From fusion to total disassembly: global stopping in heavy-ion collisions

Using the quantum molecular dynamics model, we aim to investigate the emis- sion of light complex particles, and degree of stopping reached in heavy-ion colli- sions. We took incident energies between 50 and 1000 MeV/nucleon. In addition, central and peripheral collisions and different masses are also considered. We ob- serve that the light complex particles act in almost similar manner as anisotropic ratio. In other words, multiplicity of light complex particles is an indicator of global stopping in heavy-ion collisions. We see that maximum light complex particles and stopping is obtained for heavier masses in central collisions

Phase transition of light on complex quantum networks

Recent advances in quantum optics and atomic physics allow for an unprecedented level of control over light-matter interactions, which can be exploited to investigate new physical phenomena. In this work we are interested in the role played by the topology of quantum networks describing coupled optical cavities and local atomic degrees of freedom. In particular, using a mean-field approximation, we study the phase diagram of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model on complex networks topologies, and we characterize the transition between a Mott-like phase of localized polaritons and a superfluid phase. We found that, for complex topologies, the phase diagram is non-trivial and well defined in the thermodynamic limit only if the hopping coefficient scales like the inverse of the maximal eigenvalue of the adjacency matrix of the network. Furthermore we provide numerical evidences that, for some complex network topologies, this scaling implies an asymptotically vanishing hopping coefficient in the limit of large network sizes. The latter result suggests the interesting possibility of observing quantum phase transitions of light on complex quantum networks even with very small couplings between the optical cavities.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Diffraction of complex molecules by structures made of light

We demonstrate that structures made of light can be used to coherently control the motion of complex molecules. In particular, we show diffraction of the fullerenes C60 and C70 at a thin grating based on a standing light wave. We prove experimentally that the principles of this effect, well known from atom optics, can be successfully extended to massive and large molecules which are internally in a thermodynamic mixed state and which do not exhibit narrow optical resonances. Our results will be important for the observation of quantum interference with even larger and more complex objects.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

The complex light-curve of the afterglow of GRB071010A

We present and discuss the results of an extensive observational campaign devoted to GRB071010A, a long-duration gamma-ray burst detected by the Swift satellite. This event was followed for almost a month in the optical/near-infrared (NIR) with various telescopes starting from about 2min after the high-energy event. Swift-XRT observations started only later at about 0.4d. The light-curve evolution allows us to single out an initial rising phase with a maximum at about 7min, possibly the afterglow onset in the context of the standard fireball model, which is then followed by a smooth decay interrupted by a sharp rebrightening at about 0.6d. The rebrightening was visible in both the optical/NIR and X-rays and can be interpreted as an episode of discrete energy injection, although various alternatives are possible. A steepening of the afterglow light curve is recorded at about 1d. The entire evolution of the optical/NIR afterglow is consistent with being achromatic. This could be one of the few identified GRB afterglows with an achromatic break in the X-ray through the optical/NIR bands. Polarimetry was also obtained at about 1d, just after the rebrightening and almost coincident with the steepening. This provided a fairly tight upper limit of 0.9% for the polarized-flux fraction.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS, in pres

The complex light-curve of the afterglow of GRB071010A

We present and discuss the results of an extensive observational campaign devoted to GRB071010A, a long-duration gamma-ray burst detected by the Swift satellite. This event was followed for almost a month in the optical/near-infrared (NIR) with various telescopes starting from about 2min after the high-energy event. Swift-XRT observations started only later at about 0.4d. The light-curve evolution allows us to single out an initial rising phase with a maximum at about 7min, possibly the afterglow onset in the context of the standard fireball model, which is then followed by a smooth decay interrupted by a sharp rebrightening at about 0.6d. The rebrightening was visible in both the optical/NIR and X-rays and can be interpreted as an episode of discrete energy injection, although various alternatives are possible. A steepening of the afterglow light curve is recorded at about 1d. The entire evolution of the optical/NIR afterglow is consistent with being achromatic. This could be one of the few identified GRB afterglows with an achromatic break in the X-ray through the optical/NIR bands. Polarimetry was also obtained at about 1d, just after the rebrightening and almost coincident with the steepening. This provided a fairly tight upper limit of 0.9% for the polarized-flux fraction.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS, in pres