SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Fabio Di Pumpo

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Di Pumpo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Fermion quantum field theory on curved and non-inertial backgrounds in standard-Minkowski form

Quantum field theory on curved and non-inertial backgrounds contains background- and foliation-dependent quantities in the canonical Lagrangian, the hypersurface inner product and bilinear form, as well as in the equal-time anti-commutation relations. In this work, we determine a local fermion-field redefinition that brings these canonical structures into their standard-Minkowski forms, i. e., the forms they assume in Cartesian inertial coordinates on Minkowski spacetime, where the zeroth world coordinate is identified as the coordinate of time. Starting from the generally covariant Dirac action minimally coupled to a spin-1 gauge field, we derive the corresponding Lagrangian, fermionic inner product, and quantization rule in an Arnowitt-Deser-Misner decomposition, formulated in arbitrary world coordinates. We identify the generalized temporal gamma matrix as the common geometric factor governing the canonical temporal structure of all three quantities. Using a field redefinition, we transform this generalized temporal gamma matrix to its standard-Minkowski form, thereby mapping the fermionic inner product and the equal-time anti-commutation relation to their standard-Minkowski expressions, while transferring the explicit background and foliation dependence to the transformed Lagrangian and fermion-field operators. We show that such a field redefinition necessarily consists of a local rescaling and a fixing of the local Lorentz frame. This procedure restores the conventional canonical normalization from standard-Minkowski spacetime used for fermionic mode quantization and occupation-number operators. The transformed Lagrangian consequently assumes a generalized first-order Schrödinger form, leading to the familiar rest-energy term and spacetime-magnetic couplings, as well as to the leading non-relativistic limit, in which temporal derivatives are separated from spatial ones.

hep-th

Generalized Foldy-Wouthuysen approach for the derivation of non-relativistic effective field theories

Effective field theories (EFTs) are a powerful framework for performing high-precision calculations at reduced complexity compared to their fundamental counterparts. A particularly important class of EFTs arises in the non-relativistic (NR) regime. Their construction relies on a different realization of the underlying symmetries, since Lorentz invariance is no longer manifest in covariant form in the NR regime. This behavior imposes a link between certain matching coefficients, and therefore additional constraints, commonly referred to as hidden Lorentz invariance. These constraints are established in quantum field theories on inertial flat spacetime, such as NR quantum electrodynamics. However, deriving these constraints becomes considerably more involved for theories involving physics beyond the Standard Model or formulated in non-inertial spacetime backgrounds, where the hidden symmetry structure is less transparent. In this work, we present an approach to obtain the NR EFT by first constructing a relativistic EFT and then performing a generalized NR reduction based on an extended Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation. We illustrate this method by a quantum chromo-electrodynamics EFT for inertial flat spacetime, describing both electromagnetic and strong interactions, and show how it reduces to the established Lagrangian of NR quantum chromodynamics and electrodynamics. The hidden Lorentz invariance emerges as a direct consequence of the construction. This approach provides a route to obtain the NR limits of more complex theories, \eg Dirac fields in non-inertial spacetime or extensions involving physics beyond the Standard Model. As an example, we apply the method to add the coupling of a pseudoscalar axion field in a simplified model and derive its NR limit.

hep-ph

Technical Proposal for the Atom Interferometer CERN Experiment (AICE) Facility

We present the technical proposal for the Atom Interferometer CERN Experiment (AICE), a $\mathcal{O}(100)$ m vertical atom interferometer to be installed against the wall of the PX46 access shaft to the LHC. AICE is conceived as a versatile and flexible long-baseline atom-interferometry facility whose primary scientific goal is probing for bosonic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) in a mass range inaccessible to other experiments, with a secondary goal of pioneering the exploration of gravitational waves (GWs) with frequencies in the range ${\sim}$0.03-3 Hz as a pathfinder for future longer-baseline detectors. The initial configuration employs ultracold $^{87}$Sr atoms in a single-photon 698-nm interferometer with three shaft-based atom sources in a multi-source gradiometer geometry, supported by one surface reference source for laser stabilisation and diagnostics, to target scalar ULDM. Operation with $^{88}$Sr will give sensitivity to axion-like particles (ALPs), vector ULDM with $B-L$ couplings and violation of the principle of equivalence, while a $^{171}$Yb upgrade will improve the sensitivity to $B-L$ couplings and equivalence violations. Probing the Einstein equivalence principle (EP) and measuring $α$ will proceed in parallel with the ULDM searches. A conceptual feasibility study and a detailed technical implementation study have established that PX46 is a uniquely mature and implementation-ready site, with no technical showstoppers. Completing site preparation works during LS3 would enable the subsequent installation and operation of AICE without impacting HL-LHC operations. The detector design builds on the VLBAI and MAGIS experiments and the AION-10 Technical Design Report, scaling the strontium gradiometer architecture to the $\sim$100 m baseline. AICE is endorsed by the TVLBAI Proto-Collaboration, comprising 57 institutions in 22 countries.

