Gaussian quantum discord

We extend the quantum discord to continuous variable systems and evaluate Gaussian quantum discord C(\rho) for bipartite Gaussian states. In particular, for squeezed thermal states (STS), we explicitly maximize the extractable information over Gaussian measurements: C(\rho) is minimized by a generalized measurement rather than a projective one. Almost all STS have nonzero Gaussian discord: they may be either separable or entangled if the discord is below the threshold C(\rho)=1, whereas they are all entangled above the threshold. We elucidate the general role of state parameters in determining the discord and discuss its evolution in noisy channels.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, new version, typos fixe

Non-Gaussian quantum discord for Gaussian states

In recent years the paradigm based on entanglement as the unique measure of quantum correlations has been challenged by the rise of new correlation concepts, such as quantum discord, able to reveal quantum correlations that are present in separable states. It is in general difficult to compute quantum discord, because it involves a minimization over all possible local measurements in a bipartition. In the realm of continuous variable (CV) systems, a Gaussian version of quantum discord has been put forward upon restricting to Gaussian measurements. It is natural to ask whether non-Gaussian measurements can lead to a stronger minimization than Gaussian ones. Here we focus on two relevant classes of two-mode Gaussian states: squeezed thermal states (STS) and mixed thermal states (MTS), and allow for a range of experimentally feasible non-Gaussian measurements, comparing the results with the case of Gaussian measurements. We provide evidence that Gaussian measurements are optimal for Gaussian states.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures (3 appendices

The role of initial entanglement and nonGaussianity in the decoherence of photon number entangled states evolving in a noisy channel

We address the degradation of continuous variable (CV) entanglement in a noisy channel focusing on the set of photon-number entangled states. We exploit several separability criteria and compare the resulting separation times with the value of non-Gaussianity at any time, thus showing that in the low-temperature regime: i) non-Gaussianity is a bound for the relative entropy of entanglement and ii) Simon' criterion provides a reliable estimate of the separation time also for nonGaussian states. We provide several evidences supporting the conjecture that Gaussian entanglement is the most robust against noise, i.e. it survives longer than nonGaussian one, and that this may be a general feature for CV systems in Markovian channels.Comment: revised version, title and figures change

Momentum-space analysis of multipartite entanglement at quantum phase transitions

We investigate entanglement properties at quantum phase transitions of an integrable extended Hubbard model in the momentum space representation. Two elementary subsystems are recognized: the single mode of an electron, and the pair of modes (electrons coupled through the eta-pairing mechanism). We first detect the two/multi-partite nature of each quantum phase transition by a comparative study of the singularities of Von Neumann entropy and quantum mutual information. We establish the existing relations between the correlations in the momentum representation and those exhibited in the complementary picture: the direct lattice representation. The presence of multipartite entanglement is then investigated in detail through the Q-measure, namely a generalization of the Meyer-Wallach measure of entanglement. Such a measure becomes increasingly sensitive to correlations of a multipartite nature increasing the size of the reduced density matrix. In momentum space, we succeed in obtaining the latter for our system at arbitrary size and we relate its behaviour to the nature of the various QPTs.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Non-classical correlations in non-Markovian continuous variable systems

We consider two identical and non-interacting harmonic oscillators coupled to either two independent bosonic baths or to a common bosonic bath. Under the only assumption of weak coupling, we analyze in details the non-Markovian short time-scale evolution of intensity correlations, entanglement and quantum discord for initial two-mode squeezed-thermal vacuum states. In the independent reservoirs case we observe the detrimental effect of the environment for all these quantities and we establish a hierarchy for their robustness against the environmental noise. In the common reservoir case, for initial uncorrelated states, we find that only quantum discord can be created via interaction with the bath, while entanglement and sub shot noise intensity correlations remain absent.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Structure of quantum correlations in momentum space and off diagonal long range order in eta pairing and BCS states

The quantum states built with the eta paring mechanism i.e., eta pairing states, were first introduced in the context of high temperature superconductivity where they were recognized as important example of states allowing for off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO). In this paper we describe the structure of the correlations present in these states when considered in their momentum representation and we explore the relations between the quantum bipartite/multipartite correlations exhibited in k space and the direct lattice superconducting correlations. In particular, we show how the negativity between paired momentum modes is directly related to the ODLRO. Moreover, we investigate the dependence of the block entanglement on the choice of the modes forming the block and on the ODLRO; consequently we determine the multipartite content of the entanglement through the evaluation of the generalized "Meyer Wallach" measure in the direct and reciprocal lattice. The determination of the persistency of entanglement shows how the network of correlations depicted exhibits a self-similar structure which is robust with respect to "local" measurements. Finally, we recognize how a relation between the momentum-space quantum correlations and the ODLRO can be established even in the case of BCS states.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Discretizations of the spectral fractional Laplacian on general domains with Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin boundary conditions

In this work, we propose novel discretisations of the spectral fractional Laplacian on bounded domains based on the integral formulation of the operator via the heat-semigroup formalism. Specifically, we combine suitable quadrature formulas of the integral with a finite element method for the approximation of the solution of the corresponding heat equation. We derive two families of discretisations with order of convergence depending on the regularity of the domain and the function on which the fractional Laplacian is acting. Unlike other existing approaches in literature, our method does not require the computation of the eigenpairs of the Laplacian on the considered domain, can be implemented on possibly irregular bounded domains, and can naturally handle different types of boundary constraints. Various numerical simulations are provided to illustrate performance of the proposed method and support our theoretical results.FdT acknowledges support of Toppforsk project Waves and Nonlinear Phenomena (WaNP), grant no. 250070 from the Research Council of Norway. ERCIM ``Alain Benoussan" Fellowship programm

A computational model integrating brain electrophysiology and metabolism highlights the key role of extracellular potassium and oxygen

The human brain is a small organ which uses a disproportional amount of the total metabolic energy pro- duction in the body. While it is well understood that the most significant energy sink is the maintenance of the neuronal membrane potential during the brain signaling activity, the role of astrocytes in the energy balance continues to be the topic of a lot of research. A key function of astrocytes, besides clearing glutamate from the synaptic clefts, is the potassium clearing after neuronal activation. Extracellular potassium plays a significant role in triggering neuronal firing, and elevated concentration of potassium may lead to abnormal firing pattern, e.g., seizures, thus emphasizing the importance of the glial K+ buffering role. The predictive mathematical model proposed in this paper elucidates the role of glial potassium clearing in brain energy metabolism, integrating a detailed model of the ion dynamics which regulates neuronal firing with a three compartment metabolic model. Because of the very different characteristic time scales of electrophysiology and metabolism, care must be taken when coupling the two models to ensure that the predictions, e.g., neuronal firing frequencies and the oxygen- glucose index (OGI) of the brain during activation and rest, are in agreement with empirical observations. The temporal multi-scale nature of the problem requires the design of new computational tools to ensure a stable and accurate numerical treatment of the problem. The model predictions for different protocols, including combinations of elevated activation and ischemic episodes, are in good agreement with experimental observations reported in the literature.This work was supported by the Bizkaia Talent and European Commission through CO- FUND under the grant CIPAS: Computational Inverse Problems Across Scales (AYD-000-278, 2015), by the Basque Government through the BERC 2014-2017 program, and by the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competitive- ness MINECO through the BCAM Severo Ochoa excellence accreditation SEV-2013-0323 and the Spanish ”Plan Estatal de Investigacio ́n, Desarrollo e Innovacio ́n Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad” under Grant BELEMET - Brain ELEctro-METabolic modeling and numerical approximation (MTM2015-69992-R). The work of Daniela Cal- vetti was partly supported by Grant Number 246665 from the Simons Foundation, and the work of Erkki Somersalo was partly supported by NSF Grant DMS 1016183. Daniela Calvetti and Erkki Somersalo were partly supported by NIH, grant 1U01GM111251-01

Linear amplification and quantum cloning for non-Gaussian continuous variables

We investigate phase-insensitive linear amplification at the quantum limit for single- and two-mode states and show that there exists a broad class of non-Gaussian states whose nonclassicality survives even at an arbitrarily large gain. We identify the corresponding observable nonclassical effects and find that they include, remarkably, two-mode entanglement. The implications of our results for quantum cloning outside the Gaussian regime are also addressed.Comment: published version with reference updat