Showing papers on "Quantization (physics) published in 2017"

Colloquium: quantum coherence as a resource

Abstract: The coherent superposition of states, in combination with the quantization of observables, represents one of the most fundamental features that mark the departure of quantum mechanics from the classical realm. Quantum coherence in many-body systems embodies the essence of entanglement and is an essential ingredient for a plethora of physical phenomena in quantum optics, quantum information, solid state physics, and nanoscale thermodynamics. In recent years, research on the presence and functional role of quantum coherence in biological systems has also attracted a considerable interest. Despite the fundamental importance of quantum coherence, the development of a rigorous theory of quantum coherence as a physical resource has only been initiated recently. In this Colloquium we discuss and review the development of this rapidly growing research field that encompasses the characterization, quantification, manipulation, dynamical evolution, and operational application of quantum coherence.

Gravitationally Induced Entanglement between Two Massive Particles is Sufficient Evidence of Quantum Effects in Gravity.

Abstract: All existing quantum-gravity proposals are extremely hard to test in practice. Quantum effects in the gravitational field are exceptionally small, unlike those in the electromagnetic field. The fundamental reason is that the gravitational coupling constant is about 43 orders of magnitude smaller than the fine structure constant, which governs light-matter interactions. For example, detecting gravitons—the hypothetical quanta of the gravitational field predicted by certain quantum-gravity proposals—is deemed to be practically impossible. Here we adopt a radically different, quantum-information-theoretic approach to testing quantum gravity. We propose witnessing quantumlike features in the gravitational field, by probing it with two masses each in a superposition of two locations. First, we prove that any system (e.g., a field) mediating entanglement between two quantum systems must be quantum. This argument is general and does not rely on any specific dynamics. Then, we propose an experiment to detect the entanglement generated between two masses via gravitational interaction. By our argument, the degree of entanglement between the masses is a witness of the field quantization. This experiment does not require any quantum control over gravity. It is also closer to realization than detecting gravitons or detecting quantum gravitational vacuum fluctuations.

Solving the Schwarzian via the conformal bootstrap

Abstract: We obtain exact expressions for a general class of correlation functions in the 1D quantum mechanical model described by the Schwarzian action, that arises as the low energy limit of the SYK model. The answer takes the form of an integral of a momentum space amplitude obtained via a simple set of diagrammatic rules. The derivation relies on the precise equivalence between the 1D Schwarzian theory and a suitable large c limit of 2D Virasoro CFT. The mapping from the 1D to the 2D theory is similar to the construction of kinematic space. We also compute the out-of-time ordered four point function. The momentum space amplitude in this case contains an extra factor in the form of a crossing kernel, or R-matrix, given by a 6j-symbol of SU(1,1). We argue that the R-matrix describes the gravitational scattering amplitude near the horizon of an AdS2 black hole. Finally, we discuss the generalization of some of our results to $$ \mathcal{N}=1 $$ and $$ \mathcal{N}=2 $$ supersymmetric Schwarzian QM.

Observed quantization of anyonic heat flow

Abstract: The quantum of thermal conductance of ballistic (collisionless) one-dimensional channels is a unique fundamental constant. Although the quantization of the electrical conductance of one-dimensional ballistic conductors has long been experimentally established, demonstrating the quantization of thermal conductance has been challenging as it necessitated an accurate measurement of very small temperature increase. It has been accomplished for weakly interacting systems of phonons, photons and electronic Fermi liquids; however, it should theoretically also hold in strongly interacting systems, such as those in which the fractional quantum Hall effect is observed. This effect describes the fractionalization of electrons into anyons and chargeless quasiparticles, which in some cases can be Majorana fermions. Because the bulk is incompressible in the fractional quantum Hall regime, it is not expected to contribute substantially to the thermal conductance, which is instead determined by chiral, one-dimensional edge modes. The thermal conductance thus reflects the topological properties of the fractional quantum Hall electronic system, to which measurements of the electrical conductance give no access. Here we report measurements of thermal conductance in particle-like (Laughlin-Jain series) states and the more complex (and less studied) hole-like states in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas in GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructures. Hole-like states, which have fractional Landau-level fillings of 1/2 to 1, support downstream charged modes as well as upstream neutral modes, and are expected to have a thermal conductance that is determined by the net chirality of all of their downstream and upstream edge modes. Our results establish the universality of the quantization of thermal conductance for fractionally charged and neutral modes. Measurements of anyonic heat flow provide access to information that is not easily accessible from measurements of conductance.

