## Physics

### Hyperfine-driven Loschmidt echo in nanoscale nuclear spin baths. (arXiv:1804.07219v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

The nuclear spin bath (NSB) dynamics and quantum control have primary significance for the storage and processing of quantum information within a semiconductor environment. In the presence of a carrier spin, it is the hyperfine interaction that rules the NSB characteristics. Here, we study the overall coherence decay and rephasings in hyperfine-driven NSB through the temporal and spectral behavior of the so-called Loschmidt echo (LE). Unlike prevailing emphasis on spin-1/2, NSB with larger spin quantum numbers are equally considered. First, the dependences of LE on the size, initial polarization, coupling inhomogeneity, and phase-flip rate of NSB are separately investigated. Based on this insight, a simple phenomenological expression is offered that can account for all of these features. This is then used to interpret the computed power spectra of two realistic semiconductor systems, namely, a donor center and a quantum dot that represent small and large nanoscale NSB examples, respectively. We observe that large-spin nuclei are highly vulnerable to phase-flip dephasing giving rise to significant broadening in the spectrum, reaching 100~MHz range for typical quantum dots. On the other hand for small reservoirs, as in donor centers this width narrows down by two orders of magnitude making them readily amenable for dynamical decoupling techniques. This hyperfine-driven LE response by itself can serve for discriminating its contribution from other sources in the noise spectrum, and generally, it can be helpful for the optimal utilization and control of the nuclear spin reservoir.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Resonance energy transfer between two atoms in a conducting cylindrical waveguide. (arXiv:1804.07226v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We consider the energy transfer process between two identical atoms placed inside a perfectly conducting cylindrical waveguide. We first introduce a general analytical expression of the energy transfer amplitude in terms of the electromagnetic Green's tensor; we then evaluate it in the case of a cylindrical waveguide made of a perfect conductor, for which analytical forms of the Green's tensor exist. We numerically analyse the energy transfer amplitude when the radius of the waveguide is such that the transition frequency of both atoms is below the lower cutoff frequency of the waveguide, so that the resonant photon exchange is strongly suppressed. We consider both cases of atomic dipoles parallel and orthogonal to the axis of the guide. In both cases, we find that the energy transfer is modified by the presence of the waveguide. In the near zone, that is when the atomic separation is smaller than the atomic transition wavelength, the change, with respect to the free-space case, is small for axial dipoles, while it is larger for radial dipoles; it grows when the intermediate region between near and far zone is approached. In the far zone, we find that the energy transfer amplitude is strongly suppressed by the waveguide, becoming virtually zero. A physical interpretation of these results is discussed. Finally, we discuss the resonance interaction energy and force between two identical correlated atoms in the waveguide, one excited and the other in the ground state, prepared in their symmetric or antisymmetric superposition.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Storing single photons emitted by a quantum memory on a highly excited Rydberg state. (arXiv:1804.07259v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Strong interaction between two single photons is a long standing and important goal in quantum photonics. This would enable a new regime of nonlinear optics and unlock several applications in quantum information science, including photonic quantum gates and deterministic Bell-state measurements. In the context of quantum networks, it would be important to achieve interactions between single photons from independent photon pairs storable in quantum memories. So far, most experiments showing nonlinearities at the single-photon level have used weak classical input light. Here, we demonstrate the storage and retrieval of a paired single photon emitted by an ensemble quantum memory in a strongly nonlinear medium based on highly excited Rydberg atoms. We show that nonclassical correlations between the two photons persist after retrieval from the Rydberg ensemble. Our result is an important step towards deterministic photon-photon interactions, and may enable deterministic Bell-state measurements with multimode quantum memories.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Undecidability of the Spectral Gap (full version). (arXiv:1502.04573v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We show that the spectral gap problem is undecidable. Specifically, we construct families of translationally-invariant, nearest-neighbour Hamiltonians on a 2D square lattice of d-level quantum systems (d constant), for which determining whether the system is gapped or gapless is an undecidable problem. This is true even with the promise that each Hamiltonian is either gapped or gapless in the strongest sense: it is promised to either have continuous spectrum above the ground state in the thermodynamic limit, or its spectral gap is lower-bounded by a constant in the thermodynamic limit. Moreover, this constant can be taken equal to the local interaction strength of the Hamiltonian.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quasielectrons as inverse quasiholes in lattice fractional quantum Hall models. (arXiv:1609.02389v3 [cond-mat.str-el] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

