-like X-ray emission cannot be the explanation for the X-ray emissions observed by eROSITA and provide a discussion of the possible nature of the detected X-ray sources.
Major mergers between galaxies are predicted to fuel their central supermassive black holes (SMBHs), particularly after coalescence. However, determining the prevalence of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in mergers remains a challenge, because AGN diagnostics are sensitive to details of the central structure (e.g., nuclear gas clouds, geometry and orientation of a dusty torus) that are partly decoupled from SMBH accretion. X-rays, expected to be ubiquitous among accreting systems, are detectable through non-Compton-thick screens of obscuring material, and thus offer the potential for a more complete assessment of AGNs in mergers. But, extant statistical X-ray studies of AGNs in mergers have been limited by either sparse, heterogeneous, or shallow on-sky coverage. We use new X-ray observations from the first SRG/eROSITA all-sky data release to characterize the incidence, luminosity, and observability of AGNs in mergers. Combining machine learning and visual classification, we identify 923 post-mergers in Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS) imaging and select 4,565 interacting galaxy pairs (with separations <120 kpc and mass ratios within 1:10) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that galaxies with X-ray AGNs are 2.0+/-0.24 times as likely to be identified as post-mergers compared to non-AGN controls, and that post-mergers are 1.8+/-0.1 times as likely to host an X-ray AGN as non-interacting controls. A multi-wavelength census of X-ray, optical, and mid-IR-selected AGNs suggests a picture wherein the underlying AGN fraction increases during pair-phase interactions, that galaxy pairs within ~20 kpc become heavily obscured, and that the obscuration often clears post-coalescence.
Massive black holes (MBHs) are typically hosted in the centres of massive galaxies but they appear to become rarer in lower mass galaxies, where nuclear star clusters (NSCs) frequently appear instead. The transition region, where both an MBH and NSC can co-exist, has been poorly studied to date and only a few dozen galaxies are known to host them. One avenue for detecting new galaxies with both an MBH and NSC is to look for accretion signatures of MBHs. Here, we use new SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey eRASS:4 data to search for X-ray signatures of accreting MBHs in NSCs, while also investigating their combined occupation fraction. We find significant detections for 18 galaxies (~8.3%), including one ultra-luminous X-ray source; however, only three galaxies (NGC2903, 4212, and 4639) have X-ray luminosities that are higher than the expected value from X-ray binaries, indicative of the presence of an MBH. In addition, the X-ray luminosity of six galaxies (NGC2903, 3384, 4321, 4365, 4639, and 4701) differs from previous studies and could indicate the presence of a variable active galactic nucleus. The combined occupation fraction of accreting MBHs and NSCs becomes non-zero for galaxy masses above ~10^7.5 M_sun and this result is slightly elevated as compared to the literature data. Our data extend, for the first time, towards the dwarf elliptical galaxy regime and identify promising MBH candidates for higher resolution follow-up observations. At most galaxy masses (and with the exception of three cases), the X-ray constraints are consistent with the expected emission from binary systems or an Eddington fraction of at most 0.01%, assuming a black holes mass of 10^6.5 M_sun. This work confirms the known complexities in similar-type of studies, while providing the appealing alternative of using X-ray survey data of in-depth observations of individual targets with higher resolution instruments.
A dozen of patches of polarized radio emission spanning tens of degrees in the form of coherent and stationary loops are observed at radio frequencies across the sky. Their origin is usually associated to nearby shocks, possibly arising from close supernovae explosions. The origin of the radio Loop XII remains so far unknown. We report an anti-correlation of the radio polarized emission of loop XII with a large patch of soft X-ray emission found with SRG/eROSITA in excess of the background surface brightness, in the same region. The soft X-ray seemingly coherent patch in excess of the background emission, which we dub as the Goat Horn complex, extends over a remarkable area of $\sim 1000$ deg$^2$ and includes an arc-shaped enhancement potentially tracing a cold front. An anti-correlation of the X-ray intensity with the temperature of the plasma responsible for the X-ray emission is also observed. The X-ray bright arc seems to anticipate the radio loop XII by some degrees on the sky. This behavior can be recast in terms of a correlation between X-ray surface brightness and radio depolarization. We explore and discuss different possible scenarios for the source of the diffuse emission in the Goat Horn complex: a large supernova remnant; an outflow from active star formation regions in nearby Galactic spiral arms; a hot atmosphere around the Large Magellanic Cloud. In order to probe these scenarios further, a more detailed characterization on the velocity of the hot gas is required.
Evolutionary models suggest that the initial growth phases of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are dust-enshrouded, and characterized by jet/wind outflows that should gradually clear the interstellar medium (ISM) in the host by heating and/or expelling the surrounding gas. eFEDSJ091157.4+014327 (z~0.6) was selected from X-ray samples for its characteristics that are similar to sources with outflows which include red, obscured (2.7x10$^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$ ) and X-ray luminous (6.5x10$^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$). We aim to explore the environment around the red quasar and characterise kinematics within the system. We use spatially resolved spectroscopic data from Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) with an average seeing of 0.6" to construct flux, velocity and velocity dispersions maps. We found that the quasar is embedded in an interacting and merging system with three other galaxies ~ 50 kpc from its nucleus. Spatially resolved kinematics reveal that the quasar has extended ionised outflows of up to 9.4 kpc with positive and negative velocities up to 1000 km s$^{-1}$ and -1200 km s$^{-1}$, respectively. The velocity dispersion (W$_{80}$) ranges from 600-1800 km s$^{-1}$. We associate the presence of turbulent and high-velocity components with the outflow. The total mass outflow rate is estimated to be 9.6 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and kinetic power of 1.9x10$^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Considering different recipes of velocity and AGN bolometric luminosities, the kinetic coupling efficiencies range from 0.01%-0.2% and the momentum boosts from 0.04-0.5. The kinetic coupling efficiency values are low which indicates that the outflow is not very significant from the energetic point of view but is slightly consistent with theoretical predictions of radiation-pressure-driven outflows. The mass loading factor of 4.8 is an indication that these outflows are more likely AGN-driven than star formation-driven.
[abridged] Hot plasma plays a crucial role in regulating the baryon cycle within the Milky Way, flowing from the energetic sources in the Galactic center and disc, to the corona and the halo Taking advantage of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA first all-sky survey, in this work we aim to provide a panoramic view of the hot circumgalactic medium (CGM) of the Milky Way. The energy resolution of eROSITA enables us to map, for the first time, the sky within the narrow energy bands characteristic of soft X-ray emission lines. We present the eROSITA eRASS1 half sky maps in narrow energy bands corresponding to the most prominent soft X-ray lines: O VII and O VIII, which allow us to constrain the distribution of the hot plasma within and surrounding the Milky Way. We removed the expected contribution associated with the cosmic X-ray background, the time-variable solar wind charge exchange, the local hot bubble and foreground absorption. We use the line ratio of the oxygen lines as a proxy to constrain the temperature of the warm-hot CGM and we define a pseudo-temperature $\mathcal{T}$ map. The map highlights how different regions are dominated by different thermal components. Towards the outer halo, the temperature distribution of the CGM is consistent with being constant ($\Delta \mathcal{T} / \langle \mathcal{T}\rangle) \leq 4\%$) on angular scales of 2-20 deg, while significant variations $\sim 12\%$ are observed on many tens of degrees scales, when comparing the northern and southern hemisphere. The pseudo-temperature map shows significant variations across the borders of the eROSITA bubbles, therefore suggesting temperature variations, possibly linked to shocks, between the interior of the Galactic outflow and the unperturbed CGM. In particular, a "shell" of colder material appears to be present close to the edge of the eROSITA bubbles.
Pisces VII/Triangulum III (Pisc~VII) was discovered in the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey and was shown to be a Local Group dwarf galaxy with follow-up imaging from the 4-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. However, this imaging was unable to reach the horizontal branch of Pisc VII, preventing a precision distance measurement. The distance bound from the red giant branch population placed Pisc VII as either an isolated ultra-faint dwarf galaxy or the second known satellite galaxy of Triangulum (M33). Using deep imaging from Gemini GMOS-N, we have resolved the horizontal branch of Pisc VII, and measure a distance of $D=916^{+65}_{-53}$~kpc, making Pisc VII a likely satellite of M33. We also remeasure its size and luminosity from this deeper data, finding $r_{\rm half}=186^{+58}_{-32}$ pc, $M_V=-6.0\pm0.3$ and $L=2.2^{+0.7}_{-0.5}\times10^4\,{\rm L}_\odot$. Given its position in the M33 halo, we argue that Pisc VII could support the theory that M33 is on its first infall to the Andromeda system. We also discuss the presence of blue plume and helium burning stars in the colour-magnitude diagram of Pisc VII that are consistent with ages of $\sim1.5$~Gyr. If these are truly members of the galaxy, it would transform our understanding of how reionisation affects the faintest galaxies. Future deep imaging and dynamics could allow significant insight into both the stellar populations of Pisc VII and the evolution of M33
The Gaia mission has provided us full astrometric solutions for over 1.5B sources. However, only the brightest 34M of those have radial velocity measurements. As a proof of concept, this paper aims to close that gap, by obtaining radial velocity estimates from the low-resolution BP/RP spectra that Gaia now provides. These spectra are currently published for about 220M sources, with this number increasing to the full $\sim 2$B Gaia sources with Gaia Data Release 4. To obtain the radial velocity measurements, we fit Gaia BP/RP spectra with models based on a grid of synthetic spectra, with which we obtain the posterior probability on the radial velocity for each object. Our measured velocities show systematic biases that depend mainly on colours and magnitudes of stars. We correct for these effects by using external catalogues of radial velocity measurements. We present in this work a catalogue of about 6.4M sources with our most reliable radial velocity measurements and uncertainties $<300$ km s$^{-1}$ obtained from the BP/RP spectra. About 23% of these have no previous radial velocity measurement in Gaia RVS. Furthermore, we provide an extended catalogue containing all 125M sources for which we were able to obtain radial velocity measurements. The latter catalogue, however, also contains a fraction of measurements for which the reported radial velocities and uncertainties are inaccurate. Although typical uncertainties in the catalogue are significantly higher compared to those obtained with precision spectroscopy instruments, the number of potential sources for which this method can be applied is orders of magnitude higher than any previous radial velocity catalogue. Further development of the analysis could therefore prove extremely valuable in our understanding of Galactic dynamics.
We provide an explanation for the reduced dynamical friction on galactic bars in spinning dark matter halos. Earlier work based on linear theory predicted an increase in dynamical friction when dark halos have a net forward rotation, because prograde orbits couple to bars with greater strength than retrograde orbits. Subsequent numerical studies, however, found the opposite trend: dynamical friction weakens with increasing spin of the halo. We revisit this problem and demonstrate that linear theory in fact correctly predicts a reduced torque in forward-rotating halos. We show that shifting the halo mass from retrograde to prograde phase space generates a positive gradient in the distribution function near the origin of the z-angular momentum (Lz=0), which results in a resonant transfer of Lz to the bar, making the net dynamical friction weaker. While this effect is subdominant for the major resonances, including the corotation resonance, it leads to a significant positive torque on the bar for the series of direct radial resonances, as these resonances are strongest at Lz=0. The overall dynamical friction from spinning halos is shown to decrease with the halo's spin, in agreement with the secular behavior of N-body simulations. We validate our linear calculation by computing the nonlinear torque from individual resonances using the angle-averaged Hamiltonian.
We consider conservation of momentum in AQUAL, a field-theoretic extension to Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND). We show that while there is a sense in which momentum is conserved, it is only if momentum is attributed to the gravitational field, and thus Newton's third law fails as usually understood. We contrast this situation with that of Newtonian gravitation on a field theoretic formulation. We then briefly discuss the situation in TeVeS, a relativistic theory that has AQUAL as a classical limit.
The exquisite angular resolution and sensitivity of JWST is opening a new window for our understanding of the Universe. In nearby galaxies, JWST observations are revolutionizing our understanding of the first phases of star formation and the dusty interstellar medium. Nineteen local galaxies spanning a range of properties and morphologies across the star-forming main sequence have been observed as part of the PHANGS-JWST Cycle 1 Treasury program at spatial scales of $\sim$5-50pc. Here, we describe pjpipe, an image processing pipeline developed for the PHANGS-JWST program that wraps around and extends the official JWST pipeline. We release this pipeline to the community as it contains a number of tools generally useful for JWST NIRCam and MIRI observations. Particularly for extended sources, pjpipe products provide significant improvements over mosaics from the MAST archive in terms of removing instrumental noise in NIRCam data, background flux matching, and calibration of relative and absolute astrometry. We show that slightly smoothing F2100W MIRI data to 0.9" (degrading the resolution by about 30 percent) reduces the noise by a factor of $\approx$3. We also present the first public release (DR1.0.1) of the pjpipe processed eight-band 2-21 $\mu$m imaging for all nineteen galaxies in the PHANGS-JWST Cycle 1 Treasury program. An additional 55 galaxies will soon follow from a new PHANGS-JWST Cycle 2 Treasury program.
We present an unbiased $\lambda$ 3 mm spectral line survey (between 84.5 and 115.8 GHz), conducted by the Purple Mountain Observatory 13.7 meter radio telescope, together with updated modeling results, towards the carbon-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch star, IRC+10216 (CW Leo). A total of 75 spectral lines (96 transitions) are detected, and identified to arise from 19 molecules: C$_2$H, $l$-C$_3$H, C$_4$H, CN, C$_3$N, HC$_3$N, HC$_5$N, HCN, HNC, CH$_3$CN, MgNC, CO, $c$-C$_3$H$_2$, SiC$_2$, SiO, SiS, CS, C$_2$S, C$_3$S, and their isotopologues. Among them, one molecular emission line (H$^{13}$CCCN $J=13-12$) is discovered in IRC+10216 for the first time. The excitation temperature, column density, and fractional abundance of the detected species are deduced by assuming they are in local thermodynamic equilibrium. In addition, the isotopic ratios of [$^{12}$C]/[$^{13}$C], [$^{32}$S]/[$^{34}$S], [$^{28}$Si]/[$^{29}$Si], and [$^{12}$C$^{34}$S]/[$^{13}$C$^{32}$S] are obtained and found to be consistent with previous studies. Finally, we summarize all of the 106 species detected in IRC+10216 to date with their observed and modeled column densities for the convenience of future studies.
For more than 25 years, the Instituto Argentino de Radioastronom\'ia has been directing efforts from basic research and radio astronomy development to technology transfer projects around Argentina's National Space Plan and to Small and Medium Enterprises. With the surge of COVID-19, our organization's transformation accelerated, bringing new opportunities and challenges which can be applied to impact health, education, processes and businesses. In this article, we explore our efforts to bridge the gap between basic science and the needs of our society.
Understanding the magnetic fields of the Sun is essential for unraveling the underlying mechanisms driving solar activity. Integrating topological data analysis techniques into these investigations can provide valuable insights into the intricate structures of magnetic fields, enhancing our comprehension of solar activity and its implications. In this study, we explore what persistent homology can offer in the analysis of solar magnetograms, with the objective of introducing a novel tool that will serve as the foundation for further studies of magnetic structures at the solar surface. By combining various filtration methods of the persistent homology analysis, we conduct an analysis of solar magnetograms that captures the broad magnetic scene, involving a mixture of positive and negative polarities. This analysis is applied to observations of both quiet Sun and active regions, taken with Hinode/SOT and SDO/HMI, respectively. Our primary focus is on analyzing the properties of the spatial structures and features of the magnetic fields identified through these techniques. The results show that persistent diagrams can encode the spatial structural complexity of the magnetic flux of active regions by identifying the isolated, connected, and interacting features. They facilitate the classification of active regions based on their morphology and the detection and quantification of interacting structures of opposing polarities, such as $\delta$-spots. The small-scale events in the quiet Sun, such as magnetic flux cancellation and emergence, are also revealed in persistent diagrams and can be studied by observing the evolution of the plots and tracking the relevant features.
We propose an extended formalism for the spectral broadening function (BF) based on the multiplication rule of block matrices. The formalism, which we named the binary broadening function (BBF), can produce decomposed BFs for individual components of a binary star system by using two spectral templates. The decomposed BFs can be used to derive precise rotational profiles and radial velocities for individual components. We test the BBF on simulated spectra and actual observational spectra to show that the method is feasible on spectroscopic binaries, even when the spectral lines of two stellar components are heavily blended. To demonstrate the capability of the method, we conduct a simulation of `sketching' (imaging) a transiting circumbinary exoplanet using the BBF. We also discuss issues of implementation such as the variation of BBF with biased templates, the pros and cons of BBF, and cases when the method is not applicable.
Context: Environmental soft protons have affected the performance of the X-ray detectors on board Chandra and XMM-Newton, and they pose a threat for future high energy astrophysics missions with larger aperture, such as ATHENA. Aims: We aim at estimating soft proton fluxes at the ATHENA detectors independently of any modelisation of the external fluxes in the space environment.We analysed the background data measured by eROSITA on board SRG, and with the help of simulations we defined a range of values for the potential count-rate of quiet-time soft protons focused through the mirror shells. We used it to derive an estimate of soft proton fluxes at the ATHENA detectors, assuming ATHENA in the same L2-orbit as SRG. Results: The scaling, based on the computed proton transmission yields of the optics and optical/thermal filters of eROSITA and ATHENA, indicates that the soft proton induced WFI and X-IFU backgrounds could be expected close to the requirement. Conclusions: No soft proton fluxes detrimental to the observations have been suffered by eROSITA during its all-sky survey in orbit around L2. Regardless of where ATHENA will be placed (L1 or L2), our analysis suggests that increasing somewhat the thickness of the WFI optical blocking filter, e.g. by 30%, would help to reduce the soft proton flux onto the detector, in case the planned magnetic diverters perform worse than expected due to soft proton neutralisation at the mirror level.
We answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about the Hellings and Downs correlation curve -- the "smoking-gun" signature that pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) have detected gravitational waves (GWs). Many of these questions arise from inadvertently applying intuition about the effects of GWs on LIGO-like detectors to the case of pulsar timing, where not all of that intuition applies. This is because Earth-based detectors, like LIGO and Virgo, have arms that are short (km scale) compared to the wavelengths of the GWs that they detect (approximately 100-10,000 km). In contrast, PTAs respond to GWs whose wavelengths (tens of light-years) are much shorter than their arms (a typical PTA pulsar is hundreds to thousands of light-years from Earth). To demonstrate this, we calculate the time delay induced by a passing GW along an Earth-pulsar baseline (a "one-arm, one-way" detector) and compare it in the "short-arm" (LIGO-like) and "long-arm" (PTA) limits. This provides qualitative and quantitative answers to many questions about the Hellings and Downs curve. The resulting FAQ sheet should help in understanding the "evidence for GWs" recently announced by several PTA collaborations.
COSINE-100 is a dark matter direct detection experiment with 106 kg NaI(Tl) as the target material. 210Pb and daughter isotopes are a dominant background in the WIMP region of interest and are detected via beta decay and alpha decay. Analysis of the alpha channel complements the background model as observed in the beta/gamma channel. We present the measurement of the quenching factors and Monte Carlo simulation results and activity quantification of the alpha decay components of the COSINE-100 NaI(Tl) crystals. The data strongly indicate that the alpha decays probabilistically undergo two possible quenching factors but require further investigation. The fitted results are consistent with independent measurements and improve the overall understanding of the COSINE-100 backgrounds. Furthermore, the half-life of 216Po has been measured to be 143.4 +/- 1.2 ms, which is consistent with and more precise than recent measurements.
Recent advances in far-infrared detector technology have led to increases in raw sensitivity of more than an order of magnitude over previous state-of-the-art detectors. With such sensitivity, photon noise becomes the dominant noise component, even when using cryogenically cooled optics, unless a method of restricting the spectral bandpass is employed. The leading instrument concept features reflecting diffraction gratings which post-disperse the light that has been modulated by a polarizing Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) onto a detector array, thereby reducing the photon noise on each detector. This paper discusses the development of a cryogenic (4 K) diffraction grating spectrometer which operates over the wavelength range from 285 - 500 $\mu$m and was used to post-disperse the output from a room-temperature polarizing FTS. Measurements of the grating spectral response and diffraction efficiency are presented as a function of both wavelength and polarization to characterize the instrumental performance.
Owing to the exceptional sensitivity of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, we predict that its upcoming LSST images will be contaminated by numerous flares from centimeter-scale space debris in Low Earth Orbits (LEO). Millisecond-duration flares from these LEO objects are expected to produce detectable image streaks of a few arcseconds with AB magnitudes brighter than 14.
