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Bao-Ming Xu

Publications and source records attributed to Bao-Ming Xu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Dynamical Phase Transitions in Periodically Driving 1D Ising Model

This work investigates dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs) in a one-dimensional Ising model subjected to a periodically modulated transverse field. In contrast to sudden quenches, we demonstrate that a DQPT can be induced in two distinct ways. First, when the system remains within a given phase--ferromagnetic (FM) or paramagnetic (PM), a resonant periodic drive can trigger a DQPTs when its frequency matches the energy-level transition of the system. This DQPT is intimately connected to the emergence of Floquet topological phases. The timescale for the transition is governed by the perturbation strength $λ'$, the critical mode $k_c$, and its energy gap $Δ_{k_c}$, following the scaling relation $τ\proptoΔ_{k_c}λ'^{-1}\csc k_c$. Second, for drives across the critical point between the FM and PM phases, low frequencies can always induce DQPT, regardless of resonance. This behavior stems from the degeneracy of the energy-level at the critical point, which ensures that any drive with a frequency lower than the system's intrinsic transition frequency will inevitably excite the system. However, in the high-frequency regime, such excitation will be strongly suppressed, thereby inhibiting the occurrence of DQPTs. This study provides deeper insight into the nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum spin chains.

cond-mat.other

Gauge-Invariant Non-Hermitian Quantum Theory: Foundation and Applications to Dynamical Phase Transitions

The description of states and dynamics in non-Hermitian systems is fundamentally linked to the choice of an appropriate theoretical framework -- a point of ongoing debate in the field. This work addresses this issue by proposing a consistent formulation that reconciles existing controversies and establishes a unified theoretical understanding. Our approach rests on two foundational premises: (i) the dynamics of both left and right-vectors of a non-Hermitian system must satisfy the Schrödinger equation; (ii) the theoretical framework must preserve gauge invariance, ensuring that physical quantities are independent of unobservable phase choices. Building on these physically motivated assumptions, we refine the biorthogonal framework, leading to a gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory. Our framework naturally encompasses the open-system effective non-Hermitian evolution as a special case, and can naturally reduce to standard quantum mechanics in the Hermitian limit. As a concrete application, we analyze the dynamical phase transition in a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model within this gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory. Notably, our formulation naturally generalizes the known condition for such transitions in Hermitian two-band systems, namely, $\mathbf{d}_{k}^i\cdot\mathbf{d}_{k}^f=0$, to the non-Hermitian case, where it takes the form $\mathrm{Re}\Bigl[\frac{\mathbf{d}_{k}^i}{d_{k}^i}\cdot\frac{\mathbf{d}_{k}^f}{d_{k}^f}\Bigr]=0$. Furthermore, we identify entirely new dynamical phase transitions that cannot be characterized by the winding number. We hope that this gauge-invariant non-Hermitian quantum theory will find broad applications in the study of non-Hermitian systems.

quant-ph

Topological Classification of Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions in the 1D XY model via Critical Mode Analysis

Dynamical quantum phase transitions (DQPTs), which serve as a theoretical framework for understanding far-from-equilibrium physics in quantum many-body systems, have recently been observed experimentally. Their topological properties are typically characterized by the winding number, which acts as an order parameter. While DQPTs exhibiting both integer and half-integer jumps in the winding number have been reported, the underlying mechanisms behind these distinct topological behaviors, as well as the potential existence of other topological classes, remain open questions. To address this, we investigate DQPTs in the one-dimensional XY model under a quench protocol. We show that the observed topological diversity originates from the nature of the critical modes, which we classify into two categories: boundary modes and interior modes. Specifically, critical interior modes always lead to DQPTs with an integer winding number, while critical boundary modes always result in DQPTs characterized by a half-integer winding number. By analyzing the number and classification of critical modes, we provide a classification of the topological properties of DQPTs in the one-dimensional XY model. According to their distinct topological features, we categorize DQPTs into six types, three of which have not been previously identified in the literature. We discuss in detail the conditions associated with each type and present the corresponding dynamical phase diagrams. Our framework is not restricted to the XY model; it is applicable to other two-band models in one-dimensional systems, including the SSH model, Kitaev chain, Rice-Mele model, and Creutz model.