Hořava gravity at a Lifshitz point: A progress report

Abstract: Hořava’s quantum gravity at a Lifshitz point is a theory intended to quantize gravity by using traditional quantum field theories. To avoid Ostrogradsky’s ghosts, a problem that has been facing in quantization of general relativity since the middle of 1970’s, Hořava chose to break the Lorentz invariance by a Lifshitz-type of anisotropic scaling between space and time at the ultra-high energy, while recovering (approximately) the invariance at low energies. With the stringent observational constraints and self-consistency, it turns out that this is not an easy task, and various modifications have been proposed, since the first incarnation of the theory in 2009. In this review, we shall provide a progress report on the recent development of Hořava gravity. In particular, we first present four so far most-studied versions of Hořava gravity, by focusing first on their self-consistency and then their consistency with experiments, including the solar system tests and cosmological observations. Then, we provide a general review on the recent development of the theory in three different but also related areas: (i) universal horizons, black holes and their thermodynamics; (ii) nonrelativistic gauge/gravity duality and (iii) quantization of the theory. The studies in these areas can be easily generalized to other gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance.

Three-body unitarity in the finite volume

Abstract: The physical interpretation of lattice QCD simulations, performed in a small volume, requires an extrapolation to the infinite volume. A method is proposed to perform such an extrapolation for three interacting particles at energies above threshold. For this, a recently formulated relativistic $ 3\rightarrow 3$ amplitude based on the isobar formulation is adapted to the finite volume. The guiding principle is two- and three-body unitarity that imposes the imaginary parts of the amplitude in the infinite volume. In turn, these imaginary parts dictate the leading power-law finite-volume effects. It is demonstrated that finite-volume poles arising from the singular interaction, from the external two-body sub-amplitudes, and from the disconnected topology cancel exactly leaving only the genuine three-body eigenvalues. The corresponding quantization condition is derived for the case of three identical scalar-isoscalar particles and its numerical implementation is demonstrated.

Ho\v{r}ava Gravity at a Lifshitz Point: A Progress Report

Abstract: Hořava gravity at a Lifshitz point is a theory intended to quantize gravity by using techniques of traditional quantum field theories. To avoid Ostrogradsky's ghosts, a problem that has been plaguing quantization of general relativity since the middle of 1970's, Hořava chose to break the Lorentz invariance by a Lifshitz-type of anisotropic scaling between space and time at the ultra-high energy, while recovering (approximately) the invariance at low energies. With the stringent observational constraints and self-consistency, it turns out that this is not an easy task, and various modifications have been proposed, since the first incarnation of the theory in 2009. In this review, we shall provide a progress report on the recent developments of Hořava gravity. In particular, we first present four most-studied versions of Hořava gravity, by focusing first on their self-consistency and then their consistency with experiments, including the solar system tests and cosmological observations. Then, we provide a general review on the recent developments of the theory in three different but also related areas: (i) universal horizons, black holes and their thermodynamics; (ii) non-relativistic gauge/gravity duality; and (iii) quantization of the theory. The studies in these areas can be generalized to other gravitational theories with broken Lorentz invariance.

On the quantum field theory of the gravitational interactions

Abstract: We study the main options for a unitary and renormalizable, local quantum field theory of the gravitational interactions. The first model is a Lee-Wick superrenormalizable higher-derivative gravity, formulated as a nonanalytically Wick rotated Euclidean theory. We show that, under certain conditions, the S matrix is unitary when the cosmological constant vanishes. The model is the simplest of its class. However, infinitely many similar options are allowed, which raises the issue of uniqueness. To deal with this problem, we propose a new quantization prescription, by doubling the unphysical poles of the higher-derivative propagators and turning them into Lee-Wick poles. The Lagrangian of the simplest theory of quantum gravity based on this idea is the linear combination of R, R μν R μν , R 2 and the cosmological term. Only the graviton propagates in the cutting equations and, when the cosmological constant vanishes, the S matrix is unitary. The theory satisfies the locality of counterterms and is renormalizable by power counting. It is unique in the sense that it is the only one with a dimensionless gauge coupling.

