Non Singular Origin of the Universe and the Cosmological Constant Problem (CCP)

We consider a non singular origin for the Universe starting from an Einstein static Universe in the framework of a theory which uses two volume elements $\sqrt{-{g}}d^{4}x$ and $\Phi d^{4}x$, where $\Phi$ is a metric independent density, also curvature, curvature square terms, first order formalism and for scale invariance a dilaton field $\phi$ are considered in the action. In the Einstein frame we also add a cosmological term that parametrizes the zero point fluctuations. The resulting effective potential for the dilaton contains two flat regions, for $\phi \rightarrow \infty$ relevant for the non singular origin of the Universe and $\phi \rightarrow -\infty$, describing our present Universe. Surprisingly, avoidance of singularities and stability as $\phi \rightarrow \infty$ imply a positive but small vacuum energy as $\phi \rightarrow -\infty$. Zero vacuum energy density for the present universe is the "threshold" for universe creation.Comment: awarded an honorable mention in the Gravity Research Foundation 2011 Awards for Essays in Gravitation for 201

Non Singular Origin of the Universe and its Present Vacuum Energy Density

We consider a non singular origin for the Universe starting from an Einstein static Universe, the so called "emergent universe" scenario, in the framework of a theory which uses two volume elements $\sqrt{-{g}}d^{4}x$ and $\Phi d^{4}x$, where $\Phi$ is a metric independent density, used as an additional measure of integration. Also curvature, curvature square terms and for scale invariance a dilaton field $\phi$ are considered in the action. The first order formalism is applied. The integration of the equations of motion associated with the new measure gives rise to the spontaneous symmetry breaking (S.S.B) of scale invariance (S.I.). After S.S.B. of S.I., it is found that a non trivial potential for the dilaton is generated. In the Einstein frame we also add a cosmological term that parametrizes the zero point fluctuations. The resulting effective potential for the dilaton contains two flat regions, for $\phi \rightarrow \infty$ relevant for the non singular origin of the Universe, followed by an inflationary phase and $\phi \rightarrow -\infty$, describing our present Universe. The dynamics of the scalar field becomes non linear and these non linearities are instrumental in the stability of some of the emergent universe solutions, which exists for a parameter range of values of the vacuum energy in $\phi \rightarrow -\infty$, which must be positive but not very big, avoiding the extreme fine tuning required to keep the vacuum energy density of the present universe small. Zero vacuum energy density for the present universe defines the threshold for the creation of the universe.Comment: 28 pages, short version of this paper awarded an honorable mention by the Gravity Research Foundation, 2011, accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics

Atom laser dynamics in a tight-waveguide

We study the transient dynamics that arise during the formation of an atom laser beam in a tight waveguide. During the time evolution the density profile develops a series of wiggles which are related to the diffraction in time phenomenon. The apodization of matter waves, which relies on the use of smooth aperture functions, allows to suppress such oscillations in a time interval, after which there is a revival of the diffraction in time. The revival time scale is directly related to the inverse of the harmonic trap frequency for the atom reservoir.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 395th WE-Heraeus Seminar on "Time Dependent Phenomena in Quantum Mechanics ", organized by T. Kramer and M. Kleber (Blaubeuren, Germany, September 2007

Quantum Simulation of Dissipative Processes without Reservoir Engineering

We present a quantum algorithm to simulate general finite dimensional Lindblad master equations without the requirement of engineering the system-environment interactions. The proposed method is able to simulate both Markovian and non-Markovian quantum dynamics. It consists in the quantum computation of the dissipative corrections to the unitary evolution of the system of interest, via the reconstruction of the response functions associated with the Lindblad operators. Our approach is equally applicable to dynamics generated by effectively non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. We confirm the quality of our method providing specific error bounds that quantify itss accuracy.Comment: 7 pages + Supplemental Material (6 pages

Quantum dynamics and entanglement of a 1D Fermi gas released from a trap

We investigate the entanglement properties of the nonequilibrium dynamics of one-dimensional noninteracting Fermi gases released from a trap. The gas of N particles is initially in the ground state within hard-wall or harmonic traps, then it expands after dropping the trap. We compute the time dependence of the von Neumann and Renyi entanglement entropies and the particle fluctuations of spatial intervals around the original trap, in the limit of a large number N of particles. The results for these observables apply to one-dimensional gases of impenetrable bosons as well. We identify different dynamical regimes at small and large times, depending also on the initial condition, whether it is that of a hard-wall or harmonic trap. In particular, we analytically show that the expansion from hard-wall traps is characterized by the asymptotic small-time behavior $S \approx (1/3)\ln(1/t)$ of the von Neumann entanglement entropy, and the relation $S\approx \pi^2 V/3$ where V is the particle variance, which are analogous to the equilibrium behaviors whose leading logarithms are essentially determined by the corresponding conformal field theory with central charge $c=1$. The time dependence of the entanglement entropy of extended regions during the expansion from harmonic traps shows the remarkable property that it can be expressed as a global time-dependent rescaling of the space dependence of the initial equilibrium entanglement entropy.Comment: 19 pages, 18 fig

Diseño y manejo del olivar en seto: efecto en la producción y calidad del aceite

El olivar en seto adaptado a la recolección con vendimiadora modificada, supone una alternativa viable a los olivares preparados para la recolección con vibrador de tronco. Presenta como principales ventajas: altas producciones en los primeros años, bajo coste de recolección, menor mano de obra y recolección rápida en el momento óptimo. Sin embargo, estas características sólo son posibles con estructuras óptimas, mantenidas en el tiempo. La intercepción de la radiación solar es el factor determinante de la producción de aceite, así la estructura óptima del seto deberá tender a maximizar la iluminación de la copa. Debido a que el olivar en seto es de reciente implantación, se desconoce la respuesta de la producción y calidad de aceite en setos de diferentes tamaños en distintas localidades. Las simulaciones de producción y calidad de aceite para distintos diseños serán útiles para el sector a la hora de decidir la estructura óptima. En este artículo describimos los avances realizados en este sentido y los retos que, agricultores e investigadores, deberemos ir resolviendo