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R. Schilling

Publications and source records attributed to R. Schilling.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Construction and heat kernel estimates of general stable-like Markov processes

A stable-like process is a Feller process $(X_t)_{t\geq 0}$ taking values in $\mathbb{R}^d$ and whose generator behaves, locally, like an $α$-stable Lévy process, but the index $α$ and all other characteristics may depend on the state space. More precisely, the jump measure need not to be symmetric and it strongly depends on the current state of the process; moreover, we do not require the gradient term to be dominated by the pure jump part. Our approach is to understand the above phenomena as suitable microstructural perturbations. We show that the corresponding martingale problem is well-posed, and its solution is a strong Feller process which admits a transition density. For the transition density we obtain a representation as a sum of an explicitly given principal term -- this is essentially the density of an $α$-stable random variable whose parameters depend on the current state $x$ -- and a residual term; the $L^\infty\otimes L^1$-norm of the residual term is negligible and so is, under an additional structural assumption, the $L^\infty\otimes L^\infty$-norm. Concrete examples illustrate the relation between the assumptions and possible transition density estimates.

math.PR

Evidence for structural damping in a high-stress silicon nitride nanobeam and its implications for quantum optomechanics

We resolve the thermal motion of a high-stress silicon nitride nanobeam at frequencies far below its fundamental flexural resonance (3.4 MHz) using cavity-enhanced optical interferometry. Over two decades, the displacement spectrum is well-modeled by that of a damped harmonic oscillator driven by a $1/f$ thermal force, suggesting that the loss angle of the beam material is frequency-independent. The inferred loss angle at 3.4 MHz, $ϕ= 4.5\cdot 10^{-6}$, agrees well with the quality factor ($Q$) of the fundamental beam mode ($ϕ= Q^{-1}$). In conjunction with $Q$ measurements made on higher order flexural modes, and accounting for the mode dependence of stress-induced loss dilution, we find that the intrinsic (undiluted) loss angle of the beam changes by less than a factor of 2 between 50 kHz and 50 MHz. We discuss the impact of such "structural damping" on experiments in quantum optomechanics, in which the thermal force acting on a mechanical oscillator coupled to an optical cavity is overwhelmed by radiation pressure shot noise. As an illustration, we show that structural damping reduces the bandwidth of ponderomotive squeezing.

physics.optics

Measurement and control of a mechanical oscillator at its thermal decoherence rate

In real-time quantum feedback protocols, the record of a continuous measurement is used to stabilize a desired quantum state. Recent years have seen highly successful applications in a variety of well-isolated micro-systems, including microwave photons and superconducting qubits. By contrast, the ability to stabilize the quantum state of a tangibly massive object, such as a nanomechanical oscillator, remains a difficult challenge: The main obstacle is environmental decoherence, which places stringent requirements on the timescale in which the state must be measured. Here we describe a position sensor that is capable of resolving the zero-point motion of a solid-state, nanomechanical oscillator in the timescale of its thermal decoherence, a critical requirement for preparing its ground state using feedback. The sensor is based on cavity optomechanical coupling, and realizes a measurement of the oscillator's displacement with an imprecision 40 dB below that at the standard quantum limit, while maintaining an imprecision-back-action product within a factor of 5 of the Heisenberg uncertainty limit. Using the measurement as an error signal and radiation pressure as an actuator, we demonstrate active feedback cooling (cold-damping) of the 4.3 MHz oscillator from a cryogenic bath temperature of 4.4 K to an effective value of 1.1$\pm$0.1 mK, corresponding to a mean phonon number of 5.3$\pm$0.6 (i.e., a ground state probability of 16%). Our results set a new benchmark for the performance of a linear position sensor, and signal the emergence of engineered mechanical oscillators as practical subjects for measurement-based quantum control.

