Quantum kinetic theory of trapped particles in a strong electromagnetic field

The idea of treating quantum systems by semiclassical representations using effective quantum potentials (forces) has been successfully applied in equilibrium by many authors, see e.g. [D. Bohm, Phys. Rev. 85 (1986) 166 and 180; D.K. Ferry, J.R. Zhou, Phys. Rev. B 48 (1993) 7944; A.V. Filinov, M. Bonitz, W. Ebeling, J. Phys. A 36 (2003) 5957 and references cited therein]. Here, this idea is extended to nonequilibrium quantum systems in an external field. A gauge-invariant quantum kinetic theory for weakly inhomogeneous charged particle systems in a strong electromagnetic field is developed within the framework of nonequilibrium Green’s functions. The equation for the spectral density is simplified by introducing a classical (local) form for the kinetics. Nonlocal quantum effects are accounted for in this way by replacing the bare external confinement potential with an effective quantum potential. The equation for this effective potential is identified and solved for weak inhomogeneity in the collisionless limit. The resulting nonequilibrium spectral function is used to determine the density of states and the modification of the Born collision operator in the kinetic equation for the Wigner function due to quantum confinement effects.     

Electromagnetic superconductivity of vacuum induced by strong magnetic field: Numerical evidence in lattice gauge theory

Using numerical simulations of quenched SU(2)$\mathit{SU}(2)$ gauge theory we demonstrate that an external magnetic field leads to spontaneous generation of quark condensates with quantum numbers of electrically charged ρ   mesons if the strength of the magnetic field exceeds the critical value e_Bc=0.927(77) GeV²$e{B}_c=0.927(77){\text{GeV}}^2$ or _Bc=(1.56±0.13)⋅10¹⁶ Tesla$B_c=(1.56\pm 0.13)\cdot {10}^{16}\text{Tesla}$. The condensation of the charged ρ mesons in strong magnetic field is a key feature of the magnetic-field-induced electromagnetic superconductivity of the vacuum.     

Equal-time kinetic equations in a rotational field

We investigate quantum kinetic theory for a massive fermion system under a rotational field. From the Dirac equation in rotating frame we derive the complete set of kinetic equations for the spin components of the 8- and 7-dimensional Wigner functions. While the particles are no longer on a mass shell in the general case due to the rotation–spin coupling, there are always only two independent components, which can be taken as the number and spin densities. With help from the off-shell constraint we obtain the closed transport equations for the two independent components in the classical limit and at the quantum level. The classical rotation–orbital coupling controls the dynamical evolution of the number density, but the quantum rotation–spin coupling explicitly changes the spin density.     

Quantum Kinetic Theory of a Massless Scalar Model in the Presence of a Schwarzschild Black Hole

We employ quantum kinetic theory to investigate local quantum physics in the background of spherically symmetric and neutral black holes formed through the gravitational collapse. For this purpose in mind, we derive and study the covariant Wigner distribution function near to and far away from the black‐hole horizon. We find that the local density of the particle number is negative in the near‐horizon region, while the entropy density is imaginary. These pose a question whether kinetic theory is applicable in the near‐horizon region. We elaborate on that and propose a possible interpretation of how this result might nevertheless be self‐consistently understood.     

Dead time corrections to photon counting statistics II: Quantum theory

The recent formulation of the quantum theory of photodetection, based on the quantum theory of continuous measurements, is extended to the case of a (nonideal) detector which has non-zero dead time. A general result is proven which expresses the dead time modified counting statistics in terms of the counting statistics of anassociated ideal detector. As an illustration, the dead time corrections to the counting statistics of a single-mode free field are worked out, and these corrections are shown to be identical in form to the dead time corrections for a classical optical field of constant intensity.     

Current-density functional study of the Neon atom in a strong ultrashort magnetic field

A Ne atom exposed to a strong ultrashort magnetic field of the order of ¹⁰⁹ G${10}^9\text{G}$ that lasts for a few femtoseconds is investigated through a current-density functional theory (CDFT) based approach employing a vector exchange–correlation potential that depends on the electronic charge-density as well as on the current-density of the atom. The CDFT based approach yields time-dependent electronic charge- and current-density, along with the exchange–correlation potential and energy, significantly different from that obtained using a current-density independent approach, in particular, at the field-strengths >¹⁰⁹ G$>{10}^9\text{G}$.     