In this research contribution, we explore the relativistic quantum dynamics of spin-0 scalar particles within a curved space-time background containing topological defects, while incorporating the effects of rainbow gravity. The Klein Gordon equation is solved in a spherically symmetrical Godel type space time, considering the presence of topological defects and the influence of rainbow gravity, described by the line element:
We reassess the problem of symmetry restoration induced by observers' acceleration within the context of interacting quantum field theories in Minkowski spacetime. We argue that the imposition of a frame-independent renormalization condition negates any observed symmetry restoration by a Rindler observer. Technically, we compute the one-loop effective potential of a "lambda phi^4" theory for an accelerated observer, employing a distinct methodology from prior investigations. Emphasizing the intricacies of the model's renormalization, the analysis offers novel insights into the interplay between acceleration and spontaneous symmetry breaking in quantum field theory.
The low-temperature thermodynamics of near-extremal rotating black holes has recently been revisited to incorporate one-loop contributions that are dominant in this regime. We discuss these quantum corrections to the gravitational path integral for asymptotically Anti de-Sitter black holes in four and five dimensions. In four dimensions we explicitly consider Kerr-AdS$_4$, Kerr-Newman-AdS$_4$ and the rotating black hole in ${\cal N}=4$ gauged supergravity with two scalars and two electric charges turned on. In five dimensions we explicitly address the asymptotically flat Myers-Perry black hole and the Kerr-AdS$_5$ black hole. In every case we find that tensor modes contribute $\frac{3}{2} \log T_{\rm Hawking}$ to the low-temperature thermodynamics. We identify the root cause of this universality in two facts: (i) the universal presence of a $SL(2,\mathbb{R})$ subgroup of isometries in the near-horizon geometry and (ii) a set of cancellations in the Lichnerowicz operator. We show that these two conditions hold for near-extremal black holes in asymptotically flat and asymptotically AdS spacetimes of various dimensions.
We study the thermodynamic topology of a static, a charged static and a charged, rotating black hole in $f(R)$ gravity. For charged static black holes, we work in $2$ ensembles: fixed charge$(q)$ ensemble and fixed potential$(\phi)$ ensemble. For charged, rotating black hole, $4$ different types of ensembles are considered: fixed $(q, J)$, fixed $(\phi, J)$, fixed $(q,\Omega)$ and fixed $(\phi,\Omega)$ ensemble, where $J$ and $\Omega$ denotes the angular momentum and the angular frequency respectively. Using the generalized off-shell free energy method, where the black holes are treated as topological defects in their thermodynamic spaces, we study the thermodynamic topology of these black holes via the computation of winding numbers at the defects. We find that the topological charge for a static black hole is always $-1$ regardless of the values of the thermodynamic parameters. For a charged static black hole, in the fixed charge ensemble, the topological charge is found to be zero. Contrastingly, in the fixed $\phi$ ensemble, the topological charge is found to be $-1.$ For charged static black holes, in both the ensembles, the topological charge is independent of the thermodynamic parameters. For charged, rotating black hole, in fixed $(q, J)$ ensemble, the topological charge is found to be $1.$ In $(\phi, J)$ ensemble, we find the topological charge to be $1.$ In case of fixed $(q,\Omega)$ ensemble, the topological charge is $1$ or $0$ depending on the value of the scalar curvature($R$). In fixed $(\Omega,\phi)$ ensemble, the topological charge is $-1,0$ or $1$ depending on the values of $R,\Omega$ and $\phi.$
In this work, we investigate wormhole solutions through the utilization of gravitational decoupling, employing the Minimal Geometric Deformation (MGD) procedure within the framework of Trace-Free Gravity. We base our investigation on static and spherically symmetric Morris-Thorne traversable wormholes, considering both constant and variable equation of state parameters. We derive the field equations and extract the shape function for each scenario. Moreover, we explore the gravitational decoupling technique and examine various forms of energy density for both a smeared and particle-like gravitational source, encompassing the realm of noncommutative geometry and a statically charged fluid. We also examinethe wormhole geometry through the utilization of embedding diagrams. Through our analysis, we uncover a violation of the Null Energy Condition (NEC). To conclude, we employ the Gauss-Bonnet theorem to determine the weak deflection angle for the wormhole configurations.
Firewalls in black holes are easiest to understand by imposing time reversal invariance, together with a unitary evolution law. The best approach seems to be to split up the time span of a black hole into short periods, during which no firewalls can be detected by any observer. Then, gluing together subsequent time periods, firewalls seem to appear, but they can always be transformed away. At all times we need a Hilbert space of a finite dimension, as long as particles far separated from the black hole are ignored. Our conclusion contradicts other findings, particularly a recent paper by Strauss and Whiting. Indeed, the firewall transformation removes the entanglement between very early and very late in- and out-particles, in a far-from-trivial way.
In this work we establish the analog at background level between the Created Cold Dark Matter (CCDM) model and diverse dark energy (DE) models. We find that for a barotropic or linear equation of state (EoS) for the DE, $p=w \rho$, and standard matter sector the corresponding CCDM model is described by the same functional structure of the ratio of particle production, $\Gamma$. For a different EoS the functional form of the $\Gamma$ term is not longer maintained, however, in the case of a polytropic EoS given by the Chaplygin gas the resulting $\Gamma$ term can be written as the one obtained in the barotropic case under certain considerations.
In this article we obtain new rigidity results for spacelike submanifolds of arbitrary codimension in Generalized Robertson-Walker spacetimes. Namely, under appropriate assumptions such as parabolicity we prove by means of some maximum principles that they must be contained in a spacelike slice. This enables us to characterize extremal and weakly trapped submanifolds in these ambient spacetimes.
We analyse the deformations of a cylindrical elastic body resulting from displacements in a varying gravitational field.
The decay behavior of a massless scalar field in the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime is well-known to follow an exponential law at asymptotically late times $t \rightarrow \infty$. In contrast, a massive scalar field in the asymptotically flat Schwarzschild background exhibits a decay with oscillatory (sinusoidal) tails enveloped by a power law. We demonstrate that the asymptotic decay of a massive scalar field in the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime is exponential. Specifically, if $\mu M \gg 1$, where $\mu$ and $M$ represent the mass of the field and the black hole, respectively, the exponential decay is also oscillatory. Conversely, in the regime of small $\mu M$, the decay is purely exponential without oscillations. This distinction in decay regimes underscores the fact that, for asymptotically de Sitter spacetimes, a particular branch of quasinormal modes, instead of a ``tail'', governs the decay at asymptotically late times. There are two branches of quasinormal modes for the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime: the modes of an asymptotically flat black hole corrected by a non-zero $\Lambda$-term, and the modes of an empty de Sitter spacetime corrected by the presence of a black hole. We show that the latter branch is responsible for the asymptotic decay. When $\mu M$ is small, the modes of pure de Sitter spacetime are purely imaginary (non-oscillatory), while at intermediate and large $\mu M$ they have both real and imaginary parts, what produces the two pictures of the asymptotic decay. In addition, we show that asymptotic decay is similar in nature in higher dimensional spacetimes.
In recent study in Ref.~\cite{Dashi} (arXiv: 2401.12525), we have introduced a method aimed at calculating the weak-field asymptotic deflection angle. This method offers an efficient computational approach that avoids the complexities of integration and cumbersome iterative procedures typically associated with deflection angle calculations. In the present paper, we expand upon this method to encompass finite-distance deflection scenarios, wherein it is postulated that both the distances from the source to the lens and from the observer to the lens are finite. Importantly, this extension naturally encompasses the case of a lens in asymptotically non-flat spacetime. As an illustrative example, we apply this method to compute the gravitational deflection angle of massive particles in Kerr spacetime while accounting for the effects of finite distance.
We analyse a n-dimensional Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) quantization framework, characterized by a non-commutative nature of the configurational variables. First, we identify a set of states which are maximally localized only along a single direction, at the expense of being less localized in all the other ones. Subsequently, in order to recover information about localization on the whole configuration space, we use the only state of the theory which exhibits maximal localization simultaneously in every direction to construct a satisfactory quasi-position representation, by virtue of a suitable translational operator. The resultant quantum framework is then applied to model the dynamics of the Bianchi I cosmology. The corresponding Wheeler-DeWitt equation is reduced to Schr\"odinger dynamics for the two anisotropy degrees of freedom, using a WKB representation for the volume-like variable of the Universe, in accordance with the Vilenkin scenario. The main result of our cosmological implementation of the constructed quantum theory demonstrates how the dynamics of a wave packet peaked at some point in the configuration space represented in the quasi-position variables, favours as the most probable configuration exactly the initial one for a relatively long time, if compared with the ordinary quantum theory. This preference arises from the distinct behavioral dynamics exhibited by wave packets in the two quantum theories.
We provide a deformation quantization, in the sense of Rieffel, for \textit{all} globally hyperbolic spacetimes with a Poisson structure. The Poisson structures have to satisfy Fedosov type requirements in order for the deformed product to be associative. We apply the novel deformation to quantum field theories and their respective states and we prove that the deformed state (i.e.\ a state in non-commutative spacetime) has a singularity structure resembling Minkowski, i.e.\ is \textit{Hadamard}, if the undeformed state is Hadamard. This proves that the Hadamard condition, and hence the quantum field theoretical implementation of the equivalence principle is a general concept that holds in spacetimes with quantum features (i.e. a non-commutative spacetime).
We sketch the construction of a quantum model of 3 dimensional de Sitter space, based on the Covariant Entropy Principle and the observation that semi-classical physics suggests the possibility of a consistent theory of a finite number of unstable massive particles with purely gravitational interactions. Our model is holographic, finite, unitary, causal, plausibly exhibits fast scrambling, and qualitatively reproduces features of semi-classical de Sitter physics. In an appendix we outline some calculations that might lead to further tests of the model.
K\'arolyh\'azy's original proposal, suggesting that space-time fluctuations could be a source of decoherence in space, faced a significant challenge due to an unexpectedly high emission of radiation (13 orders of magnitude more than what was observed in the latest experiment). To address this issue, we reevaluated K\'arolyh\'azy's assumption that the stochastic metric fluctuation must adhere to a wave equation. By considering more general correlation functions of space-time fluctuations, we resolve the problem and consequently revive the aforementioned proposal.
Massive Brans-Dicke (BD) theory is among the simplest general relativity extensions. It is commonly found as the weak-field limit of other gravitational theories. Here we do a detailed post-Newtonian analysis of massive BD theories. We start by expanding the massive BD field equations following the Will-Nodtvedt Parameterized-Post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism, without point-particle approximations. A single potential that is not present in the standard PPN formalism is found. This new potential hinders immediate PPN conclusions. To proceed, we do a complete first-order post-Newtonian analysis and explicitly derive all the conserved quantities. After demanding that there exists a Newtonian limit by requiring the BD mass to be sufficiently large, we find, as expected, that $\gamma = 1$; but there is no effective $\beta$ parameter that can have the same physical role of the standard $\beta$ in PPN formalism. All the others standard PPN parameters can be extended to the massive BD case without issues and are shown to have the same values of general relativity. At last, we consider numerical relations on the periastron advance and the BD mass in two different physical contexts, the orbit of Mercury about the Sun and the orbit of the star S2 about the expected supermassive black hole in the Milky Way.
We introduce a dynamical dark energy model wherein quintessence interacts with both the Gauss-Bonnet invariant and dark matter. Initially, the Gauss-Bonnet invariant stabilizes the quintessence at a fixed point, resulting in a negligible density of dark energy. Subsequently, the conformal coupling to dark matter triggers the evolution of dark energy. This model proposes an explanation for the initial absence of dark energy in radiation era and its later emergence during the matter-dominated era, achieving a magnitude comparable to dark matter in the present epoch. In this scenario, the Gauss-Bonnet term does not directly influence late-time cosmic evolution. Our model aligns with the assumption that the speed of gravitational wave is infinitesimally close to the speed of light.
The post-Newtonian orbital effects induced by the mass quadrupole and spin octupole moments of an isolated, oblate spheroid of constant density that is rigidly and uniformly rotating on the motion of a test particle are analytically worked out for an arbitrary orbital configuration and without any preferred orientation of the body's spin axis. The resulting expressions are specialized to the cases of (a) equatorial and (b) polar orbits. The opportunity offered by a hypothetical new spacecraft moving around Jupiter along a Juno-like highly elliptical, polar orbit to measure them is preliminarily studied. Although more difficult to be practically implemented, also the case of a less elliptical orbit is considered since it yields much larger figures for the relativistic effects of interest. The possibility of using the S stars orbiting the supermassive black hole in Sgr A$^\ast$ at the Galactic Center as probes to potentially constrain some parameters of the predicted extended mass distribution surrounding the hole by means of the aforementioned orbital effects is briefly examined.
We propose a class of models, in which stable gravastar with large surface redshift becomes a solution. In recent decades, gravastars have become a plausible substitute for black holes. Researchers have explored stable gravastar models in various alternative gravity theories, in addition to the conventional framework of general relativity. In this paper, we present a stellar model within the framework of Einstein's gravity with two scalar fields, in accordance with the conjecture proposed by Mazur and Mottola [Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. \textbf{101} (2004), 9545-9550]. In the model, the two scalar fields become non-dynamical by imposing constraints in order to avoid ghosts. The gravastar comprises two distinct regions, namely: (a) the interior region and (b) the exterior region. We assume the interior region consists of the de Sitter spacetime, and the exterior region is the Schwarzschild one. The two regions are connected with each other by the shell region. On the shell, we assume that the metric is given by a polynomial function of the radial coordinate $r$. The function has six constants. These constants are fixed by the smooth junction conditions, i.e., the interior region with the interior layer of the shell and the exterior region with the exterior layer of the shell. From these boundary conditions, we are able to write the coefficients of the scalar fields in terms of the interior radius and exterior radius. To clarify the philosophy of this study, we also give two examples of spacetimes that asymptote as the de Sitter spacetime for small $r$ and as the Schwarzschild spacetime for large $r$. Exploration is focused on the physical attribute of the shell region, specifically, its proper length.
We study holographic renormalization group (RG) flows perturbed by a shock wave in dimensions $d\geq 2$. The flows are obtained by deforming a holographic conformal field theory with a relevant operator, altering the interior geometry from AdS-Schwarzschild to a more general Kasner universe near the spacelike singularity. We introduce null matter in the form of a shock wave into this geometry and scrutinize its impact on the near-horizon and interior dynamics of the black hole. Using out-of-time-order correlators, we find that the scrambling time increases as we increase the strength of the deformation, whereas the butterfly velocity displays a non-monotonic behavior. We examine other observables that are more sensitive to the black hole interior, such as the thermal $a$-function and the entanglement velocity. Notably, the $a$-function experiences a discontinuous jump across the shock wave, signaling an instantaneous loss of degrees of freedom due to the infalling matter. This jump is interpreted as a `cosmological time skip' which arises from an infinitely boosted length contraction. The entanglement velocity exhibits similar dependence to the butterfly velocity as we vary the strength of the deformation. Lastly, we extend our analyses to a model where the interior geometry undergoes an infinite sequence of bouncing Kasner epochs.
In this paper we present a number of examples of exact solutions for the Friedmann cosmological equation for metric $ F(R) $ gravity model. Emphasis was placed on the possibility of obtaining exact time dependences of the main cosmological physical quantities: scale factor, scalar curvature, Hubble rate and function $ F(R) $. For this purpose an ansatz was used to reduce the Friedmann equation to an ordinary differential equation for function $ F = F(H^{2})$. This made it possible to obtain a number of exact solutions, both already known and new.
We propose a connection between the newly formulated Virasoro minimal string and the well-established $(2,2m-1)$ minimal string by deriving the string equation of the Virasoro minimal string using the expansion of its density of states in powers of $E^{m+1/2}$. This string equation is expressed as a power series involving double-scaled multicritical matrix models, which are dual to $(2,2m-1)$ minimal strings. This reformulation of Virasoro minimal strings enables us to employ matrix theory tools to compute its $n$-boundary correlators. We analyze the scaling behavior of $n$-boundary correlators and quantum volumes $V^{(b)}_{0,n}(\ell_1,\dots,\ell_n)$ in the JT gravity limit.
We investigate several phenomenological implications of the Weak Gravity Conjecture (WGC). We find that the WGC implies that the SM neutrinos must be electrically neutral, that the electric charge in the SM must be quantized, and that the photon must be massless. In addition, we use the WGC to set lower bounds on the electric charge of milli-charged particles (mCP), the gauge coupling of several $U(1)$ extensions of the SM, their kinetic mixing parameter with the SM $U(1)_{\text{EM}}$, and the axion couplings to photons and fermions. We also set an upper bound on the lifetime of the proton.
Simulating realistic time-domain observations of gravitational waves (GWs) and GW detector glitches can help in advancing GW data analysis. Simulated data can be used in downstream tasks by augmenting datasets for signal searches, balancing data sets for machine learning, and validating detection schemes. In this work, we present Conditional Derivative GAN (cDVGAN), a novel conditional model in the Generative Adversarial Network framework for simulating multiple classes of time-domain observations that represent gravitational waves (GWs) and detector glitches. cDVGAN can also generate generalized hybrid samples that span the variation between classes through interpolation in the conditioned class vector. cDVGAN introduces an additional player into the typical 2-player adversarial game of GANs, where an auxiliary discriminator analyzes the first-order derivative time-series. Our results show that this provides synthetic data that better captures the features of the original data. cDVGAN conditions on three classes, two denoised from LIGO blip and tomte glitch events from its 3rd observing run (O3), and the third representing binary black hole (BBH) mergers. Our proposed cDVGAN outperforms 4 different baseline GAN models in replicating the features of the three classes. Specifically, our experiments show that training convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with our cDVGAN-generated data improves the detection of samples embedded in detector noise beyond the synthetic data from other state-of-the-art GAN models. Our best synthetic dataset yields as much as a 4.2% increase in area-under-the-curve (AUC) performance compared to synthetic datasets from baseline GANs. Moreover, training the CNN with hybrid samples from our cDVGAN outperforms CNNs trained only on the standard classes, when identifying real samples embedded in LIGO detector background (4% AUC improvement for cDVGAN).
I present an overview of the calculations of the isovector axial vector form factor of the nucleon, $G_A(Q^2)$, using lattice QCD. Based on a comparison of results from various collaborations, a case is made that lattice results are now consistent within 10\%. A similar level of uncertainty is found also in the axial charge $g_A^{u-d}$, the mean squared axial charge radius, $\langle r_A^2 \rangle$, the induced pseudoscalar charge $g_P^\ast$, and the pion-nucleon coupling $g_{\pi NN}$. These lattice results for $G_A(Q^2)$ are already compatible with those obtained from the recent MINER$\nu$A experiment but lie 2-3$\sigma$ higher than the phenomenological extraction from the old $\nu$-deuterium bubble chamber scattering data for $Q^2 > 0.3$~GeV${}^2$. Fits to our data show that the dipole ansatz does not have enough parameters to parameterize the form factor over the range $0 \le Q^2 \le 1$~GeV${}^2$, whereas even a $z^2$ truncation of the $z$-expansion or a low order Pad\'e are sufficient. Looking ahead, lattice QCD calculations will provide increasingly precise results over the range $0 \le Q^2 \lesssim 1$~GeV${}^2$, and MINER$\nu$A-like experiments will extend the range to $Q^2 \sim 2$~GeV${}^2$ or higher. To increase precision of lattice data to the percent level, new developments are needed to address two related issues: the exponentially falling signal-to-noise ratio in all nucleon correlation functions and removing excited state contributions. Nevertheless, even with the current methodology, significant reduction in errors is expected over the next few years with higher statistics data on more ensembles closer to the physical point.
We explore the EMC effects of gluons through heavy quark production in deep inelastic scattering (DIS) and short range correlation (SRC) from sub-threshold photoproduction of the $J/\psi$. We perform an effective field theory analysis of gluon parton distribution functions in nuclei, and derive a linear relation between the slope of reduced cross section, which reflects the magnitude of gluon EMC effect, and the $J/\psi$ production cross section at the photon energy $E_\gamma = 7.0\,\textrm{GeV}$ in the nucleus rest frame which characterizes the SRC. This finding is confirmed by a numerical calculation using the available phenomenological results for gluon parton distribution functions. Examining this linear relation by the forthcoming experimental data on electron-ion collider allows to decipher nuclear effects of gluon distributions and gain a better understanding of the substructure in bound nuclei.
Within the confining color flux tube picture, we assess the color electric field generated by quark-antiquark pairs within the framework of the Schwinger model and estimate its impact on the chiral condensate. We observe differences in the distribution of the color flux tube generated by quark-antiquark pairs at different separation distances, leading to discrepancies in the partial restoration of chiral symmetry. Furthermore, we suggest incorporating the color magnetic field in the calculation of chiral condensate, leading to quantum entanglement effects, and proceed to compute the entanglement entropy. We observe that the entanglement entropy increases with the distance of the color source (the separation distance between quark and anti-quark), and the magnitude of the color electric field and chiral condensate restoration after spatial integration also increases with the distance of the color source. Then, we try to provide a qualitative explanation for the existence of these phenomena.
