arXiv subjects

F. C. Lombardo

Publications and source records attributed to F. C. Lombardo.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Motion induced excitation and radiation from an atom facing a mirror

We study quantum dissipative effects due to the non-relativistic, bounded, accelerated motion of a single neutral atom in the presence of a planar perfect mirror, i.e. a perfect conductor at all frequencies. We consider a simplified model whereby a moving `scalar atom' is coupled to a quantum real scalar field, subjected to either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions on the plane. We use an expansion in powers of the departure of the atom with respect to a static average position, to compute the vacuum persistence amplitude, and the resulting vacuum decay probability. We evaluate transition amplitudes corresponding to the excitation of the atom plus the emission of a particle, and show explicitly that the vacuum decay probabilities match the results obtained by integrating the transition amplitudes over the directions of the emitted particle. We also compute the spontaneous emission rate of an oscillating atom that is initially in an excited state.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Dynamical Casimir effect in a double tunable superconducting circuit

We present an analytical and numerical analysis of the particle creation in a cavity ended with two SQUIDs, both subjected to time dependent magnetic fields. In the linear and lossless regime, the problem can be modeled by a free quantum field in $1+1$ dimensions, in the presence of boundary conditions that involve a time dependent linear combination of the field and its spatial and time derivatives. We consider a situation in which the boundary conditions at both ends are periodic functions of time, focusing on interesting features as the dependence of the rate of particle creation with the characteristics of the spectrum of the cavity, the conditions needed for parametric resonance, and interference phenomena due to simultaneous time dependence of the boundary conditions. We point out several concrete effects that could be tested experimentally

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

A Magnus approximation approach to harmonic systems with time-dependent frequencies

We use a Magnus approximation at the level of the equations of motion for a harmonic system with a time-dependent frequency, to find an expansion for its in-out effective action, and a unitary expansion for the Bogoliubov transformation between in and out states. The dissipative effects derived therefrom are compared with the ones obtained from perturbation theory in powers of the time-dependent piece in the frequency, and with those derived using multiple scale analysis in systems with parametric resonance. We also apply the Magnus expansion to the in-in effective action, to construct reality and causal equations of motion for the external system. We show that the nonlocal equations of motion can be written in terms of a "retarded Fourier transform" evaluated at the resonant frequency.

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arXiv2017

Driving-induced amplification of non-Markovianity in open quantum systems evolution

Non-Markovian effects arising in open quantum systems evolution have been a subject of increasing interest over the past decade. One of the most appealing features of non-Markovianity (NM) is that it captures scenarios where loss of information and coherence are reversible, and thus a temporary backflow of information from the environment to the system is possible. In this work we study the interplay between the degree of non-Markovianity and the action of time-dependent control fields in an open two-level quantum system. We find that periodical modulation of a field acting solely on the system can greatly enhance the degree of non-Markovianity with respect to the undriven case. We show that this effect is present only when the coupling between system and environment is weak. Remarkably, the enhancement disappears at strong coupling, which is usually the regime where non-Markovian effects are expected to be more pronounced.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Two-qudit topological phase evolution under dephasing

In this work, we study a bipartite system composed by a pair of entangled qudits coupled to an environment. Initially, we derive a master equation and show how the dynamics can be restricted to a "diagonal" sector that includes a maximally entangled state (MES). Next, we solve this equation for mixed qutrit pairs and analyze the $I$-concurrence $C(t)$ for the effective state, which is needed to compute the geometric phase when the initial state is pure. Unlike (locally operated) isolated systems, the coupled system leads to a nontrivial time-dependence, with $C(t)$ generally decaying to zero at asymptotic times. However, when the initial condition gets closer to a MES state, the effective concurrence is more protected against the effects of decoherence, signaling a transition to an effective two-qubit MES state at asymptotic times. This transition is also observed in the geometric phase evolution, computed in the kinematic approach. Finally, we explore the system-environment coupling parameter space and show the existence of a Weyl symmetry among the various physical quantities.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

On the Difference Between the Vacuum Casimir Energies for Grounded and Isolated Conductors

