## Physics

### Parity-preserving light-matter system mediates effective two-body interactions. (arXiv:1601.06006v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

We study the equilibrium and non-equilibrium physics of two qubits interacting through an ultrastrong coupled qubit-cavity system. By tuning the qubits energy gap while keeping the ultrastrong coupling system to its ground state, we demonstrate a strong two-qubit interaction as well as an enhanced excitation transfer between the two qubits. Our proposal has twofold implications: a means to attain multipurpose parity-protected quantum information tasks in superconducting circuits, and a building block for ultrastrong coupled cavity-enhanced exciton transport in disordered media.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Does the Peres experiment using photons test for hyper-complex (quaternionic) quantum theories?. (arXiv:1604.04950v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

Assuming the standard axioms for quaternionic quantum theory and a spatially localized scattering interaction, the $S$-matrix in quaternionic quantum theory is complex valued, not quaternionic. Using the standard connections between the $S$-matrix, the forward scattering amplitude for electromagnetic wave scattering, and the index of refraction, we show that the index of refraction is necessarily complex, not quaternionic. This implies that the recent optical experiment of Procopio et al. based on the Peres proposal does not test for hyper-complex or quaternionic quantum effects arising within the standard Hilbert space framework. Such a test requires looking at near zone fields, not radiation zone fields.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Optimal free descriptions of many-body theories. (arXiv:1607.02679v3 [cond-mat.str-el] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

Interacting bosons or fermions give rise to some of the most fascinating phases of matter, including high-temperature superconductivity, the fractional quantum Hall effect, quantum spin liquids and Mott insulators. While these systems are promising for technological applications, they also present conceptual challenges as they require approaches beyond mean-field and perturbation theory. Here we develop a general framework for identifying the free theory that is closest to a given interacting model in terms of their ground state correlations. Moreover, we quantify the distance between them using the entanglement spectrum. When this interaction distance is small, the optimal free theory provides an effective description of the low energy physics of the interacting model. Our construction of the optimal free model is non-perturbative in nature, thus it offers a new theoretical framework for investigating strongly correlated systems.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Device-independent characterizations of a shared quantum state independent of any Bell inequalities. (arXiv:1609.01030v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

In a Bell experiment two parties share a quantum state and perform local measurements on their subsystems separately, and the statistics of the measurement outcomes are recorded as a Bell correlation. For any Bell correlation, it turns out {that} a quantum state with minimal size that is able to produce this correlation can always be pure. In this work, we first exhibit two device-independent characterizations for the pure state that Alice and Bob share using only the correlation data. Specifically, we give two conditions that the Schmidt coefficients must satisfy, which can be tight, and have various applications in quantum tasks. First, one of the characterizations allows us to bound the entanglement between Alice and Bob using Renyi entropies and also to {bound} the underlying Hilbert space dimension. Second, when the {Hilbert space dimension bound} is tight, the shared pure quantum state has to be maximally entangled. Third, the second characterization gives a sufficient condition that a Bell correlation cannot be generated by particular quantum states. We also show that our results can be generalized to the case of shared mixed states.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Topological invariant and cotranslational symmetry in strongly interacting multi-magnon systems. (arXiv:1611.00205v2 [cond-mat.quant-gas] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

It is still an outstanding challenge to characterize and understand the topological features of strongly interacting states such as bound-states in interacting quantum systems. Here, by introducing a cotranslational symmetry in an interacting multi-particle quantum system, we systematically develop a method to define a Chern invariant, which is a generalization of the well-known Thouless-Kohmoto-Nightingale-den Nijs invariant, for identifying strongly interacting topological states. As an example, we study the topological multi-magnon states in a generalized Heisenberg XXZ model, which can be realized by the currently available experiment techniques of cold atoms [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 185301 (2013); Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{111}, 185302 (2013)]. Through calculating the two-magnon excitation spectrum and the defined Chern number, we explore the emergence of topological edge bound-states and give their topological phase diagram. We also analytically derive an effective single-particle Hofstadter superlattice model for a better understanding of the topological bound-states. Our results not only provide a new approach to defining a topological invariant for interacting multi-particle systems, but also give insights into the characterization and understanding of strongly interacting topological states.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### The infinite occupation number basis of bosons - solving a numerical challenge. (arXiv:1611.10185v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

