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It is hard to stabilize the p-wave superfluid state of cold atomic gas in free space due to inelastic collisional losses. We consider the p-wave Feshbach resonance in an optical lattice, and show that it is possible to have a stable p-wave superfluid state where the multi-atom collisional loss is suppressed through the quantum Zeno effect. We derive the effective Hamiltonian for this system, and calculate its phase diagram in a one-dimensional optical lattice. The results show rich phase transitions between the p-wave superfluid state and different types of insulator states induced either by interaction or by dissipation., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

SHIFTS IN FISH COMMUNITIES ALONG THE PRODUCTIVITY GRADIENT OF TEMPERATE LAKES - PATTERNS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SIZE-STRUCTURED INTERACTIONS

The effect of particle-hole fluctuations for the BCS-BEC crossover is investigated by use of functional renormalization. We compute the critical temperature for the whole range in the scattering length $a$. On the BCS side for small negative $a$ we recover the Gorkov approximation, while on the BEC side of small positive $a$ the particle-hole fluctuations play no important role, and we find a system of interacting bosons. In the unitarity limit of infinite scattering length our quantitative estimate yields $T_c/T_F=0.264$. We also investigate the crossover from broad to narrow Feshbach resonances -- for the later we obtain $T_c/T_F=0.204$ for $a^{-1}=0$. A key ingredient for our treatment is the computation of the momentum dependent four-fermion vertex and its bosonization in terms of an effective bound-state exchange., 11 pages, 6 figures. Reference added

We consider fermion-dimer scattering in the presence of a large positive scattering length in the frame of functional renormalization group equations. A flow equation for the momentum dependent fermion-dimer scattering amplitude is derived from first principles in a systematic vertex expansion of the exact flow equation for the effective action. The resummation obtained from the nonperturbative flow is shown to be equivalent to the one performed by the integral equation by Skorniakov and Ter-Martirosian (STM). The flow equation approach allows to integrate out fermions and bosons simultaneously, in line with the fact that the bosons are not fundamental but build up gradually as fluctuation induced bound states of fermions. In particular, the STM result for atom-dimer scattering is obtained by choosing the relative cutoff scales of fermions and bosons such that the fermion fluctuations are integrated out already at the initial stage of the RG evolution., 13 pages, 4 figures, references added, discussion improved

Phytoplankton–grazer dynamics are often characterized by long transients relative to the length of the growing season. Using a phytoplankton–grazer model parameterized for Daphnia pulex with either flexible or fixed algal carbon : nutrient stoichiometry, we explored how nutrient and light supply (the latter by varying depth of the mixed water column) affect the transient dynamics of the system starting from low densities. The system goes through an initial oscillation across nearly the entire light–nutrient supply space. With flexible (but not with fixed) algal stoichiometry, duration of the initial algal peak, timing and duration of the subsequent grazer peak, and timing of the algal minimum are consistently accelerated by nutrient enrichment but decelerated by light enrichment (decreasing mixing depth) over the range of intermediate to shallow mixing depths. These contrasting effects of nutrient vs. light enrichment are consequences of their opposing influences on food quality (algal nutrient content): algal productivity and food quality are positively related along a nutrient gradient but inversely related along a light gradient. Light enrichment therefore slows down grazer growth relative to algal growth, decelerating oscillatory dynamics; nutrient enrichment has opposite effects. We manipulated nutrient supply and mixing depth in a field enclosure experiment. The experimental results were qualitatively much more consistent with the flexible than with the fixed stoichiometry model. Nutrient enrichment increased Daphnia peak biomass, decreased algal minimum biomass, decreased the seston C:P ratio, and accelerated transient oscillatory dynamics. Light enrichment (decreasing mixing depth) produced the opposite patterns, except that Daphnia peak biomass increased monotonously with light enrichment, too. Thus, while the model predicts the possibility of the “paradox of energy enrichment” (a decrease in grazer biomass with light enrichment) at high light and low nutrient supply, this phenomenon did not occur in our experiment.

