Search for Fractional-Charge Particles in Meteoritic Material

Kim, Peter C.; Lee, Eric R.; Lee, Irwin T.; Перл, М.; Halyo, V.; Loomba, D.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.161804

Cited by 24 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Those aspects of QCD that are hard or impossible to address with MC are indeed in most of the cases still unclear. For example, the mechanism of charge confinement [40], invented to explain the absence of isolated quarks [41], still stands as a conjecture in full QCD, four decades since it was first understood in Abelian models. Furthermore, MC simulations struggle to address hot and dense nuclear matter [42,43], probed by heavy nuclei collisions at CERN and RHIC [44,45].…”

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confidence: 99%

Tensor Networks for Lattice Gauge Theories with Continuous Groups

2014

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We discuss how to formulate lattice gauge theories in the Tensor Network language. In this way we obtain both a consistent-truncation scheme of the Kogut-Susskind lattice gauge theories and a Tensor Network variational ansatz for gauge invariant states that can be used in actual numerical computations. Our construction is also applied to the simplest realization of the quantum link models/gauge magnets, and provides a clear way to understand their microscopic relation with the Kogut-Susskind lattice gauge theories. We also introduce a new set of gauge invariant operators that modify continuously Rokshar-Kivelson wave functions, and can be used to extend the phase diagrams of known models. As an example we characterize the transition between the deconfined phase of the Z2 lattice gauge theory and the Rokshar-Kivelson point of the U(1) gauge magnet in 2D in terms of entanglement entropy. The topological entropy serves as an order parameter for the transition, but not the Schmidt gap.Tensor Network (TN) techniques are starting to play an important role in our understanding of many-body quantum systems, both on the lattice and in the continuum. They can be used as a framework to classify the phases of quantum matter [1-3], or as powerful numerical ansatz in actual computations of 1D [4, 5] and 2D strongly correlated quantum magnets [6-8], fermionic systems [9, 10], or anyonic systems [11,12]. They have also recently made their way into quantum chemistry as computational tool to study the structure of molecules from the first principles [13,14].While numerical simulations based on Monte Carlo (MC) are still the most successful techniques in some of these fields, TNs start to provide viable alternatives to them, particularly in those contexts where MC has troubles, such as the physics of frustrated anti-ferromagnets [15][16][17], and the real time evolution of out of equilibrium systems [18][19][20].At present, the main limitation of numerical TN techniques is that the cost of the simulations increases rapidly with the amount of correlations in the system (which is encoded in the bond dimension D of the elementary tensors), and thus TNs tend to be biased towards weakly correlated phases.However, the steady improvement of the TN algorithms [21,22] makes us confident that these limitations will soon be overcome, and as a consequence TN will become more and more useful in the physics of quantum many-body systems. Among interesting quantum manybody systems, we focus here on gauge theories, a context in which TN have recently made a spectacular debut [23][24][25][26][27].Gauge theories (GT) [28] describe three of the four fundamental interactions (electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions). In particular, strong interactions, * luca.tagliacozzo@icfo.es † alessio.celi@icfo.es ‡ maciej.lewenstein@icfo.es are described by an SU (3) gauge theory, called Quantum Chromo-Dynamics (QCD) [29]). GT also allow to understand emergent phenomena at low energies in condensed matter systems, e.g. anti-ferromagnets [30] and high-temper...

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confidence: 99%

Tensor Networks for Lattice Gauge Theories with Continuous Groups

2014

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“…The setup has been used to detect FCPs in bulk matter (sea water [219] and mercury [220]), silicon and mineral oil [221][222][223] and meteorites [223]. The final experiment searched for fractional charge in a 1.5%-by-mass suspension of carbona-ceous chondrite meteorite dust in light mineral oil.…”

Section: C2 Millikan Liquid Drop Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…C. 2 The result for search of FCPs in meteoritic materials [209,223]. The sensitivity of experiment reduces for fractional charges close to an integer.…”

Section: Dedicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Search for lightly ionizing particles using CDMS-II data and fabrication of CDMS detectors with improved homogeneity in properties

