Chern-Simons and Born-Infeld gravity theories and Maxwell algebras type

Recently was shown that standard odd and even-dimensional General Relativity can be obtained from a $(2n+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant under the $B_{2n+1}$ algebra and from a $(2n)$-dimensional Born-Infeld Lagrangian invariant under a subalgebra $\cal{L}^{B_{2n+1}}$ respectively. Very Recently, it was shown that the generalized In\"on\"u-Wigner contraction of the generalized AdS-Maxwell algebras provides Maxwell algebras types $\cal{M}_{m}$ which correspond to the so called $B_{m}$ Lie algebras. In this article we report on a simple model that suggests a mechanism by which standard odd-dimensional General Relativity may emerge as a weak coupling constant limit of a $(2p+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant under the Maxwell algebra type $\cal{M}_{2m+1}$, if and only if $m\geq p$. Similarly, we show that standard even-dimensional General Relativity emerges as a weak coupling constant limit of a $(2p)$-dimensional Born-Infeld type Lagrangian invariant under a subalgebra $\cal{L}^{\cal{M}_{2m}}$ of the Maxwell algebra type, if and only if $m\geq p$. It is shown that when $m<p$ this is not possible for a $(2p+1)$-dimensional Chern-Simons Lagrangian invariant under the $\cal{M}_{2m+1}$ and for a $(2p)$-dimensional Born-Infeld type Lagrangian invariant under $\cal{L}^{\cal{M}_{2m}}$ algebra.Comment: 30 pages, accepted for publication in Eur.Phys.J.C. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1309.006

Generalized Poincare algebras and Lovelock-Cartan gravity theory

We show that the Lagrangian for Lovelock-Cartan gravity theory can be re-formulated as an action which leads to General Relativity in a certain limit. In odd dimensions the Lagrangian leads to a Chern-Simons theory invariant under the generalized Poincar\'{e} algebra $\mathfrak{B}_{2n+1},$ while in even dimensions the Lagrangian leads to a Born-Infeld theory invariant under a subalgebra of the $\mathfrak{B}_{2n+1}$ algebra. It is also shown that torsion may occur explicitly in the Lagrangian leading to new torsional Lagrangians, which are related to the Chern-Pontryagin character for the $B_{2n+1}$ group.Comment: v2: 18 pages, minor modification in the title, some clarifications in the abstract, introduction and section 2, section 4 has been rewritten, typos corrected, references added. Accepted for publication in Physic letters

The effect of a velocity barrier on the ballistic transport of Dirac fermions

We propose a novel way to manipulate the transport properties of massless Dirac fermions by using velocity barriers, defining the region in which the Fermi velocity, $v_{F}$, has a value that differs from the one in the surrounding background. The idea is based on the fact that when waves travel accross different media, there are boundary conditions that must be satisfied, giving rise to Snell's-like laws. We find that the transmission through a velocity barrier is highly anisotropic, and that perfect transmission always occurs at normal incidence. When $v_{F}$ in the barrier is larger that the velocity outside the barrier, we find that a critical transmission angle exists, a Brewster-like angle for massless Dirac electrons.Comment: 4.3 pages, 5 figure

Three-dimensional Maxwellian Carroll gravity theory and the cosmological constant

In this work, we present the three-dimensional Maxwell Carroll gravity by considering the ultra-relativistic limit of the Maxwell Chern-Simons gravity theory defined in three spacetime dimensions. We show that an extension of the Maxwellian Carroll symmetry is necessary in order for the invariant tensor of the ultra-relativistic Maxwellian algebra to be non-degenerate. Consequently, we discuss the origin of the aforementioned algebra and theory as a flat limit. We show that the theoretical setup with cosmological constant yielding the extended Maxwellian Carroll Chern-Simons gravity in the vanishing cosmological constant limit is based on a new enlarged extended version of the Carroll symmetry. Indeed, the latter exhibits a non-degenerate invariant tensor allowing the proper construction of a Chern-Simons gravity theory which reproduces the extended Maxwellian Carroll gravity in the flat limit

