arXiv.org: Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics (quant-ph) updates on the arXiv.org e-print archive
Updated: 23 hours 3 min ago

Neutron stars are too cool for simple wave-function collapse models. (arXiv:1901.05477v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Collapse models, like the Continuous Spontaneous Localization (CSL) model, aim at solving the measurement problem of quantum mechanics through a stochastic non-linear modification of the Schr\"odinger equation. Such modifications have sometimes been conjectured to be caused by gravity, the most famous example being the Diosi-Penrose (DP) model. In general, collapse models posit an intrinsic (possibly gravitational) noise, which endogenously collapses superpositions of sufficiently macroscopic systems (in a particular basis), while preserving the predictions of quantum mechanics at small scales. One notable consequence of these models is spontaneous heating of massive objects. Neutron stars, which represent a stable state of matter that balances gravitational attraction with the Pauli exclusion principle, are extremely dense, macroscopic quantum-limited objects. As such, they offer a unique system on which to test the predictions of collapse models. Here, we calculate an estimate of the equilibrium temperature of a neutron star radiating heat generated from spontaneous collapse models. We find that the CSL model would result in equilibrium temperatures much higher than those observed in astrophysical neutron stars, ruling out all plausible CSL model parameter values. For the DP model, our calculation yields a bound on the model parameter.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Gradient-based optimal control of open quantum systems using quantum trajectories and automatic differentiation. (arXiv:1901.05541v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We present a gradient-based optimal-control technique for open quantum systems that utilizes quantum trajectories to simulate the quantum dynamics during optimization. Using trajectories allows for optimizing open systems with less computational cost than the regular density matrix approaches in most realistic optimization problems. We introduce an improved-sampling algorithm which minimizes the number of trajectories needed per optimization iteration. Together with employing stochastic gradient descent techniques, this reduces the complexity of optimizing many realistic open quantum systems to the complexity encountered with closed systems. Our optimizer harnesses automatic differentiation to provide flexibility in optimization and to suit the different constraints and diverse parameter regimes of real-life experiments. We utilize the optimizer in a variety of applications to demonstrate how the use of quantum trajectories significantly reduces the computation complexity while achieving a multitude of simultaneous optimization targets. Demonstrated targets include high state-transfer fidelities despite dissipation, faster gate times and maximization of qubit-readout fidelity while maintaining the quantum non-demolition nature of the measurement and allowing for subsequent fast resonator reset.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Microwave transmission through an artificial atomic chain coupled to a superconducting photonic crystal. (arXiv:1901.05585v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Emitters strongly coupled to a photonic crystal provide a powerful platform for realizing novel quantum light-matter interactions. Here we study the optical properties of a three-level artificial atomic chain coupled to a one-dimensional superconducting microwave photonic crystal. A sharp minimum-energy dip appears in the transmission spectrum of a weak input field, which reveals rich behavior of the long-range interactions arising from localized bound states. We find that the dip frequency scales linearly with both the number of the artificial atoms and the characteristic strength of the long-range interactions when the localization length of the bound state is sufficiently large. Motivated by this observation, we present a simple model to calculate the dip frequency with system parameters, which agrees well with the results from exact numerics for large localization lengths. Furthermore, we find that the model remains valid even though the coupling strengths between the photonic crystal and artificial atoms are not exactly equal and the phases of external driving fields for the artificial atoms are different. Thus, we may infer valuable system parameters from the dip location in the transmission spectrum, which provides an important measuring tool for the superconducting microwave photonic crystal systems in experiment. With remarkable advances to couple artificial atoms with microwave photonic crystals, our proposal may be experimentally realized in the near future.

