arXiv subjects

Edwin Barnes

Publications and source records attributed to Edwin Barnes.

141 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Noise-resistant control for a spin qubit array

We develop a systematic method of performing corrected gate operations on an array of exchange-coupled singlet-triplet qubits in the presence of both fluctuating nuclear Overhauser field gradients and charge noise. The single-qubit control sequences we present have a simple form, are relatively short, and form the building blocks of a corrected CNOT gate when also implemented on the inter-qubit exchange link. This is a key step towards enabling large-scale quantum computation in a semiconductor-based architecture by facilitating error reduction below the quantum error correction threshold for both single-qubit and multi-qubit gate operations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Composite pulses for robust universal control of singlet-triplet qubits

Precise qubit manipulation is fundamental to quantum computing, yet experimental systems generally have stray coupling between the qubit and the environment, which hinders the necessary high-precision control. We report here the first theoretical progress in correcting an important class of errors stemming from fluctuations in the magnetic field gradient, in the context of the singlet-triplet spin qubit in a semiconductor double quantum dot. These errors are not amenable to correction via control techniques developed in other contexts, since here the experimenter has precise control only over the rotation rate about the z-axis of the Bloch sphere, and this rate is furthermore restricted to be positive and bounded. Despite these strong constraints, we construct simple electrical pulse sequences that, for small gradients, carry out z-axis rotations while canceling errors up to the sixth order in gradient fluctuations, and for large gradients, carry out arbitrary rotations while canceling the leading order error.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Nonperturbative master equation solution of central spin dephasing dynamics

We solve the long-standing central spin problem for a general set of inhomogeneous bath couplings and a large class of initial bath states. We compute the time evolution of the coherence of a central spin coupled to a spin bath by resumming all orders of the time-convolutionless master equation, thus avoiding the need to assume weak coupling to the bath. The fully quantum, non-Markovian solution is obtained in the large-bath limit and is valid up to a timescale set by the largest coupling constant. Our result captures the full decoherence of an electron spin qubit coupled to a nuclear spin bath in a GaAs quantum dot for experimentally relevant parameters. In addition, our solution is quite compact and can readily be used to make quantitative predictions for the decoherence process and to guide the design of nuclear state preparation protocols.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Analytically solvable driven time-dependent two-level quantum systems

Analytical solutions to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation describing a driven two-level system are invaluable to many areas of physics, but they are also extremely rare. Here, we present a simple algorithm that generates an unlimited number of exact analytical solutions. We show that a general single-axis driving term and its corresponding evolution operator are determined by a single real function which is constrained only by a certain inequality and initial conditions. Any function satisfying these constraints yields an exact analytical solution. We demonstrate this method by presenting several new exact solutions to the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. Our general method and many of the new solutions we present are particularly relevant to qubit control in quantum computing applications.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Screening of charged impurities with multi-electron singlet-triplet spin qubits in quantum dots

Charged impurities in semiconductor quantum dots comprise one of the main obstacles to achieving scalable fabrication and manipulation of singlet-triplet spin qubits. We theoretically show that using dots that contain several electrons each can help to overcome this problem through the screening of the rough and noisy impurity potential by the excess electrons. We demonstrate how the desired screening properties turn on as the number of electrons is increased, and we characterize the properties of a double quantum dot singlet-triplet qubit for small odd numbers of electrons per dot. We show that the sensitivity of the multi-electron qubit to charge noise may be an order of magnitude smaller than that of the two-electron qubit.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Master equation approach to the central spin decoherence problem: the uniform coupling model and the role of projection operators

The generalized Master equation of the Nakajima-Zwanzig (NZ) type has been used extensively to investigate the coherence dynamics of the central spin model with the nuclear bath in a narrowed state characterized by a well defined value of the Overhauser field. We revisit the perturbative NZ approach and apply it to the exactly solvable case of a system with uniform hyperfine couplings. This is motivated by the fact that the effective Hamiltonian-based theory suggests that the dynamics of the realistic system at low magnetic fields and short times can be mapped onto the uniform coupling model. We show that the standard NZ approach fails to reproduce the exact solution of this model beyond very short times, while the effective Hamiltonian calculation agrees very well with the exact result on timescales during which most of the coherence is lost. Our key finding is that in order to extend the timescale of applicability of the NZ approach in this case, instead of using a single projection operator one has to use a set of correlated projection operators which properly reflect the symmetries of the problem and greatly improve the convergence of the theory. This suggests that the correlated projection operators are crucial for a proper description of narrowed state free induction decay at short times and low magnetic fields. Our results thus provide important insights toward the development of a more complete theory of central spin decoherence applicable in a broader regime of timescales and magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Electron-nuclear dynamics in a quantum dot under non-unitary electron control

