Scientific Series

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If no information gain implies no disturbance, then any discrete physical theory is classical

Corsin Pfister
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120016
Quantum Foundations
Moduli Stabilization and Holographic RG
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120002
Quantum Fields and Strings
New electroweak states in plain sight

Patrick Meade
Stony Brook University - C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120017
Particle Physics
Amplitude mode of the d-density wave state and its relevance to high-Tc cuprates

Ipsita Mandal
Shiv Nadar University
November 30, 2012

PIRSA:12110089
Condensed Matter
Beyond the Search for Majorana

Yi-Zhuang You
University of California, San Diego
November 30, 2012

PIRSA:12110088
Condensed Matter
Universal driven dynamics near phase transitions : Kibble-Zurek ramps with and without an order parameter

Anushya Chandran
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110095
Condensed Matter
Fractional quantum Hall effect and tunable interactions

Zlatko Papic
University of Leeds
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110081
Condensed Matter
Fractional Chern Insulators

Titus Neupert
ETH Zurich
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110080
Condensed Matter
Quantification and Evolution of Quantum Correlations

Asma Al-Qasimi
University of Rochester
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110096
Quantum Information
Dyon condensation in topological Mott insulators

Gil Young Cho
Pohang University of Science and Technology
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110087
Condensed Matter
Wiring up Quantum Systems: Fun with Artificial Atoms and Microwave Photons

Steve Girvin
Yale University
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110041
Condensed Matter
Chern-Simons Contact Terms

Thomas Dumitrescu
University of California, Los Angeles
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110094
Quantum Fields and Strings

If no information gain implies no disturbance, then any discrete physical theory is classical

Corsin Pfister
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120016
Quantum Foundations
(based on http://arxiv.org/abs/1210.0194) It has been suggested that nature could be discrete in the sense that the underlying state space of a physical system has only a finite number of pure states. For example, the Bloch ball of a single qubit could be discretized into small patches and only appear round to us due to experimental limitations. Here, we present a strong physical argument for the quantum theoretical property that every state space (even the smallest possible one, the qubit) has infinitely many pure states. We propose a simple physical postulate which dictates that in fact the only possible discrete theory is classical mechanics. More specifically, we postulate that no information gain implies no disturbance, or read in the contrapositive, that disturbance leads to some form of information gain. In a theory like quantum mechanics where we already know that the converse holds, i.e. information gain does imply disturbance, this can be understood as postulating an equivalence between disturbance and information gain. What is more, we show that non-classical discrete theories are still ruled out even if we relax the postulate to hold only approximately in the sense that no information gain only causes a small amount of disturbance. Finally, our postulate also rules out popular generalizations such as the PR-box that allows non-local correlations beyond the limits of quantum theory.
Moduli Stabilization and Holographic RG
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120002
Quantum Fields and Strings
In this talk, I will relate moduli stabilization in AdS or de Sitter space to basic properties of the Wilsonian action in the holographic dual theory living on dS (of one lower dimension): the single-trace terms in the action have vanishing beta functions, and higher-trace couplings are determined purely from lower-trace ones (a property we refer to as the iterative structure of RG). In the dS case, this encodes the maximal symmetry of the bulk spacetime in a quantity which is accessible within a single observer's patch.
New electroweak states in plain sight

Patrick Meade
Stony Brook University - C. N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics
December 04, 2012

PIRSA:12120017
Particle Physics
The LHC has made remarkable progress in exploring the SM at new energies and demonstrating remarkable agreement with theoretical predictions. In this talk I will discuss one area where the SM does not fit as well as expected, and what could be hints of new physics showing up in the electroweak sector.
Amplitude mode of the d-density wave state and its relevance to high-Tc cuprates