Categories: Journals, Physics

The origin of hour-glass magnetic dispersion in underdoped cuprate superconductors. (arXiv:1901.05587v1 [cond-mat.str-el])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

In the present work we explain the hour-glass magnetic dispersion in underdoped cuprates. The dispersion arises due to an interplay of the Lifshitz-type magnetic criticality and superconductivity. We provide a unified picture of the evolution of magnetic excitations in various cuprate families, including hour-glass' and wine glass' dispersions and emergent static incommensurate order. Besides explaining existing data on magnetic dispersion we propose a neutron scattering experiment that can directly test the developed theory.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Finite second-order Born term for Coulomb wavepacket scattering. (arXiv:1901.05619v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

It has been known for some time that, for nonrelativistic Coulomb scattering, the terms in the Born series of second and higher order diverge when using the standard method of calculation. In this paper we demonstrate that taking the matrix elements between square-integrable wavepacket state vectors gives results that are everywhere finite to second order, including in the forward direction, and have the correct physical properties. We comment on how a similar procedure applied to the divergences of quantum field theories might render them finite.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Quantum-to-classical transition in the driven-dissipative Josephson pendulum coupled to a resonator. (arXiv:1901.05655v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We investigate the driven quantum phase transition between bound oscillating motion and the classical nearly free rotations of the Josephson pendulum coupled to a harmonic oscillator in the presence of dissipation. This model describes the standard setup of circuit quantum electrodynamics, where typically a transmon device is embedded in a superconducting cavity. We find that by treating the system quantum mechanically this transition occurs at higher drive powers than expected from an all-classical treatment, which is a consequence of the quasiperiodicity originating in the discrete energy spectrum of the bound states. We calculate the photon number in the resonator and show that its dependence on the drive power is nonlinear. In addition, the resulting multi-photon blockade phenomenon is sensitive to the truncation of the number of states in the transmon, which limits the applicability of the standard Jaynes-Cummings model as an approximation for the pendulum-oscillator system. We also compare two different approaches to dissipation, namely the Floquet-Born-Markov and the Lindblad formalisms.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Note on global symmetry and SYK model. (arXiv:1901.05666v1 [hep-th])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

The goal of this note is to explore the behavior of effective action in the SYK model with general continuous global symmetries. A global symmetry will decompose the whole Hamiltonian of a many-body system to several single charge sectors. For the SYK model, the effective action near the saddle point could be given as the free product of the Schwarzian action part and the free action of the group element moving in the group manifold. With a detailed analysis in the free sigma model, we prove a modified version of Peter-Weyl theorem that works for generic spin structure. As a conclusion, we could make a comparison between the thermodynamics and the spectral form factors between the whole theory and the single charge sector, to make predictions on the SYK model and see how symmetry affects the chaotic behavior in some certain timescales.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Reply to "Comment on `Past of a quantum particle revisited' ". (arXiv:1901.05673v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We stand by our findings in Phys. Rev A. 96, 022126 (2017). In addition to refuting the invalid objections raised by Peleg and Vaidman, we report a retrocausation problem inherent in Vaidman's definition of the past of a quantum particle.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Observation of topological magnon insulator states in a superconducting circuit. (arXiv:1901.05683v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Searching topological states of matter in tunable artificial systems has recently become a rapidly growing field of research. Meanwhile, significant experimental progresses on observing topological phenomena have been made in superconducting circuits. However, topological insulator states have not yet been reported in this system. Here, for the first time, we experimentally realize a spin version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model and observe the topological magnon insulator states in a superconducting qubit chain, which manifest both topological invariants and topological edge states. Based on simply monitoring the time evolution of a singlequbit excitation in the chain, we demonstrate that the topological winding numbers and the topological magnon edge and soliton states can all be directly observed. Our work thus opens a new avenue to use controllable qubit chain system to explore novel topological states of matter and also offers exciting possibilities for topologically protected quantum information processing.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Single-shot Non-destructive Detection of Rydberg Atom Ensembles by Transmission Measurement of a Microwave Cavity. (arXiv:1901.05685v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Rydberg atoms are at the core of an increasing number of experiments, which frequently rely on destructive detection methods, such as field ionization. Here, we present an experimental realization of single-shot non-destructive detection of ensembles of helium Rydberg atoms. We use the dispersive frequency shift of a superconducting microwave cavity interacting with the ensemble. By probing the transmission of the cavity and measuring the change in its phase, we determine the number of Rydberg atoms or the populations of Rydberg quantum states when the ensemble is prepared in a superposition. At the optimal probe power, determined by the critical photon number, we reach single-shot detection of the atom number with 13% precision for ensembles of about 500 Rydberg atoms with a measurement backaction characterized by approximately 2%-population transfer.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Interference between independent photonic integrated devices for quantum key distribution. (arXiv:1901.05706v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Advances in quantum computing are a rapidly growing threat towards modern cryptography. Quantum key distribution (QKD) provides long-term security without assuming the computational power of an adversary. However, inconsistencies between theory and experiment have raised questions in terms of real-world security, while large and power-hungry commercial systems have slowed wide-scale adoption. Measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD) provides a method of sharing secret keys that removes all possible detector side-channel attacks which drastically improves security claims. In this letter, we experimentally demonstrate a key step required to perform MDI-QKD with scalable integrated devices. We show Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between weak coherent states carved from two independent indium phosphide transmitters at $431$ MHz with a visibility of $46.5 \pm 0.8\%$. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using integrated devices to lower a major barrier towards adoption of QKD in metropolitan networks.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Hong-Ou-Mandel interference between independent III-V on silicon waveguide integrated lasers. (arXiv:1901.05707v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

