arXiv subjects

Alexandru Petrescu

Publications and source records attributed to Alexandru Petrescu.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Fluxon-Based Quantum Simulation in Circuit QED

Long-lived fluxon excitations can be trapped inside a superinductor ring, which is divided into an array of loops by a periodic sequence of Josephson junctions in the quantum regime, thereby allowing fluxons to tunnel between neighboring sites. By tuning the Josephson couplings, and implicitly the fluxon tunneling probability amplitudes, a wide class of 1D tight-binding lattice models may be implemented and populated with a stable number of fluxons. We illustrate the use of this quantum simulation platform by discussing the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model in the 1-fluxon subspace, which hosts a symmetry protected topological phase with fractionally charged bound states at the edges. This pair of localized edge states could be used to implement a superconducting qubit increasingly decoupled from decoherence mechanisms.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Emergent Chiral Spin State in the Mott Phase of a Bosonic Kane-Mele-Hubbard Model

Recently, the frustrated XY model for spins-1/2 on the honeycomb lattice has attracted a lot of attention in relation with the possibility to realize a chiral spin liquid state. This model is relevant to the physics of some quantum magnets. Using the flexibility of ultra-cold atoms setups, we propose an alternative way to realize this model through the Mott regime of the bosonic Kane-Mele-Hubbard model. The phase diagram of this model is derived using the bosonic dynamical mean-field theory. Focussing on the Mott phase, we investigate its magnetic properties as a function of frustration. We do find an emergent chiral spin state in the intermediate frustration regime. Using exact diagonalization we study more closely the physics of the effective frustrated XY model and the properties of the chiral spin state. This gapped phase displays a chiral order, breaking time-reversal and parity symmetry, but is not topologically ordered (the Chern number is zero).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Cutoff-free Circuit Quantum Electrodynamics

Any quantum-confined electronic system coupled to the electromagnetic continuum is subject to radiative decay and renormalization of its energy levels. When coupled to a cavity, these quantities can be strongly modified with respect to their values in vacuum. Generally, this modification can be accurately captured by including only the closest resonant mode of the cavity. In the circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture, where the coupling strengths can be substantial, it is however found that the radiative decay rates are strongly influenced by far off-resonant modes. A multimode calculation accounting for the infinite set of cavity modes leads to divergences unless a cutoff is imposed. It has so far not been identified what the source of divergence is. We show here that unless gauge invariance is respected, any attempt at the calculation of circuit QED quantities is bound to diverge. We then present a theoretical approach to the calculation of a finite spontaneous emission rate and the Lamb shift that is free of cutoff.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Non-Markovian dynamics of a superconducting qubit in an open multimode resonator

We study the dynamics of a transmon qubit that is capacitively coupled to an open multimode superconducting resonator. Our effective equations are derived by eliminating resonator degrees of freedom while encoding their effect in the Green's function of the electromagnetic background. We account for the dissipation of the resonator exactly by employing a spectral representation for the Green's function in terms of a set of non-Hermitian modes and show that it is possible to derive effective Heisenberg-Langevin equations without resorting to the rotating wave, two level or Markov approximations. A well-behaved time domain perturbation theory is derived to systematically account for the nonlinearity of the transmon. We apply this method to the problem of spontaneous emission, capturing accurately the non-Markovian features of the qubit dynamics, valid for any qubit-resonator coupling strength.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Precursor of Laughlin state of hard core bosons on a two leg ladder

We study hard core bosons on a two leg ladder lattice under the orbital effect of a uniform magnetic field. At densities which are incommensurate with flux, the ground state is a Meissner state, or a vortex state, depending on the strength of the flux. When the density is commensurate with the flux, analytical arguments predict the existence of a ground state of central charge $c = 1$, which displays signatures compatible with the expected Laughlin state at $ν=1/2$. This differs from the coupled wire construction of the Laughlin state in that there exists a nonzero backscattering term in the edge Hamiltonian. We construct a phase diagram versus density and flux in order to delimit the region where this precursor to the Laughlin state is the ground state, by using a combination of bosonization and numerics based on the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) and exact diagonalization. We obtain the phase diagram from local observables and central charge. We use bipartite charge fluctuations to deduce the Luttinger parameter for the edge Luttinger liquid corresponding to the Laughlin state. The properties studied with local observables are confirmed by the long distance behavior of correlation functions. Our findings are consistent with a calculation of the many body ground state transverse conductivity in a thin torus geometry for parameters corresponding to the Laughlin state. The model considered is simple enough such that the precursor to the Laughlin state could be realized in current ultracold atom, Josephson junction array, and quantum circuit experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2016

Many-Body Quantum Electrodynamics Networks: Non-Equilibrium Condensed Matter Physics with Light

We review recent developments concerning non-equilibrium quantum dynamics and many-body physics with light, in superconducting circuits and Josephson analogues. We start with quantum impurity models summarizing the effect of dissipation and of driving the system. We mention theoretical and experimental efforts to characterize these non-equilibrium quantum systems. We show how Josephson junction systems can implement the equivalent of the Kondo effect with microwave photons. The Kondo effect is characterized by a renormalized light-frequency and a peak in the Rayleigh elastic transmission of a photon. We also address the physics of hybrid systems comprising mesoscopic quantum dot devices coupled to an electromagnetic resonator. Then, we discuss extensions to Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) Networks allowing to engineer the Jaynes-Cummings lattice and Rabi lattice models. This opens the door to novel many-body physics with light out of equilibrium, in relation with the Mott-superfluid transition observed with ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices. Then, we summarize recent theoretical predictions for realizing topological phases with light. Synthetic gauge fields and spin-orbit couplings have been successfully implemented with ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices --- using time-dependent Floquet perturbations periodic in time, for example --- as well as in photonic lattice systems. Finally, we discuss the Josephson effect related to Bose-Hubbard models in ladder and two-dimensional geometries. The Bose-Hubbard model is related to the Jaynes-Cummings lattice model in the large detuning limit between light and matter. In the presence of synthetic gauge fields, we show that Meissner currents subsist in an insulating Mott phase.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Chiral Bosonic Phases on the Haldane Honeycomb Lattice

