arXiv subjects

S. Vaidya

Publications and source records attributed to S. Vaidya.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Single-ion anisotropy driven chiral magnetic order in a spin-1 antiferromagnetic chain

Chirality in magnetic systems gives rise to a wide range of exotic phenomena, yet its influence in $S=1$ chains remains largely unexplored. Here, we present a comprehensive experimental study of a chiral antiferromagnetic (AFM) $S=1$ chain, [Ni(pym)(H$_{2}$O)$_{4}$]SO$_{4} \cdot$ H$_{2}$O (pym = pyrimidine), where the Ni(II) octahedral orientation exhibits a four-fold chiral periodicity. Muon spin rotation measurements indicate the onset of long-range magnetic order below $T_{\rm N} = 1.82(2)\,\mathrm{K}$. Neutron diffraction measurements reveal a chiral AFM order driven by a chiral modulation of the easy-axis anisotropy direction, rather than the typical scenario of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions, geometrical frustration or higher-order interactions. Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements reveal dispersive spin-wave excitations well described by linear spin-wave theory, with Hamiltonian parameters $J_{0} = 6.81(1)\,\mathrm{K}$ (intrachain exchange), $J'_{1\rm a} = -0.091(1)\,\mathrm{K}$ (interchain exchange), and $D = -3.02(1)\,\mathrm{K}$ (easy-axis single-ion anisotropy). These parameters are further validated by Monte Carlo simulations of the magnetisation. Additionally, the INS data reveal multiple dispersionless bands, suggesting the presence of further excitations beyond the scope of our linear spin-wave theory.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Magnetic properties of a staggered $S=1$ chain Ni(pym)(H$_{2}$O)$_{2}$(NO$_{3}$)$_{2}$ with an alternating single-ion anisotropy direction

Materials composed of spin-1 antiferromagnetic (AFM) chains are known to adopt complex ground states which are sensitive to the single-ion-anisotropy (SIA) energy ($D$), and intrachain ($J_{0}$) and interchain ($J'_{i}$) exchange energy scales. While theoretical and experimental studies have extended this model to include various other energy scales, the effect of the lack of a common SIA axis is not well explored. Here we investigate the magnetic properties of Ni(pyrimidine)(H$_{2}$O)$_{2}$(NO$_{3}$)$_{2}$, a chain compound where the tilting of Ni octahedra leads to a 2-fold alternation of the easy-axis directions along the chain. Muon-spin relaxation measurements indicate a transition to long-range order at $T_{\text{N}}=2.3$\,K and the magnetic structure is initially determined to be antiferromagnetic and collinear using elastic neutron diffraction experiments. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements were used to find $J_{0} = 5.107(7)$\,K, $D = 2.79(1)$\,K, $J'_{2}=0.18(3)$\,K and a rhombic anisotropy energy $E=0.19(9)$\,K. Mean-field modelling reveals that the ground state structure hosts spin canting of $\phi\approx6.5^{\circ}$, which is not detectable above the noise floor of the elastic neutron diffraction data. Monte-Carlo simulation of the powder-averaged magnetization, $M(H)$, is then used to confirm these Hamiltonian parameters, while single-crystal $M(H)$ simulations provide insight into features observed in the data.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Pseudo-easy-axis anisotropy in antiferromagnetic $S=1$ diamond-lattice systems Ni$X_{2}$(pym)$_{2}$

We investigate the magnetic properties of $S=1$ antiferromagnetic diamond lattice, Ni$X_{2}$(pyrimidine)$_{2}$ ($X$ = Cl, Br), hosting a single-ion anisotropy (SIA) orientation which alternates between neighbouring sites. Through neutron diffraction measurements of the $X$ = Cl compound, the ordered state spins are found to align collinearly along a pseudo-easy-axis, a unique direction created by the intersection of two easy planes. Similarities in the magnetization, exhibiting spin-flop transitions, and the magnetic susceptibility in the two compounds imply that the same magnetic structure and a pseudo-easy-axis is also present for $X$ = Br. We estimate the Hamiltonian parameters by combining analytical calculations and Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations of the spin-flop and saturation field. The MC simulations also reveal that the spin-flop transition occurs when the applied field is parallel to the pseudo-easy-axis. Contrary to conventional easy-axis systems, there exist field directions perpendicular to the pseudo-easy-axis for which the magnetic saturation is approached asymptotically and no symmetry-breaking phase transition is observed at finite fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Development and analysis of novel mission scenarios based on Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP)

