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Fausto Rossi

Publications and source records attributed to Fausto Rossi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Wigner-function formalism applied to semiconductor quantum devices: Failure of the conventional boundary-condition scheme

The Wigner-function formalism is a well known approach to model charge transport in semiconductor nanodevices. Primary goal of the present article is to point out and explain intrinsic limitations of the conventional quantum-device modeling based on such Wigner-function paradigm, providing a definite answer to open questions related to the application of the conventional spatial boundary-condition scheme to the Wigner transport equation. Our analysis shows that (i) in the absence of energy dissipation (coherent limit) the solution of the Wigner equation equipped with given boundary conditions is not unique, and (ii) when decoherence/dissipation phenomena are taken into account via a relaxation-time approximation the solution, although unique, is not necessarily a physical Wigner function.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Microscopic theory of energy dissipation and decoherence in solid-state systems: A reformulation of the conventional Markov limit

We present and discuss a general density-matrix description of energy-dissipation and decoherence phenomena in open quantum systems, able to overcome the intrinsic limitations of the conventional Markov approximation. In particular, the proposed alternative adiabatic scheme does not threaten positivity at any time. The key idea of our approach rests in the temporal symmetrization and coarse graining of the scattering term in the Liouville-von Neumann equation, before applying the reduction procedure over the environment degrees of freedom. The resulting dynamics is genuinely Lindblad-like and recovers the Fermi's golden rule features in the semiclassical limit. Applications to the prototypical case of a semiconductor quantum dot exposed to incoherent phonon excitation peaked around a central mode are discussed, highlighting the success of our formalism with respect to the critical issues of the conventional Markov limit.

quant-ph↗

Dissipation and Decoherence in Nanodevices: a Generalized Fermi's Golden Rule

We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, which --contrary to the semiclassical case-- does not preserve the positive-definite character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly non-physical results. To overcome this serious limitation, originally pointed out and partially solved by Davies and co-workers almost three decades ago, we shall propose an alternative more general adiabatic procedure, which (i) is physically justified under the same validity restrictions of the conventional Markov approach, (ii) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard Fermi's golden rule, and (iii) describes a genuine Lindblad evolution, thus providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing processes in electronic quantum devices. Unlike standard master-equation formulations, the dependence of our approximation on the specific choice of the subsystem (that include the common partial trace reduction) does not threaten positivity, and quantum scattering rates are well defined even in case the subsystem is infinitely extended/has continuous spectrum.

quant-ph↗

Completely Positive Markovian Quantum Dynamics in the Weak-Coupling Limit

We obtain new types of exponential decay laws for solutions of density-matrix master equations in the weak-coupling limit: after comparing with results already present in the literature and developing the necessary techniques, we study the crucial aspect of complete positivity under fairly general conditions. We propose a new type of time average that guarantees complete positivity and approximates, in markovian fashion, the exact dynamics for a plethora of physical applications, no matter which are the spectral properties of the subsystem, or its dimensions. We shall comment on some interesting examples, like a new Quantum version of the celebrated Fermi's Golden Rule and some recently proposed entangling projections.

quant-ph↗

Quantum Fermi's Golden Rule

We shall revisit the conventional adiabatic or Markov approximation, showing its intrinsic failure in describing the proper quantum-mechanical evolution of a generic subsystem interacting with its environment. In particular, we shall show that -contrary to the semiclassical case- the Markov limit does not preserve the positive-definite character of the corresponding density matrix, thus leading to highly non-physical results. To overcome this problem, we shall propose an alternative adiabatic procedure which (i) in the semiclassical limit reduces to the standard Fermi's golden rule, and (ii) describes a genuine Limblad evolution, thus providing a reliable/robust treatment of energy-dissipation and dephasing processes.

quant-ph↗

Quantum-transport theory for semiconductor nanostructures: A density-matrix formulation

A general density-matrix formulation of quantum-transport phenomena in semiconductor nanostructures is presented. More specifically, contrary to the conventional single-particle correlation expansion, we shall investigate separately the effects of the adiabatic or Markov limit and of the reduction procedure. Our fully operatorial approach allows us to better identify the general properties of the scattering superoperators entering our effective quantum-transport theory at various description levels, e.g., N electrons-plus-quasiparticles, N electrons only, and single-particle picture. In addition to coherent transport phenomena characterizing the transient response of the system, the proposed theoretical description allows to study scattering induced phase coherence in steady-state conditions. As prototypical example, we shall investigate polaronic effects in strongly biased semiconductor superlattices.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Quantum Non-Locality in Systems with Open Boundaries: Failure of the Wigner-Function Formalism

We shall revisit the conventional treatment of open quantum devices based on the Wigner-Function formalism. Our analysis will show that the artificial spatial separation between device active region and external reservoirs -properly defined within a semiclassical simulation scheme- is intrinsically incompatible with the non-local character of quantum mechanics. More specifically, by means of an exactly-solvable semiconductor model, we shall show that the application of the conventional boundary-condition scheme to the Wigner transport equation may produce highly non-physical results, like thermal injection of coherent state superpositions and boundary-driven negative probability distributions.

cond-mat.other↗

Spin-based quantum gating with semiconductor quantum dots by bichromatic radiation method

A potential scheme is proposed for realizing a two-qubit quantum gate in semiconductor quantum dots. Information is encoded in the spin degrees of freedom of one excess conduction electron of each quantum dot. We propose to use two lasers, radiation two neighboring QDs, and tuned to blue detuning with respect to the resonant frequencies of individual excitons. The two-qubit phase gate can be achieved by means of both Pauli-blocking effect and dipole-dipole coupling between intermediate excitonic states.

