## Feed aggregator

### On the support of the Grover walk on higher-dimensional lattices. (arXiv:2001.10261v1 [math-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

This paper presents the minimum supports of states for stationary measures of the Grover walk on the d-dimensional lattice by solving the corresponding eigenvalue problem. The numbers of the minimum supports for moving and flip-flop shifts are 2^d (d ge 1) and 4 (d ge 2), respectively.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Real-time calibration of coherent-state receivers: learning by trial and error. (arXiv:2001.10283v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

The optimal discrimination of coherent states of light with current technology is a key problem in classical and quantum communication, whose solution would enable the realization of efficient receivers for long-distance communications in free-space and optical fiber channels. In this article, we show that reinforcement learning (RL) protocols allow an agent to learn near-optimal coherent-state receivers made of passive linear optics, photodetectors and classical adaptive control. Each agent is trained and tested in real time over several runs of independent discrimination experiments and has no knowledge about the energy of the states nor the receiver setup nor the quantum-mechanical laws governing the experiments. Based exclusively on the observed photodetector outcomes, the agent adaptively chooses among a set of ~3 10^3 possible receiver setups, and obtains a reward at the end of each experiment if its guess is correct. At variance with previous applications of RL in quantum physics, the information gathered in each run is intrinsically stochastic and thus insufficient to evaluate exactly the performance of the chosen receiver. Nevertheless, we present families of agents that: (i) discover a receiver beating the best Gaussian receiver after ~3 10^2 experiments; (ii) surpass the cumulative reward of the best Gaussian receiver after ~10^3 experiments; (iii) simultaneously discover a near-optimal receiver and attain its cumulative reward after ~10^5 experiments. Our results show that RL techniques are suitable for on-line control of quantum receivers and can be employed for long-distance communications over potentially unknown channels.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Casimir force between Weyl semimetals in a chiral medium. (arXiv:2001.10329v1 [cond-mat.mes-hall])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

We study the Casimir effect in a system composed of two Weyl semimetals (WSMs) separated by a gap filled with a chiral medium. We calculate the optical response of the material to chiral photons in order to calculate the Casimir force. We find that if the medium between the two WSMs is a Faraday material, a repulsive Casimir force can be obtained, and for realistic experimental parameters its magnitude can be greatly enhanced at short distances of a few microns Moreover, in the system under consideration various parameters can be modified. Some of them are intrinsic to the materials employed (the absolute value of the Hall conductivity of the WSM, the Verdet constant of the Faraday material), while some of them can be manipulated externally even for a fixed sample, such as the external magnetic field and the orientation of the plates which determines the sign of their conductivity. Suitable combinations of these parameters can be used to switch from attraction to repulsion, and to place the trapping distance, in which no force acts on the plates, at any desired distance between them.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Realization of a density-dependent Peierls phase in a synthetic, spin-orbit coupled Rydberg system. (arXiv:2001.10357v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

We experimentally realize a Peierls phase in the hopping amplitude of excitations carried by Rydberg atoms, and observe the resulting characteristic chiral motion in a minimal setup of three sites. Our demonstration relies on the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling of the dipolar exchange interaction combined with time-reversal symmetry breaking by a homogeneous external magnetic field. Remarkably, the phase of the hopping amplitude between two sites strongly depends on the occupancy of the third site, thus leading to a correlated hopping associated to a density-dependent Peierls phase. We experimentally observe this density-dependent hopping and show that the excitations behave as anyonic particles with a non-trivial phase under exchange. Finally, we confirm the dependence of the Peierls phase on the geometrical arrangement of the Rydberg atoms.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Probability representation of photon states and tomography. (arXiv:2001.10361v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

We give a review of the tomographic probability representation of quantum mechanics. We present the formalism of quantum states and quantum observables using the formalism of standard probability distributions and classical-like random variables. We study the coherent and number states of photons in the probability representation and obtain the evolution equation and energy spectra in the form of equations for probability distributions.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### A Suggestive Way of Deriving the Quantum Probability Rule. (arXiv:2001.10364v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

