19 research outputs found
On invariant Schreier structures
Schreier graphs, which possess both a graph structure and a Schreier
structure (an edge-labeling by the generators of a group), are objects of
fundamental importance in group theory and geometry. We study the Schreier
structures with which unlabeled graphs may be endowed, with emphasis on
structures which are invariant in some sense (e.g. conjugation-invariant, or
sofic). We give proofs of a number of "folklore" results, such as that every
regular graph of even degree admits a Schreier structure, and show that, under
mild assumptions, the space of invariant Schreier structures over a given
invariant graph structure is very large, in that it contains uncountably many
ergodic measures. Our work is directly connected to the theory of invariant
random subgroups, a field which has recently attracted a great deal of
attention.Comment: 16 pages, added references and figure, to appear in L'Enseignement
Mathematiqu
The boundary action of a sofic random subgroup of the free group
We prove that the boundary action of a sofic random subgroup of a finitely
generated free group is conservative. This addresses a question asked by
Grigorchuk, Kaimanovich, and Nagnibeda, who studied the boundary actions of
individual subgroups of the free group. Following their work, we also
investigate the cogrowth and various limit sets associated to sofic random
subgroups. We make heavy use of the correspondence between subgroups and their
Schreier graphs, and central to our approach is an investigation of the
asymptotic density of a given set inside of large neighborhoods of the root of
a sofic random Schreier graph.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, made minor corrections, to appear in Groups,
Geometry, and Dynamic
Coherent ultrafast torsional motion and isomerization of a biomimetic dipolar photoswitch
Femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion, UV-Vis and IR transient absorption spectroscopy are used to study the photo-isomerization dynamics of a new type of zwitterionic photoswitch based on a N-alkylated indanylidene pyrroline Schiff base framework (ZW-NAIP). The system is biomimetic, as it mimics the photophysics of retinal, in coupling excited state charge translocation and isomerization. While the fluorescence lifetime is 140 fs, excited state absorption persists over 230 fs in the form of a vibrational wavepacket according to twisting of the isomerizing double bond. After a short "dark'' time window in the UV-visible spectra, which we associate with the passage through a conical intersection (CI), the wavepacket appears on the ground state potential energy surface, as evidenced by the transient mid-IR data. This allows for a precise timing of the photoreaction all the way from the initial Franck-Condon region, through the CI and into both ground state isomers, until incoherent vibrational relaxation dominates the dynamics. The photo-reaction dynamics remarkably follow those observed for retinal in rhodopsin, with the additional benefit that in ZW-NAIP the conformational change reverses the zwitterion dipole moment direction. Last, the pronounced low-frequency coherences make these molecules ideal systems for investigating wavepacket dynamics in the vicinity of a CI and for coherent control experiments
Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors
Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating
at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within
a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed
the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective
eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along
with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of
experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical
behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using
gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical
foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a
macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum
state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL
in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a
straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser
interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state
preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we
consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test
masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in
quantum-state preparation
Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed
the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer
sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this
science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of
gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is
. This is currently the most sensitive
result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over
the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with
other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we
investigate implications of the new result for different models of this
background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure
An artificial molecular switch that mimics the visual pigment and completes its photocycle in picoseconds
Single molecules that act as light-energy transducers (e.g., converting the energy of a photon into atomic-level mechanical motion) are examples of minimal molecular devices. Here, we focus on a molecular switch designed by merging a conformationally locked diarylidene skeleton with a retinal-like Schiff base and capable of mimicking, in solution, different aspects of the transduction of the visual pigment Rhodopsin. Complementary ab initio multiconfigurational quantum chemistry-based computations and time-resolved spectroscopy are used to follow the light-induced isomerization of the switch in methanol. The results show that, similar to rhodopsin, the isomerization occurs on a 0.3-ps time scale and is followed by <10-ps cooling and solvation. The entire (2-photon-powered) switch cycle was traced by following the evolution of its infrared spectrum. These measurements indicate that a full cycle can be completed within 20 ps