arXiv subjects

Fabio Benatti

Publications and source records attributed to Fabio Benatti.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Pattern capacity of a single quantum perceptron

Recent developments in Quantum Machine Learning have seen the introduction of several models to generalize the classical perceptron to the quantum regime. The capabilities of these quantum models need to be determined precisely in order to establish if a quantum advantage is achievable. Here we use a statistical physics approach to compute the pattern capacity of a particular model of quantum perceptron realized by means of a continuous variable quantum system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum state features of the FEL radiation from the occupation number statistics

The statistical features of the radiation emitted by Free-Electron Lasers (FELs), either by Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE-FELs) or by seeded emission (seeded-FELs), are attracting increasing attention because of the use of such light in probing high energy states of matter and their dynamics. While the experimental studies conducted so far have mainly concentrated on correlation functions, here we shift the focus towards reconstructing the distribution of the occupation numbers of the radiation energy states. In order to avoid the various drawbacks related to photon counting techniques when large numbers of photons are involved, we propose a Maximum Likelihood reconstruction of the diagonal elements of the FEL radiation states in the energy eigenbasis based on the statistics of no-click events. The ultimate purpose of such a novel approach to FEL radiation statistics is the experimental confirmation that SASE-FEL radiation exhibits thermal occupation number statistics, while seeded-FEL light Poissonian statistics typical of coherent states and thus of laser light. In this framework, it is interesting to note that the outcome of this work can be extended to any process of harmonic generation from a coherent light pulse, unlocking the gate to the study of the degree to which the original distinctive quantum features deduced from the statistical photon number fluctuations are preserved in non-linear optical processes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Entanglement and non-locality in quantum protocols with identical particles

We study the role of entanglement and non-locality in quantum protocols that make use of systems of identical particles. Unlike in the case of distinguishable particles, the notions of entanglement and non-locality for systems whose constituents cannot be distinguished and singly addressed are still debated. We clarify why the only approach that avoids incongruities and paradoxes is the one based on the second quantization formalism whereby it is the entanglement of the modes that can be populated by the particles what really matters and not the particles themselves. Indeed, by means of a metrological and of a teleportation protocol, we show that inconsistencies arise in formulations that force entanglement and non-locality to be properties of the identical particles rather than of the modes they can occupy. The reason resides in the fact that orthogonal modes can always be addressed while identical particles can not.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Exact steady state of the open XX-spin chain: entanglement and transport properties

We study the reduced dynamics of open quantum spin chains of arbitrary length $N$ with nearest neighbour $XX$ interactions, immersed within an external constant magnetic field along the $z$ direction, whose end spins are weakly coupled to heat baths at different temperatures, via energy preserving couplings. We find the analytic expression of the unique stationary state of the master equation obtained in the so-called global approach based on the spectralization of the full chain Hamiltonian. Hinging upon the explicit stationary state, we reveal the presence of sink and source terms in the spin-flow continuity equation and compare their behaviour with that of the stationary heat flow. Moreover, we also obtain analytic expressions for the steady state two-spin reduced density matrices and for their concurrence. We then set up an algorithm suited to compute the stationary bipartite entanglement along the chain and to study its dependence on the Hamiltonian parameters and on the bath temperatures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Bath assisted transport in a three-site spin chain: global {\sl vs} local approach

Within the standard weak-coupling limit, the reduced dynamics of open quantum spin chains with their two end spins coupled to two distinct heat baths at different temperatures are mainly derived using the so-called \textit{global} and \textit{local} approaches, in which, respectively, the spin self-interaction is and is not taken into account. In order to compare the differences between the two regimes, we concentrate on an open three-site $XX$ spin-chain, provide systematic techniques to addressing the global and local asymptotic states and then compare the asymptotic spin-transport features by studying the spin flux through the middle site. %we examine the transport properties of an open three-site $XX$ spin-chain. %We analytically derive the exact steady state of the open chain in the global approach and its first order expansion with respect to the self-interaction in the local one. %The steady state transport properties through the middle spin is then studied %in order to compare the physical scenarios associated with the two regimes. %By analytical and numerical means, Basing on the analytical expressions of the stationary states in the two regimes, we find that the local approach misses important global effects emerging as spin sink and source terms that can only be due to non negligible inter-spin interactions. Moreover, we show that the local asympotic transport features cannot be recovered from the global ones by letting the inter-spin coupling vanish thus pointing to the existence of different coupling ranges where only one approach is physically tenable and possibly a region where the two descriptions may coexist.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Vibrational coherent control of localized d-d electronic excitation