Prasad

2013

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Fundamental particles are always observed to carry charges which are integral multiples of one-third charge of electron, e/3. While this is a well established experimental fact, the theoretical understanding for the charge quantization phenomenon is lacking. On the other hand, there exist numerous theoretical models that naturally allow for existence of particles with fractional electromagnetic charge. These particles, if existing, hint towards existence of physics beyond the standard model.Multiple high energy, optical, cosmological and astrophysical considerations restrict the allowable mass-charge parameter space for these fractional charges. Still, a huge unexplored region remains.The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS-II), located at Soudan mines in northern Minnesota, employs germanium and silicon crystals to perform direct searches for a leading candidate to dark matter called Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs). Alternately, the low detection threshold allows search for fractional electromagnetic-charged particles, or Lightly Ionizing Particles (LIPs), moving at relativistic speed. Background rejection is obtained by requiring that the magnitude and location of energy deposited in each detector be consistent with corresponding "signatures" resulting from the passage of a fractionally charged particle. In this dissertation, the CDMS-II data is analyzed to search for LIPs, with an expected background of 0.078±0.078 events. No candidate events are observed, allowing exclusion of new parameter space for charges between e/6 and e/200.With primary aim to increase sensitivity to detect WIMPs, it is necessary to expand the detector count and mass by more than two orders of magnitude over CDMS-II. This also increases sensitivity to detect LIPs. It becomes imperative ii to obtain repeatability in the detection sensor quality over multiple detectors. In this dissertation, we also describe the improvements and process flow optimizations implemented to obtain higher yield in fabrication of useful detectors with homogeneous sensor properties within each detector and among different batches. It also allows for reduction in fabrication time, cost and removal of avoidable cost-intensive steps like ion-implantation. Most important is the control in obtaining tungsten thin film with desired superconducting transition temperature and improvements in photolithographic steps for sensor fabrication.iii

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“…The Millikan liquid drop method was then further developed and used at the SLAC National Accelerator Center from 1994 through 2007 with the initial paper by Charles Hendricks, Klaus Lackner, Gordon Shaw and myself [7]. Our final experimental paper, P. C. Kim et al [8], reported null results on both meteoritic material and on the largest sample of bulk matter in the form of mineral oil ever studied.…”

Section: Searches For Fractional Charge Particles In Bulk Mattermentioning

confidence: 99%

Searches for Fractionally Charged Particles: What Should Be Done Next?

Перл

2009

Nuclear Physics B - Proceedings Supplements

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Since the initial measurements of the electron charge a century ago, experimenters have faced the persistent question as to whether elementary particles exist that have charges that are fractional multiples of the electron charge. I concisely review the results of the last 50 years of searching for fractional charge particles with no confirmed positive results. I discuss the question of whether more searching is worthwhile? THE PUZZLE OF UNIT ELECTRIC CHARGEWe have no explanation why the electric charges of all the known elementary particles are either zero or q or ± 1 3 q or ± 2 3 q or ±q where q is the magnitude of the electrons charge, 1.602 × 10 −19 coulombs. We call q the unit electric charge.There are no confirmed observations of elementary or composite particles with charge Q = rq where r is a fraction such as 2 7 or an irrational or transcendental number. We call these hypothetical particles fractional electric charge particles, even though the fraction Q q might be greater than 1; for example a particle with charge Q = πq. We use F to mean a fractional electric charge particle.My colleagues, Dinesh Loomba and Eric Lee, and I are publishing a detailed review of fractional charge searches [1]. Therefore, I give a few references in this paper and refer the reader to Ref. 1 for details and full references. This paper will be published in the Proceedings of the X INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON TAU LEPTON PHYSICS held at the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk, Russia, September 22 -25, 2008. QUARKS AND FREE QUARK SEARCHES About 1910 Robert Millikan and HarveyFletcher elucidated the magnitude of the electron charge q [2]. And by the early 1920s there was consensus that q was the smallest electric charge. This was not challenged until the 1960s when physicists adopted the view of quarks as real elementary particles. This view of quarks and the increasing use of particle accelerators led to many searches for particles with charge SEARCH METHODS AND RE-MARKS ON SEARCHESThere are five types of searches for fractional charge particles: searches using particle accelerators and fixed targets, searches using particle colliders, searches in cosmic rays, searches in bulk matter, and special search methods for particles with Q very close to 0 called millicharged or minicharged particles.We do not know how fractional charge particles interact with ordinary particles: is the interaction strong or electromagnetic or weak or a not yet discovered force?Since we do not know the F mass, m F , searches using accelerators, colliders, or cosmic rays are broader as the energy increases. On the other hand, the sensitivity of searches in bulk matter is independent of m F .

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Search for Fractional-Charge Particles in Meteoritic Material

Cited by 24 publications

References 24 publications

Tensor Networks for Lattice Gauge Theories with Continuous Groups

Tensor Networks for Lattice Gauge Theories with Continuous Groups

Search for lightly ionizing particles using CDMS-II data and fabrication of CDMS detectors with improved homogeneity in properties

Searches for Fractionally Charged Particles: What Should Be Done Next?

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