QUROPE Quantum Information Processing and Communication in Europe

Instances of discrete quantum systems coupled to a continuum of oscillators are ubiquitous in physics. Often the continua are approximated by a discrete set of modes. We derive error bounds on expectation values of system observables that have been time evolved under such discretised Hamiltonians. These bounds take on the form of a function of time and the number of discrete modes, where the discrete modes are chosen according to Gauss quadrature rules. The derivation makes use of tools from the field of Lieb-Robinson bounds and the theory of orthonormal polynomials.

In this work, we combine an established method for open quantum systems—the time evolving density matrix using orthogonal polynomials algorithm—with the transfer tensors formalism, a new tool for the analysis, compression and propagation of non-Markovian processes. A compact propagator is generated out of sample trajectories covering the correlation time of the bath. This enables the investigation of previously inaccessible long-time dynamics with linear effort, such as those ensuing from low temperature regimes with arbitrary, possibly highly structured, spectral densities.

The sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) depends strongly on nuclear spin polarisation and, motivated by this observation, dynamical nuclear spin polarisation has recently been applied to enhance MRI protocols (Kurhanewicz et al 2011 Neoplasia 13 81). Nuclear spins associated with the 13C carbon isotope (nuclear spin I = 1/2) in diamond possess uniquely long spin lattice relaxation times (Reynhardt and High 2011 Prog. Nucl. Magn. Reson.

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of molecules in a solution at room temperature has the potential to revolutionize nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging. The prevalent methods for achieving DNP in solutions are typically most effective in the regime of small interaction correlation times between the electron and nuclear spins, limiting the size of accessible molecules. To solve this limitation, we design a mechanism for DNP in the liquid phase that is applicable for large interaction correlation times.

Sensing in the presence of environmental noise is a problem of increasing practical interest. In a master equation description, where the state of the environment is unobserved, the effect of the signal and noise is described by system operators only. In this context it is well known that noise that is orthogonal in an external signal can be corrected for without perturbing the signal, while similarly efficient strategies for nonorthogonal signal and noise operators are not known.

We study the nonequilibrium dynamics of the linear-to-zigzag structural phase transition exhibited by an ion chain confined in a trap with periodic boundary conditions. The transition is driven by reducing the transverse confinement at a finite quench rate, which can be accurately controlled. This results in the formation of zigzag domains oriented along different transverse planes. The twists between different domains can be stabilized by the topology of the trap, and under laser cooling the system has a chance to relax to a helical chain with nonzero winding number.