arXiv subjects

A. J. Fisher

Publications and source records attributed to A. J. Fisher.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Quantum Projection in an Ising Spin Liquid

A transverse magnetic field is used to scan the diagonal and off-diagonal susceptibility of the uniaxial quantum magnet, $\text{LiHo}_{0.045}\text{Y}_{0.955}\text{F}_4$. Clusters of strongly-coupled spins act as the primary source for the response functions, which result from a field-induced quantum projection of the system into a classically forbidden (meaning non-Ising) regime. Calculations based on spin pairs reproduce only some features of the data and fail to predict the measured off-diagonal response, providing evidence of a multi-spin collective state.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2007

Configuration-Space Location of the Entanglement between Two Subsystems

In this paper we address the question: where in configuration space is the entanglement between two particles located? We present a thought-experiment, equally applicable to discrete or continuous-variable systems, in which one or both parties makes a preliminary measurement of the state with only enough resolution to determine whether or not the particle resides in a chosen region, before attempting to make use of the entanglement. We argue that this provides an operational answer to the question of how much entanglement was originally located within the chosen region. We illustrate the approach in a spin system, and also in a pair of coupled harmonic oscillators. Our approach is particularly simple to implement for pure states, since in this case the sub-ensemble in which the system is definitely located in the restricted region after the measurement is also pure, and hence its entanglement can be simply characterised by the entropy of the reduced density operators. For our spin example we present results showing how the entanglement varies as a function of the parameters of the initial state; for the continuous case, we find also how it depends on the location and size of the chosen regions. Hence we show that the distribution of entanglement is very different from the distribution of the classical correlations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Vibrational inelastic scattering effects in molecular electronics

We describe how to treat the interaction of travelling electrons with localised vibrational modes in nanojunctions. We present a multichannel scattering technique which can be applied to calculate the transport properties for realistic systems, and show how it is related to other methods that are useful in particular cases. We apply our technique to describe recent experiments on the conductance through molecular junctions.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

The transfer of energy between electrons and ions in solids

In this review we consider those processes in condensed matter that involve the irreversible flow of energy between electrons and nuclei that follows from a system being taken out of equilibrium. We survey some of the more important experimental phenomena associated with these processes, followed by a number of theoretical techniques for studying them. The techniques considered are those that can be applied to systems containing many non-equivalent atoms. They include both perturbative approaches (Fermi's Golden Rule, and non-equilibrium Green's functions) and molecular dynamics based (the Ehrenfest approximation, surface hopping, semi-classical gaussian wavefunction methods and correlated electron-ion dynamics). These methods are described and characterised, with indications of their relative merits.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

An efficient numerical method for calculating the entanglement of formation of arbitrary mixed quantum states of any dimension

We present a conjugate gradient method for calculating the entanglement of formation of arbitrary mixed quantum states of any dimension and with any bipartite division of the Hilbert space. The development of the gradient used by the algorithm, its implications for the number of states required in the optimal decomposition, and the way that conjugate gradient minimization has been adapted for this particular problem are outlined. We have found that the algorithm exhibits linear convergence for general mixed states, and that it correctly reproduces the known results for pairs of qubits and for isotropic states. The results of an example application of the code are discussed: calculating the entanglement of formation of a Psi+ Bell state of two qutrits when one of those qutrits is subject to various decoherence channels. The results for qutrits are contrasted with those for qubits: for the types of decoherence considered here, qutrit entanglement appears to be more robust than qubit entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Soliton effects in dangling-bond wires on Si(001)

Dangling bond wires on Si(001) are prototypical one dimensional wires, which are expected to show polaronic and solitonic effects. We present electronic structure calculations, using the tight binding model, of solitons in dangling-bond wires, and demonstrate that these defects are stable in even-length wires, although approximately 0.1 eV higher in energy than a perfect wire. We also note that in contrast to conjugated polymer systems, there are two types of soliton and that the type of soliton has strong effects on the energetics of the bandgap edges, with formation of intra-gap states between 0.1 eV and 0.2 eV from the band edges. These intra-gap states are localised on the atoms comprising the soliton.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Lower limit on decoherence introduced by entangling two spatially-separated qubits

