In this thesis we review the gauge/gravity duality and how it can be used to compute the thermodynamic properties and low-energy excitations of holographic quantum liquids - strongly-interacting field theories with a non-zero density of matter. We then study in detail the charge density excitations of two such liquids, the D3/D7 theory and the RN-AdS₄ theory, by computing the poles of their charge density Green's functions, and their charge density spectral functions. Although it is not a Landau Fermi liquid, the charge density excitations of the D3/D7 theory display many of the same properties as one, including a collisionless/hydrodynamic crossover as the temperature is increased. In contrast to this, the charge density (and energy density) excitations of the RN-AdS₄ theory do not share these properties but behave in a way that cannot be explained by Landau's theory of interacting fermionic quasiparticles. This is consistent with other results which indicate that this is not a Landau Fermi liquid.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Neste trabalho, os efeitos de um campo magnético oblíquo externo no modelo de Gross- Neveu (2+1)-dimensional, que inclui as componentes paralela e perpendicular do campo em relação ao sistema, são estudados no contexto da simetria quiral e discreta do modelo. Nosso principal interesse está nos efeitos deste campo sobre o diagrama de fase do sistema, onde também incluímos os efeitos combinados de temperatura e potencial químico. Os diagramas de fase são obtidos através do potencial efetivo a 1 loop para o modelo, derivado em primeira ordem na expansão 1=N. Transições de fase relevantes que podem ser estudadas através deste modelo são, por exemplo, metal-isolante em matéria condensada e na teoria quântica de campos de férmions planares em geral. A relação entre a transição de fase com quebra da simetria quiral e discreta e o surgimento de um gap (ou a presença de um valor esperado no vácuo do campo escalar diferente de zero), como função do campo magnético oblíquo, é analisada em detalhes. / In this work, the effects of an external oblique magnetic field in the (2+1)-dimensional Gross-Neveu model, and that therefore includes both parallel and perpendicular components of the applied field, are studied in the context of the models discrete chiral symmetry. Our main concern is in the effects of such a field in the systems phase diagram and that also includes the combined effects of temperature and chemical potential. The phase diagrams are obtained through the one-loop effective potential for the model, derived in the leading order in the 1=N expansion Relevant phase transitions that can be studied through this model are, for example, metal-insulator ones in condensed matter and in the quantum field theory of planar fermions in general. The relation between the phase transition with (discrete) chiral symmetry breaking and the emergence of a gap (or the presence of a chiral nonvanishing vacuum expectation value) in the planar fermionic system, as a function of the external oblique magnetic field, is analyzed in details.

Les étoiles à neutrons sont parmi les objets les plus extrêmes dans l'univers. Elles sont des étoiles compactes, nées à la suite d'une explosion de supernova gravitationnelle, au point final de l'évolution stellaire. Le champ gravitationnel y est très fort, et la matière à l'intérieur atteint des densités extrêmement élevées. Elles sont donc des "laboratoires" prometteurs, non seulement pour tester le régime de champ fort en relativité générale, mais aussi pour en apprendre davantage sur la physique nucléaire à haute densité, qui actuellement ne peut pas être reproduit avec des expériences terrestres. Ainsi, les étoiles à neutrons nous permettent d'adresser des questions telles que l'existence éventuelle de particules autres que nucléons à haute-densité. À cause de la naissance violente de ces objets, les étoiles à neutrons très jeunes, que l'on appelle proto-étoiles à neutrons, sont également très chaudes, et souvent en rotation différentielle rapide. Dans cette thèse nous avons pour but de développer un modèle stationnaire d'une telle proto-étoile à neutrons.Ainsi, nous présentons une nouvelle méthode pour calculer numériquement les équations d'équilibre d'un fluide parfait relativiste, axisymétrique et stationnaire, en rotation différentielle et à température finie, valable pour une équation d'état réaliste. Nous présentons en détail le code (accessible au public) développé. Nous avons appliqué ce code avec des nouvelles équations d'état réalistes à température finie, basée sur une théorie relativiste du champ moyen, en incluant tous les degrés de liberté hyperoniques. Nous avons calculé des modèles relativistes stationnaires de proto-étoiles à neutrons en rotation différentielle rapide. Nous allons discuter les applications de nos modèles pour explorer plus en détail la physique de ces objets. / Neutron stars are among the most extreme objects in the universe. They are compact stars born as the aftermath of a core-collapse supernova explosion, at the endpoint of stellar evolution, with a strong gravitational field, and