Addressing the role of quantum coherence in the interplay between the different matter constituents (electrons, phonons and spin) is a critical step towards understanding transition metal oxides and design complex materials with new functionalities. Here we use coherent vibrational control of onsite d-d electronic transitions in a model edge-sharing insulating transition metal oxide (CuGeO3) to single-out the effects of vibrational coherence in electron-phonon coupling. By comparing time domain experiments based on high and low frequency ultrashort pumps with a fully quantum description of phonon assisted absorption, we could distinguish the processes associated to incoherent thermal lattice fluctuations from those driven by the coherent motion of the atoms. In particular, while thermal fluctuation of the phonon bath uniformly increases the electronic absorption, the resonant excitation of phonon modes results also in light-induced transparency which is coherently controlled by the vibrational motion.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Two-qubit quantum probes for the temperature of an Ohmic environment

We address a particular instance where open quantum systems may be used as quantum probes for an emergent property of a complex system, as the temperature of a thermal bath. The inherent fragility of the quantum probes against decoherence is the key feature making the overall scheme very sensitive. The specific setting examined here is that of quantum thermometry, which aims to exploits decoherence as resource to estimate the temperature of a sample. We focus on temperature estimation for a bosonic bath at equilibrium in the Ohmic regime (ranging from sub-Ohmic to super- Ohmic), by using pairs of qubits in different initial states and interacting with different environments, consisting either of a single thermal bath, or of two independent ones at the same temperature. Our scheme involves pure dephasing of the probes, thus avoiding energy exchange with the sample and the consequent perturbation of temperature itself. We discuss the interplay between correlations among the probes and correlations within the bath, and show that entanglement improves thermometry at short times whereas, if the interaction time is not constrained, coherence rather than entanglement, is the key resource in quantum thermometry.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Continuous Variable Quantum Perceptron

We present a model of Continuous Variable Quantum Perceptron (CVQP) whose architecture implements a classical perceptron. The necessary non-linearity is obtained via measuring the output qubit and using the measurement outcome as input to an activation function. The latter is chosen to be the so-called ReLu activation function by virtue of its practical feasibility and the advantages it provides in learning tasks. The encoding of classical data into realistic finitely squeezed states and the use of superposed (entangled) input states for specific binary problems are discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Quasi inversion of qubit channels

Quantum operations, or quantum channels cannot be inverted in general. An arbitrary state passing through a quantum channel looses its fidelity with the input. Given a quantum channel ${\cal E}$, we introduce the concept of its quasi-inverse as a map ${\cal E}^{qi}$ which when composed with ${\cal E}$ increases its average input-output fidelity in an optimal way. The channel ${\cal E}^{qi}$ comes as close as possible to the inverse of a quantum channel. We give a complete classification of such maps for qubit channels and provide quite a few illustrative examples.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Quantum model for Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering

The interaction between ultrashort light pulses and non-absorbing materials is dominated by Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering (ISRS). The description of ISRS in the context of pump\&probe experiments is based on effective classical models describing the interaction between the phonon and pulsed electromagnetic fields. Here we report a theoretical description of ISRS where we do not make any semi-classical approximation and we treat both photonic and phononic degrees of freedom at the quantum level. The results of the quantum model are compared with semiclassical results and validated by means of spectrally resolved pump\&probe measurements on $α$-quartz.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Impact of nonideal cycles on the efficiency of quantum heat engines

Given a quantum heat engine that operates in a cycle that reaches maximal efficiency for a time-dependent Hamiltonian H(t) of the working substance, with overall controllable driving H(t) = g(t) H, we study the deviation of the efficiency from the optimal value due to a generic time-independent perturbation in the Hamiltonian. We show that for a working substance consisting of two two-level systems, by suitably tuning the interaction, the deviation can be suppressed up to the third order in the perturbation parameter-and thus almost retaining the optimality of the engine.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Qubit Entanglement generation by Gaussian non-Markovian dynamics

We consider two qubits interacting with a common bosonic bath, but not directly between themselves. We derive the (bipartite) entanglement generation conditions for Gaussian non-Markovian dynamical maps and show that they are similar as in the Markovian regime; however, they depend on different physical coefficients and hold on different time scales. Indeed, for small times, in the non-Markovian regime entanglement is possibly generated on a shorter time scale ($\propto t^2$) than in the Markovian one ($\propto t$). Moreover, although the singular coupling limit of non-Markovian dynamics yields Markovian ones, we show that the same limit does not lead from non-Markovian entanglement generation conditions to Markovian ones. Also, the entanglement generation conditions do not depend on the initial time for non-Markovian open dynamics resulting from couplings to bosonic Gaussian baths, while they may depend on time for open dynamics originated by couplings to classical, stochastic Gaussian environments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum spin chain dissipative mean-field dynamics