quant-ph

Design of a speed meter interferometer proof-of-principle experiment

The second generation of large scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors will be limited by quantum noise over a wide frequency range in their detection band. Further sensitivity improvements for future upgrades or new detectors beyond the second generation motivate the development of measurement schemes to mitigate the impact of quantum noise in these instruments. Two strands of development are being pursued to reach this goal, focusing both on modifications of the well-established Michelson detector configuration and development of different detector topologies. In this paper, we present the design of the world's first Sagnac speed meter interferometer which is currently being constructed at the University of Glasgow. With this proof-of-principle experiment we aim to demonstrate the theoretically predicted lower quantum noise in a Sagnac interferometer compared to an equivalent Michelson interferometer, to qualify Sagnac speed meters for further research towards an implementation in a future generation large scale gravitational wave detector, such as the planned Einstein Telescope observatory.

gr-qc

On the small-time behaviour of Lévy-type processes

We show some Chung-type $\liminf$ law of the iterated logarithm results at zero for a class of (pure-jump) Feller or Lévy-type processes. This class includes all Lévy processes. The norming function is given in terms of the symbol of the infinitesimal generator of the process. In the Lévy case, the symbol coincides with the characteristic exponent.

math.PR

Nonlocality and fluctuations near the optical analog of a sonic horizon

We consider the behavior of fluctuations near the sonic horizon and the role of the nonlocality of interaction (nonlinearity) on their regularization. The nonlocality dominates if its characteristic length scale is larger than the regularization length. The influence of nonlocality may be important in the current experiments on the transonic flow in Kerr nonlinear media. Experimental conditions, under which the observation of straddled fluctuations can be observed, are discussed.

physics.optics

Regularization of fluctuations near the sonic horizon due to the quantum potential and its influence on the Hawking radiation

We consider dynamics of fluctuations in transonically accelerating Bose-Einstein condensates and luminous liquids (coherent light propagating in a Kerr nonlinear medium) using the hydrodynamic approach. It is known that neglecting the quantum potential (QP) leads to a singular behavior of quantum and classical fluctuations in the vicinity of the Mach (sonic) horizon, which in turn gives rise to the Hawking radiation. The neglect of QP is well founded at not too small distances $|x| \gg l_h$ from the horizon, where $l_h$ is the healing length. Taking the QP into account we show that a second characteristic length $l_r > l_h$ exists, such that the linear fluctuation modes become regularized for $|x| \ll l_r$. At $|x| \gg l_r$ the modes keep their singular behavior, which however is influenced by the QP. As a result we find a deviation of the high frequency tail of the spectrum of Hawking radiation from Planck's black body radiation distribution. Similar results hold for the wave propagation in Kerr nonlinear media where the length $l_h$ and $l_r$ exist due to the nonlinearity.

cond-mat.quant-gas

Asymptotic energy profile of a wavepacket in disordered chains

We investigate the long time behavior of a wavepacket initially localized at a single site $n_0$ in translationally invariant harmonic and anharmonic chains with random interactions. In the harmonic case, the energy profile $ \bar{< e_n(t)>}$ averaged on time and disorder decays for large $|n-n_0|$ as a power law $\bar{< e_n(t)>}\approx C|n-n_0|^{-η}$ where $η=5/2$ and 3/2 for initial displacement and momentum excitations, respectively. The prefactor $C$ depends on the probability distribution of the harmonic coupling constants and diverges in the limit of weak disorder. As a consequence, the moments $< m_ν(t)>$ of the energy distribution averaged with respect to disorder diverge in time as $t^{β(ν)}$ for $ν\geq 2$, where $β=ν+1-η$ for $ν>η-1$. Molecular dynamics simulations yield good agreement with these theoretical predictions. Therefore, in this system, the second moment of the wavepacket diverges as a function of time despite the wavepacket is not spreading. Thus, this only criteria often considered earlier as proving the spreading of a wave packet, cannot be considered as sufficient in any model. The anharmonic case is investigated numerically. It is found for intermediate disorder, that the tail of the energy profile becomes very close to those of the harmonic case. For weak and strong disorder, our results suggest that the crossover to the harmonic behavior occurs at much larger $|n-n_0|$ and larger time.

