arXiv subjects

Hong Mao

Publications and source records attributed to Hong Mao.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-Fidelity Single-Shot Quantitative Differential Phase Microscopy Using Pseudothermal Sagnac Interferometer

In this letter, a high-fidelity single-shot differential quantitative phase microscopy (dQPM) method is presented to effectively image nearly transparent biological samples. The proposed method is based on a common-path Sagnac interferometric configuration, which provides superior temporal phase stability and robustness against environmental disturbances. The proposed system exploits a pseudothermal source to achieve high spatial sensitivity and generate dense interference fringes for effective single-shot differential quantitative phase imaging. The effectiveness of the proposed system is experimentally demonstrated with various samples, including polystyrene microspheres, a USAF phase target, fixed and live HeLa cells, and mouse kidney tissue.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Gravitational wave spectrum from first-order QCD phase transitions based on a parity doublet model

We investigate the gravitational wave spectrum from first-order QCD phase transitions using the parity doublet model at finite baryon chemical potential. The model incorporates the chiral invariant mass $m_0$, representing the portion of nucleon mass that persists even when chiral symmetry is restored. Within the model, we identify two first-order phase transition regions: the nuclear liquid--gas transition and the chiral phase transition. By solving the bounce equation and computing the Euclidean action $S_3/T$, we obtain the gravitational wave spectra from both transitions. The liquid--gas transition yields $\alpha \sim \mathcal{O}(1)$ and $\beta/H \sim \mathcal{O}(10)$--$\mathcal{O}(100)$ near the endpoint of the first-order line, producing signals with peak frequencies from the millihertz to the nanohertz band that can fit the existing data. In contrast, the chiral transition produces signals suppressed by approximately five orders of magnitude, well below the sensitivity of all current and planned detectors. These results connect the chiral invariant mass to the gravitational wave spectrum, offering a novel probe of the origin of nucleon mass through gravitational wave astronomy.

nucl-th↗

arXiv2026

Coulomb interaction unlocks Majorana-mediated electron teleportation between Quantum dots

We investigate quantum transport in a hybrid system composed of two quantum dots (QDs) coupled through a pair of spatially separated Majorana zero modes (MZMs) with negligible coupling energy. We focus on nonlocal correlations mediated by the MZMs, particularly the role of Coulomb interaction U between the QDs and the Majorana wire. Using the numerically exact fermionic dissipation equation of motion (DEOM) method, we compute both the transient current and the current-current cross-correlation noise spectrum. In the non-interacting case (U=0), destructive interference between the degenerate normal tunneling and anomalous tunneling channels suppresses electron teleportation between the dots. Introducing a finite Coulomb interaction $U$ lifts this channel degeneracy, enabling strong nonlocal correlations and inter-dot electron teleportation. This effect manifests as a robust signal in the cross-correlation noise spectrum, which is significantly stronger than that induced by a finite Majorana coupling energy $\varepsilon_{M}$. Our findings propose Coulomb interaction as an efficient and experimentally accessible control parameter for generating and detecting Majorana-mediated nonlocal transport in the topologically relevant long-wire limit ($\varepsilon_{M}\rightarrow0$).

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Phase-controlled quantum transport signatures in a quantum dot-Majorana hybrid ring system

We investigate the quantum transport in a hybrid ring system consisting of a quantum dot (QD) coupled to two Majorana bound states (MBSs) hosted in a topological superconducting nanowire, threaded by a magnetic flux. Utilizing the dissipaton equation-of-motion approach, we demonstrate that the differential conductance shows periodic behavior and its periodicity depends on both the QD energy level and the MBS overlapping. A zero-bias peak (ZBP) emerges as a result of the balance between normal and anomalous tunneling processes, associated with the presence of a single MBS. Beyond the phase-dependent periodic behavior, the shot noise exhibits voltage-dependent transitions between sub-Poissonian ($F = 0.5$), Poissonian ($F = 1$), and super-Poissonian ($F > 1$) regimes. Strikingly, we find a giant Fano factor ($F\gg1$) emerging at the balance point, accompanied by a peak in the shot noise. This distinctive feature may serve as a supplementary signature for MBS detection. However, both ZBP in the differential conductance and shot noise peak are degraded by thermal effects.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Transition rate and gravitational wave spectrum from first-order QCD phase transitions