Wrinkling of a bilayer membrane

The buckling of elastic bodies is a common phenomenon in the mechanics of solids. Wrinkling of membranes can often be interpreted as buckling under constraints that prohibit large amplitude deformation. We present a combination of analytic calculations, experiments, and simulations to understand wrinkling patterns generated in a bilayer membrane. The model membrane is composed of a flexible spherical shell that is under tension and that is circumscribed by a stiff, essentially incompressible strip with bending modulus B. When the tension is reduced sufficiently to a value \sigma, the strip forms wrinkles with a uniform wavelength found theoretically and experimentally to be \lambda = 2\pi(B/\sigma)^{1/3}. Defects in this pattern appear for rapid changes in tension. Comparison between experiment and simulation further shows that, with larger reduction of tension, a second generation of wrinkles with longer wavelength appears only when B is sufficiently small.Comment: 9 pages, 5 color figure

Training quantum measurement devices to discriminate unknown non-orthogonal quantum states

Here, we study the problem of decoding information transmitted through unknown quantum states. We assume that Alice encodes an alphabet into a set of orthogonal quantum states, which are then transmitted to Bob. However, the quantum channel that mediates the transmission maps the orthogonal states into non-orthogonal states, possibly mixed. If an accurate model of the channel is unavailable, then the states received by Bob are unknown. In order to decode the transmitted information we propose to train a measurement device to achieve the smallest possible error in the discrimination process. This is achieved by supplementing the quantum channel with a classical one, which allows the transmission of information required for the training, and resorting to a noise-tolerant optimization algorithm. We demonstrate the training method in the case of minimum-error discrimination and show that it achieves error probabilities very close to the optimal one. In particular, in the case of two unknown pure states our proposal approaches the Helstrom bound. A similar result holds for a larger number of states in higher dimensions. We also show that a reduction of the search space, which is used in the training process, leads to a considerable reduction in the required resources. Finally, we apply our proposal to the case of the dephasing channel reaching an accurate value of the optimal error probability

High-Order SUSY-QM, the Quantum XP Model and zeroes of the Riemann Zeta function

Making use of the first- and second-order algorithms of supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSY-QM), we construct quantum mechanical Hamiltonians whose spectra are related to the zeroes of the Riemann Zeta function $\zeta(s)$. Inspired by the model of Das and Kalauni (DK), which corresponds to this function in the strip $0<Re[s]<1$, and taking the factorization energy equal to zero, we use the wave function $|x|^{-S}$, $S\in\mathbb{C}$, as a seed solution for our algorithms, obtaining XP-like operators. Thus, we construct SUSY-QM partner Hamiltonians whose zero energy mode locates exactly the nontrivial zeroes of $\zeta(s)$ along the critical line $Re[s]=1/2$ in the complex plane. We further find that unlike the DK case, where the SUSY-QM partner potentials correspond to free particles, our partner potentials belong to the family of inverse squared distance potentials with complex couplings

Two-sided estimates of minimum-error distinguishability of mixed quantum states via generalized Holevo-Curlander bounds

We prove a concise factor-of-2 estimate for the failure rate of optimally distinguishing an arbitrary ensemble of mixed quantum states, generalizing work of Holevo [Theor. Probab. Appl. 23, 411 (1978)] and Curlander [Ph.D. Thesis, MIT, 1979]. A modification to the minimal principle of Cocha and Poor [Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Quantum Communication, Measurement, and Computing (Rinton, Princeton, NJ, 2003)] is used to derive a suboptimal measurement which has an error rate within a factor of 2 of the optimal by construction. This measurement is quadratically weighted and has appeared as the first iterate of a sequence of measurements proposed by Jezek et al. [Phys. Rev. A 65, 060301 (2002)]. Unlike the so-called pretty good measurement, it coincides with Holevo's asymptotically optimal measurement in the case of nonequiprobable pure states. A quadratically weighted version of the measurement bound by Barnum and Knill [J. Math. Phys. 43, 2097 (2002)] is proven. Bounds on the distinguishability of syndromes in the sense of Schumacher and Westmoreland [Phys. Rev. A 56, 131 (1997)] appear as a corollary. An appendix relates our bounds to the trace-Jensen inequality.Comment: It was not realized at the time of publication that the lower bound of Theorem 10 has a simple generalization using matrix monotonicity (See [J. Math. Phys. 50, 062102]). Furthermore, this generalization is a trivial variation of a previously-obtained bound of Ogawa and Nagaoka [IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 45, 2486-2489 (1999)], which had been overlooked by the autho