In any bosonic lattice system, which is not dominated by local interactions and thus "frozen" in a Mott-type state, numerical methods have to cope with the infinite size of the corresponding Hilbert space even for finite lattice sizes. While it is common practice to restrict the local occupation number basis to $N_c$ lowest occupied states, the presence of a finite condensate fraction requires the complete number basis for an exact representation of the many-body ground state. In this work we present a novel truncation scheme to account for contributions from higher number states. By simply adding a single \textit{coherent-tail} state to this common truncation, we demonstrate increased numerical accuracy and the possible increase in numerical efficiency of this method for the Gutzwiller variational wave function and within dynamical mean-field theory.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Experimental realization of time-dependent phase-modulated continuous dynamical decoupling. (arXiv:1704.07582v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

The coherence times achieved with continuous dynamical decoupling techniques are often limited by fluctuations in the driving amplitude. In this work, we use time-dependent phase-modulated continuous driving to increase the robustness against such fluctuations in a dense ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. Considering realistic experimental errors in the system, we identify the optimal modulation strength, and demonstrate an improvement of an order of magnitude in the spin-preservation of arbitrary states over conventional single continuous driving. The phase-modulated driving exhibits comparable results to previously examined amplitude-modulated techniques, and is expected to outperform them in experimental systems having higher phase accuracy. The proposed technique could open new avenues for quantum information processing and many body physics, in systems dominated by high frequency spin-bath noise, for which pulsed dynamical decoupling is less effective.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Two famous results of Einstein derived from the Jarzynski equality. (arXiv:1704.07805v2 [cond-mat.stat-mech] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

The Jarzynski equality (JE) is a remarkable statement relating transient irreversible processes to infinite-time free energy differences. Although twenty years old, the JE remains unfamiliar to many; nevertheless it is a robust and powerful law. We examine two of Einstein's most simple and well-known discoveries, one classical and one quantum, and show how each of these follows from the JE. Our first example is Einstein's relation between the drag and diffusion coefficients of a particle in Brownian motion. In this context we encounter a paradox in the macroscopic limit of the JE which is fascinating, but also warns us against using the JE too freely outside of the microscopic domain. Our second example is the equality of Einstein's $B$ coefficients for absorption and stimulated emission of quanta. Here resonant light does irreversible work on a sample, and the argument differs from Einstein's equilibrium reasoning using the Planck black-body spectrum. We round out our examples with a brief derivation and discussion of Jarzynski's remarkable equality.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Oracles and query lower bounds in generalised probabilistic theories. (arXiv:1704.05043v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

We investigate the connection between interference and computational power within the operationally defined framework of generalised probabilistic theories. To compare the computational abilities of different theories within this framework we show that any theory satisfying three natural physical principles possess a well-defined oracle model. Indeed, we prove a subroutine theorem for oracles in such theories which is a necessary condition for the oracle to be well-defined. The three principles are: causality (roughly, no signalling from the future), purification (each mixed state arises as the marginal of a pure state of a larger system), and strong symmetry existence of non-trivial reversible transformations). Sorkin has defined a hierarchy of conceivable interference behaviours, where the order in the hierarchy corresponds to the number of paths that have an irreducible interaction in a multi-slit experiment. Given our oracle model, we show that if a classical computer requires at least n queries to solve a learning problem, then the corresponding lower bound in theories lying at the kth level of Sorkin's hierarchy is n/k. Hence, lower bounds on the number of queries to a quantum oracle needed to solve certain problems are not optimal in the space of all generalised probabilistic theories, although it is not yet known whether the optimal bounds are achievable in general. Hence searches for higher-order interference are not only foundationally motivated, but constitute a search for a computational resource beyond that offered by quantum computation.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### What exactly is proved by the violation of Bell's inequality?. (arXiv:1704.03856v4 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