Auxiliary field quantum Monte-Carlo simulation of interacting electrons in quantum dots

Accurate auxiliary field quantum Monte-Carlo (AFQMC) simulations of interacting electrons in quantum dots are reported. Two different formulations of this approach are presented both of which have been designed specifically for application to quantum dots. A deflation technique for calculation of anti-symmetrized traces is introduced. The auxiliary field is sampled with a hybrid algorithm and the artificial dynamics needed for use with the present formulation of AFQMC is described. The constrained path approximation is used to control the sign problem. Results for the ground state energy of two spin-polarised, interacting electrons are presented and are found to agree well with exact diagonalization results for a wide range of screening lengths. The sign problem does not appear in the regime of small screening length.     

Quantum confined Stark effect in single self-assembled GaN/AlN quantum dots

We have experimentally and theoretically investigated quantum confined Stark effect in hexagonal self-assembled GaN/AlN quantum dots. We have observed a blueshift of up to 100 meV for vertical electric field applied against the built-in electric field while we have observed a redshift for the electric field along the built-in field. The experimental result is compared with a charge self-consistent effective mass calculation, taking into account strain, piezoelectric charge, and pyroelectric charge. The tunability of the emission energy and the exciton binding energy is discussed.     

Varying vacuum energy of a self-interacting scalar field

Understanding mechanisms capable of altering the vacuum energy is currently of interest in field theories and cosmology. We consider an interacting scalar field and show that the vacuum energy naturally takes any value between its maximum and zero because interaction affects the number of operating field modes, the assertion that involves no assumptions or postulates. The mechanism is similar to the recently discussed temperature evolution of collective modes in liquids. The cosmological implication concerns the evolution of scalar field ?$?$ during the inflation of the Universe. ?$?$ starts with all field modes operating and maximal vacuum energy in the early inflation-dominated epoch. As a result of inflation, ?$?$ undergoes a dynamical crossover and arrives in the state with one long-wavelength longitudinal mode and small positive vacuum energy predicted to be asymptotically decreasing to zero in the late epoch. Accordingly, we predict that the currently observed cosmological constant will decrease in the future, and comment on the possibility of a cyclic Universe.     

Quasiparticle excitations in relativistic quantum field theory

We analyze the particle-like excitations arising in relativistic field theories in states different than the vacuum. The basic properties characterizing the quasiparticle propagation are studied using two different complementary methods. First we introduce a frequency-based approach, wherein the quasiparticle properties are deduced from the spectral analysis of the two-point propagators. Second, we put forward a real-time approach, wherein the quantum state corresponding to the quasiparticle excitation is explicitly constructed, and the time-evolution is followed. Both methods lead to the same result: the energy and decay rate of the quasiparticles are determined by the real and imaginary parts of the retarded self-energy, respectively. Both approaches are compared, on the one hand, with the standard field-theoretic analysis of particles in the vacuum and, on the other hand, with the mean-field-based techniques in general backgrounds.     

Feynman diagrams to three loops in three-dimensional field theory

The two-point integrals contributing to the self-energy of a particle in a three-dimensional quantum field theory are calculated to two-loop order in perturbation theory as well as the vacuum ones contributing to the effective potential to three-loop order. For almost every integral an expression in terms of elementary and dilogarithm functions is obtained. For two integrals, the master integral and the Mercedes integral, a one-dimensional integral representation is obtained with an integrand consisting only of elementary functions. The results are applied to a scalar λφ⁴ theory.     

Hydrodynamic theory of electron transport in a strong magnetic field

The mode coupling contribution to the transverse transport coefficients of a three-dimensional one-component plasma in a strong external magnetic field is calculated. For very strong fields it is found that the tagged particle diffusion rate, the thermal diffusion rate, and the coefficient of viscosity in the plane orthogonal to the field have a Bohm-like B ^–1 behavior. The mode coupling mechanism responsible for such an effect is always one that involves the finite-frequency upper hybrid modes.     

