High-energy Regime Research Articles

Classical echoes of quantum boundary conditions

Abstract We consider a non-relativistic particle in a one-dimensional box with all possible quantum boundary conditions that make the kinetic-energy operator self-adjoint. We determine the Wigner functions of the corresponding eigenfunctions and analyze in detail their classical limit, governed by their behavior in the high-energy regime. We show that the quantum boundary conditions split into two classes: all local and regular boundary conditions collapse to the same classical boundary condition, while a dependence on singular non-local boundary conditions persists in the classical limit.

Exploring the pre-inflationary dynamics in loop quantum cosmology with a DBI scalar field

Loop quantum cosmology is a symmetry-reduced application of loop quantum gravity. The theory predicts a bounce for the universe at the Planck scale and resolves the singularity of standard cosmology. The dynamics is also governed by an effective Hamiltonian, which predicts a modified Friedmann equation containing the quadratic terms of the energy density. The term plays an essential role in the high energy regime, but the equations return to the standard form in the low energy regime. The evolution of the universe in the pre-inflationary period is studied in the framework of loop quantum cosmology, where the DBI scalar field is assumed to be the dominant component of the universe. Using the numerical method, we provide the evolution of the DBI field. The background evolution shows that there are three phases as: bouncing phase, transition phase and slow-roll inflationary phase. There is also a short period of super-inflation just at the beginning of the bounce phase. The field first climbs the potential and then reaches the turning point where ϕ̇ disappears and the potential energy becomes the dominant part of the energy density. This is the time when the slow roll inflation begins and the field slowly rolls down the potential. The results indicate that there are a few e-fold expansions in the bounce phase, about N = 3.5–4, and the universe experiences about N = 59 e-fold expansions in the slow-roll inflation phase.

Sediment Types with Alternation of Sandy and Rocky Shores Influence the Distribution of Clams in an Area Characterized by High-Energy Hydrodynamic Conditions

To identify short-term changes (14–69 days) in the adult abundance of two closely related shallow-burrowing bivalves (Ruditapes spp.), a series of observations and displacement assessments were made during the 2014–2018 period. This study was initiated to estimate the natural displacement of clams in a high-energy hydrodynamic tidal regime along the western coast of Cotentin in Normandy, France (western basin of the English Channel, northeastern Atlantic). The raking of several different surfaces and sediment types at successive periods separated by about one month shows clam displacement in most of the selected quadrats. The mean abundance displacement derived from all the observations carried out in 2014, 2016 and 2018 is estimated at 1.8 ind·m−2 mo−1, a value that should be compared with the mean density of between 2.0 and 12.5 ind·m−2 along the western coast of Cotentin. These displacements are confirmed with experiments using clams marked with an inox metal washer and detected with a Minelab Sovereign GT multi-frequency metal detector. During the course of the experiments, about 20% of the clams show a displacement. Most of the displacements are moderate, being less than 2 m, but some clams could be displaced by more than 20 m.

Early universe in quantum gravity

We present a new picture of the early universe in finite nonlocal quantum gravity, which is Weyl invariant at the classical and quantum levels. The high-energy regime of the theory consists of two phases, a Weyl invariant trans-Planckian phase and a post-Planckian or Higgs phase described by an action quadratic in the Ricci tensor and where the cosmos evolves according to the standard radiation-dominated model. In the first phase, all the issues of the hot big bang such as the singularity, flatness, and horizon problems find a universal and simple non-inflationary solution by means of Weyl invariance, regardless of the microscopic details of the theory. In the second phase, once Weyl symmetry is spontaneously broken, primordial perturbations are generated around a background that asymptotically evolves as a radiation-dominated flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe.

Calibration and characterization of optical and x-ray streak cameras using a Ti:Sapphire laser system.

Optical and x-ray streak cameras are used to study transient phenomena, particularly in the high-energy density physics regime. The Orion laser facility employs many different types of streak cameras, which are used to collect data on laser-plasma interactions as well as to verify the temporal profile and timing between the multiple Orion beamlines. Streak cameras are complex devices with very precise timing associated with them, which can often malfunction, resulting in the loss of shot data. Since Orion is a kJ-class Nd:glass laser system, it is not optimal to try and fault-find using Orion shots since this is both time consuming and prohibitively expensive. To enable the facile set-up, fault-finding, timing-in, and in-house calibration of Orion optical and x-ray diagnostics, a single laboratory system has been commissioned to provide an adjustable stimulus to streak cameras and other Orion short pulse diagnostics (such as pulse dilation photomultiplier tubes). The system comprises a Ti:Sapphire laser system capable of generating 400nm or 266nm laser pulses of duration less than 0.1ps; an optical system to deliver single pulses, pulse pairs, or a train of pulses; and timing electronics to synchronize the streak cameras with the laser and to record output data. The system can operate at Hertz repetition rates rather than the sub-mHz rate of the Orion laser. We present the commissioned system and results from initial testing of both optical and x-ray streak cameras used on Orion laser-plasma experiments.