From an experimental point of view, quasielectrons and quasiholes play very similar roles in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Nevertheless, the theoretical description of quasielectrons is known to be much harder than the one of quasiholes. The problem is that one obtains a singularity in the wavefunction if one tries to naively construct the quasielectron as the inverse of the quasihole. Here, we demonstrate that the same problem does not arise in lattice fractional quantum Hall models. This result allows us to make detailed investigations of the properties of quasielectrons, including their braiding statistics and density distribution on lattices on the plane and on the torus. We show that some of the states considered have high overlap with certain fractional Chern insulator states. We also derive few-body Hamiltonians, for which various states containing quasielectrons are exact ground states.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### A quantum causal discovery algorithm. (arXiv:1704.00800v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Finding a causal model for a set of classical variables is now a well-established task---but what about the quantum equivalent? Even the notion of a quantum causal model is controversial. Here, we present a causal discovery algorithm for quantum systems. The input to the algorithm is a process matrix describing correlations between quantum events. Its output consists of different levels of information about the underlying causal model. Our algorithm determines whether the process is causally ordered by grouping the events into causally-ordered non-signaling sets. It detects if all relevant common causes are included in the process, which we label Markovian, or alternatively if some causal relations are mediated through some external memory. For a Markovian process, it outputs a causal model, namely the causal relations and the corresponding mechanisms, represented as quantum states and channels. Our algorithm provides a first step towards more general methods for quantum causal discovery.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Universal Scaling Laws for Correlation Spreading in Quantum Systems with Short- and Long-Range Interactions. (arXiv:1706.00838v2 [cond-mat.stat-mech] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We study the spreading of information in a wide class of quantum systems, with variable-range interactions. We show that, after a quench, it generally features a double structure, whose scaling laws are related to a set of universal microscopic exponents that we determine. When the system supports excitations with a finite maximum velocity, the spreading shows a twofold ballistic behavior. While the correlation edge spreads with a velocity equal to twice the maximum group velocity, the dominant correlation maxima propagate with a different velocity that we derive. When the maximum group velocity diverges, as realizable with long-range interactions, the correlation edge features a slower-than-ballistic motion. The motion of the maxima is, instead, either faster-than-ballistic, for gapless systems, or ballistic, for gapped systems. The phenomenology that we unveil here provides a unified framework, which encompasses existing experimental observations with ultracold atoms and ions. It also paves the way to simple extensions of those experiments to observe the structures we describe in their full generality.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Dirac Equation in (1+1)-Dimensional Curved Spacetime and the Multiphoton Quantum Rabi Model. (arXiv:1707.07520v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We introduce an exact mapping between the Dirac equation in (1+1)-dimensional curved spacetime (DCS) and a multiphoton quantum Rabi model (QRM). A background of a (1+1)-dimensional black hole requires a QRM with one- and two-photon terms that can be implemented in a trapped ion for the quantum simulation of Dirac particles in curved spacetime. We illustrate our proposal with a numerical analysis of the free fall of a Dirac particle into a (1+1)-dimensional black hole, and find that the Zitterbewegung effect, measurable via the oscillatory trajectory of the Dirac particle, persists in the presence of gravity. From the duality between the squeezing term in the multiphoton QRM and the metric coupling in the DCS, we show that gravity generates squeezing of the Dirac particle wave function.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quantum simulation from the bottom up: the case of rebits. (arXiv:1708.09355v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Typically, quantum mechanics is thought of as a linear theory with unitary evolution governed by the Schr\"odinger equation. While this is technically true and useful for a physicist, with regards to computation it is an unfortunately narrow point of view. Just as a classical computer can simulate highly nonlinear functions of classical states, so too can the more general quantum computer simulate nonlinear evolutions of quantum states. We detail one particular simulation of nonlinearity on a quantum computer, showing how the entire class of $\mathbb{R}$-unitary evolutions (on $n$ qubits) can be simulated using a unitary, real-amplitude quantum computer (consisting of $n+1$ qubits in total). These operators can be represented as the sum of a linear and antilinear operator, and add an intriguing new set of nonlinear quantum gates to the toolbox of the quantum algorithm designer. Furthermore, a subgroup of these nonlinear evolutions, called the $\mathbb{R}$-Cliffords, can be efficiently classically simulated, by making use of the fact that Clifford operators can simulate non-Clifford (in fact, non-linear) operators. This perspective of using the physical operators that we have to simulate non-physical ones that we do not is what we call bottom-up simulation, and we give some examples of its broader implications.