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In two-dimensional random waves, phase singularities are point-like dislocations with a behavior reminiscent of interacting particles. This -- qualitative -- consideration, stems from the spatial arrangement of these entities, which finds its hallmark in a pair correlation reminiscent of liquid-like system. Starting from their pair correlation function, we derive an effective pair-interaction for phase singularities in random waves by using a reverse Monte Carlo method. This study initiates a new approach for the treatment of singularities in random waves and can be generalized to topological defects in any system.

Three-nucleon force and continuum play important roles in reproducing the properties of atomic nuclei around driplines. Therefore it is valuable to build up a theoretical framework where both effects can be taken into account to solve the nuclear Schr\"odinger equation. To this end, in this letter, we have expressed the chiral three-nucleon force within the continuum Berggren representation, so that bound, resonant and continuum states can be treated on an equal footing in the complex-momentum space. To reduce the model dimension and computational cost, the three-nucleon force is truncated at the normal-ordered two-body level and limited in the $sd$-shell model space, with the residual three-body term being neglected. We choose neutron-rich oxygen isotopes as the test ground because they have been well studied experimentally, with the neutron dripline determined. The calculations have been carried out within the Gamow shell model. The quality of our results in reproducing the properties of oxygen isotopes around the neutron dripline shows the relevance of the interplay between three-nucleon force and the coupling to continuum states. We also analyze the role played by the chiral three-nucleon force, by dissecting the contributions of the $2\pi$ exchange, $1\pi$ exchange and contact terms.

In order to utilize the full potential of tailored flows of electromagnetic energy at the nanoscale, we need to understand its general behaviour given by its generic representation of interfering random waves. For applications in on-chip photonics as well as particle trapping, it is important to discern the topological features in the flow field between the commonly investigated cases of fully vectorial light fields and their 2D equivalents. We demonstrate the distinct difference between these cases in both the allowed topology of the flow-field and the spatial distribution of its singularities, given by their pair correlation function g(r). Specifically, we show that a random field confined to a 2D plane has a divergence-free flow-field and exhibits a liquid-like correlation, whereas its freely propagating counterpart has no clear correlation and features a transverse flow-field with the full range of possible 2D topologies around its singularities., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

In nuclear structure calculations, the choice of a limited model space, due to computational needs, leads to the necessity to renormalize the Hamiltonian as well as any transition operator. Here, we present a study of the renormalization procedure and effects of the Gamow-Teller operator within the framework of the realistic shell model. Our effective shell-model operators are obtained, starting from a realistic nucleon-nucleon potential, by way of the many-body perturbation theory in order to take into account the degrees of freedom that are not explicitly included in the chosen model space. The theoretical effective shell-model Hamiltonian and transition operators are then employed in shell-model calculations, whose results are compared with data of Gamow-Teller transition strengths and double-beta half-lives for nuclei which are currently of interest for the detection of the neutrinoless double-beta decay process, in a mass interval ranging from A=48 up to A=136. We show that effective operators are able to reproduce quantitatively the spectroscopic and decay properties without resorting to an empirical quenching neither of the axial coupling constant gA, nor of the spin and orbital gyromagnetic factors. This should assess the reliability of applying present theoretical tools to this problematic., Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. C

We present a study of the role played by realistic three-body forces in providing a reliable monopole component of the effective shell-model Hamiltonian. To this end, starting from a nuclear potential built up within the chiral perturbation theory, we derive effective shell-model Hamiltonians with and without the contribution of the three-body potential and compare the results of shell-model calculations with a set of observables that evidence shell-evolution properties. The testing ground of our investigation are nuclei belonging to fp shell, since the shell evolution towards shell closures in 48Ca and 56Ni provides a paradigm for shell-model Hamiltonians. Our analysis shows that only by including contributions of the three-body force the monopole component of the effective shell-model Hamiltonian is then able to reproduce the experimental shell evolution towards and beyond the closure at N=28., Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. C

Vortices, phase singularities, and topological defects of any kind often reflect information that is crucial for understanding physical systems in which such entities arise. With near-field experiments supported by numerical calculations, we determine the fluctuations of the topological charge for phase singularities in isotropic random waves as a function of the size R of the observation window. We demonstrate that for two-dimensional fields such fluctuations increase with a superlinear scaling law, consistent with a R log R behavior. Additionally, we show that such scaling remains valid in the presence of anisotropy.

Phase singularities are locations where light is twisted like a corkscrew, with positive or negative topological charge depending on the twisting direction. Among the multitude of singularities arising in random wave fields, some can be found at the same location, but only when they exhibit opposite topological charge, which results in their mutual annihilation. New pairs can be created as well. With near-field experiments supported by theory and numerical simulations, we study the persistence and pairing statistics of phase singularities in random optical fields as a function of the excitation wavelength. We demonstrate how such entities can encrypt fundamental properties of the random fields in which they arise., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Phase singularities are dislocations widely studied in optical fields as well as in other areas of physics. With experiment and theory we show that the vectorial nature of light affects the spatial distribution of phase singularities in random light fields. While in scalar random waves phase singularities exhibit spatial distributions reminiscent of particles in isotropic liquids, in vector fields their distribution for the different vector components becomes anisotropic due to the direct relation between propagation and field direction. By incorporating this relation in the theory for scalar fields by Berry and Dennis [Proc. R. Soc. A 456, 2059 (2000)], we quantitatively describe our experiments., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

Topological singularities are ubiquitous in many areas of physics. Polarization singularities are locations at which an aspect of the polarization ellipse of light becomes undetermined or degenerate. At C points the orientation of the ellipse becomes degenerate and light's electric field vector describes a perfect circle in time. In 2D slices of 3D random fields the distribution in space of the C points is reminiscent of that of interacting particles. With near-field experiments we show that when light becomes truly 2D, this has severe consequences for the distribution of C points in space. The most notable change is that the probability of finding two C points with the same topological charge at a vanishing distance is enhanced in a 2D field. This is an unusual finding for any system which exhibits topological singularities as same-charge repulsion is typically observed. All our experimental findings are supported with theory and excellent agreement is found between theory and experiment.

