12 research outputs found
Engineering correlation and entanglement dynamics in spin systems
We show that the correlation and entanglement dynamics of spin systems can be
understood in terms of propagation of spin waves. This gives a simple, physical
explanation of the behaviour seen in a number of recent works, in which a
localised, low-energy excitation is created and allowed to evolve. But it also
extends to the scenario of translationally invariant systems in states far from
equilibrium, which require less local control to prepare. Spin-wave evolution
is completely determined by the system's dispersion relation, and the latter
typically depends on a small number of external, physical parameters.
Therefore, this new insight into correlation dynamics opens up the possibility
not only of predicting but also of controlling the propagation velocity and
dispersion rate, by manipulating these parameters. We demonstrate this
analytically in a simple, example system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX4 forma
Entanglement flow in multipartite systems
We investigate entanglement dynamics in multipartite systems, establishing a
quantitative concept of entanglement flow: both flow through individual
particles, and flow along general networks of interacting particles. In the
former case, the rate at which a particle can transmit entanglement is shown to
depend on that particle's entanglement with the rest of the system. In the
latter, we derive a set of entanglement rate equations, relating the rate of
entanglement generation between two subsets of particles to the entanglement
already present further back along the network. We use the rate equations to
derive a lower bound on entanglement generation in qubit chains, and compare
this to existing entanglement creation protocols.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, REVTeX format. Proof of lemma 3 corrected.
Restructured and expande
Separable states can be used to distribute entanglement
We show that no entanglement is necessary to distribute entanglement; that
is, two distant particles can be entangled by sending a third particle that is
never entangled with the other two. Similarly, two particles can become
entangled by continuous interaction with a highly mixed mediating particle that
never itself becomes entangled. We also consider analogous properties of
completely positive maps, in which the composition of two separable maps can
create entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Slight modification
Assessing non-Markovian dynamics
We investigate what a snapshot of a quantum evolution - a quantum channel
reflecting open system dynamics - reveals about the underlying continuous time
evolution. Remarkably, from such a snapshot, and without imposing additional
assumptions, it can be decided whether or not a channel is consistent with a
time (in)dependent Markovian evolution, for which we provide computable
necessary and sufficient criteria. Based on these, a computable measure of
`Markovianity' is introduced. We discuss how the consistency with Markovian
dynamics can be checked in quantum process tomography. The results also clarify
the geometry of the set of quantum channels with respect to being solutions of
time (in)dependent master equations.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 2 figures. (Except from typesetting) version to be
published in the Physical Review Letter
Fundamental limitations in the purifications of tensor networks
We show a fundamental limitation in the description of quantum many-body
mixed states with tensor networks in purification form. Namely, we show that
there exist mixed states which can be represented as a translationally
invariant (TI) matrix product density operator (MPDO) valid for all system
sizes, but for which there does not exist a TI purification valid for all
system sizes. The proof is based on an undecidable problem and on the
uniqueness of canonical forms of matrix product states. The result also holds
for classical states.Comment: v1: 11 pages, 1 figure. v2: very minor changes. About to appear in
Journal of Mathematical Physic
Transport and Entanglement Generation in the Bose-Hubbard Model
We study entanglement generation via particle transport across a
one-dimensional system described by the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian. We analyze
how the competition between interactions and tunneling affects transport
properties and the creation of entanglement in the occupation number basis.
Alternatively, we propose to use spatially delocalized quantum bits, where a
quantum bit is defined by the presence of a particle either in a site or in the
adjacent one. Our results can serve as a guidance for future experiments to
characterize entanglement of ultracold gases in one-dimensional optical
lattices.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Entanglement and correlation functions following a local quench: a conformal field theory approach
We show that the dynamics resulting from preparing a one-dimensional quantum
system in the ground state of two decoupled parts, then joined together and
left to evolve unitarily with a translational invariant Hamiltonian (a local
quench), can be described by means of quantum field theory. In the case when
the corresponding theory is conformal, we study the evolution of the
entanglement entropy for different bi-partitions of the line. We also consider
the behavior of one- and two-point correlation functions. All our findings may
be explained in terms of a picture, that we believe to be valid more generally,
whereby quasiparticles emitted from the joining point at the initial time
propagate semiclassically through the system.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, v2 typos corrected and refs adde
Third quantization: a general method to solve master equations for quadratic open Fermi systems
The Lindblad master equation for an arbitrary quadratic system of n fermions
is solved explicitly in terms of diagonalization of a 4n x 4n matrix, provided
that all Lindblad bath operators are linear in the fermionic variables. The
method is applied to the explicit construction of non-equilibrium steady states
and the calculation of asymptotic relaxation rates in the far from equilibrium
problem of heat and spin transport in a nearest neighbor Heisenberg XY spin 1/2
chain in a transverse magnetic field.Comment: 24 pages, with 8 eps figures - few minor corrections to the published
version, e.g. anti-symmetrizing the matrix given by eq. (27
Quantum Quenches in Extended Systems
We study in general the time-evolution of correlation functions in a extended
quantum system after the quench of a parameter in the hamiltonian. We show that
correlation functions in d dimensions can be extracted using methods of
boundary critical phenomena in d+1 dimensions. For d=1 this allows to use the
powerful tools of conformal field theory in the case of critical evolution.
Several results are obtained in generic dimension in the gaussian (mean-field)
approximation. These predictions are checked against the real-time evolution of
some solvable models that allows also to understand which features are valid
beyond the critical evolution.
All our findings may be explained in terms of a picture generally valid,
whereby quasiparticles, entangled over regions of the order of the correlation
length in the initial state, then propagate with a finite speed through the
system. Furthermore we show that the long-time results can be interpreted in
terms of a generalized Gibbs ensemble. We discuss some open questions and
possible future developments.Comment: 24 Pages, 4 figure
Can One Trust Quantum Simulators?
Various fundamental phenomena of strongly-correlated quantum systems such as
high- superconductivity, the fractional quantum-Hall effect, and quark
confinement are still awaiting a universally accepted explanation. The main
obstacle is the computational complexity of solving even the most simplified
theoretical models that are designed to capture the relevant quantum
correlations of the many-body system of interest. In his seminal 1982 paper
[Int. J. Theor. Phys. 21, 467], Richard Feynman suggested that such models
might be solved by "simulation" with a new type of computer whose constituent
parts are effectively governed by a desired quantum many-body dynamics.
Measurements on this engineered machine, now known as a "quantum simulator,"
would reveal some unknown or difficult to compute properties of a model of
interest. We argue that a useful quantum simulator must satisfy four
conditions: relevance, controllability, reliability, and efficiency. We review
the current state of the art of digital and analog quantum simulators. Whereas
so far the majority of the focus, both theoretically and experimentally, has
been on controllability of relevant models, we emphasize here the need for a
careful analysis of reliability and efficiency in the presence of
imperfections. We discuss how disorder and noise can impact these conditions,
and illustrate our concerns with novel numerical simulations of a paradigmatic
example: a disordered quantum spin chain governed by the Ising model in a
transverse magnetic field. We find that disorder can decrease the reliability
of an analog quantum simulator of this model, although large errors in local
observables are introduced only for strong levels of disorder. We conclude that
the answer to the question "Can we trust quantum simulators?" is... to some
extent.Comment: 20 pages. Minor changes with respect to version 2 (some additional
explanations, added references...