Non-adiabatic transitions in multi-level systems

In a quantum system with a smoothly and slowly varying Hamiltonian, which approaches a constant operator at times $t\to \pm \infty$, the transition probabilities between adiabatic states are exponentially small. They are characterized by an exponent that depends on a phase integral along a path around a set of branch points connecting the energy level surfaces in complex time. Only certain sequences of branch points contribute. We propose that these sequences are determined by a topological rule involving the Stokes lines attached to the branch points. Our hypothesis is supported by theoretical arguments and results of numerical experiments.Comment: 25 pages RevTeX, 9 figures and 4 tables as Postscipt file

Nonperturbative treatment of giant atoms using chain transformations

Superconducting circuits coupled to acoustic waveguides have extended the range of phenomena that can be experimentally studied using tools from quantum optics. In particular giant artificial atoms permit the investigation of systems in which the electric dipole approximation breaks down and pronounced non-Markovian effects become important. While previous studies of giant atoms focused on the realm of the rotating-wave approximation, we go beyond this and perform a numerically exact analysis of giant atoms strongly coupled to their environment, in regimes where counterrotating terms cannot be neglected. To achieve this, we use a Lanczos transformation to cast the field Hamiltonian into the form of a one-dimensional chain and employ matrix-product state simulations. This approach yields access to a wide range of system-bath observables and to previously unexplored parameter regimes.Comment: 8+5 pages, 8+2 figures, 1+1 tables. v3: update published versio

Exact nonlinear dynamics of Spinor BECs applied to nematic quenches

In this thesis we study the nonlinear dynamics of spin-1 and spin-2 Bose-Einstein condensates, with particular application to antiferromagnetic systems exhibiting nematic (beyond magnetic) order. Firstly, we give a derivation of the spinor energy functionals with a focus on the connections between the nonlinear terms. We derive a hierarchy of nonlinear irreducible multipole observables sensitive to different levels of nematic order, and explore the various nematic states in terms of their multipolar order, representations of their symmetries, and topological defects. We then develop an exact solution to the nonlinear dynamics of spinor Bose-Einstein condensates. We use this solution to construct efficient and accurate numerical algorithms to evolve the spinor Gross-Pitaevskii equation in time. We demonstrate the advantages of our algorithms with several 1D numerical test problems, comparing with existing methods in the literature. We apply our numerical methods to simulating quenches of the condensate between various antiferromagnetic phases for spin-1 and spin-2. For spin-1, we carry out quenches for a theoretical uniform system in 2D, and then specialize to the parameters used in a recent harmonically trapped experiment in 3D. We connect the long-time coarsening growth law of the relevant order parameter to the decay of half-quantum vortices, which are the relevant topological defects of the ground state. For the spin-2 system, we investigate a novel quench from two different quadrupolar-nematic phases to an octupolar-nematic “cyclic” phase which supports 1/3 fractional vortices. We develop appropriate order parameter observables which couple to the spin and superfluid currents generated by these defects, and show that a new growth law appears with exponent 1/3

Optophone design: optical-to-auditory vision substitution for the blind

An optophone is a device that turns light into sound for the benefit of blind people. The present project is intended to produce a general-purpose optophone to be worn on the head about the house and in the street, to give the wearer a detailed description in sound of the'scene he is facing. The device will therefore consist'of an'electronic camera, some signal-processing electronics, earphones`, and a battery. The two major problems are the derivation of (a) the most suitable mapping from images to sounds, and (b) an algorithm to perform the mapping in real'time on existing electronic components. This thesis concerns problem (a). Chapter 2 goes into the general scene-to-sound mapping problem in some detail'and presents the work of earlier investigators. Chapter 3 1- discusses the design of tests to evaluate the performance of candidate mappings. A theoretical performance test (TPT) is derived. Chapter 4 applies the TPT to the most obvious mapping, the cartesian piano transform. Chapter 5 applies the TPT to a mapping based on the cosine transform. Chapter 6 attempts to derive a mapping by principal component analysis, using the inaccuracies of human sight and hearing and the statistical properties of real scenes and sounds. Chapter 7 presents a complete scheme, implemented in software, for representing digitised colour scenes by audible digitised stereo sound. Chapter 8 tries to decide how'many numbers are required to specify a steady spectrum with no noticeable degradation. Chapter 9 looks'at a scheme designed to produce more natural-sounding sounds related to more meaningful portions of the scene. This scheme maps windows in the scene to steady spectral patterns of short duration, the location of the window being conveyed by simulated free-field listening. Chapter 10 gives detailed recommendations as to further work