extremely high densities. They are therefore promising 'laboratories', not only to test the strong-field regime of general relativity, but also to learn about nuclear physics in the high density regime, which presently is not accessible in earth based experiments. This allows to address questions such as the possible existence of particles other than nucleons at high-densities. As a consequence of the violent birth of these objects, new-born (proto-)neutron stars are extremely hot and, in general, rapidly rotating, which raises interesting problems in the task of developing a stationary model of such objects.In this thesis, we present a new self-consistent method to numerically compute the equilibrium equations of stationary axisymmetric relativistic (differentially) rotating perfect fluids at finite temperature, with a realistic equation of state. We introduce in detail the (publicly available) code in which we implemented the described numerical scheme. We use newly developed realistic equations of state with finite temperature, which are based on density dependent relativistic mean field theory, and in which all hyperonic degrees of freedom are included, to compute realistic stationary relativistic models of rapidly differentially rotating proto-neutron stars. We discuss future applications of our code for further exploring the physics of proto-neutron stars.

Path integral Monte Carlo (PIMC) is a method suitable for quantum liquid simulations at finite temperature. We present in this thesis a study of PIMC dealing with the theory and algorithms related to it, and then two applications of PIMC to current research problems of quantum fluids in the Bolzmann regime. The first part encompasses a study of the different ingredients of a PIMC code: action, sampling and physical property estimators. Particular attention has been paid to Li-Broughton's higher order approximation to the action. Regarding sampling, several collective movement methods have been derived, including the bisection algorithm, that has been thoroughly tested. We also include a study of estimators for different physical properties, such as, the energy (through the thermodynamic and virial estimators), the pair distribution function, the structure factor, and the momentum distribution. In relation to the momentum distribution, we have developed a novel algorithm for its estimation, the trail method. It surmounts some of the problems exposed by previous approaches, such as the open chain method or McMillan's algorithm.The Richardson extrapolation used within PIMC simulations, is another contribution of this thesis. Up until now, this extrapolation has not been used in this context. We present studies of the energy dependence on the number of "beads", along with the betterment provide by the Richardson extrapolation. Inasmuch as our goal is to perform research of quantum liquids at finite temperature, we have produced a library of codes, written from scratch, that implement most of the features theoretically developed. The most elaborated parts of these codes are included in some of the appendixes.The second part shows two different applications of the algorithms coded. We present results of a PIMC calculation of the momentum distribution of Ne and normal 4He at low temperatures. In the range of temperatures analysed, exchanges can be disregarded and both systems are considered Boltzmann quantum liquids. Their quantum character is well reflected in their momentum distributions witch show clear departures from the classical limit. The PIMC momentum distributions which show clear departures from the classical limit. The PIMC momentum distributions are sampled using the trail method. Kinetic energies of both systems, as a function of temperature and at a fixed density, are also reported. Finally, the solid-liquid neon phase transition along the 35 K isotherm has been characterized.While thermodynamic properties of the solid phase are well known the behaviour of some properties, such as the energy or the dessity, during the trasition presen6 some uncertainties For example, experimental data for the place diagram, which determines solid and liquid boundaries, present sizeable differences. The temperature chosen is high enough so that Bose or Fermi statistics corrections are small, although the system is strongly quantum mechanical. The results obtained show a discontinuity in the kinetic energy during the transition.