Escrihuela, F. J., Forero, D. V., Miranda, O. G., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2017). Probing CP violation with non-unitary mixing in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments: DUNE as a case study. New J. Phys., 19, 093005–14pp.
Abstract: When neutrino masses arise from the exchange of neutral heavy leptons, as in most seesaw schemes, the effective lepton mixing matrix N describing neutrino propagation is non-unitary, hence neutrinos are not exactly orthonormal. New CP violation phases appear in N that could be confused with the standard phase delta(CP) characterizing the three neutrino paradigm. We study the potential of the long-baseline neutrino experiment DUNE in probing CP violation induced by the standard CP phase in the presence of non-unitarity. In order to accomplish this we develop our previous formalism, so as to take into account the neutrino interactions with the medium, important in long baseline experiments such as DUNE. We find that the expected CP sensitivity of DUNE is somewhat degraded with respect to that characterizing the standard unitary case. However the effect is weaker than might have been expected thanks mainly to the wide neutrino beam. We also investigate the sensitivity of DUNE to the parameters characterizing non-unitarity. In this case we find that there is no improvement expected with respect to the current situation, unless the near detector setup is revamped.
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Hinarejos, M., Perez, A., & Bañuls, M. C. (2012). Wigner function for a particle in an infinite lattice. New J. Phys., 14, 103009–19pp.
Abstract: We study the Wigner function for a quantum system with a discrete, infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, such as a spinless particle moving on a one-dimensional infinite lattice. We discuss the peculiarities of this scenario and of the associated phase-space construction, propose a meaningful definition of the Wigner function in this case and characterize the set of pure states for which it is non-negative. We propose a measure of non-classicality for states in this system, which is consistent with the continuum limit. The prescriptions introduced here are illustrated by applying them to localized and Gaussian states and to their superpositions.
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Mayoral, C., Recati, A., Fabbri, A., Parentani, R., Balbinot, R., & Carusotto, I. (2011). Acoustic white holes in flowing atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. New J. Phys., 13, 025007–29pp.
Abstract: We study acoustic white holes in a steadily flowing atomic Bose-Einstein condensate. A white hole configuration is obtained when the flow velocity goes from a super-sonic value in the upstream region to a sub-sonic one in the downstream region. The scattering of phonon wavepackets on a white hole horizon is numerically studied in terms of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation of mean-field theory: dynamical stability of the acoustic white hole is found, as well as a signature of a nonlinear back-action of the incident phonon wavepacket onto the horizon. The correlation pattern of density fluctuations is numerically studied by means of the truncated-Wigner method, which includes quantum fluctuations. Signatures of the white hole radiation of correlated phonon pairs by the horizon are characterized; analogies and differences with Hawking radiation from acoustic black holes are discussed. In particular, a short wavelength feature is identified in the density correlation function, whose amplitude steadily grows in time since the formation of the horizon. The numerical observations are quantitatively interpreted by means of an analytical Bogoliubov theory of quantum fluctuations for a white hole configuration within the step-like horizon approximation.
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Angles-Castillo, A., Perez, A., & Roldan, E. (2024). Bright and dark solitons in a photonic nonlinear quantum walk: lessons from the continuum. New J. Phys., 26(2), 023004–16pp.
Abstract: We propose a nonlinear quantum walk model inspired in a photonic implementation in which the polarization state of the light field plays the role of the coin-qubit. In particular, we take profit of the nonlinear polarization rotation occurring in optical media with Kerr nonlinearity, which allows to implement a nonlinear coin operator, one that depends on the state of the coin-qubit. We consider the space-time continuum limit of the evolution equation, which takes the form of a nonlinear Dirac equation. The analysis of this continuum limit allows us to gain some insight into the existence of different solitonic structures, such as bright and dark solitons. We illustrate several properties of these solitons with numerical calculations, including the effect on them of an additional phase simulating an external electric field.
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Schwetz, T., Tortola, M., & Valle, J. W. F. (2011). Global neutrino data and recent reactor fluxes: the status of three-flavour oscillation parameters. New J. Phys., 13, 063004–15pp.
Abstract: We present the results of a global neutrino oscillation data analysis within the three-flavour framework. We include the latest results from the MINOS long-baseline experiment (including electron neutrino appearance and anti-neutrino data), updating all relevant solar (Super-Kamiokande (SK) II + III), atmospheric (SK I + II + III) and reactor (KamLAND) data. Furthermore, we include a recent re-calculation of the anti-neutrino fluxes emitted from nuclear reactors. These results have important consequences for the analysis of reactor experiments and in particular for the status of the mixing angle theta(13). In our recommended default analysis, we find from the global fit that the hint for nonzero theta(13) remains weak, at 1.8 sigma for both neutrino mass hierarchy schemes. However, we discuss in detail the dependence of these results on assumptions regarding the reactor neutrino analysis.