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Universal broadening of the light cone in low-temperature transport. (arXiv:1709.10096v2 [cond-mat.stat-mech] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We consider the low-temperature transport properties of critical one-dimensional systems which can be described, at equilibrium, by a Luttinger liquid. We focus on the prototypical setting where two semi-infinite chains are prepared in two thermal states at small but different temperatures and suddenly joined together. At large distances $x$ and times $t$, conformal field theory characterizes the energy transport in terms of a single light cone spreading at the sound velocity $v$. Energy density and current take different constant values inside the light cone, on its left, and on its right, resulting in a three-step form of the corresponding profiles as a function of $\zeta=x/t$. Here, using a non-linear Luttinger liquid description, we show that for generic observables this picture is spoiled as soon as a non-linearity in the spectrum is present. In correspondence of the transition points $x/t=\pm v$ a novel universal region emerges at infinite times, whose width is proportional to the temperatures on the two sides. In this region, expectation values have a different temperature dependence and show smooth peaks as a function of $\zeta$. We explicitly compute the universal function describing such peaks. In the specific case of interacting integrable models, our predictions are analytically recovered by the generalized hydrodynamic approach.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Near optimal discrimination of binary coherent signals via atom-light interaction. (arXiv:1710.04592v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We study the discrimination of weak coherent states of light with significant overlaps by nondestructive measurements on the light states through measuring atomic states that are entangled to the coherent states via dipole coupling. In this way, the problem of measuring and discriminating coherent light states is shifted to finding the appropriate atom-light interaction and atomic measurements. We show that this scheme allows us to attain a probability of error extremely close to the Helstrom bound, the ultimate quantum limit for discriminating binary quantum states, through the simple Jaynes-Cummings interaction between the field and ancilla with optimized light-atom coupling and projective measurements on the atomic states. Moreover, since the measurement is nondestructive on the light state, information that is not detected by one measurement can be extracted from the post-measurement light states through subsequent measurements.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Non-closure of the set of quantum correlations via graphs. (arXiv:1709.05032v3 [math.OA] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We prove that the set of quantum correlations for a bipartite system of 5 inputs and 2 outputs is not closed. Our proof relies on computing the correlation functions of a graph, which is a concept that we introduce.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Interferometric modulation of quantum cascade interactions. (arXiv:1709.05826v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We consider many-body quantum systems dissipatively coupled by a cascade network, i.e. a setup in which interactions are mediated by unidirectional environmental modes propagating through a linear optical interferometer. In particular we are interested in the possibility of inducing different effective interactions by properly engineering an external dissipative network of beam-splitters and phase-shifters. In this work we first derive the general structure of the master equation for a symmetric class of translation-invariant cascade networks. Then we show how, by tuning the parameters of the interferometer, one can exploit interference effects to tailor a large variety of many-body interactions.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### High-fidelity entanglement between a trapped ion and a telecom photon via quantum frequency conversion. (arXiv:1710.04866v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Entanglement between a stationary quantum system and a flying qubit is an essential ingredient of a quantum-repeater network. It has been demonstrated for trapped ions, trapped atoms, color centers in diamond, or quantum dots. These systems have transition wavelengths in the blue, red or near-infrared spectral regions, whereas long-range fiber-communication requires wavelengths in the low-loss, low-dispersion telecom regime. A proven tool to interconnect flying qubits at visible/NIR wavelengths to the telecom bands is quantum frequency conversion. Here we use an efficient polarization-preserving frequency converter connecting 854$\,$nm to the telecom O-band at 1310$\,$nm to demonstrate entanglement between a trapped $^{40}$Ca$^{+}$ ion and the polarization state of a telecom photon with a high fidelity of 98.2 $\pm$ 0.2$\%$. The unique combination of 99.75 $\pm$ 0.18$\%$ process fidelity in the polarization-state conversion, 26.5$\%$ external frequency conversion efficiency and only 11.4 photons/s conversion-induced unconditional background makes the converter a powerful ion-telecom quantum interface.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### On-chip III-V monolithic integration of heralded single photon sources and beamsplitters. (arXiv:1710.08710v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We demonstrate a monolithic III-V photonic circuit combining a heralded single photon source with a beamsplitter, at room temperature and telecom wavelength. Pulsed parametric down-conversion in an AlGaAs waveguide generates counterpropagating photons, one of which is used to herald the injection of its twin into the beamsplitter. We use this configuration to implement an integrated Hanbury-Brown and Twiss experiment, yielding a heralded second-order correlation $g^{(2)}_{\rm her}(0)=0.10 \pm 0.02$ that confirms single-photon operation. The demonstrated generation and manipulation of quantum states on a single III-V semiconductor chip opens promising avenues towards real-world applications in quantum information.