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Entanglement capacity of complex networks from quantum walks
Authors:
Pravy Prerana,
Sascha Wald
Abstract:
Discrete-time quantum walks provide a natural framework for quantum transport on complex networks. On regular structures, coin-walker entanglement has been widely used to characterize quantum transport and to support quantum algorithmic protocols. However, this notion relies on a fixed Hilbert space factorization separating coin and position and is therefore not directly applicable to more complex…
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Discrete-time quantum walks provide a natural framework for quantum transport on complex networks. On regular structures, coin-walker entanglement has been widely used to characterize quantum transport and to support quantum algorithmic protocols. However, this notion relies on a fixed Hilbert space factorization separating coin and position and is therefore not directly applicable to more complex, irregular structures. Here we introduce an entanglement measure for general networks based on a bipartition that assigns each node two roles, acting as both a source and a target. The resulting bipartition defines the source-target entanglement, a measure for general networks, motivated by coin-walker entanglement. We show that the connectivity of the network imposes an upper bound on this entanglement and identify graph matchings as the underlying structure governing entanglement generation. We further illustrate that in random graphs improving graph connectivity reduces the attainable entanglement, establishing a structure-dependent constraint on quantum correlations.
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Submitted 1 May, 2026;
originally announced May 2026.
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Nonequilibrium phases and quantum correlations in synthetic transport models
Authors:
Uddhav Sen,
Federico Carollo,
Sascha Wald
Abstract:
Quantum devices featuring mid-circuit measurement and reset capabilities, such as quantum computers and dual-species Rydberg quantum simulators, enable the realization of quantum cellular automata. These systems evolve in discrete time following local updates implemented by unitary gates, and allow for the realization of both closed and synthetic open dynamics. Here, we focus on quantum cellular a…
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Quantum devices featuring mid-circuit measurement and reset capabilities, such as quantum computers and dual-species Rydberg quantum simulators, enable the realization of quantum cellular automata. These systems evolve in discrete time following local updates implemented by unitary gates, and allow for the realization of both closed and synthetic open dynamics. Here, we focus on quantum cellular automata that implement minimal models of classical and quantum transport. To illustrate our ideas, we focus on a discrete-time totally asymmetric simple exclusion process and investigate how coherent dynamical contributions allow for the emergence of quantum effects and correlations. We find that bipartite entanglement dominates the transient evolution, while stationary states can retain quantum correlations beyond entanglement. Our results suggest viable routes for realizing transport models on quantum devices and characterizing collective quantum correlations in strongly driven systems.
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Submitted 25 March, 2026;
originally announced March 2026.
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Stochastic resetting induces quantum non-Markovianity
Authors:
Federico Carollo,
Sascha Wald
Abstract:
Stochastic resetting describes dynamics which are reinitialized to a reference state at random times. These protocols are attracting significant interest: they can stabilize nonequilibrium stationary states, generate correlations in noninteracting systems, and enable optimal search strategies. While a constant reset probability results in a Markovian dynamics, much less is known about non-Markovia…
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Stochastic resetting describes dynamics which are reinitialized to a reference state at random times. These protocols are attracting significant interest: they can stabilize nonequilibrium stationary states, generate correlations in noninteracting systems, and enable optimal search strategies. While a constant reset probability results in a Markovian dynamics, much less is known about non-Markovian effects in quantum stochastic resetting. Here, we analyze memory effects in these processes -- examining the evolution of quantum states and of observables -- through witnesses of non-Markovianity for open quantum systems. We focus on discrete-time reset processes, which are of particular interest as they can be implemented on existing gate-operated quantum devices. We show that these processes are generically described by non-divisible maps and, in non-classical scenarios where the effective reset probability can become negative, can feature revivals in the state distinguishability. Our results reveal non-Markovian effects in quantum stochastic resetting and show that a time-dependent reset may be exploited to engineer enhanced stationary quantum correlations.
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Submitted 19 January, 2026;
originally announced January 2026.