We introduce a method for solving the problem of an externally controlled electron spin in a quantum dot interacting with host nuclei via the hyperfine interaction. Our method accounts for generalized (non-unitary) evolution effected by external controls and the environment, such as coherent lasers combined with spontaneous emission. As a concrete example we develop the microscopic theory of the dynamics of nuclear-induced frequency focusing, as first measured in Science 317, 1896 (2007); we find that the nuclear relaxation rates are several orders of magnitude faster than those quoted in that work.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Holographic real-time non-relativistic correlators at zero and finite temperature

We compute a variety of two and three-point real-time correlation functions for a strongly-coupled non-relativistic field theory. We focus on the theory conjectured to be dual to the Schrödinger-invariant gravitational spacetime introduced by Balasubramanian, McGreevy, and Son, but our methods apply to a large class of non-relativistic theories. At zero temperature, we obtain time-ordered, retarded, and Wightman non-relativistic correlators for scalar operators of arbitrary conformal dimension directly in field theory by applying a certain lightlike Fourier transform to relativistic conformal correlators, and we verify that non-relativistic AdS/CFT reproduces the results. We compute thermal two and three-point real-time correlators for scalar operators dual to scalar fields in the black hole background which is the finite temperature generalization of the Schrödinger spacetime. This is done by first identifying thermal real-time bulk-to-boundary propagators, which combined with Veltman's circling rules, yield two and three-point correlators. The two-point correlators we obtain satisfy the Kallen-Lehmann relations. We also give retarded and time-ordered three-point correlators.

hep-th↗

arXiv2010

Real-time finite-temperature correlators from AdS/CFT

In this paper we use AdS/CFT ideas in conjunction with insights from finite temperature real-time field theory formalism to compute 3-point correlators of ${\cal N}{=}4$ super Yang-Mills operators, in real time and at finite temperature. To this end, we propose that the gravity field action is integrated only over the right and left quadrants of the Penrose diagram of the Anti de Sitter-Schwarzschild background, with a relative sign between the two terms. For concreteness we consider the case of a scalar field in the black hole background. Using the scalar field Schwinger-Keldysh bulk-to-boundary propagators, we give the general expression of a 3-point real-time Green's correlator. We then note that this particular prescription amounts to adapting the finite-temperature analog of Veltman's circling rules to tree-level Witten diagrams, and comment on the retarded and Feynman scalar bulk-to-boundary propagators. We subject our prescription to several checks: KMS identities, the largest time equation and the zero-temperature limit. When specializing to a particular retarded (causal) 3-point function, we find a very simple answer: the momentum-space correlator is given by three causal (two retarded and one advanced) bulk-to-boundary propagators, meeting at a vertex point which is integrated from spatial infinity to the horizon only. This result is expected based on analyticity, since the retarded n-point functions are obtained by analytic continuation from the imaginary time Green's function, and based on causality considerations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2010

Massive quark scattering at strong coupling from AdS/CFT

We extend the analysis of Alday and Maldacena for obtaining gluon scattering amplitudes at strong coupling to include external massive quark states. Our quarks are actually the N=2 hypermultiplets which arise when D7-brane probes are included in the AdS_5 x S^5 geometry. We work in the quenched approximation, treating the N=2 matter multiplets as external sources coupled to the N=4 SYM fields. We first derive appropriate massive-particle boundary conditions for the string scattering worldsheets. We then find an exact worldsheet which corresponds to the scattering of two massive quarks and two massless gluons and extract from this the associated scattering amplitude. We also find the worldsheet and amplitude for the scattering of four massive quarks. Our worldsheet solutions reduce to the four massless gluon solution of Alday and Maldacena in the limit of zero quark mass. The amplitudes we compute can also be interpreted in terms of 2-2 scattering involving gluons and massive W-bosons.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

All 4-dimensional static, spherically symmetric, 2-charge abelian Kaluza-Klein black holes and their CFT duals

