213 research outputs found
Exploring gravitational theories beyond Horndeski
We have recently proposed a new class of gravitational scalar-tensor theories
free from Ostrogradski instabilities, in arXiv:1404.6495. As they generalize
Horndeski theories, or "generalized" galileons, we call them G. These
theories possess a simple formulation when the time hypersurfaces are chosen to
coincide with the uniform scalar field hypersurfaces. We confirm that they
contain only three propagating degrees of freedom by presenting the details of
the Hamiltonian formulation. We examine the coupling between these theories and
matter. Moreover, we investigate how they transform under a disformal
redefinition of the metric. Remarkably, these theories are preserved by
disformal transformations that depend on the scalar field gradient, which also
allow to map subfamilies of G into Horndeski theories.Comment: 33 pages, added comments and corrected typos as in JCAP versio
Prewetting transition on a weakly disordered substrate : evidence for a creeping film dynamics
We present the first microscopic images of the prewetting transition of a
liquid film on a solid surface. Pictures of the local coverage map of a helium
film on a cesium metal surface are taken while the temperature is raised
through the transition. The film edge is found to advance at constant
temperature by successive avalanches in a creep motion with a macroscopic
correlation length. The creep velocity varies strongly in a narrow temperature
range. The retreat motion is obtained only at much lower temperature,
conforming to the strong hysteresis observed for prewetting transition on a
disordered surface. Prewetting transition on such disordered surfaces appears
to give rise to dynamical phenomena similar to what is observed for domain wall
motions in 2D magnets.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Euro.Phys.Let
Entanglement of a Mesoscopic Field with an Atom induced by Photon Graininess in a Cavity
We observe that a mesoscopic field made of several tens of microwave photons
exhibits quantum features when interacting with a single Rydberg atom in a
high-Q cavity. The field is split into two components whose phases differ by an
angle inversely proportional to the square root of the average photon number.
The field and the atomic dipole are phase-entangled. These manifestations of
photon graininess vanish at the classical limit. This experiment opens the way
to studies of large Schrodinger cat states at the quantum-classical boundary
Phase space tweezers for tailoring cavity fields by quantum Zeno dynamics
We discuss an implementation of Quantum Zeno Dynamics in a Cavity Quantum
Electrodynamics experiment. By performing repeated unitary operations on atoms
coupled to the field, we restrict the field evolution in chosen subspaces of
the total Hilbert space. This procedure leads to promising methods for
tailoring non-classical states. We propose to realize `tweezers' picking a
coherent field at a point in phase space and moving it towards an arbitrary
final position without affecting other non-overlapping coherent components.
These effects could be observed with a state-of-the-art apparatus
Ultrahigh finesse Fabry-Perot superconducting resonator
We have built a microwave Fabry-Perot resonator made of diamond-machined
copper mirrors coated with superconducting niobium. Its damping time (Tc = 130
ms at 51 GHz and 0.8 K) corresponds to a finesse of 4.6 x 109, the
highest ever reached for a Fabry-Perot in any frequency range. This result
opens novel perspectives for quantum information, decoherence and non-locality
studies
Implementation of stability-based transition model by means of transport equations
A natural laminar-turbulent transition model compatible with Computation Fluid Dynamics is presented. This model accounts for longitudinal transition mechanisms (i.e. Tollmien-Schlichting induced transition) thanks to systematic stability computation on similar boundary profiles from Mach zero to four both on adiabatic and isothermal wall. The model embeds as well the so-called “C1-criterion” for transverse transition mechanisms (i.e. cross-flow waves induced transition). The transition model is written under transport equations formalism and has been implemented in the solver elsA (ONERA-Airbus-Safran property). Validations are performed on three dimensional configurations and comparisons are shown against a database method for natural transition modeling and experiments
Fast and accurate circularization of a Rydberg atom
Preparation of a so-called circular state in a Rydberg atom where the
projection of the electron angular momentum takes its maximum value is
challenging due to the required amount of angular momentum transfer. Currently
available protocols for circular state preparation are either accurate but slow
or fast but error-prone. Here, we show how to use quantum optimal control
theory to derive pulse shapes that realize fast and accurate circularization of
a Rydberg atom. In particular, we present a theoretical proposal for optimized
radio-frequency pulses that achieve high fidelity in the shortest possible
time, given current experimental limitations on peak amplitudes and spectral
bandwidth. We also discuss the fundamental quantum speed limit for
circularization of a Rydberg atom, when lifting these constraints.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Quantum Zeno dynamics of a field in a cavity
We analyze the quantum Zeno dynamics that takes place when a field stored in
a cavity undergoes frequent interactions with atoms. We show that repeated
measurements or unitary operations performed on the atoms probing the field
state confine the evolution to tailored subspaces of the total Hilbert space.
This confinement leads to non-trivial field evolutions and to the generation of
interesting non-classical states, including mesoscopic field state
superpositions. We elucidate the main features of the quantum Zeno mechanism in
the context of a state-of-the-art cavity quantum electrodynamics experiment. A
plethora of effects is investigated, from state manipulations by phase space
tweezers to nearly arbitrary state synthesis. We analyze in details the
practical implementation of this dynamics and assess its robustness by
numerical simulations including realistic experimental imperfections. We
comment on the various perspectives opened by this proposal
Resonant decay of gravitational waves into dark energy
We study the decay of gravitational waves into dark energy fluctuations \u3c0, taking into account the large occupation numbers. We describe dark energy using the effective field theory approach, in the context of generalized scalar-tensor theories. When the m33 (cubic Horndeski) and 3c m42 (beyond Horndeski) operators are present, the gravitational wave acts as a classical background for \u3c0 and modifies its dynamics. In particular, \u3c0 fluctuations are described by a Mathieu equation and feature instability bands that grow exponentially. Focusing on the regime of small gravitational-wave amplitude, corresponding to narrow resonance, we calculate analytically the produced \u3c0, its energy and the change of the gravitational-wave signal. The resonance is affected by \u3c0 self-interactions in a way that we cannot describe analytically. This effect is very relevant for the operator m33 and it limits the instability. In the case of the 3c m42 operator self-interactions can be neglected, at least in some regimes. The modification of the gravitational-wave signal is observable for 3
7 10-20 64 \u3b1H 64 10-17 with a LIGO/Virgo-like interferometer and for 10-16 64 \u3b1H 64 10-10 with a LISA-like one
Resolution and enhancement in nanoantenna-based fluorescence microscopy
Single gold nanoparticles can act as nanoantennas for enhancing the
fluorescence of emitters in their near-fields. Here we present experimental and
theoretical studies of scanning antenna-based fluorescence microscopy as a
function of the diameter of the gold nanoparticle. We examine the interplay
between fluorescence enhancement and spatial resolution and discuss the
requirements for deciphering single molecules in a dense sample. Resolutions
better than 20 nm and fluorescence enhancement up to 30 times are demonstrated
experimentally. By accounting for the tip shaft and the sample interface in
finite-difference time-domain calculations, we explain why the measured
fluorescence enhancements are higher in the presence of an interface than the
values predicted for a homogeneous environment.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. accepted for publication in Nano Letter
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