cond-mat.stat-mech

Survival of Hermitian Criticality in the Non-Hermitian Framework

In this work, we investigate many-body phase transitions in a one-dimensional anisotropic XY model subject to a complex-valued transverse field. Within the biorthogonal framework, we calculate the ground-state correlation functions and entanglement entropy, confirming that their scaling behavior remains identical to that in the Hermitian XY model. The preservation of Hermitian phase transition features in the non-Hermitian setting is rooted in the persistence and emergence of symmetries and their breaking. Specifically, the ferromagnetic (FM) phase arises from the breaking of a $Z_2$ symmetry, while the Luttinger liquid (LL) phase is enabled by the emergence of a $U(1)$ symmetry together with the degeneracy of the real part of the energy spectrum. The nontrivial topology of the LL phase are characterized by the winding number around the exceptional point (EP). Given that non-Hermitian systems are inherently open, this research opens a new avenue for exploring conventional quantum phase transitions that are typically vulnerable to decoherence and environmental disruption in open quantum systems.

quant-ph

The Intrinsic Connection between Dynamical Phase Transitions and Magnetization in the 1D XY Model

In this manuscript, we study the quench dynamics of a transverse-field XY model starting from coherent Gibbs states. The results reveal that the initial strength of magnetization plays a crucial role in the emergence of dynamical quantum phase transitions. In concrete terms, when quenching within the same phase, through the properties of observables such as Fisher zeros and magnetization, we show that the stronger the initial magnetization, the more difficult the emergence of dynamical quantum phase transitions. The underlying mechanism is that the strong initial magnetization provides a directional effect, which inhibits the spin flipping in the process of quantum quench, making the dynamical quantum phase transition difficult to emerge. Since dynamical quantum phase transitions can be experimentally realized in various artificial systems, we hope that the physics predicted here can be experimentally verified in tabletop platforms.

quant-ph

Quantum coherence assisted dynamical phase transition

Quantum coherence will undoubtedly play a fundamental role in understanding the dynamics of quantum many-body systems, thereby to reveal its genuine contribution is of great importance. In this paper, we specialize our discussions on the one-dimensional transverse field quantum Ising model initialized in the coherent Gibbs state, and investigate the effects of quantum coherence on dynamical phase transition (DQPT). After quenching the strength of the transverse field, the effects of quantum coherence are studied by Fisher zeros, rate function and winding number. We find that quantum coherence not only recovers the traditional DQPT related to quantum phase transition, but also generates some entirely new DQPTs which are independent of equilibrium quantum critical point. In these entirely new QDPTs, the line of Fisher zeros cuts the imaginary axis twice, i.e., there are two critical modes, one makes the winding number jump down but another makes it jump up. We also find that the rate function can not be used to describe DQPT at high temperature, because the critical mode no longer dominates. This work sheds new light on the fundamental connection between quantum critical phenomena and quantum coherence.

quant-ph

Quantum fluctuation theorem for initial near-equilibrium system

Quantum work fluctuation theorem (FT) commonly requires the system initially prepared in an equilibrium state. Whether there exists universal exact quantum work FT for initial state beyond equilibrium needs further discussions. Here, I initialize the system in a near-equilibrium state, and derive the corresponding modified Jarzynski equality by using the perturbation theory. The correction is nontrivial because it directly leads to the principle of maximum work or the second law of thermodynamics for near-equilibrium system and also gives a much tighter bound of work for a given process. I also verify my theoretical results by considering a concrete many-body system, and reveal a fundamental connection between quantum critical phenomenon and near-equilibrium state at really high temperature.

cond-mat.stat-mech

The singularities of the rate function of quantum coherent work in one-dimensional transverse field Ising model

Quantum coherence will undoubtedly play a fundamental role in understanding of the dynamics of quantum many-body systems, thereby to reveal its genuine contribution is of great importance. In this paper, we specialize our discussions to the one-dimensional transverse field quantum Ising model initialized in the coherent Gibbs state. After quenching the strength of the transverse field, the effects of quantum coherence are studied by the rate function of quantum work distribution. We find that quantum coherence not only recovers the quantum phase transition destroyed by thermal fluctuations, but also generates some entirely new singularities both in the static state and dynamics. It can be manifested that these singularities are rooted in spin flips causing the sudden change of the domain boundaries of spin polarization. This work sheds new light on the fundamental connection between quantum critical phenomena and quantum coherence.

quant-ph

A single measurement scheme for quantum work statistics based on coherent or squeezing state

