Matching Items (26)
Description
In this thesis, we present the study of several physical properties of relativistic mat- ters under extreme conditions. We start by deriving the rate of the nonleptonic weak processes and the bulk viscosity in several spin-one color superconducting phases of quark matter. We also calculate the bulk viscosity in the nonlinear and anharmonic regime in the normal phase of strange quark matter. We point out several qualitative effects due to the anharmonicity, although quantitatively they appear to be relatively small. In the corresponding study, we take into account the interplay between the non- leptonic and semileptonic weak processes. The results can be important in order to relate accessible observables of compact stars to their internal composition. We also use quantum field theoretical methods to study the transport properties in monolayer graphene in a strong magnetic field. The corresponding quasi-relativistic system re- veals an anomalous quantum Hall effect, whose features are directly connected with the spontaneous flavor symmetry breaking. We study the microscopic origin of Fara- day rotation and magneto-optical transmission in graphene and show that their main features are in agreement with the experimental data.
ContributorsWang, Xinyang, Ph.D (Author) / Shovkovy, Igor (Thesis advisor) / Belitsky, Andrei (Committee member) / Easson, Damien (Committee member) / Peng, Xihong (Committee member) / Vachaspati, Tanmay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This thesis addresses certain quantum aspects of the event horizon using the AdS/CFT correspondence. This correspondence is profound since it describes a quantum theory of gravity in d + 1 dimensions from the perspective of a dual quantum field theory living in d dimensions. We begin by considering Rindler space which is the part of Minkowski space seen by an observer with a constant proper acceleration. Because it has an event horizon, Rindler space has been studied in great detail within the context of quantum field theory. However, a quantum gravitational treatment of Rindler space is handicapped by the fact that quantum gravity in flat space is poorly understood. By contrast, quantum gravity in anti-de Sitter space (AdS), is relatively well understood via the AdS/CFT correspondence. Taking this cue, we construct Rindler coordinates for AdS (Rindler-AdS space) in d + 1 spacetime dimensions. In three spacetime dimensions, we find novel one-parameter families of stationary vacua labeled by a rotation parameter β. The interesting thing about these rotating Rindler-AdS spaces is that they possess an observer-dependent ergoregion in addition to having an event horizon. Turning next to the application of AdS/CFT correspondence to Rindler-AdS space, we posit that the two Rindler wedges in AdSd+1 are dual to an entangled conformal field theory (CFT) that lives on two boundaries with geometry R × Hd-1. Specializing to three spacetime dimensions, we derive the thermodynamics of Rindler-AdS space using the boundary CFT. We then probe the causal structure of the spacetime by sending in a time-like source and observe that the CFT “knows” when the source has fallen past the Rindler horizon. We conclude by proposing an alternate foliation of Rindler-AdS which is dual to a CFT living in de Sitter space. Towards the end, we consider the concept of weak measurements in quantum mechanics, wherein the measuring instrument is weakly coupled to the system being measured. We consider such measurements in the context of two examples, viz. the decay of an excited atom, and the tunneling of a particle trapped in a well, and discuss the salient features of such measurements.
ContributorsSamantray, Prasant (Author) / Parikh, Maulik (Thesis advisor) / Davies, Paul (Committee member) / Vachaspati, Tanmay (Committee member) / Easson, Damien (Committee member) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Monte Carlo methods often used in nuclear physics, such as auxiliary field diffusion Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo, have typically relied on phenomenological local real-space potentials containing as few derivatives as possible, such as the Argonne-Urbana family of interactions, to make sampling simple and efficient. Basis set methods such as no-core shell model or coupled-cluster techniques typically use softer non-local potentials because of their more rapid convergence with basis set size. These non-local potentials are typically defined in momentum space and are often based on effective field theory. Comparisons of the results of the two types of methods are complicated by the use of different potentials. This thesis discusses progress made in using such non-local potentials in quantum Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei. In particular, it shows methods for evaluating the real-space, imaginary-time propagators needed to perform quantum Monte Carlo calculations using non-local potentials and universality properties of these propagators, how to formulate a good trial wave function for non-local potentials, and how to perform a "one-step" Green's function Monte Carlo calculation for non-local potentials.
