arXiv subjects

Amaury Mouchet

Publications and source records attributed to Amaury Mouchet.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Identity and difference: how topology helps to understand quantum indiscernability

This contribution, to be published in Imagine Math 8 to celebrate Michele Emmer's 75th birthday, can be seen as the second part of my previous considerations on the relationships between topology and physics (Mouchet, 2018). Nevertheless, the present work can be read independently. The following mainly focusses on the connection between topology and quantum statistics. I will try to explain to the non specialist how Feynman's interpretation of quantum processes through interference of classical paths (path integrals formulation), makes the dichotomy between bosons and fermions quite natural in three spatial dimensions. In (effective) two dimensions, the recent experimental evidence of intermediate statistics (anyons) (Bartolomei et al. 2020) comfort that topology (of the braids) provides a fertile soil for our understanding of quantum particles.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2021

Path integrals in a multiply-connected configuration space (50 years after)

The proposal made 50 years ago by Schulman (1968), Laidlaw & Morette-DeWitt (1971) and Dowker (1972) to decompose the propagator according to the homotopy classes of paths was a major breakthrough: it showed how Feynman functional integrals opened a direct window on quantum properties of topological origin in the configuration space. This paper casts a critical look at the arguments brought by this series of papers and its numerous followers in an attempt to clarify the reason why the emergence of the unitary linear representation of the first homotopy group is not only sufficient but also necessary.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Riemann surfaces of complex classical trajectories and tunnelling splitting in one-dimensional systems

The topology of complex classical paths is investigated to discuss quantum tunnelling splittings in one-dimensional systems. Here the Hamiltonian is assumed to be given as polynomial functions, so the fundamental group for the Riemann surface provides complete information on the topology of complex paths, which allows us to enumerate all the possible candidates contributing to the semiclassical sum formula for tunnelling splittings. This naturally leads to action relations among classically disjoined regions, revealing entirely non-local nature in the quantization condition. The importance of the proper treatment of Stokes phenomena is also discussed in Hamiltonians in the normal form.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Drowning by numbers: topology and physics in fluid dynamics

Since its very beginnings, topology has forged strong links with physics and the last Nobel prize in physics, awarded in 2016 to Thouless, Haldane and Kosterlitz " for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter", confirmed that these connections have been maintained up to contemporary physics. To give some (very) selected illustrations of what is, and still will be, a cross fertilization between topology and physics, hydrodynamics provides a natural domain through the common theme offered by the notion of vortex, relevant both in classical (§2) and in quantum fluids (§3). Before getting into the details, I will sketch in §1 a general perspective from which this intertwining between topology and physics can be appreciated: the old dichotomy between discreteness and continuity, first dealing with antithetic thesis, eventually appears to be made of two complementary sides of a single coin.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2016

Applications of Noether conservation theorem to Hamiltonian systems

The Noether theorem connecting symmetries and conservation laws can be applied directly in a Hamiltonian framework without using any intermediate Lagrangian formulation. This requires a careful discussion about the invariance of the boundary conditions under a canonical transformation and this paper proposes to address this issue. Then, the unified treatment of Hamiltonian systems offered by Noether's approach is illustrated on several examples, including classical field theory and quantum dynamics.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2016

Variations on chaos in physics: from unpredictability to universal laws

The tremendous popular success of Chaos Theory shares some common points with the not less fortunate Relativity: they both rely on a misunderstanding. Indeed, ironically , the scientific meaning of these terms for mathematicians and physicists is quite opposite to the one most people have in mind and are attracted by. One may suspect that part of the psychological roots of this seductive appeal relies in the fact that with these ambiguous names, together with some superficial clich{é}s or slogans immediately related to them ("the butterfly effect" or "everything is relative"), some have the more or less secret hope to find matter that would undermine two pillars of science, namely its ability to predict and to bring out a universal objectivity. Here I propose to focus on Chaos Theory and illustrate on several examples how, very much like Relativity, it strengthens the position it seems to contend with at first sight: the failure of predictability can be overcome and leads to precise, stable and even more universal predictions.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2015

Symmetry: a bridge between nature and culture

Are symmetries discovered or rather invented by humans ? The stand you may take firmly here reveals a lot of your epistemological position. Conversely, the arguments you may forge for answering to this question, or to one of its numerous narrower or broader variations, shape your whole philosophical thoughts; not specifically about science, by the way. I will try to show how physics helps to (re)consider this issue.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2014

Analytic Continuation of Black Hole Entropy in Loop Quantum Gravity

We define the analytic continuation of the number of black hole microstates in Loop Quantum Gravity to complex values of the Barbero-Immirzi parameter $γ$. This construction deeply relies on the link between black holes and Chern-Simons theory. Technically, the key point consists in writing the number of microstates as an integral in the complex plane of a holomorphic function, and to make use of complex analysis techniques to perform the analytic continuation. Then, we study the thermodynamical properties of the corresponding system (the black hole is viewed as a gas of indistinguishable punctures) in the framework of the grand canonical ensemble where the energy is defined á la Frodden-Gosh-Perez from the point of view of an observer located close to the horizon. The semi-classical limit occurs at the Unruh temperature $T_U$ associated to this local observer. When $γ=\pm i$, the entropy reproduces at the semi-classical limit the area law with quantum corrections. Furthermore, the quantum corrections are logarithmic provided that the chemical potential is fixed to the simple value $μ=2T_U$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Reflections on the four facets of symmetry: how physics exemplifies rational thinking