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Neste trabalho, os efeitos de um campo magnético oblíquo externo no modelo de Gross- Neveu (2+1)-dimensional, que inclui as componentes paralela e perpendicular do campo em relação ao sistema, são estudados no contexto da simetria quiral e discreta do modelo. Nosso principal interesse está nos efeitos deste campo sobre o diagrama de fase do sistema, onde também incluímos os efeitos combinados de temperatura e potencial químico. Os diagramas de fase são obtidos através do potencial efetivo a 1 loop para o modelo, derivado em primeira ordem na expansão 1=N. Transições de fase relevantes que podem ser estudadas através deste modelo são, por exemplo, metal-isolante em matéria condensada e na teoria quântica de campos de férmions planares em geral. A relação entre a transição de fase com quebra da simetria quiral e discreta e o surgimento de um gap (ou a presença de um valor esperado no vácuo do campo escalar diferente de zero), como função do campo magnético oblíquo, é analisada em detalhes. / In this work, the effects of an external oblique magnetic field in the (2+1)-dimensional Gross-Neveu model, and that therefore includes both parallel and perpendicular components of the applied field, are studied in the context of the models discrete chiral symmetry. Our main concern is in the effects of such a field in the systems phase diagram and that also includes the combined effects of temperature and chemical potential. The phase diagrams are obtained through the one-loop effective potential for the model, derived in the leading order in the 1=N expansion Relevant phase transitions that can be studied through this model are, for example, metal-insulator ones in condensed matter and in the quantum field theory of planar fermions in general. The relation between the phase transition with (discrete) chiral symmetry breaking and the emergence of a gap (or the presence of a chiral nonvanishing vacuum expectation value) in the planar fermionic system, as a function of the external oblique magnetic field, is analyzed in details.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-18T18:19:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Josberg Silva Rodrigues.pdf: 647762 bytes, checksum: 76e44a5c4743594c8862ff4d8b22704c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-30 / FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA E AO DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTIFICO E TECNOLÓGICO DO MARANHÃO / In this work we study the effects of the spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry on black body radiation phenomenon in the context of the Maxwell-Caroll-Field-Jackiw (MCFJ) model. The MCFJ model is the electromagnetic CPT-odd sector of the standard model extension and, it presents for a purely space-like background a positive-definite hamiltonian. Firstly, we study the Maxwell electrodynamics by analyzing its hamiltonian structure following the Dirac s procedure for constrained systems. Then, we calculate the partition function via the path integrals formalism and consequently we obtain its thermodynamic properties such as: energy density, radiation pressure and the entropy. Afterwards, we apply the same procedure to find the partition function of the MCFJ model and we observe how the spectrum of black body changes due to the breaking of the CPT and Lorentz symmetries. We show that if the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation is described by this model, it shows an angular anisotropy in the energy density distribution. We also give, at leading order in the Lorentz violating parameter, the contributions of the Lorentz breaking for the Planck s radiation and the Stefan-Boltzmann laws. The Lorentz-violating (LV) corrections for the Planck s law is non-linear in the frequency and for the Stefan-Boltzmann law is quadratic in the temperature. Using our results, we set upper limits for the LV parameter by analyzing the Stefan-Boltmann law and the CMB anisotropy but it is shown that they are much less stringents that those obtained by birefringence or polarization analysis of light. / Esta dissertação aborda os efeitos da quebra espontânea da simetria de Lorentz sob a radiação do corpo negro no contexto da eletrodinâmica de Maxwell-Carroll-Field-Jackiw (MCFJ). O modelo MCFJ advém do setor CPT-ìmpar do modelo padrão estendido e apresenta uma hamiltoniana positiva-definida somente para um campo de fundo puramente tipo-espaço. O estudo começa pela eletrodinâmica de Maxwell realizando uma análise de sua estrutura hamiltoniana através do procedimento de Dirac para sistemas vinculados. Após essa análise, calcula-se a função de partição via o formalismo de integração funcional e obtendo consequentemente suas propriedades termodinâmicas relevantes como: densidade de energia, pressão de radiação e a entropia do sistema. Na segunda parte, seguindo um procedimento similar encontramos a função de partição do modelo MCFJ. Observa-se que o espectro de energia do corpo negro sofre alteração devido à quebra da invariância de Lorentz e da simetria CPT. Mostramos que se a radiação cósmica de fundo (RCF) for descrita por esse modelo desponta uma anisotropia na distribuição de densidade de energia. Também, mostramos que a lei de radiação de Planck e a lei de Stefan Boltzmann são afetadas pela introdução do campo externo responsável pela quebra de Lorentz. Tais modificações no caso da lei de Planck são não-lineares na frequência e na lei de Stefan-Boltzmann são quadráticas na temperatura. Usando esses resultados e os dados experimentais da constante de Stefan-Boltzmann e os dados referentes a anisotropia da radiação cósmica de fundo, estipulamos limites superiores para a magnitude do parâmetro da VL. Contudo, os limites obtidos são menos restritivos que os obtidos pela análise do fenômeno da birrefrigência.