We investigate the possibility of using a dissipative process to prepare a quantum system in a desired state. We derive for any multipartite pure state a dissipative process for which this state is the unique stationary state and solve the corresponding master equation analytically. For certain states, like the Cluster states, we use this process to show that the jump operators can be chosen quasi-locally, i.e. they act non-trivially only on a few, neighboring qubits. Furthermore, the relaxation time of this dissipative process is independent of the number of subsystems. We demonstrate the general formalism by considering arbitrary MPS-PEPS states. In particular, we show that the ground state of the AKLT-model can be prepared employing a quasi--local dissipative process., Comment: minor changes, references added, appendix removed

An open quantum system, whose time evolution is governed by a master equation, can be driven into a given pure quantum state by an appropriate design of the system-reservoir coupling. This points out a route towards preparing many body states and non-equilibrium quantum phases by quantum reservoir engineering. Here we discuss in detail the example of a \emph{driven dissipative Bose Einstein Condensate} of bosons and of paired fermions, where atoms in an optical lattice are coupled to a bath of Bogoliubov excitations via the atomic current representing \emph{local dissipation}. In the absence of interactions the lattice gas is driven into a pure state with long range order. Weak interactions lead to a weakly mixed state, which in 3D can be understood as a depletion of the condensate, and in 1D and 2D exhibits properties reminiscent of a Luttinger liquid or a Kosterlitz-Thouless critical phase at finite temperature, with the role of the ``finite temperature'' played by the interactions., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

It is notoriously difficult to study population interactions among highly mobile animals that cannot be meaningfully confined to experimental plots of limited size. For example, migratory water birds are believed to suffer from competition with resident fish populations for shared food resources. While observational evidence in support of this hypothesis is accumulating, replicated experiments addressing this issue at the proper spatial scale are lacking. Here, we report from a replicated whole-system experiment in which we stocked large (0.07 km2), shallow (< or =2.5 m deep), highly eutrophic ponds in the bird protection area "Ismaninger Speichersee mit Fischteichen" with different densities of carp and assessed the responses of water birds and their food resources during summer over several years. In all years, the biomasses of benthic macroinvertebrates, macroalgae, and macrophytes as well as the densities of herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous water birds were reduced in carp ponds compared to fishless ponds. The negative effects of carp on food resources and on the numbers of water birds feeding in carp ponds increased over the season (May-September) and were stronger at high than at low stocking densities of carp. Consequently, differences in resource densities between ponds with and without carp increased, and the ranking of ponds with respect to resource densities became more predictable over the season. These factors may have contributed to a seasonal improvement of the birds' abilities to track resource densities across ponds, as suggested by tight correlations of bird numbers on ponds with resource densities late, but not early, in the season.

A functional renormalisation group study for the BEC-BCS crossover for ultracold gases of fermionic atoms is presented. We discuss the fixed point which is at the origin of universality for broad Feshbach resonances. All macroscopic quantities depend only on one relevant parameter, the concentration a k_F, besides their dependence on the temperature in units of the Fermi energy. In particular, we compute the universal ratio between molecular and atomic scattering length in vacuum. We also present an estimate to which level of accuracy universality holds for gases of Li and K atoms., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, to be published in PRA

In many lakes, the most conspicuous seasonal events are the phytoplankton spring bloom and the subsequent clear-water phase, a period of low-phytoplankton biomass that is frequently caused by mesozooplankton (Daphnia) grazing. In Central European lakes, the timing of the clear-water phase is linked to large-scale climatic forcing, with warmer winters being followed by an earlier onset of the clear-water phase. Mild winters may favour an early build-up of Daphnia populations, both directly through increased surface temperatures and indirectly by reducing light limitation and enhancing algal production, all being a consequence of earlier thermal stratification. We conducted a field experiment to disentangle the separate impacts of stratification depth (affecting light supply) and temperature on the magnitude and timing of successional events in the plankton. We followed the dynamics of the phytoplankton spring bloom, the clear-water phase and the spring peak in Daphnia abundance in response to our experimental manipulations. Deeper mixing delayed the timing of all spring seasonal events and reduced the magnitudes of the phytoplankton bloom and the subsequent Daphnia peak. Colder temperatures retarded the timing of the clear-water phase and the subsequent Daphnia peak, whereas the timing of the phytoplankton peak was unrelated to temperature. Most effects of mixing depth (light) and temperature manipulations were independent, effects of mixing depth being more prevalent than effects of temperature. Because mixing depth governs both the light climate and the temperature regime in the mixed surface layer, we propose that climate-driven changes in the timing and depth of water column stratification may have far-reaching consequences for plankton dynamics and should receive increased attention.

We develop a functional integral formalism for ultracold gases of fermionic atoms. It describes the BEC - BCS crossover and involves both atom and molecule fields. Beyond mean field theory we include the fluctuations of the molecule field by the solution of gap equations. In the BEC limit, we find that the low temperature behavior is described by a Bogoliubov theory for bosons. For a narrow Feshbach resonance these bosons can be associated with microscopic molecules. In contrast, for a broad resonance the interaction between the atoms is approximately pointlike and microscopic molecules are irrelevant. The bosons represent now correlated atom pairs or composite ``dressed molecules''. The low temperature results agree with quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Our formalism can treat with general inhomogeneous situations in a trap. For not too strong inhomogeneities the detailed properties of the trap are not needed for the computation of the fluctuation effects - they enter only in the solutions of the field equations., Comment: 39 pages, 11 figures