Quantum Algorithms for Scientific Computing and Approximate Optimization

Quantum computation appears to offer significant advantages over classical computation and this has generated a tremendous interest in the field. In this thesis we study the application of quantum computers to computational problems in science and engineering, and to combinatorial optimization problems. We outline the results below. Algorithms for scientific computing require modules, i.e., building blocks, implementing elementary numerical functions that have well-controlled numerical error, are uniformly scalable and reversible, and that can be implemented efficiently. We derive quantum algorithms and circuits for computing square roots, logarithms, and arbitrary fractional powers, and derive worst-case error and cost bounds. We describe a modular approach to quantum algorithm design as a first step towards numerical standards and mathematical libraries for quantum scientific computing. A fundamental but computationally hard problem in physics is to solve the time-independent Schrödinger equation. This is accomplished by computing the eigenvalues of the corresponding Hamiltonian operator. The eigenvalues describe the different energy levels of a system. The cost of classical deterministic algorithms computing these eigenvalues grows exponentially with the number of system degrees of freedom. The number of degrees of freedom is typically proportional to the number of particles in a physical system. We show an efficient quantum algorithm for approximating a constant number of low-order eigenvalues of a Hamiltonian using a perturbation approach. We apply this algorithm to a special case of the Schrödinger equation and show that our algorithm succeeds with high probability, and has cost that scales polynomially with the number of degrees of freedom and the reciprocal of the desired accuracy. This improves and extends earlier results on quantum algorithms for estimating the ground state energy. We consider the simulation of quantum mechanical systems on a quantum computer. We show a novel divide and conquer approach for Hamiltonian simulation. Using the Hamiltonian structure, we can obtain faster simulation algorithms. Considering a sum of Hamiltonians we split them into groups, simulate each group separately, and combine the partial results. Simulation is customized to take advantage of the properties of each group, and hence yield refined bounds to the overall simulation cost. We illustrate our results using the electronic structure problem of quantum chemistry, where we obtain significantly improved cost estimates under mild assumptions. We turn to combinatorial optimization problems. An important open question is whether quantum computers provide advantages for the approximation of classically hard combinatorial problems. A promising recently proposed approach of Farhi et al. is the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). We study the application of QAOA to the Maximum Cut problem, and derive analytic performance bounds for the lowest circuit-depth realization, for both general and special classes of graphs. Along the way, we develop a general procedure for analyzing the performance of QAOA for other problems, and show an example demonstrating the difficulty of obtaining similar results for greater depth. We show a generalization of QAOA and its application to wider classes of combinatorial optimization problems, in particular, problems with feasibility constraints. We introduce the Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz, which utilizes more general unitary operators than the original QAOA proposal. Our framework facilitates low-resource implementations for many applications which may be particularly suitable for early quantum computers. We specify design criteria, and develop a set of results and tools for mapping diverse problems to explicit quantum circuits. We derive constructions for several important prototypical problems including Maximum Independent Set, Graph Coloring, and the Traveling Salesman problem, and show appealing resource cost estimates for their implementations

High-precision computation of uniform asymptotic expansions for special functions