We investigate the gravitational wave spectrum induced by first-order QCD phase transitions including the deconfinement phase transition in the pure gluon system and Friedberg-Lee model, and chiral phase transition in the quark-meson model and Polyakov quark-meson model. The gravitational wave power spectra are sensitive to the phase transition rate $\beta/H$. All QCD models predict a rather large phase transition rate in the order of $\beta/H\sim10^4$ at high temperature region, and the produced gravitational waves lie in the peak frequency region of $10^{-4}-0.01 {\rm Hz}$, corresponding to an energy spectrum in the range of $10^{-8}-10^{-7}$, which can be detected by LISA and Taiji. If a high baryon density is generated through Affleck-Dine baryogenesis or other mechanisms, the baryon chemical potential significantly reduces the phase transition rate, potentially dropping it to the order of $\beta/H\sim 10^1$, leading to the production of nanohertz gravitational waves. Furthermore, a critical quark chemical potential exists with a zero phase transition rate $\beta/H=0$, indicating that the false vacuum will not decay, thus supporting the formation of primordial quark nuggets in the early universe.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Nanohertz gravitational waves and primordial quark nuggets from dense QCD matter in the early universe

The first-order QCD phase transition at high temperature features a large transition rate in the magnitude of $\beta/H \sim 10^4$ with induced stochastic gravitational waves typically lying in the LISA range. High baryon density in the early universe can be generated through Affleck-Dine baryogenesis. The baryon chemical potential enhances the potential barrier and significantly reduces the transition rate, which decreases from infinity at the critical end point (CEP) to zero at the critical nucleation point (CNP). Nanohertz gravitational waves can be produced in a narrow window of high baryon chemical potential with transition rate in the order of $\beta/H \sim 10^1$. When the phase transition rate reaches zero, the false vacuum of high baryon density quark matter is unlikely to decay and can persist over cosmological time scales. Therefore the primordial quark nuggets (PQN) can form and survive in the early universe as the seeds of compact stars, thereby dramatically accelerating the evolution of compact stars and the formation of galaxies, which may explain the high red-shift massive galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2024

Majorana qubit readout by a point-contact detector under finite bias voltages

In this work we revisit the problem of a Majorana box qubit (MBQ) readout by a point-contact (PC) detector. The logic states of the MBQ are associated with the combined fermion parities of the MBQ and its tunnel-coupled quantum dot, which is measured by a PC detector. Beyond the existing studies on limiting bias voltage regimes, we analyze the steady-state current and the current power spectrum across all bias voltages. Our results indicate that the MBQ readout via the parity-dependent detector current is effective only at low bias voltage regime and requires the dot energy level to be off-resonance with the Majorana qubit. In contrast, the current power spectrum allows MBQ readout through the parity-dependent Rabi oscillation peak signals for arbitrary bias voltages, without restrictions on the dot energy level. Particularly, with focus on the MBQ measurement visibility, we analyze the peak-to-pedestal ratio for each characteristic peak (associated with each logic state of the qubit) and the signal-to-noise ratio of the two peaks. By examining these two metrics, we identify the optimal bias voltage window for the PC detector at low temperature limit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Distinguishing Majorana bound states from Andreev bound states through differential conductance and current noise spectrum

We investigate the quantum transport through a quantum dot coupled with a superconducting (SC) nanowire. By elaborating the differential conductance and current noise spectrum, we focus on the distinct characteristics of the topological Majorana bound states (MBSs) and trivial Andereev bound states (ABSs) hosted in SC wire. For MBSs with a topological quality factor $q=1$, we observe the degenerate features manifested as the zero-bias peak (ZBP) in differential conductance and the Rabi dips degeneracy (RDD) in noise spectrum. In contrast, for ABSs with $q<1$, the splitting of these degenerate features depends on the linewidth, arising from realistic measurement conditions. Furthermore, we identify the critical quality factors $q_{\rm c}$ and $q_{\rm s}$ associated with the emergences of ZBP and RDD, respectively. The value of $q_{\rm c}$ is temperature-dependent, and we establish a suitable temperature window to ensure the visibility of single ZBP in the experiments. Whereas, $q_{\rm c}$ depends on the coupling strength rather than the temperature. Typical values for these quality factors are approximately $q_{\rm c}\approx 0.93$ and $q_{\rm s}\approx 0.99$. Our results suggest that the degenerate Rabi spectrum signal could serve as a hallmark for the presence of MBSs, which goes beyond the scope of differential conductance.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Bubble dynamics in the Polyakov quark-meson model

