Abstract: BMS+ transformations act nontrivially on outgoing gravitational scattering data while preserving intrinsic structure at future null infinity (I+). BMS- transformations similarly act on ingoing data at past null infinity (I-). In this paper we apply - within a suitable finite neighborhood of the Minkowski vacuum - results of Christodoulou and Klainerman to link I+ to I- and thereby identify "diagonal" elements BMS0 of (BMS+)X(BMS-). We argue that BMS0 is a nontrivial infinite-dimensional symmetry of both classical gravitational scattering and the quantum gravity S-matrix. It implies the conservation of net accumulated energy flux at every angle on the conformal S2 at I+. The associated Ward identity is shown to relate S-matrix elements with and without soft gravitons. Finally, BMS0 is recast as a U(1) Kac-Moody symmetry and an expression for the Kac-Moody current is given in terms of a certain soft graviton operator on the boundary of null infinity.

Abstract: The Koopman operator provides a powerful way of analysing nonlinear flow dynamics using linear techniques. The operator defines how observables evolve in time along a nonlinear flow trajectory. In this paper, we perform a Koopman analysis of the first Hopf bifurcation of the flow past a circular cylinder. First, we decompose the flow into a sequence of Koopman modes, where each mode evolves in time with one single frequency/growth rate and amplitude/phase, corresponding to the complex eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the Koopman operator, respectively. The analytical construction of these modes shows how the amplitudes and phases of nonlinear global modes oscillating with the vortex shedding frequency or its harmonics evolve as the flow develops and later sustains self-excited oscillations. Second, we compute the dynamic modes using the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) algorithm, which fits a linear combination of exponential terms to a sequence of snapshots spaced equally in time. It is shown that under certain conditions the DMD algorithm approximates Koopman modes, and hence provides a viable method to decompose the flow into saturated and transient oscillatory modes. Finally, the relevance of the analysis to frequency selection, global modes and shift modes is discussed.

Abstract: The frequency dependent phonon Boltzmann equation is transformed to an integral equation over the irreducible part of the Brillouin zone. Simultaneous diagonalization of the collision kernel of that equation and a symmetry crystal class operator allow us to obtain a spectral representation of the lattice thermal conductivity valid at finite frequency. Combining this approach with density functional calculations, an ab initio dynamical thermal conductivity is obtained for the first time. The static thermal conductivity is also obtained as a particular case. The method is applied to C, Si, and Mg2Si and excellent agreement is obtained with the available static thermal conductivity measurements.

Abstract: We introduce mapping-variable ring polymer molecular dynamics (MV-RPMD), a model dynamics for the direct simulation of multi-electron processes. An extension of the RPMD idea, this method is based on an exact, imaginary time path-integral representation of the quantum Boltzmann operator using continuous Cartesian variables for both electronic states and nuclear degrees of freedom. We demonstrate the accuracy of the MV-RPMD approach in calculations of real-time, thermal correlation functions for a range of two-state single-mode model systems with different coupling strengths and asymmetries. Further, we show that the ensemble of classical trajectories employed in these simulations preserves the Boltzmann distribution and provides a direct probe into real-time coupling between electronic state transitions and nuclear dynamics.

Abstract: We introduce mapping-variable ring polymer molecular dynamics (MV-RPMD), a model dynamics for the direct simulation of multi-electron processes. An extension of the RPMD idea, this method is based on an exact, imaginary time path-integral representation of the quantum Boltzmann operator using continuous Cartesian variables for both electronic states and nuclear degrees of freedom. We demonstrate the accuracy of the MV-RPMD approach in calculations of real-time, thermal correlation functions for a range of two-state single-mode model systems with different coupling strengths and asymmetries. Further, we show that the ensemble of classical trajectories employed in these simulations preserves the Boltzmann distribution and provides a direct probe into real-time coupling between electronic state transitions and nuclear dynamics.

Abstract: The conditions of the integrability of general zero range chipping models with factorized steady states, which were proposed in Evans et al (2004 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 37 L275), are examined. We find a three-parametric family of hopping probabilities for the models solvable by the Bethe ansatz, which includes most of known integrable stochastic particle models as limiting cases. The solution is based on the quantum binomial formula for two elements of an associative algebra obeying generic homogeneous quadratic relations, which is proved as a byproduct. We use the Bethe ansatz to solve an eigenproblem for the transition matrix of the Markov process. On its basis, we conjecture an integral formula for the Green function of the evolution operator for the model on an infinite lattice and derive the Bethe equations for the spectrum of the model on a ring.

