Direct equivalence between quantum phase transition phenomena in radiation-matter and magnetic systems: scaling of entanglement

We show that the quantum phase transition arising in a standard radiation-matter model (Dicke model) belongs to the same universality class as the infinitely-coordinated, transverse field XY model. The effective qubit-qubit exchange interaction is shown to be proportional to the square of the qubit-radiation coupling. A universal finite-size scaling is derived for the corresponding two-qubit entanglement (concurrence) and a size-consistent effective Hamiltonian is proposed for the qubit subsystem.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes. Published versio

Efficient and robust initialization of a qubit register with fermionic atoms

We show that fermionic atoms have crucial advantages over bosonic atoms in terms of loading in optical lattices for use as a possible quantum computation device. After analyzing the change in the level structure of a non-uniform confining potential as a periodic potential is superimposed to it, we show how this structure combined with the Pauli principle and fermion degeneracy can be exploited to create unit occupancy of the lattice sites with very high efficiency.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Controlling ultracold atoms in multi-band optical lattices for simulation of Kondo physics

We show that ultracold atoms can be controlled in multi-band optical lattices through spatially periodic Raman pulses for investigation of a class of strongly correlated physics related to the Kondo problem. The underlying dynamics of this system is described by a spin-dependent fermionic or bosonic Kondo-Hubbard lattice model even if we have only spin-independent atomic collision interaction. We solve the bosonic Kondo-Hubbard lattice model through a mean-field approximation, and the result shows a clear phase transition from the ferromagnetic superfluid to the Kondo-signet insulator at the integer filling.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Free expansion of lowest Landau level states of trapped atoms: a wavefunction microscope

We show that for any lowest-Landau-level state of a trapped, rotating, interacting Bose gas, the particle distribution in coordinate space in a free expansion (time of flight) experiment is related to that in the trap at the time it is turned off by a simple rescaling and rotation. When the lowest-Landau-level approximation is valid, interactions can be neglected during the expansion, even when they play an essential role in the ground state when the trap is present. The correlations in the density in a single snapshot can be used to obtain information about the fluid, such as whether a transition to a quantum Hall state has occurred.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. v2: discussion of neglect of interactions during expansion improved, refs adde

Low energy excitations of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level regime

We study the spectrum and magnetic properties of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level for different values of the hopping and Zeeman parameters by means of exact diagonalization techniques in systems of N=6 and N=7 electrons and filling factor close to 2. We compare our results with those obtained in double quantum layers and single quantum dots. The Kohn theorem is also discussed.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; references added; journal versio

Long-Term Flux Monitoring of LSI +61 303 at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz

LSI +61 303 is an exotic binary system consisting of a ~10 Msun B star and a compact object which is probably a neutron star. The system is associated with the interesting radio source GT0236+610 that exhibits bright radio outbursts with a period of 26.5 days. We report the results of continuous daily radio interferometric observations of GT0236+610 at 2.25 and 8.3 GHz from 1994 January to 1996 February. The observations cover 25 complete (and 3 partial) cycles with multiple observations each day. We detect substantial cycle-to-cycle variability of the radio emission characterized by a rapid onset of the radio flares followed by a more gradual decrease of the emission. We detect a systematic change of the radio spectral index alpha which typically becomes larger than zero at the onset of the radio outbursts. This behavior is suggestive of expansion of material initially optically thick to radio frequencies, indicating either that synchrotron or inverse Compton cooling are important or that the free-free optical depth to the source is rapidly changing. After two years of observations, we see only weak evidence for the proposed 4-year periodic modulation in the peak flux of the outbursts. We observe a secular trend in the outburst phases according the the best published ephemeris. This trend indicates either orbital period evolution, or a drift in outburst orbital phase in response to some other change in the system.Comment: 23 pages, LaTex, 7 figures, to appear in ApJ, v491, Dec 10th issue, for associated info and preprints see http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/paulr/lsi.htm

