arXiv subjects

Brandon P. van Zyl

Publications and source records attributed to Brandon P. van Zyl.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

Thomas-Fermi von Weizsäcker theory for a harmonically trapped, two-dimensional, spin-polarized dipolar Fermi gas

We systematically develop a density functional description for the equilibrium properties of a two-dimensional, harmonically trapped, spin-polarized dipolar Fermi gas based on the Thomas-Fermi von Weizsäcker approximation. We pay particular attention to the construction of the two-dimensional kinetic energy functional, where corrections beyond the local density approximation must be motivated with care. We also present an intuitive derivation of the interaction energy functional associated with the dipolar interactions, and provide physical insight into why it can be represented as a local functional. Finally, a simple, and highly efficient self-consistent numerical procedure is developed to determine the equilibrium density of the system for a range of dipole interaction strengths.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Finite temperature analytical results for a harmonically confined gas obeying exclusion statistics in $d$-dimensions

Closed form, analytical results for the finite-temperature one-body density matrix, and Wigner function of a $d$-dimensional, harmonically trapped gas of particles obeying exclusion statistics are presented. As an application of our general expressions, we consider the intermediate particle statistics arising from the Gentile statistics, and compare its thermodynamic properties to the Haldane fractional exclusion statistics. At low temperatures, the thermodynamic quantities derived from both distributions are shown to be in excellent agreement. As the temperature is increased, the Gentile distribution continues to provide a good description of the system, with deviations only arising well outside of the degenerate regime. Our results illustrate that the exceedingly simple functional form of the Gentile distribution is an excellent alternative to the generally only implicit form of the Haldane distribution at low temperatures.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2011

Evaluation of inverse integral transforms for undergraduate physics students

We provide a simple approach for the evaluation of inverse integral transforms that does not require any knowledge of complex analysis. The central idea behind the method is to reduce the inverse transform to the solution of an ordinary differential equation. We illustrate the utility of the approach by providing examples of the evaluation of transforms, without the use of tables. We also demonstrate how the method may be used to obtain a general representation of a function in the form of a series involving the Dirac-delta distribution and its derivatives, which has applications in quantum mechanics, semi-classical, and nuclear physics.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2011

The Zel'dovich effect in harmonically trapped, ultra-cold quantum gases

We investigate the Zel'dovich effect in the context of ultra-cold, harmonically trapped quantum gases. We suggest that currently available experimental techniques in cold-atoms research offer an exciting opportunity for a direct observation of the Zel'dovich effect without the difficulties imposed by conventional condensed matter and nuclear physics studies. We also demonstrate an interesting scaling symmetry in the level rearragements which has heretofore gone unnoticed.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Gradient corrections to the kinetic energy density functional of a two-dimensional Fermi gas at finite temperature

We examine the leading order semiclassical gradient corrections to the non-interacting kinetic energy density functional of a two dimensional Fermi gas by applying the extended Thomas-Fermi theory at finite temperature. We find a non-zero von Weizsäcker-like gradient correction, which in the high-temperature limit, goes over to the familiar functional form $(\hbar^2/24m) (\nablaρ)^2/ρ$. Our work provides a theoretical justification for the inclusion of gradient corrections in applications of density-functional theory to inhomogeneous two-dimensional Fermi systems at any {\em finite} temperature.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

An elementary exposition of the Efimov Effect

Two particles that are just shy of binding may develop an infinite number of shallow bound states when a third particle is added. This counter intuitive quantum mechanical result was first predicted by V. Efimov for identical bosons interacting with a short-range pair-wise potential. The so-called Efimov effect persists even for non-identical particles, provided at least two of the three bonds are almost bound. The Efimov effect has recently been verified experimentally using ultra-cold atoms. In this article, we explain the origin of this effect using only elementary quantum mechanics, and summarize the experimental evidence for the Efimov effect. A new, simple derivation for the number of Efimov states is given in the Appendix.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

s-wave scattering and the zero-range limit of the finite square well in arbitrary dimensions