Directly probing anisotropy in atom-molecule collisions through quantum scattering resonances

Abstract: Atom–molecule interactions are orientation-dependent. Now the anisotropy of He–H2 interactions has been probed by measuring how the associated quantum scattering resonances respond to tuning of the H2 rotational state. Anisotropy is a fundamental property of particle interactions. It occupies a central role in cold and ultracold molecular processes, where orientation-dependent long-range forces have been studied in ultracold polar molecule collisions1,2. In the cold collisions regime, quantization of the intermolecular degrees of freedom leads to quantum scattering resonances. Although these states have been shown to be sensitive to details of the interaction potential3,4,5,6,7,8, the effect of anisotropy on quantum resonances has so far eluded experimental observation. Here, we directly measure the anisotropy in atom–molecule interactions via quantum resonances by changing the quantum state of the internal molecular rotor. We observe that a quantum scattering resonance at a collision energy of kB × 270 mK appears in the Penning ionization of molecular hydrogen with metastable helium only if the molecule is rotationally excited. We use state-of-the-art ab initio theory to show that control over the rotational state effectively switches the anisotropy on or off, disentangling the isotropic and anisotropic parts of the interaction.

Three-particle quantization condition in a finite volume: 1. The role of the three-particle force

Abstract: Using non-relativistic effective Lagrangians in the particle-dimer picture, we rederive the expression for the energy shift of a loosely bound three-particle bound state of identical bosons in the unitary limit. The effective field theory formalism allows us to explicitly investigate the role of the three-particle force. Moreover, we discuss relaxing the unitary limit of infinite scattering length and demonstrate a smooth transition from the weakly bound three-particle state to a two-particle bound state of a particle and a deeply bound dimer.

Semiclassics, Goldstone bosons and CFT data

Abstract: Hellerman et al. (arXiv:1505.01537) have shown that in a generic CFT the spectrum of operators carrying a large U(1) charge can be analyzed semiclassically in an expansion in inverse powers of the charge. The key is the operator state correspondence by which such operators are associated with a finite density superfluid phase for the theory quantized on the cylinder. The dynamics is dominated by the corresponding Goldstone hydrodynamic mode and the derivative expansion coincides with the inverse charge expansion. We illustrate and further clarify this situation by first considering simple quantum mechanical analogues. We then systematize the approach by employing the coset construction for non-linearly realized space-time symmetries. Focussing on CFT3 we illustrate the case of higher rank and non-abelian groups and the computation of higher point functions. Three point function coefficients turn out to satisfy universal scaling laws and correlations as the charge and spin are varied.

Shifted Poisson structures and deformation quantization

Abstract: This paper is a sequel to [PTVV]. We develop a general and flexible context for differential calculus in derived geometry, including the de Rham algebra and poly-vector fields. We then introduce the formalism of formal derived stacks and prove formal localization and gluing results. These allow us to define shifted Poisson structures on general derived Artin stacks, and prove that the non-degenerate Poisson structures correspond exactly to shifted symplectic forms. Shifted deformation quantization for a derived Artin stack endowed with a shifted Poisson structure is discussed in the last section. This paves the way for shifted deformation quantization of many interesting derived moduli spaces, like those studied in [PTVV] and probably many others.

Spectral Theory and Mirror Curves of Higher Genus

Abstract: Recently, a correspondence has been proposed between spectral theory and topological strings on toric Calabi–Yau manifolds. In this paper, we develop in detail this correspondence for mirror curves of higher genus, which display many new features as compared to the genus one case studied so far. Given a curve of genus g, our quantization scheme leads to g different trace class operators. Their spectral properties are encoded in a generalized spectral determinant, which is an entire function on the Calabi–Yau moduli space. We conjecture an exact expression for this spectral determinant in terms of the standard and refined topological string amplitudes. This conjecture provides a non-perturbative definition of the topological string on these geometries, in which the genus expansion emerges in a suitable ’t Hooft limit of the spectral traces of the operators. In contrast to what happens in quantum integrable systems, our quantization scheme leads to a single quantization condition, which is elegantly encoded by the vanishing of a quantum-deformed theta function on the mirror curve. We illustrate our general theory by analyzing in detail the resolved \({\mathbb C}^3/{\mathbb Z}_5\) orbifold, which is the simplest toric Calabi–Yau manifold with a genus two mirror curve. By applying our conjecture to this example, we find new quantization conditions for quantum mechanical operators, in terms of genus two theta functions, as well as new number-theoretic properties for the periods of this Calabi–Yau.