It is shown that a generalization of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem places an upper bound on the figure of merit for any quantum gate designed to entangle spatially-separated qubits. The bound depends solely on the spectral properties of the environment. The bound applies even to systems performing a quantum computation within a decoherence-free subspace, but might be optimized by the use of non-equilibrium squeezed states of the environment, or by using an environment system constructed to have response confined to certain frequencies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Diffusion of a polaron in dangling bond wires on Si(001)

Injecting charge into dangling bond wires on Si(001) has been shown to induce polarons, which are weakly coupled to the underlying bulk phonons. We present elevated temperature tight binding molecular dynamics simulations designed to obtain a diffusion barrier for the diffusive motion of these polarons. The results indicate that diffusion of the polarons would be observable at room temperature, and that the polarons remain localised even at high temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Hybrid Luttinger liquid/Fermi liquid behaviour in an atomic wire on a surface

Recent advances in single atom manipulation have made it possible to create "wires" in the form of atomic scale linear structures on a semiconductor surface. If such structures are to be used in future electronic devices, it will be necessary to know to what extent they behave as one-dimensional conductors, in which the presence of electron-electron interactions in the wire lead to properties quite different from those found in higher-dimensional systems. In particular, it would be useful to know if these structures retain any of the Luttinger liquid properties that are predicted for a pure one-dimensional metal. However, experimental studies of such structures have so far yielded unclear and contradictory results. We investigate this problem theoretically by creating a highly simplified model of a wire on a surface--a chain of atoms that includes electron-electron interactions to represent the wire, coupled to a similar chain that excludes electron-electron interactions to represent, albeit crudely, the surface. We present results for the eigenstates and spectral functions for such systems that suggest that many Luttinger liquid indicators are present. However the system as a whole retains some residual Fermi liquid characteristics, and therefore merges properties of both one and higher dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2002

Describing mixed spin-space entanglement of pure states of indistinguishable particles using an occupation number basis

Quantum mechanical entanglement is a resource for quantum computation, quantum teleportation, and quantum cryptography. The ability to quantify this resource correctly has thus become of great interest to those working in the field of quantum information theory. In this paper, we show that all existing entanglement measures but one fail important tests of fitness when applied to n particle, m site states of indistinguishable particles, where n,m>=2. The accepted method of measuring the entanglement of a bipartite system of distinguishable particles is to use the von Neumann entropy of the reduced density matrix of one half of the system. We show that expressing the full density matrix using a site-spin occupation number basis, and reducing with respect to that basis, gives an entanglement which meets all currently known fitness criteria for systems composed of either distinguishable or indistinguishable particles. We consider an output state from a previously published thought experiment, a state which is entangled in both spin and spatial degrees of freedom, and show that the site entropy measure gives the correct total entanglement. We also show how the spin-space entanglement transfer occurring within the apparatus can be understood in terms of the transfer of probability from single-occupancy to double-occupancy sectors of the density matrix.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Mechanisms for electron transport in atomic-scale one-dimensional wires: soliton and polaron effects

We study one-electron tunneling through atomic-scale one-dimensional wires in the presence of coherent electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling. We use a full quantum model for the e-ph interaction within the wire with open boundary conditions. We illustrate the mechanisms of transport in the context of molecular wires subject to boundary conditions imposing the presence of a soliton defect in the molecule. Competition between polarons and solitons in the coherent transport is examined. The transport mechanisms proposed are generally applicable to other one-dimensional nanoscale systems with strong e-ph coupling.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2002

Determining surface magnetization and local magnetic moments with atomic scale resolution

We propose a method to determine the direction of surface magnetization and local magnetic moments on the atomic scale. The method comprises high resolution scanning tunneling microscope experiments in conjunction with first principles simulations of the tunneling current. The potential of the method is demonstrated on a model system, antiferromagnetic Mn overlayers on W(110). We expect that it will ultimately allow to study the detailed changes of magnetic surface structures in the vicinity of dopants or impurities.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Tip effects in scanning tunnelling microscopy of atomic-scale magnetic structures