quant-ph↗

Intrinsic electric field effects on few-particle interactions in coupled GaN quantum dots

We study the multi-exciton optical spectrum of vertically coupled GaN/AlN quantum dots with a realistic three-dimensional direct-diagonalization approach for the description of few-particle Coulomb-correlated states. We present a detailed analysis of the fundamental properties of few-particle/exciton interactions peculiar of nitride materials. The giant intrinsic electric fields and the high electron/hole effective masses give rise to different effects compared to GaAs-based quantum dots: intrinsic exciton-exciton coupling, non-molecular character of coupled dot exciton wavefunction, strong dependence of the oscillator strength on the dot height, large ground state energy shift for dots separated by different barriers. Some of these effects make GaN/AlN quantum dots interesting candidates in quantum information processing.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Semiconductor-based Geometrical Quantum Gates

We propose an implementation scheme for holonomic, i.e., geometrical, quantum information processing based on semiconductor nanostructures. Our quantum hardware consists of coupled semiconductor macroatoms addressed/controlled by ultrafast multicolor laser-pulse sequences. More specifically, logical qubits are encoded in excitonic states with different spin polarizations and manipulated by adiabatic time-control of the laser amplitudes . The two-qubit gate is realized in a geometric fashion by exploiting dipole-dipole coupling between excitons in neighboring quantum dots.

quant-ph↗

Non-adiabatic geometrical quantum gates in semiconductor quantum dots

In this paper we study the implementation of non-adiabatic geometrical quantum gates with in semiconductor quantum dots. Different quantum information enconding/manipulation schemes exploiting excitonic degrees of freedom are discussed. By means of the Aharanov-Anandan geometrical phase one can avoid the limitations of adiabatic schemes relying on adiabatic Berry phase; fast geometrical quantum gates can be in principle implemented

quant-ph↗

Holonomic quantum gates: A semiconductor-based implementation

We propose an implementation of holonomic (geometrical) quantum gates by means of semiconductor nanostructures. Our quantum hardware consists of semiconductor macroatoms driven by sequences of ultrafast laser pulses ({\it all optical control}). Our logical bits are Coulomb-correlated electron-hole pairs (excitons) in a four-level scheme selectively addressed by laser pulses with different polarization. A universal set of single and two-qubit gates is generated by adiabatic change of the Rabi frequencies of the lasers and by exploiting the dipole coupling between excitons.

quant-ph↗

All-optical single-electron read-out devices based on GaN quantum dots

We study few-particle interactions in GaN-coupled quantum dots and discuss how the built-in field characteristic of these structures strongly reinforce dipole-dipole and dipole-monopole interactions. We introduce a semi-analytical model which allows for a rapid and easy estimate of the magnitude of few-particle interactions and whose predictions are closer than 10% to ``exact'' results. We apply our study to the design of an all-optical read-out device which exploits long-range dipole-monopole interactions and may be also used to monitor the charge status of a quantum dot system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Spin-based quantum information processing with semiconductor quantum dots and cavity QED

A quantum information processing scheme is proposed with semiconductor quantum dots located in a high-Q single mode QED cavity. The spin degrees of freedom of one excess conduction electron of the quantum dots are employed as qubits. Excitonic states, which can be produced ultrafastly with optical operation, are used as auxiliary states in the realization of quantum gates. We show how properly tailored ultrafast laser pulses and Pauli-blocking effects, can be used to achieve a universal encoded quantum computing.

quant-ph↗

Exciton-exciton interaction engineering in coupled GaN quantum dots

We present a fully three-dimensional study of the multiexciton optical response of vertically coupled GaN-based quantum dots via a direct-diagonalization approach. The proposed analysis is crucial in understanding the fundamental properties of few-particle/exciton interactions and, more important, may play an essential role in the design/optimization of semiconductor-based quantum information processing schemes. In particular, we focus on the interdot exciton-exciton coupling, key ingredient in recently proposed all-optical quantum processors. Our analysis demonstrates that there is a large window of realistic parameters for which both biexcitonic shift and oscillator strength are compatible with such implementation schemes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Generalized Wigner Function Formulation for Quantum Systems with Open Boundaries

A rigorous microscopic theory for the description of quantum-transport phenomena in systems with open boundaries is proposed. We shall show that the application of the conventional Wigner-function formalism to this problem leads to unphysical results, like injection of coherent electronic states from the contacts. To overcome such basic limitation, we propose a generalization of the standard Wigner-function formulation, able to properly describe the incoherent nature of carrier injection at the device spatial boundaries as well as the interplay between phase coherence and energy relaxation/dephasing within the device active region. The proposed theoretical scheme constitutes the first rigorous derivation of the phenomenological injection model commonly employed in the simulation of open quantum devices.

cond-mat↗

Electro-optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots: Application to quantum information processing

A detailed analysis of the electro-optical response of single as well as coupled semiconductor quantum dots is presented. This is based on a realistic ---i.e., fully tridimensional--- description of Coulomb-correlated few-electron states, obtained via a direct-diagonalization approach. More specifically, we investigate the combined effect of static electric fields and ultrafast sequences of multicolor laser pulses in the few-carrier, i.e., low-excitation, regime. In particular, we show how the presence of a properly tailored static field may give rise to significant electron-hole charge separation; these field-induced dipoles, in turn, may introduce relevant exciton-exciton couplings, which are found to induce significant ---both intra- and inter-dot--- biexcitonic splittings. We finally show that such few-exciton systems constitute an ideal semiconductor-based hardware for an all optical implementation of quantum information processing.

cond-mat↗