631 research outputs found
What is a quantum simulator?
Quantum simulators are devices that actively use quantum effects to answer
questions about model systems and, through them, real systems. Here we expand
on this definition by answering several fundamental questions about the nature
and use of quantum simulators. Our answers address two important areas. First,
the difference between an operation termed simulation and another termed
computation. This distinction is related to the purpose of an operation, as
well as our confidence in and expectation of its accuracy. Second, the
threshold between quantum and classical simulations. Throughout, we provide a
perspective on the achievements and directions of the field of quantum
simulation.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
Probing the dynamic structure factor of a neutral Fermi superfluid along the BCS-BEC crossover using atomic impurity qubits
We study an impurity atom trapped by an anharmonic potential, immersed within
a cold atomic Fermi gas with attractive interactions that realizes the
crossover from a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluid to a Bose-Einstein
condensate (BEC). Considering the qubit comprising the lowest two vibrational
energy eigenstates of the impurity, we demonstrate that its dynamics probes the
equilibrium density fluctuations encoded in the dynamic structure factor of the
superfluid. Observing the impurity's evolution is thus shown to facilitate
nondestructive measurements of the superfluid order parameter and the contact
between collective and single-particle excitation spectra. Our setup
constitutes a novel model of an open quantum system interacting with a thermal
reservoir, the latter supporting both bosonic and fermionic excitations that
are also coupled to each other.Comment: Updated to final author version. 9+7 pages, 18 figure
Photoinduced Electron Pairing in a Driven Cavity
We demonstrate how virtual scattering of laser photons inside a cavity via two-photon processes can induce controllable long-range electron interactions in two-dimensional materials. We show that laser light that is red (blue) detuned from the cavity yields attractive (repulsive) interactions whose strength is proportional to the laser intensity. Furthermore, we find that the interactions are not screened effectively except at very low frequencies. For realistic cavity parameters, laser-induced heating of the electrons by inelastic photon scattering is suppressed and coherent electron interactions dominate. When the interactions are attractive, they cause an instability in the Cooper channel at a temperature proportional to the square root of the driving intensity. Our results provide a novel route for engineering electron interactions in a wide range of two-dimensional materials including AB-stacked bilayer graphene and the conducting interface between LaAlO3 and SrTiO3
Creation of effective magnetic fields in optical lattices: The Hofstadter butterfly for cold neutral atoms
We investigate the dynamics of neutral atoms in a 2D optical lattice which
traps two distinct internal states of the atoms in different columns. Two Raman
lasers are used to coherently transfer atoms from one internal state to the
other, thereby causing hopping between the different columns. By adjusting the
laser parameters appropriately we can induce a non vanishing phase of particles
moving along a closed path on the lattice. This phase is proportional to the
enclosed area and we thus simulate a magnetic flux through the lattice. This
setup is described by a Hamiltonian identical to the one for electrons on a
lattice subject to a magnetic field and thus allows us to study this equivalent
situation under very well defined controllable conditions. We consider the
limiting case of huge magnetic fields -- which is not experimentally accessible
for electrons in metals -- where a fractal band structure, the Hofstadter
butterfly, characterizes the system.Comment: 6 pages, RevTe
Breathing oscillations of a trapped impurity in a Bose gas
Motivated by a recent experiment [J. Catani et al., arXiv:1106.0828v1
preprint, 2011], we study breathing oscillations in the width of a harmonically
trapped impurity interacting with a separately trapped Bose gas. We provide an
intuitive physical picture of such dynamics at zero temperature, using a
time-dependent variational approach. In the Gross-Pitaevskii regime we obtain
breathing oscillations whose amplitudes are suppressed by self trapping, due to
interactions with the Bose gas. Introducing phonons in the Bose gas leads to
the damping of breathing oscillations and non-Markovian dynamics of the width
of the impurity, the degree of which can be engineered through controllable
parameters. Our results reproduce the main features of the impurity dynamics
observed by Catani et al. despite experimental thermal effects, and are
supported by simulations of the system in the Gross-Pitaevskii regime.