We present a comprehensive analysis of critical behavior in the driven-dissipative Bose condensation transition in three spatial dimensions. Starting point is a microscopic description of the system in terms of a many-body quantum master equation, where coherent and driven-dissipative dynamics occur on an equal footing. An equivalent Keldysh real time functional integral reformulation opens up the problem to a practical evaluation using the tools of quantum field theory. In particular, we develop a functional renormalization group approach to quantitatively explore the universality class of this stationary non-equilibrium system. Key results comprise the emergence of an asymptotic thermalization of the distribution function, while manifest non-equilibrium properties are witnessed in the response properties in terms of a new, independent critical exponent. Thus the driven-dissipative microscopic nature is seen to bear observable consequences on the largest length scales. The absence of two symmetries present in closed equilibrium systems - underlying particle number conservation and detailed balance, respectively - is identified as the root of this new non-equilibrium critical behavior. Our results are relevant for broad ranges of open quantum systems on the interface of quantum optics and many-body physics, from exciton-polariton condensates to cold atomic gases., Comment: 33 pages, 8 figures

Thermal noise destroys the fragile correlations that characterize many-body systems at a quantum critical point. Theoretical work now shows that another generic form of noise acts differently: flicker noise may alter some properties of a quantum phase transition, but it can preserve the quantum critical state.

Lentic macroinvertebrates have received comparatively little interest from lake managers and researchers for two reasons. First, with few exceptions (e.g., the control of mosquitos, the provision of forage for waterfowl), there is no public interest in managing ponds and lakes for macroinvertebrates per se. Macroinvertebrates are not a directly harvestable resource, such as fish, and are rarely perceived as a nuisance, such as excessively growing planktonic algae or macrophytes. Second, macroinvertebrates are impractical study organisms. They are taxonomically and functionally diverse, seasonally and geographically highly variable, strongly patchy in their local distributions, and tedious to sample and sort. This combination of high natural variability, high sampling effort, and low sampling precision makes it notoriously difficult to distinguish pattern from error and noise in estimates of macroinvertebrate responses to comparative or experimental gradients. Furthermore, many macroinvertebrates cannot be observed in their natural environments and are very difficult to manipulate in the field, which limits the approaches to study their behaviors and impacts on other organisms.

In predator-prey interactions, the efficiency of the predator is dependent on characteristics of both the predator and the prey, as well as the structure of the environment. In a field enclosure experiment, we tested the effects of a prey refuge on predator search mode, predator efficiency and prey behaviour. Replicated enclosures containing young of the year (0+) and 1-year-old (1+) perch were stocked with 3 differentially sized individuals of either of 2 piscivorous species, perch (Perca fluviatilis), pike (Esox lucius) or no piscivorous predators. Each enclosure contained an open predator area with three small vegetation patches, and a vegetated absolute refuge for the prey. We quantified the behaviour of the predators and the prey simultaneously, and at the end of the experiment the growth of the predators and the mortality and habitat use of the prey were estimated. The activity mode of both predator species was stationary. Perch stayed in pairs in the vegetation patches whereas pike remained solitary and occupied the corners of the enclosure. The largest pike individuals stayed closest to the prey refuge whereas the smallest individuals stayed farthest away from the prey refuge, indicating size-dependent interference among pike. Both size classes of prey showed stronger behavioural responses to pike than to perch with respect to refuge use, distance from refuge and distance to the nearest predator. Prey mortality was higher in the presence of pike than in the presence of perch. Predators decreased in body mass in all treatments, and perch showed a relatively stronger decrease in body mass than pike during the experiment. Growth differences of perch and pike, and mortality differences of prey caused by predation, can be explained by predator morphology, predator attack efficiency and social versus interference behaviour of the predators. These considerations suggest that pike are more efficient piscivores around prey refuges such as the littoral zones of lakes, whereas perch have previously been observed to be more efficient in open areas, such as in the pelagic zones of lakes.

Omnivory (the consumption of resources from more than one trophic level) is widespread in nature and has the potential to produce a richness of indirect effects. Nevertheless, its effects on popula ...

I experimentally evaluated the impact of habitat structural complexity on the interactions between a generalist predator and a benthic macroinvertebrate prey assemblage in a freshwater pond. Benthi ...