Operating satellites in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) benefits the already expanding New Space industry in applications including Earth Observation and beyond. However, long-term operations at such low altitudes require propulsion systems to compensate for the large aerodynamic drag forces. When using conventional propulsion systems, the amount of storable propellant limits the maximum mission lifetime. The latter can be avoided by employing Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) system, which collects the residual atmospheric particles and uses them as propellant for an electric thruster. Thus, the requirement of on-board propellant storage can ideally be nullified. At the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the University of Stuttgart, an intake, and a RF Helicon-based Plasma Thruster (IPT) for ABEP system are developed within the Horizons 2020 funded DISCOVERER project. In order to assess possible future use cases, this paper proposes and analyzes several novel ABEP based mission scenarios. Beginning with technology demonstration mission in VLEO, more complex mission scenarios are derived and discussed in detail. These include, amongst others, orbit maintenance around Mars as well as refuelling and space tug missions. The results show that the ABEP system is not only able to compensate drag for orbit maintenance but also capable of performing orbital maneuvers and collect propellant for applications such as Space Tug and Refuelling. Thus, showing a multitude of different future mission applications.

physics.space-ph↗

arXiv2022

Review of Twisted Poincare Symmetry

This article reviews the construction and some applications of twisted Poincare-covariant quantum fields on the Moyal plane. The Drinfeld twist, which plays a key mathematical role in this construction, is then applied to the case of discrete groups, with a view to applications to geons in quantum gravity. The Poincare-twisted fields can also be applied to study the CMB anisotropies, and corrections to the power spectrum are used to put constraints on spacetime noncommutativity. The article also addresses the issue of the difference between Moyal and Voros quantum fields. Finally, it is pointed out that the Euclidean functional integrals of QFTs on the Moyal plane do not, in general, obey reflection positivity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Superselection, Boundary Algebras and Duality in Gauge Theories

We consider the generators of gauge transformations with test functions which do not vanish on the boundary of a spacelike region of interest. These are known to generate the edge degrees of freedom in a gauge theory. In this paper, we augment these by introducing the dual or magnetic analogue of such operators. We then study the algebra of these operators, focusing on implications for the superselection sectors of the gauge theory. A manifestly duality-invariant action is also considered, from which alternate descriptions which are $SL(2, \mathbb{Z})$ transforms of each other can be obtained. We also comment on a number of issues related to local charges, definition of confinement and the appearance of interesting mathematical structures such as the Drinfel'd double and the Manin triple.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Uncertainties in Quantum Measurements: A Quantum Tomography

The observables associated with a quantum system $S$ form a non-commutative algebra ${\mathcal A}_S$. It is assumed that a density matrix $\rho$ can be determined from the expectation values of observables. But $\mathcal A_S$ admits inner automorphisms $a\mapsto uau^{-1},\; a,u\in {\mathcal A}_S$, $u^*u=u^*u=1$, so that its individual elements can be identified only up to unitary transformations. So since $\mathrm{Tr} \rho (uau^*)= \mathrm{Tr} (u^*\rho u)a$, only the spectrum of $\rho$, or its characteristic polynomial, can be determined in quantum mechanics. In local quantum field theory, $\rho$ cannot be determined at all, as we shall explain. However, abelian algebras do not have inner automorphisms, so the measurement apparatus can determine mean values of observables in abelian algebras ${\mathcal A}_M\subset {\mathcal A}_S$ ($M$ for measurement, $S$ for system). We study the uncertainties in extending $\rho|_{{\mathcal A}_M}$ to $\rho|_{{\mathcal A}_S}$ (the determination of which means measurement of ${\mathcal A}_S$) and devise a protocol to determine $\rho|_{{\mathcal A}_S}\equiv \rho$ by determining $\rho|_{{\mathcal A}_M}$ for different choices of ${\mathcal A}_M$. The problem we formulate and study is a generalization of the Kadison-Singer theorem. We give an example where the system $S$ is a particle on a circle and the experiment measures the abelian algebra of a magnetic field $B$ coupled to $S$. The measurement of $B$ gives information about the state $\rho$ of the system $S$ due to operator mixing. Associated uncertainty principles for von Neumann entropy are discussed in the appendix, adapting the earlier work of Bia{\l}ynicki-Birula and Mycielski to the present case.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Spontaneous Lorentz Violation: The Case of Infrared QED