We compute the suppression of Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S), and Upsilon(3S) states in p-Pb collisions relative to pp collisions, including nuclear parton distribution function (nPDF) effects, coherent energy loss, momentum broadening, and final-state interactions in the quark-gluon plasma. We employ the EPPS21 nPDFs and calculate the uncertainty resulting from variation over the associated error sets. To compute coherent energy loss and momentum broadening, we follow the approach of Arleo, Peigne, and collaborators. The 3+1D viscous hydrodynamical background evolution of the quark-gluon plasma is generated by anisotropic hydrodynamics. The in-medium suppression of bottomonium in the quark-gluon plasma is computed using a next-to-leading-order open quantum system framework formulated within potential nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics. We find that inclusion of all these effects provides a reasonable description of experimental data from the ALICE, ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb collaborations for the suppression of Upsilon(1S), Upsilon(2S), and Upsilon(3S) as a function of both transverse momentum and rapidity.
We present analytic expressions for three-flavor neutrino oscillations in presence of invisible neutrino decay and matter effects. Using the well-known Cayley-Hamilton formalism, the leading-order terms are derived for oscillation probabilities in all major channels assuming the neutrino mass eigenstate $\nu_3$ to decay into sterile neutrinos. Our work extends and complements previous studies utilizing the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, providing the series expansions for $\nu_e \rightarrow \nu_e$, $\nu_e \rightarrow \nu_\mu$, $\nu_e \rightarrow \nu_\tau$, $\nu_\mu \rightarrow \nu_\mu$, $\nu_\mu \rightarrow \nu_\tau$ and $\nu_\tau \rightarrow \nu_\tau$. The accuracy of the analytical formulas is investigated by comparing the results with numerically calculated probabilities. We also comment on the implications on unitarity violation.
A novel method to treat effects from evanescent operators in next-to-leading order (NLO) computations is introduced. The approach allows, besides further simplifications, to discard evanescent-to-physical mixing contributions in NLO calculations. The method is independent of the treatments of $\gamma_5$ and can therefore be combined with different renormalization schemes. We illustrate the utility of this result by reproducing literature results of two-loop anomalous dimension matrices for both $|\Delta F| = 1$ and $|\Delta F| = 2$ transitions.
We assess proton decay signatures in the simplest viable $SU(5)$ model with regard to constraints on parameters governing the Standard Model fermion mass spectrum. Experimental signals for all eight two-body proton decay processes result from exchange of two gauge bosons, a single scalar leptoquark, or their combination. Consequently, it enables us to delve into an in-depth anatomy of proton decay modes and anticipate future signatures. Our findings dictate that observing a proton decay into $p\to\pi^0e^+$ indicates gauge boson mediation, with the potential for observation of $p\to\eta^0e^+$ mode. Alternatively, if decay is through $p\to K^+\overline\nu$ process, it is mediated by a scalar leptoquark, possibly allowing the observation of $p\to\pi^0\mu^+$. Detection of both $p\to\pi^0 e^+$ and $p\to K^+\overline\nu$ could enhance $p\to\pi^0\mu^+$ through constructive interference. The model predicts inaccessibility of $p\to\pi^+\overline\nu$, $p\to\eta^0\mu^+$, $p\to K^0e^+$, and $p\to K^0\mu^+$, regardless of the dominant mediation type, in the coming decades. In summary, through a comprehensive analysis of proton decay signals, gauge coupling unification, and fermion masses and mixing, we precisely constrain the parameter space of the $SU(5)$ model in question.
In this note we refute the critique raised in a preprint by J.~Berger and A.~Bhoonah~\cite{Berger:2023muj} on the method used in our earlier paper, Beutter et al.~\cite{Beutter:2018xfx}, to calculate the electromagnetic fields induced by an axion background in the presence of a magnetic field.
We present a Fortran 77/95 code capable of computing QCD corrections in deep inelastic scattering (DIS). The code uses the Projection-to-Born method to combine an exclusive DIS + 1 jet calculation with the inclusive DIS structure functions, thereby obtaining fully differential DIS predictions at $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_{\mathrm{s}}^2)$. The code is lightweight and fast, and yet includes the most common functionalities found in typical perturbative QCD programs, like automatic renormalisation and factorisation scale uncertainties, options to run and combine multiple seeds, and interfaces to FastJet and LHAPDF. Due to the underlying exclusive DIS + 1 jet code, the program also provides stable results in the infrared, relevant for extracting logarithmic coefficients for analytic resummations. As a by-product the code provides access to the DIS structure functions and (reduced) cross sections up to $\mathcal{O}(\alpha_{\mathrm{s}}^3)$
We investigate the effects of the asymmetric pulse shapes on electron-positron pair production in three distinct fields: chirp-free, small frequency chirp, and large frequency chirp fields via the real-time Dirac-Heisenberg-Wigner formalism. Our findings reveal the disappearance of interference effects with shorter falling pulse length, and the peak is concentrated on the left side of the momentum spectrum. As the falling pulse length extends, an incomplete multi-ring structure appears in the momentum spectrum. The number density of particles are very sensitive to the asymmetry of the pulse. With a long falling pulse, the number density can be significantly enhanced by over four orders of magnitude when certain frequency chirps are utilized. These results highlight the impact of the effective dynamically assisted mechanism and the frequency chirp on pair creation.
The detection of dark matter is a challenging problem in modern physics. The ultralight scalar and axion dark matter could induce the oscillation of the nuclear charge radii and then oscillate the atomic transition frequency by interacting with standard model particles. We compute the differential phase shift caused by the scalar and axion dark matter in a pair of separated atom interferometers and give the proposed constraints on the scalar dark matter coupling parameters $d_g$ and $d_{\hat{m}}$ as well as the axion dark matter coupling parameter $1/f_a$. Our results are expected to improve the current detection level and complement with other experiments.
In the context of a McLerran-Venugopalan (MV) model for a large nucleus, coherent scattering of a virtual photon on that nucleus is evaluated in the $A_-=0$ gauge, the gauge appropriate for the target nucleus. The evaluation of the scattering in $A_-=0$ gauge is very intricate compared to the usual $A_+=0$ gauge evaluation natural for the scattering process, but has the advantage of directly giving the scattering in terms of a partonic description of the nucleus. In the limit where a tagged forward jet puts the dipole-nucleus scattering in the saturation regime the coherent reactions are equal to the inelastic reactions. In terms of the nuclear wave function the coherent reactions come from color singlet and zero total transverse momentum quark-antiquark pairs in the wave function and in the saturation regime the nuclear wave function is a coherent state for these pairs. In the saturation region half of all quarks (or antiquarks) come from zero momentum and color charge pairs.
Employing the recently developed EPOS4HQ event generator, we study the production of different heavy-flavor mesons in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. The transverse momentum spectra, yield ratio, nuclear modification factor, and elliptic flow can be well described in the EPOS4HQ framework. We furthermore analyze the processes which modify these observables as compared to $pp$ collisions and are at the origin of the experimentally determined nuclear modification factor $R_{AA}$.
We apply the Euler transformation to accelerate the convergence of the QCD perturbative series with the aim to determine the strong coupling $\alpha_s$ in terms of the total $\tau$-decay rate $r_\tau$. The variation of the result with the order of the QCD perturbation theory is small and comparable with the uncertainties of $r_\tau$. We also present an estimate of a range of the yet unknown 5th and 6th order coefficients $k_5$ and $k_6$ of the Adler function.
We compute the transverse and longitudinal diffractive structure functions to full next-to-leading order accuracy in the dipole picture of deep inelastic scattering. Our calculation uses the standard light-cone perturbation theory method for the partonic content of the virtual photon, together with the Color Glass Condensate description of the target color field. Our result includes as a subset the $q\bar{q}g$ contribution calculated earlier. We show that there is a rapidity divergence that can be factorized into the BK/JIMWLK evolution of the target Wilson lines, and that all other divergences cancel.
Prompt photons are created in the early stages of heavy ion collisions and traverse the QGP medium without any interaction. Therefore, photon-triggered jets can be used to study the jet quenching in the QGP medium. In this work, photon-triggered jets are studied through different jet and jet substructure observables for different collision systems and energies using the JETSCAPE framework. Since the multistage evolution used in the JETSCAPE framework is adequate to describe a wide range of experimental observables simultaneously using the same parameter tune, we use the same parameters tuned for jet and leading hadron studies. The same isolation criteria used in the experimental analysis are used to identify prompt photons for better comparison. For the first time, high-accuracy JETSCAPE results are compared with multi-energy LHC and RHIC measurements to better understand the deviations observed in prior studies. This study highlights the importance of multistage evolution for the simultaneous description of experimental observables through different collision systems and energies using a single parameter tune.
Dark matter (DM) with masses of order an electronvolt or below can have a non-zero coupling to electromagnetism. In these models, the ambient DM behaves as a new classical source in Maxwell's equations, which can excite potentially detectable electromagnetic (EM) fields in the laboratory. We describe a new proposal for using integrated photonics to search for such DM candidates with masses in the 0.1 eV - few eV range. This approach offers a wide range of wavelength-scale devices like resonators and waveguides that can enable a novel and exciting experimental program. In particular, we show how refractive index-modulated resonators, such as grooved or periodically-poled microrings, or patterned slabs, support EM modes with efficient coupling to DM. When excited by the DM, these modes can be read out by coupling the resonators to a waveguide that terminates on a micron-scale-sized single photon detector, such as a single pixel of an ultra-quiet charge-coupled device or a superconducting nanowire. We then estimate the sensitivity of this experimental concept in the context of axion-like particle and dark photon models of DM, showing that the scaling and confinement advantages of nanophotonics may enable exploration of new DM parameter space.
The recent tension between local and early measurements of the Hubble constant can be explained in a particle physics context. A mechanism is presented where this tension is alleviated due to the presence of a Majoron, arising from the spontaneous breaking of Lepton Number. The lightness of the active neutrinos is consistently explained. Moreover, this mechanism is shown to be embeddable in the Minimal (Lepton) Flavour Violating context, providing a correct description of fermion masses and mixings, and protecting the flavour sector from large deviations from the Standard Model predictions. A QCD axion is also present to solve the Strong CP problem. The Lepton Number and the Peccei-Quinn symmetries naturally arise in the Minimal (Lepton) Flavour Violating setup and their spontaneous breaking is due to the presence of two extra scalar singlets. The Majoron phenomenology is also studied in detail. Decays of the heavy neutrinos and the invisible Higgs decay provide the strongest constraints in the model parameter space.
We explore the confinement-deconfinement phase transition (PT) of the first order (FO) arising in $SU(N)$ pure Yang-Mills theory, based on Polyakov loop models (PLMs), in light of the induced gravitational wave (GW) spectra. We demonstrate that the PLMs with the Haar measure term, involving models successful in QCD with $N=3$, are potentially incompatible with the large $N$ scaling for the thermodynamical quantities and the latent heat at around the criticality of the FOPT reported from the lattice simulations. We then propose a couple of models of polynomial form, which we call the 4-6 PLM (with four- and six-point interactions among the basic PL fields which have center charge 1) and 4-8 PLM (with four- and eight-point interactions), and discuss how such models can naturally arise in the presence of a heavy PL with charge 2. We show that those models give the consistent thermodynamical and large $N$ properties at around the criticality. The predicted GW spectra are shown to have high enough sensitivity to be probed in the future prospected interferometers such as LISA, BBO, DICIGO, and TianQin.
We study the interaction of two counter-propagating electromagnetic waves in vacuum in the Born-Infeld electrodynamics. First we investigate the Born case for linearly polarized beams, ${\bf E}\cdot{\bf B}=0$, i. e. $\mathfrak{G}^2=0$ (crossed field configuration), which is identical for Born-Infeld and Born electrodynamics; subsequently we study the general Born-Infeld case for beams which are nonlinearly polarized, $\mathfrak{G}^2\neq0$. In both cases, we show that the nonlinear field equations decouple using self-similar solutions and investigate the shock wave formation. We show that the only nonlinear solutions are exceptional travelling wave solutions which propagate with constant speed and which do not turn into shocks for our approximation. We obtain two types of exceptional wave solutions, then we numerically analyze which phase velocities correspond to the counter- or co-propagating beams and subsequently we determine the direction of propagation of the exceptional waves.
We map neutrinos to qubit and qutrit states of quantum information theory by constructing the Poincar\'e sphere using SU(2) Pauli matrices and SU(3) Gell-Mann matrices, respectively. The construction of the Poincar\'e sphere in the two-qubit system enables us to construct the Bloch matrix, which yields valuable symmetries in the Bloch vector space of two neutrino systems. By identifying neutrinos with qutrits, we calculate the measures of qutrit entanglement for neutrinos. We use SU(3) Gell-Mann matrices tensor products to construct the Poincar\'e sphere of two qutrits neutrino systems. The comparison between the entanglement measures of bipartite qubits and bipartite qutrits in the two neutrino system are shown. The result warrants a study of two qutrits entanglement in the three neutrino system.
It is challenging to build a model that can correctly and unifiedly account for the deconfinement phase transition and thermodynamics of the hot $SU(N)$ pure Yang-Mills (PYM) system, for any $N$. In this article, we slightly generalize the massive PYM model to the situation with a quasigluon mass $M_g(T)$ varying with temperature, inspired by the quasigluon model. In such a framework, we can acquire an effective potential for the temporal gauge field background by perturbative calculation, rather than adding by hand. The resulting potential works well to describe the behavior of the hot PYM system for all $N$, via the single parameter $M_g(T)$. Moreover, under the assumption of unified eigenvalue distribution, the $M_g(T)$ fitted by machine learning is found to follow $N$-universality.
Presently under construction in Lund, Sweden, the European Spallation Source (ESS) will be the world's brightest neutron source. As such, it has the potential for a particle physics program with a unique reach and which is complementary to that available at other facilities. This paper describes proposed particle physics activities for the ESS. These encompass the exploitation of both the neutrons and neutrinos produced at the ESS for high precision (sensitivity) measurements (searches).
We propose a method to explore the flavor structure of quarks and leptons with reinforcement learning. As a concrete model, we utilize a basic value-based algorithm for models with $U(1)$ flavor symmetry. By training neural networks on the $U(1)$ charges of quarks and leptons, the agent finds 21 models to be consistent with experimentally measured masses and mixing angles of quarks and leptons. In particular, an intrinsic value of normal ordering tends to be larger than that of inverted ordering, and the normal ordering is well fitted with the current experimental data in contrast to the inverted ordering. A specific value of effective mass for the neutrinoless double beta decay and a sizable leptonic CP violation induced by an angular component of flavon field are predicted by autonomous behavior of the agent. Our finding results indicate that the reinforcement learning can be a new method for understanding the flavor structure.
The Large Hadron Collider provides a unique opportunity to study quantum entanglement and violation of Bell inequalities at the highest energy available today. In this paper, we will investigate these quantum correlations with top quark pair production, which represents a system of two-qubits. The spacelike separation requirement for the two causally disconnected top quarks requires they fly relativistically away from each other, which motivates the use of the boosted top-tagging with the semi-leptonic top pair channel. Although measuring the spin polarization of the hadronic top quark is known to be challenging, our study indicates that it is feasible to reconstruct the spin density matrix of the two-qubit system using an optimal hadronic polarimeter. This is achieved with the aid of jet substructure techniques and NN-inspired reconstruction methods, which improve the mapping between subjets and quarks. We find that entanglement can already be observed at more than $5\sigma$ level with existing data, and violation of Bell inequalities may be probed above 4$\sigma$ level at the HL-LHC with 3 ab$^{-1}$ of data.
There recently appear some interesting attempts to explain the AB-effect through the interaction between the charged particle and the solenoid current mediated by the exchange of a virtual photon. A vital assumption of this approach is that AB-phase shift is proportional to the change of the interaction energy between the charged particle and solenoid along the path of the moving charge. Accordingly, they insist that the AB-phase change along a path does not depend on the gauge choice so that the AB-phase shift for a non-closed path is in principle measurable. We however notice the existence of two fairly different discussions on the interaction energy between the solenoid and a charge particle, the one is due to Boyer and the other is due to Saldanha and others. In the present paper, based on a self-contained quantum mechanical treatment of the combined system of a solenoid, a charged particle, and the quantized electromagnetic fields, we show that both interaction energies of Boyer and of Saldanha are in fact gauge invariant at least for non-singular gauge transformations but they are destined to cancel each other. Our analysis rather shows that the origin of the AB-phase can be traced back to other part of our effective Hamiltonian. Furthermore, based on the path-integral formalism with our effective Lagrangian, we explicitly demonstrate that the AB-phase shift for a non-closed path is not a gauge-variant quantity, which means that it would not correspond to direct experimental observables.
The effect of gluon condensate on the holographic entanglement entropy is investigated in an Einstein-Dilaton model at zero and finite temperature. There is a critical length for the difference of entanglement entropy between the connected and disconnected surfaces in this model, which is often regarded as a signal of phase transition. With the increase of gluon condensate, the critical length becomes small, which means the confinement becomes strong at zero temperature. At finite temperatures, results show that the effect of gluon condensate on the critical length is qualitatively consistent with the case of zero temperature. However, the temperature will slightly increase the critical length for a fixed gluon condensate, which indicates the temperature will contribute to the deconfinement of the system.
We evaluate the heavy quark momentum diffusion coefficients in a hot magnetized medium for the most general scenario of any arbitrary values of the external magnetic field. We choose to work with the systematic way of incorporating the effect of the magnetic field, by using the effective gluon and quark propagators, generalized for a hot and magnetized medium. To get gauge independent analytic form factors valid through all Landau levels, we apply the Hard Thermal Loop (HTL) technique for the resummed effective gluon propagator. The derived effective HTL gluon propagator and the generalized version of Schwinger quark propagator subsequently allow us to analytically evaluate the longitudinal and transverse momentum diffusion coefficients for charm and bottom quarks beyond the static limit. Within the static limit we also explore another way of incorporating the effect of the magnetic field, i.e. through the magnetized medium modified Debye mass and compare the results to justify the need for structural changes.
A geometric perspective of the Higgs Mechanism is presented. Using Thom's Catastrophe Theory, we study the emergence of the Higgs Mechanism as a discontinuous feature in a general family of Lagrangians obtained by varying its parameters. We show that the Lagrangian that exhibits the Higgs Mechanism arises as a first-order phase transition in this general family. We find that the Higgs Mechanism (as well as Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking) need not occur for a different choice of parameters of the Lagrangian, and further analysis of these unconventional parameter choices may yield interesting implications for beyond standard model physics.
We study the production of the dimuonium (also known as true muonium) in two and three photon fusion processes in nucleus--nucleus collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) energies. A new formalism is introduced for the production process and valuable new information is extracted which will be helpful in proposals of future experiments. We explore the phase space constraints, the reaction mechanisms, and how the dimounium decay observables might be jeopardized by other physical processes. We show that the energies available at the large hadron collider at CERN might lead to the first identification of the dimounium in a terrestrial laboratory.
Fluctuations and correlations of the net-baryon number play an important role in exploring critical phenomena in phase transitions of strongly interacting matter governed by Quantum chromodynamics (QCD). In this work, we use the parity doublet model to investigate the fluctuations of the net-baryon number density in hot and dense hadronic matter. The model accounts for chiral criticality within the mean-field approximation. We focus on the qualitative properties and systematics of the first- and second-order susceptibility of the net-baryon number density, and their ratios for nucleons of positive and negative parity, as well as their correlator. We show that the fluctuations of the positive-parity nucleon do not necessarily reflect the fluctuations of the total net-baryon number density at the phase boundary of the chiral phase transition. We also investigate the non-trivial structure of the correlator. Furthermore, we discuss and quantify the differences between the fluctuations of the net-baryon number density in the vicinity of the chiral and liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter. We indicate a possible relevance of our results with the interpretation of the experimental data on net-proton number fluctuations in heavy-ion collisions.
We explore a dynamical mechanism to realize the emergence of a global $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry and its spontaneous breaking at an intermediate scale for an axion solution to the strong CP problem. Such a dynamics is provided by a new supersymmetric QCD near the middle of conformal window that couples to fields spontaneously breaking the $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry. A large anomalous dimension of the $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ breaking fields leads to the suppression of explicit $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$-violating higher dimensional operators. The $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ breaking vacuum is generated at a scale hierarchically smaller than the Planck scale by a non-perturbative effect. The $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ breaking drives the conformal breaking, and all the new quarks become massive. The axion potential is generated by the ordinary color $SU(3)_C$ effect as the $U(1)_{\rm PQ}$ symmetry is only anomalous under the $SU(3)_C$. The saxion direction is stabilized by supersymmetry breaking and cosmologically harmless.