High Energy Pulsed Laser Beam to Produce a Thin Layer of Crystalline Silver without Heating the Deposition Substrate and Its Catalytic Effects

Crystalline silver thin layers were obtained using high-energy pulsed laser ablation without the heating of the deposition substrate. The fluid Plateau–Rayleigh (PRI), Rayleigh–Taylor (RTI), and Richtmyer–Meshkov (RMI) instabilities, as well as the crown splash induced during the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in the high energy regime, resulting in ring and pearl-shaped structures, offer the benefit of an increased sorption surface. These morphological structures obtained for the silver thin layers make them of interest for catalytic applications. This study addresses both fundamental and applied issues on the morphological structures obtained for the silver thin layers and their catalytic function in organic processes. In this sense, the catalytic action of the thin silver layer was highlighted by modifications of the Reactive Blue 21 dye (C.I.) in an aqueous solution with sodium bicarbonate. Specific investigations and analyses were carried out using electron microscopy and elemental analysis (SEM-EDX), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and profilometry, mass spectrometry, ablation plasma diagnosis, diffractograms (XRD), as well as IR spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition to the experimental investigation and analyses, the simulation of the ionization energy threshold was conducted in COMSOL for complementary evaluation on the involved processes and phenomena.

UV Cooling via O VI Emission in the Superwind of M82 Observed with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE)

We examined archival Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer data to search for far-ultraviolet emission lines in the starburst galaxy M82. The observations were made in an outflow region that extends beyond the galactic disk. We found the O vi λ λ 1032, 1038 emission lines from the galaxy’s southern outflow region. The O vi lines suggest that the outflowing warm-hot gas is undergoing radiative cooling. We measured a radial velocity of ∼420 km s−1 from the O vi lines, which is faster than the velocity seen in Hα observations. The O vi λ1038 emission line seems to be blended with the C ii λ1037 emission line, which has a radial velocity of ∼300 km s−1, similar to what is observed in Hα observations. The outflow medium of M82 appears to be composed of gas in multiple phases with varying temperatures and kinematics. Future spectroscopic observations in high energy regimes covering a wider spatial area are necessary to understand better the properties of the warm-hot gas medium in the outflow.

Tripartite entanglement and Bell non-locality in loop-induced Higgs boson decays

In this article, we study quantum entanglement properties of the three-body H→γll¯\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$H\\rightarrow \\gamma l{\\bar{l}}$$\\end{document} decays (for l=e,μ,τ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$l=e,\\mu ,\ au $$\\end{document}) within the context of the Standard Model augmented with CP-violating interactions in the lepton Yukawa sector. Our aim is to elucidate the distribution of entanglement between the final photon, lepton and antilepton across the phase-space. These rare Higgs boson decays occur at 1-loop level, presenting a unique opportunity to scrutinize quantum correlations of fundamental interactions in tripartite systems by computing concurrence measures and investigating Bell non-locality. Moreover, we explore post-decay and autodistillation phenomena. Multipartite entanglement measures have much richer structure than those in the bipartite case, thus deserve more attention in collider phenomenology. In this line, we analyze here novel observables for these three-body Higgs boson decays, which can be extended to other multiparticle systems within the high-energy regime. We found that entanglement manifests among final particles, occasionally achieving a maximally entangled state in specific kinematical configurations. Also, these decay channels are promising for Bell non-locality tests but CP-effects are suppressed by lepton masses in this kind of observables.

