Natural Scherk-Schwarz Theories of the Weak Scale

Natural supersymmetric theories of the weak scale are under growing pressure given present LHC constraints, raising the question of whether untuned supersymmetric (SUSY) solutions to the hierarchy problem are possible. In this paper, we explore a class of 5-dimensional natural SUSY theories in which SUSY is broken by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism. We pedagogically explain how Scherk-Schwarz elegantly solves the traditional problems of 4-dimensional SUSY theories (based on the MSSM and its many variants) that usually result in an unsettling level of fine-tuning. The minimal Scherk-Schwarz set up possesses novel phenomenology, which we briefly outline. We show that achieving the observed physical Higgs mass motivates extra structure that does not significantly affect the level of tuning (always better than $\sim 10\%$) and we explore three qualitatively different extensions: the addition of extra matter that couples to the Higgs, an extra $U(1)^\prime$ gauge group under which the Higgs is charged and an NMSSM-like solution to the Higgs mass problem.Comment: 36 pages + appendix, 12 figure

Quantum gas mixtures in different correlation regimes

We present a many-body description for two-component ultracold bosonic gases when one of the species is in the weakly interacting regime and the other is either weakly or strongly interacting. In the one-dimensional limit the latter case system is a hybrid in which a Tonks-Girardeau gas is immersed in a Bose-Einstein condensate, which is an example of a new class of quantum system involving a tunable, superfluid environment. We describe the process of phase separation microscopically and semiclassically in both situations and show that the quantum correlations are maintained in the separated phase.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Vortex macroscopic superpositions in ultracold bosons in a double-well potential

We study macroscopic superpositions in the orbital rather than the spatial degrees of freedom, in a three-dimensional double-well system. We show that the ensuing dynamics of $N$ interacting excited ultracold bosons, which in general requires at least eight single-particle modes and ${N+7 \choose N}$ Fock vectors, is described by a surprisingly small set of many-body states. An initial state with half the atoms in each well, and purposely excited in one of them, gives rise to the tunneling of axisymmetric and transverse vortex structures. We show that transverse vortices tunnel orders of magnitude faster than axisymmetric ones and are therefore more experimentally accessible. The tunneling process generates macroscopic superpositions only distinguishable by their orbital properties and within experimentally realistic times.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Heat current control in trapped BEC

We investigate the heat transport and the control of heat current among two spatially separated trapped Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC), each of them at a different temperature. To allow for heat transport among the two independent BECs we consider a link made of two harmonically trapped impurities, each of them interacting with one of the BECs. Since the impurities are spatially separated, we consider long-range interactions between them, namely a dipole-dipole coupling. We study this system under theoretically suitable and experimentally feasible assumptions/parameters. The dynamics of these impurities is treated within the framework of the quantum Brownian motion model, where the excitation modes of the BECs play the role of the heat bath. We address the dependence of heat current and current-current correlations on the physical parameters of the system. Interestingly, we show that heat rectification, i.e., the unidirectional flow of heat, can occur in our system, when a periodic driving on the trapping frequencies of the impurities is considered. Therefore, our system is a possible setup for the implementation of a phononic circuit. Motivated by recent developments on the usage of BECs as platforms for quantum information processing, our work offers an alternative possibility to use this versatile setting for information transfer and processing, within the context of phononics, and more generally in quantum thermodynamics.Comment: 33 pages, 4 Figure

Tunneling, self-trapping and manipulation of higher modes of a BEC in a double well

We consider an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a symmetric one-dimensional double well potential in the four-mode approximation and show that the semiclassical dynamics of the two ground state modes can be strongly influenced by a macroscopic occupation of the two excited modes. In particular, the addition of the two excited modes already unveils features related to the effect of dissipation on the condensate. In general, we find a rich dynamics that includes Rabi oscillations, a mixed Josephson-Rabi regime, self-trapping, chaotic behavior, and the existence of fixed points. We investigate how the dynamics of the atoms in the excited modes can be manipulated by controlling the atomic populations of the ground states.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

The key role of off-axis singularities in free-space vortex transmutation

We experimentally demonstrate the generation of off-axis phase singularities in a vortex transmutation process induced by the breaking of rotational symmetry. The process takes place in free space by launching a highly-charged vortex, owning full rotational symmetry, into a linear thin diffractive element presenting discrete rotational symmetry. It is shown that off-axis phase singularities follow straight dark rays bifurcating from the symmetry axis. This phenomenon may provide new routes towards the spatial control of multiple phase singularities for applications in atom trapping and particle manipulation.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Applied Physics B: Lasers and Optic