ContributorsLynn, Joel E (Author) / Schmidt, Kevin E (Thesis advisor) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Lebed, Richard (Committee member) / Shovkovy, Igor (Committee member) / Shumway, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
This thesis explores the different aspects of higher curvature gravity. The "membrane paradigm" of black holes in Einstein gravity is extended to black holes in f(R) gravity and it is shown that the higher curvature effects of f(R) gravity causes the membrane fluid to become non-Newtonian. Next a modification of the null energy condition in gravity is provided. The purpose of the null energy condition is to filter out ill-behaved theories containing ghosts. Conformal transformations, which are simple redefinitions of the spacetime, introduces serious violations of the null energy condition. This violation is shown to be spurious and a prescription for obtaining a modified null energy condition, based on the universality of the second law of thermodynamics, is provided. The thermodynamic properties of the black holes are further explored using merger of extremal black holes whose horizon entropy has topological contributions coming from the higher curvature Gauss-Bonnet term. The analysis refutes the prevalent belief in the literature that the second law of black hole thermodynamics is violated in the presence of the Gauss-Bonnet term in four dimensions. Subsequently a specific class of higher derivative scalar field theories called the galileons are obtained from a Kaluza-Klein reduction of Gauss-Bonnet gravity. Galileons are null energy condition violating theories which lead to violations of the second law of thermodynamics of black holes. These higher derivative scalar field theories which are non-minimally coupled to gravity required the development of a generalized method for obtaining the equations of motion. Utilizing this generalized method, it is shown that the inclusion of the Gauss-Bonnet term made the theory of gravity to become higher derivative, which makes it difficult to make any statements about the connection between the violation of the second law of thermodynamics and the galileon fields.
ContributorsChatterjee, Saugata (Author) / Parikh, Maulik K (Thesis advisor) / Easson, Damien (Committee member) / Davies, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The nucleon resonance spectrum consists of many overlapping excitations. Polarization observables are an important tool for understanding and clarifying these spectra. While there is a large data base of differential cross sections for the process, very few data exist for polarization observables. A program of double polarization experiments has been conducted at Jefferson Lab using a tagged polarized photon beam and a frozen spin polarized target (FROST). The results presented here were taken during the first running period of FROST using the CLAS detector at Jefferson Lab with photon energies ranging from 329 MeV to 2.35 GeV. Data are presented for the E polarization observable for eta meson photoproduction on the proton from threshold (W=1500 MeV) to W=1900 MeV. Comparisons to the partial wave analyses of SAID and Bonn-Gatchina along with the isobar analysis of eta-MAID are made. These results will help distinguish between current theoretical predictions and refine future theories.
ContributorsMorrison, Brian (Author) / Ritchie, Barry (Thesis advisor) / Dugger, Michael (Committee member) / Shovkovy, Igor (Committee member) / Davies, Paul (Committee member) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Chiral symmetry and its anomalous and spontaneous breaking play an important role
in particle physics, where it explains the origin of pion and hadron mass hierarchy
among other things.
Despite its microscopic origin chirality may also lead to observable effects
in macroscopic physical systems -- relativistic plasmas made of chiral
(spin-$\frac{1}{2}$) particles.
Such plasmas are called \textit{chiral}.
The effects include non-dissipative currents in external fields that could be present
even in quasi-equilibrium, such as the chiral magnetic (CME) and separation (CSE)
effects, as well as a number of inherently chiral collective modes
called the chiral magnetic (CMW) and vortical (CVW) waves.
Applications of chiral plasmas are truly interdisciplinary, ranging from
hot plasma filling the early Universe, to dense matter in neutron stars,
to electronic band structures in Dirac and Weyl semimetals, to quark-gluon plasma
produced in heavy-ion collisions.
The main focus of this dissertation is a search for traces of chiral physics
in the spectrum of collective modes in chiral plasmas.