Ipsita Mandal
Shiv Nadar University
November 30, 2012

PIRSA:12110089
Condensed Matter
We study the spectrum of the amplitude mode, the analog of the Higgs mode in high energy physics, for the d-density wave (DDW) state proposed to describe the anomalous phenomenology of the pseudogap phase of the high Tc cuprates. Even though the state breaks translational symmetry by a lattice spacing and is described by a particle-hole singlet order parameter at the wave vector q = Q = (pi, pi), remarkably, we find that the amplitude mode spectrum can have peaks at both q = (0, 0) and q = Q = (pi , pi). In general, the spectra is non-universal, and, depending on the microscopic parameters, can have one or two peaks in the Brillouin zone, signifying confluence of two kinds of magnetic excitations. In light of the recent unexpected observations of multiple magnetic excitations in the pseudogap phase our theory sheds important light on how multiple inelastic neutron peaks at different wave vectors can arise even with an order parameter that condenses at Q = (pi, pi). [Reference: arXiv:1207.6834]
Beyond the Search for Majorana

Yi-Zhuang You
University of California, San Diego
November 30, 2012

PIRSA:12110088
Condensed Matter
The search for Majorana zero-modes in condensed matter system has attract increasing research interests recently. Looking for Majorna zero-mode is actually looking for topologically protected ground state degeneracy. The topological degeneracies on closed manifolds have been used to discover/define topological order in many-body systems, which contain excitations with fractional statistics. In this talk, I will present our recent work on new types of topological degeneracy induced by condensing anyons along a line in 2D topological ordered states. Such topological degeneracy can be viewed as carried by each end of the line-defect, which is a generalization of Majorana zero-modes. The ends of line-defects carry projective non-Abelian statistics even though they are produced by condensation of Abelian anyons, and braiding them allow us to perform fault tolerant quantum computations.
Universal driven dynamics near phase transitions : Kibble-Zurek ramps with and without an order parameter

Anushya Chandran
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110095
Condensed Matter
Near a critical point, the equilibrium relaxation time of a system diverges and any change of control parameters leads to non-equilibrium behavior. The Kibble-Zurek (KZ) problem is to determine
the evolution of the system when the change is slow. In this talk, I will introduce a non-equilibrium scaling limit in which these evolutions are universal and define a KZ universality classification with exponents and scaling functions. I will illustrate the physics accessible in this
scaling limit in simple classical and quantum model theories with symmetry-breaking transitions.

I will then turn to the KZ problem near quantum phase transitions without a local order parameter.
First, I will introduce the necessary background through the example of the Ising gauge theory/generalized toric code. Using duality and the scaling theory developed in the first part of the talk, I will then argue that the late time dynamics exhibits a slow coarsening of the string-net
that is condensed in the starting topologically ordered state. I will also discuss a time dependent amplification of the energy splitting between topologically degenerate states on closed manifolds and the dangerous irrelevance of gapped modes. Finally, I will extend these ideas to the non-abelian SU(2)_k ordered phases of the relevant Levin-Wen models.
Fractional quantum Hall effect and tunable interactions

Zlatko Papic
University of Leeds
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110081
Condensed Matter
In this talk I will review some existing experimental methods, as well as a few recent theoretical proposals, to tune the interactions in a number of low-dimensional systems exhibiting the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE). The materials in question include GaAs wide quantum wells and multilayer graphene, where the tunability of the electron-electron interactions can be achieved via modifying the band structure, dielectric environment of the sample, by tilting the magnetic field or varying the mass tensor, and by mixing of electronic subbands and Landau levels. Because the interesting topological (and in particular, non-Abelian) states arise solely due to strong interactions, the ability to tune them is essential for ``designing" more robust FQHE states. Furthermore, I will argue that some of these mechanisms can also be used to probe the subtle aspects of FQHE physics, such as the breaking of particle-hole symmetry between the Moore-Read Pfaffian and anti-Pfaffian states, and the transition between FQHE fluids and broken-symmetry states due to the fluctuation of the intrinsic geometric degree of freedom.
Fractional Chern Insulators

Titus Neupert
ETH Zurich
November 29, 2012

PIRSA:12110080
Condensed Matter
Fractional Chern insulators (FCIs) are topologically ordered states of interacting fermions that share their universal properties with fractional quantum Hall states in Landau levels. FCIs have been found numerically in a variety of two-dimensional lattice models upon partially filling an almost dispersionless band with nontrivial topological character with repulsively interacting fermions. I will show how FCIs emerge in bands with Chern number C=1 and C=2 and in Z_2 topological insulators, where the latter are accompanied by a spontaneous breaking of time-reversal symmetry. Further, I will discuss the relevance of the noncommutative quantum geometry of the flat topological band to the stability of FCIs and how they can be distinguished from phases of spontaneously broken point group symmetry, such as charge density waves.
Quantification and Evolution of Quantum Correlations