In this paper we present an evolution of our derivation of the shell-model effective Hamiltonian, namely introducing effects of three-body contributions. More precisely, we consider a three-body potential at next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral perturbation theory, and the induced three-body forces that arise from many-body correlations among valence nucleons. The first one is included, in the derivation of the effective Hamiltonian for one- and two-valence nucleon-systems, at first order in the many-body perturbation theory. Namely, we include only the three-body interaction between one or two valence nucleons and those belonging to the core. For nuclei with more than two valence particles, both induced - turned on by the two-body potential - and genuine three-body forces come into play. Since it is difficult to perform shell-model calculations with three-body forces, these contributions are estimated for the ground-state energy only. In order to establish the reliability of our approximations, we focus attention on nuclei belonging to the p shell, aiming to benchmark our calculations against those performed with the ab initio no-core shell-model. The obtained results are satisfactory, and pave the way to the application of our approach to nuclear systems with heavier masses., Comment: 10 pages, 15 figures, to be published on Physical Review C

We report on the calculation of Gamow-Teller and double-beta decay properties for nuclei around 132Sn within the framework of the realistic shell model. The effective shell-model Hamiltonian and Gamow-Teller transition operator are derived by way of many-body perturbation theory, without resorting to empirical effective quenching factor for the Gamow-Teller operator. The results are then compared with the available experimental data, in order to establish the reliability of our approach. This is a mandatory step, before we apply the same methodology, in forthcoming studies, to the calculation of the neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear matrix element for nuclei that are currently considered among the best candidates for the detection of this process., Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, 6 tables, 1 appendix, to be published in Physical Review C

In the framework of Type IIB String Theory compactified on a general six-torus T6 with arbitrary complex structure, Yukawa couplings are determined for the chiral matter described by open strings ending on D9-branes having different oblique magnetization., Comment: 17 pages; contibution to the proceedings of the Corfu Summer Institute 2012, September 8-27, 2012, Corfu, Greece

In the framework of low-energy effective actions of branes compactified on magnetized extra-dimensions, we determine Yukawa couplings for the chiral matter described by open strings attached to D9 branes having different oblique magnetization and living on a general torus T6 with an arbitrary complex structure. These results generalize the ones existing in literature., Comment: 45 pages, minor corrections made for publication in JHEP

In this paper we present the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI), designed and developed as part of the Planck space mission, the ESA program dedicated to precision imaging of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Planck-LFI will observe the full sky in intensity and polarisation in three frequency bands centred at 30, 44 and 70 GHz, while higher frequencies (100-850 GHz) will be covered by the HFI instrument. The LFI is an array of microwave radiometers based on state-of-the-art Indium Phosphide cryogenic HEMT amplifiers implemented in a differential system using blackbody loads as reference signals. The front-end is cooled to 20K for optimal sensitivity and the reference loads are cooled to 4K to minimise low frequency noise. We provide an overview of the LFI, discuss the leading scientific requirements and describe the design solutions adopted for the various hardware subsystems. The main drivers of the radiometric, optical and thermal design are discussed, including the stringent requirements on sensitivity, stability, and rejection of systematic effects. Further details on the key instrument units and the results of ground calibration are provided in a set of companion papers., Comment: 23 pages, 31 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planck LFI technical papers published by JINST: http://www.iop.org/EJ/journal/-page=extra.proc5/1748-0221

This paper provides an overview of the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) programme within the ESA Planck mission. The LFI instrument has been developed to produce high precision maps of the microwave sky at frequencies in the range 27-77 GHz, below the peak of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation spectrum. The scientific goals are described, ranging from fundamental cosmology to Galactic and extragalactic astrophysics. The instrument design and development are outlined, together with the model philosophy and testing strategy. The instrument is presented in the context of the Planck mission. The LFI approach to ground and inflight calibration is described. We also describe the LFI ground segment. We present the results of a number of tests demonstrating the capability of the LFI data processing centre (DPC) to properly reduce and analyse LFI flight data, from telemetry information to calibrated and cleaned time ordered data, sky maps at each frequency (in temperature and polarization), component emission maps (CMB and diffuse foregrounds), catalogs for various classes of sources (the Early Release Compact Source Catalogue and the Final Compact Source Catalogue). The organization of the LFI consortium is briefly presented as well as the role of the core team in data analysis and scientific exploitation. All tests carried out on the LFI flight model demonstrate the excellent performance of the instrument and its various subunits. The data analysis pipeline has been tested and its main steps verified. In the first three months after launch, the commissioning, calibration, performance, and verification phases will be completed, after which Planck will begin its operational life, in which LFI will have an integral part., Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures. In press on Astronomy and Astrophysics