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Continuous Accumulation of Cold Atoms in an Optical Cavity
Authors:
Edward Gheorghita,
Sebastian Wald,
Andrea Pupić,
Onur Hosten
Abstract:
Continuously operating atom-light interfaces represent a key prerequisite for steady-state quantum sensors and efficient quantum processors. Here, we demonstrate continuous accumulation of sub-Doppler-cooled atoms in a shallow intracavity dipole trap, realizing this regime. The key ingredient is a light-shift manipulation that creates spatially varying cooling parameters, enabling efficient captur…
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Continuously operating atom-light interfaces represent a key prerequisite for steady-state quantum sensors and efficient quantum processors. Here, we demonstrate continuous accumulation of sub-Doppler-cooled atoms in a shallow intracavity dipole trap, realizing this regime. The key ingredient is a light-shift manipulation that creates spatially varying cooling parameters, enabling efficient capture and accumulation of atoms within a cavity mode. Demonstrated with rubidium atoms, a continuous flux from a source cell is funneled through the magneto-optical trap into the cavity mode, where the atoms are cooled and maintained below $10~μ\text{K}$ in steady state without time-sequenced operation. We characterize the resulting continuously maintained ensemble of millions of atoms and its collective coupling to the cavity field, establishing a route toward continuously operated cavity-QED systems and long-duration atomic and hybrid quantum sensors.
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Submitted 16 December, 2025;
originally announced December 2025.
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Stochastic resetting in discrete-time quantum dynamics: steady states and correlations in few-qubit systems
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Louie Hong Yao,
Thierry Platini,
Chris Hooley,
Federico Carollo
Abstract:
Time evolution in several classes of quantum devices is generated through the application of quantum gates. Resetting is a critical technological feature in these systems allowing for mid-circuit measurement and complete or partial qubit reset. The possibility of realizing discrete-time reset dynamics on quantum computers makes it important to investigate the steady-state properties of such dynami…
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Time evolution in several classes of quantum devices is generated through the application of quantum gates. Resetting is a critical technological feature in these systems allowing for mid-circuit measurement and complete or partial qubit reset. The possibility of realizing discrete-time reset dynamics on quantum computers makes it important to investigate the steady-state properties of such dynamics. Here, we explore the behavior of generic discrete-time unitary dynamics interspersed by random reset events. For Poissonian resets, we compute the stationary state of the process and demonstrate, by taking a weak-reset limit, the existence of "resonances" in the quantum gates, allowing for the emergence of steady state density matrices which are not diagonal in the eigenbasis of the generator of the unitary gate. Such resonances are a genuine discrete-time feature and impact on quantum and classical correlations even beyond the weak-reset limit. Furthermore, we consider non-Poissonian reset processes and explore conditions for the existence of a steady state. We show that, when the reset probability vanishes sufficiently rapidly with time, the system does not approach a steady state. Our results highlight key differences between continuous-time and discrete-time stochastic resetting and may be useful to engineer states with controllable correlations on existing devices.
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Submitted 9 May, 2025; v1 submitted 15 October, 2024;
originally announced October 2024.
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Active quantum flocks
Authors:
Reyhaneh Khasseh,
Sascha Wald,
Roderich Moessner,
Christoph A. Weber,
Markus Heyl
Abstract:
Flocks of animals represent a fascinating archetype of collective behavior in the macroscopic classical world, where the constituents, such as birds, concertedly perform motions and actions as if being one single entity. Here, we address the outstanding question of whether flocks can also form in the microscopic world at the quantum level. For that purpose, we introduce the concept of active quant…
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Flocks of animals represent a fascinating archetype of collective behavior in the macroscopic classical world, where the constituents, such as birds, concertedly perform motions and actions as if being one single entity. Here, we address the outstanding question of whether flocks can also form in the microscopic world at the quantum level. For that purpose, we introduce the concept of active quantum matter by formulating a class of models of active quantum particles on a one-dimensional lattice. We provide both analytical and large-scale numerical evidence that these systems can give rise to quantum flocks. A key finding is that these flocks, unlike classical ones, exhibit distinct quantum properties by developing strong quantum coherence over long distances. We propose that quantum flocks could be experimentally observed in Rydberg atom arrays. Our work paves the way towards realizing the intriguing collective behaviors of biological active particles in quantum matter systems. We expect that this opens up a path towards a yet totally unexplored class of nonequilibrium quantum many-body systems with unique properties.
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Submitted 3 September, 2024; v1 submitted 3 August, 2023;
originally announced August 2023.
