Hunter-McCabe, Aonghus (2023) Geometric and General Relativistic Techniques for Non-relativistic Quantum Systems. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
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Abstract
This thesis explores the application of diferential geometric and general relativistic
techniques to deepen our understanding of quantum mechanical systems.
We focus on three systems, employing these mathematical frameworks to uncover
subtle features within each. First, we examine Unruh radiation in the
context of an accelerated two-state atom, determining transition frequencies
for a variety of accelerated trajectories via first-order perturbation theory. For
harmonic motion of the atom in a vacuum, we derive transition rates with
potential experimental realizations. Next, we investigate the quantum Hall
effect in a spherical geometry using the Dirac operator for non-interacting
fermions in a background magnetic field generated by a Wu-Yang monopole.
The Atiyah-Singer index theorem constrains the degeneracy of the ground
state, and the fractional quantum Hall effect is studied using the composite
fermion model, where Dirac strings associated with the monopole field supply
the statistical gauge field vortices. A unique, gapped ground state emerges,
yielding fractions of the form v = 1
2k+1 for large particle numbers. Finally, we
examine the AdS/CMT correspondence through a bulk fermionic field in an
RN-AdS4 background (with a U(1) gauge field), dual to a boundary fermionic
operator. Spherical and planar event horizon geometries are discussed, with
the temperature of the RN black hole identified with that of the dual system
on the boundary. By numerically solving for the spectral functions of the dual
theory, for a spherical event horizon at zero temperature, we identify a shift
in the Fermi surface from that which arises in the planar case. Preliminary
evidence of a phase transition emerges upon examining these spectral functions,
again for the spherical horizon, at non-zero temperature.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
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Keywords: | Geometric and General Relativistic Techniques; Non-relativistic Quantum Systems; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Theoretical Physics |
Item ID: | 19505 |
Depositing User: | IR eTheses |
Date Deposited: | 18 Feb 2025 15:39 |
Funders: | John and Pat Hume Scholarship |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/19505 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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