arXiv subjects

E. Nielsen

Publications and source records attributed to E. Nielsen.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Density dependence of the excitation gaps in an undoped Si/SiGe double-quantum-well heterostructure

We report low-temperature magneto-transport measurements of an undoped Si/SiGe asymmetric double quantum well heterostructure. The density in both layers is tuned independently utilizing a top and a bottom gate, allowing the investigation of quantum wells at both imbalanced and matched densities. Integer quantum Hall states at total filling factor $ν_{\text{T}} = 1$ and $ν_{\text{T}} = 2$ are observed in both density regimes, and the evolution of their excitation gaps is reported as a function of density. The $ν_{\text{T}} = 1$ gap evolution departs from the behavior generally observed for valley splitting in the single layer regime. Furthermore, by comparing the $ν_{\text{T}} = 2$ gap to the single particle tunneling energy, $Δ_{\text{SAS}}$, obtained from Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) simulations, evidence for the onset of spontaneous inter-layer coherence (SIC) is observed for a relative filling fraction imbalance smaller than ${\sim}50\%$

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Two-qubit silicon quantum processor with operation fidelity exceeding 99%

Silicon spin qubits satisfy the necessary criteria for quantum information processing. However, a demonstration of high fidelity state preparation and readout combined with high fidelity single- and two-qubit gates, all of which must be present for quantum error correction, has been lacking. We use a two qubit Si/SiGe quantum processor to demonstrate state preparation and readout with fidelity over 97%, combined with both single- and two-qubit control fidelities exceeding 99%. The operation of the quantum processor is quantitatively characterized using gate set tomography and randomized benchmarking. Our results highlight the potential of silicon spin qubits to become a dominant technology in the development of intermediate-scale quantum processors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Target of Opportunity Observations of Gravitational Wave Events with LSST

The discovery of the electromagnetic counterparts to the binary neutron star merger GW170817 has opened the era of GW+EM multi-messenger astronomy. Exploiting this breakthrough requires increasing samples to explore the diversity of kilonova behaviour and provide more stringent constraints on the Hubble constant, and tests of fundamental physics. LSST can play a key role in this field in the 2020s, when the gravitational wave detector network is expected to detect higher rates of merger events involving neutron stars ($\sim$10s per year) out to distances of several hundred Mpc. Here we propose comprehensive target-of-opportunity (ToOs) strategies for follow-up of gravitational-wave sources that will make LSST the premiere machine for discovery and early characterization for neutron star mergers and other gravitational-wave sources.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Spectroscopy of multi-electrode tunnel barriers

Despite their ubiquity in nanoscale electronic devices, the physics of tunnel barriers has not been developed to the extent necessary for the engineering of devices in the few-electron regime. This problem is of urgent interest, as this is the precise regime into which current, extreme-scale electronics fall. Here, we propose theoretically and validate experimentally a compact model for multi-electrode tunnel barriers, suitable for design-rules-based engineering of tunnel junctions in quantum devices. We perform transport spectroscopy at $T=4$ K, extracting effective barrier heights and widths for a wide range of biases, using an efficient Landauer-Büttiker tunneling model to perform the analysis. We find that the barrier height shows several regimes of voltage dependence, either linear or approximately exponential. The exponential dependence approximately correlates with the formation of an electron channel below an electrode. Effects on transport threshold, such as metal-insulator-transition and lateral confinement are non-negligible and included. We compare these results to semi-classical solutions of Poisson's equation and find them to agree qualitatively. Finally, we characterize the sensitivity of a tunnel barrier that is raised or lowered without an electrode being directly above the barrier region.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Fabrication of quantum dots in undoped Si/Si$_{0.8}$Ge$_{0.2}$ heterostructures using a single metal-gate layer

Enhancement-mode Si/SiGe electron quantum dots have been pursued extensively by many groups for \revEdit{their} potential in quantum computing. Most of the reported dot designs utilize multiple metal-gate layers and use Si/SiGe heterostructures with Ge concentration close to 30\%. Here we report the fabrication and low-temperature characterization of quantum dots in Si/Si$_{0.8}$Ge$_{0.2}$ heterostructures using only one metal-gate layer. We find that the threshold voltage of a channel narrower than 1 $μ$m increases as the width decreases. The higher threshold can be attributed to the combination of quantum confinement and disorder. We also find that the lower Ge ratio used here leads to a narrower operational gate bias range. The higher threshold combined with the limited gate bias range constrains the device design of lithographic quantum dots. We incorporate such considerations in our device design and demonstrate a quantum dot that can be tuned from a single dot to a double dot. The device uses only a single metal-gate layer, greatly simplifying device design and fabrication.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Scalable gate architecture for densely packed semiconductor spin qubits

