Related papers: Vacuum Decay in Real Time and Imaginary Time Forma…
The use of the Wigner function for the study of quantum transport in open systems present severe criticisms. Some of the problems arise from the assumption of infinite coherence length of the electron dynamics outside the system of…
We discuss here phase transitions in quantum field theory in the context of vacuum realignment through an explicit construction. Vacuum destabilisation may occur through a scalar attaining a nonzero expectation value, or through a…
In this paper it is studied the cosmology of a homogeneous and isotropic spacetime endorsed with a conformally coupled massless scalar field. We find six different solutions of the Friedmann equation that represent six different types of…
A gravitational instanton is found that can tunnel into a new more stable vacuum phase where diffeomorphism invariance is broken and pitchfork bifurcations develop. This tunnelling process involves a double sphaleron-like transition which…
A quantum version of transition state theory based on a quantum normal form (QNF) expansion about a saddle-centre-...-centre equilibrium point is presented. A general algorithm is provided which allows one to explictly compute QNF to any…
This paper studies the decay of a large, closed domain wall in a closed universe. Such walls can form in the presence of a broken, discrete symmetry. We introduce a novel process of quantum decay for such a wall, in which the vacuum…
Many interesting physical theories have analytic classical actions. We show how Feynman's path integral may be defined non-perturbatively, for such theories, without a Wick rotation to imaginary time. We start by introducing a class of…
The symmetry reduction of dynamical systems that are invariant under changes of global scale is well-understood for classical theories of particles, and fields. The excision of the superfluous degree of freedom generating such rescalings…
The Wigner-function formalism is a well known approach to model charge transport in semiconductor nanodevices. Primary goal of the present article is to point out and explain intrinsic limitations of the conventional quantum-device modeling…
Simulating key static and dynamic properties of matter -- from creation in the Big Bang to evolution into sub-atomic and astrophysical environments -- arising from the underlying fundamental quantum fields of the Standard Model and their…
A new definition of the Wigner function for quantum fields coupled to curved space--time and an external Yang--Mills field is studied on the example of a scalar and a Dirac fields. The definition uses the formalism of the tangent bundles…
False vacuum decay is a potential mechanism governing the evolution of the early Universe, with profound connections to non-equilibrium quantum physics, including quenched dynamics, the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, and dynamical metastability.…
We derive the finite-temperature quantum-tunneling rate from first principles. The rate depends on both real- and imaginary-time; we demonstrate that the relevant instantons should therefore be defined on a Schwinger-Keldysh contour, and…
We present a quantum theory of the shuttle instability in electronic transport through a nanostructure with a mechanical degree of freedom. A phase space formulation in terms of the Wigner function allows us to identify a cross-over from…
The paper develop the alternative formulation of quantum mechanics known as the phase space quantum mechanics or deformation quantization. It is shown that the quantization naturally arises as an appropriate deformation of the classical…
The use of quantum information in technology promises to supersede the so-called classical devices used nowadays. Understanding what features are inherently non-classical is crucial for reaching better-than-classical performance. This…
For a quantum field living on a non - static spacetime no instantaneous Hamiltonian is definable, for this generically necessitates a choice of inequivalent representation of the canonical commutation relations at each instant of time. This…
Given an arbitrary Lagrangian function on \RR^d and a choice of classical path, one can try to define Feynman's path integral supported near the classical path as a formal power series parameterized by "Feynman diagrams," although these…
We develop a novel framework for describing quantum fluctuations in field theory, with a focus on cosmological applications. Our method uniquely circumvents the use of operator/Hilbert-space formalism, instead relying on a systematic…
We discuss particle production associated with vacuum decay, which changes the mass of a scalar field coupled to a background field which induces the decay. By utilizing the Stokes phenomenon, we can optimally track the time-evolution of…