The effects of beach energy on sediment entrainment within the nearshore ice complex

Shore ice forms along beaches in cold climates and during its formation is capable of entraining sediment from the nearshore. Upon breakup, entrained sediment within the ice can be rafted to deeper waters, melt out and lost to the nearshore sediment budget. Previous studies have hypothesized that this sediment rafting could be a principal source of sediment loss from the nearshore sediment budget. However, fundamental questions remain about the primary mechanisms for entraining sediment within the ice, particularly differences between high and low energy beaches. In this study we collected a series of sixty-four ice cores from five different beaches along the Laurentian Great Lakes that spanned low to high energy regimes. These ice cores were analyzed for ice structure, sediment structure and entrained sediment mass. We found that low energy beaches primarily entrained sediment within the icefoot as the ice directly adhered sediments to its base. Conversely high energy beaches primarily entrained sediment when sediment laden water was washed atop the ice through wave action and subsequently incorporated into the ice structure. Overall, for a range of high energy beaches we find that in floating ice, sediment makes up approximately 1% of the total weight, which is nearly an order of magnitude greater than in low energy beaches (e.g., 0.1%). These findings provide a general description of the most important processes for sediment entrainment within nearshore ice for both high and low energy beaches, motivating a 1% approximation for estimating sediment budgets associated with shore ice.

Probing the interactions of axion-like particles with electroweak bosons and the Higgs boson in the high energy regime at LHC

We study the interactions of axion-like particles (ALPs) with the Standard Model particles, aiming to probe their phenomenology via non-resonant searches at the LHC. These interactions are mediated by higher dimensional effective operators within two possible frameworks of linearly and non-linearly realised electroweak symmetry breaking. We consider the ALPs to be light enough to be produced on-shell and exploit their derivative couplings with the SM Higgs boson and the gauge bosons. We will use the high momentum transfer processes, namely hZ, Zγ, WW and WWγ production from pp collisions. We derive upper limits on the gauge-invariant interactions of ALPs with the electroweak bosons and/or Higgs boson that contribute to these processes, from the re-interpretation of the latest Run 2 available LHC data. The constraints we obtain are strong for ALP masses below 100 GeV. These allowed effective interactions in the ALP parameter space yield better significance at HL-LHC and thus, offer promising avenues for subsequent studies. Furthermore, we augment our cut-based analysis with gradient-boosted decision trees, which improve the statistical significance distinctly across these interaction channels. We briefly compare the results with the complementary probe of these couplings via direct production of ALPs in association with the Higgs boson or a vector boson.

Hadronic Light-by-Light Corrections to the Muon Anomalous Magnetic Moment

We review the hadronic light-by-light (HLbL) contribution to the muon anomalous magnetic moment. Upcoming measurements will reduce the experimental uncertainty of this observable by a factor of four; therefore, the theoretical precision must improve accordingly to fully harness such an experimental breakthrough. With regards to the HLbL contribution, this implies a study of the high-energy intermediate states that are neglected in dispersive estimates. We focus on the maximally symmetric high-energy regime and in-quark loop approximation of perturbation theory, following the method of the OPE with background fields proposed by Bijnens et al. in 2019 and 2020. We confirm their results regarding the contributions to the muon g−2. For this, we use an alternative computational method based on a reduction in the full quark loop amplitude, instead of projecting on a supposedly complete system of tensor structures motivated by first principles. Concerning scalar coefficients, mass corrections have been obtained by hypergeometric representations of Mellin–Barnes integrals. By our technique, the completeness of such kinematic singularity/zero-free tensor decomposition of the HLbL amplitude is explicitly checked.

Confinement and D5-branes

In this work we present new solutions of type IIB supergravity based on wrapped D5 branes. We propose that two of these backgrounds are holographically dual to Quantum Field Theories that confine. The high energy regime of the field theories is that of a Little String Theory. We study various observables (Wilson and ’t Hooft loops, Entanglement entropy, density of degrees of freedom and the spectrum of spin-two glueballs, among others). We also present two new black membrane backgrounds and analyse some thermodynamic aspects of these solutions.

Benchmarking calculations of level energies, transition parameters and electron impact excitation cross sections of S-like Xe38+

Atomic structure parameters for levels corresponding to 2s22p63s23p4, 2s22p63s3p5, 2s22p63s23p23d2, 2s22p63s3p43d and 2s22p63s23p33d configurations of S-like Xe38+ are calculated using the fully relativistic multiconfiguration Dirac-Hatree-Fock (MCDHF) method followed by the subsequent relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) calculations. The parameters evaluated include energies of the lowest 75 levels and E1, M1, E2, and M2 transition parameters among these levels. The effect of the choice of virtual orbitals for generating the wavefunctions is discussed. The accuracy of our line strengths is established through the rigorous calculations of their associated uncertainties using three different methods. Another set of calculations using the many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) to validate the present MCDHF-RCI energies is carried out. Further, the electron impact excitation cross-sections using the relativistic distorted wave (RDW) theory are determined for all transitions from the ground and metastable states in the incident electron energy range from the excitation threshold to 10 keV. For plasma physics applications, the fitting parameters for these cross sections employing two distinct equations tailored for low and high-energy regimes are reported. Moreover, the rate coefficients are determined in the electron temperatures range of 15 eV to 100 eV by taking into account the Maxwellian electron energy distribution function and our computed cross-sections. In addition to addressing the atomic data gap in highly charged Xe ions, the present results are of good accuracy and can serve as benchmark tests for other theoretical evaluations. Moreover, they can also assist in line identification of the complex spectra of highly charged sulphur-like xenon ions.