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Fadel, M., Yadin, B., Mao, Y. P., Byrnes, T., & Gessner, M. (2023). Multiparameter quantum metrology and mode entanglement with spatially split nonclassical spin ensembles. New J. Phys., 25(7), 073006–25pp.
Abstract: We identify the multiparameter sensitivity of entangled spin states, such as spin-squeezed and Dicke states that are spatially distributed into several addressable spatial modes. Analytical expressions for the spin-squeezing matrix of families of states that are accessible by current atomic experiments reveal the quantum gain in multiparameter metrology, as well as the optimal strategies to maximize the sensitivity gain for the estimation of any linear combination of parameters. We further study the mode entanglement of these states by deriving a witness for genuine k-partite mode entanglement from the spin-squeezing matrix. Our results highlight the advantage of mode entanglement for distributed sensing, and outline optimal protocols for multiparameter estimation with nonclassical spatially-distributed spin ensembles. We illustrate our findings with the design of a protocol for gradient sensing with a Bose-Einstein condensate in an entangled spin state in two modes.
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Di Molfetta, G., & Perez, A. (2016). Quantum walks as simulators of neutrino oscillations in a vacuum and matter. New J. Phys., 18, 103038–8pp.
Abstract: We analyze the simulation of Dirac neutrino oscillations using quantum walks, both in a vacuum and in matter. We show that this simulation, in the continuum limit, reproduces a set of coupled Dirac equations that describe neutrino flavor oscillations, and we make use of this to establish a connection with neutrino phenomenology, thus allowing one to fix the parameters of the simulation for a given neutrino experiment. We also analyze how matter effects for neutrino propagation can be simulated in the quantum walk. In this way, important features, such as the MSW effect, can be incorporated. Thus, the simulation of neutrino oscillations with the help of quantum walks might be useful to illustrate these effects in extreme conditions, such as the solar interior or supernovae.
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ATLAS Collaboration(Aad, G. et al), Cabrera Urban, S., Castillo Gimenez, V., Costa, M. J., Ferrer, A., Fiorini, L., et al. (2014). Measurement of the cross-section of high transverse momentum vector bosons reconstructed as single jets and studies of jet substructure in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector. New J. Phys., 16, 113013–34pp.
Abstract: This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to allhadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-ofmass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum p(T) > 320 GeV and pseudorapidity |eta| < 1.9, is measured to be sigma W+ Z= 8.5 +/- 1.7 pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques.This paper presents a measurement of the cross-section for high transverse momentum W and Z bosons produced in pp collisions and decaying to allhadronic final states. The data used in the analysis were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 fb(-1). The measurement is performed by reconstructing the boosted W or Z bosons in single jets. The reconstructed jet mass is used to identify the W and Z bosons, and a jet substructure method based on energy cluster information in the jet centre-ofmass frame is used to suppress the large multi-jet background. The cross-section for events with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson, with transverse momentum p(T) > 320 GeV and pseudorapidity |eta| < 1.9, is measured to be sigma W+ Z= 8.5 +/- 1.7 pb and is compared to next-to-leading-order calculations. The selected events are further used to study jet grooming techniques.
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Angles-Castillo, A., Bañuls, M. C., Perez, A., & De Vega, I. (2020). Prethermalization of quantum systems interacting with non-equilibrium environments. New J. Phys., 22(8), 083067–17pp.
Abstract: The usual paradigm of open quantum systems falls short when the environment is actually coupled to additional fields or components that drive it out of equilibrium. Here we explore the simplest such scenario, by considering a two level system coupled to a first thermal reservoir that in turn couples to a second thermal bath at a different temperature. We derive a master equation description for the system and show that, in this situation, the dynamics can be especially rich. In particular, we observe prethermalization, a transitory phenomenon in which the system initially approaches thermal equilibrium with respect to the first reservoir, but after a longer time converges to the thermal state dictated by the temperature of the second environment. Using analytical arguments and numerical simulations, we analyze the occurrence of this phenomenon, and how it depends on temperatures and coupling strengths. The phenomenology gets even richer if the system is placed between two such non-equilibrium environments. In this case, the energy current through the system may exhibit transient features and even switch direction, before the system eventually reaches a non-equilibrium steady state.
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Hinarejos, M., Bañuls, M. C., & Perez, A. (2015). Wigner formalism for a particle on an infinite lattice: dynamics and spin. New J. Phys., 17, 013037–16pp.
Abstract: The recently proposed Wigner function for a particle in an infinite lattice (Hinarejos M, Banuls MC and Perez A 2012 New J. Phys. 14 103009) is extended here to include an internal degree of freedom as spin. This extension is made by introducing a Wigner matrix. The formalism is developed to account for dynamical processes, with or without decoherence. We show explicit solutions for the case of Hamiltonian evolution under a position-dependent potential, and for evolution governed by a master equation under some simple models of decoherence, for which the Wigner matrix formalism is well suited. Discrete processes are also discussed. Finally, we discuss the possibility of introducing a negativity concept for the Wigner function in the case where the spin degree of freedom is included.
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