arXiv subjects

Felix A. Pollock

Publications and source records attributed to Felix A. Pollock.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Non-Markovian quantum processes: complete framework and efficient characterisation

Currently, there is no systematic way to describe a quantum process with memory solely in terms of experimentally accessible quantities. However, recent technological advances mean we have control over systems at scales where memory effects are non-negligible. The lack of such an operational description has hindered advances in understanding physical, chemical and biological processes, where often unjustified theoretical assumptions are made to render a dynamical description tractable. This has led to theories plagued with unphysical results and no consensus on what a quantum Markov (memoryless) process is. Here, we develop a universal framework to characterise arbitrary non-Markovian quantum processes. We show how a multi-time non-Markovian process can be reconstructed experimentally, and that it has a natural representation as a many body quantum state, where temporal correlations are mapped to spatial ones. Moreover, this state is expected to have an efficient matrix product operator form in many cases. Our framework constitutes a systematic tool for the effective description of memory-bearing open-system evolutions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Operational Markov condition for quantum processes

We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for a quantum process to be Markovian which coincides with the classical one in the relevant limit. Our condition unifies all previously known definitions for quantum Markov processes by accounting for all potentially detectable memory effects. We then derive a family of measures of non-Markovianity with clear operational interpretations, such as the size of the memory required to simulate a process, or the experimental falsifiability of a Markovian hypothesis.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Spin-chain model of a many-body quantum battery

Recently, it has been shown that energy can be deposited on a collection of quantum systems at a rate that scales super-extensively. Some of these schemes for `quantum batteries' rely on the use of global many-body interactions that take the batteries through a correlated short cut in state space. Here, we extend the notion of a quantum battery from a collection of a priori isolated systems to a many-body quantum system with intrinsic interactions. Specifically, we consider a one-dimensional spin chain with physically realistic two-body interactions. We find that the spin-spin interactions can yield an advantage in charging power over the non-interacting case, and we demonstrate that this advantage can grow super-extensively when the interactions are long ranged. However, we show that, unlike in previous work, this advantage is a mean-field interaction effect that does not involve correlations and that relies on the interactions being intrinsic to the battery.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Entanglement, non-Markovianity, and causal non-separability

Quantum mechanics, in principle, allows for processes with indefinite causal order. However, most of these causal anomalies have not yet been detected experimentally. We show that every such process can be simulated experimentally by means of non-Markovian dynamics with a measurement on additional degrees of freedom. Explicitly, we provide a constructive scheme to implement arbitrary acausal processes. Furthermore, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for open system dynamics with measurement to yield processes that respect causality locally, and find that tripartite entanglement and nonlocal unitary transformations are crucial requirements for the simulation of causally indefinite processes. These results show a direct connection between three counter-intuitive concepts: non-Markovianity, entanglement, and causal indefiniteness.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Tightening Quantum Speed Limits for Almost All States

Conventional quantum speed limits perform poorly for mixed quantum states: They are generally not tight and often significantly underestimate the fastest possible evolution speed. To remedy this, for unitary driving, we derive two quantum speed limits that outperform the traditional bounds for almost all quantum states. Moreover, our bounds are significantly simpler to compute as well as experimentally more accessible. Our bounds have a clear geometric interpretation; they arise from the evaluation of the angle between generalized Bloch vectors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

An introduction to operational quantum dynamics

In the summer of 2016, physicists gathered in Torun, Poland for the 48th annual Symposium on Mathematical Physics. This Symposium was special; it celebrated the 40th anniversary of the discovery of the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad master equation, which is widely used in quantum physics and quantum chemistry. This article forms part of a Special Volume of the journal Open Systems & Information Dynamics arising from that conference; and it aims to celebrate a related discovery -- also by Sudarshan -- that of Quantum Maps (which had their 55th anniversary in the same year). Nowadays, much like the master equation, quantum maps are ubiquitous in physics and chemistry. Their importance in quantum information and related fields cannot be overstated. In this manuscript, we motivate quantum maps from a tomographic perspective, and derive their well-known representations. We then dive into the murky world beyond these maps, where recent research has yielded their generalisation to non-Markovian quantum processes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Enhancing the charging power of quantum batteries