We examine the zero-range limit of the finite square well in arbitrary dimensions through a systematic analysis of the reduced, s-wave two-body time-independent Schrödinger equation. A natural consequence of our investigation is the requirement of a delta-function multiplied by a regularization operator to model the zero-range limit of the finite-square well when the dimensionality is greater than one. The case of two dimensions turns out to be surprisingly subtle, and needs to be treated separately from all other dimensions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Universality of the energy spectrum for two interacting harmonically trapped ultra-cold atoms in one and two dimensions

Motivated by the recent article of P. Shea {\it et al.} [Am. J. Phys. {\bf 77} (6), 2009] we examine the exactly solvable problem of two harmonically trapped ultra-cold bosonic atoms interacting {\it via} a short range potential in one and two dimensions. A straightforward application in one dimension shows that the energy spectrum is universal, provided that the range of the potential is much smaller than the oscillator length, in addition to clearly illustrating why regularization is not required in the limit of zero range. The two dimensional problem is less trivial, requiring a more careful treatment as compared to the one dimensional case. Our two dimensional analysis likewise reveals that the low-energy physics is also universal, in addition to providing a simple method for obtaining the appropriately regularized two dimensional pseudopotential.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2009

Geometric scaling in the spectrum of an electron captured by a stationary finite dipole

We examine the energy spectrum of a charged particle in the presence of a {\it non-rotating} finite electric dipole. For {\emph{any}} value of the dipole moment $p$ above a certain critical value p_{\mathrm{c}}$ an infinite series of bound states arises of which the energy eigenvalues obey an Efimov-like geometric scaling law with an accumulation point at zero energy. These properties are largely destroyed in a realistic situation when rotations are included. Nevertheless, our analysis of the idealised case is of interest because it may possibly be realised using quantum dots as artificial atoms.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2008

Quantum mechanical potentials related to the prime numbers and Riemann zeros

Prime numbers are the building blocks of our arithmetic, however, their distribution still poses fundamental questions. Bernhard Riemann showed that the distribution of primes could be given explicitly if one knew the distribution of the non-trivial zeros of the Riemann $ζ(s)$ function. According to the Hilbert-P{ó}lya conjecture there exists a Hermitean operator of which the eigenvalues coincide with the real part of the non-trivial zeros of $ζ(s)$. This idea encourages physicists to examine the properties of such possible operators, and they have found interesting connections between the distribution of zeros and the distribution of energy eigenvalues of quantum systems. We apply the Mar{č}henko approach to construct potentials with energy eigenvalues equal to the prime numbers and to the zeros of the $ζ(s)$ function. We demonstrate the multifractal nature of these potentials by measuring the R{é}nyi dimension of their graphs. Our results offer hope for further analytical progress.

math-ph↗

arXiv2008

The two-body problem of ultra-cold atoms in a harmonic trap

We consider two bosonic atoms interacting with a short-range potential and trapped in a spherically symmetric harmonic oscillator. The problem is exactly solvable and is relevant for the study of ultra-cold atoms. We show that the energy spectrum is universal, irrespective of the shape of the interaction potential, provided its range is much smaller than the oscillator length.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2006

Exact results for a charged, harmonically trapped quantum gas at arbitrary temperature and magnetic field strength

An analytical expression for the first-order density matrix of a charged, two-dimensional, harmonically confined quantum gas, in the presence of a constant magnetic field is derived. In contrast to previous results available in the literature, our expressions are exact for any temperature and magnetic field strength. We also present a novel factorization of the Bloch density matrix in the form of a simple product with a clean separation of the zero-field and field-dependent parts. This factorization provides an alternative way of analytically investigating the effects of the magnetic field on the system, and also permits the extension of our analysis to other dimensions, and/or anisotropic confinement.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2006

Density functional theory of the trapped Fermi gas in the unitary regime

We investigate a density-functional theory (DFT) approach for an unpolarized trapped dilute Fermi gas in the unitary limit . A reformulation of the recent work of T. Papenbrock [Phys. Rev. A, {\bf 72}, 041602(R) (2005)] in the language of fractional exclusion statistics allows us to obtain an estimate of the universal factor, $ξ_{3D}$, in three dimensions (3D), in addition to providing a systematic treatment of finite-$N$ corrections. We show that in 3D, finite-$N$ corrections lead to unphysical values for $ξ_{3D}$, thereby suggesting that a simple DFT applied to a small number of particles may not be suitable in 3D. We then perform an analogous calculation for the two-dimensional (2D) system in the infinite-scattering length regime, and obtain a value of $ξ_{2D}=1$. Owing to the unique properties of the Thomas-Fermi energy density-functional in 2D our result, in contrast to 3D, is {\em exact} and therefore requires no finite-$N$ corrections.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2003

