Correlations and Fluctuations in High-Energy Nuclear Collisions

Nucleon correlations in the target and projectile nuclei are shown to reduce significantly the fluctuations in multiple nucleon-nucleon collisions, total multiplicity and transverse energy in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, in particular for heavy projectile and target. The interplay between cross-section fluctuations, from color transparency and opacity, and nuclear correlations is calculated and found to be able to account for large fluctuations in transverse energy spectra. Numerical implementation of correlations and cross-section fluctuations in Monte-Carlo codes is discussed.Comment: 30 pages, in Revtex, plus 4 figures. Figures and preprint can be obtained by mailing address to: [email protected]

A measurable entanglement criterion for two qubits

We propose a directly measurable criterion for the entanglement of two qubits. We compare the criterion with other criteria, and we find that for pure states, and some mixed states, it coincides with the state's concurrency. The measure can be obtained with a Bell state analyser and the ability to make general local unitary transformations. However, the procedure fails to measure the entanglement of a general mixed two-qubit state.Comment: 5 page

Quantum Theory in Accelerated Frames of Reference

The observational basis of quantum theory in accelerated systems is studied. The extension of Lorentz invariance to accelerated systems via the hypothesis of locality is discussed and the limitations of this hypothesis are pointed out. The nonlocal theory of accelerated observers is briefly described. Moreover, the main observational aspects of Dirac's equation in noninertial frames of reference are presented. The Galilean invariance of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and the mass superselection rule are examined in the light of the invariance of physical laws under inhomogeneous Lorentz transformations.Comment: 25 pages, no figures, contribution to Springer Lecture Notes in Physics (Proc. SR 2005, Potsdam, Germany, February 13 - 18, 2005

Geometric Entanglement of Symmetric States and the Majorana Representation

Permutation-symmetric quantum states appear in a variety of physical situations, and they have been proposed for quantum information tasks. This article builds upon the results of [New J. Phys. 12, 073025 (2010)], where the maximally entangled symmetric states of up to twelve qubits were explored, and their amount of geometric entanglement determined by numeric and analytic means. For this the Majorana representation, a generalization of the Bloch sphere representation, can be employed to represent symmetric n qubit states by n points on the surface of a unit sphere. Symmetries of this point distribution simplify the determination of the entanglement, and enable the study of quantum states in novel ways. Here it is shown that the duality relationship of Platonic solids has a counterpart in the Majorana representation, and that in general maximally entangled symmetric states neither correspond to anticoherent spin states nor to spherical designs. The usability of symmetric states as resources for measurement-based quantum computing is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures; submitted to Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio

Observation of a new chi_b state in radiative transitions to Upsilon(1S) and Upsilon(2S) at ATLAS

The chi_b(nP) quarkonium states are produced in proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV and recorded by the ATLAS detector. Using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.4 fb^-1, these states are reconstructed through their radiative decays to Upsilon(1S,2S) with Upsilon->mu+mu-. In addition to the mass peaks corresponding to the decay modes chi_b(1P,2P)->Upsilon(1S)gamma, a new structure centered at a mass of 10.530+/-0.005 (stat.)+/-0.009 (syst.) GeV is also observed, in both the Upsilon(1S)gamma and Upsilon(2S)gamma decay modes. This is interpreted as the chi_b(3P) system.Comment: 5 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 1 table, corrected author list, matches final version in Physical Review Letter

Search for displaced vertices arising from decays of new heavy particles in 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

We present the results of a search for new, heavy particles that decay at a significant distance from their production point into a final state containing charged hadrons in association with a high-momentum muon. The search is conducted in a pp-collision data sample with a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and an integrated luminosity of 33 pb^-1 collected in 2010 by the ATLAS detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider. Production of such particles is expected in various scenarios of physics beyond the standard model. We observe no signal and place limits on the production cross-section of supersymmetric particles in an R-parity-violating scenario as a function of the neutralino lifetime. Limits are presented for different squark and neutralino masses, enabling extension of the limits to a variety of other models.Comment: 8 pages plus author list (20 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version to appear in Physics Letters

Measurement of the inclusive isolated prompt photon cross-section in pp collisions at sqrt(s)= 7 TeV using 35 pb-1 of ATLAS data

A measurement of the differential cross-section for the inclusive production of isolated prompt photons in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV is presented. The measurement covers the pseudorapidity ranges |eta|<1.37 and 1.52<=|eta|<2.37 in the transverse energy range 45<=E_T<400GeV. The results are based on an integrated luminosity of 35 pb-1, collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The yields of the signal photons are measured using a data-driven technique, based on the observed distribution of the hadronic energy in a narrow cone around the photon candidate and the photon selection criteria. The results are compared with next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations and found to be in good agreement over four orders of magnitude in cross-section.Comment: 7 pages plus author list (18 pages total), 2 figures, 4 tables, final version published in Physics Letters

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results

Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp. Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02