cond-mat.dis-nn

Transition density estimates for a class of Lévy and Lévy-type processes

We show on- and off-diagonal upper estimates for the transition densities of symmetric Levy and Levy-type processes. To get the an-diagonal estimates we prove a Nash type inequality for the related Dirichlet form. For the off-diagonal estimates we assume that the characteristic function of a Levy (type) process is analytic, which allows to apply the complex analysis technique.

math.PR

Anomalous Thermostat and Intraband Discrete Breathers

We investigate the dynamics of a macroscopic system which consists of an anharmonic subsystem embedded in an arbitrary harmonic lattice, including quenched disorder. Elimination of the harmonic degrees of freedom leads to a nonlinear Langevin equation for the anharmonic coordinates. For zero temperature, we prove that the support of the Fourier transform of the memory kernel and of the time averaged velocity-velocity correlations functions of the anharmonic system can not overlap. As a consequence, the asymptotic solutions can be constant, periodic,quasiperiodic or almost periodic, and possibly weakly chaotic. For a sinusoidal trajectory with frequency $Ω$ we find that the energy $E_T$ transferred to the harmonic system up to time $T$ is proportional to $T^α$. If $Ω$ equals one of the phonon frequencies $ω_ν$, it is $α=2$. We prove that there is a full measure set such that for $Ω$ in this set it is $α=0$, i.e. there is no energy dissipation. Under certain conditions there exists a zero measure set such that for $Ω\in this set the dissipation rate is nonzero and may be subdissipative $(0 \leq α< 1)$ or superdissipative $(1 <α\leq 2)$. Consequently, the harmonic bath does act as an anomalous thermostat. Intraband discrete breathers are such solutions which do not relax. We prove for arbitrary anharmonicity and small but finite coupling that intraband discrete breathers with frequency $Ω$ exist for all $Ω$ in a Cantor set $\mathcal{C}(k)$ of finite Lebesgue measure. This is achieved by estimating the contribution of small denominators appearing in the memory kernel. For $Ω\in\mathcal{C}(k)$ the small denominators do not lead to divergencies such that this kernel is a smooth and bounded function in $t$.

cond-mat.other

Effect of mixing and spatial dimension on the glass transition

We study the influence of composition changes on the glass transition of binary hard disc and hard sphere mixtures in the framework of mode coupling theory. We derive a general expression for the slope of a glass transition line. Applied to the binary mixture in the low concentration limits, this new method allows a fast prediction of some properties of the glass transition lines. The glass transition diagram we find for binary hard discs strongly resembles the random close packing diagram. Compared to 3D from previous studies, the extension of the glass regime due to mixing is much more pronounced in 2D where plasticization only sets in at larger size disparities. For small size disparities we find a stabilization of the glass phase quadratic in the deviation of the size disparity from unity.

cond-mat.soft

Location- and observation time-dependent quantum-tunneling

We investigate quantum tunneling in a translation invariant chain of particles. The particles interact harmonically with their nearest neighbors, except for one bond, which is anharmonic. It is described by a symmetric double well potential. In the first step, we show how the anharmonic coordinate can be separated from the normal modes. This yields a Lagrangian which has been used to study quantum dissipation. Elimination of the normal modes leads to a nonlocal action of Caldeira-Leggett type. If the anharmonic bond defect is in the bulk, one arrives at Ohmic damping, i.e. there is a transition of a delocalized bond state to a localized one if the elastic constant exceeds a critical value $C_{crit}$. The latter depends on the masses of the bond defect. Superohmic damping occurs if the bond defect is in the site $M$ at a finite distance from one of the chain ends. If the observation time $T$ is smaller than a characteristic time $τ_M \sim M$, depending on the location M of the defect, the behavior is similar to the bulk situation. However, for $T \gg τ_M$ tunneling is never suppressed.

cond-mat.other

Delocalization-Localization Transition due to Anharmonicity

Analytical and numerical calculations for a reduced Fermi-Pasta-Ulam chain demonstrate that energy localization does not require more than one conserved quantity. Clear evidence for the existence of a sharp delocalization-localization transition at a critical amplitude is given. Approaching the critical amplitude from above and below, diverging time scales occur. Above the critical amplitude, the energy packet converges towards a discrete breather. Nevertheless, ballistic energy transportation is present, demonstrating that its existence does not necessarily imply delocalization.