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Coined quantum walks on the line: Disorder, entanglement, and localization
Authors:
Louie Hong Yao,
Sascha Wald
Abstract:
Disorder in coined quantum walks generally leads to localization. We investigate the influence of the localization on the entanglement properties of coined quantum walks. Specifically, we consider quantum walks on the line and explore the effects of quenched disorder in the coin operations. After confirming that our choice of disorder localizes the walker, we study how the localization affects the…
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Disorder in coined quantum walks generally leads to localization. We investigate the influence of the localization on the entanglement properties of coined quantum walks. Specifically, we consider quantum walks on the line and explore the effects of quenched disorder in the coin operations. After confirming that our choice of disorder localizes the walker, we study how the localization affects the properties of the coined quantum walk. We find that the mixing properties of the walk are altered nontrivially with mixing being improved at short time scales. Special focus is given to the influence of coin disorder on the properties of the quantum state and the coin-walker entanglement. We find that disorder alters the quantum state significantly even when the walker probability distribution is still close to the nondisordered case. We observe that, generically, coin disorder decreases the coin-walker entanglement and that the localization leaves distinct traces in the entanglement entropy and the entanglement negativity of the coined quantum walk.
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Submitted 29 August, 2023; v1 submitted 28 March, 2023;
originally announced March 2023.
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Entanglement in the Quantum Spherical Model -- a Review
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Raul Arias,
Vincenzo Alba
Abstract:
We review some recent results on entanglement in the Quantum Spherical Model (QSM). The focus lays on the physical results rather than the mathematical details. Specifically, we study several entanglement-related quantities, such asentanglement entropies, and logarithmic negativity, in the presence of quantum and classical critical points, and in magnetically ordered phases. We consider both the s…
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We review some recent results on entanglement in the Quantum Spherical Model (QSM). The focus lays on the physical results rather than the mathematical details. Specifically, we study several entanglement-related quantities, such asentanglement entropies, and logarithmic negativity, in the presence of quantum and classical critical points, and in magnetically ordered phases. We consider both the short as well as the long-range QSM. The study of entanglement properties of the QSM is feasible because the model is mappable to a Gaussian system in any dimension. Despite this fact the QSM is an ideal theoretical laboratory to investigate a wide variety of physical scenarios, such as non mean field criticality, the effect of long-range interactions, the interplay between finite-temperature fluctuations and genuine quantum ones.
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Submitted 11 February, 2023;
originally announced February 2023.
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Entanglement gap in 1D long-range quantum spherical models
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Raul Arias,
Vincenzo Alba
Abstract:
We investigate the finite-size scaling of the entanglement gap in the one dimensional long-range quantum spherical model (QSM). We focus on the weak long-range QSM, for which the thermodynamic limit is well-defined. This model exhibits a continuous phase transition, separating a paramagnetic from a ferromagnet phase. The universality class of the transition depends on the long-range exponent $α$.…
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We investigate the finite-size scaling of the entanglement gap in the one dimensional long-range quantum spherical model (QSM). We focus on the weak long-range QSM, for which the thermodynamic limit is well-defined. This model exhibits a continuous phase transition, separating a paramagnetic from a ferromagnet phase. The universality class of the transition depends on the long-range exponent $α$. We show that in the thermodynamic limit the entanglement gap is finite in the paramagnetic phase, and it vanishes in the ferromagnetic phase. In the ferromagnetic phase the entanglement gap is understood in terms of standard magnetic correlation functions. The entanglement gap decays as $δξ\simeq C_αL^{-(1/2-α/4)}$, where the constant $C_α$ depends on the low-energy properties of the model. This reflects that the lower part of the dispersion is affected by the long range physics. Finally, multiplicative logarithmic corrections are absent in the scaling of the entanglement gap, in contrast with the higher-dimensional case.
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Submitted 28 May, 2023; v1 submitted 22 January, 2023;
originally announced January 2023.
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Stochastic Representation of the Quantum Quartic Oscillator
Authors:
Gennaro Tucci,
Stefano De Nicola,
Sascha Wald,
Andrea Gambassi
Abstract:
Recent experimental advances have inspired the development of theoretical tools to describe the non-equilibrium dynamics of quantum systems. Among them an exact representation of quantum spin systems in terms of classical stochastic processes has been proposed. Here we provide first steps towards the extension of this stochastic approach to bosonic systems by considering the one-dimensional quantu…
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Recent experimental advances have inspired the development of theoretical tools to describe the non-equilibrium dynamics of quantum systems. Among them an exact representation of quantum spin systems in terms of classical stochastic processes has been proposed. Here we provide first steps towards the extension of this stochastic approach to bosonic systems by considering the one-dimensional quantum quartic oscillator. We show how to exactly parameterize the time evolution of this prototypical model via the dynamics of a set of classical variables. We interpret these variables as stochastic processes, which allows us to propose a novel way to numerically simulate the time evolution of the system. We benchmark our findings by considering analytically solvable limits and providing alternative derivations of known results.