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The physics of ultracold quantum gases has been the subject of a long-lasting and intense research activity, which started almost a century ago with purely theoretical studies and had a fluorishing experimental development after the implementation of laser and evaporative cooling techniques that led to the first realization of a Bose Einstein condensate (BEC) over 25 years ago. In recent years, a great interest in ultracold atoms has developed for their use as platforms for quantum technologies, given the high degree of control and tunability offered by ultracold atom systems. These features make ultracold atoms an ideal test bench for simulating and studying experimentally, in a controlled environment, physical phenomena analogous to those occurring in other, more complicated, or even inaccessible systems, which is the idea at the heart of quantum simulation. In the rapidly developing field of quantum technologies, it is highly important to acquire an in-depth understanding of the state of the quantum many-body system that is used, and of the processes needed to reach the desired state. The preparation of the system in a given target state often involves the crossing of second order phase transitions, bringing the system strongly out-of-equilibrium. A better understanding of the out-of-equilibrium processes occurring in the vicinity of the transition, and of the relaxation dynamics towards the final equilibrium condition, is crucial in order to produce well-controlled quantum states in an efficient way. In this thesis I present the results of the research activity that I performed during my PhD at the BEC1 laboratory of the BEC center, working on ultracold gases of 23Na atoms in an elongated harmonic trap. This work had two main goals: the accurate determination of the equilibrium properties of a Bose gas at finite temperature, by the measurement of its equation of state, and the investigation of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics occurring when a Bose Einstein condensate is prepared by cooling a thermal cloud at a finite rate across the BEC phase transition.To study the equilibrium physics of a trapped atomic cloud, it is crucial to be able to observe its density distribution in situ. This requires a high optical resolution to accurately obtain the density profile of the atomic distribution, from which thermodynamic quantities can then be extracted. In particular, in a partially condensed atomic cloud at finite temperature, it is challenging to resolve well also the boundaries of the BEC, where the condensate fraction rapidly drops in a narrow spatial region. This required an upgrade of the experimental apparatus in order to obtain a high enough resolution. I designed, tested and implemented in the experimental setup new imaging systems for all main directions of view. Particular attention was paid for the vertical imaging system, which was designed to image the condensates in trap with a resolution below 2 μm, with about a factor 4 improvement compared to the previous setup. The implementation of the new imaging systems involved a partial rebuilding of the experimental apparatus used for cooling the atoms. This created the occasion for an optimization of the whole system to obtain more stable working conditions. Concurrently I also realized and included in the experiment an optical setup for the use of a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) to project time-dependent arbitrary light patterns on the atoms, creating optical potentials that can be controlled at will. The use of this device opens up exciting future scenarios where it will be possible to locally modify the trapping potential and to create well-controlled barriers moving through the atomic cloud. Another challenge in imaging the density distribution in situ is determined by the fact that the maximum optical density (OD) of the BEC, in the trap center, exceeds the low OD of the thermal tails by several orders of magnitude. In order to obtain an accurate image of the whole density profile, we developed a minimally destructive, multi-shot imaging technique, based on the partial transfer of a fraction of atoms to an auxiliary state, which is then probed. Taking multiple images at different extraction fractions, we are able to reconstruct the whole density profile of the atomic cloud avoiding saturation and maintaining a good signal to noise ratio. This technique, together with the improvements in the imaging resolution, has allowed us to accurately obtain the optical density profile of the Bose gas in trap, from which the 3D density profile was then calculated applying an inverse Abel transform, taking advantage of the symmetry of the trap. From images of the same cloud after a time-of-flight expansion, we measured the temperature of the gas. From these quantities we could find the pressure as a function of the density and temperature, determining the canonical equation of state of the weakly interacting Bose gas in equilibrium at finite temperature. These measurements also allowed us to clearly observe the non-monotonic temperature behavior of the chemical potential near the critical point for the phase transition, a feature that characterizes also other superfluid systems, but that had never been observed before in weakly interacting Bose gases. The second part of this thesis work is devoted to the study of the dynamical processes that occur during the