The spin-polarized scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) can in principle resolve not only the electronic, but also the magnetic surface structure. We model recent STM measurements achieving magnetic resolution on the atomic scale by a first-principles method. It is shown that the signature of a specific magnetic or non-magnetic STM tip can unambiguously be identified. It is also established that the model of Tersoff and Hamann would yield an electronic as well as magnetic contrast of the surface which is well below STM resolution.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Surface Relaxations, Current Enhancements, and Absolute Distances in High Resolution Scanning Tunneling Microscopy

We have performed the most realistic simulation to date of the operation of a scanning tunneling microscope. Probe-sample distances from beyond tunneling to actual surface contact are covered. We simultaneously calculate forces, atomic displacements, and tunneling currents, allowing quantitative comparison with experimental values. A distance regime below which the probe becomes unstable is identified. It is shown that the real distance differs substantially from previous estimates because of large atomic displacements on the surface and at the probe-tip.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2001

Does Luttinger liquid behaviour survive in an atomic wire on a surface?

We form a highly simplified model of an atomic wire on a surface by the coupling of two one-dimensional chains, one with electron-electron interactions to represent the wire and and one with no electron-electron interactions to represent the surface. We use exact diagonalization techniques to calculate the eigenstates and response functions of our model, in order to determine both the nature of the coupling and to what extent the coupling affects the Luttinger liquid properties we would expect in a purely one-dimensional system. We find that while there are indeed Luttinger liquid indicators present, some residual Fermi liquid characteristics remain.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2001

Coherent electron-phonon coupling and polaron-like transport in molecular wires

We present a technique to calculate the transport properties through one-dimensional models of molecular wires. The calculations include inelastic electron scattering due to electron-lattice interaction. The coupling between the electron and the lattice is crucial to determine the transport properties in one-dimensional systems subject to Peierls transition since it drives the transition itself. The electron-phonon coupling is treated as a quantum coherent process, in the sense that no random dephasing due to electron-phonon interactions is introduced in the scattering wave functions. We show that charge carrier injection, even in the tunneling regime, induces lattice distortions localized around the tunneling electron. The transport in the molecular wire is due to polaron-like propagation. We show typical examples of the lattice distortions induced by charge injection into the wire. In the tunneling regime, the electron transmission is strongly enhanced in comparison with the case of elastic scattering through the undistorted molecular wire. We also show that although lattice fluctuations modify the electron transmission through the wire, the modifications are qualitatively different from those obtained by the quantum electron-phonon inelastic scattering technique. Our results should hold in principle for other one-dimensional atomic-scale wires subject to Peierls transitions.

cond-mat↗

arXiv2000

Small polaron formation in dangling-bond wires on the Si(001) surface

From electronic structure calculations, we find that carriers injected into dangling-bond atomic wires on the Si(001) surface will self-trap to form localised polaron states. The self-trapping distortion takes the form of a local suppression of the buckling of the dimers in the wire, and is qualitatively different for the electron and hole polarons. This result points to the importance of polaronic effects in understanding electronic motion in such nanostructures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2000

Modeling the series of (n x 2) Si-rich reconstructions of beta-SiC(001): a prospective atomic wire?

We perform ab initio plane wave supercell density functional calculations on three candidate models of the (3 x 2) reconstruction of the beta-SiC(001) surface. We find that the two-adlayer asymmetric-dimer model (TAADM) is unambiguously favored for all reasonable values of Si chemical potential. We then use structures derived from the TAADM parent to model the silicon lines that are observed when the (3 x 2) reconstruction is annealed (the (n x 2) series of reconstructions), using a tight-binding method. We find that as we increase n, and so separate the lines, a structural transition occurs in which the top addimer of the line flattens. We also find that associated with the separation of the lines is a large decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap, and that the HOMO state becomes quasi-one-dimensional. These properties are qualititatively and quantitatively different from the electronic properties of the original (3 x 2) reconstruction.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