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Submitted 3 November, 2022;
originally announced November 2022.
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Entanglement dynamics of a hard-core quantum gas during a Joule expansion
Authors:
Filiberto Ares,
Stefano Scopa,
Sascha Wald
Abstract:
We study the entanglement dynamics of a one-dimensional hard-core quantum gas initially confined in a box of size $L$ with saturated density $ρ=1$. The gas is suddenly released into a region of size $2L$ by moving one of the box edges. We show that the analytic prediction for the entanglement entropy obtained from quantum fluctuating hydrodynamics holds quantitatively true even after several refle…
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We study the entanglement dynamics of a one-dimensional hard-core quantum gas initially confined in a box of size $L$ with saturated density $ρ=1$. The gas is suddenly released into a region of size $2L$ by moving one of the box edges. We show that the analytic prediction for the entanglement entropy obtained from quantum fluctuating hydrodynamics holds quantitatively true even after several reflections of the gas against the box edges. We further investigate the long time limit $t/L\gg 1$ where a Floquet picture of the non-equilibrium dynamics emerges and hydrodynamics eventually breaks down.
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Submitted 22 August, 2022; v1 submitted 4 April, 2022;
originally announced April 2022.
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Non-equilibrium dynamics of the open quantum $O(n)$-model with non-Markovian noise: exact results
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Malte Henkel,
Andrea Gambassi
Abstract:
The collective and purely relaxational dynamics of quantum many-body systems after a quench at temperature $T=0$, from a disordered state to various phases is studied through the exact solution of the quantum Langevin equation of the spherical and the $O(n)$-model in the limit $n\to\infty$. The stationary state of the quantum dynamics is shown to be a non-equilibrium state. The quantum spherical a…
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The collective and purely relaxational dynamics of quantum many-body systems after a quench at temperature $T=0$, from a disordered state to various phases is studied through the exact solution of the quantum Langevin equation of the spherical and the $O(n)$-model in the limit $n\to\infty$. The stationary state of the quantum dynamics is shown to be a non-equilibrium state. The quantum spherical and the quantum $O(n)$-model for $n\to\infty$ are in the same dynamical universality class. The long-time behaviour of single-time and two-time correlation and response functions is analysed and the universal exponents which characterise quantum coarsening and quantum ageing are derived. The importance of the non-Markovian long-time memory of the quantum noise is elucidated by comparing it with an effective Markovian noise having the same scaling behaviour and with the case of non-equilibrium classical dynamics.
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Submitted 7 September, 2021; v1 submitted 15 June, 2021;
originally announced June 2021.
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Closure of the entanglement gap at quantum criticality: The case of the Quantum Spherical Model
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Raul Arias,
Vincenzo Alba
Abstract:
The study of entanglement spectra is a powerful tool to detect or elucidate universal behaviour in quantum many-body systems. We investigate the scaling of the entanglement (or Schmidt) gap $δξ$, i.e., the lowest laying gap of the entanglement spectrum, at a two-dimensional quantum critical point. We focus on the paradigmatic quantum spherical model, which exhibits a second-order transition, and i…
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The study of entanglement spectra is a powerful tool to detect or elucidate universal behaviour in quantum many-body systems. We investigate the scaling of the entanglement (or Schmidt) gap $δξ$, i.e., the lowest laying gap of the entanglement spectrum, at a two-dimensional quantum critical point. We focus on the paradigmatic quantum spherical model, which exhibits a second-order transition, and is mappable to free bosons with an additional external constraint. We analytically show that the Schmidt gap vanishes at the critical point, although only logarithmically. For a system on a torus and the half-system bipartition, the entanglement gap vanishes as $π^2/\ln(L)$, with $L$ the linear system size. The entanglement gap is nonzero in the paramagnetic phase and exhibits a faster decay in the ordered phase. The rescaled gap $δξ\ln(L)$ exhibits a crossing for different system sizes at the transition, although logarithmic corrections prevent a precise verification of the finite-size scaling. Interestingly, the change of the entanglement gap across the phase diagram is reflected in the zero-mode eigenvector of the spin-spin correlator. At the transition quantum fluctuations give rise to a non-trivial structure of the eigenvector, whereas in the ordered phase it is flat. We also show that the vanishing of the entanglement gap at criticality can be qualitatively but not quantitatively captured by neglecting the structure of the zero-mode eigenvector.
