arXiv subjects

Craig Hogan

Publications and source records attributed to Craig Hogan.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Models of Exotic Interferometer Cross-Correlations in Emergent Space-Time

A Lorentz invariant framework is developed to model the cross spectrum of two interferometers in a space-time that emerges from a Planck scale quantum system with exact causal symmetry and holographic spacelike rotational correlations. Space-time relationships between world lines are generated by entanglement of geometrical states on causal diamonds. The entanglement is tied to a unique observable signature: an exotic imaginary broad band cross spectrum, with a frequency structure determined by the layout of the interferometers. The models will be used to interpret data from the reconfigured Fermilab Holometer, and for conceptual design of future experiments.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Value of the Cosmological Constant in Emergent Quantum Gravity

It is suggested that the exact value of the cosmological constant could be derived from first principles, based on entanglement of the Standard Model field vacuum with emergent holographic quantum geometry. For the observed value of the cosmological constant, geometrical information is shown to agree closely with the spatial information density of the QCD vacuum, estimated in a free-field approximation. The comparison is motivated by a model of exotic rotational fluctuations in the inertial frame that can be precisely tested in laboratory experiments. Cosmic acceleration in this model is always positive, but fluctuates with characteristic coherence length $\approx 100$km and bandwidth $\approx 3000$ Hz.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

MHz Gravitational Wave Constraints with Decameter Michelson Interferometers

A new detector, the Fermilab Holometer, consists of separate yet identical 39-meter Michelson interferometers. Strain sensitivity achieved is better than $10^{-21} /{\sqrt{\rm{Hz}}}$ between 1 to 13 MHz from a 130-hr dataset. This measurement exceeds the sensitivity and frequency range made from previous high frequency gravitational wave experiments by many orders of magnitude. Constraints are placed on a stochastic background at 382 Hz resolution. The 3$σ$ upper limit on $Ω_{\rm{GW}}$, the gravitational wave energy density normalized to the closure density, ranges from $5.6 \times 10^{12}$ at 1 MHz to $8.4 \times 10^{15}$ at 13 MHz. Another result from the same dataset is a search for nearby primordial black hole binaries (PBHB). There are no detectable monochromatic PBHBs in the mass range $0.83$ - $3.5 \times 10^{21}$g between the earth and the moon. Projections for a chirp search with the same dataset increases the mass range to $0.59 - 2.5 \times 10^{25}$g and distances out to Jupiter. This result presents a new method for placing limits on a poorly constrained mass range of primordial black holes. Additionally, solar system searches for PBHBs place limits on their contribution to the total dark matter fraction.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2017

Statistical Model of Exotic Rotational Correlations in Emergent Space-Time

A Lorentz invariant statistical model is presented for rotational fluctuations in the local inertial frame that arise from new quantum degrees of freedom of space-time. The model assumes invariant classical causal structure, and a Planck information density in invariant proper time determined by the world line of an observer. It describes macroscopic spacelike correlations that appear as observable timelike correlations in phase differences of light propagating on paths that begin and end on the same world line. The model allows an exact prediction for the autocorrelation of any interferometer time signal from the shape of the light paths. Specific examples computed for configurations that approximate realistic experiments show that the model can be rigorously tested, allowing a direct experimental probe of Planck scale degrees of freedom.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Exotic Rotational Correlations in Quantum Geometry

It is argued that the classical local inertial frame used to define rotational states of quantum systems is only approximate, and that geometry itself must also be rotationally quantized at the Planck scale. A Lorentz invariant statistical model of correlations in quantum geometry on larger scales predicts spacelike correlations that describe rotational fluctuations in the inertial frame. Fluctuations are estimated to significantly affect the gravity of quantum field states on a macroscopic scale, characterized by the Chandrasekhar radius. It is suggested that the cosmological constant might be a signature of exotic rotational correlations entangled with the strong interaction vacuum, and have a value determined entirely by Planck scale quantum gravity and Standard Model fields.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

The Holometer: An Instrument to Probe Planckian Quantum Geometry

This paper describes the Fermilab Holometer, an instrument for measuring correlations of position variations over a four-dimensional volume of space-time. The apparatus consists of two co-located, but independent and isolated, 40m power-recycled Michelson interferometers, whose outputs are cross-correlated to 25 MHz. The data are sensitive to correlations of differential position across the apparatus over a broad band of frequencies up to and exceeding the inverse light crossing time, 7.6 MHz. A noise model constrained by diagnostic and environmental data distinguishes among physical origins of measured correlations, and is used to verify shot-noise-limited performance. These features allow searches for exotic quantum correlations that depart from classical trajectories at spacelike separations, with a strain noise power spectral density sensitivity smaller than the Planck time. The Holometer in current and future configurations is projected to provide precision tests of a wide class of models of quantum geometry at the Planck scale, beyond those already constrained by currently operating gravitational wave observatories.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2017

