arXiv subjects

Alberto López-García

Publications and source records attributed to Alberto López-García.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

The Transfer Tensor Method: an Analytical Study Case

The transfer tensor method is a versatile tool for analyzing and propagating general open quantum systems. It captures in a compact manner all memory effects in a non-Markovian system through a straightforward transformation of a set of dynamical maps. Transfer tensors provide the exact convolutional propagator associated with a given time discretization over the past evolution of an open quantum system. Here we show that, for any finite time discretization, the memory kernel of the Nakajima Zwanzig equation deviates from the exact transfer tensors, although both converge in the continuous-time limit, as expected. We examine this behaviour in the context of an analytically solvable model: a two level atom resonant with a lossy cavity in the Jaynes Cummings limit. The atomic dynamics separate into two decoupled degrees of freedom -- the coherence and the population inversion. We derive exact expressions for the dynamical map, the transfer tensors and the memory kernel governing the coherence, and we relate them to their counterparts for the population inversion. As a function of the ratio between the cavity loss rate and the atom-cavity coupling strength, we identify regions of enhanced non-Markovianity in which the system can be described as fully Markovian for certain time-step choices.

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arXiv2026

Fast Generation of Metrologically Relevant Fock State Mixtures

We propose a fast laser pulse sequence for the generation of non-thermal Fock state mixtures of the motion of a trapped ion, targeted at displacement metrology beyond the standard quantum limit. Using a polaron-frame description of the ion-laser interaction, we identify a resonant operating point-zero detuning and a Rabi frequency matching the trap frequency-at which selective population trapping survives strong driving, enabling preparation speeds beyond the weak-driving limit of previous protocols without requiring ground-state cooling. We trace the residual infidelity at large Lamb-Dicke parameter $η$ to a single coherent process, the counter-rotating blue-sideband term neglected in the rotating-wave approximation, and show that it is suppressed by two routine calibrations: a percent-level refocusing of the pulse duration and a small compensating Bloch-Siegert detuning. Numerical simulations of the full sequence show that this refinement keeps the preparation error at or below the $10\%$ level up to $η\approx0.5$ and restores the displacement-sensing Fisher information that the uncorrected protocol loses at strong coupling, recovering up to 9 dB relative to the nominal sequence.

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arXiv2026

Electron Shuttle Waiting Times for Electric Field Sensing

We explore the use of waiting-time statistics in a quantum electron shuttle for electric-field sensing. Electron shuttles convert nanomechanical motion into charge transport, showing a noise-broadened crossover between stochastic tunneling and mechanically assisted charge transfer. This allows investigation of how transport fluctuations encode electromechanical parameters. Using a single-level quantum shuttle in strong-Coulomb-blockade and high-bias regimes with a Markovian quantum master equation, we analyze stationary dynamics in phase space and waiting time distributions. By estimating the electromechanical coupling, proportional to the electric field, we evaluate the classical Fisher information in waiting times and compare it with the quantum Fisher information of the stationary state. We relate the metrological response to mean waiting time, variance, and Fano factor. Our results show that the crossover from tunneling to shuttling is characterized by enhanced fluctuations and increased parameter sensitivity, leading to a pronounced enhancement of the Fisher information.

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arXiv2026

Dark Polaron Theory for High Intensity Laser Cooling

Conventional laser control schemes for cooling and gate operation of trapped ions are limited to the regime of weak laser intensities and small Lamb-Dicke parameters. To overcome this limitation, we present the concept of dark polarons: spatially extended states of pseudospin polarization that are fully decoupled from a lambda laser configuration. In this picture, all high-order Lamb-Dicke terms collapse into a single linear coupling independent of laser intensity. We apply it to definitively elucidate the reasons behind cooling rate limitations observed in recent experimental implementations of electromagnetically induced transparency with high-intensity lasers.