In order to investigate the role of initial quantum coherence in work probability distribution, it is necessary to explicitly consider a concrete measurement apparatus to record work rather than implicitly appealing to perform an energy measurement. In this paper, we consider a harmonic oscillator with coherent or squeezing state as measurement apparatus, and propose a unified framework of quantum work statistics for arbitrary initial state. We find that work is proportional to the change of the real part of coherent state parameter, i.e., quantum work can be estimated by the coherent state parameter. The resulting work probability distribution includes the initial quantum coherence, and can be reduced to result of traditional two projective energy measurement scheme (TPM) by squeezing the state of the harmonic oscillator. As an application, we consider a driven two-level system and investigate the effects of driving velocity on work statistics. We find that only when the driving velocity matches the transition frequency of the system can initial quantum coherence play an important role.

quant-ph

The Duality in Quantum Work

An open question of fundamental importance in quantum thermodynamics is how to describe the statistics of work for initial state with quantum coherence. In this paper, work statistics is considered from a fully new perspective of "wave-particle" duality. Based on the generalized quantum work measurement, predictability of energy levels $\mathcal{D}_W$ and effectiveness of coherence $\mathcal{V}_W$ are defined, and they obey inequality $\mathcal{D}_W^2+\mathcal{V}_W^2\leq1$, which is the fundamental tradeoff relations between the contributions of population and coherence to quantum work distribution. As an application, we consider a driven two-level system and discuss the condition of the bound of above tradeoff relation. These results shed light on the effects of quantum coherence in quantum thermodynamics.

quant-ph

Effects of Quantum Coherence on Work Statistics

In the conventional two-point measurement scheme of quantum thermodynamics, quantum coherence is destroyed by the first measurement. But as we know the coherence really plays an important role in the quantum thermodynamics process, and how to describe the work statistics for a quantum coherent process is still an open question. In this paper, we use the full counting statistics method to investigate the effects of quantum coherence on work statistics. First, we give a general discussion and show that for a quantum coherent process, work statistics is very different from that of the two-point measurement scheme, specifically the average work is increased or decreased and the work fluctuation can be decreased by quantum coherence, which strongly depends on the relative phase, the energy level structure and the external protocol. Then, we concretely consider a quenched 1-D transverse Ising model, and show that quantum coherence has a more significant influence on work statistics in the ferromagnetism regime compared with that in the paramagnetism regime, so that due to the presence of quantum coherence the work statistics can exhibit the critical phenonmenon even at high temperature.

quant-ph

Effect of coherence of nonthermal reservoirs on heat transport in a microscopic collision model

We investigate the heat transport between two nonthermal reservoirs based on a microscopic collision model. We consider a bipartite system consisting of two identical subsystems, and each subsystem interacts with its own local reservoir, which consists of a large collection of initially uncorrelated ancillas. Then a heat transport is formed between two reservoirs by a sequence of pairwise collisions (inter-subsystem and subsystem-local reservoir). In this paper we consider two kinds of reservoir's initial states, the thermal state, and the state with coherence whose diagonal elements are the same as that of the thermal state and the off-diaganal elements are nonzero. In this way, we define the effective temperature of the reservoir with coherence according to its diagonal elements. We find that for two reservoirs having coherence the direction of the steady current of heat is different for different phase differences between the two initial states of two reservoirs, especially the heat can transfer from the "cold reservoir" to the "hot reservoir" in the steady regime for particular phase difference. And in the limit of the effective temperature difference between the two reservoirs $ΔT\rightarrow0$, for most of the phase differences, the steady heat current increases with the increase of effective temperature until to the high effective temperature limit; while for the thermal state or particular phase difference the steady heat current decreases with the increase of temperature at high temperatures, and in this case the conductance can be obtained.

quant-ph

A precise measure of avian magnetoreception based on quantum metrology

The radical pair (RP) mechanism, which describes the quantum dynamics of a spatially separated electron pair, is considered as one of the principal models of avian magnetoreception. Different from the conventional phenomenological approach where the sensitivity of avian magnetoreception is characterized by the singlet yield $Φ_{S}$, we introduce the quantum Fisher information (QFI), which represents the maximum information about the magnetic field's direction extracted from the RP state, to give a precise measure of sensitivity of avian compass essentially. The consistency between our results and experimental observations suggests that QFI plays a decisive role in avian magnetoreception. Besides, within the framework of quantum metrology, we can judge the feasibility of any possible measurement scheme for avian magnetoreception, and shed light on an intrinsic relevance between the singlet yield and a concrete measurement scheme of our approach. The present work allows us to understand many things about avian magnetoreception from a fully new perspective of quantum metrology, and provide a new route to establish a direct connection between quantum information and many other biological functions.