Light-by-light scattering at next-to-leading order in QCD and QED

The recent experimental observation of Light-by-Light (LbL) scattering at the Large Hadron Collider has revived interest in this fundamental process, and especially of the accurate prediction of its cross-section, which we present here for the first time at Next-to-Leading Order (NLO) in both QCD and QED. We compare two radically different computational approaches, both exact in the fermion mass dependence, thus offering a strong cross-check of our results. The first approach is a fully analytic method to calculate compact and well-organized two-loop helicity amplitudes. The second one is entirely numerical and leverages the Local Unitarity construction. Our two calculations agree with each other and conclude that including the exact fermion mass contribution typically increases the size of the NLO corrections. Moreover, we find that the exact result converges slowly to the massless limit of the high-energy regime, thus emphasizing the importance of including the full mass dependence at NLO. We also compare our results with the ATLAS measurement of LbL in ultra-peripheral lead-lead collisions, and find that the inclusion of exact NLO corrections reduces, but does not eliminate, the existing tension with theoretical predictions.

Double upscaling procedure for the Sine–Gordon equation with highly-oscillating coefficients: Homogenization and modulation equations

We study the sine-Gordon equation with h-periodic in space coefficients. Leading-order homogenization yields an effective sine-Gordon equation for which traveling wave periodic solutions of wavelength λ≫h can be determined. The periodic solutions are then modulated on a scale Λ≫λ. As we know, the corresponding Whitham equations are elliptic, which ensures that the periodic solution is unstable. However, the instability scenarios are not universal. In this paper, such scenarios are described both in the low and high energy regimes and for supersonic compared to the averaged sound speed case. In the low energy case the space derivatives of the solutions “explode” in finite time (a caustic appears), while in the high energy case the solutions grow at most linearly in time.

Nuclear modification factor for quarkonium production in high energy proton‐nucleus collisions within the parton saturation approach

AbstractIn this work, we analyze nuclear effects in the inclusive production of quarkonium in proton‐nucleus collisions at high energy regime. A theoretical framework that includes initial state effects like nuclear shadowing and gluon density saturation is considered. Numerical results for nuclear modification factor, , as a function of meson rapidity in proton‐nucleus collisions are presented. The parameter‐free predictions are compared to the available data from the Large Hadron Collider. Discussion on the main theoretical uncertainties is made, with emphasis on the phenomenological models for the nuclear saturation scale.

Quantum embedding for molecules using auxiliary particles - the ghost Gutzwiller Ansatz.

Strong/static electronic correlation mediates the emergence of remarkable phases of matter, and underlies the exceptional reactivity properties in transition metal-based catalysts. Modeling strongly correlated molecules and solids calls for multi-reference Ansätze, which explicitly capture the competition of energy scales characteristic of such systems. With the efficient computational screening of correlated solids in mind, the ghost Gutzwiller (gGut) Ansatz has been recently developed. This is a variational Ansatz which can be formulated as a self-consistent embedding approach, describing the system within a non-interacting, quasiparticle model, yet providing accurate spectra in both low and high energy regimes. Crucially, small fragments of the system are identified as responsible for the strong correlation, and are therefore enhanced by adding a set of auxiliary orbitals, the ghosts. These capture many-body correlations through one-body fluctuations and subsequent out-projection when computing physical observables. gGut has been shown to accurately describe multi-orbital lattice models at modest computational cost. In this work, we extend the gGut framework to strongly correlated molecules, for which it holds special promise. Indeed, despite the asymmetric embedding treatment, the quasiparticle Hamiltonian effectively describes all major sources of correlation in the molecule: strong correlation through the ghosts in the fragment, and dynamical correlation through the quasiparticle description of its environment. To adapt the gGut Ansatz for molecules, we address the fact that, unlike in the lattice model previously considered, electronic interactions in molecules are not local. Hence, we explore a hierarchy of approximations of increasing accuracy capturing interactions between fragments and environment, and within the environment, and discuss how these affect the embedding description of correlations in the whole molecule. We will compare the accuracy of the gGut model with established methods to capture strong correlation within active space formulations, and assess the realistic use of this novel approximation to the theoretical description of correlated molecular clusters.