The familiar "modulus squared" form of all quantum mechanical probabilities is derived from an assumption of equal a priori probabilities concerning the final states available.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### A quantum heat switch based on a driven qubit. (arXiv:2001.10367v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Heat flow management at the nanoscale is of great importance for emergent quantum technologies. For instance, a thermal sink that can be activated on-demand is a highly desirable tool that may accommodate the need to evacuate excess heat at chosen times, e.g. to maintain cryogenic temperatures or reset a quantum system to ground, and the possibility of controlled unitary evolution otherwise. Here we propose a design of such heat switch based on a single coherently driven qubit. We show that the heat flow provided by a hot source to the qubit can be switched on and off by varying external parameters, the frequency and the intensity of the driving. The complete suppression of the heat flow is a quantum effect occurring for specific driving parameters that we express and we analyze the role of the coherences in the free qubit energy eigenbasis. We finally study the feasibility of this quantum heat switch in a circuit QED setup involving a charge qubit coupled to thermal resistances. We demonstrate robustness to experimental imperfections such as additional decoherence, paving the road towards experimental verification of this effect.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Counter-propagating photon pair generation in a nonlinear waveguide. (arXiv:2001.10418v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Counter-propagating parametric conversion processes in non-linear bulk crystals have been shown to feature unique properties for efficient narrowband frequency conversion. In quantum optics, the generation of photon pairs with a counter-propagating parametric down-conversion process (PDC) in a waveguide, where signal and idler photons propagate in opposite directions, offers unique material-independent engineering capabilities. However, realizing counter-propagating PDC necessitates quasi-phase-matching (QPM) with extremely short poling periods. Here, we report on the generation of counter-propagating single-photon pairs in a self-made periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide with a poling period on the same order of magnitude as the generated wavelength. The single photons of the biphoton state bridge GHz and THz bandwidths with a separable joint temporal-spectral behavior. Furthermore, they allow the direct observation of the temporal envelope of heralded single photons with state-of-the art photon counters.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### On the Hamiltonian for three bosons with point interactions. (arXiv:2001.10462v1 [math-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

We briefly summarize the most relevant steps in the search of rigorous results about the properties of quantum systems made of three bosons interacting with zero-range forces. We also describe recent attempts to solve the unboundedness problem of point-interaction Hamiltonians for a three-boson system, keeping unaltered the spectrum structure at low energies.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Fast quantum learning with statistical guarantees. (arXiv:2001.10477v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Within the framework of statistical learning theory it is possible to bound the minimum number of samples required by a learner to reach a target accuracy. We show that if the bound on the accuracy is taken into account, quantum machine learning algorithms -- for which statistical guarantees are available -- cannot achieve polylogarithmic runtimes in the input dimension. This calls for a careful revaluation of quantum speedups for learning problems, even in cases where quantum access to the data is naturally available.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Hybrid device for quantum nanophotonics. (arXiv:2001.10480v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Photons have been identified early on as a very good candidate for quantum technologies applications, as carriers of quantum information, either by polarization encoding, time encoding or spatial encoding. Quantum cryptography, quantum communications, quantum networks and quantum computing are some of the applications targeted by the so called quantum photonics. Nevertheless, it was also clear at an early stage that bulk optics for handling quantum states of light would not be the best option for these technologies. More recently, single photons, entangled photons and quantum light in general have been coupled to integrated approaches coming from classical optics in order to meet the requirements of scalability, reliability and efficiency for quantum technologies. In this article, we describe our recent advances using elongated optical nano-fibers. We also present our latest results on nanocrystals made of perovskites and discuss some of their quantum properties. Finally, we will discuss the general steps necessary in order to couple these nanoemitters efficiently with our photonic platform, based on tapered optical nanofibers.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Superstatistics of the screened Kratzer potential with Modified Dirac Delta and Uniform Distributions. (arXiv:2001.10496v1 [physics.chem-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