We study the vacuum (i.e., zero-temperature) Casimir energy for a system of neutral conductors which are isolated, as opposed to grounded. The former is meant to describe a situation where the total charge on each conductor, as well as all of its fluctuations, vanishes, while the latter describes a situation where the conductors are connected to a charge reservoir. We compute the difference between the vacuum energies for a given system of conductors, but subjected to the two different conditions stated above. The results can be written in terms of a generalized, frequency-dependent capacitance matrix of the system. Using a multipolar expansion, we show that the grounded Casimir energy includes a monopole-monopole interaction term that is absent in the isolated case in the large distance limit

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Casimir Free Energy at High Temperatures: Grounded vs Isolated Conductors

We evaluate the difference between the Casimir free energies corresponding to either grounded or isolated perfect conductors, at high temperatures. We show that a general and simple expression for that difference can be given, in terms of the electrostatic capacitance matrix for the system of conductors. For the case of close conductors, we provide approximate expressions for that difference, by evaluating the capacitance matrix using the proximity force approximation. Since the high-temperature limit for the Casimir free energy for a medium described by a frequency-dependent conductivity diverging at zero frequency coincides with that of an isolated conductor, our results may shed light on the corrections to the Casimir force in the presence of real materials.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Dynamical Casimir effect in superconducting circuits: a numerical approach

We present a numerical analysis of the particle creation for a quantum field in the presence of time dependent boundary conditions. Having in mind recent experiments involving superconducting circuits, we consider their description in terms of a scalar field in a one dimensional cavity satisfying generalized boundary conditions that involve a time-dependent linear combination of the field and its spatial and time derivatives. We evaluate numerically the Bogoliubov transformation between {\it in} and {\it out}-states and find that the rate of particle production strongly depends on whether the spectrum of the unperturbed cavity is equidistant or not, and also on the amplitude of the temporal oscillations of the boundary conditions. We provide analytic justifications for the different regimes found numerically.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

On the Derivative Expansion for the Electromagnetic Casimir Free Energy at High Temperatures

We study the contribution of the thermal zero modes to the Casimir free energy, in the case of a fluctuating electromagnetic (EM) field in the presence of real materials described by frequency-dependent, local and isotropic permittivity ($ε$) and permeability ($μ$) functions. Those zero modes, present at any finite temperature, become dominant at high temperatures, since the theory is dimensionally reduced. Our work, within the context of the Derivative Expansion (DE) approach, focusses on the emergence of non analyticities in that dimensionally reduced theory. We conclude that the DE is well defined whenever the function $Ω(ω)$, defined by $[Ω(ω)]^2 \equiv ω^2ε(ω)$, vanishes in the zero-frequency limit, for at least one of the two material media involved.

hep-th↗

arXiv2015

Enhancement of quantum speed limit time due to cooperative effects in multilevel systems

Deriving minimum evolution times is of paramount importance in quantum mechanics. Bounds on the speed of evolution are given by the so called quantum speed limit (QSL). In this work we use quantum optimal control methods to study the QSL for driven many level systems which exhibit local two-level interactions in the form of avoided crossings (ACs). Remarkably, we find that optimal evolution times are proportionally smaller than those predicted by the well-known two-level case, even when the ACs are isolated. We show that the physical mechanism for such enhancement is due to non-trivial cooperative effects between the AC and other levels, which are dynamically induced by the shape of the optimized control field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Time-optimal control fields for quantum systems with multiple avoided crossings

We study time-optimal protocols for controlling quantum systems which show several avoided level crossings in their energy spectrum. The structure of the spectrum allows us to generate a robust guess which is time-optimal at each crossing. We correct the field applying optimal control techniques in order to find the minimal evolution or quantum speed limit (QSL) time. We investigate its dependence as a function of the system parameters and show that it gets proportionally smaller to the well-known two-level case as the dimension of the system increases. Working at the QSL, we study the control fields derived from the optimization procedure, and show that they present a very simple shape, which can be described by a few parameters. Based on this result, we propose a simple expression for the control field, and show that the full time-evolution of the control problem can be analytically solved.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Derivative expansion for the electromagnetic and Neumann Casimir effects in $2+1$ dimensions with imperfect mirrors

We calculate the Casimir interaction energy in $d=2$ spatial dimensions between two (zero-width) mirrors, one flat, and the other slightly curved, upon which {\em imperfect\/} conductor boundary conditions are imposed for an Electromagnetic (EM) field. Our main result is a second-order Derivative Expansion (DE) approximation for the Casimir energy, which is studied in different interesting limits. In particular, we focus on the emergence of a non-analyticity beyond the leading-order term in the DE, when approaching the limit of perfectly-conducting mirrors. We also show that the system considered is equivalent to a dual one, consisting of a massless real scalar field satisfying imperfect Neumann conditions (on the very same boundaries). Therefore, the results obtained for the EM field hold also true for the scalar field model