On the properties of fractal cloud complexes

We study the physical properties derived from interstellar cloud complexes having a fractal structure. We first generate fractal clouds with a given fractal dimension and associate each clump with a maximum in the resulting density field. Then, we discuss the effect that different criteria for clump selection has on the derived global properties. We calculate the masses, sizes and average densities of the clumps as a function of the fractal dimension (D_f) and the fraction of the total mass in the form of clumps (epsilon). In general, clump mass does not fulfill a simple power law with size of the type M_cl ~ (R_cl)**(gamma), instead the power changes, from gamma ~ 3 at small sizes to gamma<3 at larger sizes. The number of clumps per logarithmic mass interval can be fitted to a power law N_cl ~ (M_cl)**(-alpha_M) in the range of relatively large masses, and the corresponding size distribution is N_cl ~ (R_cl)**(-alpha_R) at large sizes. When all the mass is forming clumps (epsilon=1) we obtain that as D_f increases from 2 to 3 alpha_M increases from ~0.3 to ~0.6 and alpha_R increases from ~1.0 to ~2.1. Comparison with observations suggests that D_f ~ 2.6 is roughly consistent with the average properties of the ISM. On the other hand, as the fraction of mass in clumps decreases (epsilon<1) alpha_M increases and alpha_R decreases. When only ~10% of the complex mass is in the form of dense clumps we obtain alpha_M ~ 1.2 for D_f=2.6 (not very different from the Salpeter value 1.35), suggesting this a likely link between the stellar initial mass function and the internal structure of molecular cloud complexes.Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap

Topological transition in a two-dimensional model of liquid crystal

Simulations of nematic-isotropic transition of liquid crystals in two dimensions are performed using an O(2) vector model characterised by non linear nearest neighbour spin interaction governed by the fourth Legendre polynomial $P\_4$. The system is studied through standard Finite-Size Scaling and conformal rescaling of density profiles of correlation functions. A topological transition between a paramagnetic phase at high temperature and a critical phase at low temperature is observed. The low temperature limit is discussed in the spin wave approximation and confirms the numerical results

Anomalous Expansion of Attractively Interacting Fermionic Atoms in an Optical Lattice

Strong correlations can dramatically modify the thermodynamics of a quantum many-particle system. Especially intriguing behaviour can appear when the system adiabatically enters a strongly correlated regime, for the interplay between entropy and strong interactions can lead to counterintuitive effects. A well known example is the so-called Pomeranchuk effect, occurring when liquid 3He is adiabatically compressed towards its crystalline phase. Here, we report on a novel anomalous, isentropic effect in a spin mixture of attractively interacting fermionic atoms in an optical lattice. As we adiabatically increase the attraction between the atoms we observe that the gas, instead of contracting, anomalously expands. This expansion results from the combination of two effects induced by pair formation in a lattice potential: the suppression of quantum fluctuations as the attraction increases, which leads to a dominant role of entropy, and the progressive loss of the spin degree of freedom, which forces the gas to excite additional orbital degrees of freedom and expand to outer regions of the trap in order to maintain the entropy. The unexpected thermodynamics we observe reveal fundamentally distinctive features of pairing in the fermionic Hubbard model.Comment: 6 pages (plus appendix), 6 figure

Microquasar models for 3EG J1828+0142 and 3EG J1735-1500

Microquasars are promising candidates to emit high-energy gamma-rays. Moreover, statistical studies show that variable EGRET sources at low galactic latitudes could be associated with the inner spiral arms. The variable nature and the location in the Galaxy of the high-mass microquasars, concentrated in the galactic plane and within 55 degrees from the galactic center, give to these objects the status of likely counterparts of the variable low-latitude EGRET sources. We consider in this work the two most variable EGRET sources at low-latitudes: 3EG J1828+0142 and 3EG J1735-1500, proposing a microquasar model to explain the EGRET data in consistency with the observations at lower energies (from radio frequencies to soft gamma-rays) within the EGRET error box.Comment: (1)Universitat de Barcelona, (2)Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (3) Facultad de Ciencias Astronomicas y Geofisicas (4)Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 6 pages, 2 figures. Presented as a poster at the V Microquasar Workshop, Beijing, June 2004. Accepted for publication in the Chinese Journal of Astronomy & Astrophysic