arXiv subjects

Roberto Onofrio

Publications and source records attributed to Roberto Onofrio.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Muonic hydrogen as a quantum gravimeter

High precision spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen has recently led to an anomaly in the Lamb shift, which has been parametrized in terms of a proton charge radius differing by seven standard deviations from the CODATA value. We show how this anomaly may be explained, within about a factor of three, in the framework of an effective Yukawian gravitational potential related to charged weak interactions, without additional free parameters with respect to the ones of the standard model. The residual discrepancy from the experimental result in this model should be attributable to the approximations introduced in the calculation, the uncertainty in the exact value of the Fermi scale relevant to the model and the lack of detailed knowledge on the gravitational radius of the proton. The latter cannot be inferred with electromagnetic probes due to the unknown gluonic contribution to the proton mass distribution. In this context, we argue that muonic hydrogen acts like a microscopic gravimeter suitable for testing a possible scenario for the reciprocal morphing between macroscopic gravitation and weak interactions, with the latter seen as the quantum, microscopic counterpart of the former.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

On weak interactions as short-distance manifestations of gravity

We conjecture that weak interactions are peculiar manifestations of quantum gravity at the Fermi scale, and that the Fermi constant is related to the Newtonian constant of gravitation.In this framework one may understand the violations of fundamental symmetries by the weak interactions, in particular parity violations, as due to fluctuations of the spacetime geometry at a Planck scale coinciding with the Fermi scale. As a consequence, gravitational phenomena should play a more important role in the microworld, and experimental settings are suggested to test this hypothesis.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

High-energy density implications of a gravitoweak unification scenario

We discuss how a scenario recently proposed for the morphing of macroscopic gravitation into weak interactions at the attometer scale affects our current understanding of high-energy density phenomena. We find that the Yukawa couplings of the fundamental fermions are directly related to their event horizons, setting an upper bound $y_f\leq \sqrt{2}$ for their observability through gauge interactions. Particles with larger Yukawa couplings are not precluded, but should interact only gravitationally, providing a natural candidate for dark matter. Furthermore, the quantum vacuum contribution to the cosmological constant is reduced by several orders of magnitude with respect to the current estimates. The expected running of the Newtonian gravitational constant could provide a viable alternative scenario to the inflationary stage of the Universe.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2014

Search for Higgs shifts in white dwarfs

We report on a search for differential shifts between electronic and vibronic transitions in carbon-rich white dwarfs BPM 27606 and Procyon B. The absence of differential shifts within the spectral resolution and taking into account systematic effects such as space motion and pressure shifts allows us to set the first upper bound of astrophysical origin on the coupling between the Higgs field and the Kreschmann curvature invariant. Our analysis provides the basis for a more general methodology to derive bounds to the coupling of long-range scalar fields to curvature invariants in an astrophysical setting complementary to the ones available from high-energy physics or table-top experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Proton radius puzzle and quantum gravity at the Fermi scale

We show how the "proton radius puzzle" emerging from the measurement of the Lamb shift in muonic hydrogen may be solved by means of a binding energy contribution due to an effective Yukawian gravitational potential related to charged weak interactions. The residual discrepancy from the experimental result should be mainly attributable to the need for the experimental determination of the gravitational radius of the proton. The absence of an analogous contribution in the Lamb shift of electronic hydrogen should imply the existence of generation-dependent interactions, corroborating previous proposals. Muonic hydrogen plays a crucial role to test possible scenarios for a gravitoweak unification, with weak interactions seen as manifestations of quantum gravity effects at the Fermi scale.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Comprehensive rate coefficients for electron collision induced transitions in hydrogen

Energy-changing electron-hydrogen atom collisions are crucial to regulating the energy balance in astrophysical and laboratory plasmas and relevant to the formation of stellar atmospheres, recombination in H-II clouds, primordial recombination, three-body recombination and heating in ultracold and fusion plasmas. Computational modeling of electron-hydrogen collision has been attempted through quantum mechanical scattering state-to-state calculations of transitions involving low-lying energy levels in hydrogen (with principal quantum number n < 7) and at large principal quantum numbers using classical trajectory techniques. Analytical expressions are proposed which interpolates the current quantum mechanical and classical trajectory results for electron-hydrogen scattering in the entire range of energy levels, for nearly all temperature range of interest in astrophysical environments. An asymptotic expression for the Born cross-section is interpolated with a modified expression derived previously for electron-hydrogen scattering in the Rydberg regime using classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations. The derived formula is compared to existing numerical data for transitions involving low principal quantum numbers, and the dependence of the deviations upon temperature is discussed.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2013