We develop a quantum dynamical field theory for studying phase transitions in driven open systems coupled to Markovian noise, where non-linear noise effects and fluctuations beyond semiclassical approximations influence the critical behaviour. We systematically compare the diagrammatics, the properties of the renormalization group flow and the structure of the fixed points, of the novel quantum dynamical field theory and of its semi-classical counterpart, which is employed to characterise dynamical criticality in three dimensional driven-dissipative condensates. As an application, we perform the Keldysh Functional Renormalization of a one dimensional driven open Bose gas, where a tailored diffusion Markov noise realises an analog of quantum criticality for driven-dissipative condensation. We find that the associated non-equilibrium quantum phase transition does not map into the critical behaviour of its three dimensional classical driven counterpart., Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables; close to published version; Editors' Suggestion

We develop a comprehensive renormalization group (RG) approach to criticality in open Floquet systems, where dissipation enables the system to reach a well-defined Floquet steady state of finite entropy, and all observables are synchronized with the drive. We provide a detailed description of how to combine Keldysh and Floquet formalisms to account for the critical fluctuations in the weakly and rapidly driven regime. A key insight is that a reduction to the time-averaged static sector is not possible close to the critical point. This guides the design of a perturbative dynamic RG approach, which treats the time-dependent, dynamic sector associated to higher harmonics of the drive, on an equal footing with the time-averaged sector. Within this framework, we develop a weak drive expansion scheme, which enables to systematically truncate the RG flow equations in powers of the inverse drive frequency ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. This allows us to show how a periodic drive inhibits scale invariance and critical fluctuations of second-order phase transitions in rapidly driven open systems. Although criticality emerges in the limit ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}=0$, any finite drive frequency produces a scale that remains finite all through the phase transition. This is a universal mechanism that relies on the competition of the critical fluctuations within the static and dynamic sectors of the problem.

A comprehensive theory of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in two-dimensional superfluids in thermal equilibrium can be developed within a dual representation which maps vortices in the superfluid to charges in a Coulomb gas. In this framework, the dissociation of vortex-antivortex pairs at the critical temperature corresponds to the formation of a plasma of free charges. The physics of vortex unbinding in driven-dissipative systems such as fluids of light, on the other hand, is much less understood. Here we make a crucial step to fill this gap by deriving a transformation that maps the compact Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) equation, which describes the dynamics of the phase of a driven-dissipative condensate, to a dual electrodynamic theory. The latter is formulated in terms of modified Maxwell equations for the electromagnetic fields and a diffusion equation for the charges representing vortices in the KPZ equation. This mapping utilizes an adaption of the Villain approximation to a generalized Martin-Siggia-Rose functional integral representation of the compact KPZ equation on a lattice., 12 pages

We discuss the dissipative preparation of p-wave superconductors in number-conserving one-dimensional fermionic systems. We focus on two setups: the first one entails a single wire coupled to a bath, whereas in the second one the environment is connected to a two-leg ladder. Both settings lead to stationary states which feature the bulk properties of a p-wave superconductor, identified in this number-conserving setting through the long-distance behavior of the proper p-wave correlations. The two schemes differ in the fact that the steady state of the single wire is not characterized by topological order, whereas the two-leg ladder hosts Majorana zero modes, which are decoupled from damping and exponentially localized at the edges. Our analytical results are complemented by an extensive numerical study of the steady-state properties, of the asymptotic decay rate and of the robustness of the protocols., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 2 appendices

We present a functional renormalization group approach for the active to inactive phase transition in directed percolation type systems, in which the transition is approached from the active, finite density phase. By expanding the effective potential for the density field around its minimum, we obtain a background field action functional, which serves as a starting point for the functional renormalization group approach. Due to the presence of the background field, the corresponding non-perturbative flow equations yield remarkably good estimates for the critical exponents of the directed percolation universality class, even in low dimensions.

The effects of submerged macrophytes and light on the foraging behaviour and capture rate of three fishes, perch (Perca fluviatilis), bream (Abramis brama) and roach (Rutilus rutilus), were studied in the laboratory. Attack frequency and number of captured chironomid larvae decreased for all species with increasing complexity of the artifical vegetation. Perch was, however, less affected by vegetation density than bream and roach. Opposite effects were obtained through a reduction of light intensity. Capture efficiency of perch was reduced markedly in darkness, whereas capture efficiencies of bream and roach were unaffected by the absence of light. In a turbid, highly productive lake, the abundance of chironomid larvae increased with increasing submerged macrophyte complexity. Perch was most abundant in Chara tomentosa, whereas bream and roach preferred the unvegetated part of the lake. Perch seem to be the superior foragers on macroinvertebrates in dense littoral vegetation, whereas bream and roach are superior in turbid waters lacking submerged macrophytes. Hence, changes in the physical environment induced by eutrophication (decrease in submerged vegetation and increase in turbidity) should affect the competitive interactions among perch, bream and roach, promoting the observed succession from percids to cyprinids in lakes undergoing eutrophication.