Abstract: We employ holographic techniques to study quantum quenches at finite temperature, where the quenches involve varying the coupling of the boundary theory to a relevant operator with an arbitrary conformal dimension 2 ≤ Δ ≤ 4. The dual bulk theory is five-dimensional Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant coupled to a massive real scalar and our calculations are perturbative in the amplitude of the bulk scalar. The evolution of the system is studied by evaluating the expectation value of the quenched operator and the stress tensor throughout the process. The time dependence of the new coupling is characterized by a fixed timescale and the response of the observables depends on the ratio of the this timescale to the initial temperature. The observables exhibit universal scaling behaviours when the transitions are either fast or slow, i.e., when this ratio is very small or very large. The scaling exponents are smooth functions of the operator dimension. We find that in fast quenches, the relaxation time is set by the thermal timescale regardless of the operator dimension or the precise quenching rate.

Abstract: We investigate the low-energy excitation spectrum of a Bose gas confined in a trap, with weak long-range repulsive interactions. In particular, we prove that the spectrum can be described in terms of the eigenvalues of an effective one-particle operator, as predicted by the Bogoliubov approximation.

Abstract: Gauge-flation is a recently proposed model in which inflation is driven solely by a non-Abelian gauge field thanks to a specific higher order derivative operator. The nature of the operator is such that it does not introduce ghosts. We compute the cosmological scalar and tensor perturbations for this model, improving over an existing computation. We then confront these results with the Planck data. The model is characterized by the quantity γ ≡ g2Q2/H2 (where g is the gauge coupling constant, Q the vector vev, and H the Hubble rate). For γ < 2, the scalar perturbations show a strong tachyonic instability. In the stable region, the scalar power spectrum ns is too low at small γ, while the tensor-to-scalar ratio r is too high at large γ. No value of γ leads to acceptable values for ns and r, and so the model is ruled out by the CMB data. The same behavior with γ was obtained in Chromo-natural inflation, a model in which inflation is driven by a pseudo-scalar coupled to a non-Abelian gauge field. When the pseudo-scalar can be integrated out, one recovers the model of Gauge-flation plus corrections. It was shown that this identification is very accurate at the background level, but differences emerged in the literature concerning the perturbations of the two models. On the contrary, our results show that the analogy between the two models continues to be accurate also at the perturbative level.

Abstract: We present a non-supersymmetric theory with a naturally light dilaton. It is based on a 5D holographic description of a conformal theory perturbed by a close-to-marginal operator of dimension 4-epsilon, which develops a condensate. As long as the dimension of the perturbing operator remains very close to marginal (even for large couplings) a stable minimum at hierarchically small scales is achieved, where the dilaton mass squared is suppressed by epsilon. At the same time the cosmological constant in this sector is also suppressed by epsilon, and thus parametrically smaller than in a broken SUSY theory. As a byproduct we also present an exact solution to the scalar-gravity system that can be interpreted as a new holographic realization of spontaneously broken conformal symmetry. Even though this metric deviates substantially from AdS space in the deep IR it still describes a non-linearly realized exactly conformal theory. We also display the effective potential for the dilaton for arbitrary holographic backgrounds.

Abstract: Gauge-flation is a recently proposed model in which inflation is driven solely by a non-Abelian gauge field thanks to a specific higher order derivative operator. The nature of the operator is such that it does not introduce ghosts. We compute the cosmological scalar and tensor perturbations for this model, improving over an existing computation. We then confront these results with the Planck data. The model is characterized by the quantity \gamma = (g^2 Q^2)/H^2 (where g is the gauge coupling constant, Q the vector vev, and H the Hubble rate). For \gamma < 2, the scalar perturbations show a strong tachyonic instability. In the stable region, the scalar power spectrum n_s is too low at small \gamma, while the tensor-to-scalar ratio r is too high at large \gamma. No value of \gamma leads to acceptable values for n_s and r, and so the model is ruled out by the CMB data. The same behavior with \gamma was obtained in Chromo-natural inflation, a model in which inflation is driven by a pseudo-scalar coupled to a non-Abelian gauge field. When the pseudo-scalar can be integrated out, one recovers the model of Gauge-flation plus corrections. It was shown that this identification is very accurate at the background level, but differences emerged in the literature concerning the perturbations of the two models. On the contrary, our results show that the analogy between the two models continues to be accurate also at the perturbative level.

