22 research outputs found
Non-Gaussian distribution of collective operators in quantum spin chains
We numerically analyse the behavior of the full distribution of collective
observables in quantum spin chains. While most of previous studies of quantum
critical phenomena are limited to the first moments, here we demonstrate how
quantum fluctuations at criticality lead to highly non-Gaussian distributions
thus violating the central limit theorem. Interestingly, we show that the
distributions for different system sizes collapse after scaling on the same
curve for a wide range of transitions: first and second order quantum
transitions and transitions of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type. We
propose and carefully analyse the feasibility of an experimental reconstruction
of the distribution using light-matter interfaces for atoms in optical lattices
or in optical resonators.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures; last version close to published versio
Entanglement properties of spin models in triangular lattices
The different quantum phases appearing in strongly correlated systems as well
as their transitions are closely related to the entanglement shared between
their constituents. In 1D systems, it is well established that the entanglement
spectrum is linked to the symmetries that protect the different quantum phases.
This relation extends even further at the phase transitions where a direct link
associates the entanglement spectrum to the conformal field theory describing
the former. For 2D systems much less is known. The lattice geometry becomes a
crucial aspect to consider when studying entanglement and phase transitions.
Here, we analyze the entanglement properties of triangular spin lattice models
by considering also concepts borrowed from quantum information theory such as
geometric entanglement.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure
Nonclassicality and criticality in symmetry-protected magnetic phases
Quantum and global discord in a spin-1 Heisenberg chain subject to single-ion
anisotropy (uniaxial field) are studied using exact diagonalisation and the
density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG). We find that these measures of
quantum nonclassicality are able to detect the quantum phase transitions
confining the symmetry protected Haldane phase and show critical scaling with
universal exponents. Moreover, in the case of thermal states, we find that
quantum discord can increase with increasing temperature.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, Close to published version. Includes a link to
data used for the figure
Predicting spinor condensate dynamics from simple principles
We study the spin dynamics of quasi-one-dimensional F=1 condensates both at
zero and finite temperatures for arbitrary initial spin configurations. The
rich dynamical evolution exhibited by these non-linear systems is explained by
surprisingly simple principles: minimization of energy at zero temperature, and
maximization of entropy at high temperature. Our analytical results for the
homogeneous case are corroborated by numerical simulations for confined
condensates in a wide variety of initial conditions. These predictions compare
qualitatively well with recent experimental observations and can, therefore,
serve as a guidance for on-going experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. v3: matches version appeared in PR
A case study of spin- Heisenberg model in a triangular lattice
We study the spin- model in a triangular lattice in presence of a uniaxial
anisotropy field using a Cluster Mean-Field approach (CMF). The interplay
between antiferromagnetic exchange, lattice geometry and anisotropy forces
Gutzwiller mean-field approaches to fail in a certain region of the phase
diagram. There, the CMF yields two supersolid (SS) phases compatible with those
present in the spin- XXZ model onto which the spin- system maps.
Between these two SS phases, the three-sublattice order is broken and the
results of the CMF depend heavily on the geometry and size of the cluster. We
discuss the possible presence of a spin liquid in this region.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX 4. The abstract and conclusions have been
modified and the manuscript has been extende
Exponential improvement in photon storage fidelities using subradiance and "selective radiance" in atomic arrays
A central goal within quantum optics is to realize efficient interactions
between photons and atoms. A fundamental limit in nearly all applications based
on such systems arises from spontaneous emission, in which photons are absorbed
by atoms and then re-scattered into undesired channels. In typical treatments
of atomic ensembles, it is assumed that this re-scattering occurs
independently, and at a rate given by a single isolated atom, which in turn
gives rise to standard limits of fidelity in applications such as quantum
memories or quantum gates. However, this assumption can be violated. In
particular, spontaneous emission of a collective atomic excitation can be
significantly suppressed through strong interference in emission. Thus far the
physics underlying the phenomenon of subradiance and techniques to exploit it
have not been well-understood. In this work, we provide a comprehensive
treatment of this problem. First, we show that in ordered atomic arrays in free
space, subradiant states acquire an interpretation in terms of optical modes
that are guided by the array, which only emit due to scattering from the ends