Moreover, we predict novel effects at lower temperatures due to self-trapping
and the inhomogeneity of the trapped Bose gas.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Controlling two-species Mott-insulator phses in an optical lattice to form an array of dipolar molecules
We consider the transfer of a two-species Bose-Einstein condensate into an
optical lattice with a density such that that a Mott-insulator state with one
atom per species per lattice site is obtained in the deep lattice regime.
Depending on collision parameters the result could be either a `mixed' or a
`separated' Mott-insulator phase. Such a `mixed' two-species insulator could
then be photo-associated into an array of dipolar molecules suitable for
quantum computation or the formation of a dipolar molecular condensate. For the
case of a Rb-K two-species BEC, however, the large inter-species
scattering length makes obtaining the desired `mixed' Mott insulator phase
difficult. To overcome this difficulty we investigate the effect of varying the
lattice frequency on the mean-field interaction and find a favorable parameter
regime under which a lattice of dipolar molecules could be generated
Polaron Physics in Optical Lattices
We investigate the effects of a nearly uniform Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC)
on the properties of immersed trapped impurity atoms. Using a weak-coupling
expansion in the BEC-impurity interaction strength, we derive a model
describing polarons, i.e., impurities dressed by a coherent state of Bogoliubov
phonons, and apply it to ultracold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice. We show
that, with increasing BEC temperature, the transport properties of the
impurities change from coherent to diffusive. Furthermore, stable polaron
clusters are formed via a phonon-mediated off-site attraction.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Spin dynamics for bosons in an optical lattice
We study the internal dynamics of bosonic atoms in an optical lattice. Within
the regime in which the atomic crystal is a Mott insulator with one atom per
well, the atoms behave as localized spins which interact according to some spin
Hamiltonian. The type of Hamiltonian (Heisenberg, Ising), and the sign of
interactions may be tuned by changing the properties of the optical lattice, or
applying external magnetic fields. When, on the other hand, the number of atoms
per lattice site is unknown, we can still use the bosons to perform general
quantum computation
Quantum Logic for Trapped Atoms via Molecular Hyperfine Interactions
We study the deterministic entanglement of a pair of neutral atoms trapped in
an optical lattice by coupling to excited-state molecular hyperfine potentials.
Information can be encoded in the ground-state hyperfine levels and processed
by bringing atoms together pair-wise to perform quantum logical operations
through induced electric dipole-dipole interactions. The possibility of
executing both diagonal and exchange type entangling gates is demonstrated for
two three-level atoms and a figure of merit is derived for the fidelity of
entanglement. The fidelity for executing a CPHASE gate is calculated for two
87Rb atoms, including hyperfine structure and finite atomic localization. The
main source of decoherence is spontaneous emission, which can be minimized for
interaction times fast compared to the scattering rate and for sufficiently
separated atomic wavepackets. Additionally, coherent couplings to states
outside the logical basis can be constrained by the state dependent trapping
potential.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review
Ultracold atoms in optical lattices generated by quantized light fields
We study an ultracold gas of neutral atoms subject to the periodic optical
potential generated by a high- cavity mode. In the limit of very low
temperatures, cavity field and atomic dynamics require a quantum description.
Starting from a cavity QED single atom Hamiltonian we use different routes to
derive approximative multiparticle Hamiltonians in Bose-Hubbard form with
rescaled or even dynamical parameters. In the limit of large enough cavity
damping the different models agree. Compared to free space optical lattices,
quantum uncertainties of the potential and the possibility of atom-field
entanglement lead to modified phase transition characteristics, the appearance
of new phases or even quantum superpositions of different phases. Using a
corresponding effective master equation, which can be numerically solved for
few particles, we can study time evolution including dissipation. As an example
we exhibit the microscopic processes behind the transition dynamics from a Mott
insulator like state to a self-ordered superradiant state of the atoms, which
appears as steady state for transverse atomic pumping.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, Published versio
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