We present one-loop contributing for $h\rightarrow \ell \bar{\ell}\gamma$ with $\ell =\nu_{e,\mu, \tau}, e, \mu$ and $e^-e^+\rightarrow h\gamma$ in $U(1)_{B-L}$ extension of the standard models. In phenomenological results, the signal strengths for $h\rightarrow \ell \bar{\ell}\gamma$ at Large Hadron Collider and for $e^-e^+\rightarrow h\gamma$ at future Lepton Colliders are analyzed in physical parameter space for both vector and chiral $B-L$ models. We find that the contributions from neutral gauge boson $Z'$ to the signal strengths are rather small. Consequently, the effects are hard to probe at future colliders. While the impacts of charged Higgs, CP-odd Higgs in the chiral $B-L$ model on the signal strengths are significant and can be measured with the help of the initial polarization beams at future lepton colliders.
In this paper, we show that the common hard kernel of double-log-type or threshold-type factorization for certain space-like parton correlators that arise in the context of lattice parton distributions, the heavy-light Sudakov hard kernel, has linear infrared (IR) renormalon. We explicitly demonstrate how this IR renormalon correlates with ultraviolet (UV) renormalons of next-to-leading power operators in two explicit examples: threshold asymptotics of space-like quark-bilinear coefficient functions and transverse momentum dependent (TMD) factorization of quasi wave function amplitude. Theoretically, the pattern of renormalon cancellation complies with general expectations to marginal asymptotics in the UV limit. Practically, this linear renormalon explains the slow convergence of imaginary parts observed in lattice extraction of the Collins-Soper kernel and signals the relevance of next-to-leading power contributions. Fully factorized, fully controlled threshold asymptotic expansion for space-like quark-bilinear coefficient functions in coordinate and moment space has also been proposed.
We develop for the CKM and PMNS matrices a new representation with special properties. It is obtained by splitting each of these matrices into two rotations by the angle ${\sim}2\pi/3$ and a universal diagonal matrix with elements, which are cubic roots of~1. Such a representation of the CKM and PMNS matrices may indicate the $Z_{3}$ symmetry to be present in the Yukawa sector of the~SM. Identical mathematical structure of the CKM and PMNS matrices is also an extension of the quark-lepton universality. In this approach the CP violation is a natural consequence of the structure of the Yukawa couplings. The CP violating phase is not a fitted parameter and its value is governed by the parameters of two rotations. The parameters of the diagonalizing matrices of the bi-unitary transformation do not exhibit a hierarchy, which means that the origins of the hierarchy of quark masses and of the CKM matrix elements are not the same.
In this work, we explore the possibility of the $n$-$\bar{n}$ oscillation accompanied by CP-violation in the presence of magnetic fields. The $n$-$\bar{n}$ oscillation, which violates the baryon number ($\mathcal{B}$) by two units ($|\Delta \mathcal{B}| = 2$), can be originated from the mixing between the neutron ($n$) and the neutral elementary particle ($\eta$) and may give rise to non-trivial effects that are different from previous theoretical predictions. We show that the probability of the $n$-$\bar{n}$ oscillation can be greatly enhanced by adjusting the magnetic field properly. In particular, the peak values of the oscillation probability in the presence of resonance magnetic fields can be $8$-$10$ orders of magnitude higher than that in the absence of magnetic fields. We point out that there might not be sizable CP-violating effects in the $n$-$\bar{n}$ oscillation unless the mass of $\eta$ is close to the mass of the neutron. We also analyze the interplay between various parameters associated with both $\mathcal{B}$-violation and CP-violation and attempt to disentangle the effects of such parameters. The $n$-$\bar{n}$ oscillation process accompanied by CP-violation may opens a promising avenue for exploring new physics beyond the Standard Model (SM).
In this paper, we present an improved analysis of the top-quark pair production via the process $e^{+}e^{-}\to \gamma^{*}\to t\bar{t}$ near the threshold region up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO) QCD corrections. Near the threshold region, the top-quark velocity $v$ tends to zero, leading to Coulomb singularity. To achieve a reasonable prediction in the threshold region, we reconstruct the analytical expression for the Coulomb-terms up to N$^{3}$LO accuracy by using the PSLQ algorithm, whose numerical values agree well with the previous N$^3$LO-level calculations. It is found that the N$^{3}$LO series still has sizable renormalization scale dependence, and to improve the precision of the series, we apply the Principle of Maximum Conformality to eliminate such scale dependence. After that, the Coulomb part is resummed into a Sommerfeld-Gamow-Sakharov factor, which finally leads to a much more reasonable behavior near the threshold region.
We propose a simple interpretation of the $\gamma\gamma$ excesses reported by both CMS and ATLAS groups at 95 GeV together with the LEP excess in the $Zb\bar{b}$ channel around the same mass in terms of a neutral scalar field in the minimal left-right symmetric model (LRSM). We point out that the scalar field which implements the seesaw mechanism for neutrino masses has all the right properties to explain these observations, without introducing any extra scalar fields. The key point is that this scalar particle is hardly constrained because it couples only to heavy right-handed particles. As a result, the diphoton decay mode receives contributions from both mixing with the Standard Model (SM) Higgs and the heavy charged bosons in the LRSM, depending on the $SU(2)_R\times U(1)_{B-L}$ symmetry breaking scale $v_R$. The complete allowed parameter space for explaining the 95 GeV excesses in this model can be probed with the high-precision measurements of the SM Higgs mixing with other scalars at the high-luminosity LHC and future Higgs factories.
Lattice simulations reveal that the deconfinement-confinement (D-C) phase transition (PT) of the hot pure $SU(N>2)$ Yang-Mills system is first order. This system can be described by a pool of quasigluons moving in the Polyakov loop background, and in this picture, we establish an effective distribution function for quasigluons, which encodes interactions among quasigluons and in particular the confinement effect. With it, we made the first attempt to calculate the confinement bubble wall velocity $v_w$ at the microscopical level, and we obtained a small velocity $v_w\sim 0.04$ using two different approaches, which is qualitatively consistent with others results like holography.
We consider neutrino flavour and spin oscillations in a magnetic field using formalism of wave packets. Decoherence effects due to neutrino wave packets separation are studied. The considered effects are especially important for describing astrophysical neutrino oscillations, since they propagate on kiloparsec scale and bigger. The obtained results are of interest for neutrino telescopes IceCube, Baikal-GVD and KM3NeT, and also can be applied for description of supernovae neutrino oscillations effects would be detected by JUNO and Hyper-Kamiokande.
We present a numerical linear programming bootstrap to construct dual model scattering amplitudes. Dual models describe tree-level exchanges of higher spin resonances in theories like string theory and large $N$ gauge theories. Despite being very simple objects, their numerical bootstrap has proven challenging due to slow convergence of the infinite sums over resonances. Our bootstrap succeeds thanks to an efficient parametrization of the amplitude in terms of Mandelstam-Regge poles and the use of combined regions that make crossing symmetry constraining. Along the way, we discover and conjecture a property of "super-unitarity" of the Veneziano amplitude, which we use to keep a linear problem. As results, we present first the study of a class of string-like amplitudes with linear trajectories, for which we observe that the Veneziano amplitude lies at a preferred location, at the bottom of a pit, which minimizes crossing. Then, we introduce a toy-model deformation to non-linear trajectories, mimicking some features of QCD, for which our algorithm also detects a clear pit. This gives compelling evidence that our bootstrap is able to produce amplitudes that can exhibit non-trivial phenomenological features.
We revisit the Berenstein-Maldacena-Nastase (BMN) conjecture relating M-theory on a PP-wave background and Matrix Quantum Mechanics (MQM) of $N\times N$ matrices. In particular, we study the BMN MQM at strong coupling and finite $N$ and derive an effective Hamiltonian that describes non-relativistic free particles in a harmonic trap. The energy spectrum predicted by this Hamiltonian matches the supergravity excitation spectrum around the PP-wave background, if we further assume the existence of bound states. Our derivation is based on the strong coupling expansion of the wavefunction and supersedes the naive path integral approach that can lead to incorrect results, as we demonstrate in a simple toy model. We conclude with open questions about various regimes of the theory when we vary the size of the matrices, the coupling and the temperature.
At extreme energies, both low and high, the spacetime symmetries of relativistic quantum field theories (QFTs) are expected to change with Galilean symmetries emerging in the very low energy domain and, as we will argue, Carrollian symmetries appearing at very high energies. The formulation of Wilsonian renormalisation group seems inadequate for handling these changes of the underlying Poincare symmetry of QFTs and it seems unlikely that these drastic changes can be seen within the realms of relativistic QFT. We show that contrary to this expectation, changes in the spacetime algebra occurs at the very edges of parameter space. In particular, we focus on the very high energy sector and show how bilinears of $U(1)$ currents added to a two dimensional (massless) scalar field theory deform the relativistic spacetime conformal algebra to conformal Carroll as the effective coupling of the deformation is dialed to infinity. We demonstrate this using both a symmetric and an antisymmetric current-current deformation for theories with multiple scalar fields. These two operators generate distinct kinds of quantum flows in the coupling space, the symmetric driven by Bogoliubov transformations and the antisymmetric by spectral flows, both leading to Carrollian CFTs at the end of the flow.
Thermalization of a system when interacting with a thermal bath is an interesting problem. If a system eventually reaches a thermal state in the long time limit, it's expected that its density matrix would resemble the mean-force Gibbs state. Moreover, the correlation function must satisfy the Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) condition or equivalently the Fluctuation-Dissipation Relation (FDR). In this paper, we derive a formal expression for the non-Markovian two-point function within the context of the weak coupling limit. Using this expression, we explicitly compute the two-point function for specific models, demonstrating their adherence to the KMS. In addition, we have formulated a non-perturbative approach in the form of a self-consistent approximation that includes a partial resummation of perturbation theory. This approach can capture strong coupling phenomena while still relying on simple equations. Notably, we verify that the two-point function obtained through this method also satisfies the KMS condition.
We establish simple formulae for computing Finkelstein-Rubinstein signs for Skyrme fields generated in two ways: from instanton ADHM data, and from rational maps. This may be used to compute homotopy classes of general loops in the configuration spaces of skyrmions, and as a result provide a useful tool for a quantum treatment beyond rigid-body quantisation of skyrmions.
In this work we continue the investigation of the extrapolate dictionary for celestial holography recently proposed in [2301.01810], at both the perturbative and non-perturbative level. Focusing on scalar field theories, we give a complete set of Feynman rules for extrapolate celestial correlation functions and their radial reduction in the hyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space. We prove to all orders in perturbation theory that celestial correlators can be re-written in terms of corresponding Witten diagrams in EAdS which, in the hyperbolic slicing of Minkowski space, follows from the fact that the same is true in dS space. We then initiate the study of non-perturbative properties of celestial correlators, deriving the radial reduction of the K\"all\'en-Lehmann spectral representation of the exact Minkowski two-point function. We discuss the analytic properties of the radially reduced spectral function, which is a meromorphic function of the spectral parameter, and highlight a connection with the Watson-Sommerfeld transform.
We discuss the long-distance physics of 2d adjoint QCD when it is viewed as an effective field theory. We determine the beta functions for its two classically-marginal four-fermi operators. These four-fermion terms preserve the invertible symmetries of the kinetic terms, and they have important implications at long distances if they are generated at short distances. Our results are likely to be important for future numerical lattice Monte Carlo studies of 2d adjoint QCD.
We briefly summarise our results on jumps in the analytic formulas for the Khovanov(-Rozansky) polynomials. We conclude from the empiric data that there are ``regular'' and ``weird'' catastrophes, which drastically differ by form of the associated jumps in the Khovanov(-Rozansky) polynomials. This is the first step towards the catastrophe theory for the cohomological knot invariants. In particular, it can be another way to see these quantities as observables in cohomological quantum field theory.
Scattering amplitudes in gauge theories can be calculated either by bulk theories in 4d Minkowski space-time($Mink_4$), or perceived as the correlation function of the celestial CFT living in the celestial sphere at null infinity, where an infinite-dimensional asymptotic symmetry, BMS group, resides. Another well developed method is the CHY formalism, which formulates the scattering amplitude in terms of the correlation functions on a 2d world sheet, on which an ambitwistor string theory is defined. The relation between CHY theory and CCFT is encoded in scattering equations, which are algebraic equations lacking of analytical solutions. Starting from the CHY formalism, in the collinear limit, we indeed find a nice operator formalism for the CCFT. In particular, the center charge, as well as the cosmological constant, which arises as the finite size effect in CCFT, are calculated.
We study a random unitary circuit model of an impurity moving through a chaotic medium. By varying the velocity of the impurity, $v_d$, relative to the speed of information propagation within the medium, $v_B$, we control the exchange of information between the medium and impurity. Above supersonic velocities, $v_d> v_B$, information cannot flow back to the impurity after it has moved into the medium, and the resulting dynamics are Markovian. Below supersonic velocities, $v_d< v_B$, the dynamics of the impurity and medium are non-Markovian, and information is able to flow back onto the impurity. We show the two regimes are separated by a continuous phase transition with exponents directly related to the diffusive spreading of operators in the medium. This is demonstrated by monitoring an out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) in a scenario where the impurity is substituted at an intermediate time. During the Markovian phase, information from the medium cannot transfer onto the replaced impurity, manifesting in no significant operator development. Conversely, in the non-Markovian phase, we observe that operators acquire support on the newly introduced impurity. We also characterize the dynamics using the coherent information and provide two decoders which can efficiently probe the transition between Markovian and non-Markovian information flow. Our work demonstrates that Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics can be separated by a phase transition, and we propose an efficient protocol for observing this transition.
We review a class of integrable, supersymmetric defect conformal field theories which have holographic duals in the form of probe brane models. Our main examples are defect versions of N=4 SYM and ABJM theory, both involving a domain wall with Nahm pole boundary conditions, and the case of a 't Hooft line embedded in N=4 SYM. The field theory defect respectively the probe D-brane can be described as an integrable boundary state of the integrable system underlying the AdS/CFT correspondence.
Motivated by the structure of the Swanson oscillator, which is a well-known example of a non-hermitian quantum system consisting of a general representation of a quadratic Hamiltonian, we propose a fermionic extension of such a scheme which incorporates two fermionic oscillators, together with bilinear-coupling terms that do not conserve particle number. We determine the eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and expose the appearance of exceptional points where two of the eigenstates coalesce with the corresponding eigenvectors exhibiting the self-orthogonality relation. The model exhibits a quantum phase transition due to the presence of a ground-state crossing. We compute the entanglement spectrum and entanglement entropy of the ground state.
We show that transformation formulas of multiple $q$-hypergeometric series agree with wall-crossing formulas of $K$-theoretic vortex partition functions obtained by Hwang, Yi and the author \cite{Hwang:2017kmk}. For the vortex partition function in 3d $\mathcal{N}=2$ gauge theory, we show that the wall-crossing formula agrees with the Kajihara transformation \cite{kajihara2004euler}. For the vortex partition function in 3d $\mathcal{N}=4$ gauge theory, we show that the wall-crossing formula agrees with the transformation formula by Halln\"as, Langmann, Noumi and Rosengren \cite{Halln_s_2022}. Since the $K$-theoretic vortex partition functions are related with indices such as the $\chi_t$-genus of the handsaw quiver variety, we discuss geometric interpretation of Euler transformations in terms of wall-crossing formulas of handsaw quiver variety.
We report an implementation of the recursion method that addresses quantum many-body dynamics in the nonperturbative regime. The implementation has two key ingredients: a computer-algebraic routine for symbolic calculation of nested commutators and a procedure to extrapolate the sequence of Lanczos coefficients according to the universal operator growth hypothesis. We apply the method to calculate infinite-temperature correlation functions for spin-$1/2$ systems on one- and two-dimensional lattices. In two dimensions the accessible timescale is large enough to essentially embrace the relaxation to equilibrium. The method allows one to accurately calculate transport coefficients. As an illustration, we compute the diffusion constant for the transverse-field Ising model on a square lattice.
We obtain some new results on the unimodal sequences of the real values of rational functions by polynomials with positive integer coefficients. Thus, we introduce the notion of merged-log-concavity of rational functions. Roughly speaking, the notion extends Stanley's $q$-log-concavity of polynomials. We construct explicit merged-log-concave rational functions by $q$-binomial coefficients, Hadamard products, and convolutions, extending the Cauchy-Binet formula. Then, we obtain the unimodal sequences of rational functions by Young diagrams. Moreover, we consider the variation of unimodal sequences by critical points that separate strictly increasing, strictly decreasing, and hill-shape sequences among almost strictly unimodal sequences. Also, the critical points are zeros of polynomials in a suitable setting. The study above extends the $t$-power series of $(\pm t;q)_{\infty}^{\mp 1}$ to some extent by polynomials with positive integer coefficients and the variation of unimodal sequences. We then obtain the golden ratio of quantum dilogarithms ($q$-exponentials) as a critical point. Additionally, we consider eta products, generalized Narayana numbers, and weighted $q$-multinomial coefficients, which we introduce. In statistical mechanics, we discuss the grand canonical partition functions of some ideal boson-fermion gases with or without Casimir energies (Ramanujan summation). The merged-log-concavity gives phase transitions on Helmholtz free energies by critical points of the metallic ratios including the golden ratio. In particular, the phase transitions implies non-zero particle vacua from zero particle vacua as the temperature rises.
We investigate the modularity constraints on the generating series $h_r(\tau)$ of BPS indices counting D4-D2-D0 bound states with fixed D4-brane charge $r$ in type IIA string theory compactified on complete intersection Calabi-Yau threefolds with $b_2 = 1$. For unit D4-brane, $h_1$ transforms as a (vector-valued) modular form under the action of $SL(2,Z)$ and thus is completely determined by its polar terms. We propose an Ansatz for these terms in terms of rank 1 Donaldson-Thomas invariants, which incorporates contributions from a single D6-anti-D6 pair. Using an explicit overcomplete basis of the relevant space of weakly holomorphic modular forms (valid for any $r$), we find that for 10 of the 13 allowed threefolds, the Ansatz leads to a solution for $h_1$ with integer Fourier coefficients, thereby predicting an infinite series of DT invariants.For $r > 1$, $h_r$ is mock modular and determined by its polar part together with its shadow. Restricting to $r = 2$, we use the generating series of Hurwitz class numbers to construct a series $h^{an}_2$ with exactly the same modular anomaly as $h_2$, so that the difference $h_{2}-h^{an}_2$ is an ordinary modular form fixed by its polar terms. For lack of a satisfactory Ansatz, we leave the determination of these polar terms as an open problem.
Artificial neural networks have become important to improve the search for admissible string compactifications and characterize them. In this paper we construct the heterotic orbiencoder, a general deep autoencoder to study heterotic orbifold models arising from various Abelian orbifold geometries. Our neural network can be easily trained to successfully encode the large parameter space of many orbifold geometries simultaneously, independently of the statistical dissimilarities of their training features. In particular, we show that our autoencoder is capable of compressing with good accuracy the large parameter space of two promising orbifold geometries in just three parameters. Further, most orbifold models with phenomenologically appealing features appear in bounded regions of this small space. Our contribution hints towards a possible simplification of the classification of (promising) heterotic orbifold models.
We examine the effective theory of critical dynamics near superfluid phase transitions in the framework of the Keldysh-Schwinger formalism. We focus on the sector capturing the dynamics of the complex order parameter and the conserved current corresponding to the broken global symmetry. After constructing the theory up to quadratic order in the $a$-fields, we compare the resulting stochastic system with Model F as well as with holography. We highlight the role of a time independent gauge symmetry of the effective theory also known as ``chemical shift". Finally, we consider the limiting behaviour at energies much lower than the gap of the amplitude mode by integrating out the high energy degrees of freedom to reproduce the effective theory of superfluids.
We demonstrate that the generators for the local, continuous and infinitesimal classical gauge symmetry transformations in the cases of (i) the St$\ddot u$ckelberg-modified massive Abelian 1-form and 2-form theories, and (ii) the massless Abelian 1-form and 2-form free theories owe their origin to the first-class constraints of the these theories. We establish a connection between the standard forms of the generators and the Noether conserved charges for the modified massive and massless versions of the above theories. We discuss the appearance of these constraints, within the framework of Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin (BRST) formalism, through the physicality criteria w.r.t. the conserved and nilpotent (anti-)BRST charges. One of the highlights of our present investigation is the observation that, in the context of the modified massive and massless Abelian 2-form theories, the modified forms of the standard Noether (anti-)BRST charges are required which are found to be off-shell nilpotent and they lead to the appearance of the operator forms of the first-class constraints through the physicality criteria at the quantum level. We also comment on (i) the existence of the Curci-Ferrari (CF)-type restrictions on the Abelian 2-form theories (with and without mass), (ii) the modifications in the St$\ddot u$ckelberg-technique for the massive 2D Abelian 1-form and 4D Abelian 2-form theories and their consequences, and (iii) the off-shell nilpotent version of the conserved co-BRST charge and its role in the physicality criteria for the St$\ddot u$ckelberg-modified 4D massive Abelian 2-form theory.