First measurements of high frequency cross-spectra from a pair of large Michelson interferometers

Measurements are reported of the cross-correlation of spectra of differential position signals from the Fermilab Holometer, a pair of co-located 39 m long, high power Michelson interferometers with flat, broadband frequency response in the MHz range. The instrument obtains sensitivity to high frequency correlated signals far exceeding any previous measurement in a broad frequency band extending beyond the 3.8 MHz inverse light crossing time of the apparatus. The dominant but uncorrelated shot noise is averaged down over $2\times 10^8$ independent spectral measurements with 381 Hz frequency resolution to obtain $2.1\times 10^{-20} \ \mathrm{m}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$ sensitivity to stationary signals. For signal bandwidths $Δf > 11$ kHz, the sensitivity to strain $h$ or shear power spectral density of classical or exotic origin surpasses a milestone $PSD_{δh} < t_p$ where $t_p= 5.39\times 10^{-44}/\mathrm{Hz}$ is the Planck time.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Now Broadcasting in Planck Definition

If reality has finite information content, space has finite fidelity. The quantum wave function that encodes spatial relationships may be limited to information that can be transmitted in a "Planck broadcast", with a bandwidth given by the inverse of the Planck time, about $2\times 10^{43}$ bits per second. Such a quantum system can resemble classical space-time on large scales, but locality emerges only gradually and imperfectly. Massive bodies are never perfectly at rest, but very slightly and slowly fluctuate in transverse position, with a spectrum of variation given by the Planck time. This distinctive new kind of noise associated with quantum geometry would not have been noticed up to now, but may be detectable in a new kind of experiment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Measurement of Quantum Geometry Using Laser Interferometry

New quantum degrees of freedom of space-time, originating at the Planck scale, could create a coherent indeterminacy and noise in the transverse position of massive bodies on macroscopic scales. An experiment is under development at Fermilab designed to detect or rule out a transverse position noise with Planck spectral density, using correlated signals from an adjacent pair of Michelson interferometers. A detection would open an experimental window on quantum space-time.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Quantum Geometry in the Lab

Standard particle theory is based on quantized matter embedded in a classical geometry. Here, a complementary model is proposed, based on classical matter -- massive bodies, without quantum properties -- embedded in a quantum geometry. It does not describe elementary particles, but may be a better, fully consistent quantum description for position states in laboratory-scale systems. Gravitational theory suggests that the geometrical quantum system has an information density of about one qubit per Planck length squared. If so, the model here predicts that the quantum uncertainty of geometry creates a new form of noise in the position of massive bodies, detectable by interferometers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Quantum Geometry and Interferometry

All existing experimental results are currently interpreted using classical geometry. However, there are theoretical reasons to suspect that at a deeper level, geometry emerges as an approximate macroscopic behavior of a quantum system at the Planck scale. If directions in emergent quantum geometry do not commute, new quantum-geometrical degrees of freedom can produce detectable macroscopic deviations from classicality: spatially coherent, transverse position indeterminacy between any pair of world lines, with a displacement amplitude much larger than the Planck length. Positions of separate bodies are entangled with each other, and undergo quantum-geometrical fluctuations that are not describable as metric fluctuations or gravitational waves. These fluctuations can either be cleanly identified or ruled out using interferometers. A Planck-precision test of the classical coherence of space-time on a laboratory scale is now underway at Fermilab.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

21 cm Intensity Mapping

Using the 21 cm line, observed all-sky and across the redshift range from 0 to 5, the large scale structure of the Universe can be mapped in three dimensions. This can be accomplished by studying specific intensity with resolution ~ 10 Mpc, rather than via the usual galaxy redshift survey. The data set can be analyzed to determine Baryon Acoustic Oscillation wavelengths, in order to address the question: 'What is the nature of Dark Energy?' In addition, the study of Large Scale Structure across this range addresses the questions: 'How does Gravity effect very large objects?' and 'What is the composition our Universe?' The same data set can be used to search for and catalog time variable and transient radio sources.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2008

A High Yield of New Sightlines for the Study of Intergalactic Helium: Far-UV-Bright Quasars from SDSS, GALEX, and HST