hep-ex

Signatures of the circular Unruh effect in electric and magnetic dipole transitions of multilevel atoms

The circular Unruh effect is the excitation of a detector moving along a planar circular trajectory within an electromagnetic vacuum. We demonstrate that the magnetic dipole transitions in an atom, acting as the detector, dominate the electric dipole transitions. Our analysis of both free-space and cavity schemes shows that the sensitivity to the circular Unruh effect can be maximized by balancing the minimization of mode volume against the resulting decrease in mode density. Moreover, we propose a novel measurement scheme that uses the atom's multilevel structure to suppress the spontaneous emission rate, thereby enabling the experimental detection of the circular Unruh effect.

quant-ph

Advanced Quantum Communication and Quantum Networks -- From basic research to future applications

Classical communication is the basis for many of our current and future technologies, such as mobile phones, video conferences, autonomous vehicles and particularly the internet. In contrast, quantum communication is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. Due to this fundamental difference, it might offer enormous benefits for security applications, more precise measurements, faster computations, and many other fields of application by interconnecting different quantum devices, such as quantum sensors, quantum computers, or quantum memories. This review provides an overview of the specific properties of quantum information networks. This includes the interfaces between the classical and the quantum regime, the transmission of the quantum information by physical implementations, and potential future applications of quantum networks. We aim to provide a starting point based on fundamental concepts of quantum information processing for further research on a future quantum internet.

quant-ph

Unified laboratory-frame analysis of atomic gravitational-wave sensors

Atomic sensors using light-matter interactions, in particular atomic clocks and atom interferometers, have the potential to complement optical gravitational-wave detectors in the mid-frequency regime. Although both rely on interference, the interfering components of clocks are spatially colocated, whereas atom interferometers are based on spatial superpositions. Both the electromagnetic fields that drive the transitions and generate superpositions, while propagating through spacetime, as well as the atoms themselves as massive particles are influenced by gravitational waves, leading to effective potentials that induce phase differences inferred by the sensor. In this work, we analyze the effects of these potentials on atomic clocks and atom interferometers in the laboratory frame. We show that spatial superpositions in atom interferometers, both light-pulse and guided ones, give rise to a gravitational-wave signal. Although these spatial superpositions are suppressed for clocks, we show that the light pulses driving internal transitions measure the spatial distance between the centers of two separate clocks. We highlight that this mechanism only yields a sensitivity if both clocks, including possible trapping setups, move on geodesics given by the gravitational wave. While such configurations are natural for satellite free-fliers, terrestrial optical clocks usually rely on stationary traps, rendering them insensitive to leading order. Moreover, we show that both sensors can be enhanced by composite interrogation protocols in a common framework. To this end, we propose a pulse sequence that can be used for large-momentum-transfer atom interferometers and for hyper-echo atomic clocks, leading to a signal enhancement and noise suppression.

quant-ph

Letter of Intent: AICE -- 100m Atom Interferometer Experiment at CERN

We propose an O(100)m Atom Interferometer (AI) experiment -- AICE -- to be installed against a wall of the PX46 access shaft to the LHC. This experiment would probe unexplored ranges of the possible couplings of bosonic ultralight dark matter (ULDM) to atomic constituents and undertake a pioneering search for gravitational waves (GWs) at frequencies intermediate between those to which existing and planned experiments are sensitive, among other fundamental physics studies. A conceptual feasibility study showed that this AI experiment could be isolated from the LHC by installing a shielding wall in the TX46 gallery, and surveyed issues related to the proximity of the LHC machine, finding no technical obstacles. A detailed technical implementation study has shown that the preparatory civil-engineering work, installation of bespoke radiation shielding, deployment of access-control systems and safety alarms, and installation of an elevator platform could be carried out during LS3, allowing installation and operation of the AICE detector to proceed during Run 4 without impacting HL-LHC operation. These studies have established that PX46 is a uniquely promising location for an AI experiment. We foresee that, if the CERN management encourages this Letter of Intent, a significant fraction of the Terrestrial Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometer (TVLBAI) Proto-Collaboration may wish to contribute to AICE.