Bell's inequality has been derived several times from quite different basic assumptions, which imply different conclusions. This resulted into widespread confusion regarding the exact implications of the experimental violations of the inequality. In this article, the structures of Bell's and of Peres' derivations are analyzed, and the title question is explicitly answered.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Out-of-time-order Operators and the Butterfly Effect. (arXiv:1704.02979v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

Out-of-time-order (OTO) operators have recently become popular diagnostics of quantum chaos in many-body systems. The usual way they are introduced is via a quantization of classical Lyapunov growth, which measures the divergence of classical trajectories in phase space due to the butterfly effect. However, it is not obvious how exactly they capture the sensitivity of a quantum system to its initial conditions beyond the classical limit. In this paper, we analyze sensitivity to initial conditions in the quantum regime by recasting OTO operators for many-body systems using various formulations of quantum mechanics. Notably, we utilize the Wigner phase space formulation to derive an $\hbar$-expansion of the OTO operator for spatial degrees of freedom, and a large spin $1/s$-expansion for spin degrees of freedom. We find in each case that the leading term is the Lyapunov growth for the classical limit of the system and argue that quantum corrections become dominant at around the scrambling time, which is also when we expect the OTO operator to saturate. We also express the OTO operator in terms of propagators and see from a different point of view how it is a quantum generalization of the divergence of classical trajectories.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### An on-chip architecture for self-homodyned nonclassical light. (arXiv:1611.01566v4 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

In the last decade, there has been remarkable progress on the practical integration of on-chip quantum photonic devices yet quantum state generators remain an outstanding challenge. Simultaneously, the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform has demonstrated a versatility for creating nonclassical light with tunable quantum statistics, thanks to a newly discovered self-homodyning interferometric effect that preferentially selects the quantum light over the classical light when using an optimally tuned Fano resonance. In this work, we propose a general structure for the cavity quantum electrodynamical generation of quantum states from a waveguide-integrated version of the quantum-dot photonic-crystal-resonator platform, which is specifically tailored for preferential quantum state transmission. We support our results with rigorous Finite-Difference Time-Domain and quantum optical simulations, and show how our proposed device can serve as a robust generator of highly pure single- and even multi-photon states.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Influence of tilted magnetic field on excited states of the two-dimensional hydrogen atom. (arXiv:1702.06283v4 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

The aim of the current work is the research of the influence of the \textbf{tilted} magnetic field direction on statistical properties of energy levels of a two-dimensional (2D) hydrogen atom and of an exciton in GaAs/Al$_{0.33}$Ga$_{0.67}$As quantum well. It was discovered that the quantum chaos (QC) is initiated with an increasing angle $\alpha$ between the magnetic field direction and the normal to the atomic plane. QC is characterized by the repulsion of levels leading to the eliminating of the shell structure and by changing the spectrum statistical properties. The evolution of the spatial distribution of the square of the absolute value of the wave function at an increasing angle $\alpha$ was described. The differences of calculated dependencies of energies for various excited states on the tilt angle at a wide range of the magnetic field strength were obtained.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quantum sensing close to a dissipative phase transition: symmetry breaking and criticality as metrological resources. (arXiv:1701.02256v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

We study the performance of a single qubit-laser as a quantum sensor to measure the amplitude and phase of a driving field. By using parameter estimation theory we show that certain suitable field quadratures are optimal observables in the lasing phase. The quantum Fisher information scales linearly with the number of bosons and thus the precision can be enhanced by increasing the incoherent pumping acting on the qubit. If we restrict ourselves to measurements of the boson number observable, then the optimal operating point is the critical point of the lasing phase transition. Our results point out to an intimate connection between symmetry breaking, dissipative phase transitions and efficient parameter estimation.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Ultra-high Compton Frequency, Parity Independent, Mesoscopic Schr\"odinger Cat Atom Interferometer with Heisenberg Limited Sensitivity. (arXiv:1701.01210v4 [physics.atom-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 21:23

