arXiv subjects

J. M. Villas-Boas

Publications and source records attributed to J. M. Villas-Boas.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Parrondo's effect in continuous-time quantum walks

We present the first manifestation of a Parrondo's effect in a continuous-time quantum walk (CTQW). In our protocol we consider a CTQW in the presence of time-dependent transition defect. Our results show that the alternation between defects, that individually are detrimental to the wavepacket spreading, can paradoxically enhance overall wavepacket propagation. Our findings pave the way for the exploration of unconventional mechanisms that can potentially harness the adverse effects of defects to enhance quantum transport.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Enhanced solar photocurrent using a quantum dot molecule

In this paper we make a detailed study of the role of coherent tunneling, on the photocurrent and power delivered by a quantum dot molecule (QDM) in the presence of solar light. We focus our analysis on the coherence driven by tunneling and its impact on the photovoltaic properties of the QDM. The coherence developed by the system raises as a resource from the interplay between the strength of the tunneling coupling, the QDM band alignment, and the coupling rates with the reservoirs of thermal phonons. Our results show that a QDM can deliver up to 30% more power than a single quantum dot, and our calculations of efficiency show coherence effects, which are consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Dark Exciton Giant Rabi Oscillations with no External Magnetic Field

Multi-phonon physics is an emerging field that serves as a test bed for fundamental quantum physics and several applications in metrology, on-chip communication, among others. Quantum acoustic cavities or resonators are devices that are being used to study multi-phonon phenomena both theoretically and experimentally. In particular, we study a system consisting of a semiconductor quantum dot pumped by a driving laser, and coupled to an acoustic cavity. This kind of systems has proven to yield interesting multi-phonon phenomena, but the description of the quantum dot has been limited to a two-level system. This limitation restrains the complexity that a true semiconductor quantum dot can offer. Instead, in this work we consider a model where the quantum dot can have both bright and dark excitons, the latter being particularly useful due to their lower decoherence rates, because they do not present spontaneous photon emission. In this setup, we demonstrate that by fine-tuning the driving laser frequency, one is able to realise giant Rabi oscillations between the vacuum state and a dark exciton state with $N$-phonon bundles. From this, we highlight two outstanding features: first, we are able to create dark states excitations in the quantum dot without the usual external magnetic field needed to do so; and second, in a dissipative scenario where the acoustic cavity and the quantum dot suffer from losses, the system acts as a phonon gun able to emit $N$-phonon bundles.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Quantum interference and control of the optical response in quantum dot molecules

We discuss the optical response of a quantum molecule under the action of two lasers fields. Using a realistic model and parameters, we map the physical conditions to find three different phenomena reported in the literature: the tunneling induced transparency, the formation of Autler-Townes doublets, and the creation of a Mollow-like triplet. We found that the electron tunneling between quantum dots is the responsible for the different optical regime. Our results not only explain the experimental results in the literature but also give insights for future experiments and applications in optics using quantum dots molecules.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2010

Robust states in semiconductor quantum dot molecules

Semiconductor quantum dots coherently driven by pulsed laser are fundamental physical systems which allow studying the dynamical properties of confined quantum states. These systems are attractive candidates for a solid-state qubit, which open the possibility for several investigations in quantum information processing. In this work we study the effects of a specific decoherence process, the spontaneous emission of excitonic states, in a quantum dot molecule. We model our system considering a three-level Hamiltonian and solve the corresponding master equation in the Lindblad form. Our results show that the spontaneous emission associated with the direct exciton helps to build up a robust indirect exciton state. This robustness against decoherence allows potential applications in quantum memories and quantum gate architectures. We further investigate several regimes of physical parameters, showing that this process is easily controlled by tuning of external fields.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Spin polarization control via magnetic barriers and spin-orbit effects

We investigate the spin-dependent transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) systems formed in diluted magnetic semiconductors and in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit interaction in the framework of the scattering matrix approach. We focus on nanostructures consisting of realistic magnetic barriers produced by the deposition of ferromagnetic strips on heterostructures. We calculate spin-dependente conductance of such barrier systems and show that the magnetization pattern of the strips, the tunable spin-orbit coupling, and the enhanced Zeeman splitting have a strong effect on the conductance of the structure. We describe how these effects can be employed in the efficient control of spin polarization via the application of moderate fields.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Investigation of Non Resonant Dot - Cavity Coupling in Two Dimensional Photonic Crystal Nanocavities