Quantum field theory in curved spacetime,the operator product expansion,and dark energy

To make sense of quantum field theory in an arbitrary (globally hyperbolic) curved spacetime, the theory must be formulated in a local and covariant manner in terms of locally measurable field observables. Since a generic curved spacetime does not possess symmetries or a unique notion of a vacuum state, the theory also must be formulated in a manner that does not require symmetries or a preferred notion of a “vacuum state” and “particles”. We propose such a formulation of quantum field theory, wherein the operator product expansion (OPE) of the quantum fields is elevated to a fundamental status, and the quantum field theory is viewed as being defined by its OPE. Since the OPE coefficients may be better behaved than any quantities having to do with states, we suggest that it may be possible to perturbatively construct the OPE coefficients—and, thus, the quantum field theory. By contrast, ground/vacuum states—in spacetimes, such as Minkowski spacetime, where they may be defined—cannot vary analytically with the parameters of the theory. We argue that this implies that composite fields may acquire nonvanishing vacuum state expectation values due to nonperturbative effects. We speculate that this could account for the existence of a nonvanishing vacuum expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of a quantum field occurring at a scale much smaller than the natural scales of the theory. Fourth Award in the 2008 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation.     

Effects of an electric field on the confined hydrogen impurity states in a spherical parabolic quantum dot

In this paper, we studied the effects of an electric field on a hydrogenic impurity confined in a spherical parabolic quantum dot using nondegenerate and degenerate perturbation methods. The binding energies of the ground and three low-excited states are calculated as a function of the confinement strength and as a function of the intensity of an applied electric field. Moreover, we computed the oscillator strength and the second-order nonlinear optical rectification coefficient based on the computed energies and wave functions. The results show that the electric and optical properties of hydrogenic impurity states are strongly affected by the confinement strength and the applied electric field.     

Entropy and correlators in quantum field theory

It is well known that loss of information about a system, for some observer, leads to an increase in entropy as perceived by this observer. We use this to propose an alternative approach to decoherence in quantum field theory in which the machinery of renormalisation can systematically be implemented: neglecting observationally inaccessible correlators will give rise to an increase in entropy of the system. As an example we calculate the entropy of a general Gaussian state and, assuming the observer's ability to probe this information experimentally, we also calculate the correction to the Gaussian entropy for two specific non-Gaussian states.     

Higher Landau levels contribution to the energy of interacting electrons in a quantum dot

Properly regularized second-order degenerate perturbation theory is applied to compute the contribution of higher Landau levels to the low-energy spectrum of interacting electrons in a disk-shaped quantum dot. At “filling factor” near , this contribution proves to be larger than energy differences between states with different spin polarizations. After checking convergence of the method in small systems, we show results for a 12-electron quantum dot, a system which is hardly tractable by means of exact diagonalization techniques.     

Quantum field theory cannot provide faster-than-light communication

We spell out a demonstration that, within the framework of quantum field theory, no faster-than-light communication can be established between observers. The steps of the demonstration are detailed enough to pinpoint which properties of the theory have been misinterpreted in previous papers claiming the existence of effects that could permit such communication. The developments described here can also be used to analyze future papers making similar claims.1. This work was supportd by the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098.2. In the literature, communication between observers is often referred to as signaling, transmission of a signal, or exchange of information.3. Ref. 3 is an elaboration on a previous paper by the same author [25], whose results were already generalized in Refs. 26 and 27.4. In Ref. 25, it is stated that, if a particle is definitely inV _S at timet = 0, it cannot have a zero probability to be inV _R at two arbitrary but different times, which we callT ₀ andT. We takeT ₀ = 0 for simplicity.     

Quantum nonlinear resonance in a strong electromagnetic field

The motion of a one-dimensional quantum weakly anharmonic system under the influence of harmonic external field is treated in the range where the transition frequency between the neighboring levels is close to the frequency of the harmonic field (quantum nonlinear resonance). The case of the strong external field, in which the Rabi frequency for the transitions is large in comparison with the field frequency, is studied. The expression for compact wavepackets of quasienergy states that change their content and width periodically (and, possibly, strongly), is obtained.