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arXiv2026

Fast Arbitrary Qutrit Gates for NV Centers in the Low-Field Regime

The ground state of the negatively charged NV center forms a spin-1 manifold providing a versatile platform for sensing and information processing. Here we present a scheme for implementing fast arbitrary qutrit gates in the low-field regime using monochromatic microwave pulses of constant intensity tuned to the zero-field transition. By concatenating pulses with appropriate phases and durations, the NV-ERC scheme is extended from SU(2) operations in the double-quantum subspace to the full three-level structure. We show that arbitrary SU(3) operations can be decomposed into rotations in the double-quantum subspace together with effective implementations of the generators related to $\hatλ_5$ and $\hatλ_8$. We illustrate this decomposition with a use case: performing quantum state tomography of the complete three-level density matrix.

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arXiv2026

Simulating a quantum sensor: quantum state tomography of NV-spin systems

We employ a quantum computer to simulate the effect of spin impurities on nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond. As these defects operate as nanoscale quantum sensors, modeling quantum noise is crucial to identify limitations in precision. The analysis is performed by means of quantum state tomography on two transmon qubits, representing respectively the NV center and a single spin impurity, modeling either a nuclear spin or an additional NV center. We demonstrate a versatile platform to simulate benchmark protocols such as Ramsey or Hahn-echo. Although we focus on a two-spin system, the same approach opens the door to using quantum processors as scalable simulators of many-spin environments, intractable in classical simulation due to the rapid exponential growth of the Hilbert space. The results reveal the effect different spin-sensor coupling regimes have on coherence, helping to identify detection schemes that maximize the sensitivity under the effect of impurities. Moreover, the role of entanglement generation is analyzed using the Peres-Horodecki criterion and CHSH inequalities. Although no violation of the latter is observed, the presence of entanglement is confirmed.

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arXiv2025

Entanglement Generation on the Double Quantum Transition of NV Ground State Via Globally Addressing Microwave Pulse

Entanglement is a key quantum feature that enables quantum sensors to improve their sensitivity up to the Heisenberg limit. In the NV center platform, the Heisenberg limit can only be achieved when the axes of the NV centers are parallel. Nevertheless, parallel NV centers are spectrally indistinguishable and no mechanisms to directly prepare Heisenberg--limit--grade entanglement in such configurations are known to date. In this work we propose for the first time a viable mechanism to prepare entangled states in the double quantum transition of two dipolarly coupled NV centers whose axes are parallel without populating intermediate states, so as to reach the Heisenberg limit in sensing. Our approach is based on the NV effective Raman coupling (NV-ERC) protocol and makes use of global addressing of both NV centers with a single monochromatic microwave pulse. Supported by an adiabatic elimination analysis, several mechanisms for the preparation of different entangled states are identified, all of which avoid the involvement of intermediate states. This not only minimizes the impact of additional noise sources, but also enables the state generation process itself to serve as effective sensing time--an advantage over conventional approaches where such preparation typically constitutes a separate, non--contributory stage. We consider the generation of different entangled states belonging to the double quantum transition, sensitive to either transverse electric fields or longitudinal magnetic fields, all with a fourfold improved sensitivity compared to conventional single NV settings.

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arXiv2024

Full Qubit Control in the NV$^-$ Ground State for Low Field or High Frequency Sensing

We present a scheme for the implementation of fast arbitrary qubit gates in the ground state of the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$) defect in diamond. The protocol is especially useful in the low-field regime and for high-frequency sensing applications. It constitutes an extension to the NV-ERC technique, which has demonstrated efficient initialization and readout of the double quantum transition with no leakage to any third level thanks to an effective Raman coupling. Here we derive a full theoretical framework of the scheme, identifying the complete unitary associated to the approach, and more specifically the relevant basis change for each of two characteristic pulse durations. Based on this insight, we propose a scheme to perform fast qubit transformations in the double quantum transition. We study its robustness with respect to pulse-timing errors resulting from faulty identification of system parameters or phase-control limitations. We finally demonstrate that the technique can also be implemented in the presence of unknown electric or strain fields.

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