In the framework of the Polyakov quark-meson model with two flavors, the bubble dynamics of a first-order phase transition in the region of high density and low temperature are investigated by using the homogeneous thermal nucleation theory. In mean-field approximation, after obtaining the effective potential with inclusion of the fermionic vacuum term, we build a geometric method to search two existing minima, which can be actually connected by a bounce interpolated between a local minimum to an adjacent global one. For both weak and strong first-order hadron quark phase transitions, as fixing the chemical potentials at $\mu=306 \mathrm{MeV}$ and $\mu=310 \mathrm{MeV}$, the bubble profiles, the surface tension, the typical radius of the bounce and the saddle point action as a function of temperature are numerically calculated in the presence of a nucleation bubble. It is found that the surface tension remains a very small value even when the density is high. It is also noticed that the deconfinement phase transition does not change chiral phase transition dramatically for light quarks and phase boundaries for hadron and quark matter should be resized properly according to the saddle-point action evaluated on the bounce solution.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Bubble nucleation in the two-flavor quark-meson model

We investigate the dynamics of a first-order quark-hadron transition via homogeneous thermal nucleation in the two-flavor quark-meson model. The contribution of the fermionic vacuum loop in the effective thermodynamics potential and phase diagram together with the location of critical end point (CEP) have been obtained in the temperature and chemical potential plane. For a weak and strong first-order phase transition, by taking the temperature as a variable, the critical bubble profiles, the evolutions of the surface tension and the saddle-point action in the presence of a nucleation bubble are numerically calculated in detail when fixing the chemical potentials at $\mu=306 \mathrm{MeV}$ and $\mu=309 \mathrm{MeV}$. Our results show that the system could be trapped in the metastable state for a long time as long as the temperature is between the metastable region characterized by the up and low spinodal lines. Moreover, the surface tension at criticality will rise up to about $4 \mathrm{MeV/fm^2}$ when the chemical potential is very high. Such a small value of the surface tension would favor a mixed phase in the cores of compact stars and may have an important implication in astrophysics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2023

Label-free incoherent super-resolution optical microscopy

The photo-kinetics of fluorescent molecules have enabled the circumvention of far-field optical diffraction-limit. Despite its enormous potential, the necessity to label the sample may adversely influence the delicate biology under investigation. Thus, continued development efforts are needed to surpass the far-field label-free diffraction barrier. The coherence of the detected light in label-free mode hinders the application of existing super-resolution methods based on incoherent fluorescence imaging. In this article, we present the physics and propose a methodology to circumvent this challenge by exploiting the photoluminescence of silicon nitride waveguides for near-field illumination of unlabeled samples. The technique is abbreviated EPSLON, Evanescently decaying Photoluminescence Scattering enables Label-free Optical Nanoscopy. We demonstrate that such an illumination has properties that mimic the photo-kinetics of nano-sized fluorescent molecules. This allows for developing a label-free incoherent system that is linear in intensity, and stable with time thereby permitting the application of techniques like structured illumination microscopy (SIM) and intensity-fluctuation-based optical nanoscopy (IFON) in label-free mode to circumvent the diffraction limit.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Bubble dynamics in a strong first-order quark-hadron transition

We investigate the dynamics of a strong first-order quark-hadron transition driven by cubic interaction via homogeneous bubble nucleation in the Friedberg-Lee model. The one-loop effective thermodynamics potential of the model and the critical bubble profiles have been calculated at different temperatures and chemical potentials. By taking the temperature and the chemical potential as the variables, the evolutions of the surface tension, the typical radius of the critical bubble and the shift in the coarse-grained free energy in the presence of a nucleation bubble are obtained and the limit on the reliability of the thin-wall approximation is also addressed accordingly. Our results are compared to those obtained for a weak first-order quark-hadron phase transition, especially the spinodal decomposition is relevant.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Mechanism of current noise spectrum in a nonequilibirum Kondo dot system

