arXiv subjects

Alec Maassen van den Brink

Publications and source records attributed to Alec Maassen van den Brink.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2013

Quantum Zeno dynamics of qubits in a squeezed reservoir: effect of measurement selectivity

A complete suppression of the exponential decay in a qubit (interacting with a squeezed vacuum reservoir) can be achieved by frequent measurements of adequately chosen observables. The observables and initial states (Zeno subspace) for which the effect occurs depend on the squeezing parameters of the bath. We show these_quantum Zeno dynamics_ to be substantially different for selective and non-selective measurements. In either case, the approach to the Zeno limit for a finite number of measurements is also studied numerically. The calculation is extended from one to two qubits, where we see both Zeno and anti-Zeno effects depending on the initial state. The reason for the striking differences with the situation in closed systems is discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

A quantum effect in the classical limit: nonequilibrium tunneling in the Duffing oscillator

For suitable parameters, the classical Duffing oscillator has a known bistability in its stationary states, with low- and high-amplitude branches. As expected from the analogy with a particle in a double-well potential, transitions between these states become possible either at finite temperature, or in the quantum regime due to tunneling. In this analogy, besides local stability, one can also discuss global stability by comparing the two potential minima. For the Duffing oscillator, the stationary states emerge dynamically so that a priori, a potential-minimum criterion for them does not exist. However, global stability is still relevant, and definable as the state containing the majority population for long times, low temperature, and close to the classical limit. Further, the crossover point is the parameter value at which global stability abruptly changes from one state to the other. For the double-well model, the crossover point is defined by potential-minimum degeneracy. Given that this analogy is so effective in other respects, it is thus striking that for the Duffing oscillator, the crossover point turns out to be non-unique. Rather, none of the three aforementioned limits commute with each other, and the limiting behaviour depends on the order in which they are taken. More generally, as both $\hbar\To0$ and $T\To0$, the ratio $\hbarω_0/k_\mathrm{B}T$ continues to be a key parameter and can have any nonnegative value. This points to an apparent conceptual difference between equilibrium and nonequilibrium tunneling. We present numerical evidence by studying the pertinent quantum master equation in the photon-number basis. Independent verification and some further understanding are obtained using a semi-analytical approach in the coherent-state representation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2007

Sign- and magnitude-tunable coupler for superconducting flux qubits

We experimentally confirm the functionality of a coupling element for flux-based superconducting qubits, with a coupling strength $J$ whose sign and magnitude can be tuned {\it in situ}. To measure the effective $J$, the groundstate of a coupled two-qubit system has been mapped as a function of the local magnetic fields applied to each qubit. The state of the system is determined by directly reading out the individual qubits while tunneling is suppressed. These measurements demonstrate that $J$ can be tuned from antiferromagnetic through zero to ferromagnetic.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Controllable coupling of superconducting flux qubits

We have realized controllable coupling between two three-junction flux qubits by inserting an additional coupler loop between them, containing three Josephson junctions. Two of these are shared with the qubit loops, providing strong qubit--coupler interaction. The third junction gives the coupler a nontrivial current--flux relation; its derivative (i.e., the susceptibility) determines the coupling strength J, which thus is tunable in situ via the coupler's flux bias. In the qubit regime, J was varied from ~45 (antiferromagnetic) to ~ -55 mK (ferromagnetic); in particular, J vanishes for an intermediate coupler bias. Measurements on a second sample illuminate the relation between two-qubit tunable coupling and three-qubit behavior.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Resonance eigenstates of the SQUID-qubit system

We study the complex-valued resonance spectrum of a dc-SQUID coupled to a flux qubit, where the former is treated in the cubic and the latter in the two-level approximation. It is shown that this spectrum is well-defined and contains most of the relevant information on the escape process. Thus, the language of resonance states is precise and well-adapted to switching- (or trigger-) type qubit readout, and a worthwhile complement to the various descriptions of continuous qubit measurement. Initial progress is analytic, but nonperturbative numerical methods have been formulated and should soon yield accurate results for all parameter values.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Galvanic coupling of flux qubits: simple theory and tunability

