Steady-state dynamics and effective temperatures of quantum criticality in an open system

We study the thermal and non-thermal steady state scaling functions and the steady-state dynamics of a model of local quantum criticality. The model we consider, i.e. the pseudogap Kondo model, allows us to study the concept of effective temperatures near fully interacting as well as weak-coupling fixed points. In the vicinity of each fixed point we establish the existence of an effective temperature --different at each fixed point-- such that the equilibrium fluctuation-dissipation theorem is recovered. Most notably, steady-state scaling functions in terms of the effective temperatures coincide with the equilibrium scaling functions. This result extends to higher correlation functions as is explicitly demonstrated for the Kondo singlet strength. The non-linear charge transport is also studied and analyzed in terms of the effective temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; Supplementary Material (7 pages, 1 figure

Finite size and finite temperature studies of the osp(1∣2)osp(1|2) spin chain

We study a quantum spin chain invariant by the superalgebra $osp(1|2)$. We derived non-linear integral equations for the row-to-row transfer matrix eigenvalue in order to analyze its finite size scaling behaviour and we determined its central charge. We have also studied the thermodynamical properties of the obtained spin chain via the non-linear integral equations for the quantum transfer matrix eigenvalue. We numerically solved these NLIE and evaluated the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility. The analytical low temperature analysis was performed providing a different value for the effective central charge. The computed values are in agreement with the numerical predictions in the literature.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figure

Spatial correlations in parametric down-conversion

The transverse spatial effects observed in photon pairs produced by parametric down-conversion provide a robust and fertile testing ground for studies of quantum mechanics, non-classical states of light, correlated imaging and quantum information. Over the last 20 years there has been much progress in this area, ranging from technical advances and applications such as quantum imaging to investigations of fundamental aspects of quantum physics such as complementarity relations, Bell's inequality violation and entanglement. The field has grown immensely: a quick search shows that there are hundreds of papers published in this field. The objective of this article is to review the building blocks and major theoretical and experimental advances in the field, along with some possible technical applications and connections to other research areas.Comment: 116 pages, 35 figures. To appear in Physics Report