Integrated Calendar

Abstract: I will first review basic aspects of models of inflation in supergravity and introduce the framework of sgoldstino-less inflation. Then I will discuss the conditions that a theory with the inflaton and the sgoldstino superfield should satisfy to be consistently described by a sgoldstino-less model. I will then combine in a simple model the alpha-attractor inflation scenario and gauge mediation of supersymmetry breaking. In this framework, one can derive the superpartner spectrum as well as compute inflation observables, the reheating temperature and address the gravitino overabundance problem. The non trivial interplay among these predictions characterize the phenomenology of the model and will impose stringent constraints on the allowed parameter space.

Typical experiments on quantum systems rely on open-loop dynamics that is probed with projective measurements. We explore the use of the broader class of POVM measurements allowed within quantum theory both for real-time monitoring of quantum states and quantum control. In particular, we discuss unsharp measurements as a tool to probe dynamic correlation functions during quantum quench dynamics in many particle spin systems. We derive an unsharp measurement protocol applicable to arbitrary spin, and find the surprising result that projective measurements allow exact extraction of correlation functions in the case of spin 1/2. Secondly, I present a protocol for quantum state monitoring using sequential unsharp measurement that allows real-time state estimation with high fidelity. By combining measurement with feedback based on an a priori (potentially incorrect) assumption regarding the pre-measurement state, we show that one can drive the quantum state into the assumed state. We call this control by a self-fulfilling prophecy.