Recent experiments in ultracold atoms and photonic analogs have reported the implementation of artificial gauge fields in lattice systems, facilitating the realization of topological phases. Motivated by such advances, we investigate the Haldane honeycomb lattice tight-binding model, for bosons with local interactions at the average filling of one boson per site. We analyze the ground state phase diagram and uncover three distinct phases: a uniform superfluid (SF), a chiral superfluid (CSF) and a plaquette Mott insulator with local current loops (PMI). Nearest-neighbor and next-nearest neighbor currents distinguish CSF from SF, and the phase transition between them is first order. We apply bosonic dynamical mean field theory and exact diagonalization to obtain the phase diagram, complementing numerics with calculations of excitation spectra in strong and weak coupling perturbation theory. The characteristic density fluctuations, current correlation functions, and excitation spectra are measurable in ultracold atom experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Chiral Mott Insulators, Meissner Effect, and Laughlin States in Quantum Ladders

We introduce generic bosonic models exemplifying that chiral Meissner currents can persist in insulating phases of matter. We first consider interacting bosons on a two-leg ladder. The total density sector can be gapped in a bosonic Mott insulator at odd-integer filling, while the relative density sector remains superfluid due to interchain hopping. Coupling the relative density to gauge fields yields a pseudospin Meissner effect. We show that the same phase arises if the bosons are replaced by spinful fermions confined in Cooper pairs, and find a dual fermionic Mott insulator with spinon currents. We prove that by tuning the mean density the Mott insulator with Meissner currents turns into a low-dimensional bosonic $ν= \frac{1}{2}$ Laughlin state for strong enough repulsive interactions across the ladder rungs. We finally discuss extensions to multileg ladders and bilayers in which spinon superfluids with Meissner currents become possible. We propose two experimental realizations, one with ultracold atoms in the setup of Atala et al., Nat. Phys. \textbf{8}, 588 (2014) and another with Josephson junction arrays. We also address a Bose-Fermi mixture subject to a magnetic field in connection with the pseudo-gap phase of high-Tc cuprates.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2014

Fluctuations and Entanglement spectrum in quantum Hall states

The measurement of quantum entanglement in many-body systems remains challenging. One experimentally relevant fact about quantum entanglement is that in systems whose degrees of freedom map to free fermions with conserved total particle number, exact relations hold relating the Full Counting Statistics associated with the bipartite charge fluctuations and the sequence of R\' enyi entropies. We draw a correspondence between the bipartite charge fluctuations and the entanglement spectrum, mediated by the R\' enyi entropies. In the case of the integer quantum Hall effect, we show that it is possible to reproduce the generic features of the entanglement spectrum from a measurement of the second charge cumulant only. Additionally, asking whether it is possible to extend the free fermion result to the $ν=1/3$ fractional quantum Hall case, we provide numerical evidence that the answer is negative in general. We further address the problem of quantum Hall edge states described by a Luttinger liquid, and derive expressions for the spectral functions of the real space entanglement spectrum at a quantum point contact realized in a quantum Hall sample.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Bosonic Mott Insulator with Meissner Currents

We introduce a generic bosonic model exemplifying that (spin) Meissner currents can persist in insulating phases of matter. We consider two species of interacting bosons on a lattice. Our model exhibits separation of charge (total density) and spin (relative density): The charge sector is gapped in a bosonic Mott insulator phase with total density one, while the spin sector remains superfluid due to interspecies conversion. Coupling the spin sector to the gauge fields yields a spin Meissner effect reflecting the long-range spin superfluid coherence. We investigate the resulting phase diagram and describe other possible spin phases of matter in the Mott regime possessing chiral currents as well as a spin-density wave phase. The model presented here is realizable in Josephson junction arrays and in cold atom experiments.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2012

Anomalous Hall Effects of Light and Chiral Edge Modes on the Kagome Lattice

We theoretically investigate a photonic Kagome lattice which can be realized in microwave cavity arrays using current technology. The Kagome lattice exhibits an exotic band structure with three bands one of which can be made completely flat. The presence of artificial gauge fields allows to emulate topological phases and induce chiral edge modes which can coexist inside the energy gap with the flat band that is topologically trivial. By tuning the artificial fluxes or in the presence of disorder, the flat band can also acquire a bandwidth in energy allowing the coexistence between chiral edge modes and bulk extended states; in this case the chiral modes become fragile towards scattering into the bulk. The photonic system then exhibits equivalents of both a quantum Hall effect without Landau levels, and an anomalous Hall effect characterized by a non-quantized Chern number. We discuss experimental observables such as local density of states and edge currents. We show how synthetic uniform magnetic fields can be engineered, which allows an experimental probe of Landau levels in the photonic Kagome lattice. We then draw on semiclassical Boltzmann equations for transport to devise a method to measure Berry's phases around loops in the Brillouin zone. The method is based solely on wavepacket interference and can be used to determine band Chern numbers or the photonic equivalent of the anomalous Hall response. We demonstrate the robustness of these measurements towards on-site and gauge-field disorder. We also show the stability of the anomalous quantum Hall phase for nonlinear cavities and for (artificial) atom-photon interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