Topological transconductance quantization in a four-terminal Josephson junction

Abstract: Recently we predicted that the Andreev bound-state spectrum of four-terminal Josephson junctions may possess topologically protected zero-energy Weyl singularities, which manifest themselves in a quantized transconductance in units of 4e2/h when two of the terminals are voltage biased [R.-P. Riwar, M. Houzet, J. S. Meyer, and Y. V. Nazarov, Nature Commun. 7, 11167 (2016)2041-172310.1038/ncomms11167]. Here, using the Landauer-Buttiker scattering theory, we compute numerically the currents flowing through such a structure in order to assess the conditions for observing this effect. We show that the voltage below which the transconductance becomes quantized is determined by the interplay of nonadiabatic transitions between Andreev bound states and inelastic relaxation processes. We demonstrate that the topological quantization of the transconductance can be observed at voltages of the order of 10-2Δ/e,Δ being the the superconducting gap in the leads.

How To Identify Plasmons from the Optical Response of Nanostructures

Abstract: A promising trend in plasmonics involves shrinking the size of plasmon-supporting structures down to a few nanometers, thus enabling control over light–matter interaction at extreme-subwavelength scales. In this limit, quantum mechanical effects, such as nonlocal screening and size quantization, strongly affect the plasmonic response, rendering it substantially different from classical predictions. For very small clusters and molecules, collective plasmonic modes are hard to distinguish from other excitations such as single-electron transitions. Using rigorous quantum mechanical computational techniques for a wide variety of physical systems, we describe how an optical resonance of a nanostructure can be classified as either plasmonic or nonplasmonic. More precisely, we define a universal metric for such classification, the generalized plasmonicity index (GPI), which can be straightforwardly implemented in any computational electronic-structure method or classical electromagnetic approach to discriminate ...

JPEG Quantization Step Estimation and Its Applications to Digital Image Forensics

Abstract: The goal of this paper is to propose an accurate method for estimating quantization steps from an image that has been previously JPEG-compressed and stored in lossless format. The method is based on the combination of the quantization effect and the statistics of discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficient characterized by the statistical model that has been proposed in our previous works. The analysis of quantization effect is performed within a mathematical framework, which justifies the relation of local maxima of the number of integer quantized forward coefficients with the true quantization step. From the candidate set of the true quantization step given by the previous analysis, the statistical model of DCT coefficients is used to provide the optimal quantization step candidate. The proposed method can also be exploited to estimate the secondary quantization table in a double-JPEG compressed image stored in lossless format and detect the presence of JPEG compression. Numerical experiments on large image databases with different image sizes and quality factors highlight the high accuracy of the proposed method.

Scaling of the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect as an Indicator of Axion Electrodynamics

Abstract: We report on the scaling behavior of V-doped (Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3} samples in the quantum anomalous Hall regime for samples of various thickness. While previous quantum anomalous Hall measurements showed the same scaling as expected from a two-dimensional integer quantum Hall state, we observe a dimensional crossover to three spatial dimensions as a function of layer thickness. In the limit of a sufficiently thick layer, we find scaling behavior matching the flow diagram of two parallel conducting topological surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator each featuring a fractional shift of 1/2e^{2}/h in the flow diagram Hall conductivity, while we recover the expected integer quantum Hall behavior for thinner layers. This constitutes the observation of a distinct type of quantum anomalous Hall effect, resulting from 1/2e^{2}/h Hall conductance quantization of three-dimensional topological insulator surface states, in an experiment which does not require decomposition of the signal to separate the contribution of two surfaces. This provides a possible experimental link between quantum Hall physics and axion electrodynamics.

Reconstructing WKB from topological recursion

Abstract: We prove that the topological recursion reconstructs the WKB expansion of a quantum curve for all spectral curves whose Newton polygons have no interior point (and that are smooth as affine curves). This includes nearly all previously known cases in the literature, and many more; in particular, it includes many quantum curves of order greater than two. We also explore the connection between the choice of ordering in the quantization of the spectral curve and the choice of integration divisor to reconstruct the WKB expansion.

