Primordial Entropy Production and Lambda-driven Inflation from Quantum Einstein Gravity

We review recent work on renormalization group (RG) improved cosmologies based upon a RG trajectory of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) with realistic parameter values. In particular we argue that QEG effects can account for the entire entropy of the present Universe in the massless sector and give rise to a phase of inflationary expansion. This phase is a pure quantum effect and requires no classical inflaton field.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, IGCG-07 Pun

The stability of the O(N) invariant fixed point in three dimensions

We study the stability of the O(N) fixed point in three dimensions under perturbations of the cubic type. We address this problem in the three cases $N=2,3,4$ by using finite size scaling techniques and high precision Monte Carlo simulations. It is well know that there is a critical value $2<N_c<4$ below which the O(N) fixed point is stable and above which the cubic fixed point becomes the stable one. While we cannot exclude that $N_c<3$, as recently claimed by Kleinert and collaborators, our analysis strongly suggests that $N_c$ coincides with 3.Comment: latex file of 18 pages plus three ps figure

A study of transport suppression in an undoped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dot single-electron transistor

We report a study of transport blockade features in a quantum dot single-electron transistor, based on an undoped AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure. We observe suppression of transport through the ground state of the dot, as well as negative differential conductance at finite source-drain bias. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of these features indicate the couplings between the leads and the quantum dot states are suppressed. We attribute this to two possible mechanisms: spin effects which determine whether a particular charge transition is allowed based on the change in total spin, and the interference effects that arise from coherent tunneling of electrons in the dot

On the gravitational field of static and stationary axial symmetric bodies with multi-polar structure

We give a physical interpretation to the multi-polar Erez-Rozen-Quevedo solution of the Einstein Equations in terms of bars. We find that each multi-pole correspond to the Newtonian potential of a bar with linear density proportional to a Legendre Polynomial. We use this fact to find an integral representation of the $\gamma$ function. These integral representations are used in the context of the inverse scattering method to find solutions associated to one or more rotating bodies each one with their own multi-polar structure.Comment: To be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Cognition-Enhancing Drugs: Can We Say No?

Normative analysis of cognition-enhancing drugs frequently weighs the liberty interests of drug users against egalitarian commitments to a level playing field. Yet those who would refuse to engage in neuroenhancement may well find their liberty to do so limited in a society where such drugs are widespread. To the extent that unvarnished emotional responses are world-disclosive, neurocosmetic practices also threaten to provide a form of faulty data to their users. This essay examines underappreciated liberty-based and epistemic rationales for regulating cognition-enhancing drugs

Improving the Efficiency of an Ideal Heat Engine: The Quantum Afterburner

By using a laser and maser in tandem, it is possible to obtain laser action in the hot exhaust gases involved in heat engine operation. Such a "quantum afterburner" involves the internal quantum states of working gas atoms or molecules as well as the techniques of cavity quantum electrodynamics and is therefore in the domain of quantum thermodynamics. As an example, it is shown that Otto cycle engine performance can be improved beyond that of the "ideal" Otto heat engine.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Scale-dependent metric and causal structures in Quantum Einstein Gravity

Within the asymptotic safety scenario for gravity various conceptual issues related to the scale dependence of the metric are analyzed. The running effective field equations implied by the effective average action of Quantum Einstein Gravity (QEG) and the resulting families of resolution dependent metrics are discussed. The status of scale dependent vs. scale independent diffeomorphisms is clarified, and the difference between isometries implemented by scale dependent and independent Killing vectors is explained. A concept of scale dependent causality is proposed and illustrated by various simple examples. The possibility of assigning an "intrinsic length" to objects in a QEG spacetime is also discussed.Comment: 52 page

Multiple-scale thermo-acoustic stability analysis of a coaxial jet combustor

In this paper, asymptotic multiple-scale methods are used to formulate a mathematically consistent set of thermo-acoustic equations in the low-Mach number limit for linear stability analysis. The resulting sets of nonlinear equations for hydrodynamics and acoustics are two-way coupled. The coupling strength depends on which multiple scales are used. The double-time-double-space (2T-2S), double-time-single-space (2T-1S) and single-time-double-space (1T-2S) limits are revisited, derived and linearized. It is shown that only the 1T-2S limit produces a two-way coupled linearized system. Therefore this limit is adopted and implemented in a finite-element solver. The methodology is applied to a coaxial jet combustor. By using an adjoint method and introducing the intrinsic sensitivity, (i) the interaction between the acoustic and hydrodynamic subsystems is calculated and (ii) the role of the global acceleration term, which is the coupling term from the acoustics to the hydrodynamics, is analyzed. For the confined coaxial jet diffusion flame studied here, (i) the growth rate of the thermo-acoustic oscillations is found to be more sensitive to small changes in the hydrodynamic field around the flame and (ii) increasing the global acceleration term is found to be stabilizing in agreement with the Rayleigh Criterion.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1540748916300670

Quantum key distribution using a triggered quantum dot source emitting near 1.3 microns

We report the distribution of a cryptographic key, secure from photon number splitting attacks, over 35 km of optical fiber using single photons from an InAs quantum dot emitting ~1.3 microns in a pillar microcavity. Using below GaAs-bandgap optical excitation, we demonstrate suppression of multiphoton emission to 10% of the Poissonian level without detector dark count subtraction. The source is incorporated into a phase encoded interferometric scheme implementing the BB84 protocol for key distribution over standard telecommunication optical fiber. We show a transmission distance advantage over that possible with (length-optimized) uniform intensity weak coherent pulses at 1310 nm in the same system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Non-spiky density of states of an icosahedral quasicrystal

The density of states of the ideal three-dimensional Penrose tiling, a quasicrystalline model, is calculated with a resolution of 10 meV. It is not spiky. This falsifies theoretical predictions so far, that spikes of width 10-20 meV are generic for the density of states of quasicrystals, and it confirms recent experimental findings. The qualitative difference between our results and previous calculations is partly explained by the small number of k points that has usually been included in the evaluation of the density of states of periodic approximants of quasicrystals. It is also shown that both the density of states of a small approximant of the three-dimensional Penrose tiling and the density of states of the ideal two-dimensional Penrose tiling do have spiky features, which also partly explains earlier predictions.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Changes in this version: longer introduction, details of figures shown in inset