Quantum plateau of Andreev reflection induced by spin-orbit coupling

In this work we uncover an interesting quantum plateau behavior for the Andreev reflection between a one-dimensional quantum wire and superconductor. The quantum plateau is achieved by properly tuning the interplay of the spin-orbit coupling within the quantum wire and its tunnel coupling to the superconductor. This plateau behavior is justified to be unique by excluding possible existences in the cases associated with multi-channel quantum wire, the Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk continuous model with a barrier, and lattice system with on-site impurity at the interface.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

Revisit the spin-FET: Multiple reflections, inelastic scattering, and lateral size effects

We revisit the spin-injected field effect transistor (spin-FET) by simulating a lattice model based on recursive lattice Green's function approach. In the one-dimensional case and coherent regime, the simulated results reveal noticeable differences from the celebrated Datta-Das model, which motivate thus an improved treatment and lead to analytic and generalized result. The simulation also allows us to address inelastic scattering (using B\"uttiker's fictitious reservoir approach) and lateral confinement effects on the control of spins which are important issues in the spin-FET device.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Qubit state tomography in superconducting circuit via weak measurements

The standard method of "measuring" quantum wavefunction is the technique of {\it indirect} quantum state tomography. Owing to conceptual novelty and possible advantages, an alternative {\it direct} scheme was proposed and demonstrated recently in quantum optics system. In this work we present a study on the direct scheme of measuring qubit state in the circuit QED system, based on weak measurement and weak value concepts. To be applied to generic parameter conditions, our formulation and analysis are carried out for finite strength weak measurement, and in particular beyond the bad-cavity and weak-response limits. The proposed study is accessible to the present state-of-the-art circuit-QED experiments.Comment: 7 pages,5figure

Transport probe of nonadiabatic transition caused by Majorana moving

We propose a transport probe scheme to detect the nonadiabatic transition caused by Majornana moving, which is relevant to the braiding operations in topological quantum computation. The scheme is largely based on a time dependent single-electron-wavefunction approach to quantum transport. Applying the Kitaev model, we simulate the time dependent Andreev-reflection current and examine the feasibility of using the current to infer the nonadiabatic transition. We design a scheme to determine the Landau-Zener tunneling ratio in the context of transport, and compare it with the result obtained from the isolated quantum wire. Desirable agreements are demonstrated for the proposed scheme.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Revisit the non-locality of Majorana zero modes and teleportation: Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation based treatment

The nonlocal nature of the Majorana zero modes implies an inherent teleportation channel and unique transport signatures for Majorana identification. In this work we make an effort to eliminate some inconsistencies between the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation based treatment and the method using the associated regular fermion number states of vacancy and occupation within the `second quantization' framework. We first consider a rather simple `quantum dot--Majorana wire--quantum dot' system, then a more experimentally relevant setup by replacing the quantum dots with transport leads. For the latter setup, based on the dynamical evolution of electron-hole excitations, we develop a single-particle-wavefunction approach to quantum transport, which renders both the conventional quantum scattering theory and the steady-state nonequilibrium Green's function formalism as its stationary limit. Further, we revisit the issue of Majorana tunneling spectroscopy and consider in particular the two-lead coupling setup. We present comprehensive discussions with detailed comparisons, and predict a zero-bias-limit conductance of $e^2/h$ (for symmetric coupling to the leads),which is a half of the popular result of the zero-bias-peak, or, the so-called Majorana quantized conductance ($2e^2/h$). The present work may arouse a need to reexamine some existing studies and the proposed treatment is expected to be involved in analyzing future experiments in this fast developing field.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Quantum transfer through a continuum under continuous monitoring

In this work we extend our previous studies on the quantum transfer of a particle through a finite-bandwidth continuum under frequent detections, by replacing the assumed frequent measurements with a genuine continuous monitoring by a point-contact detector. We present a quantitative comparison between the two types of measurement. We also propose possible measurements, based on the state-of-the-art experiments, to test the `scaling' property between the measurement rate and the bandwidth of the reservoir, rooted in the transfer dynamics under continuous monitoring.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulation: An approach based on quantum measurement picture

Mixed-quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulation implies an effective measurement on the electronic states owing to continuously tracking the atomic forces.Based on this insight, we propose a quantum trajectory mean-field approach for nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. The new protocol provides a natural interface between the separate quantum and classical treatments, without invoking artificial surface hopping algorithm. Moreover, it also bridges two widely adopted nonadiabatic dynamics methods, the Ehrenfest mean-field theory and the trajectory surface-hopping method. Excellent agreement with the exact results is illustrated with representative model systems, including the challenging ones for traditional methods