We study the emergent dynamics resulting from the infinite volume limit of the mean-field dissipative dynamics of quantum spin chains with clustering, but not time-invariant states. We focus upon three algebras of spin operators: the commutative algebra of mean-field operators, the quasi-local algebra of microscopic, local operators and the collective algebra of fluctuation operators. In the infinite volume limit, mean-field operators behave as time-dependent, commuting scalar macroscopic averages while quasi-local operators, despite the dissipative underlying dynamics, evolve unitarily in a typical non-Markovian fashion. Instead, the algebra of collective fluctuations, which is of bosonic type with time-dependent canonical commutation relations, undergoes a time-evolution that retains the dissipative character of the underlying microscopic dynamics and exhibits non-linear features. These latter disappear by extending the time-evolution to a larger algebra where it is represented by a continuous one-parameter semigroup of completely positive maps. The corresponding generator is not of Lindblad form and displays mixed quantum-classical features, thus indicating that peculiar hybrid systems may naturally emerge at the level of quantum fluctuations in many-body quantum systems endowed with non time-invariant states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum enhanced measurements without entanglement

Quantum-enhanced measurements exploit quantum mechanical effects for increasing the sensitivity of measurements of certain physical parameters and have great potential for both fundamental science and concrete applications. Most of the research has so far focused on using highly entangled states, which are, however, difficult to produce and to stabilize for a large number of constituents. In the following we review alternative mechanisms, notably the use of more general quantum correlations such as quantum discord, identical particles, or non-trivial hamiltonians; the estimation of thermodynamical parameters or parameters characterizing non-equilibrium states; and the use of quantum phase transitions. We describe both theoretically achievable enhancements and enhanced sensitivities, not primarily based on entanglement, that have already been demonstrated experimentally, and indicate some possible future research directions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Quantum entropy and complexity

We study the relations between the recently proposed machine-independent quantum complexity of P. Gacs~\cite{Gacs} and the entropy of classical and quantum systems. On one hand, by restricting Gacs complexity to ergodic classical dynamical systems, we retrieve the equality between the Kolmogorov complexity rate and the Shannon entropy rate derived by A.A. Brudno~\cite{Brudno}. On the other hand, using the quantum Shannon-Mc Millan theorem~\cite{BSM}, we show that such an equality holds densely in the case of ergodic quantum spin chains.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2016

Tensor power of dynamical maps and P- vs. CP-divisibility

The are several non-equivalent notions of Markovian quantum evolution. In this paper we show that the one based on the so-called CP-divisibility of the corresponding dynamical map enjoys the following stability property: the dynamical map $Λ_t$ is CP-divisible iff the second tensor power $Λ_t\otimesΛ_t$ is CP-divisible as well. Moreover, the P-divisibility of the map $Λ_t\otimesΛ_t$ is equivalent to the CP-divisibility of the map $Λ_t$. Interestingly, the latter property is no longer true if we replace the P-divisibility of $Λ_t\otimesΛ_t$ by simple positivity and the CP-divisibility of $Λ_t$ by complete positivity. That is, unlike when $Λ_t$ has a time-independent generator, positivity of $Λ_t\otimesΛ_t$ does not imply complete positivity of $Λ_t$.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

A non-Markovian Dissipative Maryland Model

The so-called Maryland model is a linear version of the quantum kicked rotor; it exhibits Anderson localization in momentum space. By turning the kicks into a Markovian stochastic process, the dynamics becomes a dissipative quantum process described by a discrete family of completely positive maps that allows to explicitly study the relation between divisibility of the maps and the degree of memory of the process.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Non-markovian mesoscopic dissipative dynamics of open quantum spin chains

We study the dissipative dynamics of $N$ quantum spins with Lindblad generator consisting of operators scaling as fluctuations, namely with the inverse square-root of $N$. In the large $N$ limit, the microscopic dissipative time-evolution converges to a non-Markovian unitary dynamics on strictly local operators, while at the mesoscopic level of fluctuations it gives rise to a dissipative non-Markovian dynamics. The mesoscopic time-evolution is Gaussian and exhibits either a stable or an unstable asymptotic character; furthermore, the mesoscopic dynamics builds correlations among fluctuations that survive in time even when the original microscopic dynamics is unable to correlate local observables.

quant-ph↗