of the finite chain. We also elucidate the properties of subradiant states in
the many-excitation limit. Finally, we introduce the new concept of selective
radiance. Whereas subradiant states experience a reduced coupling to all
optical modes, selectively radiant states are tailored to simultaneously
radiate efficiently into a desired channel while scattering into undesired
channels is suppressed, thus enabling an enhanced atom-light interface. We show
that these states naturally appear in chains of atoms coupled to nanophotonic
structures, and we analyze the performance of photon storage exploiting such
states. We find that selectively radiant states allow for a photon storage
error that scales exponentially better with number of atoms than previously
known bounds.Comment: Fixed minor typos, is now analogous to published versio
Optimization of photon storage fidelity in ordered atomic arrays
A major application for atomic ensembles consists of a quantum memory for
light, in which an optical state can be reversibly converted to a collective
atomic excitation on demand. There exists a well-known fundamental bound on the
storage error, when the ensemble is describable by a continuous medium governed
by the Maxwell-Bloch equations. The validity of this model can break down,
however, in systems such as dense, ordered atomic arrays, where strong
interference in emission can give rise to phenomena such as subradiance and
"selective" radiance. Here, we develop a general formalism that finds the
maximum storage efficiency for a collection of atoms with discrete, known
positions, and a given spatial mode in which an optical field is sent. As an
example, we apply this technique to study a finite two-dimensional square array
of atoms. We show that such a system enables a storage error that scales with
atom number like ,
and that, remarkably, an array of just atoms in principle allows
for an efficiency comparable to a disordered ensemble with optical depth of
around 600.Comment: paper is now identical to published versio
Counting atoms using interaction blockade in an optical superlattice
We report on the observation of an interaction blockade effect for ultracold
atoms in optical lattices, analogous to Coulomb blockade observed in mesoscopic
solid state systems. When the lattice sites are converted into biased double
wells, we detect a discrete set of steps in the well population for increasing
bias potentials. These correspond to tunneling resonances where the atom number
on each side of the barrier changes one by one. This allows us to count and
control the number of atoms within a given well. By evaluating the amplitude of
the different plateaus, we can fully determine the number distribution of the
atoms in the lattice, which we demonstrate for the case of a superfluid and
Mott insulating regime of 87Rb.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Anomalous Expansion of Attractively Interacting Fermionic Atoms in an Optical Lattice
Strong correlations can dramatically modify the thermodynamics of a quantum
many-particle system. Especially intriguing behaviour can appear when the
system adiabatically enters a strongly correlated regime, for the interplay
between entropy and strong interactions can lead to counterintuitive effects. A
well known example is the so-called Pomeranchuk effect, occurring when liquid
3He is adiabatically compressed towards its crystalline phase. Here, we report
on a novel anomalous, isentropic effect in a spin mixture of attractively
interacting fermionic atoms in an optical lattice. As we adiabatically increase
the attraction between the atoms we observe that the gas, instead of
contracting, anomalously expands. This expansion results from the combination
of two effects induced by pair formation in a lattice potential: the
suppression of quantum fluctuations as the attraction increases, which leads to
a dominant role of entropy, and the progressive loss of the spin degree of
freedom, which forces the gas to excite additional orbital degrees of freedom
and expand to outer regions of the trap in order to maintain the entropy. The
unexpected thermodynamics we observe reveal fundamentally distinctive features
of pairing in the fermionic Hubbard model.Comment: 6 pages (plus appendix), 6 figure
From the sinh-Gordon field theory to the one-dimensional Bose gas: exact local correlations and full counting statistics
We derive exact formulas for the expectation value of local observables in a one-dimensional gas of bosons with point-wise repulsive interactions (Lieb-Liniger model). Starting from a recently conjectured expression for the expectation value of vertex operators in the sinh-Gordon field theory, we derive explicit analytic expressions for the one-point K-body correlation functions \u27e8(\u3a8\u2020)K(\u3a8)K\u27e9 in the Lieb-Liniger gas, for arbitrary integer K. These are valid for all excited states in the thermodynamic limit, including thermal states, generalized Gibbs ensembles and non-equilibrium steady states arising in transport settings. Our formulas display several physically interesting applications: most prominently, they allow us to compute the full counting statistics for the particle-number fluctuations in a short interval. Furthermore, combining our findings with the recently introduced generalized hydrodynamics, we are able to study multi-point correlation functions at the Eulerian scale in non-homogeneous settings. Our results complement previous studies in the literature and provide a full solution to the problem of computing one-point functions in the Lieb Liniger model