cond-mat.other

Using the etalon effect for in-situ balancing of the Advanced Virgo arm cavities

Several large-scale interferometric gravitational-wave detectors use resonant arm cavities to enhance the light power in the interferometer arms. These cavities are based on different optical designs: One design uses wedged input mirrors to create additional optical pick-off ports for deriving control signals. The second design employs input mirrors without wedge and thus offers the possibility to use the etalon effect inside the input mirrors for tuning the finesse of the arm cavities. In this article we introduce a concept of maximized flexibility that combines both of these options, by featuring wedges at the input mirrors and using the etalon effect instead in the end mirrors. We present a design for the arm cavities of Advanced Virgo. We have used numerical simulations to derive requirements for the manufacturing accuracy of an end mirror etalon for Advanced Virgo. Furthermore, we give analytical approximations for the achievable tuning range of the etalon in dependence on the reflectance, the curvature and the orientation of the etalon back surface.

gr-qc

Effect of environmental spins on Landau-Zener transitions

Landau-Zener (LZ) transitions of a two-level system (e. g., electronic spin in molecular magnets) coupled to one or many environmental spins (e. g., nuclear spins) are studied. For rather general interactions the LZ problem is reduced to that of a Landau-Zener grid. It is shown analytically that environmental spins initially in their ground state do not influence the staying probability P. This changes if they are prepared in a statistical ensemble. For a more specific model with environmental spins in a transverse field, LZ transitions are studied in the case of well-separated resonances in the LZ grid. The full evolution of the system is described as a succession of elemenary transitions at avoided crossings and free evolution between them. If the environmental spins are strongly coupled to the central spin, their effect on P is weak. In other cases LZ transitions are strongly suppressed and P is decreasing very slowly with the sweep-rate parameter epsilon ~ 1/v, v being the energy sweep rate.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Dynamics of uniaxial hard ellipsoids

We study the dynamics of monodisperse hard ellipsoids via a new event-driven molecular dynamics algorithm as a function of volume fraction $ϕ$ and aspect ratio $X_0$. We evaluate the translational $D_{trans}$ and the rotational $D_{rot}$ diffusion coefficient and the associated isodiffusivity lines in the $ϕ-X_0$ plane. We observe a decoupling of the translational and rotational dynamics which generates an almost perpendicular crossing of the $D_{trans}$ and $D_{rot}$ isodiffusivity lines. While the self intermediate scattering function exhibits stretched relaxation, i.e. glassy dynamics, only for large $ϕ$ and $X_0 \approx 1$, the second order orientational correlator $C_2(t)$ shows stretching only for large and small $X_0$ values. We discuss these findings in the context of a possible pre-nematic order driven glass transition.

cond-mat.soft

Dynamic Glass Transition in Two Dimensions

The question about the existence of a structural glass transition in two dimensions is studied using mode coupling theory (MCT). We determine the explicit d-dependence of the memory functional of mode coupling for one-component systems. Applied to two dimensions we solve the MCT equations numerically for monodisperse hard discs. A dynamic glass transition is found at a critical packing fraction phi_c^{d=2} = 0.697 which is above phi_c^{d=3} = 0.516 by about 35%. phi^d_c scales approximately with phi^d_{\rm rcp} the value for random close packing, at least for d=2, 3. Quantities characterizing the local, cooperative 'cage motion' do not differ much for d=2 and d=3, and we e.g. find the Lindemann criterion for the localization length at the glass transition. The final relaxation obeys the superposition principle, collapsing remarkably well onto a Kohlrausch law. The d=2 MCT results are in qualitative agreement with existing results from MC and MD simulations. The mean squared displacements measured experimentally for a quasi-two-dimensional binary system of dipolar hard spheres can be described satisfactorily by MCT for monodisperse hard discs over four decades in time provided the experimental control parameter Gamma (which measures the strength of dipolar interactions) and the packing fraction phi are properly related to each other.

cond-mat.soft