We study generating functions of $\frac{1}{4}$-BPS states in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills at finite $N$ by attempting to generalize the Harish-Chandra-Itzykson-Zuber integral to multiple commuting matrices. This allows us to compute the overlaps of two or more generating functions; such calculations arise in the computation of two-point correlators in the free-field limit. We discuss the four-matrix HCIZ integral in the $U(2)$ context and lay out a prescription for finding a more general formula for $N>2$. We then discuss its connections with the restricted Schur polynomial operator basis. Our results generalize readily to arbitrary numbers of matrices, opening up the opportunity to study more generic BPS operators.
We use the Lindblad equation approach to investigate topological phases hosting more than one localized state at each side of a disordered SSH chain with properly tuned long range hoppings. Inducing a non equilibrium steady state across the chain, we probe the robustness of each phase and the fate of the edge modes looking at the distribution of electrons along the chain and the corresponding standard deviation in the presence of different kinds of disorder either preserving, or not, the symmetries of the Hamiltonian.
We study wormhole contributions to the bulk path integral in holographic models which are dual to ensembles of rational free boson conformal field theories. We focus on the path integral on a geometry connecting two toroidal boundaries, which should capture the variance of the ensemble distribution. We show that this requirement leads to a nontrivial set of constraints which generically picks out the uniform, maximum entropy, ensemble distribution. Furthermore, we show that the two-boundary path integral should receive contributions from `exotic' wormholes, which arise from the inclusion of topological surface defects.
In order to solve the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) in the Minkowski space, we first introduce the Nakanishi integral representations of the Bethe-Salpeter amplitude (BSA) and the Bethe-Salpeter wave function (BSWF). We then derive the explicit integral equations for the corresponding spectral functions from the BSE for states of $2$ scalar particles bound by a scalar-particle exchange interaction, where the propagators of constituents are allowed to be fully dressed. These integral equations are subsequently solved numerically in the variation of the Wick-Cutkosky model with massive exchange particles, where an algorithm of adaptive mash grid is proposed. The equations and algorithm we develop here serve as the foundation of Minkowski-space formulation of BSE for bound states of fermions.
We verify that the recently proven infinite families of holographic entropy inequalities are maximally tight, i.e. they are facets of the holographic entropy cone. The proof is technical but it offers some heuristic insight. On star graphs, both families of inequalities quantify how concentrated / spread information is with respect to a dihedral symmetry acting on subsystems. In addition, toric inequalities viewed in the K-basis show an interesting interplay between four-party and six-party perfect tensors.
In this review, we have reached from the most basic definitions in the theory of groups, group structures, etc. to representation theory and irreducible representations of the Poincar'e group. Also, we tried to get a more comprehensible understanding of group theory by presenting examples from the nature around us to examples in mathematics and physics and using them to examine more important groups in physics such as the Lorentz group and Poincar'e group and representations It is achieved in the physical fields that are used in the quantum field theory.
The IKKT model is a promising candidate for a non-perturbative description of Type IIB superstring theory. It is known from analytic approaches and numerical simulations that the IKKT matrix model with a mass term admits interesting cosmological solutions. However, this mass term is often introduced by hand, and serves as a regulator in the theory. In the present paper, we show that an effective mass matrix can arise naturally in the IKKT model by imposing a toroidal compactification where the space-time fermions acquire anti-periodic boundary conditions. When six spatial dimensions are chosen to be compact, the effective mass matrix breaks the SO(1,9) space-time symmetry of the IKKT model to SO(1,3) $\times$ SO(6). This paves the way for space-time solutions of the IKKT model where SO(1,9) symmetry is naturally broken to SO(1,3) $\times$ SO(6).
Muography is an innovative imaging technique using naturally produced elementary particles -- atmospheric muons -- like the X-rays of medical imaging. The modification of the particles flux -- by scattering or absorption --, reflects the contrasts in density within the medium and therefore offers the possibility for an image of the crossed volumes. The imaging process is based on the tracking of the particles which accounts for the absorption or the scattering of the muons trajectories. Neither the energy nor the identity of the particles (the so-called PID) is exploited since this information traditionally relies on the use of calorimeters and/or high intensity magnetic fields. Both these techniques hinder detector portability which in the case of muography is important and this renders them impractical for its purpose. In this paper we characterize the performance of a simple and small water Cherenkov detector capable on the one hand of providing some insights on energy and PID and on the other hand of improving the background rejection for a muon telescope. We tested a prototype of such water Cherenkov detector in combination with two small muon hodoscopes. Both systems are using the same opto-electronics chain -- optical fibers and pixellized photosensors -- and the same data acquisition (DAQ) readout system which ensures an easy integration and implementation within presently running systems. This article presents the test setup, the detector response to cosmic muons and its performance evaluation against a basic simulation of its geometry and detection principle.
The assembly of the ATLAS Inner Tracker requires the construction of 19,000 silicon strip sensor detector modules in eight different geometries. Modules will be assembled and tested at 31 institutes on four continents from sensors, readout chips, and flexes. In order to adhere to the module specifications defined for sufficient tracking performance, a rigorous programme of quality control (QC) was established to cover components at every stage of assembly. This contribution presents an overview of the QC programme for ITk strip tracker modules, issues encountered during the pre-production phase (5% of the production volume), and their solutions.
The study of neutrino oscillation at accelerators is limited by systematic uncertainties, in particular on the neutrino flux, cross-section, and energy estimates. These systematic uncertainties could be eliminated by a novel experimental technique: neutrino tagging. This technique relies on a new type of neutrino beamline and its associated instrumentation which would enable the kinematical reconstruction of the neutrinos produced in $\pi^{\pm} \to \mu^{\pm} \nu_\mu$ and $K^{\pm} \to \mu^{\pm} \nu_\mu$ decays. This article presents a proof-of-concept study for such a tagged beamline, aiming to serve a long baseline neutrino experiment exploiting a megaton scale natural water Cherenkov detector. After optimizing the target and the beamline optics to first order, a complete Monte Carlo simulation of the beamline has been performed. The results show that the beamline provides a meson beam compatible with the operation of the spectrometer, and delivers a neutrino flux sufficient to collect neutrino samples with a size comparable with similar experiments and with other un-tagged long-baseline neutrino experimental proposals.
A search is presented for the pair-production of heavy vector-like quarks in the lepton+jets final state using 140 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}= 13$ TeV collected with the ATLAS detector. The search is optimised for vector-like top-quarks ($T$) that decay into a $W$ boson and a $b$-quark, with one $W$ boson decaying leptonically and the other hadronically. Other vector-like quark flavours and decay modes are also considered. Events are selected with one high transverse-momentum electron or muon, large missing transverse momentum, a large-radius jet identified as a $W$ boson, and multiple small-radius jets, at least one of which is $b$-tagged. Vector-like $T$-quarks with 100% branching ratio to $Wb$ are excluded at 95% CL for masses below 1700 GeV. These limits are also applied to vector-like $Y$-quarks, which decay exclusively into a $W$ boson and a $b$-quark. Isospin singlets with $ {\cal B}(T \to Wb:Ht:Zt)={1/2}:{1/4}:{1/4}$ are excluded for masses below 1360 GeV.
The production of the $\psi(2S)$ charmonium state was measured with ALICE in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV, in the dimuon decay channel. A significant signal was observed for the first time at LHC energies down to zero transverse momentum, at forward rapidity ($2.5<y<4$). The measurement of the ratio of the inclusive production cross sections of the $\psi(2S)$ and J/$\psi$ resonances is reported as a function of the centrality of the collisions and of transverse momentum, in the region $p_{\rm T}<12$ GeV/$c$. The results are compared with the corresponding measurements in pp collisions, by forming the double ratio $[\sigma^{\psi(2S)}/\sigma^{J/\psi}]_{\rm{Pb-Pb}}/[\sigma^{\psi(2S)}/\sigma^{J/\psi}]_{\rm{pp}}$. It is found that in Pb-Pb collisions the $\psi(2S)$ is suppressed by a factor of $\sim 2$ with respect to the J/$\psi$. The $\psi(2S)$ nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$ was also obtained as a function of both centrality and $p_{\rm T}$. The results show that the $\psi(2S)$ resonance yield is strongly suppressed in Pb-Pb collisions, by a factor up to $\sim 3$ with respect to pp. Comparisons of cross section ratios with previous SPS findings by the NA50 experiment and of $R_{\rm AA}$ with higher-$p_{\rm T}$ results at LHC energy are also reported. These results and the corresponding comparisons with calculations of transport and statistical models address questions on the presence and properties of charmonium states in the quark-gluon plasma formed in nuclear collisions at the LHC.
The ALICE Collaboration reports a differential measurement of inclusive jet suppression using pp and Pb$-$Pb collision data at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 5.02$ TeV. Charged-particle jets are reconstructed using the anti-$k_{\rm T}$ algorithm with resolution parameters $R =$ 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 in pp collisions and $R =$ 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 in central (0$-$10%), semi-central (30$-$50%), and peripheral (60$-$80%) Pb$-$Pb collisions. A novel approach based on machine learning is employed to mitigate the influence of jet background. This enables measurements of inclusive jet suppression in new regions of phase space, including down to the lowest jet $p_{\rm T} \geq 40$ GeV/$c$ at $R = 0.6$ in central Pb$-$Pb collisions. This is an important step for discriminating different models of jet quenching in the quark-gluon plasma. The transverse momentum spectra, nuclear modification factors, derived cross section, and nuclear modification factor ratios for different jet resolution parameters of charged-particle jets are presented and compared to model predictions. A mild dependence of the nuclear modification factor ratios on collision centrality and resolution parameter is observed. The results are compared to a variety of jet-quenching models with varying levels of agreement.
The measurements of the inclusive J/$\psi$ yield at midrapidity ($\left | y \right | < 0.9$) and forward rapidity (2.5 $< y <$ 4) in Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=5.02$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported. The inclusive J/$\psi$ production yields and nuclear modification factors, $R_{\rm AA}$, are measured as a function of the collision centrality, J/$\psi$ transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$), and rapidity. The J/$\psi$ average transverse momentum and squared transverse momentum ($\langle p_{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$ and $\langle p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\mathrm{2}}\rangle$) are evaluated as a function of the centrality at midrapidity. Compared to the previous ALICE publications, here the entire Pb$-$Pb collisions dataset collected during the LHC Run 2 is used, which improves the precision of the measurements and extends the $p_{\rm T}$ coverage. The $p_{\rm T}$-integrated $R_{\rm AA}$ shows a hint of an increasing trend towards unity from semicentral to central collisions at midrapidity, while it is flat at forward rapidity. The $p_{\rm T}$-differential $R_{\rm AA}$ shows a strong suppression at high $p_{\rm T}$ with less suppression at low $p_{\rm T}$ where it reaches a larger value at midrapidity compared to forward rapidity. The ratio of the $p_{\rm T}$-integrated yields of J/$\psi$ to those of D$^{0}$ mesons is reported for the first time for the central and semicentral event classes at midrapidity. Model calculations implementing charmonium production via the coalescence of charm quarks and antiquarks during the fireball evolution (transport models) or in a statistical approach with thermal weights are in good agreement with the data at low $p_{\rm T}$. At higher $p_{\rm T}$, the data are well described by transport models and a model based on energy loss in the strongly-interacting medium produced in nuclear collisions at the LHC.
The production of prompt $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ baryons is measured via the exclusive decay channel $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ $\to$ pK$^-\pi^+$ at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair of 5.02 TeV, using proton-proton (pp) and lead-lead (PbPb) collision data collected by the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC. The pp and PbPb data were obtained in 2017 and 2018 with integrated luminosities of 252 and 0.607 nb$^{-1}$, respectively. The measurements are performed within the $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ rapidity interval $\vert y \vert$ $\lt$ 1 with transverse momentum ($p_\mathrm{T}$) ranges of 3-30 and 6-40 GeV/$c$ for pp and PbPb collisions, respectively. Compared to the yields in pp collisions scaled by the expected number of nucleon-nucleon interactions, the observed yields of $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ with $p_\mathrm{T}$ $\gt$ 10 GeV/$c$ are strongly suppressed in PbPb collisions. The level of suppression depends significantly on the collision centrality. The $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ / D$^0$ production ratio is similar in PbPb and pp collisions at $p_\mathrm{T}$ $\gt$ 10 GeV/$c$, suggesting that the coalescence process does not play a dominant role in prompt $\Lambda^+_\mathrm{c}$ baryon production at higher $p_\mathrm{T}$.
The first measurements of $\mathrm{K^{*}(892)^{0}}$ resonance production as a function of charged-particle multiplicity in Xe$-$Xe collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\mathrm{NN}}}=$ 5.44 TeV and pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$ 5.02 TeV using the ALICE detector are presented. The resonance is reconstructed at midrapidity ($|y|< 0.5$) using the hadronic decay channel $\mathrm{K^{*0}} \rightarrow \mathrm{K^{\pm} \pi^{\mp}}$. Measurements of transverse-momentum integrated yield, mean transverse-momentum, nuclear modification factor of $\mathrm{K^{*0}}$, and yield ratios of resonance to stable hadron ($\mathrm{K^{*0}}$/K) are compared across different collision systems (pp, p$-$Pb, Xe$-$Xe, and Pb$-$Pb) at similar collision energies to investigate how the production of $\mathrm{K^{*0}}$ resonances depends on the size of the system formed in these collisions. The hadronic rescattering effect is found to be independent of the size of colliding systems and mainly driven by the produced charged-particle multiplicity, which is a proxy of the volume of produced matter at the chemical freeze-out. In addition, the production yields of $\mathrm{K^{*0}}$ in Xe$-$Xe collisions are utilized to constrain the dependence of the kinetic freeze-out temperature on the system size using the hadron resonance gas in partial chemical equilibrium (HRG-PCE) model.
A search for flavour-changing neutral interactions involving the top quark, the Higgs boson and an up-type quark $q$ ($q = c, u$) is presented. The proton-proton collision data set used, with an integrated luminosity of 139 fb$^{-1}$, was collected at $\sqrt{s} = 13$\~TeV by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Both the decay process $t \to qH$ and the production process $pp \to tH$, with the Higgs boson decaying into two photons, are investigated. No significant excess is observed and upper limits are set on the $t\rightarrow cH$ and the $t\rightarrow uH$ branching ratios of $4.3\times 10^{-4}$ and $3.8\times 10^{-4}$, respectively, at the 95% confidence level, while the expected limits in the absence of signal are $4.7\times 10^{-4}$ and $3.9\times 10^{-4}$. Combining this search with ATLAS searches in the $H \to \tau^+\tau^-$ and $H \to b\bar{b}$ final states yields observed (expected) upper limits on the $t\to cH$ branching ratio of $5.8\times 10^{-4}\ (3.0\times 10^{-4})$ at the 95% confidence level. The corresponding observed (expected) upper limit on the $t\rightarrow uH$ branching ratio is $4.0 \times 10^{-4}\ (2.4 \times 10^{-4})$
Measurements of charged-particle production in pp, p$-$Pb, and Pb$-$Pb collisions in the toward, away, and transverse regions with the ALICE detector are discussed. These regions are defined event-by-event relative to the azimuthal direction of the charged trigger particle, which is the reconstructed particle with the largest transverse momentum ($p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}$) in the range $8<p_{\mathrm{T}}^{\rm trig}<15$ GeV$/c$. The toward and away regions contain the primary and recoil jets, respectively; both regions are accompanied by the underlying event (UE). In contrast, the transverse region perpendicular to the direction of the trigger particle is dominated by the so-called UE dynamics, and includes also contributions from initial- and final-state radiation. The relative transverse activity classifier, $R_{\mathrm{T}}=N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}/\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$, is used to group events according to their UE activity, where $N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}$ is the charged-particle multiplicity per event in the transverse region and $\langle N_{\mathrm{ch}}^{\mathrm{T}}\rangle$ is the mean value over the whole analysed sample. The energy dependence of the $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ distributions in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}=2.76$, 5.02, 7, and 13 TeV is reported, exploring the Koba-Nielsen-Olesen (KNO) scaling properties of the multiplicity distributions. The first measurements of charged-particle $p_{\rm T}$ spectra as a function of $R_{\mathrm{T}}$ in the three azimuthal regions in pp, p$-$Pb, and Pb$-$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=5.02$ TeV are also reported. Data are compared with predictions obtained from the event generators PYTHIA 8 and EPOS LHC. This set of measurements is expected to contribute to the understanding of the origin of collective-like effects in small collision systems (pp and p$-$Pb).
Collisions of atomic nuclei at relativistic velocities produce new particles, predominantly mesons containing one valence quark and one valence anti-quark. These particles are produced in strong interactions, which preserve an approximate symmetry between up ($u$) and down ($d$) quarks. In the case of $K$ meson production, if this symmetry were exact, it would result in equal numbers of charged ($K^+$ and $K^-$) and neutral ($K^0$ and $\overline{K}$$^0$) mesons in the final state. In this Letter, we report a measurement of the relative abundance of charged over neutral $K$ meson production in collisions of argon and scandium nuclei at a center-of-mass energy of 11.9~GeV per nucleon pair. We find that production of $K^+$ and $K^-$ mesons at mid-rapidity displays a significant excess of $(23.3\pm 5.7)\%$ relative to that of the neutral $K$ mesons. The origin of this unexpected excess remains to be elucidated.
The problem of optimally measuring an analytic function of unknown local parameters each linearly coupled to a qubit sensor is well understood, with applications ranging from field interpolation to noise characterization. Here, we resolve a number of open questions that arise when extending this framework to Mach-Zehnder interferometers and quadrature displacement sensing. In particular, we derive lower bounds on the achievable mean square error in estimating a linear function of either local phase shifts or quadrature displacements. In the case of local phase shifts, these results prove, and somewhat generalize, a conjecture by Proctor et al. [arXiv:1702.04271 (2017)]. For quadrature displacements, we extend proofs of lower bounds to the case of arbitrary linear functions. We provide optimal protocols achieving these bounds up to small (multiplicative) constants and describe an algebraic approach to deriving new optimal protocols, possibly subject to additional constraints. Using this approach, we prove necessary conditions for the amount of entanglement needed for any optimal protocol for both local phase and displacement sensing.
We introduce a one-dimensional (1D) extended quantum breakdown model comprising a fermionic and a spin degree of freedom per site, and featuring a spatially asymmetric breakdown-type interaction between the fermions and spins. We analytically show that, in the absence of any magnetic field for the spins, the model exhibits Hilbert space fragmentation within each symmetry sector into exponentially many Krylov subspaces and hence displays non-thermal dynamics. Here, we demonstrate that the fragmentation naturally occurs in an entangled basis and thus provides an example of "quantum fragmentation." Besides establishing the nature of fragmentation analytically, we also study the long-time behavior of the entanglement entropy and its deviation from the expected Page value as a probe of ergodicity in the system. Upon introducing a non-trivial magnetic field for the spins, most of the Krylov subspaces merge and the model becomes chaotic. Finally, we study the effects of strong randomness on the system and observe behavior similar to that of many-body localized systems.
We present a novel classical algorithm designed to learn the stabilizer group -- namely the group of Pauli strings for which a state is a $\pm 1$ eigenvector -- of a given Matrix Product State (MPS). The algorithm is based on a clever and theoretically grounded biased sampling in the Pauli (or Bell) basis. Its output is a set of independent stabilizer generators whose total number is directly associated with the stabilizer nullity, notably a well-established nonstabilizer monotone. We benchmark our method on $T$-doped states randomly scrambled via Clifford unitary dynamics, demonstrating very accurate estimates up to highly-entangled MPS with bond dimension $\chi\sim 10^3$. Our method, thanks to a very favourable scaling $\mathcal{O}(\chi^3)$, represents the first effective approach to obtain a genuine magic monotone for MPS, enabling systematic investigations of quantum many-body physics out-of-equilibrium.
Nonstabilizerness, also known as ``magic'', stands as a crucial resource for achieving a potential advantage in quantum computing. Its connection to many-body physical phenomena is poorly understood at present, mostly due to a lack of practical methods to compute it at large scales. We present a novel approach for the evaluation of nonstabilizerness within the framework of matrix product states (MPS), based on expressing the MPS directly in the Pauli basis. Our framework provides a powerful tool for efficiently calculating various measures of nonstabilizerness, including stabilizer R\'enyi entropies, stabilizer nullity, and Bell magic, and enables the learning of the stabilizer group of an MPS. We showcase the efficacy and versatility of our method in the ground states of Ising and XXZ spin chains, as well as in circuits dynamics that has recently been realized in Rydberg atom arrays, where we provide concrete benchmarks for future experiments on logical qubits up to twice the sizes already realized.
We study the effective stochastic dynamics of a semiclassical probe induced by linear optomechanical interactions with a quantum oscillator. Quantum fluctuations lead to state-dependent non-equilibrium noise, which is exponentially enhanced by wavepacket delocalization. For the case of nanoparticles coupled by the Coulomb interaction such noise can imprint potentially measurable signatures in multiparticle levitation experiments. Quantum-induced optomechanical fluctuations hold strong analogy to quantum gravitational wave noise and interconnect stochastic thermodynamics, graviton physics and the detection of gravity-mediated entanglement.