Zeta Function Zeros, Powers of Primes, and Quantum Chaos

We present a numerical study of Riemann's formula for the oscillating part of the density of the primes and their powers. The formula is comprised of an infinite series of oscillatory terms, one for each zero of the zeta function on the critical line and was derived by Riemann in his paper on primes assuming the Riemann hypothesis. We show that high resolution spectral lines can be generated by the truncated series at all powers of primes and demonstrate explicitly that the relative line intensities are correct. We then derive a Gaussian sum rule for Riemann's formula. This is used to analyze the numerical convergence of the truncated series. The connections to quantum chaos and semiclassical physics are discussed.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2003

Exact first-order density matrix for a d-dimensional harmonically confined Fermi gas at finite temperature

We present an exact closed form expression for the {\em finite temperature} first-order density matrix of a harmonically trapped ideal Fermi gas in any dimension. This constitutes a much sought after generalization of the recent results in the literature, where exact expressions have been limited to quantities derived from the {\em diagonal} first-order density matrix. We compare our exact results with the Thomas-Fermi approximation (TFA) and demonstrate numerically that the TFA provides an excellent description of the first-order density matrix in the large-N limit. As an interesting application, we derive a closed form expression for the finite temperature Hartree-Fock exchange energy of a two-dimensional parabolically confined quantum dot. We numerically test this exact result against the 2D TF exchange functional, and comment on the applicability of the local-density approximation (LDA) to the exchange energy of an inhomogeneous 2D Fermi gas.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Riemann zeros, prime numbers and fractal potentials

Using two distinct inversion techniques, the local one-dimensional potentials for the Riemann zeros and prime number sequence are reconstructed. We establish that both inversion techniques, when applied to the same set of levels, lead to the same fractal potential. This provides numerical evidence that the potential obtained by inversion of a set of energy levels is unique in one-dimension. We also investigate the fractal properties of the reconstructed potentials and estimate the fractal dimensions to be $D=1.5$ for the Riemann zeros and $D = 1.8$ for the prime numbers. This result is somewhat surprising since the nearest-neighbour spacings of the Riemann zeros are known to be chaotically distributed whereas the primes obey almost poisson-like statistics. Our findings show that the fractal dimension is dependent on both the level-statistics and spectral rigidity, $Δ_3$, of the energy levels.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2002

Some exact results for a trapped quantum gas at finite temperature

We present closed analytical expressions for the particle and kinetic energy spatial densities at finite temperatures for a system of noninteracting fermions (bosons) trapped in a d-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential. For d=2 and 3, exact expressions for the N-particle densities are used to calculate perturbatively the temperature dependence of the splittings of the energy levels in a given shell due to a very weak interparticle interaction in a dilute Fermi gas. In two dimensions, we obtain analytically the surprising result that the |l|-degeneracy in a harmonic oscillator shell is not lifted in the lowest order even when the exact, rather than the Thomas-Fermi expression for the particle density is used. We also demonstrate rigorously (in two dimensions) the reduction of the exact zero-temperature fermionic expressions to the Thomas-Fermi form in the large-N limit.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2002

Off-diagonal long-range order in a harmonically confined two-dimensional Bose gas

We investigate the presence of off-diagonal long-range order in a harmonically confined two-dimensional Bose gas. In the noninteracting case, an analytical calculation of the the finite-temperature one-particle density martix provides an exact description of the spatial correlations known to be associated with the existence of a Bose-Einstein condensate below the transition temperature $T^{(0)}_c$. We treat the effects of repulsive interactions within the semiclassical Hartree-Fock-Bogliubov approximation and find that even though the system remains in the same {\em uncondensed phase} for all $T \geq 0$, there appears to be a revival of off-diagonal long-range order for temperatures $T < T^{(0)}_c$. We suggest that this reentrant order is related to a phase transition in the system which {\em is not} the BEC state.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