Thermoelectric properties of an interacting quantum dot based heat engine

Abstract: We study the thermoelectric properties and heat-to-work conversion performance of an interacting, multilevel quantum dot (QD) weakly coupled to electronic reservoirs. We focus on the sequential tunneling regime. The dynamics of the charge in the QD is studied by means of master equations for the probabilities of occupation. From here we compute the charge and heat currents in the linear response regime. Assuming a generic multiterminal setup, and for low temperatures (quantum limit), we obtain analytical expressions for the transport coefficients which account for the interplay between interactions (charging energy) and level quantization. In the case of systems with two and three terminals we derive formulas for the power factor $Q$ and the figure of merit $ZT$ for a QD-based heat engine, identifying optimal working conditions which maximize output power and efficiency of heat-to-work conversion. Beyond the linear response we concentrate on the two-terminal setup. We first study the thermoelectric nonlinear coefficients assessing the consequences of large temperature and voltage biases, focusing on the breakdown of the Onsager reciprocal relation between thermopower and Peltier coefficient. We then investigate the conditions which optimize the performance of a heat engine, finding that in the quantum limit output power and efficiency at maximum power can almost be simultaneously maximized by choosing appropriate values of electrochemical potential and bias voltage. At last we study how energy level degeneracy can increase the output power.

Quantum geometry of resurgent perturbative/nonperturbative relations

Abstract: For a wide variety of quantum potentials, including the textbook ‘instanton’ examples of the periodic cosine and symmetric double-well potentials, the perturbative data coming from fluctuations about the vacuum saddle encodes all non-perturbative data in all higher non-perturbative sectors. Here we unify these examples in geometric terms, arguing that the all-orders quantum action determines the all-orders quantum dual action for quantum spectral problems associated with a classical genus one elliptic curve. Furthermore, for a special class of genus one potentials this relation is particularly simple: this class includes the cubic oscillator, symmetric double-well, symmetric degenerate triple-well, and periodic cosine potential. These are related to the Chebyshev potentials, which are in turn related to certain $$ \mathcal{N} $$ = 2 supersymmetric quantum field theories, to mirror maps for hypersurfaces in projective spaces, and also to topological c = 3 Landau-Ginzburg models and ‘special geometry’. These systems inherit a natural modular structure corresponding to Ramanujan’s theory of elliptic functions in alternative bases, which is especially important for the quantization. Insights from supersymmetric quantum field theory suggest similar structures for more complicated potentials, corresponding to higher genus. Our approach is very elementary, using basic classical geometry combined with all-orders WKB.

Hybrid loop quantum cosmology and predictions for the cosmic microwave background

Abstract: We investigate the consequences of the hybrid quantization approach for primordial perturbations in loop quantum cosmology, obtaining predictions for the cosmic microwave background and comparing them with data collected by the Planck mission. In this work, we complete previous studies about the scalar perturbations and incorporate tensor modes. We compute their power spectrum for a variety of vacuum states. We then analyze the tensor-to-scalar ratio and the consistency relation between this quantity and the spectral index of the tensor power spectrum. We also compute the temperature-temperature, electric-electric, temperature-electric, and magnetic-magnetic correlation functions. Finally, we discuss the effects of the quantum geometry in these correlation functions and confront them with observations.

Density-functional calculations of transport properties in the nondegenerate limit and the role of electron-electron scattering.

Abstract: We compute electrical and thermal conductivities of hydrogen plasmas in the nondegenerate regime using Kohn-Sham density functional theory (DFT) and an application of the Kubo-Greenwood response formula, and demonstrate that for thermal conductivity, the mean-field treatment of the electron-electron (e-e) interaction therein is insufficient to reproduce the weak-coupling limit obtained by plasma kinetic theories. An explicit e-e scattering correction to the DFT is posited by appealing to Matthiessen's Rule and the results of our computations of conductivities with the quantum Lenard-Balescu (QLB) equation. Further motivation of our correction is provided by an argument arising from the Zubarev quantum kinetic theory approach. Significant emphasis is placed on our efforts to produce properly converged results for plasma transport using Kohn-Sham DFT, so that an accurate assessment of the importance and efficacy of our e-e scattering corrections to the thermal conductivity can be made.

