In Dicke Superradiance, a collection of 2-level atoms
interacting with a single boson mode acquires, through quantum coherence, an
enhanced emission property and a rich dynamics. We suggest possibility of Dicke
superradiance in a BCS superconductor. The necessary 2-level atoms are
identified with Anderson pseudo spins seeing
a self consistent mean field in k-space.
A way to couple these 2-level bose atoms to an external boson mode and
create a novel non equilibrium superradiant superconductivity
(SRSC) is suggested. Our mechanism offers a hope to
realize transient superconductivity, even at room temperatures, in the pseudo
gap phase of certain underdoped cuprates. Recent experiments are briefly
discussed in this light. Further SRSC exhibits interesting quantum entanglement
and superfluorescence properties.
Tensor models are
generalization of matrix models, and are studied as discrete models for quantum gravity for more than two-dimensions. Among them, the rank-three tensor models can be interpreted as theories of dynamical fuzzy spaces, and they generally have the feature of
respecting symmetries. In this talk, after briefly reviewing some results on Euclidean models such as spontaneous generation of fuzzy spaces and Euclidean general relativity respecting the diffeomorphism symmetry on them, I will present a way to introduce “local” time to the rank-three tensor models by constructing “local” Hamiltonians. The consistency among the multiple ways of local time evolutions is guaranteed by the on-shell closure of the constraint algebra among the
local Hamiltonians and the symmetry generators of the tensor models. The constraint algebra is shown to approach the DeWitt algebra in a formal continuum limit. I will also discuss the two-fold uniqueness of the local Hamiltonians, and will briefly show some preliminary results on the quantization.
Millisecond
spin-period radio pulsars provide us with unique astronomical
"laboratories" for exploring fundamental physics in a variety of ways
-- from the physics of matter at super-nuclear density, to experimental tests
of gravity. They have also provided the only experimental evidence so far for
the existence of gravitational waves (GW). A set of millisecond pulsars
acting as precise astronomical clocks may also be used as a direct GW detector,
sensitive to the nanohertz-frequency GW expected to be emitted by supermassive
black hole binary systems or other more exotic sources. In this talk I
will present the project status and recent GW upper limits from the NANOGrav
project. I will also discuss expected near-future improvements in the
measurement, including recent work aimed at better characterizing and
mitigating the effect of multi-path propagation effects in the interstellar
medium.
In this talk I will
discuss a cosmological model where primordial inflation is driven by a `solid',
defined as a system of three derivatively coupled scalar fields obeying certain
symmetries and spontaneously breaking a certain subgroup of these. The symmetry
breaking pattern differs drastically from that of standard inflationary models:
time translations are unbroken. This prevents our model from fitting into the
standard effective field theory description of adiabatic perturbations. Consequently,
it exhibits a novel non-Gaussian `shape'.
The solutions to
the cosmological constant problems may involve modifying the very long-range
dynamics of gravity by adding new degrees of freedom. As an example of a conservative and minimal
such modification, we consider the possibility that the graviton has a very
small mass. Massive gravity has received
renewed interest due to recent advances which have resolved its traditional
problems. This kind of modification has
some peculiar and unexpected features, and it points us towards a universe
which looks quite unfamiliar. Support
for this colloquium is provided by The Templeton Frontiers Program.