hep-ex

Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry

Long-baseline atom interferometry is a promising technique for probing various aspects of fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology, including searches for ultralight dark matter (ULDM) and for gravitational waves (GWs) in the frequency range around 1~Hz that is not covered by present and planned detectors using laser interferometry. The MAGIS detector is under construction at Fermilab, as is the MIGA detector in France. The PX46 access shaft to the LHC has been identified as a very suitable site for an atom interferometer of height $\sim 100$m, sites at the Boulby mine in the UK and the Canfranc Laboratory are also under investigation, and possible sites for km-class detectors have been suggested. The Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry (TVLBAI) Proto-Collaboration proposes a coordinated programme of interferometers of increasing baselines.

hep-ex

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry: Summary of the Second Workshop

This summary of the second Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry (TVLBAI) Workshop provides a comprehensive overview of our meeting held in London in April 2024, building on the initial discussions during the inaugural workshop held at CERN in March 2023. Like the summary of the first workshop, this document records a critical milestone for the international atom interferometry community. It documents our concerted efforts to evaluate progress, address emerging challenges, and refine strategic directions for future large-scale atom interferometry projects. Our commitment to collaboration is manifested by the integration of diverse expertise and the coordination of international resources, all aimed at advancing the frontiers of atom interferometry physics and technology, as set out in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by over 50 institutions.

hep-ex

Quantum field theory for multipolar composite bosons with mass defect and relativistic corrections

Atomic high-precision measurements have become a competitive and essential technique for tests of fundamental physics, the Standard Model, and our theory of gravity. It is therefore self-evident that such measurements call for a consistent relativistic description of atoms that eventually originates from quantum field theories like quantum electrodynamics. Most quantum-metrological approaches even postulate effective field-theoretical treatments to describe a precision enhancement through techniques like squeezing. However, a consistent derivation of interacting atomic quantum gases from an elementary quantum field theory that includes both the internal structure as well as the center of mass of atoms, has not yet been addressed. We present such a subspace effective field theory for interacting, spin carrying, and possibly charged ensembles of atoms composed of nucleus and electron that form composite bosons called cobosons, where the interaction with light is included in a multipolar description. Relativistic corrections to the energy of a single coboson, light-matter interaction, and the scattering potential between cobosons arise in a consistent and natural manner. In particular, we obtain a relativistic coupling between the coboson's center-of-mass motion and internal structure encoded by the mass defect. We use these results to derive modified bound-state energies, including the motion of ions, modified scattering potentials, a relativistic extension of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, and the mass defect applicable to atomic clocks or quantum clock interferometry.

quant-ph

Atom interferometry with quantized light pulses

The far-field patterns of atoms diffracted from a classical light field, or from a quantum one in a photon-number state are identical. On the other hand, diffraction from a field in a coherent state, which shares many properties with classical light, displays a completely different behavior. We show that in contrast to the diffraction patterns, the interference signal of an atom interferometer with light-pulse beam splitters and mirrors in intense coherent states does approach the limit of classical fields. However, low photon numbers reveal the granular structure of light, leading to a reduced visibility since Welcher-Weg (which-way) information is encoded into the field. We discuss this effect for a single photon-number state as well as a superposition of two such states.

quant-ph

Light-pulse atom interferometry with entangled atom-optical elements

The analogs of optical elements in light-pulse atom interferometers are generated from the interaction of matter waves with light fields. As such, these fields possess quantum properties, which fundamentally lead to a reduced visibility in the observed interference. This loss is a consequence of the encoded information about the atom's path. However, the quantum nature of the atom-optical elements also gives an additional degree of freedom to reduce such effects: We demonstrate that entanglement between all light fields can be used to erase information about the atom's path and by that to partially recover the visibility. Thus, our work highlights the role of complementarity on atom-interferometric experiments.

quant-ph

Optimal baseline exploitation in vertical dark-matter detectors based on atom interferometry

