arXiv subjects

Maria Luisa Chiofalo

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Luisa Chiofalo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

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↗

arXiv2025

Tailoring transport in quantum spin chains via disorder and collisions

We systematically investigate the interplay of disorder and time-homogeneous collisional noise in shaping the transport dynamics of an anisotropic XXZ spin chain. Using stochastic collision models to simulate interaction with the environment, we explore the localization-delocalization transitions across regimes with single and multiple excitations. We find that space-homogeneous and low-rate collisions can shape regions where localization sets in the form of subsequent plateaus. The localization process has universal features for the plateaus duration and the delocalization time. Interactions among the excitations favor this process even for tiniest disorder levels. Our findings can be applied to design stroboscopic protocols where sequences of transport and localization can be tailored. We establish relevant connections to noise-engineering of quantum devices in noisy intermediate-scale quantum simulators platforms, and to realistic biological systems where noise and disorder coexist.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Memory preservation and cooperative shielding in complex quantum networks

Complex quantum networks are powerful tools in the modeling of transport phenomena, particularly for biological systems, and enable the study of emergent phenomena in many-body quantum systems. High connectivity and long-range interactions induce strong constraints on the system dynamics. Here, we study the transport properties of a quantum network described by the paradigmatic XXZ Hamiltonian, with non-trivial graph connectivity and topology, and long-range interactions. We show how long-range interactions induce memory preserving effects and strongly affect the spreading of the excitations due to cooperative shielding. We describe the memory-preserving effect in all-to-all connected regular networks with distance-independent couplings. Indeed, the memory of the number of initially injected excitations is preserved over long times, encoded in the number of frequencies present in the dynamics. Interestingly, we find that memory-preserving effects occur also in less regular graphs, such as quantum networks with either power-law node connectivity or complex, small-world type, architectures. We discuss the implications of these properties in biology-related problems, such as an application to Weber's law in neuroscience, and their implementation in specific quantum technologies via biomimicry. We also show how the presence of long-range interaction strongly affects the dynamics of the excitations in small-world networks and power law all-to-all coupled networks. Indeed, because of cooperative shielding blue, as the connectivity or the range of interaction increases, the initial excitation spreads more slowly among the network and becomes strongly dependent on the initial conditions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

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↗

arXiv2025

Dissipation engineering of fermionic long-range order beyond Lindblad

We investigate the possibility of engineering dissipatively long-range order that is robust against heating in strongly interacting fermionic systems, relevant for atoms in cavity QED. It was previously shown [Tindall et al. Phys.Rev.Lett. 123, 030603 (2019)] that it is possible to stabilize long-range order in a Hubbard model by exploiting a dissipative mechanism in the Lindblad limit, this latter being valid for spectrally unstructured baths. Here, we first show that this mechanism still holds when including additional spin-exchange interactions in the model, that is for the tUJ model. Moreover, by means of a Redfield approach that goes beyond the Lindblad case, we show how the stability of the engineered state depends crucially on properties of the bath spectral density and discuss the feasibility of those properties in an experiment.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Binary superfluids: Low-energy properties and dissipative processes from spontaneous emission of massive phonons

We discuss the low-energy properties of binary superfluids with density-dependent interactions. Adding an intra-species coupling that induces an explicit soft symmetry-breaking, we determine the background pressure and we show that the low-energy spectrum consists of a massless Nambu- Goldstone boson and a massive (pseudo) Nambu-Goldstone boson. When the background velocities of the two superfluids are transonic, the system is characterized by two distinct acoustic horizons: the hydrodynamic analogue of the black hole event horizon. The Hawking-like emission occurring at these horizons produces an effective friction on the fluids. We compute the viscosity-to-entropy ratios close to the two acoustic horizons, finding that the emission of pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons violates the bound conjectured by Kovtun, Son and Starinet.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2025

STE-QUEST -- Space Time Explorer and QUantum Equivalence principle Space Test: The 2022 medium-class mission concept