Three-body Unitarity in the Finite Volume

Abstract: The physical interpretation of lattice QCD simulations, performed in a small volume, requires an extrapolation to the infinite volume. A method is proposed to perform such an extrapolation for three interacting particles at energies above threshold. For this, a recently formulated relativistic $3\to 3$ amplitude based on the isobar formulation is adapted to the finite volume. The guiding principle is two- and three-body unitarity that imposes the imaginary parts of the amplitude in the infinite volume. In turn, these imaginary parts dictate the leading power-law finite-volume effects. It is demonstrated that finite-volume poles arising from the singular interaction, from the external two-body sub-amplitudes, and from the disconnected topology cancel exactly leaving only the genuine three-body eigenvalues. The corresponding quantization condition is derived for the case of three identical scalar-isoscalar particles and its numerical implementation is demonstrated.

Coherent state mapping ring polymer molecular dynamics for non-adiabatic quantum propagations.

Abstract: We introduce the coherent-state mapping ring polymer molecular dynamics (CS-RPMD), a new method that accurately describes electronic non-adiabatic dynamics with explicit nuclear quantization. This new approach is derived by using coherent-state mapping representation for the electronic degrees of freedom (DOF) and the ring-polymer path-integral representation for the nuclear DOF. The CS-RPMD Hamiltonian does not contain any inter-bead coupling term in the state-dependent potential and correctly describes electronic Rabi oscillations. A classical equation of motion is used to sample initial configurations and propagate the trajectories from the CS-RPMD Hamiltonian. At the time equivalent to zero, the quantum Boltzmann distribution (QBD) is recovered by reweighting the sampled distribution with an additional phase factor. In a special limit that there is one bead for mapping variables and multiple beads for nuclei, CS-RPMD satisfies detailed balance and preserves an approximate QBD. Numerical tests of this method with a two-state model system show very good agreement with exact quantum results over a broad range of electronic couplings.

Numerical simulations of loop quantum Bianchi-I spacetimes

Abstract: Due to the numerical complexities of studying evolution in an anisotropic quantum spacetime, in comparison to the isotropic models, the physics of loop quantized anisotropic models has remained largely unexplored. In particular, robustness of bounce and the validity of effective dynamics have so far not been established. Our analysis fills these gaps for the case of vacuum Bianchi-I spacetime. To efficiently solve the quantum Hamiltonian constraint we perform an implementation of the Cactus framework which is conventionally used for applications in numerical relativity. Using high performance computing, numerical simulations for a large number of initial states with a wide variety of fluctuations are performed. Big bang singularity is found to be replaced by anisotropic bounces for all the cases. We find that for initial states which are sharply peaked at the late times in the classical regime and bounce at a mean volume much greater than the Planck volume, effective dynamics is an excellent approximation to the underlying quantum dynamics. Departures of the effective dynamics from the quantum evolution appear for the states probing deep Planck volumes. A detailed analysis of the behavior of this departure reveals a non-monotonic and subtle dependence on fluctuations of the initial states. We find that effective dynamics in almost all of the cases underestimates the volume and hence overestimates the curvature at the bounce, a result in synergy with earlier findings in the isotropic case. The expansion and shear scalars are found to be bounded throughout the evolution.

Integrability of Conformal Fishnet Theory

Abstract: We study integrability of fishnet-type Feynman graphs arising in planar four-dimensional bi-scalar chiral theory recently proposed in arXiv:1512.06704 as a special double scaling limit of gamma-deformed $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM theory. We show that the transfer matrix "building" the fishnet graphs emerges from the $R-$matrix of non-compact conformal $SU(2,2)$ Heisenberg spin chain with spins belonging to principal series representations of the four-dimensional conformal group. We demonstrate explicitly a relationship between this integrable spin chain and the Quantum Spectral Curve (QSC) of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM. Using QSC and spin chain methods, we construct Baxter equation for $Q-$functions of the conformal spin chain needed for computation of the anomalous dimensions of operators of the type $\text{tr}(\phi_1^J)$ where $\phi_1$ is one of the two scalars of the theory. For $J=3$ we derive from QSC a quantization condition that fixes the relevant solution of Baxter equation. The scaling dimensions of the operators only receive contributions from wheel-like graphs. We develop integrability techniques to compute the divergent part of these graphs and use it to present the weak coupling expansion of dimensions to very high orders. Then we apply our exact equations to calculate the anomalous dimensions with $J=3$ to practically unlimited precision at any coupling. These equations also describe an infinite tower of local conformal operators all carrying the same charge $J=3$. The method should be applicable for any $J$ and, in principle, to any local operators of bi-scalar theory. We show that at strong coupling the scaling dimensions can be derived from semiclassical quantization of finite gap solutions describing an integrable system of noncompact $SU(2,2)$ spins. This bears similarities with the classical strings arising in the strongly coupled limit of $\mathcal{N}=4$ SYM.

