Entanglement and the factorization-approximation

For a bi-partite quantum system defined in a finite dimensional Hilbert space we investigate in what sense entanglement change and interactions imply each other. For this purpose we introduce an entanglement operator, which is then shown to represent a non-conserved property for any bi-partite system and any type of interaction. This general relation does not exclude the existence of special initial product states, for which the entanglement remains small over some period of time, despite interactions. For this case we derive an approximation to the full Schroedinger equation, which allows the treatment of the composite systems in terms of product states. The induced error is estimated. In this factorization-approximation one subsystem appears as an effective potential for the other. A pertinent example is the Jaynes-Cummings model, which then reduces to the semi-classical rotating wave approximation.Comment: Accepted for publication in European Physical Journal

Quantum trajectories of interacting pseudo-spin-networks

We consider quantum trajectories of composite systems as generated by the stochastic unraveling of the respective Lindblad-master-equation. Their classical limit is taken to correspond to local jumps between orthogonal states. Based on statistical distributions of jump- and inter-jump-distances we are able to quantify the non-classicality of quantum trajectories. To account for the operational effect of entanglement we introduce the novel concept of "co-jumps".Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure

Distribution of local entropy in the Hilbert space of bi-partite quantum systems: Origin of Jaynes' principle

For a closed bi-partite quantum system partitioned into system proper and environment we interprete the microcanonical and the canonical condition as constraints for the interaction between those two subsystems. In both cases the possible pure-state trajectories are confined to certain regions in Hilbert space. We show that in a properly defined thermodynamical limit almost all states within those accessible regions represent states of some maximum local entropy. For the microcanonical condition this dominant state still depends on the initial state; for the canonical condition it coincides with that defined by Jaynes' principle. It is these states which thermodynamical systems should generically evolve into.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

Quantum-state tomography for spin-l systems

We show that the density matrix of a spin-l system can be described entirely in terms of the measurement statistics of projective spin measurements along a minimum of 4l+1 different spin directions. It is thus possible to represent the complete quantum statistics of any N-level system within the spherically symmetric three dimensional space defined by the spin vector. An explicit method for reconstructing the density matrix of a spin-1 system from the measurement statistics of five non-orthogonal spin directions is presented and the generalization to spin-l systems is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, including 2 tables, minor modifications in section II, final version for publication in Phys. Rev.

Gaussian quantum fluctuations in interacting many particle systems

We consider a many particle quantum system, in which each particle interacts only with its nearest neighbours. Provided that the energy per particle has an upper bound, we show, that the energy distribution of almost every product state becomes a Gaussian normal distribution in the limit of infinite number of particles. We indicate some possible applications.Comment: 10 pages, formulation made mathematically more precise, two examples added, accepted for publication in Letters in Mathematical Physic

Quantum network architecture of tight-binding models with substitution sequences

We study a two-spin quantum Turing architecture, in which discrete local rotations \alpha_m of the Turing head spin alternate with quantum controlled NOT-operations. Substitution sequences are known to underlie aperiodic structures. We show that parameter inputs \alpha_m described by such sequences can lead here to a quantum dynamics, intermediate between the regular and the chaotic variant. Exponential parameter sensitivity characterizing chaotic quantum Turing machines turns out to be an adequate criterion for induced quantum chaos in a quantum network.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. mod. Optics [Proc. Workshop "Entanglement and Decoherence", Gargnano (Italy), Sept 1999], 3 figure

Scaling behavior of interactions in a modular quantum system and the existence of local temperature

We consider a quantum system of fixed size consisting of a regular chain of $n$-level subsystems, where $n$ is finite. Forming groups of $N$ subsystems each, we show that the strength of interaction between the groups scales with $N^{- 1/2}$. As a consequence, if the total system is in a thermal state with inverse temperature $\beta$, a sufficient condition for subgroups of size $N$ to be approximately in a thermal state with the same temperature is $\sqrt{N} \gg \beta \bar{\delta E}$, where $\bar{\delta E}$ is the width of the occupied level spectrum of the total system. These scaling properties indicate on what scale local temperatures may be meaningfully defined as intensive variables. This question is particularly relevant for non-equilibrium scenarios such as heat conduction etc.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

Elliptical orbits in the Bloch sphere

As is well known, when an SU(2) operation acts on a two-level system, its Bloch vector rotates without change of magnitude. Considering a system composed of two two-level systems, it is proven that for a class of nonlocal interactions of the two subsystems including \sigma_i\otimes\sigma_j (with i,j \in {x,y,z}) and the Heisenberg interaction, the geometric description of the motion is particularly simple: each of the two Bloch vectors follows an elliptical orbit within the Bloch sphere. The utility of this result is demonstrated in two applications, the first of which bears on quantum control via quantum interfaces. By employing nonunitary control operations, we extend the idea of controllability to a set of points which are not necessarily connected by unitary transformations. The second application shows how the orbit of the coherence vector can be used to assess the entangling power of Heisenberg exchange interaction.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, few corrections, J. Opt. B: Quantum Semiclass. Opt. 7 (2005) S1-S

Abrupt and gradual changes of information through the Kane solid state computer

The susceptibility of the transformed information to the filed and system parameters is investigated for the Kane solid state computer. It has been shown, that the field polarization and the initial state of the system play the central roles on the abrupt and gradual quench of the purity and the fidelity. If the field and the initial state are in different polarizations, then the purity and the fidelity decrease abruptly, while for the common polarization the decay is gradual and smooth. For some class of initial states one can send the information without any loss. Therefore, by controlling on the devices one can increase the time of safe communication, reduce the amount of exchange information between the state and its environment and minimize the purity decrease rate