Space-borne quantum technologies, particularly those based on atom interferometry, are heralding a new era of strategic and robust space exploration. The unique conditions of space, characterized by low noise and low gravity environments, open up diverse possibilities for applications ranging from precise time and frequency transfer to Earth Observation and the search of new Physics. In this paper, we summarise the M-class mission proposal in response to the 2022 call in ESA's science program: Space-Time Explorer and Quantum Equivalence Principle Space Test (STE-QUEST). It consists in a satellite mission featuring a dual-species atom interferometer operating over extended durations. This mission aims to tackle three of the most fundamental questions in Physics: (i) testing the universality of free fall with an accuracy better than one part in $10^{-17}$, (ii) exploring various forms of Ultra-Light Dark Matter, and (iii) scrutinizing the foundations of Quantum Mechanics.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2025

A diagrammatic approach to correlation functions in superfluids

Renaud Parentani has given a vast contribution to the development of gravitational analogue models as tools to explore various important aspects of general relativity and of quantum field theory in curved space-time. In these systems, two-point correlation functions are of the utmost importance for the characterization of processes taking place close to the acoustic horizon. In the present paper, dedicated to him, we present a study of path integral methods that allow to determine two-point correlation functions by a perturbative expansion, in a way that -- beyond its generality -- is especially suited to analyze these processes. Our results apply to non-relativistic superfluids, realizable in terrestrial experiments, as well as to relativistic superfluids, relevant for compact stellar objects.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

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↗

arXiv2025

Gravitational Waves and Black Hole perturbations in Acoustic Analogues

Phonons in Bose-Einstein condensates propagate as massless scalar particles on top of an emergent acoustic metric. This hydrodynamics/gravity analogy can be exploited to realize acoustic black holes, featuring an event horizon that traps phonons. We show that by an appropriate external potential, gravitational wave-like perturbations of the acoustic metric can be produced. Such perturbations can be used to excite an acoustic black hole, which should then relax by phonon emission.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Can multipartite entanglement be characterized by two-point connected correlation functions ?

We discuss under which conditions multipartite entanglement in mixed quantum states can be characterized only in terms of two-point connected correlation functions, as it is the case for pure states. In turn, the latter correlations are defined via a suitable combination of (disconnected) one- and two-point correlation functions. In contrast to the case of pure states, conditions to be satisfied turn out to be rather severe. However, we were able to identify some interesting cases, as when the point-independence is valid of the one-point correlations in each possible decomposition of the density matrix, or when the operators that enter in the correlations are (semi-)positive/negative defined.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum frustrated Wigner chains

A Wigner chain in a periodic potential is a paradigmatic example of geometric frustration with long-range interactions. The dynamics emulates the Frenkel-Kontorova model with Coulomb interactions. In the continuum approximation, dislocations are sine-Gordon solitons with power-law decaying tails. We show that their action is mapped into a massive, long-range (1+1) Thirring model, where the solitons are charged fermionic excitations over an effective Dirac sea. We identify the corresponding mean field theory and show that the Coulomb interactions destabilize structures commensurate with the periodic substrate, suppressing their onset and giving rise to {\it interaction-induced} lubrication. Our study identifies the role of long-range interactions on determining nanofriction. Our predictions can be probed in state-of-the-art trapped ion experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Fractal ground state of ion chains in periodic potentials

Trapped ions in a periodic potential are a paradigm of a frustrated Wigner crystal. The dynamics is captured by a long-range Frenkel-Kontorova model. The classical ground state can be mapped to the one of an antiferromagnetic spin chain with long-range interactions in a magnetic field, whose strength is determined by the mismatch between chain's and substrate lattice's periodicity. The mapping is exact when the substrate potential is a piecewise harmonic potential and holds for any two-body interaction decaying as $1/r^α$ with the distance $r$. The ground state is a devil's staircase of regular, periodic structures as a function of the mismatch, whose range of stability depends also on the coefficient $α$. While the staircase is well defined in the thermodynamic limit for $α>1$, for Coulomb interactions, $α=1$, it disappears and the sliding-to-pinned transitions becomes crossovers. However, due to the logarithmic convergence to the thermodynamic limit characteristic of the Coulomb potential, the staircase is found for any finite number of ions. We discuss the experimental parameters as well as the features that allow one to observe and reveal our predictions in experimental platforms. These dynamics are a showcase of the versatility of trapped ion platforms for exploring the interplay between frustration and interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Dissipative processes at the acoustic horizon