Can collective quantum effects make a difference in a meaningful thermodynamic operation? Focusing on energy storage and batteries, we demonstrate that quantum mechanics can lead to an enhancement in the amount of work deposited per unit time, i.e., the charging power, when $N$ batteries are charged collectively. We first derive analytic upper bounds for the collective \emph{quantum advantage} in charging power for two choices of constraints on the charging Hamiltonian. We then highlight the importance of entanglement by proving that the quantum advantage vanishes when the collective state of the batteries is restricted to be in the separable ball. Finally, we provide an upper bound to the achievable quantum advantage when the interaction order is restricted, i.e., at most $k$ batteries are interacting. Our result is a fundamental limit on the advantage offered by quantum technologies over their classical counterparts as far as energy deposition is concerned.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Divisible quantum dynamics satisfies temporal Tsirelson's bound

We give strong evidence that divisibility of qubit quantum processes implies temporal Tsirelson's bound. We also give strong evidence that the classical bound of the temporal Bell's inequality holds for dynamics that can be described by entanglement-breaking channels---a more general class of dynamics than that allowed by classical physics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

How does interference fall?

We study how single- and double-slit interference patterns fall in the presence of gravity. First, we demonstrate that universality of free fall still holds in this case, i.e., interference patterns fall just like classical objects. Next, we explore lowest order relativistic effects in the Newtonian regime by employing a recent quantum formalism which treats mass as an operator. This leads to interactions between non-degenerate internal degrees of freedom (like spin in an external magnetic field) and external degrees of freedom (like position). Based on these effects, we present an unusual phenomenon, in which a falling double slit interference pattern periodically decoheres and recoheres. The oscillations in the visibility of this interference occur due to correlations built up between spin and position. Finally, we connect the interference visibility revivals with non-Markovian quantum dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Using a biased qubit to probe complex systems

Complex mesoscopic systems play increasingly important roles in modern science -- from understanding biological functions at the molecular level, to designing solid-state information processing devices. The operation of these systems typically depends on their energetic structure, yet probing their energy-landscape can be extremely challenging; they have many degrees of freedom, which may be hard to isolate and measure independently. Here we show that a qubit (a two-level quantum system) with a biased energy-splitting can directly probe the spectral properties of a complex system, without knowledge of how they couple. Our work is based on the completely-positive and trace-preserving map formalism, which treats any unknown dynamics as a `black-box' process. This black box contains information about the system with which the probe interacts, which we access by measuring the survival probability of the initial state of the probe as function of the energy-splitting and the process time. Fourier transforming the results yields the energy spectrum of the complex system. Without making assumptions about the strength or form of its coupling, our probe could determine aspects of a complex molecule's energy landscape as well as, in many cases, test for coherent superposition of its energy eigenstates.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

A Simple Test of the Equivalence Principle(s) for Quantum Superpositions

We propose a simple experimental test of the quantum equivalence principle introduced by Zych and Brukner [arXiv:1502.00971], which generalises the Einstein equivalence principle to superpositions of internal energy states. We consider a harmonically-trapped spin-$\frac12$ atom in the presence of both gravity and an external magnetic field and show that when the external magnetic field is suddenly switched off, various violations of the equivalence principle would manifest as otherwise forbidden transitions. Performing such an experiment would put bounds on the various phenomenological violating parameters. We further demonstrate that the classical weak equivalence principle can be tested by suddenly putting the apparatus into free fall, effectively 'switching off' gravity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Dissipation enhanced vibrational sensing in an olfactory molecular switch

Motivated by a proposed olfactory mechanism based on a vibrationally-activated molecular switch, we study electron transport within a donor-acceptor pair that is coupled to a vibrational mode and embedded in a surrounding environment. We derive a polaron master equation with which we study the dynamics of both the electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom beyond previously employed semiclassical (Marcus-Jortner) rate analyses. We show: (i) that in the absence of explicit dissipation of the vibrational mode, the semiclassical approach is generally unable to capture the dynamics predicted by our master equation due to both its assumption of one-way (exponential) electron transfer from donor to acceptor and its neglect of the spectral details of the environment; (ii) that by additionally allowing strong dissipation to act on the odorant vibrational mode we can recover exponential electron transfer, though typically at a rate that differs from that given by the Marcus-Jortner expression; (iii) that the ability of the molecular switch to discriminate between the presence and absence of the odorant, and its sensitivity to the odorant vibrational frequency, are enhanced significantly in this strong dissipation regime, when compared to the case without mode dissipation; and (iv) that details of the environment absent from previous Marcus-Jortner analyses can also dramatically alter the sensitivity of the molecular switch, in particular allowing its frequency resolution to be improved. Our results thus demonstrate the constructive role dissipation can play in facilitating sensitive and selective operation in molecular switch devices, as well as the inadequacy of semiclassical rate equations in analysing such behaviour over a wide range of parameters.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