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Signatures of indistinguishability in bosonic many-body dynamics. (arXiv:1710.08876v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We introduce a measure of the indistinguishability of bosonic, multimode many-particle configurations, and demonstrate its unambiguous relationship with the evolution of observables that probe two-particle interferences, even for finite inter-particle interaction strengths. In this latter case, the degree of indistinguishability also controls single-particle observables, due to the interaction-induced coupling of single-particle amplitudes.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Theory of channel simulation and bounds for private communication. (arXiv:1711.09909v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

We review recent results on the simulation of quantum channels, the reduction of adaptive protocols (teleportation stretching), and the derivation of converse bounds for quantum and private communication, as established in PLOB [Pirandola, Laurenza, Ottaviani, Banchi, arXiv:1510.08863]. We start by introducing a general weak converse bound for private communication based on the relative entropy of entanglement. We discuss how combining this bound with channel simulation and teleportation stretching, PLOB established the two-way quantum and private capacities of several fundamental channels, including the bosonic lossy channel. We then provide a rigorous proof of the strong converse property of these bounds by adopting a correct use of the Braunstein-Kimble teleportation protocol for the simulation of bosonic Gaussian channels. This analysis provides a full justification of claims presented in the follow-up paper WTB [Wilde, Tomamichel, Berta, arXiv:1602.08898] whose upper bounds for Gaussian channels would be otherwise infinitely large. Besides clarifying contributions in the area of channel simulation and protocol reduction, we also present some generalizations of the tools to other entanglement measures and novel results on the maximum excess noise which is tolerable in quantum key distribution.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Pechukas-Yukawa formalism for Landau-Zener transitions in the presence of external noise. (arXiv:1803.05034v2 [cond-mat.stat-mech] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Quantum systems are prone to decoherence due to both intrinsic interactions as well as random fluctuations from the environment. Using the Pechukas-Yukawa formalism, we investigate the influence of noise on the dynamics of an adiabatically evolving Hamiltonian which can describe a quantum computer. Under this description, the level dynamics of a parametrically perturbed quantum Hamiltonian are mapped to the dynamics of 1D classical gas. We show that our framework coincides with the results of the classical Landau-Zener transitions upon linearisation. Furthermore, we determine the effects of external noise on the level dynamics and its impact on Landau-Zener transitions.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Efficiency of free auxiliary models in describing interacting fermions: from the Kohn-Sham model to the optimal entanglement model. (arXiv:1804.03216v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Density functional theory maps an interacting Hamiltonian onto the Kohn-Sham Hamiltonian, an explicitly free model with identical local fermion densities. Using the interaction distance, the minimum distance between the ground state of the interacting system and a generic free fermion state, we quantify the applicability and limitations of the Kohn-Sham model in capturing all properties of the interacting system. As a byproduct, this distance determines the optimal free state that reproduces the entanglement properties of the interacting system as faithfully as possible. When applied to the Fermi-Hubbard model we demonstrate that in the thermodynamic limit, rather surprisingly, the optimal free state provides an asymptotically exact representation of the ground state for all values of interaction coupling. The proposal of an optimal entanglement model, as the parent Hamiltonian of the optimal free state, opens up the exciting possibility of extending the systematic applicability of auxiliary free models into the non-perturbative, strongly-correlated regimes.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Variational approach for interacting ultra-cold atoms in arbitrary one-dimensional confinement. (arXiv:1804.06342v2 [cond-mat.quant-gas] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 8 hours 14 min ago

Standard analytical construction of the many-body wave function of interacting particles in one dimension, beyond mean-field theory, is based on the Jastrow approach. The many-body interacting ground state is build up from the ground state of the non-interacting system and the product of solutions of the corresponding interacting two-body problem. However, this is possible only if the center-of-mass motion is decoupled from the mutual interactions. In our work, based on the general constraints given by contact nature of the atom-atom interactions, we present an alternative approach to the standard construction of the pair-correlation wave-function. Within the proposed ansatz, we study the many-body properties of trapped bosons as well as fermionic mixtures and we compare these predictions with the exact diagonalization approach in a wide range of particle numbers, interaction strengths, and different trapping potentials.

Categories: Journals, Physics