We derive the dual CFT Virasoro algebras from the algebra of conserved diffeomorphism charges, for a large class of abelian Kaluza-Klein black holes. Under certain conditions, such as non-vanishing electric and magnetic monopole charges, the Kaluza-Klein black holes have a Reissner-Nordstrom space-time structure. For the non-extremal charged Kaluza-Klein black holes, we use the uplifted 6d pure gravity solutions to construct a set of Killing horizon preserving diffeomorphisms. For the (non-supersymmetric) extremal black holes, we take the NENH limit, and construct a one-parameter family of diffeomorphisms which preserve the Hamiltonian constraints at spatial infinity. In each case we evaluate the algebra of conserved diffeomorphism charges following Barnich, Brandt and Compere, who used a cohomological approach, and Silva, who employed a covariant-Lagrangian formalism. At the Killing horizon, it is only Silva's algebra which acquires a central charge extension, and which enables us to recover the Bekenstein-Hawking black hole entropy from the Cardy formula. For the NENH geometry, the extremal black hole entropy is obtained only when the free parameter of the diffeomorphism generating vector fields is chosen such that the central terms of the two algebras are in agreement.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

The Exact Superconformal R-symmetry Minimizes $τ_{RR}$

We present a new, general constraint which, in principle, determines the superconformal $U(1)_R$ symmetry of 4d $\N =1$ SCFTs, and also 3d $\N =2$ SCFTs. Among all possibilities, the superconformal $U(1)_R$ is that which minimizes the coefficient, $τ_{RR}$, of its two-point function. Equivalently, the superconformal $U(1)_R$ is the unique one with vanishing two-point function with every non-R flavor symmetry. For 4d $\N =1$ SCFTs, $τ_{RR}$ minimization gives an alternative to a-maximization. $τ_{RR}$ minimization also applies in 3d, where no condition for determining the superconformal $U(1)_R$ had been previously known. Unfortunately, this constraint seems impractical to implement for interacting field theories. But it can be readily implemented in the AdS geometry for SCFTs with AdS duals.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

Current Correlators and AdS/CFT Geometry

We consider current-current correlators in 4d $\N =1$ SCFTs, and also 3d $\N =2$ SCFTs, in connection with AdS/CFT geometry. The superconformal $U(1)_R$ symmetry of the SCFT has the distinguishing property that, among all possibilities, it minimizes the coefficient, $τ_{RR}$ of its two-point function. We show that the geometric Z-minimization condition of Martelli, Sparks, and Yau precisely implements $τ_{RR}$ minimization. This gives a physical proof that Z-minimization in geometry indeed correctly determines the superconformal R-charges of the field theory dual. We further discuss and compare current two point functions in field theory and AdS/CFT and the geometry of Sasaki-Einstein manifolds. Our analysis gives new quantitative checks of the AdS/CFT correspondence.

hep-th↗

arXiv2005

N=1 RG Flows, Product Groups, and a-Maximization

We explore new IR phenomena and dualities, arising for product groups, in the context of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. The RG running of the multiple couplings can radically affect each other. For example, an otherwise IR interacting coupling can be driven to be instead IR free by an arbitrarily small, but non-zero, initial value of another coupling. Or an otherwise IR free coupling can be driven to be instead IR interacting by an arbitrarily small non-zero initial value of another coupling. We explore these and other phenomena in N=1 examples, where exact results can be obtained using a-maximization. We also explore the various possible dual gauge theories, e.g. by dualizing one gauge group with the other treated as a weakly gauged flavor symmetry, along with previously proposed duals for the theories deformed by A_k-type Landau-Ginzburg superpotentials. We note that this latter duality, and all similar duality examples, always have non-empty superconformal windows, within which both the electric and dual A_k superpotentials are relevant.

hep-th↗

arXiv2004

Evidence for the Strongest Version of the 4d a-Theorem, via a-Maximization Along RG Flows

In earlier work, we (KI and BW) gave a two line "almost proof" (for supersymmetric RG flows) of the weakest form of the conjectured 4d a-theorem, that a_{IR}<a_{UV}, using our result that the exact superconformal R-symmetry of 4d SCFTs maximizes a=3Tr R^3-Tr R. The proof was incomplete because of two identified loopholes: theories with accidental symmetries, and the fact that it's only a local maximum of \it{a}. Here we discuss and extend a proposal of Kutasov (which helps close the latter loophole) in which a-maximization is generalized away from the endpoints of the RG flow, with Lagrange multipliers that are conjectured to be identified with the running coupling constants. a-maximization then yields a monotonically decreasing "a-function" along the RG flow to the IR. As we discuss, this proposal in fact suggests the strongest version of the a-theorem: that 4d RG flows are gradient flows of an a-function, with positive definite metric. In the perturbative limit, the RG flow metric thus obtained is shown to agree precisely with that found by very different computations by Osborn and collaborators. As examples, we discuss a new class of 4d SCFTs, along with their dual descriptions and IR phases, obtained from SQCD by coupling some of the flavors to added singlets.

hep-th↗