We construct a new graph on 120 vertices whose quantum and classical independence numbers are different. At the same time, we construct an infinite family of graphs whose quantum chromatic numbers are smaller than the classical chromatic numbers. Furthermore, we discover the relation to Kochen-Specker sets that characterizes quantum cocliques that are strictly bigger than classical ones. Finally, we prove that for graphs with independence number is two, quantum and classical independence numbers coincide.
Checking whether two quantum circuits are approximately equivalent is a common task in quantum computing. We consider a closely related identity check problem: given a quantum circuit $U$, one has to estimate the diamond-norm distance between $U$ and the identity channel. We present a classical algorithm approximating the distance to the identity within a factor $\alpha=D+1$ for shallow geometrically local $D$-dimensional circuits provided that the circuit is sufficiently close to the identity. The runtime of the algorithm scales linearly with the number of qubits for any constant circuit depth and spatial dimension. We also show that the operator-norm distance to the identity $\|U-I\|$ can be efficiently approximated within a factor $\alpha=5$ for shallow 1D circuits and, under a certain technical condition, within a factor $\alpha=2D+3$ for shallow $D$-dimensional circuits. A numerical implementation of the identity check algorithm is reported for 1D Trotter circuits with up to 100 qubits.
We propose an algorithm for calculating the determinant of a square matrix, and construct the quantum circuit realizing it, using multiqubit control gates (representable in terms of Toffoli gates, CNOTs and SWAPs), Hadamard transformations and $Z$-operators. Each row of the matrix is encoded as a pure state of some quantum system. The admitted matrix is therefore arbitrary up to the normalization of quantum states of those systems. The depth of the proposed algorithm is $O(N^3\log \, N)$ for the $N\times N$ matrix.
The presence of quantum noises inherent to real physical systems can strongly impact the physics in quantum hybrid circuits with local random unitaries and mid-circuit measurements. For example, an infinitesimal size-independent noise probability can lead to the disappearance of measurement-induced entanglement phase transition and the emergence of a single area-law phase. In this Letter, we investigate the effects of quantum noises with size-dependent probabilities $q=p/L^{\alpha}$ where $\alpha$ represents the scaling exponent. We have identified a noise-induced entanglement phase transition from a volume law to a power (area) law in the presence (absence) of measurements as $p$ increases when $\alpha=1.0$. With the help of an effective statistical model, we find that this transition is a first-order phase transition and shares the same analytical understanding as the noise-induced coding transition. We also discuss the differences between the effect of size-dependent noise and the boundary noise in the phase transitions. We validate our analytical predictions with extensive numerical results from stabilizer circuit simulations.
We propose a new method for labeling the eigenstates of qubit-cavity systems based on the continuity of the qubit occupancy. The labeled eigenstates give a rough estimation of the evolution of a quantum state under cavity driving. The photon-number dependence of the resonant cavity frequency can be estimated from the labeled eigenenergies, and resonances to higher excited qubit states are visible in the dependence. Our proposed method can be applied to a broader parameter region compared to an existing method. With the proposed method, we investigate the offset charge dependence of the resonances to higher excited states that can induce leakage effects from the computational basis. The results imply that the leakage can occur with only around ten photons.
This paper presents an innovative entanglement-based protocol to address the Dining Cryptographers Problem, utilizing maximally entangled $\ket{ GHZ_{ n } }$ tuples as its core. This protocol aims to provide scalability in terms of both the number of cryptographers $n$ and the amount of anonymous information conveyed, represented by the number of qubits $m$ within each quantum register. The protocol supports an arbitrary number of cryptographers $n$, enabling scalability in both participant count and the volume of anonymous information transmitted. While the original Dining Cryptographers Problem focused on a single bit of information, i.e., whether a cryptographer paid for dinner, the proposed protocol allows $m$, the number of qubits in each register, to be any arbitrarily large positive integer. This flexibility permits the conveyance of various information, such as the cost of the dinner or the timing of the arrangement. Another noteworthy aspect of the introduced protocol is its versatility in accommodating both localized and distributed versions of the Dining Cryptographers problem. The localized scenario involves all cryptographers gathering physically at the same location, such as a restaurant, simultaneously. In contrast, the distributed scenario accommodates cryptographers situated in different places, engaging in a virtual dinner at the same time. Finally, in terms of implementation, the protocol ensures uniformity by requiring all cryptographers to utilize identical private quantum circuits. This design establishes a completely modular quantum system where all modules are identical. Furthermore, each private quantum circuit exclusively employs the widely used Hadamard and CNOT quantum gates, facilitating straightforward implementation on contemporary quantum computers.
We describe a generalized algorithm for evaluating the steady-state solution of the density matrix equation of motion, for the pump-probe scheme, when two fields oscillating at different frequencies couple the same set of atomic transitions involving an arbitrary number of energy levels, to an arbitrary order of the harmonics of the pump-probe frequency difference. We developed a numerical approach and a symbolic approach for this algorithm. We have verified that both approaches yield the same result for all cases studied, but require different computation time. The results are further validated by comparing them with the analytical solution of a two-level system to first order. We have also used both models to produce results up to the third order in the pump-probe frequency difference, for two-, three- and four-level systems. In addition, we have used this model to determine accurately, for the first time, the gain profile for a self-pumped Raman laser, for a system involving 16 Zeeman sublevels in the D1 manifold of 87Rb atoms. We have also used this model to determine the behavior of a single-pumped superluminal laser. In many situations involving the applications of multiple laser fields to atoms with many energy levels, one often makes the approximation that each field couples only one transition, because of the difficulty encountered in accounting for the effect of another field coupling the same transition but with a large detuning. The use of the algorithm presented here would eliminate the need for making such approximations, thus improving the accuracy of numerical calculations for such schemes.
We have realized a suspended, high-reflectivity focusing metamirror ($f\approx 10$ cm, $\mathcal{R} \approx 99\%$) by non-periodic photonic crystal patterning of a Si$_3$N$_4$ membrane. The design enables construction of a stable, short ($L$ = 30 $\mu$m), high-finesse ($\mathcal{F}>600$) membrane cavity optomechanical system using a single plano dielectric end-mirror. We present the metamirror design, fabrication process, and characterization of its reflectivity using both free space and cavity-based transmission measurements. The mirror's effective radius of curvature is inferred from the transverse mode spectrum of the cavity. In combination with phononic engineering and metallization, focusing membrane mirrors offer a route towards high-cooperativity, vertically-integrated cavity optomechanical systems with applications ranging from precision force sensing to hybrid quantum transduction.
Quantum metaphotonics has emerged as a cutting-edge subfield of meta-optics employing subwavelength resonators and their planar structures such as metasurfaces to generate, manipulate, and detect quantum states of light. It holds a great potential for the miniaturization of current bulky quantum optical elements by developing a design of on-chip quantum systems for various applications of quantum technologies. Over the past few years, this field has witnessed a surge of intriguing theoretical ideas, groundbreaking experiments, and novel application proposals. This perspective paper aims to summarize the most recent advancements and also provide a perspective on the further progress in this rapidly developing field of research.
In this paper, we investigate the possibility of explaining nonclassical correlations between two quantum systems in terms of quantum interferences between collective states of the two systems. We achieve this by mapping the relations between different measurement contexts in the product Hilbert space of a pair of two-level systems onto an analogous sequence of interferences between paths in a single-particle interferometer. The paradoxical relations between different measurement outcomes can then be traced to the distribution of probability currents in the interferometer. We show that the relation between probability currents and correlations can be represented by continuous conditional (quasi)probability currents through the interferometer, given by weak values; the violation of the noncontextual assumption is expressed by negative conditional currents in some of the paths. Since negative conditional currents correspond to the assignment of negative conditional probabilities to measurements results in different measurement contexts, the necessity of such negative probability currents represents a failure of noncontextual local realism. Our results help to explain the meaning of nonlocal correlations in quantum mechanics, and support Feynman's claim that interference is the origin of all quantum phenomena.
Quantum transducers convert quantum signals from one carrier to another through hybrid interfaces of physical systems. For a quantum transducer between two bosonic modes, direct quantum transduction without shared entanglement or classical communication typically requires a conversion efficiency exceeding 0.5 which is challenging for current experiments. We propose the passive environment-assisted quantum transduction to overcome this stringent requirement. Without internal losses, the quantum transducer realizes a beam splitter unitary between two modes. The added noises to the transduction process from mode 1 to mode 2 is determined by the initial state of mode 2, which can be engineered to enhance the transduction performance. We find that by choosing the ideal Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states as the initial states of both modes, perfect quantum transduction can be achieved at arbitrarily low conversion efficiencies. In practice, it is crucial to also consider the finite energy constraints and high fidelity quantum transduction remains achievable with GKP states at the few-photon level.
Simulation and analysis of multidimensional dynamics of a quantum non-Hmeritian system is a challenging problem. Gaussian wavepacket dynamics has proven to be an intuitive semiclassical approach to approximately solving the dynamics of quantum systems. A Gaussian wavepacket approach is proposed for a continuous space extension to the Hatano-Nelson model that enables transparent analysis of the dynamics in terms of complex classical trajectories. We demonstrate certain cases where the configuration space trajectory can be made fully real by transforming the initial conditions to account for the non-Hermiticity appropriately through the momentum coordinates. However, in general the complex phase space is unavoidable. For the cases where the trajectory is real, the effective force can be decomposed into that due to the potential energy surface and that due to the imaginary vector potential. The impact of the vector potential on the trajectory of the wavepacket is directly proportional to both the strength of the vector potential and the width of the wavepacket.
We propose a scheme to enhance quantum entanglement in optomechanical system that is based on Duffing nonlinearity. Our benchmark system consists of an electromagnetic field that is driving two mechanically coupled mechanical resonators. One of the mechanical resonators support a Duffing nonlinear term, while the other is free of it. The phonon hopping rate is $\theta$-phase-dependent that induces a synthetic magnetism, which triggers Exceptional Points (EPs) singularities in the system. Without the Duffing nonlinear term, the entanglement between the electromagnetic field and the mechanical resonators is generated. This entanglement features the sudden death and revival phenomenon, where the peaks happen at the multiple of $\theta=\frac{\pi}{2}$. As the Duffing nonlinearity is accounted, the bipartite entanglement involving the nonlinear resonator vanishes. However, there is an entanglement transfer from the resonator supporting the nonlinear term towards the one that is mechanically coupled to it. This nonlinearly induced entanglement is robust again thermal fluctuation, and more stable compared to what is generated without the nonlinear term. This work paves a way to a generation of quantum entanglement using nonlinear resources, enabling quantum technology such as quantum information processing, quantum sensing, and quantum computing in complex systems.
We present the irreversibility generated by a stationary cavity magnomechanical system composed of a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) sphere with a diameter of a few hundred micrometers inside a microwave cavity. In this system, the magnons, i.e., collective spin excitations in the sphere, are coupled to the cavity photon mode via magnetic dipole interaction and to the phonon mode via magnetostrictive force (optomechanical-like). We employ the quantum phase space formulation of the entropy change to evaluate the steady-state entropy production rate and associated quantum correlation in the system. We find that the behavior of the entropy flow between the cavity photon mode and the phonon mode is determined by the magnon-photon coupling and the cavity photon dissipation rate. Interestingly, the entropy production rate can increase/decrease depending on the strength of the magnon-photon coupling and the detuning parameters. We further show that the amount of correlations between the magnon and phonon modes is linked to the irreversibility generated in the system for small magnon-photon coupling. Our results demonstrate the possibility of exploring irreversibility in driven magnon-based hybrid quantum systems and open a promising route for quantum thermal applications.
Quasicondensation in one dimension is known to occur for equilibrium systems of hard-core bosons (HCBs) at zero temperature. This phenomenon arises due to the off-diagonal long-range order in the ground state, characterized by a power-law decay of the one-particle density matrix $g_1(x,y)\sim |x-y|^{-1/2}$~--~a well-known outcome of Luttinger liquid theory. Remarkably, HCBs, when allowed to freely expand from an initial product state (i.e., characterized by initial zero correlation), exhibit quasicondensation and demonstrate the emergence of off-diagonal long-range order during nonequilibrium dynamics. This phenomenon has been substantiated by numerical and experimental investigations in the early 2000s. In this work, we revisit the dynamical quasicondensation of HCBs, providing a fully analytical treatment of the issue. In particular, we derive an exact asymptotic formula for the equal-time one-particle density matrix by borrowing ideas from the framework of quantum Generalized Hydrodynamics. Our findings elucidate the phenomenology of quasicondensation and of dynamical fermionization occurring at different stages of the time evolution, as well as the crossover between the two.
Linear optical quantum computing (LOQC) offers a quantum computation paradigm based on well-established and robust technology and flexible environmental conditions following DiVincenzo's criteria. Within this framework, integrated photonics can be utilized to achieve gate-based quantum computing, defining qubits by path-encoding, quantum gates through the use of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) as fundamental building blocks, and measurements through single-photon detectors. In particular, universal two-qubit gates can be achieved by suitable structures of MZIs together with post-selection or heralding. The most resource-efficient choice is given by the post-selected CZ gate. However, this implementation is characterized by a design which has a non-regular structure and cannot be cascaded. This limits the implementation of large-scale LOQC. Starting from these issues, we suggest an approach to move toward a universal and scalable LOQC on the integrated photonic platform. First of all, choosing the post-selected CZ as universal two-qubit gate, we extend the path-encoded dual-rail qubit to a triplet of waveguides, composed of an auxiliary waveguide and the pair of waveguides corresponding to the qubit basis states. Additionally, we introduce a swap photonic network that maps the regularly-labeled structure of the new path-encoded qubits to the structure needed for the post-selected CZ. We also discuss the optical swap gate that allows the connection of non-nearest neighbor path-encoded qubits. In this way, we can deterministically exchange the locations of the qubits and execute controlled quantum gates between any path-encoded qubits. Next, by truncating the auxiliary waveguides after any post-selected CZ, we find that it is possible to cascade this optical gate when it acts on different pairs that share only one qubit.
We demonstrate that the well-known $(k\uparrow, -k\downarrow)$ Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer interaction, when considered in real space, is equivalent to an infinite-range Penson-Kolb pairing mechanism coexisting with an attractive Hubbard term. Driven by this discovery and aiming at exploring the conduction properties, we investigate the dynamics of fermionic particles confined in a ring-shaped lattice. We assume that fermions are simultaneously influenced by the pairing interaction and by an Aharonov-Bohm electromagnetic phase, which is incorporated into the model in a highly non-trivial manner. Remarkably, the aforementioned model shows Richardson integrability for both integer and half-integer values of the applied magnetic flux $\Phi/\Phi_0$, thus permitting the exact solution of a genuine many-body problem. We discuss the ground state properties of both two-particle and many-particle systems, drawing comparisons with results from the attractive Hubbard model. Our approach combines exact diagonalization, density matrix renormalization group techniques, and numerical solution of the Richardson equations. This comprehensive analysis allows us to study various key metrics, including the system's conductivity as a function of the interaction strength. In this way, the BCS-BEC transition is investigated in a continuous manner, thus permitting to shed light on fundamental aspects of superconducting pairing. Our findings can be experimentally tested in a condensed matter context or, with greater level of control, using \textit{atomtronics} platforms.
We present an advanced quantum error suppression technique, which we dub robust error accumulation suppression (REAS). Our method reduces the accumulation of errors in any circuit composed of single- or two-qubit gates expressed as $e^{-i \sigma\theta }$ for Pauli operators $\sigma$ and $\theta \in [0,\pi)$; since such gates form a universal gate set, our results apply to a strictly larger class of circuits than those comprising only Clifford gates, thereby generalizing previous results. In the case of coherent errors -- which include crosstalk -- we demonstrate a reduction of the error scaling in an $L$-depth circuit from $O(L)$ to $O(\sqrt{L})$. Crucially, REAS makes no assumption on the cleanness of the error-suppressing protocol itself and is, therefore, truly robust, applying to situations in which the newly inserted gates have non-negligible coherent noise. Furthermore, we show that REAS can also suppress certain types of decoherence noise by transforming some gates to be robust against such noise, which is verified by the demonstration of the quadratic suppression of error scaling in the numerical simulation. Our results, therefore, present an advanced, robust method of error suppression that can be used in conjunction with error correction as a viable path toward fault-tolerant quantum computation.
We demonstrate the channeling of fluorescence photons from quantum dots (QDs) into guided modes of an optical nanofiber tip (ONFT). We deposit QDs on the ONFT using micro/nano fluidic technology. We measure the photon-counting and emission spectrum of fluorescence photons that are channeled into guided modes of the ONFT. The measured emission spectrum confirms the deposition of QDs on the ONFT. We perform numerical simulations to determine channeling efficiency ({\eta}) for the ONFT and a single dipole source (SDS) system. For the radially oriented SDS at the center of the facet of the ONFT, we found the maximum {\eta}-value of 44% at the fiber size parameter of 7.16, corresponding to the ONFT radius of 0.71 {\mu}m for the emission wavelength at 620 nm. Additionally, we investigate the SDS position dependence in transverse directions on the facet of the ONFT in view of keeping experimental ambiguities. The present fiber inline platform may open new avenues in quantum technologies.
We analytically investigate the one-excitation spin dynamics in a homogeneous closed spin-1/2 chain via diagonalization of the one-excitation block of the XX-Hamiltonian, which allows to derive the analytical expressions for probability amplitudes describing state transfers between any two spins of a chain. We analytically investigate the $M$-neighbor approximation ($M\ge 1$) of spin dynamics with arbitrary initial state and analyze its accuracy using special integral characteristics defined in terms of the above probability amplitudes. We find $M$ providing the required accuracy of evolution approximation for chains of different lengths.
The entanglement dynamics of an exactly solvable, pure dephasing model are studied. Repeated projective measurements are performed on the two-qubit system. Due to the system-environment interaction, system-environment correlations are established between each measurement. Consequently, the environment state keeps evolving. We investigate the effect of this changing environment state on the entanglement dynamics. In particular, we compare the dynamics with the case where the environment state is repeatedly reset.
We develop a framework for learning properties of quantum states beyond the assumption of independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) input states. We prove that, given any learning problem (under reasonable assumptions), an algorithm designed for i.i.d. input states can be adapted to handle input states of any nature, albeit at the expense of a polynomial increase in copy complexity. Furthermore, we establish that algorithms which perform non-adaptive incoherent measurements can be extended to encompass non-i.i.d. input states while maintaining comparable error probabilities. This allows us, among others applications, to generalize the classical shadows of Huang, Kueng, and Preskill to the non-i.i.d. setting at the cost of a small loss in efficiency. Additionally, we can efficiently verify any pure state using Clifford measurements, in a way that is independent of the ideal state. Our main techniques are based on de Finetti-style theorems supported by tools from information theory. In particular, we prove a new randomized local de Finetti theorem that can be of independent interest.
Machine learning techniques have achieved impressive results in recent years and the possibility of harnessing the power of quantum physics opens new promising avenues to speed up classical learning methods. Rather than viewing classical and quantum approaches as exclusive alternatives, their integration into hybrid designs has gathered increasing interest, as seen in variational quantum algorithms, quantum circuit learning, and kernel methods. Here we introduce deep hybrid classical-quantum reservoir computing for temporal processing of quantum states where information about, for instance, the entanglement or the purity of past input states can be extracted via a single-step measurement. We find that the hybrid setup cascading two reservoirs not only inherits the strengths of both of its constituents but is even more than just the sum of its parts, outperforming comparable non-hybrid alternatives. The quantum layer is within reach of state-of-the-art multimode quantum optical platforms while the classical layer can be implemented in silico.
Transmission lines are excellent examples of quantum simulators of quantum fields. By properly driving specific circuit elements, these devices can reproduce quantum relativistic effects such as the particle creation due to the non-adiabatic stimulation of the quantum vacuum. In this letter, we investigate the particle creation in left-handed metamaterial transmission lines (LHTLs). Our results show that, due to the peculiar dispersion relations, the particle production in LHTLs occurs with much more favorable conditions with respect to the usual right-handed transmission lines (RHTL).
Certification of quantum computing components can be crucial for quantum hardware improvements and the calibration of quantum algorithms. In this work, we propose an efficient method for certifying single-qubit quantum computation in a black-box scenario under the dimension assumption. The method is based on testing deterministic outcomes of quantum computation for predetermined gate sequences. Quantum gates are certified based on input-output correlations, with no auxiliary systems required. We show that a single-qubit universal gate set can be certified and analyze in detail certification of the S gate, for which the required sample complexity grows as O($\varepsilon^{-1}$) with respect to the average gate infidelity $\varepsilon$. Our approach takes a first step in bridging the gap between strong notions of certification from self-testing and practically highly relevant approaches from quantum system characterization.