We solve the Schrodinger equation to obtain the energy eigenvalues expression of the screened Kratzer potential (SKP) model. With the energy eigenvalues, we evaluated for the partition function within the framework of superstatistics and extended to study the thermodynamic function for some selected diatomic molecules including HCl, LiH and H2. The modified Dirac delta and uniform distribution comparatively in each case in the absence and the presence of the deformation parameter were considered.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quantum Computation and Arrows of Time. (arXiv:2001.10517v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Quantum physics is surprising in many ways. One surprise is the threat to locality implied by Bell's Theorem. Another surprise is the capacity of quantum computation, which poses a threat to the complexity-theoretic Church-Turing thesis. In both cases, the surprise may be due to taking for granted a certain strict arrow-of-time assumption, whose applicability may be limited to the classical domain. This possibility has been noted repeatedly in the context of Bell's Theorem. The argument concerning quantum computation is described here. Further development of models which violate this strong arrow-of-time assumption, replacing it by a weaker arrow, is called for.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Can graph properties have exponential quantum speedup?. (arXiv:2001.10520v1 [quant-ph])

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Quantum computers can sometimes exponentially outperform classical ones, but only for problems with sufficient structure. While it is well known that query problems with full permutation symmetry can have at most polynomial quantum speedup -- even for partial functions -- it is unclear how far this condition must be relaxed to enable exponential speedup. In particular, it is natural to ask whether exponential speedup is possible for (partial) graph properties, in which the input describes a graph and the output can only depend on its isomorphism class. We show that the answer to this question depends strongly on the input model. In the adjacency matrix model, we prove that the bounded-error randomized query complexity $R$ of any graph property $\mathcal{P}$ has $R(\mathcal{P}) = O(Q(\mathcal{P})^{6})$, where $Q$ is the bounded-error quantum query complexity. This negatively resolves an open question of Montanaro and de Wolf in the adjacency matrix model. More generally, we prove $R(\mathcal{P}) = O(Q(\mathcal{P})^{3l})$ for any $l$-uniform hypergraph property $\mathcal{P}$ in the adjacency matrix model. In direct contrast, in the adjacency list model for bounded-degree graphs, we exhibit a promise problem that shows an exponential separation between the randomized and quantum query complexities.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Quantum transport simulations in a programmable nanophotonic processor. (arXiv:1507.03406v3 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Environmental noise and disorder play critical roles in quantum particle and wave transport in complex media, including solid-state and biological systems. Recent work has predicted that coupling between noisy environments and disordered systems, in which coherent transport has been arrested due to localization effects, could actually enhance transport. Photonic integrated circuits are promising platforms for studying such effects, with a central goal being the development of large systems providing low-loss, high-fidelity control over all parameters of the transport problem. Here, we fully map the role of disorder in quantum transport using a nanophotonic processor consisting of a mesh of 88 generalized beamsplitters programmable on microsecond timescales. Over 64,400 transport experiments, we observe several distinct transport regimes, including environment-assisted quantum transport and the ''quantum Goldilocks'' regime in strong, statically disordered discrete-time systems. Low loss and high-fidelity programmable transformations make this nanophotonic processor a promising platform for many-boson quantum simulation experiments.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Uncertainty decomposition of quantum networks in SLH framework. (arXiv:1609.07946v5 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