Abstract: We propose a model of the Kondo effect based on the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence, also known as holography. The Kondo effect is the screening of a magnetic impurity coupled anti-ferromagnetically to a bath of conduction electrons at low temperatures. In a (1+1)-dimensional CFT description, the Kondo effect is a renormalization group flow triggered by a marginally relevant (0+1)-dimensional operator between two fixed points with the same Kac-Moody current algebra. In the large-N limit, with spin SU(N) and charge U(1) symmetries, the Kondo effect appears as a (0+1)-dimensional second-order mean-field transition in which the U(1) charge symmetry is spontaneously broken. Our holographic model, which combines the CFT and large-N descriptions, is a Chern-Simons gauge field in (2+1)-dimensional AdS space, AdS3, dual to the Kac-Moody current, coupled to a holographic superconductor along an AdS2 subspace. Our model exhibits several characteristic features of the Kondo effect, including a dynamically generated scale, a resistivity with power-law behavior in temperature at low temperatures, and a spectral flow producing a phase shift. Our holographic Kondo model may be useful for studying many open problems involving impurities, including for example the Kondo lattice problem.

Abstract: In this paper we analyze the global existence of classical solutions to the initial boundary-value problem for a nonlinear parabolic equation describing the collective behavior of an ensemble of neurons. These equations were obtained as a diffusive approximation of the mean-field limit of a stochastic differential equation system. The resulting nonlocal Fokker-Planck equation presents a nonlinearity in the coefficients depending on the probability flux through the boundary. We show by an appropriate change of variables that this parabolic equation with nonlinear boundary conditions can be transformed into a non standard Stefan-like free boundary problem with a Dirac-delta source term. We prove that there are global classical solutions for inhibitory neural networks, while for excitatory networks we give local well-posedness of classical solutions together with a blow up criterium. Surprisingly, we will show that the spectrum for the operator in the linear case, that corresponding to a system of uncoupled ...

Abstract: Wavefield extrapolation in pseudoacoustic orthorhombic anisotropic media suffers from wave-mode coupling and stability limitations in the parameter range. We use the dispersion relation for scalar wave propagation in pseudoacoustic orthorhombic media to model acoustic wavefields. The wavenumber-domain application of the Laplacian operator allows us to propagate the P-waves exclusively, without imposing any conditions on the parameter range of stability. It also allows us to avoid dispersion artifacts commonly associated with evaluating the Laplacian operator in space domain using practical finite-difference stencils. To handle the corresponding space-wavenumber mixed-domain operator, we apply the low-rank approximation approach. Considering the number of parameters necessary to describe orthorhombic anisotropy, the low-rank approach yields space-wavenumber decomposition of the extrapolator operator that is dependent on space location regardless of the parameters, a feature necessary for orthorhomb...

Abstract: In Paper I [T. J. H. Hele and S. C. Althorpe, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 084108 (2013)] we derived a quantum transition-state theory (TST) by taking the t → 0+ limit of a new form of quantum flux-side time-correlation function containing a ring-polymer dividing surface. This t → 0+ limit appears to be unique in giving positive-definite Boltzmann statistics, and is identical to ring-polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) TST. Here, we show that quantum TST (i.e., RPMD-TST) is exact if there is no recrossing (by the real-time quantum dynamics) of the ring-polymer dividing surface, nor of any surface orthogonal to it in the space describing fluctuations in the polymer-bead positions along the reaction coordinate. In practice, this means that RPMD-TST gives a good approximation to the exact quantum rate for direct reactions, provided the temperature is not too far below the cross-over to deep tunnelling. We derive these results by comparing the t → ∞ limit of the ring-polymer flux-side time-correlation function with that of a hybrid flux-side time-correlation function (containing a ring-polymer flux operator and a Miller-Schwarz-Tromp side function), and by representing the resulting ring-polymer momentum integrals as hypercubes. Together with Paper I, the results of this article validate a large number of RPMD calculations of reaction rates.

Abstract: In the first (and abstract) part of this survey we prove the unitary equivalence of the inverse of the Krein–von Neumann extension (on the orthogonal complement of its kernel) of a densely defined, closed, strictly positive operator, ≥ e ℋ for some e > 0 in a Hilbert space 210B to an abstract bucklingpr oblem operator.

Abstract: We study BPS line defects in N=2 supersymmetric four-dimensional field theories. We focus on theories of "quiver type," those for which the BPS particle spectrum can be computed using quiver quantum mechanics. For a wide class of models, the renormalization group flow between defects defined in the ultraviolet and in the infrared is bijective. Using this fact, we propose a way to compute the BPS Hilbert space of a defect defined in the ultraviolet, using only infrared data. In some cases our proposal reduces to studying representations of a "framed" quiver, with one extra node representing the defect. In general, though, it is different. As applications, we derive a formula for the discontinuities in the defect renormalization group map under variations of moduli, and show that the operator product algebra of line defects contains distinguished subalgebras with universal multiplication rules. We illustrate our results in several explicit examples.