quant-ph

Dark state population determines magnetic sensitivity in radical pair magnetoreception model

What is the real role of the quantum coherence and entanglement in the radical pair (RP) compass, and what determines the singlet yield have not been fully understood. In this paper, we find that the dark states of the two-electron Zeeman energy operator (TEZE) play an important role in the RP compass. We respectively calculate the singlet yields for two initial states in this dark state basis: the coherent state and the same state just removing the dark state coherence. For the later there is neither dark state coherence nor entanglement in the whole dynamical process. Surprisingly we find that in both cases the singlet yields are the same, and based on this result, we believe that the dark state population determines the singlet yield completely, and the dark state coherence and entanglement have little contribution to it. Finally, we also find that the dark state population as well as the singlet yield anisotropy is fragile to the vertical magnetic noise. However, the orientation is robust and is even enhanced by the parallel magnetic noise because the dark states expand a decoherence-free subspace. The dark state population as well as the orientation is more robust to the hyperfine coupling noise.

quant-ph

Improved thermometry of low-temperature quantum systems by a ring-structure probe

The thermometry precision of a sample is a question of both fundamental and technological importance. In this paper, we consider a ring-structure system as our probe to estimate the temperature of a bath. Based on the Markovian master equation of the probe, we calculate the quantum Fisher information (QFI) of the probe at any time. We find that for the thermal equilibrium thermometry, the ferromagnetic structure can measure a lower temperature of the bath with a higher precision compared with the non-structure probe. While for the dynamical thermometry, the antiferromagnetic structure can make the QFI of the probe in the dynamical process much larger than that in equilibrium with the bath, which is somewhat counterintuitive. Moreover, the best accuracy for the thermometry achieved in the antiferromagnetic structure case can be much higher than that in the non-structure case. The physical mechanisms of above phenomena are given in this paper.

quant-ph

Discriminating two nonorthogonal states against a noise channel by feed-forward control

We propose a scheme by using the feed-forward control (FFC) to realize a better effect of discrimination of two nonorthogonal states after passing a noise channel based on the minimum- error (ME) discrimination. We show that the application of our scheme can highly improve the effect of discrimination compared with the ME discrimination without the FFC for any pair of nonorthogonal states and any degree of amplitude damping (AD). Especially, the effect of our optimal discrimination can reach that of the two initial nonorthogonal pure states in the presence of the noise channel in a deterministic way for equal a prior probabilities or even be better than that in a probabilistically way for unequal a prior probabilities.

quant-ph

Quantum coherence rather than quantum correlations reflect the effects of reservoir on the system's work capability

We consider a model of an optical cavity with a nonequilibrium reservoir consisting of a beam of identical two-level atom pairs (TLAPs) in the general X-state. We find that coherence of multiparticle nonequilibrium reservoir plays a central role on the potential work capability of cavity. We show that no matter whether there are quantum correlations in each TLAP (including quantum entanglement and quantum discord) or not the coherence of the TLAPs has an effect on the work capability of the cavity. Additionally, constructive and destructive interferences could be induced to influence the work capability of cavity only by adjusting the relative phase with which quantum correlations have nothing to do. In this paper, the coherence of reservoir rather than the quantum correlations effectively reflecting the effects of reservoir on the system's work capability is demonstrated clearly.

quant-ph

Feed-forward control for quantum state protection against decoherence

We propose a novel scheme of feed-forward control and its reversal for protecting quantum state against decoherence. Before the noise channel our pre-weak measurement and feed-forward are just to change the protected state into the state almost immune to the noise channel, and after the channel our reversed operations and post-weak measurements are just to restore the protected state. Unlike most previous state protection schemes, ours only concerns the noise channel and does not care about the protected state. We show that our scheme can effectively protect unknown states, nonorthogonal states and entangled states against amplitude damping noise. Our scheme has dramatic merits of protecting quantum states against heavy amplitude damping noise, and can perfectly protect some specific nonorthogonal states in an almost deterministic way, which might be found some applications in current quantum communication technology. And it is most important that our scheme is experimentally available with current technology.

quant-ph