I start from relativistic chiral kinetic theory and derive
first- and second-order chiral hydrodynamics.
Then I establish key features of an equilibrium state that describes many
physical chiral systems and use it to find the full spectrum of collective modes
in high-temperature and high-density cases.
Finally, I consider in detail the fate of the two inherently chiral waves, namely
the CMW and the CVW, and determine their detection prospects.
The main results of this dissertation are the formulation of a fully covariant
dissipative chiral hydrodynamics and the calculation of the spectrum of collective
modes in chiral plasmas.
It is found that the dissipative effects and dynamical electromagnetism play
an important role in most cases.
In particular, it is found that both the CMW and the CVW are heavily damped by the usual
Ohmic dissipation in charged plasmas and the diffusion effects in neutral plasmas.
These findings prompt a search for new physical observables in heavy-ion collisions,
as well as a revision of potential applications of chiral theories in
cosmology and solid-state physics.
in particle physics, where it explains the origin of pion and hadron mass hierarchy
among other things.
Despite its microscopic origin chirality may also lead to observable effects
in macroscopic physical systems -- relativistic plasmas made of chiral
(spin-$\frac{1}{2}$) particles.
Such plasmas are called \textit{chiral}.
The effects include non-dissipative currents in external fields that could be present
even in quasi-equilibrium, such as the chiral magnetic (CME) and separation (CSE)
effects, as well as a number of inherently chiral collective modes
called the chiral magnetic (CMW) and vortical (CVW) waves.
Applications of chiral plasmas are truly interdisciplinary, ranging from
hot plasma filling the early Universe, to dense matter in neutron stars,
to electronic band structures in Dirac and Weyl semimetals, to quark-gluon plasma
produced in heavy-ion collisions.
The main focus of this dissertation is a search for traces of chiral physics
in the spectrum of collective modes in chiral plasmas.
I start from relativistic chiral kinetic theory and derive
first- and second-order chiral hydrodynamics.
Then I establish key features of an equilibrium state that describes many
physical chiral systems and use it to find the full spectrum of collective modes
in high-temperature and high-density cases.
Finally, I consider in detail the fate of the two inherently chiral waves, namely
the CMW and the CVW, and determine their detection prospects.
The main results of this dissertation are the formulation of a fully covariant
dissipative chiral hydrodynamics and the calculation of the spectrum of collective
modes in chiral plasmas.
It is found that the dissipative effects and dynamical electromagnetism play
an important role in most cases.
In particular, it is found that both the CMW and the CVW are heavily damped by the usual
Ohmic dissipation in charged plasmas and the diffusion effects in neutral plasmas.
These findings prompt a search for new physical observables in heavy-ion collisions,
as well as a revision of potential applications of chiral theories in
cosmology and solid-state physics.
ContributorsRybalka, Denys (Author) / Shovkovy, Igor (Thesis advisor) / Lunardini, Cecilia (Committee member) / Timmes, Francis (Committee member) / Vachaspati, Tanmay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The longstanding issue of how much time it takes a particle to tunnel through quantum barriers is discussed; in particular, the phenomenon known as the Hartman effect is reviewed. A calculation of the dwell time for two successive rectangular barriers in the opaque limit is given and the result depends on the barrier widths and hence does not lead to superluminal tunneling or the Hartman effect.
ContributorsMcDonald, Scott (Author) / Davies, Paul (Thesis director) / Comfort, Joseph (Committee member) / McCartney, M. R. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2009-05
Description
Despite the 40-year war on cancer, very limited progress has been made in developing a cure for the disease. This failure has prompted the reevaluation of the causes and development of cancer. One resulting model, coined the atavistic model of cancer, posits that cancer is a default phenotype of the cells of multicellular organisms which arises when the cell is subjected to an unusual amount of stress. Since this default phenotype is similar across cell types and even organisms, it seems it must be an evolutionarily ancestral phenotype. We take a phylostratigraphical approach, but systematically add species divergence time data to estimate gene ages numerically and use these ages to investigate the ages of genes involved in cancer. We find that ancient disease-recessive cancer genes are significantly enriched for DNA repair and SOS activity, which seems to imply that a core component of cancer development is not the regulation of growth, but the regulation of mutation. Verification of this finding could drastically improve cancer treatment and prevention.
