Millimeter wave experiment for ATS-F

A detailed description of spaceborne equipment is provided. The equipment consists of two transmitters radiating signals at 20 and 30 GHz from either U.S. coverage horn antennas or a narrow beam parabolic antenna. Three modes of operation are provided: a continuous wave mode, a multitone mode in which nine spectral lines having 180 MHz separation and spaced symmetrically about each carrier, and a communications mode in which communications signals from the main spacecraft transponder are modulated on the two carriers. Detailed performance attained in the flight/prototype model of the equipment is presented both under laboratory conditions and under environmental extremes. Provisions made for ensuring reliability in space operation are described. Also described the bench test equipment developed for use with the experiment, and a summary of the new technology is included

Piecewise adiabatic population transfer in a molecule via a wave packet

We propose a class of schemes for robust population transfer between quantum states that utilize trains of coherent pulses and represent a generalized adiabatic passage via a wave packet. We study piecewise Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage with pulse-to-pulse amplitude variation, and piecewise chirped Raman passage with pulse-to-pulse phase variation, implemented with an optical frequency comb. In the context of production of ultracold ground-state molecules, we show that with almost no knowledge of the excited potential, robust high-efficiency transfer is possibleComment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Many-body synchronization of interacting qubits by engineered ac-driving

In this work we introduce the many-body synchronization of an interacting qubit ensemble which allows one to switch dynamically from many-body-localized (MBL) to an ergodic state. We show that applying of $\pi$-pulses with altering phases, one can effectively suppress the MBL phase and, hence, eliminate qubits disorder. The findings are based on the analysis of the Loschmidt echo dynamics which shows a transition from a power-law decay to more rapid one indicating the dynamical MBL-to-ergodic transition. The technique does not require to know the microscopic details of the disorder.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Dispersive Response of a Disordered Superconducting Quantum Metamaterial

We consider a disordered quantum metamaterial formed by an array of superconducting flux qubits coupled to microwave photons in a cavity. We map the system on the Tavis-Cummings model accounting for the disorder in frequencies of the qubits. The complex transmittance is calculated with the parameters taken from state-of-the-art experiments. We demonstrate that photon phase shift measurements allow to distinguish individual resonances in the metamaterial with up to 100 qubits, in spite of the decoherence spectral width being remarkably larger than the effective coupling constant. Our simulations are in agreement with the results of the recently reported experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Binary Black-Hole Mergers in Magnetized Disks: Simulations in Full General Relativity

We present results from the first fully general relativistic, magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of an equal-mass black hole binary (BHBH) in a magnetized, circumbinary accretion disk. We simulate both the pre and post-decoupling phases of a BHBH-disk system and both "cooling" and "no-cooling" gas flows. Prior to decoupling, the competition between the binary tidal torques and the effective viscous torques due to MHD turbulence depletes the disk interior to the binary orbit. However, it also induces a two-stream accretion flow and mildly relativistic polar outflows from the BHs. Following decoupling, but before gas fills the low-density "hollow" surrounding the remnant, the accretion rate is reduced, while there is a prompt electromagnetic (EM) luminosity enhancement following merger due to shock heating and accretion onto the spinning BH remnant. This investigation, though preliminary, previews more detailed GRMHD simulations we plan to perform in anticipation of future, simultaneous detections of gravitational and EM radiation from a merging BHBH-disk system.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Cosmologies with variable parameters and dynamical cosmon: implications on the cosmic coincidence problem

Dynamical dark energy (DE) has been proposed to explain various aspects of the cosmological constant (CC) problem(s). For example, it is very difficult to accept that a strictly constant Lambda-term constitutes the ultimate explanation for the DE in our Universe. It is also hard to acquiesce in the idea that we accidentally happen to live in an epoch where the CC contributes an energy density value right in the ballpark of the rapidly diluting matter density. It should perhaps be more plausible to conceive that the vacuum energy, is actually a dynamical quantity as the Universe itself. More generally, we could even entertain the possibility that the total DE is in fact a mixture of vacuum energy and other dynamical components (e.g. fields, higher order terms in the effective action etc) which can be represented collectively by an effective entity X (dubbed the ``cosmon''). The ``cosmon'', therefore, acts as a dynamical DE component different from the vacuum energy. While it can actually behave phantom-like by itself, the overall DE fluid may effectively appear as standard quintessence, or even mimic at present an almost exact CC behavior. Thanks to the versatility of such cosmic fluid we can show that a composite DE system of this sort (``LXCDM'') may have a key to resolving the mysterious coincidence problem.Comment: LaTeX, 13 pages, 5 figure