Ref HAL: hal-01677723_v1
Ref Arxiv: 1709.03457
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.96.116009
WoS: WOS:000417758200005
Ref. & Cit.: NASA ADS
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3 Citations
Résumé:

A recently developed variational resummation technique, incorporating renormalization group properties consistently, has been shown to solve the scale dependence problem that plagues the evaluation of thermodynamical quantities, e.g., within the framework of approximations such as in the hard-thermal-loop resummed perturbation theory. This method is used in the present work to evaluate thermodynamical quantities within the two-dimensional nonlinear sigma model, which, apart from providing a technically simpler testing ground, shares some common features with Yang-Mills theories, like asymptotic freedom, trace anomaly and the nonperturbative generation of a mass gap. The present application confirms that nonperturbative results can be readily generated solely by considering the lowest-order (quasi-particle) contribution to the thermodynamic effective potential, when this quantity is required to be renormalization group invariant. We also show that when the next-to-leading correction from the method is accounted for, the results indicate convergence, apart from optimally preserving, within the approximations here considered, the sought-after scale invariance.

Commentaires: 24 pages, 10 figures. v2: some corrections in a few figures, more explanations on the difference with standard optimized perturbation or hard thermal loop resummation. One reference added. To appear in Phys. Rev. D. Réf Journal: Phys. Rev. D 96, 116009 (2017)

Ref HAL: hal-01677334_v1
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.033607
WoS: WOS:000416565300001
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2 Citations
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alpha-Quartz-type gallium phosphate and representative compositions in the AlPO4-GaPO4 solid solution were studied by x-ray powder diffraction and absorption spectroscopy, Raman scattering, and by first-principles calculations up to pressures of close to 30 GPa. A phase transition to a metastable orthorhombic high-pressure phase along with some of the stable orthorhombic Cmcm CrVO4-type material is found to occur beginning at 9 GPa at 320 degrees C in GaPO4. In the case of the AlPO4-GaPO4 solid solution at room temperature, only the metastable orthorhombic phase was obtained above 10 GPa. The possible crystal structures of the high-pressure forms of GaPO4 were predicted from first-principles calculations and the evolutionary algorithm USPEX. A predicted orthorhombic structure with a Pmn2(1) space group with the gallium in sixfold and phosphorus in fourfold coordination was found to be in the best agreement with the combined experimental data from x-ray diffraction and absorption and Raman spectroscopy. This method is found to very powerful to better understand competition between different phase transition pathways at high pressure.

Ref HAL: hal-01670338_v1
DOI: 10.1038/lsa.2016.190
WoS: 000395832200003
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32 Citations
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Light scattering by a two-dimensional photonic-crystal slab (PCS) can result in marked interference effects associated with Fano resonances. Such devices offer appealing alternatives to distributed Bragg reflectors and filters for various applications, such as optical wavelength and polarization filters, reflectors, semiconductor lasers, photodetectors, bio-sensors and non-linear optical components. Suspended PCS also have natural applications in the field of optomechanics, where the mechanical modes of a suspended slab interact via radiation pressure with the optical field of a high-finesse cavity. The reflectivity and transmission properties of a defect-free suspended PCS around normal incidence can be used to couple out-of-plane mechanical modes to an optical field by integrating it in a free-space cavity. Here we demonstrate the successful implementation of a PCS reflector on a high-tensile stress Si3N4 nanomembrane. We illustrate the physical process underlying the high reflectivity by measuring the photonic-crystal band diagram. Moreover, we introduce a clear theoretical description of the membrane scattering properties in the presence of optical losses. By embedding the PCS inside a high-finesse cavity, we fully characterize its optical properties. The spectrally, angular- and polarization-resolved measurements demonstrate the wide tunability of the membrane’s reflectivity, from nearly 0 to 99.9470±0.0025%, and show that material absorption is not the main source of optical loss. Moreover, the cavity storage time demonstrated in this work exceeds the mechanical period of low-order mechanical drum modes. This so-called resolved-sideband condition is a prerequisite to achieve quantum control of the mechanical resonator with light.

Ref HAL: hal-01669701_v1
Ref INSPIRE: 1643380
DOI: 10.5506/APhysPolBSupp.10.1099
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Résumé:

We illustrate how our recently developed renormalization group optimized perturbation (RGOPT) efficiently resums perturbative expansions in thermal field theories. The residual renormalization scale dependence of optimized thermodynamical quantities is drastically improved as compared to either standard perturbative expansions, or related methods such as the screened perturbation or (resummed) hard-thermal-loop perturbation. Our approach is illustrated briefly for the nonlinear sigma model, as a toy model for thermal QCD. Finally, preliminary applications of RGOPT to hard thermal loop resummation for the QCD pressure are sketched.

Ref HAL: hal-01668646_v1
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.234101
WoS: 000417132100005
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7 Citations
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Stochastic resonance is a general phenomenon usually observed in one-dimensional, amplitude modulated, bistable systems. We show experimentally the emergence of phase stochastic resonance in the bidimensional response of a forced nanoelectromechanical membrane by evidencing the enhancement of a weak phase modulated signal thanks to the addition of phase noise. Based on a general forced Duffing oscillator model, we demonstrate experimentally and theoretically that phase noise acts multiplicatively, inducing important physical consequences. These results may open interesting prospects for phase noise metrology or coherent signal transmission applications in nanomechanical oscillators. Moreover, our approach, due to its general character, may apply to various systems.

Ref HAL: hal-01668149_v1
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I will discuss our recent studies showing that the optical response in hBN displays prominent evidence for phonon-assisted optical transitions, with a very unusual phenomenology. By two-photon spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the intrinsic optical properties at the band edge are characteristic of an indirect bandgap material. Polarization-resolved experiments with a detection from the sample edge allowed us to show that the phonon symmetries can be traced back in the optical response. I will further highlight the unique properties of this material where the optical response is tailored by the phonon group velocities in the middle of the Brillouin zone. I will finally present optical characterization results of the promising high-temperature MBE growth of hBN.