The versatility of silicon photonic integrated circuits has led to a widespread usage of this platform for quantum information based applications, including Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). However, the integration of simple high repetition rate photon sources is yet to be achieved. The use of weak-coherent pulses (WCPs) could represent a viable solution. For example, Measurement Device Independent QKD (MDI-QKD) envisions the use of WCPs to distill a secret key immune to detector side channel attacks at large distances. Thus, the integration of III-V lasers on silicon waveguides is an interesting prospect for quantum photonics. Here, we report the experimental observation of Hong-Ou-Mandel interference with 46\pm 2% visibility between WCPs generated by two independent III-V on silicon waveguide integrated lasers. This quantum interference effect is at the heart of many applications, including MDI-QKD. Our work represents a substantial first step towards an implementation of MDI-QKD fully integrated in silicon, and could be beneficial for other applications such as standard QKD and novel quantum communication protocols.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Linear response theory for quantum Gaussian processes. (arXiv:1901.05709v1 [cond-mat.stat-mech])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Fluctuation dissipation theorems connect the linear response of a physical system to a perturbation to the steady-state correlation functions. Until now, most of these theorems have been derived for finite-dimensional systems. However, many relevant physical processes are described by systems of infinite dimension in the Gaussian regime. In this work, we find a linear response theory for quantum Gaussian systems subject to time dependent Gaussian channels. In particular, we establish a fluctuation dissipation theorem for the covariance matrix that connects its linear response at any time to the steady state two-time correlations. The theorem covers non-equilibrium scenarios as it does not require the steady state to be at thermal equilibrium. We further show how our results simplify the study of Gaussian systems subject to a time dependent Lindbladian master equation. Finally, we illustrate the usage of our new scheme through some examples. Due to broad generality of the Gaussian formalism, we expect our results to find an application in many physical platforms, such as opto-mechanical systems in the presence of external noise or driven quantum heat devices.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Surface coating with oxide layers to enhance the spin properties of shallow NV centers in diamond. (arXiv:1901.05728v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We present an enhancement of spin properties of the shallow (<5nm) NV centers by using ALD to deposit titanium oxide layer on the diamond surface. With the oxide protective layer of an appropriate thickness, increases about 2 up to 3.5 times of both relaxation time and evolution time were achieved and the shallow NV center charge states stabilized as well. This surface coating technique could produce a protective coating layer of controllable thickness without any damages to the solid quantum system surface, which would be a possible approach to the further packaging technique for the applicating solid quantum devices.