A multi-site variational master equation approach to dissipative energy transfer

Unitary transformations can allow one to study open quantum systems in situations for which standard, weak-coupling type approximations are not valid. We develop here an extension of the variational (polaron) transformation approach to open system dynamics, which applies to arbitrarily large exciton transport networks with local environments. After deriving a time-local master equation in the transformed frame, we go on to compare the population dynamics predicted using our technique with other established master equations. The variational frame dynamics are found to agree with both weak coupling and full polaron master equations in their respective regions of validity. In parameter regimes considered difficult for these methods, the dynamics predicted by our technique are found to interpolate between the two. The variational method thus gives insight, across a broad range of parameters, into the competition between coherent and incoherent processes in determining the dynamical behaviour of energy transfer networks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Optimal representation of the bath response function & fast calculation of influence functional coefficients in open quantum systems with BATHFIT 1

Today's most popular techniques for accurately calculating the dynamics of the reduced density operator in an open quantum system, either require, or gain great computational benefits, from representing the bath response function a(t) in the form a(t)=Σ_k^K p_k e^{O_k t} . For some of these techniques, the number of terms in the series K plays the lead role in the computational cost of the calculation, and is therefore often a limiting factor in simulating open quantum system dynamics. We present an open source MATLAB program called BATHFIT 1, whose input is any spectral distribution functions J(w) or bath response function, and whose output attempts to be the set of parameters {p_k,w_k}_k=1^K such that for a given value of K, the series Σ_k^k p_k e^{O_k t} is as close as possible to a(t). This should allow the user to represent a(t) as accurately as possible with as few parameters as possible. The program executes non-linear least squares fitting, and for a very wide variety of spectral distribution functions, competent starting parameters are used for these fits. For most forms of J(w), these starting parameters, and the exact a(t) corresponding to the given J(w), are calculated using the recent Pade decomposition technique - therefore this program can also be used to merely implement the Pade decomposition for these spectral distribution functions; and it can also be used just to efficiently and accurately calculate a(t) for any given J(w) . The program also gives the J(w) corresponding to a given a(t), which may allow one to assess the quality (in the w-domain) of a representation of a(t) being used. Finally, the program can calculate the discretized influence functional coefficients for any J(w), and this is computed very efficiently for most forms of J(w) by implementing the recent technique published in [Quantum Physics Letters (2012) 1 (1) pg. 35].

quant-ph↗

arXiv2012

Analytic influence functionals for numerical Feynman integrals in most open quantum systems

Fully analytic formulas, which do not involve any numerical integration, are derived for the discretized influence functionals of a very extensive assortment of spectral distributions. For Feynman integrals derived using the Trotter splitting and Strang splitting, we present general formulas for the discretized influence functionals in terms of proper integrals of the bath response function. When an analytic expression exists for the bath response function, these integrals can almost always be evaluated analytically. In cases where these proper integrals cannot be integrated analytically, numerically computing them is much faster and less error-prone than calculating the discretized influence functionals in the traditional way, which involves numerically calculating integrals whose bounds are both infinite. As an example, we present the analytic discretized influence functional for a bath response function of the form α(t)=\sum_{j}^{K}p_{j}e^{Ω_{j}t}, which is a natural form for many spectral distribution functions (including the very popular Lorentz-Drude/Debye function), and for other spectral distribution functions it is a form that is easily obtainable by a least-squares fit . Evaluating our analytic formulas for this example case is much faster and easier to implement than numerically calculating the discretized influence funcitonal in the traditional way. In the appendix we provide analytic expressions for p_{j} and Ω_{j} for a variety of spectral distribution forms, and as a second example we provide the analytic bath response function and analytic influence functionals for spectral distributions of the form J(ω)\proptoω^{s}e^{-(ω/ω_{c})^{q}}. The value of the analytic expression for this bath response function extends beyond its use for calculating Feynman integrals.

quant-ph↗