Neutrino mass variability due to nonminimal coupling to spacetime curvature in neutrinophilic two-Higgs-doublet models

In neutrinophilic two-Higgs-doublet models, neutrinos acquire mass due to a Higgs field with vacuum expectation value of the order of 10^{-2} eV, corresponding to a Compton wavelength in the 10 micrometer range. This creates a situation in which nonminimal couplings between Higgs fields and spacetime curvature may lead to novel observable effects. Among these, we discuss the possibility of variable neutrino masses, with implications for the dependence of the neutrino oscillation frequency on the spacetime curvature, a further source of dispersion of the neutrino arrival times from supernovae events, and possibly also a mechanism leading to gravitationally-induced neutrino superluminality. Finally, we propose laboratory-scale experiments in which properly designed electroweak cavities may be used to change neutrino masses, which should be observable through time of flight experiments.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2013

Gravitational vacuum polarization phenomena due to the Higgs field

In the standard model the mass of elementary particles is considered as a dynamical property emerging from their interaction with the Higgs field. We show that this assumption implies peculiar deviations from the law of universal gravitation in its distance and mass dependence, as well as from the superposition principle. The experimental observation of the predicted deviations from the law of universal gravitation seems out of reach. However, we argue that a new class of experiments aimed at studying the influence of surrounding masses on the gravitational force - similar to the ones performed by Quirino Majorana almost a century ago - could be performed to test the superposition principle and to give direct limits on the presence of non-minimal couplings between the Higgs field and the spacetime curvature. From the conceptual viewpoint, the violation of the superposition principle for gravitational forces due to the Higgs field creates a conflict with the notion that gravitational potentials, as assumed in Newtonian gravitation or in post-Newtonian parameterizations of metric theories, are well-defined concepts to describe gravity in their non-relativistic limit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Optimized sympathetic cooling of atomic mixtures via fast adiabatic strategies

We discuss fast frictionless cooling techniques in the framework of sympathetic cooling of cold atomic mixtures. It is argued that optimal cooling of an atomic species - in which the deepest quantum degeneracy regime is achieved - may be obtained by means of sympathetic cooling with another species whose trapping frequency is dynamically changed to maintain constancy of the Lewis-Riesenfeld adiabatic invariant. Advantages and limitations of this cooling strategy are discussed, with particular regard to the possibility of cooling Fermi gases to a deeper degenerate regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2011

Edge effects in electrostatic calibrations for the measurement of the Casimir force

We have performed numerical simulations to evaluate the effect on the capacitance of finite size boundaries realistically present in the parallel plane, sphere-plane, and cylinder-plane geometries. The potential impact of edge effects in assessing the accuracy of the parameters obtained in the electrostatic calibrations of Casimir force experiments is then discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Macroscopic quantum vacuum and microscopic gravitation

Macroscopic quantum vacuum and modern theories of gravitation share the strong interplay between geometry and physical phenomena. We review selected issues related to the accuracy of the measurement of Casimir forces with particular emphasis on the implications for the search of non-Newtonian gravitational forces in the micrometer range. We then discuss the interplay of the Higgs particle with gravitation, arguing that spectroscopic shifts in atomic transitions due to the modifications of the vacuum expectation value of the Higgs field in regions with strong curvature of space-time may be of conceptual and observational relevance.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2010

Higgs-induced spectroscopic shifts near strong gravity sources

We explore the consequences of the mass generation due to the Higgs field in strong gravity astrophysical environments. The vacuum expectation value of the Higgs field is predicted to depend on the curvature of spacetime, potentially giving rise to peculiar spectroscopic shifts, named hereafter "Higgs shifts." Higgs shifts could be searched through dedicated multiwavelength and multispecies surveys with high spatial and spectral resolution near strong gravity sources such as Sagittarius A* or broad searches for signals due to primordial black holes. The possible absence of Higgs shifts in these surveys should provide limits to the coupling between the Higgs particle and the curvature of spacetime, a topic of interest for a recently proposed Higgs-driven inflationary model. We discuss some conceptual issues regarding the coexistence between the Higgs mechanism and gravity, especially for their different handling of fundamental and composite particles.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Equilibrium states of a test particle coupled to finite size heat baths