It is by now clear that infrared sector of QED has an intriguingly complex structure. Based on earlier pioneering works on this subject, two of us recently proposed a simple modification of QED by constructing a generalization of the $U(1)$ charge group of QED to the "Sky" group incorporating the known spontaneous Lorentz violation due to infrared photons, but still compatible in particular with locality. There it was shown that the "Sky" group is generated by the algebra of angle dependent charges and a study of its superselection sectors has revealed a manifest description of spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry. We further elaborate this approach here and investigate in some detail the properties of charged particles dressed by the infrared photons. We find that Lorentz violation due to soft photons may be manifestly codified in an angle dependent fermion mass modifying therefore the fermion dispersion relations. The fact that the masses of the charged particles are not Lorentz invariant affects their spin content too.Time dilation formulae for decays should also get corrections. We speculate that these effects could be measured possibly in muon decay experiments.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Spontaneous Lorentz Violation in Gauge Theories

Frohlich, Morchio and Strocchi long ago proved that Lorentz invariance is spontaneously broken in QED because of infrared effects. We develop a simple model where consequences of this breakdown can be explicitly and easily calculated. For this purpose, the superselected U(1) charge group of QED is extended to a superselected "Sky" group containing direction-dependent gauge transformations at infinity. It is the analog of the Spi group of gravity. As Lorentz transformations do not commute with Sky, they are spontaneously broken. These abelian considerations and model are extended to non-Abelian gauge symmetries. Basic issues regarding the observability of twisted non-Abelian gauge symmetries and of the asymptotic ADM symmetries of quantum gravity are raised.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Quantum Entropic Ambiguities: Ethylene

In a quantum system, there may be many density matrices associated with a state on an algebra of observables. For each density matrix, one can compute its entropy. These are in general different. Therefore one reaches the remarkable possibility that there may be many entropies for a given state [Private communication from R. Sorkin]. This ambiguity in entropy can often be traced to a gauge symmetry emergent from the non-trivial topological character of the configuration space of the underlying system. It can also happen in finite-dimensional matrix models. In the present work, we discuss this entropy ambiguity and its consequences for an ethylene molecule. This is a very simple and well-known system where these notions can be put to tests. Besides its intrinsic conceptual interest, the simplicity of this model can serve as an introduction to a similar discussion of systems such as coloured monopoles and the breaking of colour symmetry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Entropy of Quantum States: Ambiguities

The von Neumann entropy of a generic quantum state is not unique unless the state can be uniquely decomposed as a sum of extremal or pure states. As pointed out to us by Sorkin, this happens if the GNS representation (of the algebra of observables in some quantum state) is reducible, and some representations in the decomposition occur with non-trivial degeneracy. This non-unique entropy can occur at zero temperature. We will argue elsewhere in detail that the degeneracies in the GNS representation can be interpreted as an emergent broken gauge symmetry, and play an important role in the analysis of emergent entropy due to non-Abelian anomalies. Finally, we establish the analogue of an H-theorem for this entropy by showing that its evolution is Markovian, determined by a stochastic matrix.

hep-th↗

arXiv2012

Quantum Physics and Fluctuating Topologies: Survey

The spin-statistics connection, quantum gravity and other physical considerations suggest that classical space-time topology is not an immutable attribute and can change in quantum physics. The implementation of topology change using quantum principles has been studied for over two decades by a few of us. There has been a recent revival of interest in some of our work, dating back to as early as 1995. The present paper is meant as a resource article to our major relevant papers. It contains summaries of the contents of the cited papers and the corresponding links wherever available.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