The application of quantum machine learning to large-scale high-resolution image datasets is not yet possible due to the limited number of qubits and relatively high level of noise in the current generation of quantum devices. In this work, we address this challenge by proposing a quantum transfer learning (QTL) architecture that integrates quantum variational circuits with a classical machine learning network pre-trained on ImageNet dataset. Through a systematic set of simulations over a variety of image datasets such as Ants & Bees, CIFAR-10, and Road Sign Detection, we demonstrate the superior performance of our QTL approach over classical and quantum machine learning without involving transfer learning. Furthermore, we evaluate the adversarial robustness of QTL architecture with and without adversarial training, confirming that our QTL method is adversarially robust against data manipulation attacks and outperforms classical methods.
Fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, known for their robust topological order and the emergence of non-Abelian anyons, have captured significant interest due to the appealing applications in fault-tolerant quantum computing. Bottom-up approach on an engineered quantum platform will provide opportunities to operate FQH states without external magnetic field and enhance local and coherent manipulation of these exotic states. Here we demonstrate a lattice version of photon FQH state using a programmable on-chip platform based on photon blockade and engineering gauge fields on a novel two-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) system. We first observe the effective photon Lorentz force and butterfly spectrum in the artificial gauge field, a prerequisite for FQH states. After adiabatic assembly of Laughlin FQH wavefunction of 1/2 filling factor from localized photons, we observe strong density correlation and chiral topological flow among the FQH photons. We then verify the unique features of FQH states in response to external fields, including the incompressibility of generating quasiparticles and the smoking-gun signature of fractional quantum Hall conductivity. Our work represents a significant advance in the bottom-up creation and manipulation of novel strongly correlated topological quantum matter composed of photons and opens up possibilities for fault-tolerant quantum information devices.
The ground state of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a two-dimensional anharmonic--anisotropic potential is analyzed numerically at the limit of an infinite number of particles. We find that the density breaks up along the $x$ direction in position space and along the $p_y$ direction in momentum space together with the acquisition of angular momentum. Side by side, the anisotropies of the many-particle position variances along the $x$ and $y$ directions and of the many-particle momentum variances along the $p_y$ and $p_x$ directions become opposite when computed at the many-body and mean-field levels of theory. All in all, the rotating bosons are found to possess unique correlations at the limit of an infinite number of particles, both in position and momentum spaces, although their many-body and mean-field energies per particle and densities per particle coincide and the condensate fraction is 100\%. Implications are briefly discussed.
Thouless pumping, the quantized transport of particles in a cyclic adiabatic evolution, faces a challenge: slow driving may exceed the coherent time, while fast driving may compromise quantization. To address this dilemma, we propose expediting Thouless pumping using shortcuts to adiabaticity. By using counterdiabatic theory, we analytically derive the controlled Hamiltonian for implementing Thouless pumping beyond the adiabatic regime. Remarkably, our fast topological pumping approach allows for a significant reduction in pumping time to orders of magnitude on the order of 10$^{-11}$ when compared to traditional Thouless pumping. Furthermore, we demonstrate the resilience of our protocols against moderate noise levels. Our proposed approach offers a practical and efficient method for achieving fast topological pumping beyond the adiabatic regime.
We investigate two-electron interference in free space using two laser-triggered needle tips as independent electron sources, a fermionic realisation of the landmark Hanbury Brown and Twiss interferometer. We calculate the two-electron interference pattern in a quantum path formalism taking into account the fermionic nature and the spin configuration of the electrons. We also estimate the Coulomb repulsion in the setup in a semiclassical approach. We find that antibunching resulting from Pauli's exclusion principle and repulsion stemming from the Coulomb interaction can be clearly distinguished.
Quantum computing shows great potential, but errors pose a significant challenge. This study explores new strategies for mitigating quantum errors using artificial neural networks (ANN) and the Yang-Baxter equation (YBE). Unlike traditional error correction methods, which are computationally intensive, we investigate artificial error mitigation. The manuscript introduces the basics of quantum error sources and explores the potential of using classical computation for error mitigation. The Yang-Baxter equation plays a crucial role, allowing us to compress time dynamics simulations into constant-depth circuits. By introducing controlled noise through the YBE, we enhance the dataset for error mitigation. We train an ANN model on partial data from quantum simulations, demonstrating its effectiveness in correcting errors in time-evolving quantum states.
We propose a hybrid quantum-classical framework to solve the elastic scattering phase shift of two well-bound nuclei in an uncoupled channel. Within this framework, we develop a many-body formalism in which the continuum scattering states of the two colliding nuclei are regulated by a weak external harmonic oscillator potential with varying strength. Based on our formalism, we propose an approach to compute the eigenenergies of the low-lying scattering states of the relative motion of the colliding nuclei as a function of the oscillator strength of the confining potential. Utilizing the modified effective range expansion, we extrapolate the elastic scattering phase shift of the colliding nuclei from these eigenenergies to the limit when the external potential vanishes. In our hybrid approach, we leverage the advantage of quantum computing to solve for these eigenenergies from a set of many-nucleon Hamiltonian eigenvalue problems. These eigenenergies are inputs to classical computers to obtain the phase shift. We demonstrate our framework with two simple problems, where we implement the rodeo algorithm to solve the relevant eigenenergies with the IBM Qiskit quantum simulator. The results of both the spectra and the elastic scattering phase shifts agree well with other theoretical results.
We reiterate the contribution made by Harrow, Hassidim, and Llyod to the quantum matrix equation solver with the emphasis on the algorithm description and the error analysis derivation details. Moreover, the behavior of the amplitudes of the phase register on the completion of the Quantum Phase Estimation is studied. This study is beneficial for the comprehension of the choice of the phase register size and its interrelation with the Hamiltonian simulation duration in the algorithm setup phase.
Obtaining reliable state preparation protocols is a key step towards practical implementation of many quantum technologies, and one of the main tasks in quantum control. In this work, different reinforcement learning approaches are used to derive a feedback law for state preparation of a desired state in a target system. In particular, we focus on the robustness of the obtained strategies with respect to different types and amount of noise. Comparing the results indicates that the learned controls are more robust to unmodeled perturbations with respect to simple feedback strategy based on optimized population transfer, and that training on simulated nominal model retain the same advantages displayed by controllers trained on real data. The possibility of effective off-line training of robust controllers promises significant advantages towards practical implementation.
We introduce a novel hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for the near-term computation of expectation values in quantum systems at finite temperatures. This is based on two stages: on the first one, a mixed state approximating a fiducial truncated density matrix is prepared through Variational Quantum Eigensolving (VQE) techniques; this is then followed by a reweighting stage where the expectation values for observables of interest are computed. These two stages can then be iterated again with different hyperparameters to achieve arbitrary accuracy. Resource and time scalability of the algorithm is discussed with a near-term perspective.
We consider a network of three spatially separated labs of Alice, Bob, and Charlie, with a two-qubit state shared between Alice-Bob and Bob-Charlie, and all of them can collaborate through LOCC. We focus on the problem of optimal and deterministic distribution of a quantum teleportation channel (QTC) between Alice and Charlie. This involves distributing a two-qubit entangled state between Alice and Charlie with an optimized fully entangled fraction (FEF) over all three-party trace-preserving (TP) LOCC, exceeding the classical bound. However, we find that the optimal distribution of QTC generally has no one-to-one correspondence with the optimal distribution of entanglement. For some specific class of pre-shared two-qubit states, we identify the set of sufficient TP LOCC strategies that optimally distribute QTC. In this context, the mentioned set is restricted, with Bob initiating operations and subsequently sharing the outcomes with Alice and Charlie. Following Bob's contribution and after it is discarded, Alice and Charlie have the freedom of local post-processing. It seems that if one of the pre-shared entangled states is noisy, the optimal distribution may not necessarily require the other one to be most resourceful, i.e., a maximally entangled state (MES). Furthermore, when both of the pre-shared entangled states are noisy, there are instances where an efficient Bob-assisted protocol (generally a suboptimal protocol distributing a channel with FEF larger than the classical bound) necessarily requires Bob's joint measurement to be either performing projective measurement (PVM) in partially entangled pure states or performing POVM. In this regard, our study also reveals that the RPBES protocol introduced in Ref. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93. 260501] for efficient entanglement distribution (even optimally for some cases), is not an efficient protocol in general.
We consider the problems arising from the presence of Byzantine servers in a quantum private information retrieval (QPIR) setting. This is the first work to precisely define what the capabilities of Byzantine servers could be in a QPIR context. We show that quantum Byzantine servers have more capabilities than their classical counterparts due to the possibilities created by the quantum encoding procedure. We focus on quantum Byzantine servers that can apply any reversible operations on their individual qudits. In this case, the Byzantine servers can generate any error, i.e., this covers \emph{all} possible single qudit operations that can be done by the Byzantine servers on their qudits. We design a scheme that is resilient to these kinds of manipulations. We show that the scheme designed achieves superdense coding gain in all cases, i.e., $R_Q= \max \left\{0,\min\left\{1,2\left(1-\frac{X+T+2B}{N}\right)\right\}\right\}$.
As quantum technologies continue to advance, the simulation of open quantum dynamics using quantum algorithms has garnered increasing attention. In this paper, we present a universal and compact theory, the dissipaton-embedded quantum master equation in second quantization (DQME-SQ), for simulating non-Markovian open quantum dynamics. The DQME-SQ theory is not only inprinciple exact for both bosonic and fermionic environments that satisfy Gaussian statistics, but also possesses a compact form that facilitates quantum simulations. To demonstrate the practicality of the DQME-SQ theory, we conduct digital quantum simulations of spin-boson and Anderson impurity models, highlighting the significant non-Markovian dynamical effects. The proposed theoretical framework establishes a solid foundation for the accurate and efficient simulation of complex open quantum systems.
The competition between Hamiltonian and Lindblad dynamics in quantum systems give rise to non-equillibrium phenomena with no counter part in conventional condensed matter physics. In this paper, we investigate this interplay of dynamics in infinite range Heisenberg model coupled to a non-Markovian bath and subjected to Lindblad dynamics due to spin flipping at a given site. The spin model is bosonized via Holstein-Primakoff transformations and is shown to be valid for narrow range of parameters in the thermodynamic limit. Using Schwinger-Keldysh technique, we derive mean field solution of the model and observe that the system breaks $\mathcal{Z}_2$-symmetry at the transition point. We calculate effective temperature that has linear dependence on the effective system-bath coupling, and is independent of the dissipation rate and cutoff frequency of the bath spectral density. Furthermore, we study the fluctuations over mean field and show that the dissipative spectrum is modified by ${\rm O}(\frac{1}{N})$ correction term which results change in various physically measurable quantities.
Superconducting transition-edge sensors (TES) are extremely sensitive microcalorimeters used as photon detectors with unparalleled energy resolution. They have found application from measuring astronomical spectra through to determining the quantum property of photon-number, $\hat{n} {=} \hat{a}^{\dag} \hat{a}$, for energies from 0.6-2.33eV. However, achieving optimal energy resolution requires considerable data acquisition -- on the order of 1GB/min -- followed by post-processing, which does not allow access to energy information in real time. Here we use a custom hardware processor to process TES pulses while new detections are still being registered, allowing photon-number to be measured in real time as well as reducing data requirements by orders-of-magnitude. We resolve photon number up to n=16 -- achieving up to parts-per-billion discrimination for low photon numbers on the fly -- providing transformational capacity for applications of TES detectors from astronomy through to quantum technology.
Relaxation dynamics of complex many-body quantum systems brought out of equilibrium and subsequently trapped into metastable states is a very active field of research from both the theoretical and experimental point of view with implications in a wide array of topics from macroscopic quantum tunnelling and nucleosynthesis to non-equilibrium superconductivity and new energy-efficient memory devices. Understanding the dynamics of such systems is crucial for exploring fundamental aspects of many-body non-equilibrium quantum physics. In this work we investigate quantum domain reconfiguration dynamics in the electronic superlattice of a quantum material where classical dynamics is topologically constrained. The crossover from temperature to quantum fluctuation dominated dynamics in the context of environmental noise is investigated by directly observing charge reconfiguration with time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy. The process is modelled using a programmable superconducting quantum simulator in which qubit interconnections correspond directly to the microscopic interactions between electrons in the quantum material. Crucially, the dynamics of both the experiment on the quantum material and the simulation is driven by spectrally similar pink noise. We find that the simulations reproduce the emergent time evolution and temperature dependence of the experimentally observed electronic domain dynamics remarkably well. The combined experiment and simulations lead to a better understanding of noise-driven quantum dynamics in open quantum systems. From a practical viewpoint, the results are important for understanding the origin of the retention time in non-volatile memory devices such as those based on 1T-TaS2.
Variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) solves the ground state problem of a given Hamiltonian by finding the parameters of a quantum circuit ansatz that minimizes the Hamiltonian expectation value. Among possible quantum circuit ans\"{a}tze, the Hamiltonian variational ansatz (HVA) is widely studied for quantum many-body problems as the ansatz with sufficiently large depth is theoretically guaranteed to express the ground state. However, since the HVA shares the same symmetry with the Hamiltonian, it is not necessarily good at finding the symmetry-broken ground states that prevail in nature. In this paper, we systematically explore the limitations of the HVA for solving symmetry-broken systems and propose an alternative quantum circuit ansatz with symmetry-breaking layers. With extensive numerical simulations, we show that the proposed ansatz finds the ground state in depth significantly shorter than the bare HVA when the target Hamiltonian has symmetry-broken ground states.
Phase transitions represent a compelling tool for classical and quantum sensing applications. It has been demonstrated that quantum sensors can in principle saturate the Heisenberg scaling, the ultimate precision bound allowed by quantum mechanics, in the limit of large probe number and long measurement time. Due to the critical slowing down, the protocol duration time is of utmost relevance in critical quantum metrology. However, how the long-time limit is reached remains in general an open question. So far, only two dichotomic approaches have been considered, based on either static or dynamical properties of critical quantum systems. Here, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the scaling of the quantum Fisher information for different families of protocols that create a continuous connection between static and dynamical approaches. In particular, we consider fully-connected models, a broad class of quantum critical systems of high experimental relevance. Our analysis unveils the existence of universal precision-scaling regimes. These regimes remain valid even for finite-time protocols and finite-size systems. We also frame these results in a general theoretical perspective, by deriving a precision bound for arbitrary time-dependent quadratic Hamiltonians.
We present a general approach to the bulk-boundary correspondence of noninvertible topological phases, including both topological and fracton orders. This is achieved by a novel bulk construction protocol where solvable $(d+1)$-dimensional bulk models with noninvertible topology are constructed from the so-called generalized Ising (GI) models in $d$ dimensions. The GI models can then terminate on the boundaries of the bulk models. The construction generates abundant examples, including not only prototype ones such as $Z_2$ toric code models in any dimensions no less than two, and the X-cube fracton model, but also more diverse ones such as the $Z_2\times Z_2$ topological order, the 4d $Z_2$ topological order with pure-loop excitations, etc. The boundary of the solvable model is potentially anomalous and corresponds to precisely only sectors of the GI model that host certain total symmetry charges and/or satisfy certain boundary conditions. We derive a concrete condition for such bulk-boundary correspondence. The condition is violated only when the bulk model is either trivial or fracton ordered. A generalized notion of Kramers-Wannier duality plays an important role in the construction. Also, utilizing the duality, we find an example where a single anomalous theory can be realized on the boundaries of two distinct bulk fracton models, a phenomenon not expected in the case of topological orders. More generally, topological orders may also be generated starting with lattice models beyond the GI models, such as those with symmetry protected topological orders, through a variant bulk construction, which we provide in an appendix.
We present a unified approach to analyzing the cost of various quantum error mitigation methods on the basis of quantum estimation theory. By analyzing the quantum Fisher information matrix of a virtual quantum circuit that effectively represents the operations of quantum error mitigation methods, we derive for a generic layered quantum circuit under a wide class of Markovian noise that, unbiased estimation of an observable encounters an exponential growth with the circuit depth in the lower bound on the measurement cost. Under the global depolarizing noise, we in particular find that the bound can be asymptotically saturated by merely rescaling the measurement results. Moreover, we prove for random circuits with local noise that the cost grows exponentially also with the qubit count. Our numerical simulations support the observation that, even if the circuit has only linear connectivity, such as the brick-wall structure, each noise channel converges to the global depolarizing channel with its strength growing exponentially with the qubit count. This not only implies the exponential growth of cost both with the depth and qubit count, but also validates the rescaling technique for sufficiently deep quantum circuits. Our results contribute to the understanding of the physical limitations of quantum error mitigation and offer a new criterion for evaluating the performance of quantum error mitigation techniques.
We review recent results on adiabatic theory for ground states of extended gapped fermionic lattice systems under several different assumptions. More precisely, we present generalized super-adiabatic theorems for extended but finite as well as infinite systems, assuming either a uniform gap or a gap in the bulk above the unperturbed ground state. The goal of this note is to provide an overview of these adiabatic theorems and briefly outline the main ideas and techniques required in their proofs.
Frequency instabilities are a major source of errors in quantum devices. This study investigates frequency fluctuations in a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator, where reflection coefficients of 14 SAW modes are measured simultaneously for more than seven hours. We report two distinct noise characteristics. Multimode frequency noise caused by interactions with two-level system (TLS) defects shows significant degrees of correlations that diminish with increased detuning. This finding agrees with the current understanding of the parasitic TLS behavior as one of the dominant noise sources in quantum devices. In addition to the TLS-induced noise, we observe strong anomalous frequency fluctuations with slow, anti-correlated dynamics. These noise bursts resemble signatures of cosmic radiation observed in superconducting quantum systems.
We introduce a hitherto unexplored form of quantum nonlocality, termed local subset unidentifiability, that arises from the limitation of spatially separated parties to perfectly identify a subset of mutually orthogonal multipartite quantum states, randomly chosen from a larger known set, using Local Operations and Classical Communication (LOCC). We show that this nonlocality is stronger than other existing forms of quantum nonlocality, such as local indistinguishability and local unmarkability. If more than one multipartite states from a locally indistinguishable set are distributed between spatially separated parties in a sequentially ordered fashion, then they may or may not mark which state is which using LOCC. However, we show that even when the parties cannot mark the states, they may still locally identify the particular states given to them, though not their order -- i.e., they can identify the elements of the given subset of states. Then we prove the existence of such subsets that are not even locally identifiable, thereby manifesting a stronger nonlocality. We also present the genuine version of this nonlocality -- genuine subset unidentifiability -- where the provided subset remains unidentifiable unless all the parties come together in a common location and perform global measurements. We anticipate potential applications of this nonlocality for future quantum technologies. We discuss one such application in a certain secret password distribution protocol, where this nonlocality outperforms its predecessors as a resource.
Mode entanglement in many-body quantum systems is an active area of research. It provides crucial insight into the suitability of many-body systems for quantum information processing tasks. Local super-selection rules must be taken into account when assessing the amount of physically accessible entanglement. This requires amending well-established entanglement measures by incorporating local parity and local particle number constraints. In this paper, we report on mode entanglement present in the analytically solvable system of N-Harmonium. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first analytic study of the physically accessible mode and mode-mode entanglement of an interacting many-body system in a continuous state space. We find that super-selection rules dramatically reduce the amount of physically accessible entanglement, which vanishes entirely in some cases. Our results strongly suggest the need to re-evaluate intra and inter-mode entanglement in other fermionic and bosonic systems.
Continuously measured quantum systems are characterized by an output current, in the form of a stochastic and correlated time series which conveys crucial information about the underlying quantum system. The many tools used to describe current fluctuations are scattered across different communities: quantum opticians often use stochastic master equations, while a prevalent approach in condensed matter physics is provided by full counting statistics. These, however, are simply different sides of the same coin. Our goal with this tutorial is to provide a unified toolbox for describing current fluctuations. This not only provides novel insights, by bringing together different fields in physics, but also yields various analytical and numerical tools for computing quantities of interest. We illustrate our results with various pedagogical examples, and connect them with topical fields of research, such as waiting-time statistics, quantum metrology, thermodynamic uncertainty relations, quantum point contacts and Maxwell's demons.
Dynamical fluctuations or rare events associated with atypical trajectories in chaotic maps due to specific initial conditions can crucially determine their fate, as the may lead to stability islands or regions in phase space otherwise displaying unusual behavior. Yet, finding such initial conditions is a daunting task precisely because of the chaotic nature of the system. In this work, we circumvent this problem by proposing a framework for finding an effective topologically-conjugate map whose typical trajectories correspond to atypical ones of the original map. This is illustrated by means of examples which focus on counterbalancing the instability of fixed points and periodic orbits, as well as on the characterization of a dynamical phase transition involving the finite-time Lyapunov exponent. The procedure parallels that of the application of the generalized Doob transform in the stochastic dynamics of Markov chains, diffusive processes and open quantum systems, which in each case results in a new process having the prescribed statistics in its stationary state. This work thus brings chaotic maps into the growing family of systems whose rare fluctuations -- sustaining prescribed statistics of dynamical observables -- can be characterized and controlled by means of a large-deviation formalism.