We report on numerical simulations of the dynamics of a test particle coupled to competing Boltzmann heat baths of finite size. After discussing some features of the single bath case, we show that the presence of two heat baths further constraints the conditions necessary for the test particle to thermalize with the heat baths. We find that thermalization is a spectral property in which the oscillators of the bath with frequencies in the range of the test particle characteristic frequency determine its degree of thermalization. We also find an unexpected frequency shift of the test particle response with respect to the spectra of the two heat baths. Finally, we discuss implications of our results for the study of high-frequency nanomechanical resonators through cold damping cooling techniques, and for engineering reservoirs capable of mitigating the back-action on a mechanical system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Are quantum measurements on macroscopic bodies feasible?

The possibility to test quantum measurement theories is discussed in the more phenomenological framework of the quantum nondemolition theory. A simple test of the hypothesis of the state vector collapse is proposed by looking for deviations from the Boltzmann distribution of the energy associated to only one complex amplitude of a macroscopic harmonic oscillator.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Electron barrier interaction in a vacuum tunneling probe

A model for dealing with energy and momentum exchanges between ballistic electrons in a vacuum barrier in a tunneling probe used as an electromechanical transducer is studied and its physical significance in devices of size comparable to the mean free path of the tunneling electrons is discussed

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Uncertainty-principle noise in vacuum-tunneling transducers

The fundamental sources of noise in a vacuum-tunneling probe used as an electromechanical transducer to monitor the location of a test mass are examined using a first-quantization formalism. We show that a tunneling transducer enforces the Heisenberg uncertainty principle for the position and momentum of a test mass monitored by the transducer through the presence of two sources of noise: the shot noise of the tunneling current and the momentum fluctuations transferred by the tunneling electrons to the test mass. We analyze a number of cases including symmetric and asymmetric rectangular potential barriers and a barrier in which there is a constant electric field. Practical configurations for reaching the quantum limit in measurements of the position of macroscopic bodies with such a class of transducers are studied.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Quantum limit in resonant vacuum tunneling transducers

We propose an electromechanical transducer based on a resonant-tunneling configuration that, with respect to the standard tunneling transducers, allows larger tunneling currents while using the same bias voltage. The increased current leads to an increase of the shot noise and an increase of the momentum noise which determine the quantum limit in the system under monitoring. Experiments with micromachined masses at 4.2 K could show dominance of the momentum noise over the Brownian noise, allowing observation of the quantum-mechanical noise at the mesoscopic scale.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

On the use of the proximity force approximation for deriving limits to short-range gravitational-like interactions from sphere-plane Casimir force experiments

We discuss the role of the proximity force approximation in deriving limits to the existence of Yukawian forces - predicted in the submillimeter range by many unification models - from Casimir force experiments using the sphere-plane geometry. Two forms of this approximation are discussed, the first used in most analyses of the residuals from the Casimir force experiments performed so far, and the second recently discussed in this context in R. Decca et al. [Phys. Rev. D 79, 124021 (2009)]. We show that the former form of the proximity force approximation overestimates the expected Yukawa force and that the relative deviation from the exact Yukawa force is of the same order of magnitude, in the realistic experimental settings, as the relative deviation expected between the exact Casimir force and the Casimir force evaluated in the proximity force approximation. This implies both a systematic shift making the actual limits to the Yukawa force weaker than claimed so far, and a degree of uncertainty in the alpha-lambda plane related to the handling of the various approximations used in the theory for both the Casimir and the Yukawa forces. We further argue that the recently discussed form for the proximity force approximation is equivalent, for a geometry made of a generic object interacting with an infinite planar slab, to the usual exact integration of any additive two-body interaction, without any need to invoke approximation schemes. If the planar slab is of finite size, an additional source of systematic error arises due to the breaking of the planar translational invariance of the system, and we finally discuss to what extent this may affect limits obtained on power-law and Yukawa forces.

quant-ph↗