arXiv subjects

I. Zapata

Publications and source records attributed to I. Zapata.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Quantum transport in the black-hole configuration of an atom condensate outcoupled through an optical lattice

The outcoupling of a Bose-Einstein condensate through an optical lattice provides an interesting scenario to study quantum transport phenomena or the analog Hawking effect as the system can reach a quasi-stationary black-hole configuration. We devote this work to characterize the quantum transport properties of quasi-particles on top of this black-hole configuration by computing the corresponding scattering matrix. We find that most of the features can be understood in terms of the usual Schrödinger scattering. In particular, a transmission band appears in the spectrum, with the normal-normal transmission dominating over the anomalous-normal one. We show that this picture still holds in a realistic experimental situation where the actual Gaussian envelope of the optical lattice is considered. A peaked resonant structure is displayed near the upper end of the transmission band, which suggests that the proposed setup is a good candidate to provide a clear signal of spontaneous Hawking radiation.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2017

Symmetry characterization of the collective modes of the phase diagram of the $ν=0$ quantum Hall state in graphene: Mean-field and spontaneously broken symmetries

We devote this work to the study of the mean-field phase diagram of the $ν=0$ quantum Hall state in bilayer graphene and the computation of the corresponding neutral collective modes, extending the results of recent works in the literature. Specifically, we provide a detailed classification of the complete orbital-valley-spin structure of the collective modes and show that phase transitions are characterized by singlet modes in orbital pseudospin, which are independent of the Coulomb strength and suffer strong many-body corrections from short-range interactions at low momentum. We describe the symmetry breaking mechanism for phase transitions in terms of the valley-spin structure of the Goldstone modes. For the remaining phase boundaries, we prove that the associated exact $SO(5)$ symmetry existing at zero Zeeman energy and interlayer voltage survives as a weaker mean-field symmetry of the Hartree-Fock equations. We extend the previous results for bilayer graphene to the monolayer scenario. Finally, we show that taking into account Landau level mixing through screening does not modify the physical picture explained above.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Many-body effects in doped graphene on a piezoelectric substrate

We investigate the many-body properties of graphene on top of a piezoelectric substrate, focusing on the interaction between the graphene electrons and the piezoelectric acoustic phonons. We calculate the electron and phonon self-energies as well as the electron mobility limited by the substrate phonons. We emphasize the importance of the proper screening of the electron-phonon vertex and discuss the various limiting behaviors as a function of electron energy, temperature, and doping level. The effect on the graphene electrons of the piezoelectric acoustic phonons is compared with that of the intrinsic deformation acoustic phonons of graphene. Substrate phonons tend to dominate over intrinsic ones for low doping levels at high and low temperatures.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Entanglement and violation of classical inequalities in the Hawking radiation of flowing atom condensates

We consider a sonic black-hole scenario where an atom condensate flows through a subsonic-supersonic interface. We discuss several criteria that reveal the existence of nonclassical correlations resulting from the quantum character of the spontaneous Hawking radiation. We unify previous general work as applied to Hawking radiation analogs. We investigate the measurability of the various indicators and conclude that, within a class of detection schemes, only the violation of quadratic Cauchy-Schwarz inequalities can be discerned. We show numerical results that further support the viability of measuring deep quantum correlations in concrete scenarios.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2015

Birth of a quasi-stationary black hole in an outcoupled Bose-Einstein condensate

We study the evolution of an initially confined atom condensate which is progressively outcoupled by gradually lowering the confining barrier on one side. The goal is to identify protocols that best lead to a quasi-stationary sonic black hole separating regions of subsonic and supersonic flow. An optical lattice is found to be more efficient than a single barrier in yielding a long-time stationary flow. This is best achieved if the final conduction band is broad and its minimum not much lower than the initial chemical potential. An optical lattice with a realistic Gaussian envelope yields similar results. We analytically prove and numerically check that, within a spatially coarse-grained description, the sonic horizon is bound to lie right at the envelope maximum. We derive an analytical formula for the Hawking temperature in that setup.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Violation of Cauchy-Schwarz inequalities by spontaneous Hawking radiation in resonant boson structures

The violation of a classical Cauchy-Schwarz (CS) inequality is identified as an unequivocal signature of spontaneous Hawking radiation in sonic black holes. This violation can be particularly large near the peaks in the radiation spectrum emitted from a resonant boson structure forming a sonic horizon. As a function of the frequency-dependent Hawking radiation intensity, we analyze the degree of CS violation and the maximum violation temperature for a double barrier structure separating two regions of subsonic and supersonic condensate flow. We also consider the case where the resonant sonic horizon is produced by a space-dependent contact interaction. In some cases, CS violation can be observed by direct atom counting in a time-of-flight experiment. We show that near the conventional zero-frequency radiation peak, the decisive CS violation cannot occur.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Feshbach-type resonances for two-particle scattering in graphene