We demonstrate a 12 quantum dot device fabricated on an undoped Si/SiGe heterostructure as a proof-of-concept for a scalable, linear gate architecture for semiconductor quantum dots. The device consists of 9 quantum dots in a linear array and 3 single quantum dot charge sensors. We show reproducible single quantum dot charging and orbital energies, with standard deviations less than 20% relative to the mean across the 9 dot array. The single quantum dot charge sensors have a charge sensitivity of 8.2 x 10^{-4} e/root(Hz) and allow the investigation of real-time charge dynamics. As a demonstration of the versatility of this device, we use single-shot readout to measure a spin relaxation time T1 = 170 ms at a magnetic field B = 1 T. By reconfiguring the device, we form two capacitively coupled double quantum dots and extract a mutual charging energy of 200 microeV, which indicates that 50 GHz two-qubit gate operation speeds are feasible.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Rf-induced persistent long-range ordered structures in two-species ion Coulomb crystals in a linear Paul trap

We report on the observations of three-dimensional long-range ordered structures in the central $^{40}$Ca$^+$ ion component of $^{40}$Ca$^+$--$^{44}$Ca$^+$ two-species ion Coulomb crystals in a linear Paul trap. In contrast to long-range ordering previously observed in single species crystals, the structures observed are strikingly persistent and always of one specific type in one particular orientation. Molecular dynamics simulations strongly indicate that these characteristics are a hitherto unpredicted consequence of the co-axial cylindrical symmetry of the central ion component of the Coulomb crystal and the radio frequency quadrupole trapping field.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2006

Observation of Three-dimensional Long-range Order in Smaller Ion Coulomb Crystals in an rf Trap

Three-dimensional long-range ordered structures in smaller and near-spherically symmetric Coulomb crystals of ^{40}Ca^+ ions confined in a linear rf Paul trap have been observed when the number of ions exceeds ~1000 ions. This result is unexpected from ground state molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, but found to be in agreement with MD simulations of metastable ion configurations. Previously, three-dimensional long-range ordered structures have only been reported in Penning traps in systems of ~50,000 ions or more.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2001

Two-body correlations in Bose condensates

We formulate a method to study two-body correlations in a condensate of N identical bosons. We use the adiabatic hyperspheric approach and assume a Faddeev like decomposition of the wave function. We derive for a fixed hyperradius an integro-differential equation for the angular eigenvalue and wave function. We discuss properties of the solutions and illustrate with numerical results. The interaction energy is for N~20 five times smaller than that of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation.

cond-mat↗

arXiv1998

How to observe the Efimov effect

We propose to observe the Efimov effect experimentally by applying an external electric field on atomic three-body systems. We first derive the lowest order effective two-body interaction for two spin zero atoms in the field. Then we solve the three-body problem and search for the extreme spatially extended Efimov states. We use helium trimers as an illustrative numerical example and estimate the necessary field strength to be less than 2.7 V/angstrom.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1998

The structure of the atomic helium trimers: Halos and Efimov states

The Faddeev equations for the atomic helium-trimer systems are solved numerically with high accuracy both for the most sophisticated realistic potentials available and for simple phenomenological potentials. An efficient numerical procedure is described. The large-distance asymptotic behavior, crucial for weakly bound three-body systems, is described almost analytically for arbitrary potentials. The Efimov effect is especially considered. The geometric structures of the bound states are quantitatively investigated. The accuracy of the schematic models and previous computations is comparable, i.e. within 20% for the spatially extended states and within 40% for the smaller ^4He-trimer ground state.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1997

Three-Body Halos in Two Dimensions

A method to study weakly bound three-body quantum systems in two dimensions is formulated in coordinate space for short-range potentials. Occurrences of spatially extended structures (halos) are investigated. Borromean systems are shown to exist in two dimensions for a certain class of potentials. An extensive numerical investigation shows that a weakly bound two-body state gives rise to two weakly bound three-body states, a reminiscence of the Efimov effect in three dimensions. The properties of these two states in the weak binding limit turn out to be universal. PACS number(s): 03.65.Ge, 21.45.+v, 31.15.Ja, 02.60Nm

quant-ph↗