In contemporary theoretical physics, the powerful notion of symmetry stands for a web of intricate meanings among which I identify four clusters associated with the notion of transformation, comprehension, invariance and projection. While their interrelations are examined closely, these four facets of symmetry are scrutinised one after the other in great detail. This decomposition allows us to examine closely the multiple different roles symmetry plays in many places in physics. Furthermore, some connections with others disciplines like neurobiology, epistemology, cognitive sciences and, not least, philosophy are proposed in an attempt to show that symmetry can be an organising principle also in these fields.

physics.hist-ph↗

arXiv2013

Semiclassical description of resonance-assisted tunneling in one-dimensional integrable models

Resonance-assisted tunneling is investigated within the framework of one-dimensional integrable systems. We present a systematic recipe, based on Hamiltonian normal forms, to construct one-dimensional integrable models that exhibit resonance island chain structures with accurately controlled sizes and positions of the islands. Using complex classical trajectories that evolve along suitably defined paths in the complex time domain, we construct a semiclassical theory of the resonance-assisted tunneling process. This semiclassical approach yields a compact analytical expression for tunneling-induced level splittings which is found to be in very good agreement with the exact splittings obtained through numerical diagonalisation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

An alternative proof of Wigner theorem on quantum transformations based on elementary complex analysis

According to Wigner theorem, transformations of quantum states which preserve the probabilities are either unitary or antiunitary. This short communication presents an elementary proof of this theorem that significantly departs from the numerous ones already existing in the literature. The main line of the argument remains valid even in quantum field theory where Hilbert spaces are non-separable.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

A primer for resonant tunnelling

Resonant tunnelling is studied numerically and analytically with the help of a three-well quantum one-dimensional time-independent model. The simplest cases are considered where the three-well potential is polynomial or piecewise constant.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Algebraic spectral gaps

For the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation, some real intervals with no eigenvalues (the spectral gaps) may be obtained rather systematically with a method proposed by H. Giacomini and A. Mouchet in 2007. The present article provides some alternative formulation of this method, suggests some possible generalizations and extensively discusses the higher-dimensional case.

math-ph↗

arXiv2011

Resonance-assisted tunneling in mixed regular-chaotic systems

We present a comprehensive theory of resonance-assisted tunneling in quantum systems that exhibit a mixed regular-chaotic classical phase space structure. After general considerations, we specifically focus on quantum systems with one degree of freedom that are subject to a periodic sequence of kicks or to a periodic driving. Tunneling takes place between energetically degenerate quasimodes that are localized on symmetric regular islands within the stroboscopic Poincare surface of section. In contrast to previous theoretical descriptions of resonance-assisted tunneling, we derive a more precise expression for the effective coupling matrix elements that induce the resonance-assisted tunneling process, and we take into account the influence of partial barriers within the chaotic part of the phase space. Comparison with numerically computed level splittings of eigenphases within the quantum kicked rotor shows very good agreement.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2010

Instantons revisited: dynamical tunnelling and resonant tunnelling

Starting from trace formulae for the tunnelling splittings (or decay rates) analytically continued in the complex time domain, we obtain explicit semiclassical expansions in terms of complex trajectories that are selected with appropriate complex-time paths. We show how this instanton-like approach, which takes advantage of an incomplete Wick rotation, accurately reproduces tunnelling effects not only in the usual double-well potential but also in situations where a pure Wick rotation is insufficient, for instance dynamical tunnelling or resonant tunnelling. Even though only one-dimensional autonomous Hamiltonian systems are quantitatively studied, we discuss the relevance of our method for multidimensional and/or chaotic tunnelling.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2008

A mechanical model of tunnelling

It is shown how the model which was introduced by Mouchet (2008 Eur. J. Phys. 29 1033) allows one to mimic the quantum tunnelling between two symmetric one-dimensional wells.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2008

Interaction with a field: a simple integrable model with backreaction

The classical model of an oscillator linearly coupled to a string captures, for a low price in technique, many general features of more realistic models for describing a particle interacting with a field or an atom in a electromagnetic cavity. The scattering matrix and the asymptotic in and out waves on the string can be computed exactly and the phenomenon of resonant scattering can be introduced in the simplest way. The dissipation induced by the coupling of the oscillator to the string can be studied completely. In the case of a d'Alembert string, the backreaction leads to an Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac-like equation. In the case of a Klein-Gordon string, one can see explicitely how radiation governs the (meta)stability of the (quasi)bounded mode.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2007

Finding gaps in a spectrum

We propose a method for finding gaps in the spectrum of a differential operator. When applied to the one-dimensional Hamiltonian of the quartic oscillator, a simple algebraic algorithm is proposed that, step by step, separates with a remarkable precision all the energies even for a double-well configuration in a tunnelling regime. Our strategy may be refined and generalised to a large class of 1d-problems.

quant-ph↗