Suppression of Dephasing of Optically Trapped Atoms

Ultra-cold atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap and prepared in a coherent superposition of their hyperfine ground states, decohere as they interact with their environment. We demonstrate than the loss in coherence in an "echo" experiment, which is caused by mechanisms such as Rayleigh scattering, can be suppressed by the use of a new pulse sequence. We also show that the coherence time is then limited by mixing to other vibrational levels in the trap and by the finite lifetime of the internal quantum states of the atoms

Electron-phonon bound states in graphene in a perpendicular magnetic field

The spectrum of electron-phonon complexes in a monolayer graphene is investigated in the presence of a perpendicular quantizing magnetic field. Despite the small electron-phonon coupling, usual perturbation theory is inapplicable for calculation of the scattering amplitude near the threshold of the optical phonon emission. Our findings beyond perturbation theory show that the true spectrum near the phonon emission threshold is completely governed by new branches, corresponding to bound states of an electron and an optical phonon with a binding energy of the order of $\alpha \omega_{0}$ where $\alpha$ is the electron-phonon coupling and $\omega_{0}$ the phonon energy.Comment: To be published in Phys. Rev. Lett., 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

A Coherent Timing Solution for the Nearby Isolated Neutron Star RX J0720.4-3125

We present the results of a dedicated effort to measure the spin-down rate of the nearby isolated neutron star RX J0720.4-3125. Comparing arrival times of the 8.39-sec pulsations for data from Chandra we derive an unambiguous timing solution for RX J0720.4-3125 that is accurate to 5 years. Adding data from XMM and ROSAT, the final solution yields Pdot=(6.98+/-0.02)x10^(-14) s/s; for dipole spin-down, this implies a characteristic age of 2 Myr and a magnetic field strength of 2.4e13 G. The phase residuals are somewhat larger than those for purely regular spin-down, but do not show conclusive evidence for higher-order terms or a glitch. From our timing solution as well as recent X-ray spectroscopy, we concur with recent suggestions that RX J0720.4-3125 is most likely an off-beam radio pulsar with a moderately high magnetic field.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ

The continued spectral and temporal evolution of RX J0720.4-3125

RX J0720.4-3125 is the most peculiar object among a group of seven isolated X-ray pulsars (the so-called "Magnificent Seven"), since it shows long-term variations of its spectral and temporal properties on time scales of years. This behaviour was explained by different authors either by free precession (with a seven or fourteen years period) or possibly a glitch that occurred around $\mathrm{MJD=52866\pm73 days}$. We analysed our most recent XMM-Newton and Chandra observations in order to further monitor the behaviour of this neutron star. With the new data sets, the timing behaviour of RX J0720.4-3125 suggests a single (sudden) event (e.g. a glitch) rather than a cyclic pattern as expected by free precession. The spectral parameters changed significantly around the proposed glitch time, but more gradual variations occurred already before the (putative) event. Since $\mathrm{MJD\approx53000 days}$ the spectra indicate a very slow cooling by $\sim$2 eV over 7 years.Comment: seven pages, three figures, three tables; accepted by MNRA

Constraints on the Equation-of-State of neutron stars from nearby neutron star observations

We try to constrain the Equation-of-State (EoS) of supra-nuclear-density matter in neutron stars (NSs) by observations of nearby NSs. There are seven thermally emitting NSs known from X-ray and optical observations, the so-called Magnificent Seven (M7), which are young (up to few Myrs), nearby (within a few hundred pc), and radio-quiet with blackbody-like X-ray spectra, so that we can observe their surfaces. As bright X-ray sources, we can determine their rotational (pulse) period and their period derivative from X-ray timing. From XMM and/or Chandra X-ray spectra, we can determine their temperature. With precise astrometric observations using the Hubble Space Telescope, we can determine their parallax (i.e. distance) and optical flux. From flux, distance, and temperature, one can derive the emitting area - with assumptions about the atmosphere and/or temperature distribution on the surface. This was recently done by us for the two brightest M7 NSs RXJ1856 and RXJ0720. Then, from identifying absorption lines in X-ray spectra, one can also try to determine gravitational redshift. Also, from rotational phase-resolved spectroscopy, we have for the first time determined the compactness (mass/radius) of the M7 NS RBS1223. If also applied to RXJ1856, radius (from luminosity and temperature) and compactness (from X-ray data) will yield the mass and radius - for the first time for an isolated single neutron star. We will present our observations and recent results.Comment: refereed NPA5 conference proceedings, in pres

Beyond the First Recurrence in Scar Phenomena

The scarring effect of short unstable periodic orbits up to times of the order of the first recurrence is well understood. Much less is known, however, about what happens past this short-time limit. By considering the evolution of a dynamically averaged wave packet, we show that the dynamics for longer times is controlled by only a few related short periodic orbits and their interplay.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Gauge/Anomaly Syzygy and Generalized Brane World Models of Supersymmetry Breaking

In theories in which SUSY is broken on a brane separated from the MSSM matter fields, supersymmetry breaking is naturally mediated in a variety of ways. Absent other light fields in the theory, gravity will mediate supersymmetry breaking through the conformal anomaly. If gauge fields propagate in the extra dimension they, too, can mediate supersymmetry breaking effects. The presence of gauge fields in the bulk motivates us to consider the effects of new messenger fields with holomorphic and non-holomorphic couplings to the supersymmetry breaking sector. These can lead to contributions to the soft masses of MSSM fields which dramatically alter the features of brane world scenarios of supersymmetry breaking. In particular, they can solve the negative slepton mass squared problem of anomaly mediation and change the predictions of gaugino mediation.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe