Quantum dynamics and transport in a double well system

The simplest one-dimensional model for the studying of non-trivial geometrical effects is a ring shaped device which is formed by joining two arms. We explore the possibility to model such a system as a two level system (TLS). Of particular interest is the analysis of quantum stirring, where it is not evident that the topology is properly reflected within the framework of the TLS modeling. On the technical side we provide a practical "neighboring level" approximation for the analysis of such quantum devices, which remains valid even if the TLS modeling does not apply.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, version to be published in PR

Operating a quantum pump in a closed circuit

During an adiabatic pumping cycle a conventional two barrier quantum device takes an electron from the left lead and ejects it to the right lead. Hence the pumped charge per cycle is naively expected to be $Q \le e$. This zero order adiabatic point of view is in fact misleading. For a closed device we can get ${Q > e}$ and even ${Q \gg e}$. In this paper a detailed analysis of the quantum pump operation is presented. Using the Kubo formula for the geometric conductance, and applying the Dirac chains picture, we derive practical estimates for~$Q$.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figs, minor textual corretions, to be published in JP

Quantum Stirring in low dimensional devices

A circulating current can be induced in the Fermi sea by displacing a scatterer, or more generally by integrating a quantum pump into a closed circuit. The induced current may have either the same or the opposite sense with respect to the "pushing" direction of the pump. We work out explicit expressions for the associated geometric conductance using the Kubo-Dirac monopoles picture, and illuminate the connection with the theory of adiabatic passage in multiple path geometry.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, improved versio

Optimal rewards in contests

We study all-pay contests under incomplete information where the reward is a function of the contestant's type and effort. We analyze the optimal reward for the designer when the reward is either multiplicatively separable or additively separable in effort and type. In the multiplicatively separable environment, the optimal reward is always positive while in the additively separable environment it may also be negative. In both environments, depending on the designer's utility, the optimal reward may either increase or decrease in the contestants' effort. Finally, in both environments, the designer's payoff depends only upon the expected value of the effort-dependent rewards and not the number of rewards.Leverhulme Foundation (Grant RF/7/2006/0325

Anomalous decay of a prepared state due to non-Ohmic coupling to the continuum

We study the decay of a prepared state $E_0$ into a continuum {E_k} in the case of non-Ohmic models. This means that the coupling is $|V_{k,0}| \propto |E_k-E_0|^{s-1}$ with $s \ne 1$. We find that irrespective of model details there is a universal generalized Wigner time $t_0$ that characterizes the evolution of the survival probability $P_0(t)$. The generic decay behavior which is implied by rate equation phenomenology is a slowing down stretched exponential, reflecting the gradual resolution of the bandprofile. But depending on non-universal features of the model a power-law decay might take over: it is only for an Ohmic coupling to the continuum that we get a robust exponential decay that is insensitive to the nature of the intra-continuum couplings. The analysis highlights the co-existence of perturbative and non-perturbative features in the dynamics. It turns out that there are special circumstances in which $t_0$ is reflected in the spreading process and not only in the survival probability, contrary to the naive linear response theory expectation.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Quantum anomalies and linear response theory

The analysis of diffusive energy spreading in quantized chaotic driven systems, leads to a universal paradigm for the emergence of a quantum anomaly. In the classical approximation a driven chaotic system exhibits stochastic-like diffusion in energy space with a coefficient $D$ that is proportional to the intensity $\epsilon^2$ of the driving. In the corresponding quantized problem the coherent transitions are characterized by a generalized Wigner time $t_{\epsilon}$, and a self-generated (intrinsic) dephasing process leads to non-linear dependence of $D$ on $\epsilon^2$.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, textual improvements (as in published version

Non-adiabatic pumping in an oscillating-piston model

We consider the prototypical "piston pump" operating on a ring, where a circulating current is induced by means of an AC driving. This can be regarded as a generalized Fermi-Ulam model, incorporating a finite-height moving wall (piston) and non trivial topology (ring). The amount of particles transported per cycle is determined by a layered structure of phase-space. Each layer is characterized by a different drift velocity. We discuss the differences compared with the adiabatic and Boltzmann pictures, and highlight the significance of the "diabatic" contribution that might lead to a counter-stirring effect.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, improved versio

Dislocation-mediated melting of one-dimensional Rydberg crystals

We consider cold Rydberg atoms in a one-dimensional optical lattice in the Mott regime with a single atom per site at zero temperature. An external laser drive with Rabi frequency \Omega and laser detuning \Delta, creates Rydberg excitations whose dynamics is governed by an effective spin-chain model with (quasi) long-range interactions. This system possesses intrinsically a large degree of frustration resulting in a ground-state phase diagram in the (\Delta,\Omega) plane with a rich topology. As a function of \Delta, the Rydberg blockade effect gives rise to a series of crystalline phases commensurate with the optical lattice that form a so-called devil's staircase. The Rabi frequency, \Omega, on the other hand, creates quantum fluctuations that eventually lead to a quantum melting of the crystalline states. Upon increasing \Omega, we find that generically a commensurate-incommensurate transition to a floating Rydberg crystal occurs first, that supports gapless phonon excitations. For even larger \Omega, dislocations within the floating Rydberg crystal start to proliferate and a second, Kosterlitz-Thouless-Nelson-Halperin-Young dislocation-mediated melting transition finally destroys the crystalline arrangement of Rydberg excitations. This latter melting transition is generic for one-dimensional Rydberg crystals and persists even in the absence of an optical lattice. The floating phase and the concomitant transitions can, in principle, be detected by Bragg scattering of light.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures; minor changes, published versio

Counting statistics in multiple path geometries and the fluctuations of the integrated current in a quantum stirring device

The amount $Q$ of particles that are transported via a path of motion is characterized by its expectation value $$ and by its variance $Var(Q)$. We analyze what happens if a particle has two optional paths available to get from one site to another site, and in particular what is $Var(Q)$ for the current which is induced in a quantum stirring device. It turns out that coherent splitting and the stirring effect are intimately related and cannot be understood within the framework of the prevailing probabilistic theory.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, published version, Latex Eq# correcte