UrQMD calculations of two-pion HBT correlations in p+p and Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energies

Two-pion Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) correlations for p+p and central Pb+Pb collisions at the Large-Hadron-Collider (LHC) energies are investigated with the ultra-relativistic quantum molecular dynamics model combined with a correlation afterburner. The transverse momentum dependence of the Pratt-Bertsch HBT radii $R_{long}$, $R_{out}$, and $R_{side}$ is extracted from a three-dimensional Gaussian fit to the correlator in the longitudinal co-moving system. In the p+p case, the dependence of correlations on the charged particle multiplicity and formation time is explored and the data allows to constrain the formation time in the string fragmentation to $\tau_f \leq 0.8$ fm/c. In the Pb+Pb case, it is found that $R_{out}$ is overpredicted by nearly 50%. The LHC results are also compared to data from the STAR experiment at RHIC. For both energies we find that the calculated $R_{out}/R_{side}$ ratio is always larger than data, indicating that the emission in the model is less explosive than observed in the data.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Talk given by Qingfeng Li at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS

'There and Back Again'-Forward Genetics and Reverse Phenotyping in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Although the invention of right heart catheterisation in the 1950s enabled accurate clinical diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), it was not until 2000 when the landmark discovery of the causative role of bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II (BMPR2) mutations shed new light on the pathogenesis of PAH. Since then several genes have been discovered, which now account for around 25% of cases with the clinical diagnosis of idiopathic PAH. Despite the ongoing efforts, in the majority of patients the cause of the disease remains elusive, a phenomenon often referred to as "missing heritability". In this review, we discuss research approaches to uncover the genetic architecture of PAH starting with forward phenotyping, which in a research setting should focus on stable intermediate phenotypes, forward and reverse genetics, and finally reverse phenotyping. We then discuss potential sources of "missing heritability" and how functional genomics and multi-omics methods are employed to tackle this problem

Encircling an Exceptional Point

We calculate analytically the geometric phases that the eigenvectors of a parametric dissipative two-state system described by a complex symmetric Hamiltonian pick up when an exceptional point (EP) is encircled. An EP is a parameter setting where the two eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors of the Hamiltonian coalesce. We show that it can be encircled on a path along which the eigenvectors remain approximately real and discuss a microwave cavity experiment, where such an encircling of an EP was realized. Since the wavefunctions remain approximately real, they could be reconstructed from the nodal lines of the recorded spatial intensity distributions of the electric fields inside the resonator. We measured the geometric phases that occur when an EP is encircled four times and thus confirmed that for our system an EP is a branch point of fourth order.Comment: RevTex 4.0, four eps-figures (low resolution

Observation of a Chiral State in a Microwave Cavity

A microwave experiment has been realized to measure the phase difference of the oscillating electric field at two points inside the cavity. The technique has been applied to a dissipative resonator which exhibits a singularity -- called exceptional point -- in its eigenvalue and eigenvector spectrum. At the singularity, two modes coalesce with a phase difference of $\pi/2 .$ We conclude that the state excited at the singularity has a definitiv chirality.Comment: RevTex 4, 5 figure

First Experimental Evidence for Chaos-Assisted Tunneling in a Microwave Annular Billiard

We report on first experimental signatures for chaos-assisted tunneling in a two-dimensional annular billiard. Measurements of microwave spectra from a superconducting cavity with high frequency resolution are combined with electromagnetic field distributions experimentally determined from a normal conducting twin cavity with high spatial resolution to resolve eigenmodes with properly identified quantum numbers. Distributions of so-called quasi-doublet splittings serve as basic observables for the tunneling between whispering gallery type modes localized to congruent, but distinct tori which are coupled weakly to irregular eigenstates associated with the chaotic region in phase space.Comment: 5 pages RevTex, 5 low-resolution figures (high-resolution figures: http://linac.ikp.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/heiko/chaospub.html, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Phase shift experiments identifying Kramers doublets in a chaotic superconducting microwave billiard of threefold symmetry

The spectral properties of a two-dimensional microwave billiard showing threefold symmetry have been studied with a new experimental technique. This method is based on the behavior of the eigenmodes under variation of a phase shift between two input channels, which strongly depends on the symmetries of the eigenfunctions. Thereby a complete set of 108 Kramers doublets has been identified by a simple and purely experimental method. This set clearly shows Gaussian unitary ensemble statistics, although the system is time-reversal invariant.Comment: RevTex 4, 5 figure

The GEO600 squeezed light source

The next upgrade of the GEO600 gravitational wave detector is scheduled for 2010 and will, in particular, involve the implementation of squeezed light. The required non-classical light source is assembled on a 1.5m^2 breadboard and includes a full coherent control system and a diagnostic balanced homodyne detector. Here, we present the first experimental characterization of this setup as well as a detailed description of its optical layout. A squeezed quantum noise of up to 9dB below the shot-noise level was observed in the detection band between 10Hz and 10kHz. We also present an analysis of the optical loss in our experiment and provide an estimation of the possible non-classical sensitivity improvement of the future squeezed light enhanced GEO600 detector.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Experimental Test of a Trace Formula for a Chaotic Three Dimensional Microwave Cavity

We have measured resonance spectra in a superconducting microwave cavity with the shape of a three-dimensional generalized Bunimovich stadium billiard and analyzed their spectral fluctuation properties. The experimental length spectrum exhibits contributions from periodic orbits of non-generic modes and from unstable periodic orbit of the underlying classical system. It is well reproduced by our theoretical calculations based on the trace formula derived by Balian and Duplantier for chaotic electromagnetic cavities.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures (reduced quality

First experimental evidence for quantum echoes in scattering systems

A self-pulsing effect termed quantum echoes has been observed in experiments with an open superconducting and a normal conducting microwave billiard whose geometry provides soft chaos, i.e. a mixed phase space portrait with a large stable island. For such systems a periodic response to an incoming pulse has been predicted. Its period has been associated to the degree of development of a horseshoe describing the topology of the classical dynamics. The experiments confirm this picture and reveal the topological information.Comment: RevTex 4.0, 5 eps-figure