Investigations of He II Ly-alpha (304 A rest) absorption toward a half-dozen quasars at z~3-4 have demonstrated the great potential of helium studies of the IGM, but the current critically small sample size of clean sightlines for the He II Gunn-Peterson test limits confidence in cosmological inferences, and a larger sample is required. Although the unobscured quasar sightlines to high redshift are extremely rare, SDSS DR6 provides thousands of z>2.8 quasars. We have cross-correlated these SDSS quasars with GALEX GR2/GR3 to establish a catalog of 200 higher-confidence (~70% secure) cases of quasars at z=2.8-5.1 potentially having surviving far-UV (restframe) flux. We also catalog another 112 likely far-UV-bright quasars from GALEX cross-correlation with other (non-SDSS) quasar compilations. Reconnaissance UV prism observations with HST of 24 of our SDSS/GALEX candidates confirm 12 as detected in the far-UV, with at least 9 having flux extending to very near the He II break; with refinements our success rate is even higher. Our SDSS/GALEX selection approach is thereby confirmed to be an order of magnitude more efficient than previous He II quasar searches, more than doubles the number of spectroscopically confirmed clean sightlines to high redshift, and provides a resource list of hundreds of high-confidence sightlines for upcoming He II and other far-UV studies from HST. Our reconnaissance HST prism spectra suggest some far-UV diversity, confirming the need to obtain a large sample of independent quasar sightlines across a broad redshift range to assess such issues as the epoch(s) of helium reionization, while averaging over individual-object pathology and/or cosmic variance.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Cosmological Results from High-z Supernovae

The High-z Supernova Search Team has discovered and observed 8 new supernovae in the redshift interval z=0.3-1.2. These independent observations, confirm the result of Riess et al. (1998a) and Perlmutter et al. (1999) that supernova luminosity distances imply an accelerating universe. More importantly, they extend the redshift range of consistently observed SN Ia to z~1, where the signature of cosmological effects has the opposite sign of some plausible systematic effects. Consequently, these measurements not only provide another quantitative confirmation of the importance of dark energy, but also constitute a powerful qualitative test for the cosmological origin of cosmic acceleration. We find a rate for SN Ia of 1.4+/-0.5E-04 h^3/Mpc^3/yr at a mean redshift of 0.5. We present distances and host extinctions for 230 SN Ia. These place the following constraints on cosmological quantities: if the equation of state parameter of the dark energy is w=-1, then H0 t0 = 0.96+/-0.04, and O_l - 1.4 O_m = 0.35+/-0.14. Including the constraint of a flat Universe, we find O_m = 0.28+/-0.05, independent of any large-scale structure measurements. Adopting a prior based on the 2dF redshift survey constraint on O_m and assuming a flat universe, we find that the equation of state parameter of the dark energy lies in the range -1.48 -1, we obtain w<-0.73 at 95% confidence. These constraints are similar in precision and in value to recent results reported using the WMAP satellite, also in combination with the 2dF redshift survey.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1998

The High-Z Supernova Search: Measuring Cosmic Deceleration and Global Cur vature of the Universe Using Type Ia Supernovae

The High-Z Supernova Search is an international collaboration to discover and monitor type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) at $z > 0.2$ with the aim of measuring cosmic deceleration and global curvature. Our collaboration has pursued a basic understanding of supernovae in the nearby Universe, discovering and observing a large sample of objects, and developing methods to measure accurate distances with SN Ia. This paper describes the extension of this program to $z \geq 0.2$, outlining our search techniques and follow-up program. We have devised high-throughput filters which provide accurate two-color restframe $B$ and $V$ light curves of SN Ia, enabling us to produce precise, extinction-corrected luminosity distances in the range $0.25 < z < 0.55$. Sources of systematic error from K-corrections, extinction, selection effects, and evolution are investigated, and their effects estimated. We present photometric and spectral observations of SN 1995K, our program's first supernova, and use the data to obtain a precise measurement of the luminosity distance to the $z=0.479$ host galaxy. This object, when combined with a nearby sample of SN, yields an estimate for the matter density of the Universe of $Ω_M = -0.2^{+1.0}_{-0.8}$ if $Ω_Λ= 0$. For a spatially flat universe composed of normal matter and a cosmological constant, we find $Ω_M = 0.4^{+0.5}_{-0.4}$, $Ω_Λ= 0.6^{+0.4}_{-0.5}$. We demonstrate that with a sample of $\sim 30$ objects, we should be able to determine relative luminosity distances over the range $0 < z< 0.5$ with sufficient precision to measure $Ω_M$ with an uncertainty of $\pm 0.2$.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1996

An Instability in the Radiative Ionization of Atomic Hydrogen/Helium Gas

We show that the process of photoionizing a gas of atomic hydrogen and helium by line radiation whose energy is slightly above the helium single-ionization threshold is unstable if the helium fraction by number is less than approximately one half. However, in the two scenarios we consider here, based on the Decaying Dark Matter (DDM) model of cosmological reionization, there is no significant growth. In the first scenario we consider ionization and recombination to be approximately in equilibrium. This is relevant to high photon flux rates and early reionization, but in that case the heating is balanced by Compton cooling, which is very stabilizing. In the second scenario we ignore recombination. This is relevant to low photon flux rates or to the last stage of the reionization. In that case there is too little growth on a cosmological time scale to be significant.

astro-ph↗