Achieving the Heisenberg limit (HL) in an experiment with very large number of atoms N is a challenging task. One mechanism for doing so is to make use of the experimentally achievable one axis twist spin squeezing in combination with unsqueezing which results in the generation of a Schr\"odinger cat state corresponding to an equal superposition of the extremal Dicke collective states. However, the protocol for achieving this result critically requires the knowledge of whether the total number of atoms is even or odd. Here, we describe a protocol which employs null detection of one of the collective states that circumvents this problem. Specifically, we show that this detection process produces fringes that are narrowed by a factor of N with unit visibility when N is even, and yields zero signal when N is odd. Thus, over repeated measurements under which the probability of N being even or odd is equal, the signal from the odd cases get filtered out, and HL sensitivity is achieved for the $\sim N/2$ atoms corresponding to the even cases. For all N atoms, the sensitivity is below the HL by a factor of $\sqrt{2}$. We also show that a degree of sensitivity enhancement very close to this value can also be achieved for a much lower degree of squeezing than what is required for reaching the cat states. We show that the Schr\"odinger cat case corresponds to interference between collective states with Compton frequencies $\sim 10^{31}$ Hz for $^{87}$Rb atoms with $N = 10^6$. Aside from conventional application to precision metrology, such a Schr\"odinger cat atom interferometer may serve as a test-bed for various aspects of fundamental physics, such as the effect of gravitational interaction on macroscopic decoherence. Finally, we note that the proposed scheme can also be used to realize an HL Schr\"odinger cat atomic clock, for which the base frequency is effectively enhanced by a factor of N.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Continuous measurement of an atomic current

Author(s): C. Laflamme, D. Yang, and P. Zoller

We are interested in dynamics of quantum many-body systems under continuous observation, and its physical realizations involving cold atoms in lattices. In the present work we focus on continuous measurement of atomic currents in lattice models, including the Hubbard model. We describe a Cavity QED …

[Phys. Rev. A 95, 043843] Published Fri Apr 28, 2017

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Description of spontaneous photon emission and local density of states in the presence of a lossy polaritonic inhomogeneous medium

Author(s): Aurélien Drezet

We provide a description of spontaneous emission in a dispersive and dissipative linear inhomogeneous medium based on the generalized Huttner-Barnett model [Phys. Rev. A 46, 4306 (1992)]. Our discussion considers on an equal footing both the photonic and material fluctuations which are necessary to …

[Phys. Rev. A 95, 043844] Published Fri Apr 28, 2017

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Anderson Localization of Ultracold Atoms: Where is the Mobility Edge?

Author(s): Michael Pasek, Giuliano Orso, and Dominique Delande

Recent experiments in noninteracting ultracold atoms in three-dimensional speckle potentials have yielded conflicting results regarding the so-called mobility edge, i.e., the energy threshold separating Anderson localized from diffusive states. At the same time, there are theoretical indications tha…

[Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 170403] Published Fri Apr 28, 2017

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Feature: Research News: Editors’ Choice

APS Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 16:00

Magnets that mimic Higgs decays, a Venus look-alike, and more in our monthly wrap-up of papers from the physics literature.

[Physics 10, 46] Published Fri Apr 28, 2017

Categories: Physics

### Focus: 3D Images 10 Times Faster

APS Physics - Fri, 2017-04-28 16:00

Author(s): Katherine Wright

3D x-ray phase-contrast images take as little as one-tenth the usual time to acquire using a technique that halves the number of required “photos.”

[Physics 10, 48] Published Fri Apr 28, 2017

Categories: Physics