Galvanic coupling of small-area (three-junction) flux qubits, using shared large Josephson junctions, has been shown to yield appreciable interaction strengths in a flexible design, which does not compromise the junctions' intrinsic good coherence properties. For an introduction, I recapitulate an elementary derivation of the coupling strength, which is subsequently generalized to the case of tunable coupling for a current-biased shared junction. While the ability to vary coupling constants by, say, 20% would be useful in experiments, sign-tunability (implying switchability) is highly preferable for several quantum-computing paradigms. This note sketches two ideas: a "crossbar" design with competing ferro- and antiferromagnetic current-biased tunable couplings, and a "mediated" one involving an extra loop between the qubits. The latter is a variation on proposals for tunable capacitive coupling of charge qubits, and tunable inductive coupling of large-area flux qubits.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Eigenvector Expansion and Petermann Factor for Ohmically Damped Oscillators

Correlation functions $C(t) \sim <ϕ(t)ϕ(0)>$ in ohmically damped systems such as coupled harmonic oscillators or optical resonators can be expressed as a single sum over modes $j$ (which are not power-orthogonal), with each term multiplied by the Petermann factor (PF) $C_j$, leading to "excess noise" when $|C_j| > 1$. It is shown that $|C_j| > 1$ is common rather than exceptional, that $|C_j|$ can be large even for weak damping, and that the PF appears in other processes as well: for example, a time-independent perturbation $\sim\ep$ leads to a frequency shift $\sim \ep C_j$. The coalescence of $J$ ($>1$) eigenvectors gives rise to a critical point, which exhibits "giant excess noise" ($C_j \to \infty$). At critical points, the divergent parts of $J$ contributions to $C(t)$ cancel, while time-independent perturbations lead to non-analytic shifts $\sim \ep^{1/J}$.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2006

A characterization of global entanglement

We define a set of $2^{n-1}-1$ entanglement monotones for $n$ qubits and give a single measure of entanglement in terms of these. This measure is zero except on globally entangled (fully inseparable) states. This measure is compared to the Meyer-Wallach measure for two, three, and four qubits. We determine the four-qubit state, symmetric under exchange of qubit labels, which maximizes this measure. It is also shown how the elementary monotones may be computed as a function of observable quantities. We compute the magnitude of our measure for the ground state of the four-qubit superconducting experimental system investigated in [M. Grajcar et al., Phys. Rev. Lett._96_, 047006 (2006)], and thus confirm the presence of global entanglement in the ground state.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Four-qubit device with mixed couplings

We present the first experimental results on a device with more than two superconducting qubits. The circuit consists of four three-junction flux qubits, with simultaneous ferro- and antiferromagnetic coupling implemented using shared Josephson junctions. Its response, which is dominated by the ground state, is characterized using low-frequency impedance measurement with a superconducting tank circuit coupled to the qubits. The results are found to be in excellent agreement with the quantum-mechanical predictions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Mediated tunable coupling of flux qubits

It is sketched how a monostable rf- or dc-SQUID can mediate an inductive coupling between two adjacent flux qubits. The nontrivial dependence of the SQUID's susceptibility on external flux makes it possible to continuously tune the induced coupling from antiferromagnetic (AF) to ferromagnetic (FM). In particular, for suitable parameters, the induced FM coupling can be sufficiently large to overcome any possible direct AF inductive coupling between the qubits. The main features follow from a classical analysis of the multi-qubit potential. A fully quantum treatment yields similar results, but with a modified expression for the SQUID susceptibility. Since the latter is exact, it can also be used to evaluate the susceptibility--or, equivalently, energy-level curvature--of an isolated rf-SQUID for larger shielding and at degenerate flux bias, i.e., a (bistable) qubit. The result is compared to the standard two-level (pseudospin) treatment of the anticrossing, and the ensuing conclusions are verified numerically.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2005

Direct Josephson coupling between superconducting flux qubits

We have demonstrated strong antiferromagnetic coupling between two three-junction flux qubits based on a shared Josephson junction, and therefore not limited by the small inductances of the qubit loops. The coupling sign and magnitude were measured by coupling the system to a high-quality superconducting tank circuit. Design modifications allowing to continuously tune the coupling strength and/or make the coupling ferromagnetic are discussed.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Evidence for entangled states of two coupled flux qubits