QED on the Groenewold Moyal Plane

We investigate a version of noncommutative QED where the interaction term, although natural, breaks the spin-statistics connection. We calculate $e^- + e^- -> e^- + e^-$ and $γ+ e^- -> γ+ e^-$ cross-sections in the tree approximation and explicitly display their dependence on theta^{μν}. Remarkably the zero of the elastic $e^- + e^- -> e^- + e^-$ cross-section at 90-degrees in the center-of-mass system, which is due to Pauli principle, is shifted away as a function of theta^{μν} and energy.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Quantum entanglement in a non-commutative system

We explore the effect of two-dimensional position-space non-commutativity on the bipartite entanglement of continuous variable systems. We first extend the standard symplectic framework for studying entanglement of Gaussian states of commutative systems to the case of non-commutative systems residing in two dimensions. Using the positive partial transpose criterion for separability of bipartite states we derive a new condition on the separability of a non-commutative system that is dependent on the noncommutative parameter $θ$. We then consider the specific example of a bipartite Gaussian state and show the quantitative reduction of entanglement originating from non-commutative dynamics. We show that such a reduction of entanglement for a non-commutative system arising from the modification of the variances of the phase space variables (uncertainty relations) is clearly manifested between two particles that are separated by small distances.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2009

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking in Twisted Noncommutative Quantum Theories

We analyse aspects of symmetry breaking for Moyal spacetimes within a quantisation scheme which preserves the twisted Poincaré symmetry. Towards this purpose, we develop the LSZ approach for Moyal spacetimes. The latter gives a formula for scattering amplitudes on these spacetimes which can be obtained from the corresponding ones on the commutative spacetime. This formula applies in the presence of spontaneous breakdown of symmetries as well.We also derive Goldstone's theorem on Moyal spacetime. The formalism developed here can be directly applied to the twisted standard model.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Spectrum of the non-commutative spherical well

We give precise meaning to piecewise constant potentials in non-commutative quantum mechanics. In particular we discuss the infinite and finite non-commutative spherical well in two dimensions. Using this, bound-states and scattering can be discussed unambiguously. Here we focus on the infinite well and solve for the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. We find that time reversal symmetry is broken by the non-commutativity. We show that in the commutative and thermodynamic limits the eigenstates and eigenfunctions of the commutative spherical well are recovered and time reversal symmetry is restored.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Twisted Gauge and Gravity Theories on the Groenewold-Moyal Plane

Recent work [hep-th/0504183,hep-th/0508002] indicates an approach to the formulation of diffeomorphism invariant quantum field theories (qft's) on the Groenewold-Moyal (GM) plane. In this approach to the qft's, statistics gets twisted and the S-matrix in the non-gauge qft's becomes independent of the noncommutativity parameter theta^{μν}. Here we show that the noncommutative algebra has a commutative spacetime algebra as a substructure: the Poincare, diffeomorphism and gauge groups are based on this algebra in the twisted approach as is known already from the earlier work of [hep-th/0510059]. It is natural to base covariant derivatives for gauge and gravity fields as well on this algebra. Such an approach will in particular introduce no additional gauge fields as compared to the commutative case and also enable us to treat any gauge group (and not just U(N)). Then classical gravity and gauge sectors are the same as those for θ^{μν}=0, but their interactions with matter fields are sensitive to theta^{μν}. We construct quantum noncommutative gauge theories (for arbitrary gauge groups) by requiring consistency of twisted statistics and gauge invariance. In a subsequent paper (whose results are summarized here), the locality and Lorentz invariance properties of the S-matrices of these theories will be analyzed, and new non-trivial effects coming from noncommutativity will be elaborated. This paper contains further developments of [hep-th/0608138] and a new formulation based on its approach.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

S-Matrix on the Moyal Plane: Locality versus Lorentz Invariance

Twisted quantum field theories on the Groenewold-Moyal plane are known to be non-local. Despite this non-locality, it is possible to define a generalized notion of causality. We show that interacting quantum field theories that involve only couplings between matter fields, or between matter fields and minimally coupled U(1) gauge fields are causal in this sense. On the other hand, interactions between matter fields and non-abelian gauge fields violate this generalized causality. We derive the modified Feynman rules emergent from these features. They imply that interactions of matter with non-abelian gauge fields are not Lorentz- and CPT-invariant.

hep-th↗