1,324 research outputs found
Decoherence processes in a current biased dc SQUID
A current bias dc SQUID behaves as an anharmonic quantum oscillator
controlled by a bias current and an applied magnetic flux. We consider here its
two level limit consisting of the two lower energy states | 0 \right> and |
1 \right>. We have measured energy relaxation times and microwave absorption
for different bias currents and fluxes in the low microwave power limit.
Decoherence times are extracted. The low frequency flux and current noise have
been measured independently by analyzing the probability of current switching
from the superconducting to the finite voltage state, as a function of applied
flux. The high frequency part of the current noise is derived from the
electromagnetic environment of the circuit. The decoherence of this quantum
circuit can be fully accounted by these current and flux noise sources.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Observation of transition from escape dynamics to underdamped phase diffusion in a Josephson junction
We have investigated the dynamics of underdamped Josephson junctions. In
addition to the usual crossover between macroscopic quantum tunnelling and
thermally activated (TA) behaviour we observe in our samples with relatively
small Josephson coupling E_J, for the first time, the transition from TA
behaviour to underdamped phase diffusion. Above the crossover temperature the
threshold for switching into the finite voltage state becomes extremely sharp.
We propose a (T,E_J) phase-diagram with various regimes and show that for a
proper description of it dissipation and level quantization in a metastable
well are crucial.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle as Probe of Entanglement Entropy: Application to Superradiant Quantum Phase Transitions
Quantum phase transitions are often embodied by the critical behavior of
purely quantum quantities such as entanglement or quantum fluctuations. In
critical regions, we underline a general scaling relation between the
entanglement entropy and one of the most fundamental and simplest measure of
the quantum fluctuations, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Then, we show
that the latter represents a sensitive probe of superradiant quantum phase
transitions in standard models of photons such as the Dicke Hamiltonian, which
embodies an ensemble of two-level systems interacting with one quadrature of a
single and uniform bosonic field. We derive exact results in the thermodynamic
limit and for a finite number N of two-level systems: as a reminiscence of the
entanglement properties between light and the two-level systems, the product
diverges at the quantum critical point as . We
generalize our results to the double quadrature Dicke model where the two
quadratures of the bosonic field are now coupled to two independent sets of two
level systems. Our findings, which show that the entanglement properties
between light and matter can be accessed through the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle, can be tested using Bose-Einstein condensates in optical cavities
and circuit quantum electrodynamicsComment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Published Versio
Intermittent origin of the large violations of the fluctuation dissipation relations in an aging polymer glass
The fluctuation-dissipation relation (FDR) is measured on the dielectric
properties of a polymer glass (polycarbonate)in the range . It
is found that after a quench below the glass transition temperature the
fluctuation dissipation theorem is strongly violated. The amplitude and the
persistence time of this violation are decreasing functions of frequency. At
frequencies larger than 1Hz it persists for about . The origin of this
violation is a highly intermittent dynamics characterized by large
fluctuations. The relevance of these results for recent models of aging
dynamics are discussed.Comment: to be published in Europhysics Letter
First experimental evidence of one-dimensional plasma modes in superconducting thin wires
We have studied niobium superconducting thin wires deposited onto a
SrTiO substrate. By measuring the reflection coefficient of the wires,
resonances are observed in the superconducting state in the 130 MHz to 4 GHz
range. They are interpreted as standing wave resonances of one-dimensional
plasma modes propagating along the superconducting wire. The experimental
dispersion law, versus , presents a linear dependence over the
entire wave vector range. The modes are softened as the temperature increases
close the superconducting transition temperature. Very good agreement are
observed between our data and the dispersion relation predicted by Kulik and
Mooij and Sch\"on.Comment: Submitted to Physical review Letter
Out-of-equilibrium dynamics in a gaussian trap model
The violations of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem are analyzed for a trap
model with a gausssian density of states. In this model, the system reaches
thermal equilibrium for long times after a quench to any finite temperature and
therefore all aging effect are of a transient nature. For not too long times
after the quench it is found that the so-called fluctuation-dissipation ratio
tends to a non-trivial limit, thus inicating the possibility for the definition
of a time scale dependent effective temperature. However, different definitions
of the effective temperature yield distinct results. In particular plots of the
integrated response versus the correlation function strongly depend on the way
they are constructed. Also the definition of effective temperatures in the
frequency domain is not unique for the model considered. This may have some
implications for the interpretation of results from computer simulations and
experimental determinations of effective temperatures.Comment: Proceedings of the workshop on non-equilibrium phenomena in
supercooled fluids, glasses and amorphous materials (17-22 September, Pisa
Optimal Control of Superconducting N-level quantum systems
We consider a current-biased dc SQUID in the presence of an applied
time-dependent bias current or magnetic flux. The phase dynamics of such a
Josephson device is equivalent to that of a quantum particle trapped in a D
anharmonic potential, subject to external time-dependent control fields, {\it
i.e.} a driven multilevel quantum system. The problem of finding the required
time-dependent control field that will steer the system from a given initial
state to a desired final state at a specified final time is formulated in the
framework of optimal control theory. Using the spectral filter technique, we
show that the selected optimal field which induces a coherent population
transfer between quantum states is represented by a carrier signal having a
constant frequency but which is time-varied both in amplitude and phase. The
sensitivity of the optimal solution to parameter perturbations is also
addressed
Linear response subordination to intermittent energy release in off-equilibrium aging dynamics
The interpretation of experimental and numerical data describing
off-equilibrium aging dynamics crucially depends on the connection between
spontaneous and induced fluctuations. The hypothesis that linear response
fluctuations are statistically subordinated to irreversible outbursts of
energy, so-called quakes, leads to predictions for averages and fluctuations
spectra of physical observables in reasonable agreement with experimental
results [see e.g. Sibani et al., Phys. Rev. B74:224407, 2006]. Using
simulational data from a simple but representative Ising model with plaquette
interactions, direct statistical evidence supporting the hypothesis is
presented and discussed in this work.
A strict temporal correlation between quakes and intermittent magnetization
fluctuations is demonstrated. The external magnetic field is shown to bias the
pre-existent intermittent tails of the magnetic fluctuation distribution, with
little or no effect on the Gaussian part of the latter. Its impact on energy
fluctuations is shown to be negligible.
Linear response is thus controlled by the quakes and inherits their temporal
statistics. These findings provide a theoretical basis for analyzing
intermittent linear response data from aging system in the same way as thermal
energy fluctuations, which are far more difficult to measure.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. Text improve
One-Shot Quantum Measurement Using a Hysteretic dc SQUID
We propose a single shot quantum measurement to determine the state of a Josephson charge quantum bit (qubit). The qubit is a Cooper pair box and the measuring device is a two junction superconducting quantum interference device (dc SQUID). This coupled system exhibits a close analogy with a Rydberg atom in a high Q cavity, except that in the present device we benefit from the additional feature of escape from the supercurrent state by macroscopic quantum tunneling, which provides the final readout. We test the feasibility of our idea against realistic experimental circuit parameters and by analyzing the phase fluctuations of the qubit.Peer reviewe
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