We systematically study the nonequilibirum Kondo mechanisms of quantum noise spectrum based on the accurate dissipaton--equation--of--motion evaluations. By comparing the noise spectra between the equilibrium and nonequilibrium cases and between the non-Kondo and Kondo regimes, we identify the nonequilibrium Kondo features in the current noise spectrum, appearing in the region of $\omega\in [-eV, eV]$. The Kondo characteristic at $\omega=\pm eV=\pm (\mu_{\rm L}-\mu_{\rm R})$ display asymmetrical upturns and remarkable peaks in $S(\omega)$ and $dS(\omega)/d\omega$, respectively. These features are originated from the Rabi interference of the transport current dynamics, with the Kondo oscillation frequency of $|eV|$. The minor but very distinguishable inflections, crossing over $\omega=-eV$ to $\omega=+eV$, would be related to a sort of Kondo-Fano interference between two Kondo resonances channels.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2018

Nucleon Properties in the Polyakov Quark Meson Model

We study the nucleon as a nontopological soliton in a quark medium as well as in a nucleon medium in terms of the Polyakov quark meson (PQM) model with two flavors at finite temperature and density. The constituent quark masses evolving with the temperature at various baryon chemical potentials are calculated and the equations of motion are solved according to the proper boundary conditions. The PQM model predicts an increasing size of the nucleon and a reduction of the nucleon mass in both hot environment. However, the phase structure is different from each other in quark and nucleon mediums. There is a crossover in the low-density region and a first-order phase transition in the high-density region in quark medium, whereas there exists a crossover characterized by the overlap of the nucleons in nucleon medium.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Nontopological Soliton in the Polyakov Quark Meson Model

Within a mean field approximation, we study a nontopological soliton solution of the Polyakov quark-meson model in the presence of a fermionic vacuum term with two flavors at finite temperature and density. The profile of the effective potential exhibits a stable soliton solution below a critical temperature $T\leq T_χ^c$ for both the crossover and the first-order phase transitions, and these solutions are calculated here with appropriate boundary conditions. However, it is found that only if $T\leq T^c_d$,the energy of the soliton $M_N$ is less than the energy of the three free constituent quarks $3M_q$. As $T> T^c_d$, there is an instant delocalization phase transition from hadron matter to quark matter. The phase diagram together with the location of a critical end point (CEP) has been obtained in $T$ and $μ$ plane. We notice that two critical temperatures always satisfy $T^c_d\leq T_χ^c$. Finally, we present and compare the result of thermodynamic pressure at zero chemical potential with lattice data.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Pion String evolving in a thermal bath

By using the symmetry improved CJT effective formalism, we study a pion string of the $O(4)$ linear sigma model at finite temperature in chiral limit. In terms of the Kibble-Zurek mechanism we reconsider the production and evolution of the pion string in a thermal bath. Finally, we estimate the pion string density and its possible signal during the chiral phase transition.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

On the symmetry improved CJT formalism in the $O(4)$ linear sigma model

By using the symmetry improved CJT effective formalism developed by Pilaftsis and Teresi, the chiral phase transition is reconsidered in the framework of the $O(4)$ linear sigma model in chiral limit. Our results confirm the restorations of the second-order phase transition and the Goldstone theorem in the Hartree approximation. Finally, we explicitly calculate the effective potentials via the order parameter for various temperatures and address advantages of the present method in comparison with the $O(N)$ model in large-$N$ approximation.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Chiral soliton model at finite temperature and density

In mean field approximation, we study a chiral soliton of the linear sigma model with two flavors at finite temperature and density. The stable soliton solutions are calculated with some appropriate boundary conditions. Energy and radius of the soliton are determined in a hot medium of constituent quarks. It is found that for $T T_c$, there is a sharp delocalization phase transition from hadron matter to quark matter coincident with the restoration of chiral symmetry. In the transition region, the thermodynamic properties show large discontinuities which is an indication for a first-order phase transition.

hep-ph↗