This paper presents a systematic method to decompose uncertain linear quantum input-output networks into uncertain and nominal subnetworks, when uncertainties are defined in SLH representation. To this aim, two decomposition theorems are stated, which show how an uncertain quantum network can be decomposed into nominal and uncertain subnetworks in cascaded connection and how uncertainties can be translated from SLH parameters into state-space parameters. As a potential application of the proposed decomposition scheme, robust stability analysis of uncertain quantum networks is briefly introduced. The proposed uncertainty decomposition theorems take account of uncertainties in all three parameters of a quantum network and bridge the gap between SLH modeling and state-space robust analysis theory for linear quantum networks.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Observing Topological Phase Transitions with High Harmonic Generation. (arXiv:1807.01616v3 [cond-mat.mes-hall] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Topological materials are of interest to both fundamental sciences and advanced technologies, because topological states are robust with respect to perturbations and dissipation. Experimental detection of topological invariants is thus in great demand, but is extremely challenging. Ultrafast laser-matter interactions, and in particular high-harmonic generation (HHG), were proposed several years ago as tools to explore the structural and dynamical properties of various matter targets. Here, we show that the high-harmonic generation signal produced by circularly-polarized lasers contains distinct signatures of the topological phase transition in the paradigmatic Haldane model. In addition to clear shifts of the overall intensity emissivity and harmonic cutoff, the HHG shows an unique circular dichroism which exhibits clear changes in behaviour at the topological phase boundary.~Our findings pave the way to understand fundamental questions about the ultrafast electron-hole pair dynamics in topological materials via~HHG.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Silicon qubit fidelities approaching incoherent noise limits via pulse engineering. (arXiv:1807.09500v3 [cond-mat.mes-hall] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

The performance requirements for fault-tolerant quantum computing are very stringent. Qubits must be manipulated, coupled, and measured with error rates well below 1%. For semiconductor implementations, silicon quantum dot spin qubits have demonstrated average single-qubit Clifford gate error rates that approach this threshold, notably with error rates of 0.14% in isotopically enriched $^{28}$Si/SiGe devices. This gate performance, together with high-fidelity two-qubit gates and measurements, is only known to meet the threshold for fault-tolerant quantum computing in some architectures when assuming that the noise is incoherent, and still lower error rates are needed to reduce overhead. Here we experimentally show that pulse engineering techniques, widely used in magnetic resonance, improve average Clifford gate error rates for silicon quantum dot spin qubits to 0.043%,a factor of 3 improvement on previous best results for silicon quantum dot devices. By including tomographically complete measurements in randomised benchmarking, we infer a higher-order feature of the noise called the unitarity, which measures the coherence of noise. This in turn allows us to theoretically predict that average gate error rates as low as 0.026% may be achievable with further pulse improvements. These fidelities are ultimately limited by Markovian noise, which we attribute to charge noise emanating from the silicon device structure itself, or the environment.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Closed timelike curves and chronology protection in quantum and classical simulators. (arXiv:1810.05124v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

In principe, General Relativity seems to allow the existence of closed timelike curves (CTC). However, when quantum effects are considered, it is likely that their existence is prevented by some kind of chronological protection mechanism, as Hawking conjectured. Confirming or refuting the conjecture would require a full quantum theory of gravity. Meanwhile, the use of simulations could shed some light on this issue. We propose simulations of CTCs in a quantum system as well as in a classical one. In the quantum simulation, some restrictions appear that are not present in the classical setup, which could be interpreted as an analogue of a chronology protection mechanism.

Categories: Journals, Physics

### Standard Quantum Limit and Heisenberg Limit in Function Estimation. (arXiv:1812.10081v2 [quant-ph] UPDATED)

arXiv.org: Quantum Physics - 2 hours 13 min ago

Unlike well-established parameter estimation, function estimation faces conceptual and mathematical difficulties despite its enormous potential utility. We establish the fundamental error bounds on function estimation in quantum metrology for a spatially varying phase operator, where various degrees of smooth functions are considered. The error bounds are identified in both cases of absence and presence of interparticle entanglement, which correspond to the standard quantum limit and the Heisenberg limit, respectively. Notably, these error bounds can be reached by either position-localized states or wavenumber-localized ones. In fact, we show that these error bounds are theoretically optimal for any type of probe states, indicating that quantum metrology on functions is also subject to the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem, even if classical detection is replaced by quantum measurement.

Categories: Journals, Physics