formation of the BEC order parameter within a thermal cloud. The cooling at finite rate across the Bose-Einstein condensation transition brings the system in a strongly out-of-equilibrium state, which is worth investigating, together with the subsequent relaxation towards an equilibrium state. This is of interest also in view of achieving a better understanding of second order phase transitions in general, since such phenomena are ubiquitous in nature and relevant also in other platforms for quantum technologies. A milestone result in the study of second order phase transitions is given by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, which provides a simple model capturing important aspects of the evolution of a system that crosses a second-order phase transition at finite rate. It is based on the principle that in an extended system the symmetry breaking associated with a continuous phase transition can take place only locally. This causes the formation of causally disconnected domains of the order parameter, at the boundaries of which topological defects can form, whose number and size scale with the rate at which the transition is crossed, following a universal power law. It was originally developed in the context of cosmology, but was later successfully tested in a variety of systems, including superfluid helium, superconductors, trapped ions and ultracold atoms. The BEC phase transition represents in this context a paradigmatic test-bench, given the high degree of control at which this second-order phase transition can be crossed by means of cooling ramps at different rates. Already early experiments investigated the formation of the BEC order parameter within a thermal cloud, after quasi-instantaneous temperature quenches or very slow evaporative cooling. In the framework of directly testing the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, further experiments were performed, both in 2D and 3D systems, focusing on the emergence of coherence and on the statistics of the spontaneously generated topological defects as a function of the cooling rate. The Kibble-Zurek mechanism, however, does not fully describe the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the system at the transition, nor the post-quench interaction mechanisms between domains that lead to coarse-graining. Most theoretical models are based on a direct linear variation of a single control parameter, e.g. the temperature, across the transition. In real experiments, the cooling process is controlled by the tuning of other experimental parameters and a global temperature might not even be well defined, in a thermodynamic sense, during the whole process. Moreover, the temperature variation is usually accompanied by the variation of other quantities, such as the number of atoms and the collisional rate, making it difficult to accurately describe the system and predict the post-quench properties. Recent works included effects going beyond the Kibble-Zurek mechanism, such as the inhomogeneity introduced by the trapping potential, the role of atom number losses, and the saturation of the number of defects for high cooling rates. These works motivate further studies, in particular of the dynamics taking place at early times, close to the crossing of the critical point. The aim of the work presented in this thesis is to further investigate the timescales associated to the formation and evolution of the BEC order parameter and its spatial fluctuations, as a function of the rate at which the transition point is crossed. We performed experiments producing BECs by means of cooling protocols that are commonly used in cold-atom laboratories, involving evaporative cooling in a magnetic trap. We explored a wide range of cooling rates across the transition and found a universal scaling for the growth of the BEC order parameter with the cooling rate and a finite delay in its formation. The latter was already observed in earlier works, but for a much more limited range of cooling rates. The evolution of the fluctuations of the order parameter was also investigated, with an analysis of the timescale of their decay during the relaxation of the system, from an initial strongly out-of-equilibrium condition to a final equilibrium state. This thesis is structured as follows: The first chapter presents the theoretical background, starting with a brief introduction to the concept of Bose Einstein condensation and a presentation of different models describing the thermodynamics of an equilibrium Bose gas. The second part of this chapter then deals with the out-of-equilibrium dynamics that is inevitably involved in the crossing of a second-order phase transition such as the one for Bose-Einstein condensation. The Kibble-Zurek mechanism is briefly reviewed and beyond KZ effects are pointed out, motivating a more detailed investigation of the timescales involved in the BEC formation. In the second chapter, I describe the experimental apparatus that we use to cool and confine the atoms. Particular detail is dedicated to the parts that have been upgraded during my PhD, such as the imaging system. In the third chapter I show our experimental results on the measurement of the equation of state of the weakly interacting uniform Bose gas at finite temperature. In the fourth chapter I present our results on the out-of-equilibrium dynamics in the formation of the condensate order parameter and its spatial fluctuations, as a function of different cooling rates.