Felipe Barra

On the Level Spacing Distribution in Quantum Graphs

We derive a formula for the level spacing probability distribution in quantum graphs. We apply it to simple examples and we discuss its relation with previous work and its possible application in more general cases. Moreover, we derive an exact and explicit formula for the level spacing distribution of integrable quantum graphs.

Transport and dynamics on open quantum graphs

We study the classical limit of quantum mechanics on graphs by introducing a Wigner function for graphs. The classical dynamics is compared to the quantum dynamics obtained from the propagator. In particular, we consider extended open graphs whose classical dynamics generate a diffusion process. The transport properties of the classical system are revealed in the scattering resonances and in the time evolution of the quantum system.

SCATTERING IN PERIODIC SYSTEMS : FROM RESONANCES TO BAND STRUCTURE

We report a study of the spectrum of scattering resonances in spatially extended open quantum systems. We consider the Schrodinger equation with a potential composed of n copies of a unit cell periodically arranged in a one-dimensional space and vanishing at large distances. We develop an asymptotic theory which explains the structure of the resonance spectrum. We also show that, in the limit of a large system, the leading scattering resonances converge to the allowed energy bands of the infinitely extended periodic system.

Classical dynamics on graphs.

We consider the classical evolution of a particle on a graph by using a time-continuous Frobenius-Perron operator that generalizes previous propositions. In this way, the relaxation rates as well as the chaotic properties can be defined for the time-continuous classical dynamics on graphs. These properties are given as the zeros of some periodic-orbit zeta functions. We consider in detail the case of infinite periodic graphs where the particle undergoes a diffusion process. The infinite spatial extension is taken into account by Fourier transforms that decompose the observables and probability densities into sectors corresponding to different values of the wave number. The hydrodynamic modes of diffusion are studied by an eigenvalue problem of a Frobenius-Perron operator corresponding to a given sector. The diffusion coefficient is obtained from the hydrodynamic modes of diffusion and has the Green-Kubo form. Moreover, we study finite but large open graphs that converge to the infinite periodic graph when their size goes to infinity. The lifetime of the particle on the open graph is shown to correspond to the lifetime of a system that undergoes a diffusion process before it escapes.

Nonequlibrium particle and energy currents in quantum chains connected to mesoscopic Fermi reservoirs

(Dated: April 6, 2012)We propose a model of nonequilibrium quantum transport of particles and energy in a system con-nected to mesoscopic Fermi reservoirs (meso-reservoir). The meso-reservoirs are in turn thermalizedto prescribed temperatures and chemical potentials by a simple dissipative mechanism described bythe Lindblad equation. As an example, we study transport in monoatomic and diatomic chains ofnon-interacting spinless fermions. We show numerically the breakdown of the Onsager reciprocityrelation due to the dissipative terms of the model.

ULTRASOUND AS A PROBE OF PLASTICITY? THE INTERACTION OF ELASTIC WAVES WITH DISLOCATIONS

An overview of recent work on the interaction of elastic waves with dislocations is given. The perspective is provided by the wish to develop nonintrusive tools to probe plastic behavior in materials. For simplicity, ideas and methods are first worked out in two dimensions, and the results in three dimensions are then described. These results explain a number of recent, hitherto unexplained, experimental findings. The latter include the frequency dependence of ultrasound attenuation in copper, the visualization of the scattering of surface elastic waves by isolated dislocations in LiNbO3, and the ratio of longitudinal to transverse wave attenuation in a number of materials. Specific results reviewed include the scattering amplitude for the scattering of an elastic wave by a screw, as well as an edge, dislocation in two dimensions, the scattering amplitudes for an elastic wave by a pinned dislocation segment in an infinite elastic medium, and the wave scattering by a sub-surface dislocation in a semi-infinite medium. Also, using a multiple scattering formalism, expressions are given for the attenuation coefficient and the effective speed for coherent wave propagation in the cases of anti-plane waves propagating in a medium filled with many, randomly placed screw dislocations; in-plane waves in a medium similarly filled with randomly placed edge dislocations with randomly oriented Burgers vectors; elastic waves in a three-dimensional medium filled with randomly placed and oriented dislocation line segments, also with randomly oriented Burgers vectors; and elastic waves in a model three-dimensional polycrystal, with only low angle grain boundaries modeled as arrays of dislocation line segments.

Laplacian Growth and Diffusion Limited Aggregation: Different Universality Classes

It had been conjectured that diffusion limited aggregates and Laplacian growth patterns (with small surface tension) are in the same universality class. Using iterated conformal maps we construct a one-parameter family of fractal growth patterns with a continuously varying fractal dimension. This family can be used to bound the dimension of Laplacian growth patterns from below. The bound value is higher than the dimension of diffusion limited aggregates, showing that the two problems belong to two different universality classes.

The thermodynamic cost of driving quantum systems by their boundaries

The laws of thermodynamics put limits to the efficiencies of thermal machines. Analogues of these laws are now established for quantum engines weakly and passively coupled to the environment providing a framework to find improvements to their performance. Systems whose interaction with the environment is actively controlled do not fall in that framework. Here we consider systems actively and locally coupled to the environment, evolving with a so-called boundary-driven Lindblad equation. Starting from a unitary description of the system plus the environment we simultaneously obtain the Lindblad equation and the appropriate expressions for heat, work and entropy-production of the system extending the framework for the analysis of new, and some already proposed, quantum heat engines. We illustrate our findings in spin 1/2 chains and explain why an XX chain coupled in this way to a single heat bath relaxes to thermodynamic-equilibrium while and XY chain does not. Additionally, we show that an XX chain coupled to a left and a right heat baths behaves as a quantum engine, a heater or refrigerator depending on the parameters, with efficiencies bounded by Carnot efficiencies.

MEASURING DISLOCATION DENSITY IN ALUMINUM WITH RESONANT ULTRASOUND SPECTROSCOPY

Dislocations in a material will, when present in enough numbers, change the speed of propagation of elastic waves. Consequently, two material samples, differing only in dislocation density, will have different elastic constants, a quantity that can be measured using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. Measurements of this effect on aluminum samples are reported. They compare well with the predictions of the theory.

Nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions in the XY model: comparison of unitary time evolution and reduced density operator approaches

We study nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions in the XY spin 1/2 chain using the algebra. We show that the well-known quantum phase transition at a magnetic field of h = 1 also persists in the nonequilibrium setting as long as one of the reservoirs is set to absolute zero temperature. In addition, we find nonequilibrium phase transitions associated with an imaginary part of the correlation matrix for any two different reservoir temperatures at h = 1 and , where ? is the anisotropy and h the magnetic field strength. In particular, two nonequilibrium quantum phase transitions coexist at h = 1. In addition, we study the quantum mutual information in all regimes and find a logarithmic correction of the area law in the nonequilibrium steady state independent of the system parameters. We use these nonequilibrium phase transitions to test the utility of two models of a reduced density operator, namely the Lindblad mesoreservoir and the modified Redfield equation. We show that the nonequilibrium quantum phase transition at h = 1, related to the divergence of magnetic susceptibility, is recovered in the mesoreservoir approach, whereas it is not recovered using the Redfield master equation formalism. However, none of the reduced density operator approaches could recover all the transitions observed by the algebra. We also study the thermalization properties of the mesoreservoir approach.