Quantum Field Theory Approach to Condensed Matter Physics

Abstract: A balanced combination of introductory and advanced topics provides a new and unique perspective on the quantum field theory approach to condensed matter physics. Beginning with the basics of these subjects, such as static and vibrating lattices, independent and interacting electrons, the functional formulation for fields and different generating functionals and their roles, this book presents a unified viewpoint illustrating the connections and relationships among various physical concepts and mechanisms. Advanced and newer topics bring the book up to date with current developments and include sections on cuprate and pnictide superconductors, graphene, Weyl semimetals, transition metal dichalcogenides and topological insulators. Finally, well-known subjects such as the quantum Hall effect, superconductivity, Mott and Anderson insulators, and the Anderson–Higgs mechanism are examined within a unifying QFT-CMP approach. Presenting new insights on traditional topics, this text allows graduate students and researchers to master the proper theoretical tools required in a variety of condensed matter physics systems.

Manipulating molecules with quantum light.

Abstract: It was first realized by Purcell (1) that the spontaneous emission rate of a quantum system can be enhanced or suppressed by placing it in a resonant radiofrequency cavity. Spontaneous emission as it was first theoretically described by Einstein (2) is not a pure property of matter. It is described by matter coupled to quantized radiation field modes, which can be manipulated in an artificial structure such as a cavity. Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) is used to describe such effects that intimately depend on the fact that light is made of photons. Cavity QED has been extensively studied in atoms and the experimental proof was awarded with the Nobel Prize in 2012 (3). It has been applied to cooling of single atoms and for the detection of single atoms and creating and studying states with few photons and few atoms (4). In more recent developments these ideas have been extended to manipulate electronic states (5) and vibrations in molecules (6, 7). In PNAS, Flick et al. (8) introduce recent theoretical developments for the application of cavity QED to molecules and suggest possible novel applications to photochemistry. These include nonadiabatic dynamics of molecules in cavities, the modification of molecular properties, and the integration of QED with density functional theory. A quantized electromagnetic field mode can be described as a harmonic oscillator whose coordinate is the electric field displacement (Fig. 1 A ). The zero point energy translates into a nonvanishing field intensity ⟨ e 2 ⟩ in the ground state | 0 ⟩ (vacuum fluctuations). The electric vacuum field increases for a small cavity volume e c = ℏ ω c V ϵ 0 , [1] Fig. 1. ( A ) Illustration of the standing wave cavity mode and the resulting field quantization (Fock states). ( B ) Combined matter-field states (dressed states, | ± , n ⟩ … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: smukamel{at}uci.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Ring Polymer Surface Hopping: Incorporating Nuclear Quantum Effects into Nonadiabatic Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Abstract: We apply a recently proposed ring polymer surface hopping (RPSH) approach to investigate the real-time nonadiabatic dynamics with explicit nuclear quantum effects. The nonadibatic electronic transitions are described through Tully’s fewest-switches surface hopping algorithm and the motion of the nuclei are quantized through the ring polymer Hamiltonian in the extended phase space. Applying the RPSH method to simulate Tully’s avoided crossing models, we demonstrate the critical role of the nuclear tunneling effect and zero-point energy for accurately describing the transmission and reflection probabilities with low initial momenta. In addition, in Tully’s extended coupling model, we show that the ring polymer quantization effectively captures decoherence, yielding more accurate reflection probabilities. These promising results demonstrate the potential of using RPSH as an accurate and efficient method to incorporate nuclear quantum effects into nonadiabatic dynamics simulations.