Categories: Journals, Physics

On Howland's time-independent formulation of CP-divisible quantum evolutions. (arXiv:1901.05746v1 [math-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We extend Howland's time-independent formalism to the case of CP-divisible dynamics of $d$-dimensional open quantum systems governed by periodic time-dependent Lindbladian in Weak Coupling Limit, extending our result from previous papers. We propose the Bochner space of periodic, square integrable matrix valued functions as the generalized space of states and examine some densely defined operators on this space, together with their Fourier-like expansions. The generalized quantum dynamical semigroup is then formulated in this space and we show its similarity with dynamical maps on $\mathbb{C}^{d\times d}$, i.e. it is CP-divisible, trace preserving and a contraction.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Time-optimal purification of a qubit in contact with a structured environment. (arXiv:1901.05756v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

We investigate the time-optimal control of the purification of a qubit interacting with a structured environment, consisting of a strongly coupled two-level defect in interaction with a thermal bath. On the basis of a geometric analysis, we show for weak and strong interaction strengths that the optimal control strategy corresponds to a qubit in resonance with the reservoir mode. We investigate when qubit coherence and correlation between the qubit and the environment speed-up the control process.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Analysis of counterfactuality of counterfactual communication protocols. (arXiv:1901.05765v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Counterfactual communication, i.e., communication without particle travelling in the transmission channel, is a bizarre quantum effect. Starting from interaction-free measurements many protocols achieving various tasks from counterfactual cryptogrphy to counterfactual transfer of quantum states were proposed and implemented in experiments. However, the meaning of conterfactuality in various protocols remained a controversial topic. A simple error-free counterfactual protocol is proposed. This protocol and its modification are used as a test bed for analysis of meaning of counterfactuality to clarify the counterfactuality status of various counterfactual proposals.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Tests of Quantum Gravity-Induced Non-Locality: Hamiltonian formulation of a non-local harmonic oscillator. (arXiv:1901.05819v1 [gr-qc])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Motivated by the development of on-going optomechanical experiments aimed at constraining non-local effects inspired by some quantum gravity scenarios, the Hamiltonian formulation of a non-local harmonic oscillator, and its coupling to a cavity field mode(s), is investigated. In particular, we consider the previously studied model of non-local oscillators obtained as the non-relativistic limit of a class of non-local Klein-Gordon operators, $f(\Box)$, with $f$ an analytical function. The results of previous works, in which the interaction was not included, are recovered and extended by way of standard perturbation theory. At the same time, the perturbed energy spectrum becomes available in this formulation, and we obtain the Langevin's equations characterizing the interacting system.

Categories: Journals, Physics

Time-evolution methods for matrix-product states. (arXiv:1901.05824v1 [cond-mat.str-el])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Matrix-product states have become the de facto standard for the representation of one-dimensional quantum many body states. During the last few years, numerous new methods have been introduced to evaluate the time evolution of a matrix-product state. Here, we will review and summarize the recent work on this topic. We will explain and compare the different methods available, namely the time-evolving block decimation, the MPO $W^\mathrm{I,II}$ method, the global Krylov method, the local Krylov method and the one- and two-site time-dependent variational principle. We will also apply these methods to four different representative examples of current problem settings in condensed matter physics.

Categories: Journals, Physics

The role of information back-flow in the emergence of quantum Darwinism. (arXiv:1901.05826v1 [quant-ph])

Fri, 2019-01-18 21:45

Quantum Darwinism attempts to explain the emergence of objective reality of the state of a quantum system in terms of redundant information about the system acquired by independent non interacting fragments of the environment. The consideration of interacting environmental elements gives rise to a rich phenomenology, including the occurrence of non-Markovian features, whose effects on objectification {\it a' la} quantum Darwinism needs to be fully understood. We study a model of local interaction between a simple quantum system and a multi-mode environment that allows for a clear investigation of the interplay between information trapping and propagation in the environment and the emergence of quantum Darwinism. We provide strong evidence of the correlation between non-Markovianity and quantum Darwinism in such a model, thus providing strong evidence of a potential link between such fundamental phenomena.

Categories: Journals, Physics