A transonic fluid flow generates an acoustic hole that is the hydrodynamic analogue of a gravitational black hole. Acoustic holes emit a detectable thermal radiation of phonons at a characteristic Hawking temperature. The crucial concept is that the spontaneous phonon emission at the horizon produces an irreversible heat increase at the expenses of the bulk fluid kinetic energy. We show that such process can be described in terms of \textit{effective} shear and bulk viscosities that are defined close to the horizon. We analyze this quantum friction process by resorting to a general kinetic theory approach as well as by the specific description of phonon emission as a tunneling process. The celebrated Kovtun, Son and Starinets (KSS) universal lower bound $η/s = 1 / 4 π$ of the shear viscosity coefficient to entropy density ratio, readily follows, and is extended to the longitudinal bulk viscosity at the horizon. We come to the same saturation of the KSS bound after considering the shear viscosity arising from a perturbation of the background metric at the acoustic horizon providing a -- in principle testable -- realization of the so called black hole \textit{membrane paradigm}.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Atomic Quantum Technologies for Quantum Matter and Fundamental Physics Applications

Physics is living an era of unprecedented cross-fertilization among the different areas of science. In this perspective review, we discuss the manifold impact that ultracold-atom quantum technologies can have in fundamental and applied science through platforms for quantum simulation, computation, metrology and sensing. We illustrate how the engineering of table-top experiments with atom technologies is engendering applications to understand problems in condensed matter and fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics, foundational aspects of quantum mechanics, quantum chemistry and the emerging field of quantum biology. We take the perspective of two main approaches, i.e. creating quantum analogues and building quantum simulators, highlighting that independently of the ultimate goal of a universal quantum computer to be met, the remarkable transformative effects of these achievements remain unchanged. We convey three main messages. First, atomic quantum technologies have enabled a new way in which quantum technologies are used for fundamental science, even beyond the advancement of knowledge, which is characterised by truly cross-disciplinary research, extended interplay between theoretical and experimental thinking, and intersectoral approach. Second, quantum many-body physics is taking the center stage in frontier's science. Third, quantum science progress will have capillary impact on society. Thus, the adoption of a responsible research and innovation approach to quantum technologies is mandatory, to accompany citizens in building awareness and future scaffolding. Following on all these reflections, this perspective review is aimed at scientists active or interested in interdisciplinary research, providing the reader with an overview of the current status of these wide fields of research where ultracold-atomic platforms play a vital role in their description and simulation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Engineering Transport via Collisional Noise: a Toolbox for Biology Systems

The study of noise assisted transport in quantum systems is essential in a wide range of applications from near-term NISQ devices to models for quantum biology. Here, we study a generalised XXZ model in the presence of stochastic collision noise, which allows to describe environments beyond the standard Markovian formulation. Our analysis through the study of the local magnetization, the inverse participation ratio (IPR) or its generalisation, the Inverse Ergodicity Ratio (IER), showed clear regimes where the transport rate and coherence time can be controlled by the dissipation in a consistent manner. In addition, when considering several excitations, we characterize the interplay between collisions and system interactions identifying regimes in which transport is counterintuitively enhanced when increasing the collision rate, even in the case of initially separated excitations. These results constitute an example of the essential building blocks for the understanding of quantum transport in structured noisy and warm disordered environments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

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↗

arXiv2023

Quantum spin models for numerosity perception

Humans share with animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates, the capacity to sense the number of items in their environment already at birth. The pervasiveness of this skill across the animal kingdom suggests that it should emerge in very simple populations of neurons. Current modelling literature, however, has struggled to suggest a simple architecture carrying out this task, with most proposals suggesting the emergence of number sense in multi-layered complex neural networks, and typically requiring supervised learning. We present a simple quantum spin model with all-to-all connectivity, where numerosity is encoded in the spectrum after stimulation with a number of transient signals occurring in a random or orderly temporal sequence. We use a paradigmatic simulational approach borrowed from the theory and methods of open quantum systems out of equilibrium, as a possible way to describe information processing in neural systems. Our method is able to capture many of the perceptual characteristics of numerosity in such systems. The frequency components of the magnetization spectra at harmonics of the system's tunneling frequency increase with the number of stimuli presented. The amplitude decoding of each spectrum, performed with an ideal-observer model, reveals that the system follows Weber's law, one of the hallmarks of numerosity perception across the animal kingdom. This contrasts with the well-known failure to reproduce Weber's law with linear system or accumulators models.

q-bio.NC↗