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Submitted 9 September, 2020;
originally announced September 2020.
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From classical to quantum walks with stochastic resetting on networks
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Lucas Böttcher
Abstract:
Random walks are fundamental models of stochastic processes with applications in various fields including physics, biology, and computer science. We study classical and quantum random walks under the influence of stochastic resetting on arbitrary networks. Based on the mathematical formalism of quantum stochastic walks, we provide a framework of classical and quantum walks whose evolution is deter…
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Random walks are fundamental models of stochastic processes with applications in various fields including physics, biology, and computer science. We study classical and quantum random walks under the influence of stochastic resetting on arbitrary networks. Based on the mathematical formalism of quantum stochastic walks, we provide a framework of classical and quantum walks whose evolution is determined by graph Laplacians. We study the influence of quantum effects on the stationary and long-time average probability distribution by interpolating between the classical and quantum regime. We compare our analytical results on stationary and long-time average probability distributions with numerical simulations on different networks, revealing differences in the way resets affect the sampling properties of classical and quantum walks.
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Submitted 14 December, 2020; v1 submitted 2 August, 2020;
originally announced August 2020.
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In and out of equilibrium quantum metrology with mean-field quantum criticality
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Saulo V. Moreira,
Fernando L. Semião
Abstract:
We study the influence that collective transition phenomena have on quantum metrological protocols. The single spherical quantum spin (SQS) serves as stereotypical toy model that allows analytical insights on a mean-field level. First, we focus on equilibrium quantum criticality in the SQS and obtain the quantum Fisher information analytically, which is associated with the minimum lower bound for…
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We study the influence that collective transition phenomena have on quantum metrological protocols. The single spherical quantum spin (SQS) serves as stereotypical toy model that allows analytical insights on a mean-field level. First, we focus on equilibrium quantum criticality in the SQS and obtain the quantum Fisher information analytically, which is associated with the minimum lower bound for the precision of estimation of the parameter driving the phase transition. We compare it with the Fisher information for a specific experimental scenario where photoncounting-like measurements are employed. We find how quantum criticality and squeezing are useful resources in the metrological scenario. Second, we obtain the quantum Fisher information for the out of equilibrium transition in the dissipative non-equilibrium steady state (NESS), and investigate how the presence of dissipation affects the parameter estimation. In this scenario, it is known that the critical point is shifted by an amount which depends on the dissipation rate. This is used here to design high precision protocols for a whole range of the transition-driving parameter in the ordered phase. In fact, for certain values of the parameter being estimated, dissipation may be used to obtain higher precision when compared to the equilibrium scenario.
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Submitted 10 May, 2020; v1 submitted 9 January, 2020;
originally announced January 2020.
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Axiomatic construction of quantum Langevin equations
Authors:
Rúbia Araújo,
Sascha Wald,
Malte Henkel
Abstract:
A phenomenological construction of quantum Langevin equations, based on the physical criteria of (i) the canonical equal-time commutators, (ii) the Kubo formula, (iii) the virial theorem and (iv) the quantum fluctuation-dissipation theorem is presented. The case of a single harmonic oscillator coupled to a large external bath is analysed in detail. This allows to distinguish a markovian semi-class…
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A phenomenological construction of quantum Langevin equations, based on the physical criteria of (i) the canonical equal-time commutators, (ii) the Kubo formula, (iii) the virial theorem and (iv) the quantum fluctuation-dissipation theorem is presented. The case of a single harmonic oscillator coupled to a large external bath is analysed in detail. This allows to distinguish a markovian semi-classical approach, due to Bedeaux and Mazur, from a non-markovian full quantum approach, due to to Ford, Kac and Mazur. The quantum-fluctuation-dissipation theorem is seen to be incompatible with a markovian dynamics. Possible applications to the quantum spherical model are discussed.
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Submitted 14 March, 2019; v1 submitted 24 September, 2018;
originally announced September 2018.