In this dissertation, we investigate new methods to obtain uniform asymptotic expansions for the numerical evaluation of special functions to high-precision. We shall first present the theoretical and computational fundamental aspects required for the development and ultimately implementation of such methods. Applying some of these methods, we obtain efficient new convergent and uniform expansions for numerically evaluating the confluent hypergeometric functions and the Lerch transcendent at high-precision. In addition, we also investigate a new scheme of computation for the generalized exponential integral, obtaining on the fastest and most robust implementations in double-precision floating-point arithmetic. In this work, we aim to combine new developments in asymptotic analysis with fast and effective open-source implementations. These implementations are comparable and often faster than current open-source and commercial stateof-the-art software for the evaluation of special functions.Esta tesis presenta nuevos métodos para obtener expansiones uniformes asintóticas, para la evaluación numérica de funciones especiales en alta precisión. En primer lugar, se introducen fundamentos teóricos y de carácter computacional necesarios para el desarrollado y posterior implementación de tales métodos. Aplicando varios de dichos métodos, se obtienen nuevas expansiones uniformes convergentes para la evaluación numérica de las funciones hipergeométricas confluentes y de la función transcendental de Lerch. Por otro lado, se estudian nuevos esquemas de computo para evaluar la integral exponencial generalizada, desarrollando una de las implementaciones más eficientes y robustas en aritmética de punto flotante de doble precisión. En este trabajo, se combinan nuevos desarrollos en análisis asintótico con implementaciones rigurosas, distribuidas en código abierto. Las implementaciones resultantes son comparables, y en ocasiones superiores, a las soluciones comerciales y de código abierto actuales, que representan el estado de la técnica en el campo de la evaluación de funciones especiales

High-precision computation of uniform asymptotic expansions for special functions

In this dissertation, we investigate new methods to obtain uniform asymptotic expansions for the numerical evaluation of special functions to high-precision. We shall first present the theoretical and computational fundamental aspects required for the development and ultimately implementation of such methods. Applying some of these methods, we obtain efficient new convergent and uniform expansions for numerically evaluating the confluent hypergeometric functions and the Lerch transcendent at high-precision. In addition, we also investigate a new scheme of computation for the generalized exponential integral, obtaining on the fastest and most robust implementations in double-precision floating-point arithmetic. In this work, we aim to combine new developments in asymptotic analysis with fast and effective open-source implementations. These implementations are comparable and often faster than current open-source and commercial stateof-the-art software for the evaluation of special functions.Esta tesis presenta nuevos métodos para obtener expansiones uniformes asintóticas, para la evaluación numérica de funciones especiales en alta precisión. En primer lugar, se introducen fundamentos teóricos y de carácter computacional necesarios para el desarrollado y posterior implementación de tales métodos. Aplicando varios de dichos métodos, se obtienen nuevas expansiones uniformes convergentes para la evaluación numérica de las funciones hipergeométricas confluentes y de la función transcendental de Lerch. Por otro lado, se estudian nuevos esquemas de computo para evaluar la integral exponencial generalizada, desarrollando una de las implementaciones más eficientes y robustas en aritmética de punto flotante de doble precisión. En este trabajo, se combinan nuevos desarrollos en análisis asintótico con implementaciones rigurosas, distribuidas en código abierto. Las implementaciones resultantes son comparables, y en ocasiones superiores, a las soluciones comerciales y de código abierto actuales, que representan el estado de la técnica en el campo de la evaluación de funciones especiales.Postprint (published version

Three Dimensional Atom-Diatom Reactive Scattering Calculations Using Symmetrized Hyperspherical Coordinates

The focus of this thesis is the use of symmetrized hyperspherical coordinate techniques in the accurate calculation of differential cross sections for the reactive collision of an atom with a diatomic molecule in three-dimensional space. A single set of symmetrized hyperspherical coordinates treats all regions of configuration space in an equivalent inelastic scattering problem which is conceptually and computationally easier to handle. The work described here represents the first successful application of any accurate hyperspherical coordinate methodology to atom-diatom reactive scattering in three-dimensional space. This methodology has permitted the calculation of zero total angular momentum (J = 0) partial wave transition probabilities and associated phases over a significantly larger range of collision energies (up to 1.6 eV total energy) than previously possible for the system H + H₂. The numerical stability of the treatment is sufficiently high to permit the first lifetime matrix analysis of the resonance structure of H + H₂ based on scattering matrices from our accurate calculations. This analysis reveals a series of 6 resonance states in the J = 0 partial wave, some of which have not been seen before. The symmetrized hyperspherical coordinate methodology is presented in detail. A selection of surface functions and scattering results for J = 0 H + H₂ using the LSTH potential energy surface are presented and discussed. In addition, a small number of results from the Porter-Karplus potential energy surface are also given.</p