arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B. Vermersch.
We review results about entanglement (or modular) Hamiltonians of quantum many-body systems in field theory and statistical mechanics models, as well as recent applications in the context of quantum information and quantum simulation.
Solving strongly coupled gauge theories in two or three spatial dimensions is of fundamental importance in several areas of physics ranging from high-energy physics to condensed matter. On a lattice, gauge invariance and gauge invariant (plaquette) interactions involve (at least) four-body interactions that are challenging to realize. Here we show that Rydberg atoms in configurable arrays realized in current tweezer experiments are the natural platform to realize scalable simulators of the Rokhsar-Kivelson Hamiltonian --a 2D U(1) lattice gauge theory that describes quantum dimer and spin-ice dynamics. Using an electromagnetic duality, we implement the plaquette interactions as Rabi oscillations subject to Rydberg blockade. Remarkably, we show that by controlling the atom arrangement in the array we can engineer anisotropic interactions and generalized blockade conditions for spins built of atom pairs. We describe how to prepare the resonating valence bond and the crystal phases of the Rokhsar-Kivelson Hamiltonian adiabatically, and probe them and their quench dynamics by on-site measurements of their quantum correlations. We discuss the potential applications of our Rydberg simulator to lattice gauge theory and exotic spin models.
We propose and analyze a passive architecture for realizing on-chip, scalable cascaded quantum devices. In contrast to standard approaches, our scheme does not rely on breaking Lorentz reciprocity. Rather, we engineer the interplay between pairs of superconducting transmon qubits and a microwave transmission line, in such a way that two delocalized orthogonal excitations emit (and absorb) photons propagating in opposite directions. We show how such cascaded quantum devices can be exploited to passively probe and measure complex many-body operators on quantum registers of stationary qubits, thus enabling the heralded transfer of quantum states between distant qubits, as well as the generation and manipulation of stabilizer codes for quantum error correction.
We study collective `free-space' radiation properties of two distant single-layer arrays of quantum emitters as two-level atoms. We show that this system can support a long-lived Bell superposition state of atomic excitations exhibiting strong subradiance, which corresponds to a non-local excitation of the two arrays. We describe the preparation of these states and their application in quantum information as resource of non-local entanglement, including deterministic quantum state transfer with high fidelity between the arrays representing quantum memories. We discuss experimental realizations using cold atoms in optical trap arrays with subwavelength spacing, and analyze the role of imperfections.
We present the design of a chiral photonic quantum link, where distant atoms interact by exchanging photons propagating in a single direction in free-space. This is achieved by coupling each atom in a laser-assisted process to an atomic array acting as a quantum phased-array antenna. This provides a basic building block for quantum networks in free space, i.e. without requiring cavities or nanostructures, which we illustrate with high-fidelity quantum state transfer protocols. Our setup can be implemented with neutral atoms using Rydberg-dressed interactions.
We present a general framework for the generation of random unitaries based on random quenches in atomic Hubbard and spin models, forming approximate unitary $n$-designs, and their application to the measurement of Rényi entropies. We generalize our protocol presented in [Elben2017: arXiv:1709.05060, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.] to a broad class of atomic and spin lattice models. We further present an in-depth numerical and analytical study of experimental imperfections, including the effect of decoherence and statistical errors, and discuss connections of our approach with many-body quantum chaos.
Performing a faithful transfer of an unknown quantum state is a key challenge for enabling quantum networks. The realization of networks with a small number of quantum links is now actively pursued, which calls for an assessment of different state transfer methods to guide future design decisions. Here, we theoretically investigate quantum state transfer between two distant qubits, each in a cavity, connected by a waveguide, e.g., an optical fiber. We evaluate the achievable success probabilities of state transfer for two different protocols: standard wave packet shaping and adiabatic passage. The main loss sources are transmission losses in the waveguide and absorption losses in the cavities. While special cases studied in the literature indicate that adiabatic passages may be beneficial in this context, it remained an open question under which conditions this is the case and whether their use will be advantageous in practice. We answer these questions by providing a full analysis, showing that state transfer by adiabatic passage -- in contrast to wave packet shaping -- can mitigate the effects of undesired cavity losses, far beyond the regime of coupling to a single waveguide mode and the regime of lossless waveguides, as was proposed so far. Furthermore, we show that the photon arrival probability is in fact bounded in a trade-off between losses due to non-adiabaticity and due to coupling to off-resonant waveguide modes. We clarify that neither protocol can avoid transmission losses and discuss how the cavity parameters should be chosen to achieve an optimal state transfer.