Physics

Gravitational wave astronomy provides an unprecedented opportunity to test the nature of black holes and search for exotic, compact alternatives. Recent studies have shown that exotic compact objects (ECOs) can ring down in a manner similar to black holes, but can also produce a sequence of distinct pulses resembling the initial ringdown. These “echoes” would provide definite evidence for the existence of ECOs. In this work we study the generation of these echoes in a generic, parameterized model for the ECO, using Green’s functions. We show how to reprocess radiation in the near-horizon region of a Schwarzschild black hole into the radiation from the corresponding source in an ECO spacetime. Our methods allow us to understand the connection between distinct echoes and ringing at the resonant frequencies of the compact object. We find that the quasinormal mode ringing in the black hole spacetime plays a central role in determining the shape of the first few echoes. We use this observation to develop a simple template for echo waveforms. This template performs well over a variety of ECO parameters, and with improvements may prove useful in the analysis of gravitational waves.
Related Arxiv #: https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.06155

One of the basic puzzles of black hole thermodynamics is the simplicity and universality of the  Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. The idea that this entropy might be governed by a symmetry at the horizon is an old one, but until now efforts have focused on conformal symmetries, either at infinity or on a "stretched horizon."  I argue that a better approach uses a BMS-like symmetry of the horizon itself.  This avoids the limitations of previous attempts (including my own), and explains the entropy in terms of a generalization of the Cardy formula for the density of states.

A recent breakthrough in the condensed matter community is the identification and characterization of a rich set of ordered states, known as symmetry protected topological (SPT) phases. These phases are not only fascinating from the perspective of fundamental physics but have also found powerful applications in quantum computation. Very little is known about the thermal stability of SPT ordered systems, or whether their associated computational properties may survive at non-zero temperature. In this talk I will give a brief introduction to SPT phases of matter, and address the question of whether these phases can survive at non-zero temperature. In particular, I will focus on understanding the thermal stability and fault-tolerant properties of models studied in the theory of quantum computation.

Join the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, as he interviews renowned scientists and celebrities about the enduring influence of Star Trek on popular culture, innovation, and creativity.

THE TRUTH IS IN THE STARS chronicles Shatner’s journey around the world to discover how Star Trek’s optimistic vision for the future has inspired leading minds including Perimeter Institute Director Neil Turok, Perimeter Founder Mike Lazaridis, Prof. Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chris Hadfield, David Suzuki, and many more.

The modeling of pulsar radio and gamma-ray emission suggests that in order to interpret the observations one needs to understand the field geometry and the plasma state in the emission region. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in understanding the magnetospheric structure in the limit of abundant plasma supply. However, the very presence of dense plasma everywhere in the magnetosphere is not obvious. Even the region where the observed emission is produced is subject to debate. To address this from first principles, we constructed global kinetic simulations of pulsar magnetospheres using relativistic Particle-in-Cell codes, which capture the physics of plasma production and particle acceleration. In this talk I will describe how plasma is produced in magnetospheres of pulsars and show that effects of general relativity are crucial for the activity of pulsars with low inclination angles. I will present modeling of high-energy lightcurves, calculated self-consistently from particle motion in the pulsar magnetosphere. I will also show evidence that observed radio emission is powered by non-stationary discharge at the polar cap. Finally, I will argue that giant radio pulses in the Crab are produced by coherent plasma currents, which appear at the interfaces of merging plasmoids in the current sheet beyond the light cylinder.

We investigate the usefulness of ground states of quantum spin chains with symmetry-protected topological order (SPTO) for measurement-based quantum computation. We show that, in spatial dimension one, if an SPTO phase supports quantum wire, then, subject to an additional symmetry condition that is satisfied in all cases so far investigated, it can also be used for quantum computation. Joint work with Dongsheng Wang, Abhishodh Prakash, Tzu-Chieh Wei and David Stephen; See arXiv:1609.07549v1