Ultrarelativistic quasiclassical wave functions in strong laser and atomic fields

The problem of an ultrarelativistic charge in the presence of an atomic and a plane-wave field is investigated in the quasiclassical regime by including exactly the effects of both background fields. Starting from the quasiclassical Green's function obtained in [Phys. Lett. B \textbf{717}, 224 (2012)], the corresponding in- and out-wave functions are derived in the experimentally relevant case of the particle initially counterpropagating with respect to the plane wave. The knowledge of these electron wave functions opens the possibility of investigating a variety of problems in strong-field QED, where both the atomic field and the laser field are strong enough to be taken into account exactly from the beginning in the calculations.Comment: 24 pages, no figure

Effect of a strong laser field on e+e−e^+ e^- photoproduction by relativistic nuclei

We study the influence of a strong laser field on the Bethe-Heitler photoproduction process by a relativistic nucleus. The laser field propagates in the same direction as the incoming high-energy photon and it is taken into account exactly in the calculations. Two cases are considered in detail. In the first case, the energy of the incoming photon in the nucleus rest frame is much larger than the electron's rest energy. The presence of the laser field may significantly suppress the photoproduction rate at soon available values of laser parameters. In the second case, the energy of the incoming photon in the rest frame of the nucleus is less than and close to the electron-positron pair production threshold. The presence of the laser field allows for the pair production process and the obtained electron-positron rate is much larger than in the presence of only the laser and the nuclear field. In both cases we have observed a strong dependence of the rate on the mutual polarization of the laser field and of the high-energy photon and the most favorable configuration is with laser field and high-energy photon linearly polarized in the same direction. The effects discussed are in principle measurable with presently available proton accelerators and laser systems.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Energy transfer in nonlinear network models of proteins

We investigate how nonlinearity and topological disorder affect the energy relaxation of local kicks in coarse-grained network models of proteins. We find that nonlinearity promotes long-range, coherent transfer of substantial energy to specific, functional sites, while depressing transfer to generic locations. Remarkably, transfer can be mediated by the self-localization of discrete breathers at distant locations from the kick, acting as efficient energy-accumulating centers.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Angular distribution of high-energy e+e−e^+e^- photoproduction close to the end of spectrum

We consider the differential cross section of electron-positron pair production by a high-energy photon in a strong Coulomb field close to the end of the electron or positron spectrum. When the momentum transfer largely exceeds the electron mass, the cross section is obtained analytically in a compact form. Coulomb corrections essentially modify the cross section even for moderate values of the nuclear charge number $Z$. In the same kinematical region, the angular distribution for bound-free pair production, bremsstrahlung, and photorecombination is also obtained.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Study of symmetry in F(R) theory of gravity

An action in which the Ricci scalar is nonminimally coupled with a scalar field and contains higher order curvature invariant terms carries a conserved current under certain conditions that decouples geometric part from the scalar field. The conserved current relates the pair of arbitrary coupling parameters $f(\phi)$ and $\omega(\phi)$ with the gravitational field variable, where $\omega(\phi)$ is the Brans-Dicke coupling parameter. The existence of such conserved current may be helpful to sketch the cosmological evolution from its early age till date in a single frame.Comment: 6 page

Pair production in a strong slowly varying magnetic field: the effect of a background gravitational field

The production probability of an $e^--e^+$ pair in the presence of a strong, uniform and slowly varying magnetic field is calculated by taking into account the presence of a background gravitational field. The curvature of the spacetime metric induced by the gravitational field not only changes the transition probabilities calculated in the Minkowski spacetime but also primes transitions that are strictly forbidden in absence of the gravitational field.Comment: 56 pages, no figure

Nonlinear double Compton scattering in the full quantum regime

A detailed analysis of the process of two photon emission by an electron scattered from a high-intensity laser pulse is presented. The calculations are performed in the framework of strong-field QED and include exactly the presence of the laser field, described as a plane wave. We investigate the full quantum regime of interaction, where photon recoil plays an essential role in the emission process, and substantially alters the emitted photon spectra as compared to those in previously-studied regimes. We provide a semiclassical explanation for such differences, based on the possibility of assigning a trajectory to the electron in the laser field before and after each quantum photon emission. Our numerical results indicate the feasibility of investigating experimentally the full quantum regime of nonlinear double Compton scattering with already available plasma-based electron accelerator and laser technology.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Non-equilibrium hysteresis and spin relaxation in the mixed-anisotropy dipolar coupled spin-glass LiHo0.5_{0.5}Er0.5_{0.5}F4_{4}

We present a study of the model spin-glass LiHo$_{0.5}$Er$_{0.5}$F$_4$ using simultaneous AC susceptibility, magnetization and magnetocaloric effect measurements along with small angle neutron scattering (SANS) at sub-Kelvin temperatures. All measured bulk quantities reveal hysteretic behavior when the field is applied along the crystallographic c axis. Furthermore avalanche-like relaxation is observed in a static field after ramping from the zero-field-cooled state up to $200 - 300$ Oe. SANS measurements are employed to track the microscopic spin reconfiguration throughout both the hysteresis loop and the related relaxation. Comparing the SANS data to inhomogeneous mean-field calculations performed on a box of one million unit cells provides a real-space picture of the spin configuration. We discover that the avalanche is being driven by released Zeeman energy, which heats the sample and creates positive feedback, continuing the avalanche. The combination of SANS and mean-field simulations reveal that the conventional distribution of cluster sizes is replaced by one with a depletion of intermediate cluster sizes for much of the hysteresis loop.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Coulomb-Blockade directional coupler

A tunable directional coupler based on Coulomb Blockade effect is presented. Two electron waveguides are coupled by a quantum dot to an injector waveguide. Electron confinement is obtained by surface Schottky gates on single GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction. Magneto-electrical measurements down to 350 mK are presented and large transconductance oscillations are reported on both outputs up to 4.2 K. Experimental results are interpreted in terms of Coulomb Blockade effect and the relevance of the present design strategy for the implementation of an electronic multiplexer is underlined.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letter

Post-test simulations for the NACIE-UP benchmark by STH codes

This paper illustrates the results obtained in the last phase of the NACIE-UP benchmark activity foreseen inside the EU SESAME Project. The purpose of this research activity, performed by system thermal–hydraulic (STH) codes, is finalized to the improvement, development and validation of existing STH codes for Heavy Liquid Metal (HLM) systems. All the participants improved their modelling of the NACIE-UP facility, respect to the initial blind simulation phase, adopting the actual experimental boundary conditions and reducing as much as possible sources of uncertainty in their numerical model. Four different STH codes were employed by the participants to the benchmark to model the NACIE-UP facility, namely: CATHARE for ENEA, ATHLET for GRS, RELAP5-3D© for the “Sapienza” University of Rome and RELAP5/Mod3.3(modified) for the University of Pisa. Three reference tests foreseen in the NACIE-UP benchmark and carried out at ENEA Brasimone Research Centre were analysed from four participants. The data from the post-test analyses, performed independently by the participant using different STH codes, were compared together and with the available experimental results and critically discussed