ContributorsOrr, Adam James (Author) / Davies, Paul (Thesis director) / Bussey, Kimberly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In the first part of this thesis, we use the generalized Landau-level represen-
tation to study the effect of screening on the properties of the graphene quantum Hall states with integer filling factors. The analysis is performed in the low-energy Dirac model in the mean-field approximation, in which the long-range Coulomb in- teraction is modified by the one-loop static screening effects. The solutions demon- strate that static screening leads to a substantial suppression of the gap parameters in the quantum Hall states with a broken U (4) flavor symmetry. The results of the temperature dependence of the energy gaps mimic well the temperature dependence of the activation energies measured in experiment. The Landau-level running of the quasiparticle dynamical parameters could be tested via optical studies of the integer quantum Hall states.
In the second part, by using the generalized Landau-level representation, we study the interaction induced chiral asymmetry in cold QED plasma beyond the weak-field approximation. The chiral shift and the parity-even chiral chemical potential function are obtained numerically and are found peaking near the Fermi surface and increases and decreases with the Landau level index, respectively. The results are used to quantify the chiral asymmetry of the Fermi surface in dense QED matter. The chiral asymmetry appears to be rather small even in the strongest mag- netic fields and at the highest stellar densities. However, the analogous asymmetry can be substantial in the case of dense quark matter.
tation to study the effect of screening on the properties of the graphene quantum Hall states with integer filling factors. The analysis is performed in the low-energy Dirac model in the mean-field approximation, in which the long-range Coulomb in- teraction is modified by the one-loop static screening effects. The solutions demon- strate that static screening leads to a substantial suppression of the gap parameters in the quantum Hall states with a broken U (4) flavor symmetry. The results of the temperature dependence of the energy gaps mimic well the temperature dependence of the activation energies measured in experiment. The Landau-level running of the quasiparticle dynamical parameters could be tested via optical studies of the integer quantum Hall states.
In the second part, by using the generalized Landau-level representation, we study the interaction induced chiral asymmetry in cold QED plasma beyond the weak-field approximation. The chiral shift and the parity-even chiral chemical potential function are obtained numerically and are found peaking near the Fermi surface and increases and decreases with the Landau level index, respectively. The results are used to quantify the chiral asymmetry of the Fermi surface in dense QED matter. The chiral asymmetry appears to be rather small even in the strongest mag- netic fields and at the highest stellar densities. However, the analogous asymmetry can be substantial in the case of dense quark matter.
ContributorsXia, Lifang, Ph.D (Author) / Shovkovy, Igor (Thesis advisor) / Lebed, Richard (Committee member) / Schmidt, Kevin (Committee member) / Damien, Easson (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The interaction of light with nanoscale structures consisting of metal and two-level quantum emitters is investigated computationally. A method of tilting the incoming electromagnetic wave is used to demonstrate coupling between a sinusoidal grating and two-level quantum emitters. A system consisting of metallic v-grooves and two-level emitters is thoroughly explored in the linear regime, where the spatially uniform fields provide a unique means of characterizing the coupling between the v-grooves and emitters. Furthermore, subwavelength spatial effects in the ground state population of emitters in the v-grooves are observed and analyzed in the non-linear regime. Finally, photon echoes are explored in the case of a one-dimensional ensemble of interacting two-level emitters as well as two-level emitters coupled to metallic slits, demonstrating the influence of collective effects on the echo amplitude in the former and the modifcation of the photon echo due to interaction with surface plasmons on the slits in the latter.
ContributorsBlake, Adam H (Author) / Sukharev, Maxim (Thesis advisor) / Treacy, Mike (Committee member) / Shovkovy, Igor (Committee member) / Drucker, Jeff (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016