Operator fidelity susceptibility: an indicator of quantum criticality

We introduce the operator fidelity and propose to use its susceptibility for characterizing the sensitivity of quantum systems to perturbations. Two typical models are addressed: one is the transverse Ising model exhibiting a quantum phase transition, and the other is the one dimensional Heisenberg spin chain with next-nearest-neighbor interactions, which has the degeneracy. It is revealed that the operator fidelity susceptibility is a good indicator of quantum criticality regardless of the system degeneracy.Comment: Four pages, two figure

Photon-assisted Landau-Zener transition: Role of coherent superposition states

We investigate a Landau-Zener (LZ) transition process modeled by a quantum two-level system (TLS) coupled to a photon mode when the bias energy is varied linearly in time. The initial state of the photon field is assumed to be a superposition of coherent states, leading to a more intricate LZ transition. Applying the rotating-wave approximation (RWA), analytical results are obtained revealing the enhancement of the LZ probability by increasing the average photon number. We also consider the creation of entanglement and the change of photon statistics during the LZ process. Without the RWA, we find some qualitative differences of the LZ dynamics from the RWA results, e.g., the average photon number no longer monotonically enhances the LZ probability. The ramifications and implications of these results are explored.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Adiabatic Creation of Atomic Squeezing in Dark States vs. Decoherences

We study the multipartite correlations of the multi-atom dark states, which are characterized by the atomic squeezing beyond the pairwise entanglement. It is shown that, in the photon storage process with atomic ensemble via electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) mechanism, the atomic squeezing and the pairwise entanglement can be created by adiabatically manipulating the Rabi frequency of the classical light field on the atomic ensemble. We also consider the sudden death for the atomic squeezing and the pairwise entanglement under various decoherence channels. An optimal time for generating the greatest atomic squeezing and pairwise entanglement is obtained by studying in details the competition between the adiabatic creation of quantum correlation in the atomic ensemble and the decoherence that we describe with three typical decoherence channels.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure

Disentanglement in a quantum critical environment

We study the dynamical process of disentanglement of two qubits and two qutrits coupled to an Ising spin chain in a transverse field, which exhibits a quantum phase transition. We use the concurrence and negativity to quantify entanglement of two qubits and two qutrits, respectively. Explicit connections between the concurrence (negativity) and the decoherence factors are given for two initial states, the pure maximally entangled state and the mixed Werner state. We find that the concurrence and negativity decay exponentially with fourth power of time in the vicinity of critical point of the environmental system.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure