Wigner Cusp Anomalies in Multimode Systems

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Jimmy Clifford
Jimmy Clifford

Jimmy is from Lutz, Florida and graduated from Tampa Jesuit High School in 2019. He is in the class of 2023 at Wesleyan and is pursuing majors in mathematics and physics, and the IDEAS minor. He also plays catcher for the Wesleyan baseball team. After graduation he plans on further pursuing physics.

Abstract: Most sensors operate on a linear response principle (LRP) which implies a fundamental bound on the dynamic range of a sensor: the ratio between the maximum and minimum perturbations a sensor can measure. To overcome this limit a nonlinear sensing scheme is required. We have recently identified that such sensors can be created based on physical sensing platforms which operate at the vicinity of Wigner’s cusp anomalies (WCAs). These are square-root singularities of the differential scattering cross-section around the energy threshold of a newly opened channel. It can manifest itself in a range of frameworks including nuclear reactions, scattering of a quantum particle in the proximity of a step potential, and reflectance of a monochromatic wave from the intersection of two dielectric media (the first having a greater refractive index than the second) about the critical angle. The WCAs also can be implemented in a multimode system, where each mode has a threshold associated with a specific type of perturbations allowing the independent and simultaneous detection of a large number of various perturbations. Our effort aims to achieve a multi-faceted sensor-platform with extreme sensitivity and large dynamic range, which is capable of measuring multiple independent observable quantities at once.

Video:

Jimmy Clifford (Physics)

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