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Dynamical chaotic phases and constrained quantum dynamics
Authors:
André M. Timpanaro,
Sascha Wald,
Fernando Semião,
Gabriel T. Landi
Abstract:
In classical mechanics, external constraints on the dynamical variables can be easily implemented within the Lagrangian formulation. Conversely, the extension of this idea to the quantum realm, which dates back to Dirac, has proven notoriously difficult due to the noncommutativity of observables. Motivated by recent progress in the experimental control of quantum systems, we propose a framework fo…
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In classical mechanics, external constraints on the dynamical variables can be easily implemented within the Lagrangian formulation. Conversely, the extension of this idea to the quantum realm, which dates back to Dirac, has proven notoriously difficult due to the noncommutativity of observables. Motivated by recent progress in the experimental control of quantum systems, we propose a framework for the implementation of quantum constraints based on the idea of work protocols, which are dynamically engineered to enforce the constraints. As a proof of principle, we consider the dynamical mean-field approach of the many-body quantum spherical model, which takes the form of a quantum harmonic oscillator plus constraints on the first and second moments of one of its quadratures. The constraints of the model are implemented by the combination of two work protocols, coupling together the first and second moments of the quadrature operators. We find that such constraints affect the equations of motion in a highly nontrivial way, inducing nonlinear behavior and even classical chaos. Interestingly, Gaussianity is preserved at all times. A discussion concerning the robustness of this approach to possible experimental errors is also presented.
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Submitted 10 July, 2019; v1 submitted 11 July, 2018;
originally announced July 2018.
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Energy barriers between metastable states in first order quantum phase transitions
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Andre Timpanaro,
Cecilia Cormick,
Gabriel T. Landi
Abstract:
A system of neutral atoms trapped in an optical lattice and dispersively coupled to the field of an optical cavity can realize a variation of the Bose-Hubbard model with infinite-range interactions. This model exhibits a first order quantum phase transition between a Mott insulator and a charge density wave, with spontaneous symmetry breaking between even and odd sites, as was recently observed ex…
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A system of neutral atoms trapped in an optical lattice and dispersively coupled to the field of an optical cavity can realize a variation of the Bose-Hubbard model with infinite-range interactions. This model exhibits a first order quantum phase transition between a Mott insulator and a charge density wave, with spontaneous symmetry breaking between even and odd sites, as was recently observed experimentally [Landig \emph{et. al.}, Nature {\bf 532} (2016)]. In the present paper we approach the analysis of this transition using a variational model which allows us to establish the notion of an energy barrier separating the two phases. Using a discrete WKB method we then show that the local tunneling of atoms between adjacent sites lowers this energy barrier and hence facilitates the transition. Within our simplified description, we are thus able to increment the phase diagram of the model with information concerning the height of the barrier separating the metastable minima from the global minimum in each phase, which is an essential aspect for the understanding of the reconfiguration dynamics induced by a quench across a quantum critical point.
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Submitted 1 February, 2018; v1 submitted 19 December, 2017;
originally announced December 2017.
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Lindblad dynamics of the quantum spherical model
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Gabriel T. Landi,
Malte Henkel
Abstract:
The purely relaxational non-equilibrium dynamics of the quantum spherical model as described through a Lindblad equation is analysed. It is shown that the phenomenological requirements of reproducing the exact quantum equilibrium state as stationary solution and the associated classical Langevin equation in the classical limit $g\to 0$ fix the form of the Lindblad dissipators, up to an overall tim…
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The purely relaxational non-equilibrium dynamics of the quantum spherical model as described through a Lindblad equation is analysed. It is shown that the phenomenological requirements of reproducing the exact quantum equilibrium state as stationary solution and the associated classical Langevin equation in the classical limit $g\to 0$ fix the form of the Lindblad dissipators, up to an overall time-scale. In the semi-classical limit, the models' behaviour become effectively the one of the classical analogue, with a dynamical exponent $z=2$, and an effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$, renormalised by the quantum coupling $g$. A distinctive behaviour is found for a quantum quench, at zero temperature, deep into the ordered phase $g\ll g_c(d)$, for $d>1$ dimensions. Only for $d=2$ dimensions, a simple scaling behaviour holds true, with a dynamical exponent $z=1$, while for dimensions $d\ne 2$, logarithmic corrections to scaling arise. The spin-spin correlator, the growing length scale and the time-dependent susceptibility show the existence of several logarithmically different length scales.
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Submitted 19 December, 2017; v1 submitted 19 July, 2017;
originally announced July 2017.