Abstract: In this paper, exponential functions of discrete fractional calculus with the nabla operator are studied. We begin with proving some properties of exponential functions along with some relations to the discrete Mittag-Leffler functions. We then study sequential linear difference equations of fractional order with constant coefficients. A corresponding characteristic equation is defined and considered in two cases where characteristic real roots are same or distinct. We define a generalized Casoratian for a set of discrete functions. As a consequence, for solutions of sequential linear difference equations, their nonzero Casoratian ensures their linear independence.

Abstract: Using the theory of functions of several complex variables, we prove that if an analytic function in several variables satisfies a system of q-partial differential equations, then, it can be expanded in terms of the product of the Rogers-Szegý o poly- nomials. This expansion theorem allows us to develop a general method for proving q-identities. A general q-transformation formula is derived, which implies Watson's q-analog of Whipple's theorem as a special case. A multilinear generating function for the Rogers-Szegý o polynomials is given. The theory of q-exponential operator is revisited.

Abstract: We study the existence of ground state solutions for a class of non-linear pseudo-relativistic Schr\"odinger equations with critical two-body interactions. Such equations are characterized by a nonlocal pseudo-differential operator closely related to the square-root of the Laplacian. We investigate such a problem using variational methods after transforming the problem to an elliptic equation with a nonlinear Neumann boundary conditions.

Abstract: The time evolution of some quantum states can be slowed down or even stopped under frequent measurements. This is the usual quantum Zeno effect. Here, we report an operator quantum Zeno effect, in which the evolution of some physical observables is slowed down through measurements even though the quantum state changes randomly with time. Based on the operator quantum Zeno effect, we show how we can protect quantum information from decoherence with two-qubit measurements, realizable with noisy two-qubit interactions.

Abstract: In this paper we consider the problem $$ {ll} -\Delta u=(N+\a)(N-2)|x|^{\a}u^\frac{N+2+2\a}{N-2} & in R^N u>0& in R^N u\in D^{1,2}(R^N). $$ where $N\ge3$. From the characterization of the solutions of the linearized operator, we deduce the existence of nonradial solutions which bifurcate from the radial one when $\alpha$ is an even integer.

Abstract: We consider a periodic Schrodinger operator and the composite Wannier functions corresponding to a relevant family of its Bloch bands, separated by a gap from the rest of the spectrum. We study the associated localization functional introduced in Marzari and Vanderbilt (Phys Rev B 56:12847–12865, 1997) and we prove some results about the existence and exponential localization of its minimizers, in dimension \({d \leq 3}\). The proof exploits ideas and methods from the theory of harmonic maps between Riemannian manifolds.

Abstract: We prove an asymptotic formula for the number of scattering resonances in a strip near the real axis when the trapped set is r-normally hyperbolic with r large and a pinching condition on the normal expansion rates holds. Our dynamical assumptions are stable under smooth perturbations and motivated by the setting of black holes. The key tool is a Fourier integral operator which microlocally projects onto the resonant states in the strip. In addition to Weyl law, this operator provides new information about microlocal concentration of resonant states.

Abstract: We begin to study in this paper orbital and asymptotic stability of standing waves for a model of Schrodinger equation with concentrated nonlinearity in dimension three. The nonlinearity is obtained considering a point (or contact) interaction with strength α, which consists of a singular perturbation of the Laplacian described by a self-adjoint operator Hα, and letting the strength α depend on the wavefunction: iu=Hαu, α = α(u). It is well-known that the elements of the domain of such operator can be written as the sum of a regular function and a function that exhibits a singularity proportional to |x − x0|−1, where x0 is the location of the point interaction. If q is the so-called charge of the domain element u, i.e., the coefficient of its singular part, then, in order to introduce a nonlinearity, we let the strength α depend on u according to the law α = −ν|q|σ, with ν > 0. This characterizes the model as a focusing NLS (nonlinear Schrodinger) with concentrated nonlinearity of power type. For such a model we prove the existence of standing waves of the form u(t) = eiωtΦω, which are orbitally stable in the range σ ∈ (0, 1), and orbitally unstable when σ ⩾ 1. Moreover, we show that for σ∈(0,12) every standing wave is asymptotically stable in the following sense. Choosing initial data close to the stationary state in the energy norm, and belonging to a natural weighted Lp space which allows dispersive estimates, the following resolution holds: u(t)=eiω∞tΦω∞+Ut*ψ∞+r∞, where U is the free Schrodinger propagator, ω∞ > 0 and ψ∞, r∞∈L2(R3) with ‖r∞‖L2=O(t−5/4) as t→+∞. Notice that in the present model the admitted nonlinearity for which asymptotic stability of solitons is proved is subcritical, in the sense that it does not give rise to blow up, regardless of the chosen initial data.