Two-particle scattering in graphene is a multichannel problem, where the energies of the identical or opposite-helicity channels lie in disjoint energy segments. Due to the absence of Galilean invariance, these segments depend on the total momentum $Q$. The dispersion relations for the two opposite-helicity scattering channels are analogous to those of two one-dimensional tight-binding lattices with opposite dispersion relations, which are known to easily bind states at their edges. When an $s$-wave separable interaction potential is assumed, those bound states reveal themselves as three Feshbach resonances in the identical-helicity channel. In the limit $Q \rightarrow 0$, one of the resonances survives and the opposite-helicity scattering amplitudes vanish.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Triplet pair correlations in {\it s-}wave superfluids as a signature of the FFLO state

We show that triplet pairing correlations are generated in purely s-waves superfluids whenever population imbalance enforces anisotropic Fulde-Ferrell (FF) or inhomogeneous Larkin-Ovchinikov (LO) states. The same set of quasiparticle states contributes to the triplet component and to the polarization, thus spatially correlating them. In the LO case, this set forms a narrow band of Andreev states centered on the nodes of the s-wave order parameter. This picture naturally provides a unifying explanation of previous findings that attractive p-wave interaction stabilizes FFLO states. We also study a similar triplet mixing which occurs when a balanced two-component system displays FFLO type oscillations due to a spin-dependent optical lattice. We discuss how this triplet component can be measured in systems of ultra-cold atoms using a rapid ramp across a p-wave Feshbach resonance. This should provide a smoking gun signature of FFLO states.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2010

Pi-phases in balanced fermionic superfluids on spin-dependent optical lattices

We study a balanced two-component system of ultracold fermions in one dimension with attractive interactions and subject to a spin-dependent optical lattice potential of opposite sign for the two components. We find states with different types of modulated pairing order parameters which are conceptually similar to pi-phases discussed for superconductor-ferromagnet heterostructures. Increasing the lattice depth induces sharp transitions between states of different parity. While the origin of the order parameter oscillations is similar to the FFLO phase for paired states with spin imbalance, the current system is intrinsically stable to phase separation. We discuss experimental requirements for creating and probing these novel phases.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2009

Andreev reflection in bosonic condensates

We study the bosonic analog of Andreev reflection at a normal-superfluid interface where the superfluid is a boson condensate. We model the normal region as a zone where nonlinear effects can be neglected. Against the background of a decaying condensate, we identify a novel contribution to the current of reflected atoms. The group velocity of this Andreev reflected component differs from that of the normally reflected one. For a three-dimensional planar or two-dimensional linear interface Andreev reflection is neither specular nor conjugate.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2009

Deterministic ratchet from stationary light fields

Ratchets are dynamic systems where particle transport is induced by zero-average forces due to the interplay between nonlinearity and asymmetry. Generally, they rely on the effect of a strong external driving. We show that stationary optical lattices can be designed to generate particle flow in one direction while requiring neither noise nor driving. Such optical fields must be arranged to yield a combination of conservative (dipole) and nonconservative (radiation pressure) forces. Under strong friction all paths converge to a discrete set of limit periodic trajectories flowing in the same direction.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2002

Phase dynamics after connection of two separate Bose-Einstein condensates

We study the dynamics of the relative phase following the connection of two independently formed Bose-Einstein condensates. Dissipation is assumed to be due to the creation of quasiparticles induced by a fluctuating condensate particle number. The coherence between different values of the phase, which is characteristic of the initial Fock state, is quickly lost after the net exchange of a few atoms has taken place. This process effectively measures the phase and marks the onset of a semiclassical regime in which the system undergoes Bloch oscillations around the initial particle number. These fast oscillations excite quasiparticles within each condensate and the system relaxes at a longer time scale until it displays low-energy, damped Josephson plasma oscillations, eventually coming to a halt when the equilibrium configuration is finally reached.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1995

Supercurrent flow through an effective double barrier structure

Supercurrent flow is studied in a structure that in the Ginzburg-Landau regime can be described in terms of an effective double barrier potential. In the limit of strongly reflecting barriers, the passage of Cooper pairs through such a structure may be viewed as a realization of resonant tunneling with a rigid wave function. For interbarrier distances smaller than $d_0=πξ(T)$ no current-carrying solutions exist. For distances between $d_0$ and $2d_0$, four solutions exist. The two symmetric solutions obey a current-phase relation of $\sin(Δφ/2)$, while the two asymmetric solutions satisfy $Δφ=π$ for all allowed values of the current. As the distance exceeds $nd_0$, a new group of four solutions appears, each contaning $(n-1)$ soliton-type oscillations between the barriers. We prove the inexistence of a continuous crossover between the physical solutions of the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau equation and those of the corresponding linearized Schrödinger equation. We also show that under certain conditions a repulsive delta function barrier may quantitatively describe a SNS structure. We are thus able to predict that the critical current of a SNSNS structure vanishes as $\sqrt{T'_c-T}$, where $T'_c$ is lower than the bulk critical temperature.

cond-mat↗