Several terrestrial detectors for gravitational waves and dark matter based on long-baseline atom interferometry are currently in the final planning stages or already under construction. These upcoming vertical sensors are inherently subject to gravity and thus feature gradiometer or multi-gradiometer configurations using single-photon transitions for large momentum transfer. While there has been significant progress on optimizing these experiments against detrimental noise sources and for deployment at their projected sites, finding optimal configurations that make the best use of the available resources are still an open issue. Even more, the fundamental limit of the device's sensitivity is still missing. Here we fill this gap and show that (a) resonant-mode detectors based on multi-diamond fountain gradiometers achieve the optimal, shot-noise limited, sensitivity if their height constitutes 20% of the available baseline; (b) this limit is independent of the dark-matter oscillation frequency; and (c) doubling the baseline decreases the ultimate measurement uncertainty by approximately 65%. Moreover, we propose a multi-diamond scheme with less mirror pulses where the leading-order gravitational phase contribution is suppressed, compare it to established geometries, and demonstrate that both configurations saturate the same fundamental limit.

quant-ph

Atomic diffraction from single-photon transitions in gravity and Standard-Model extensions

Single-photon transitions are one of the key technologies for designing and operating very-long-baseline atom interferometers tailored for terrestrial gravitational-wave and dark-matter detection. Since such setups aim at the detection of relativistic and beyond-Standard-Model physics, the analysis of interferometric phases as well as of atomic diffraction must be performed to this precision and including these effects. In contrast, most treatments focused on idealized diffraction so far. Here, we study single-photon transitions, both magnetically-induced and direct ones, in gravity and Standard-Model extensions modeling dark matter as well as Einstein-equivalence-principle violations. We take into account relativistic effects like the coupling of internal to center-of-mass degrees of freedom, induced by the mass defect, as well as the gravitational redshift of the diffracting light pulse. To this end, we also include chirping of the light pulse required by terrestrial setups, as well as its associated modified momentum transfer for single-photon transitions.

quant-ph

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry: Workshop Summary

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions.

hep-ex

Interference of Clocks: A Quantum Twin Paradox

The phase of matter waves depends on proper time and is therefore susceptible to special-relativistic (kinematic) and gravitational (redshift) time dilation. Hence, it is conceivable that atom interferometers measure general-relativistic time-dilation effects. In contrast to this intuition, we show: (i.) Closed light-pulse interferometers without clock transitions during the pulse sequence are not sensitive to gravitational time dilation in a linear potential. (ii.) They can constitute a quantum version of the special-relativistic twin paradox. (iii.) Our proposed experimental geometry for a quantum-clock interferometer isolates this effect.

quant-ph

Universality-of-clock-rates test using atom interferometry with $T^{3}$ scaling

Metric descriptions of gravitation, among them general relativity as today's established theory, are founded on assumptions summarized by the Einstein equivalence principle (EEP). Its violation would hint at unknown physics and could be a leverage for the development of quantum gravity. Atomic clocks are excellent systems to probe aspects of EEP connected to (proper) time and have evolved into a working horse for tests of local position invariance (LPI). Even though the operational definition of time requires localized and idealized clocks, quantum systems like atoms allow for spatial superpositions that are inherently delocalized. While quantum experiments have tested other aspects of EEP, no competitive test of LPI has been performed or proposed allowing for an intrinsic delocalization. We extend the concepts for tests of the universality of clock rates (one facet of LPI) to atom interferometry generating delocalized quantum clocks. The proposed test depends on proper time with a favorable scaling and is, in contrast to fountain clocks, robust against initial conditions and recoil effects. It enables optical frequencies so that the projected sensitivity exceeds the one of state-of-the-art localized clocks. These results extend our notion of time, detached from classical and localized philosophies.

quant-ph

Light propagation and atom interferometry in gravity and dilaton fields

Dark matter or violations of the Einstein equivalence principle influence the motion of atoms, their internal states as well as electromagnetic fields, thus causing a signature in the signal of atomic detectors. To model such new physics, we introduce dilaton fields and study the modified propagation of light used to manipulate atoms in light-pulse atom interferometers. Their interference signal is dominated by the matter's coupling to gravity and the dilaton. Even though the electromagnetic field contributes to the phase, no additional dilaton-dependent effect can be observed. However, the light's propagation in gravity enters via a modified momentum transfer and its finite speed. For illustration, we discuss effects from light propagation and the dilaton on different atom-interferometric setups, including gradiometers, equivalence principle tests, and dark matter detection.

quant-ph