Asma Al-Qasimi
University of Rochester
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110096
Quantum Information
Dyon condensation in topological Mott insulators

Gil Young Cho
Pohang University of Science and Technology
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110087
Condensed Matter
We consider quantum phase transitions out of topological Mott insulators in which the ground state of the fractionalized excitations (fermionic spinons) is topologically non-trivial. The spinons in topological Mott insulators are coupled to an emergent compact U(1) gauge field with a so-called "axion" term. We study the confinement transitions from the topological Mott insulator to broken symmetry phases, which may occur via the condensation of dyons. Dyons carry both "electric" and "magnetic" charges, and arise naturally in this system because the monopoles of the emergent U(1) gauge theory acquires gauge charge due to the axion term. It is shown that the dyon condensate, in general, induces simultaneous current and bond orders. When the magnetic transition is driven by dyon condensation, we identify the bond order as valence bond solid order and the current order as scalar spin chirality order. Hence, the confined phase of the topological Mott insulator is an exotic phase where the scalar spin chirality and the valence bond order coexist and appear via a single transition. If time allows, I will also discuss our recent work on the proximate symmetry-broken phases of Z2 spin liquid on Kagome lattice.
Wiring up Quantum Systems: Fun with Artificial Atoms and Microwave Photons

Steve Girvin
Yale University
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110041
Condensed Matter
A revolution is underway in the construction of ‘artificial atoms’ out of superconducting electrical circuits. These macroscopic ‘atoms’ have quantized energy levels and can emit and absorb quanta of light (in this case microwave photons), just like ordinary atoms. Unlike ‘real’ atoms, the properties of these artificial atoms can be engineered to suit various particular applications, and they can be connected together by wires to form quantum ‘computer chips.’ This so-called ‘circuit QED’ architecture has given us the ability to do non-linear quantum optics in electrical circuits at the single photon level. It is now possible to entangle multiple qubits, count individual microwave photons, create large ‘Schrödinger cat’ photon states and perform quantum feedback. This talk will present an elementary introduction to the field.
Chern-Simons Contact Terms

Thomas Dumitrescu
University of California, Los Angeles
November 28, 2012

PIRSA:12110094
Quantum Fields and Strings
Chern-Simons contact terms constitute new observables in three-dimensional quantum field theory. In N=2 supersymmetric theories with an R-symmetry, they lead to a superconformal anomaly. This understanding clarifies several puzzles surrounding the S3 partition function of these theories. In particular, it leads to a proof of the F-maximization principle. Chern-Simons contact terms can be computed exactly using localization and lead to new tests of proposed dualities.

Title	Speaker(s)	Date	Talk Type	Info link
If no information gain implies no disturbance, then any discrete physical theory is classical	Corsin Pfister	2012-12-04	Scientific Series	View details
Moduli Stabilization and Holographic RG		2012-12-04	Scientific Series	View details
New electroweak states in plain sight	Patrick Meade	2012-12-04	Scientific Series	View details
Amplitude mode of the d-density wave state and its relevance to high-Tc cuprates	Ipsita Mandal	2012-11-30	Scientific Series	View details
Beyond the Search for Majorana	Yi-Zhuang You	2012-11-30	Scientific Series	View details
Universal driven dynamics near phase transitions : Kibble-Zurek ramps with and without an order parameter	Anushya Chandran	2012-11-29	Scientific Series	View details
Fractional quantum Hall effect and tunable interactions	Zlatko Papic	2012-11-29	Scientific Series	View details
Fractional Chern Insulators	Titus Neupert	2012-11-29	Scientific Series	View details
Quantification and Evolution of Quantum Correlations	Asma Al-Qasimi	2012-11-28	Scientific Series	View details
Dyon condensation in topological Mott insulators	Gil Young Cho	2012-11-28	Scientific Series	View details
Wiring up Quantum Systems: Fun with Artificial Atoms and Microwave Photons	Steve Girvin	2012-11-28	Scientific Series	View details
Chern-Simons Contact Terms	Thomas Dumitrescu	2012-11-28	Scientific Series	View details

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