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

The effect of concurrent geometry and roughness in interacting surfaces

We study the interaction energy between two surfaces, one of them flat, the other describable as the composition of a small-amplitude corrugation and a slightly curved, smooth surface. The corrugation, represented by a spatially random variable, involves Fourier wavelengths shorter than the (local) curvature radii of the smooth component of the surface. After averaging the interaction energy over the corrugation distribution, we obtain an expression which only depends on the smooth component. We then approximate that functional by means of a derivative expansion, calculating explicitly the leading and next-to-leading order terms in that approximation scheme. We analyze the resulting interplay between shape and roughness corrections for some specific corrugation models in the cases of electrostatic and Casimir interactions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

The derivative expansion approach to the interaction between close surfaces

The derivative expansion approach to the calculation of the interaction between two surfaces, is a generalization of the proximity force approximation, a technique of widespread use in different areas of physics. The derivative expansion has so far been applied to seemingly unrelated problems in different areas; it is our principal aim here to present the approach in its full generality. To that end, we introduce an unified setting, which is independent of any particular application, provide a formal derivation of the derivative expansion in that general setting, and study some its properties. With a view on the possible application of the derivative expansion to other areas, like nuclear and colloidal physics, we also discuss the relation between the derivative expansion and some time-honoured uncontrolled approximations used in those contexts. By putting them under similar terms as the derivative expansion, we believe that the path is open to the calculation of next to leading order corrections also for those contexts. We also review some results obtained within the derivative expansion, by applying it to different concrete examples and highlighting some important points.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Quantum Speed Limit and optimal evolution time in a two-level system

Quantum mechanics establishes a fundamental bound for the minimum evolution time between two states of a given system. Known as the quantum speed limit (QSL), it is a useful tool in the context of quantum control, where the speed of some control protocol is usually intended to be as large as possible. While QSL expressions for time-independent hamiltonians have been well studied, the time-dependent regime has remained somewhat unexplored, albeit being usually the relevant problem to be compared with when studying systems controlled by external fields. In this paper we explore the relation between optimal times found in quantum control and the QSL bound, in the (relevant) time-dependent regime, by discussing the ubiquitous two-level Landau-Zener type hamiltonian.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Electrostatic Interaction due to Patch Potentials on Smooth Conducting Surfaces

We evaluate the electrostatic interaction energy between two surfaces, one flat and the other slightly curved, in terms of the two-point autocorrelation functions for patch potentials on each one of them, and of a single function $ψ$ which defines the curved surface. The resulting interaction energy, a functional of $ψ$, is evaluated up to the second order in a derivative expansion approach. We derive explicit formulae for the coefficients of that expansion as simple integrals involving the autocorrelation functions, and evaluate them for some relevant patch-potential profiles and geometries

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Quantum dissipative effects in graphene-like mirrors

We study quantum dissipative effects due to the accelerated motion of a single, imperfect, zero-width mirror. It is assumed that the microscopic degrees of freedom on the mirror are confined to it, like in plasma or graphene sheets. Therefore, the mirror is described by a vacuum polarization tensor $Π_{αβ}$ concentrated on a time-dependent surface. Under certain assumptions about the microscopic model for the mirror, we obtain a rather general expression for the Euclidean effective action, a functional of the time-dependent mirror's position, in terms of two invariants that characterize the tensor $Π_{αβ}$. The final result can be written in terms of the TE and TM reflection coefficients of the mirror, with qualitatively different contributions coming from them. We apply that general expression to derive the imaginary part of the `in-out' effective action, which measures dissipative effects induced by the mirror's motion, in different models, in particular for an accelerated graphene sheet.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Vacuum fluctuations and generalized boundary conditions

We present a study of the static and dynamical Casimir effects for a quantum field theory satisfying generalized Robin boundary condition, of a kind that arises naturally within the context of quantum circuits. Since those conditions may also be relevant to measurements of the dynamical Casimir effect, we evaluate their role in the concrete example of a real scalar field in 1+1 dimensions, a system which has a well-known mechanical analogue involving a loaded string.

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