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Solid-state electron spin lifetime limited by phononic vacuum modes
Authors:
Thomas Astner,
Johannes Gugler,
Andreas Angerer,
Sebastian Wald,
Stefan Putz,
Norbert J. Mauser,
Michael Trupke,
Hitoshi Sumiya,
Shinobu Onoda,
Junichi Isoya,
Jörg Schmiedmayer,
Peter Mohn,
Johannes Majer
Abstract:
Longitudinal relaxation is the process by which an excited spin ensemble decays into its thermal equilibrium with the environment. In solid-state spin systems relaxation into the phonon bath usually dominates over the coupling to the electromagnetic vacuum. In the quantum limit the spin lifetime is determined by phononic vacuum fluctuations. However, this limit was not observed in previous studies…
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Longitudinal relaxation is the process by which an excited spin ensemble decays into its thermal equilibrium with the environment. In solid-state spin systems relaxation into the phonon bath usually dominates over the coupling to the electromagnetic vacuum. In the quantum limit the spin lifetime is determined by phononic vacuum fluctuations. However, this limit was not observed in previous studies due to thermal phonon contributions or phonon-bottleneck processes. Here we use a dispersive detection scheme based on cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) to observe this quantum limit of spin relaxation of the negatively charged nitrogen vacancy ($\mathrm{NV}^-$) centre in diamond. Diamond possesses high thermal conductivity even at low temperatures, which eliminates phonon-bottleneck processes. We observe exceptionally long longitudinal relaxation times $T_1$ of up to 8h. To understand the fundamental mechanism of spin-phonon coupling in this system we develop a theoretical model and calculate the relaxation time ab initio. The calculations confirm that the low phononic density of states at the $\mathrm{NV}^-$ transition frequency enables the spin polarization to survive over macroscopic timescales.
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Submitted 29 June, 2017;
originally announced June 2017.
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Lindblad dynamics of a quantum spherical spin
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Malte Henkel
Abstract:
The coherent quantum dynamics of a single bosonic spin variable, subject to a constraint derived from the quantum spherical model of a ferromagnet, and coupled to an external heat bath, is studied through the Lindblad equation for the reduced density matrix. Closed systems of equations of motion for several quantum observables are derived and solved exactly. The relationship to the single-mode Dic…
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The coherent quantum dynamics of a single bosonic spin variable, subject to a constraint derived from the quantum spherical model of a ferromagnet, and coupled to an external heat bath, is studied through the Lindblad equation for the reduced density matrix. Closed systems of equations of motion for several quantum observables are derived and solved exactly. The relationship to the single-mode Dicke model from quantum optics is discussed. The analysis of the interplay of the quantum fluctuation and the dissipation and their influence on the relaxation of the time-dependent magnetisation leads to the distinction of qualitatively different regimes of weak and strong quantum couplings. Considering the model's behaviour in an external field as a simple mean-field approximation of the dynamics of a quantum spherical ferromagnet, the magnetic phase diagramme appears to be re-entrant and presents a quantum analogue of well-established classical examples of fluctuation-induced order.
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Submitted 17 January, 2016; v1 submitted 10 November, 2015;
originally announced November 2015.
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Quantum phase transition in the spin-anisotropic quantum spherical model
Authors:
Sascha Wald,
Malte Henkel
Abstract:
Motivated by an analogy with the spin anisotropies in the quantum XY chain and its reformulation in terms of spin-less Majorana fermions, its bosonic analogue, the spin-anisotropic quantum spherical model, is introduced. The exact solution of the model permits to analyse the influence of the spin-anisotropy on the phase diagram and the universality of the critical behaviour in a new way, since the…
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Motivated by an analogy with the spin anisotropies in the quantum XY chain and its reformulation in terms of spin-less Majorana fermions, its bosonic analogue, the spin-anisotropic quantum spherical model, is introduced. The exact solution of the model permits to analyse the influence of the spin-anisotropy on the phase diagram and the universality of the critical behaviour in a new way, since the interactions of the quantum spins and their conjugate momenta create new effects. At zero temperature, a quantum critical line is found, which is in the same universality class as the thermal phase transition in the classical spherical model in $d+1$ dimensions. The location of this quantum critical line shows a re-entrant quantum phase transition for dimensions $1<d\lesssim 2.065$.
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Submitted 12 May, 2015; v1 submitted 23 March, 2015;
originally announced March 2015.