We study the optical emission from single semiconductor quantum dots coupled to the optical modes of photonic crystal nanocavities. For dots that are both spectrally and spatially coupled, auto-correlation measurements reveal efficient single photon generation, with a drastically reduced lifetime due to the Purcell-effect. However, the multi-photon emission probability is enhanced compared to the same QD transition when it is detuned from the cavity mode by controlled $N_2$-deposition. This indicates the presence of an emission background that is shown to be related to the dot using photon cross-correlation spectroscopy. Photon temporal correlations persist even for large spectral detunings beyond $Δλ\sim-10 nm$, excluding the intrinsic QD continuum and phonon mediated processes as being responsible for the cavity mode emission background. We propose a mechanism based on photon induced shake up processes in the charged quantum dots, enhanced by the optical cavity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Spin polarized photocurrent from quantum dots

In this paper we show that it is possible to switch the spin polarization of the photocurrent signal obtained from a single self-assembled quantum dot photodiode under the effect of elliptically polarized light by just increasing the light intensity. In the nonlinear mechanism treated here, intense elliptically polarized light creates an effective exchange interaction between the exciton spin states through the biexciton state. This effect can be used as a dynamical switch to invert the spin-polarization of the extracted photocurrent. We further show that the effect persists in realistic ensembles of dots, making this a powerful technique to dynamically generate spin-polarized electrons.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Decoherence of Rabi oscillations in a single quantum dot

We develop a realistic model of Rabi oscillations in a quantum-dot photodiode. Based in a multi-exciton density matrix formulation we show that for short pulses the two-level models fails and higher levels should be taken into account. This affects some of the experimental conclusions, such as the inferred efficiency of the state rotation (population inversion) and the deduced value of the dipole interaction. We also show that the damping observed cannot be explained using \emph{constant} rates with fixed pulse duration. We demonstrate that the damping observed is in fact induced by an off-resonant excitation to or from the continuum of wetting layer states. Our model describes the nonlinear decoherence behavior observed in recent experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Coherent control of tunneling in a quantum dot molecule

We demonstrate theoretically that it is possible to use Rabi oscillations to coherently control the electron tunneling in an asymmetric double quantum dot system, a quantum dot molecule. By applying an optical pump pulse we can excite an electron in one of the dots, which can in turn tunnel to the second dot, as controlled by an external voltage. Varying the intensity of the pulse one can suppress or enhance the tunneling between the dots for given level resonance conditions. This approach allows substantial flexibility in the control of the quantum mechanical state of the system.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Selective coherent destruction of tunneling in a quantum-dot array

The coherent manipulation of quantum states is one of the main tasks required in quantum computation. In this paper we demonstrate that it is possible to control coherently the electronic position of a particle in a quantum-dot array. By tuning an external ac electric field we can selectively suppress the tunneling between dots, trapping the particle in a determined region of the array. The problem is treated non-perturbatively by a time-dependent Hamiltonian in the effective mass approximation and using Floquet theory. We find that the quasienergy spectrum exhibits crossings at certain field intensities that result in the selective suppression of tunneling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2002

Non-perturbative electron dynamics in crossed fields

Intense AC electric fields on semiconductor structures have been studied in photon-assisted tunneling experiments with magnetic field applied either parallel (B_par) or perpendicular (B_per) to the interfaces. We examine here the electron dynamics in a double quantum well when intense AC electric fields F, and tilted magnetic fields are applied simultaneously. The problem is treated non-perturbatively by a time-dependent Hamiltonian in the effective mass approximation, and using a Floquet-Fourier formalism. For B_par=0, the quasi-energy spectra show two types of crossings: those related to different Landau levels, and those associated to dynamic localization (DL), where the electron is confined to one of the wells, despite the non-negligible tunneling between wells. B_par couples parallel and in-plane motions producing anti-crossings in the spectrum. However, since our approach is non-perturbative, we are able to explore the entire frequency range. For high frequencies, we reproduce the well known results of perfect DL given by zeroes of a Bessel function. We find also that the system exhibits DL at the same values of the field F, even as B_par non-zero, suggesting a hidden dynamical symmetry in the system which we identify with different parity operations. The return times for the electron at various values of field exhibit interesting and complex behavior which is also studied in detail. We find that smaller frequencies shifts the DL points to lower field F, and more importantly, yields poorer localization by the field. We analyze the explicit time evolution of the system, monitoring the elapsed time to return to a given well for each Landau level, and find non-monotonic behavior for decreasing frequencies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