Thermalization of radiation-induced electrons in wide-bandgap materials: A first-principles approach

The present study is concerned with simulating the thermalization of high-energy charge carriers (electrons and/or electron–hole pairs), generated by ionizing radiation, in diamond and β-Ga2O3. Computational tools developed by the nuclear/particle physics and electronic device communities allow for accurate simulation of charge-carrier transport and thermalization in the high-energy (exceeding ∼100 eV) and low-energy (below ∼10 eV) regimes, respectively. Between these energy regimes, there is an intermediate energy range of about 10–100 eV, which we call the “10–100 eV gap,” in which the energy-loss processes are historically not well studied or understood. To close this “gap,” we use a first-principles approach (density functional theory) to calculate the band structure of diamond and β-Ga2O3 up to ∼100 eV along with the phonon dispersion, carrier-phonon matrix elements, and dynamic dielectric function. Additionally, using the first-order perturbation theory (Fermi's golden rule/first Born approximation), we calculate the carrier-phonon scattering rates and the carrier energy-loss rates (impact ionization and plasmon scattering). With these data, we simulate the thermalization of 100-eV electrons and the generated electron–hole pairs by solving the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equation using Monte Carlo techniques. We find that electron thermalization is complete within ∼0.4 and ∼1.0 ps for diamond and β-Ga2O3, respectively, while holes thermalize within ∼0.5 ps for both. We also calculate electron–hole pair creation energies of 12.87 and 11.24 eV, respectively.

Internal Shock with a Background Magnetic Field for the Prompt Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts—A Case Study of GRB 211211A

It is proposed that the synchrotron emission from an internal shock with a decaying shock-generated magnetic field can account for the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Generally, a jet from the central engine of a GRB is launched with a significant magnetization, and thus there would be a background magnetic field, rather than only the shock-generated magnetic field, in the emission region. In this paper, we study the synchrotron emission of internal shocks with both a decaying shock-generated magnetic field and a nondecaying background magnetic field. It is found that a shoulder with spectral index −1/2 appears in the low-energy regime of the radiation spectrum. The shoulder becomes dominant by increasing the ratio of the background magnetic field energy to the initial value of the shock-generated magnetic field energy f B. Correspondingly, a radiation spectrum with two bumps or a plateau around the peak of the ν F ν −ν spectrum may appear. Owing to the decay of the shock-generated magnetic field, the radiation spectral morphology in the high-energy regime is not a power-law function even though a power-law distribution of electrons is injected. We apply our model to GRB 211211A, of which the hard main emission is suggested to originate from the synchrotron emission. Compared with the spectral fitting results with a Band function and the synchrotron emission from the standard straightforward internal shocks, our model presents a perfect fitting to the observations. The fitting results show that f B is around 0.41–0.99 for the hard main emission of this burst.

Analysis of high-speed drop impact onto deep liquid pool

The present work is devoted to the analysis of drop impact on a deep liquid pool, focusing on the high-energy splashing regimes caused by large raindrops at high velocities. Such cases are characterized by short time scales and complex mechanisms, thus they have received very little attention until now. The BASILISK open-source solver is used to perform three-dimensional direct numerical simulations. The capabilities of octree adaptive mesh refinement techniques enable capturing of the small-scale features of the flow, while the volume of fluid approach combined with a balanced-force surface-tension calculation is applied to advect the volume fraction of the liquids and reconstruct the interfaces. The numerical results compare well with experimental visualizations: both the evolution of crown and cavity, the emanation of ligaments, the formation of bubble canopy and the growth of a downward-moving spiral jet that pierces through the cavity bottom, are correctly reproduced. Reliable quantitative agreements are also obtained regarding the time evolution of rim positions, cavity dimensions and droplet distributions through an observation window. Furthermore, simulation gives access to various aspects of the internal flows, which allows us to better explain the observed physical phenomena. Details of the early-time dynamics of bubble ring entrapment and splashing performance, the formation/collapse of bubble canopy and the spreading of drop liquid are discussed. The statistics of droplet size show the bimodal distribution in time, corroborating distinct primary mechanisms of droplet production at different stages.