We have studied the low-frequency magnetic susceptibility of two inductively coupled flux qubits using the impedance measurement technique (IMT), through their influence on the resonant properties of a weakly coupled high-quality tank circuit. In a single qubit, an IMT dip in the tank's current--voltage phase angle at the level anticrossing yields the amplitude of coherent flux tunneling. For two qubits, the difference (IMT deficit) between the sum of single-qubit dips and the dip amplitude when both qubits are at degeneracy shows that the system is in a mixture of entangled states (a necessary condition for entanglement). The dependence on temperature and relative bias between the qubits allows one to determine all the parameters of the effective Hamiltonian and equilibrium density matrix, and confirms the formation of entangled eigenstates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Hamiltonian and Linear-Space Structure for Damped Oscillators: I. General Theory

The phase space of $N$ damped linear oscillators is endowed with a bilinear map under which the evolution operator is symmetric. This analog of self-adjointness allows properties familiar from conservative systems to be recovered, e.g., eigenvectors are "orthogonal" under the bilinear map and obey sum rules, initial-value problems are readily solved and perturbation theory applies to the_complex_ eigenvalues. These concepts are conveniently represented in a biorthogonal basis.

math-ph↗

arXiv2004

Hamiltonian and Linear-Space Structure for Damped Oscillators: II. Critical Points

The eigenvector expansion developed in the preceding paper for a system of damped linear oscillators is extended to critical points, where eigenvectors merge and the time-evolution operator $H$ assumes a Jordan-block structure. The representation of the bilinear map is obtained in this basis. Perturbations $εΔH$ around an $M$-th order critical point generically lead to eigenvalue shifts $\simε^{1/M}$ dependent on only_one_ matrix element, with the $M$ eigenvalues splitting in equiangular directions in the complex plane. Small denominators near criticality are shown to cancel.

math-ph↗

arXiv2004

Observation of macroscopic Landau-Zener transitions in a superconducting device

A two-level system traversing a level anticrossing has a small probability to make a so-called Landau-Zener (LZ) transition between its energy bands, in deviation from simple adiabatic evolution. This effect takes on renewed relevance due to the observation of quantum coherence in superconducting qubits (macroscopic "Schrodinger cat" devices). We report an observation of LZ transitions in an Al three-junction qubit coupled to a Nb resonant tank circuit.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2004

Low-frequency measurement of the tunneling amplitude in a flux qubit

We have observed signatures of resonant tunneling in an Al three-junction qubit, inductively coupled to a Nb LC tank circuit. The resonant properties of the tank oscillator are sensitive to the effective susceptibility (or inductance) of the qubit, which changes drastically as its flux states pass through degeneracy. The tunneling amplitude is estimated from the data. We find good agreement with the theoretical predictions in the regime of their validity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Hamiltonian for coupled flux qubits

An effective Hamiltonian is derived for two coupled three-Josephson-junction (3JJ) qubits. This is not quite trivial, for the customary "free" 3JJ Hamiltonian is written in the limit of zero inductance L. Neglecting the self-flux is already dubious for one qubit when it comes to readout, and becomes untenable when discussing inductive coupling. First, inductance effects are analyzed for a single qubit. For small L, the self-flux is a "fast variable" which can be eliminated adiabatically. However, the commonly used junction phases are_not_ appropriate "slow variables", and instead one introduces degrees of freedom which are decoupled from the loop current to leading order. In the quantum case, the zero-point fluctuations (LC oscillations) in the loop current diverge as L->0. Fortunately, they merely renormalize the Josephson couplings of the effective (two-phase) theory. In the coupled case, the strong zero-point fluctuations render the full (six-phase) wave function significantly entangled in leading order. However, in going to the four-phase theory, this uncontrollable entanglement is integrated out completely, leaving a computationally usable mutual-inductance term of the expected form as the effective interaction.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

WKB analysis of the Regge-Wheeler equation down in the frequency plane

The Regge-Wheeler equation for black-hole gravitational waves is analyzed for large negative imaginary frequencies, leading to a calculation of the cut strength for waves outgoing to infinity. In the--limited--region of overlap, the results agree well with numerical findings [Class. Quantum Grav._20_, L217 (2003)]. Requiring these waves to be outgoing into the horizon as well subsequently yields an analytic formula for the highly damped Schwarzschild quasinormal modes,_including_ the leading correction. Just as in the WKB quantization of, e.g., the harmonic oscillator, solutions in different regions of space have to be joined through a connection formula, valid near the boundary between them where WKB breaks down. For the oscillator, this boundary is given by the classical turning points; fascinatingly, the connection here involves an expansion around the black-hole singularity r=0.

gr-qc↗