The use of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond as a non-invasive platform for hyperpolarizing nuclear spins in molecular samples is a promising area of research with the potential to enhance the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. Transferring NV polarization out of the diamond structure has been achieved on nanoscale targets using dynamical nuclear polarization methods, but extending this to relevant NMR volumes poses significant challenges. One major technical hurdle is the presence of paramagnetic defects in the diamond surface which can interfere with polarization outflow. However, these defects can also be harnessed as intermediaries for the interaction between NVs and nuclear spins. We present a method that benefits from existing microwave sequences, namely the PulsePol, to transfer polarization efficiently and robustly using dangling bonds or other localized electronic spins, with the potential to increase polarization rates under realistic conditions.
The combination of optical tweezer arrays with strong interactions -- via dipole-exchange of molecules and van-der-Waals interactions of Rydberg atoms -- has opened the door for the exploration of a wide variety of quantum spin models. A next significant step will be the combination of such settings with mobile dopants: This will enable to simulate the physics believed to underlie many strongly correlated quantum materials. Here we propose an experimental scheme to realize bosonic t-J models via encoding the local Hilbert space in a set of three internal atomic or molecular states. By engineering antiferromagnetic (AFM) couplings between spins, competition between charge motion and magnetic order similar to that in high-$T_c$ cuprates can be realized. Since the ground states of the 2D bosonic AFM t-J model we propose to realize have not been studied extensively before, we start by analyzing the case of two dopants -- the simplest instance in which their bosonic statistics plays a role, and contrast our results to the fermionic case. We perform large-scale density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations on six-legged cylinders, and find a strong tendency for bosonic holes to form stripes. This demonstrates that bosonic, AFM t-J models may contain similar physics as the collective phases in strongly correlated electrons.
We propose a quantum science platform utilizing the dipole-dipole coupling between donor-acceptor pairs (DAPs) in wide bandgap semiconductors to realize optically controllable, long-range interactions between defects in the solid state. We carry out calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the electronic structure and interactions of DAPs formed by various substitutional point defects in diamond and silicon carbide (SiC). We determine the most stable charge states and evaluate zero phonon lines using constrained DFT and compare our results with those of simple donor-acceptor pair (DAP) models. We show that polarization differences between ground and excited states lead to unusually large electric dipole moments for several DAPs in diamond and SiC. We predict radiative lifetimes and photoluminescence spectra for selected substitutional atoms and show that while B-N pairs in diamond are challenging to control due to their large electron-phonon coupling, DAPs in SiC, especially Al-N pairs, are suitable candidates to realize long-range optically controllable interactions.
We investigate full quantum mechanical evolution of two electrons nonlinearly coupled to quantum phonons and simulate the dynamical response of the system subject to a short spatially uniform optical pulse that couples to dipole-active vibrational modes. Nonlinear electron-phonon coupling can either soften or stiffen the phonon frequency in the presence of electron density. In the former case, an external optical pulse tuned just below the phonon frequency generates attraction between electrons and leads to a long-lived bound state even after the optical pulse is switched off. It originates from a dynamical modification of the self-trapping potential that induces a metastable state. By increasing the pulse frequency, the attractive electron-electron interaction changes to repulsive. Two sequential optical pulses with different frequencies can switch between attractive and repulsive interaction. Finally, we show that the pulse-induced binding of electrons is shown to be efficient also for weakly dispersive optical phonons, in the presence anharmonic phonon spectrum and in two dimensions.
In the same silicon photonic integrated circuit, we compare two types of integrated degenerate photon-pair sources (microring resonators or waveguides) by means of Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference experiments. Two nominally identical microring resonators are coupled to two nominally identical waveguides which form the arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. This is pumped by two lasers at two different wavelengths to generate, by spontaneous four-wave mixing, degenerate photon pairs. In particular, the microring resonators can be thermally tuned in or out of resonance with the pump wavelengths, thus choosing either the microring resonators or the waveguides as photon-pair sources, respectively. In this way, an on-chip HOM visibility of 94% with microring resonators and 99% with straight waveguides is measured upon filtering. We compare our experimental results with theoretical simulations of the joint spectral intensity and the purity of the degenerate photon pairs. We verify that the visibility is connected to the sources' indistinguishability, which can be quantified by the overlap between the joint spectral amplitudes (JSA) of the photon pairs generated by the two sources. We estimate a JSAs overlap of 98% with waveguides and 89% with microring resonators.
Recently the photonic golden rule, which predicts that the spontaneous emission rate of an atom depends on the projected local density of states (LDOS), was shown to fail in an optical medium with a linear gain amplifier. We present a classical light-matter theory to fix this widely used spontaneous emission rate, fully recovering the quantum mechanical rate reported in Franke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 013602 (2021). The corrected classical Purcell factor, for media containing linear amplifiers, is obtained in two different forms, both of which can easily be calculated in any standard classical Maxwell solver. We also derive explicit analytical results in terms of quasinormal modes, which are useful for studying practical cavity structures in an efficient way, including the presence of local field effects for finite-size dipole emitters embedded inside lossy or gain materials (using a real cavity model). Finally, we derive a full classical correspondence from the viewpoint of quantized quasinormal modes in the bad cavity limit. Example numerical calculations are shown for coupled loss-gain microdisk resonators, showing excellent agreement between few mode expansions and full numerical dipole simulations.
One of the fundamental results in quantum foundations is the Kochen-Specker (KS) theorem, which states that any theory whose predictions agree with quantum mechanics must be contextual, i.e., a quantum observation cannot be understood as revealing a pre-existing value. The theorem hinges on the existence of a mathematical object called a KS vector system. While many KS vector systems are known, the problem of finding the minimum KS vector system in three dimensions (3D) has remained stubbornly open for over 55 years. To address the minimum KS problem, we present a new verifiable proof-producing method based on a combination of a Boolean satisfiability (SAT) solver and a computer algebra system (CAS) that uses an isomorph-free orderly generation technique that is very effective in pruning away large parts of the search space. Our method shows that a KS system in 3D must contain at least 24 vectors. We show that our sequential and parallel Cube-and-Conquer (CnC) SAT+CAS methods are significantly faster than SAT-only, CAS-only, and a prior CAS-based method of Uijlen and Westerbaan. Further, while our parallel pipeline is somewhat slower than the parallel CnC version of the recently introduced Satisfiability Modulo Theories (SMS) method, this is in part due to the overhead of proof generation. Finally, we provide the first computer-verifiable proof certificate of a lower bound to the KS problem with a size of 42.9 TiB in order 23.
We show that a modulated longitudinal cavity-qubit coupling can be used to control the path taken by a multiphoton coherent-state wavepacket conditioned on the state of a qubit, resulting in a qubit-which-path (QWP) entangled state. QWP states can generate long-range multipartite entanglement using strategies for interfacing discrete- and continuous-variable degrees-of-freedom. Using the approach presented here, entanglement can be distributed in a quantum network without the need for single-photon sources or detectors.
Quantum simulation of dynamics is an important goal in the NISQ era, within which quantum error mitigation may be a viable path towards modifying or eliminating the effects of noise. Most studies on quantum error mitigation have been focused on the resource cost due to its exponential scaling in the circuit depth. Methods such as probabilistic error cancellation rely on discretizing the evolution into finite time steps and applying the mitigation layer after each time step, modifying only the noise part without any Hamiltonian-dependence. This may lead to Trotter-like errors in the simulation results even if the error mitigation is implemented ideally, which means that the number of samples is taken as infinite. Here we analyze the aforementioned errors which have been largely neglected before. We show that, they are determined by the commutating relations between the superoperators of the unitary part, the device noise part and the noise part of the open dynamics to be simulated. We include both digital quantum simulation and analog quantum simulation setups, and consider defining the ideal error mitigation map both by exactly inverting the noise channel and by approximating it to the first order in the time step. We take single-qubit toy models to numerically demonstrate our findings. Our results illustrate fundamental limitations of applying probabilistic error cancellation in a stepwise manner to continuous dynamics, thus motivating the investigations of truly time-continuous error cancellation methods.
A set of orthogonal multipartite quantum states are called (distinguishability-based) genuinely nonlocal if they are locally indistinguishable across any bipartition of the subsystems. In this work, we consider the problem of constructing small genuinely nonlocal sets consisting of generalized GHZ states in multipartite systems. For system (C^2)^(\otimes N) where N is large, using the language of group theory, we show that a tiny proportion {\Theta}[1/2^(N/2)] of the states among the N-qubit GHZ basis suffice to exhibit genuine nonlocality. Similar arguments also hold for the canonical generalized GHZ bases in systems (C^d)^(\otimes N), wherever d is even and N is large. What is more, moving to the condition that any fixed N is given, we show that d + 1 genuinely nonlocal generalized GHZ states exist in (C^d)^(\otimes N), provided the local dimension d is sufficiently large. As an additional merit, within and beyond an asymptotic sense, the latter result also indicates some evident limitations of the "trivial othogonality-preserving local measurements" (TOPLM) technique that has been utilized frequently for detecting genuine nonlocality.
We investigate the required peripheral circuits to enable ideal performance for a high-gain travelling-wave parametric amplifier (TWPA) based on three-wave mixing (3WM). By embedding the TWPA in a network of superconducting diplexers, hybrid couplers and impedance matching networks, the amplifier can deliver a high stable gain with near-quantum-limited noise performance, with suppressed gain ripples, while eliminating the reflections of the signal, the idler and the pump as well as the transmission of all unwanted tones. We also demonstrate a configuration where the amplifier can isolate. We call this technique Wideband Idler Filtering (WIF). The theory is supported by simulations that predict over 20 dB gain in the 4-8 GHz band with 10 dB isolation for a single amplifier and 30 dB isolation for two cascaded amplifiers. We demonstrate how the WIF-TWPAs can be used to construct controllable isolators with over 40 dB isolation over the full 4-8 GHz band.
Regev recently introduced a quantum factoring algorithm that may be perceived as a $d$-dimensional variation of Shor's factoring algorithm. In this work, we extend Regev's factoring algorithm to an algorithm for computing discrete logarithms in a natural way. Furthermore, we discuss natural extensions of Regev's factoring algorithm to order finding, and to factoring completely via order finding. For all of these algorithms, we discuss various practical implementation considerations, including in particular the robustness of the post-processing.
We study effects of relaxation/decoherence processes on quantum transport of non-interacting Fermi particles across the tight-binding chain, where we distinguish between relaxation processes in the contacts (external decoherence) and those in the chain (internal decoherence). It is argued that relaxation processes in the contacts can essentially modify the resonant transmission as compared to the Landauer theory. We also address quantum transport in disordered chains. It is shown that external decoherence reduces conductance fluctuations but does not alter the Anderson localization length. This is in strong contrast with the effect of internal decoherence which is found to suppress the Anderson localization.
We investigate the ground state properties of the bipolaron coupled to quantum dispersive optical phonons in the one-dimensional Holstein-Hubbard model. We concentrate on the interplay between the phonon dispersion and the Coulomb repulsion and their mutual effect on the bipolaron effective mass, the binding energy, and the phase diagram. Most surprisingly, the sign of the curvature of the optical phonon dispersion plays a decisive role on the bipolaron binding energy in the presence of the Coulomb repulsion $U$. In particular, when the sign of the phonon dispersion curvature matches the sign of the electron dispersion curvature, the bipolaron remains bound in the strong coupling limit even when $U\to \infty$ and the binding emanates from the exchange of phonons between two electrons residing on adjacent sites. At moderate electron-phonon coupling a light bipolaron exists up to large values of $U$. Finally, an intuitive explanation of the role of the phonon dispersion on the bipolaron binding energy is derived using the strong coupling limit where the binding emanates from the exchange of phonons between two electrons residing on adjacent sites which leads to enhanced stability of bipolarons at elevated Coulomb repulsion.
We consider models of quantum computation that involve operations performed on some fixed resourceful quantum state. Examples that fit this paradigm include magic state injection and measurement-based approaches. We introduce a framework that incorporates both of these cases and focus on the role of coherence (or superposition) in this context, as exemplified through the Hadamard gate. We prove that given access to incoherent unitaries (those that are unable to generate superposition from computational basis states, e.g. CNOT, diagonal gates), classical control, computational basis measurements, and any resourceful ancillary state (of arbitrary dimension), it is not possible to implement any coherent unitary (e.g. Hadamard) exactly with non-zero probability. We also consider the approximate case by providing lower bounds for the induced trace distance between the above operations and $n$ Hadamard gates. To demonstrate the stability of this result, this is then extended to a similar no-go result for the case of using $k$ Hadamard gates to exactly implement $n>k$ Hadamard gates.
Isometric tensor networks (isoTNS) form a subclass of tensor network states that have an additional isometric condition, which implies that they can be efficiently prepared with a linear-depth sequential quantum circuit. In this work, we introduce a procedure to construct isoTNS-solvable models in 2D. By continuously tuning a parameter in the isoTNS, the many-body ground state undergoes quantum phase transitions, exhibiting distinct 2D quantum phases. We illustrate this by constructing an isoTNS path with bond dimension $D = 2$ interpolating between distinct symmetry-enriched topological (SET) phases. At the transition point, the isoTNS wavefunction is related to a gapless point in the classical six-vertex model. Furthermore, the critical wavefunction supports a power-law correlation along one spatial direction while remains long-range ordered in the other spatial direction. We provide an exact linear-depth parametrized local quantum circuit that realizes the path and therefore it can be efficiently realized on a programmable quantum device.
Studies of the dynamics of a quantum system coupled to a bath are typically performed by utilizing the Nakajima-Zwanzig memory kernel (${\mathcal{K}}$) or the influence functions ($\mathbf{{I}}$), especially when the dynamics exhibit memory effects (i.e., non-Markovian). Despite their significance, the formal connection between the memory kernel and the influence functions has not been explicitly made. We reveal their relation through the observation of a diagrammatic structure underlying the system propagator, $\mathbf{{I}}$, and ${\mathcal{K}}$. Based on this, we propose a non-perturbative, diagrammatic approach to construct ${\mathcal{K}}$ from $\mathbf{{I}}$ for (driven) systems interacting with harmonic baths without the use of any projection-free dynamics inputs required by standard approaches. With this construction, we also show how approximate path integral methods can be understood in terms of approximate memory kernels. Furthermore, we demonstrate a Hamiltonian learning procedure to extract the bath spectral density from a set of reduced system trajectories obtained experimentally or by numerically exact methods, opening new avenues in quantum sensing and engineering. The insights we provide in this work will significantly advance the understanding of non-Markovian dynamics, and they will be an important stepping stone for theoretical and experimental developments in this area.
We introduce a characterisation scheme for a universal qutrit gate set. Motivated by the rising interest in qutrit systems, we apply our criteria to establish that our hyperdihedral group underpins a scheme to characterise the performance of a qutrit T gate. Our resulting qutrit scheme is feasible, as it requires resources and data analysis techniques similar to resources employed for qutrit Clifford randomised benchmarking. Combining our T gate benchmarking procedure for qutrits with known qutrit Clifford-gate benchmarking enables complete characterisation of a universal qutrit gate set.
Quantum state readout is a key requirement for a successful qubit platform. In this work we demonstrate a high fidelity quantum state readout of a V2 center nuclear spin based on a repetitive readout technique. We demonstrate up to 99.5$\,\%$ readout fidelity and 99$\,\%$ for state preparation. Using this efficient readout we initialise the nuclear spin by measurement and demonstrate its Rabi and Ramsey nutation. Finally, we use the nuclear spin as a long lived memory for quantum sensing application of weakly coupled diatomic nuclear spin bath.
Conventional heterodyne readout schemes are now under reconsideration due to the realization of techniques to evade its inherent 3 dB signal-to-noise penalty. The application of high-frequency, spectrally entangled, two-mode squeezed states can further improve the readout sensitivity of audio-band signals. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate quantum-enhanced heterodyne readout of two spatially distinct interferometers with direct optical signal combination, circumventing the 3 dB heterodyne signal-to-noise penalty. Applying a high-frequency, spectrally entangled, two-mode squeezed state, we show further signal-to-noise improvement of an injected audio band signal of 3.5 dB. This technique is applicable for quantum-limited high-precision experiments, with application to searches for quantum gravity, gravitational wave detection and wavelength-multiplexed quantum communication.
Due to the ability of liquid crystals to self-assemble into complex structures, their strong response to the electric field, integrability into complex optical systems, and recently also considerable second-order optical nonlinearity, they are a base for various linear and nonlinear optical devices. However, their use as sources of quantum states of light has not been explored so far. Here, we demonstrate an efficient electric-field tunable broadband source of entangled photons based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal. The emission rate and the polarization state of the photon pairs can be drastically altered by either applying a few volts or twisting the molecular orientation along the sample, enabling the generation of almost any polarization state. The concepts developed here could be extended to complex topological structures and multi-pixel devices generating quantum light.
We give complete presentations for the dagger-compact props of affine Lagrangian and coisotropic relations over an arbitrary field. This provides a unified family of graphical languages for both affinely constrained classical mechanical systems, as well as odd-prime-dimensional stabiliser quantum circuits. To this end, we present affine Lagrangian relations by a particular class of undirected coloured graphs. In order to reason about composite systems, we introduce a powerful scalable notation where the vertices of these graphs are themselves coloured by graphs. In the setting of stabiliser quantum mechanics, this scalable notation gives an extremely concise description of graph states, which can be composed via ``phased spider fusion.'' Likewise, in the classical mechanical setting of electrical circuits, we show that impedance matrices for reciprocal networks are presented in essentially the same way.
In this work it is shown that there are symmetries beyond the Euclidean group $E\left(3\right)$ in 3-body problem, and by extension in many-body problem, with inverse squared distance inter particle force. The symmetries in 3-body problem form a group: $SO\left(4\times3,2\times3\right)/\left(C\left(3\times2\right)\right)$, where $C\left(n\right)$ is the planar translation group in n dimensions, which forms its Spectrum-Generating group. Some of these quantities commute with the Hamiltonian. The existence of these conserved quantities was verified by calculating energy spectrum of the Helium atom. This method can also be used to find symmetries in many-body problem, and to calculate energy levels, and wave-functions of more complicated systems, which include every possible atomic and molecular systems in chemistry.
This paper delves into the degradability of quantum channels, with a specific focus on high-dimensional extensions of qubit depolarizing channels in low-noise regimes. We build upon the foundation of $\eta$-approximate degradable channels, as established by Sutter et al. and Leditzky et al., to introduce and examine the Modified Landau-Streater (MLS) channels. These channels expand upon the qubit depolarizing and the recently proposed modified Werner-Holevo channels by Roofeh and Karimipour, extending them to higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces (with dimension $d=2j+1$, where $j$ are positive half-integers). Our investigation centers on their conformity to the $O(\varepsilon^2)$ degradability pattern, aligning with and extending Leditzky et al.'s findings in the $d=2$ case. By replacing the SU($2$) generators with SU($d$) in our treatment, we may explore the potential inclusion of generalized Gell-Mann matrices in future research. Our results enhance the understanding of super-additivity in quantum channels within the low-noise regime and lay the groundwork for future explorations into conditions and structures that could lead to $O(\varepsilon^2)$ degradability across a broader spectrum of quantum channels.
We present a quantum-classical algorithm to study the dynamics of the Rohksar-Kivelson plaquette ladder on NISQ devices. We show that complexity is largely reduced using gauge invariance, additional symmetries, and a crucial property associated to how plaquettes are blocked against ring-exchange in the ladder geometry. This allows for an efficient simulation of sizable plaquette ladders with a small number of qubits, well suited for the capabilities of present NISQ devices. We illustrate the procedure for ladders with simulation of up to $8$ plaquettes in an IBM-Q machine, employing scaled quantum gates.
Decomposing a matrix into a weighted sum of Pauli strings is a common chore of the quantum computer scientist, whom is not easily discouraged by exponential scaling. But beware, a naive decomposition can be cubically more expensive than necessary! In this manuscript, we derive a fixed-memory, branchless algorithm to compute the inner product between a 2^N-by-2^N complex matrix and an N-term Pauli tensor in O(2^N) time, by leveraging the Gray code. Our scheme permits the embarrassingly parallel decomposition of a matrix into a weighted sum of Pauli strings in O(8^N) time. We implement our algorithm in Python, hosted open-source on Github, and benchmark against a recent state-of-the-art method called the "PauliComposer" which has an exponentially growing memory overhead, achieving speedups in the range of 1.5x to 5x for N < 8. Note that our scheme does not leverage sparsity, diagonality, Hermitivity or other properties of the input matrix which might otherwise enable optimised treatment in other methods. As such, our algorithm is well-suited to decomposition of dense, arbitrary, complex matrices which are expected dense in the Pauli basis, or for which the decomposed Pauli tensors are a priori unknown.