arXiv subjects

Jiangbin Gong

Publications and source records attributed to Jiangbin Gong.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Line nodes and surface Majorana flat bands in static and kicked p-wave superconducting Harper model

We investigate the effect of introducing nearest-neighbor $p$-wave superconducting pairing to both the static and kicked extended Harper model with two periodic phase parameters acting as artificial dimensions to simulate three-dimensional systems. It is found that in both the static model and the kicked model, by varying the $p$-wave pairing order parameter, the system can switch between a fully gapped phase and a gapless phase with point nodes or line nodes. The topological property of both the static and kicked model is revealed by calculating corresponding topological invariants defined in the one-dimensional lattice dimension. Under open boundary conditions along the physical dimension, Majorana flat bands at energy zero (quasienergy zero and $π$) emerge in the static (kicked) model at the two-dimensional surface Brillouin zone. For certain values of pairing order parameter, (Floquet) Su-Schrieffer-Heeger-like edge modes appear in the form of arcs connecting different (Floquet) Majorana flat bands. Finally, we find that in the kicked model, it is possible to generate two controllable Floquet Majorana modes, one at quasienergy zero and the other at quasienergy $π$, at the same parameter values.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Generating controllable type-II Weyl points via periodic driving

Type-II Weyl semimetals are a novel gapless topological phase of matter discovered recently in 2015. Similar to normal (type-I) Weyl semimetals, type-II Weyl semimetals consist of isolated band touching points. However, unlike type-I Weyl semimetals which have a linear energy dispersion around the band touching points forming a three dimensional (3D) Dirac cone, type-II Weyl semimetals have a tilted cone-like structure around the band touching points. This leads to various novel physical properties that are different from type-I Weyl semimetals. In order to study further the properties of type-II Weyl semimetals and perhaps realize them for future applications, generating controllable type-II Weyl semimetals is desirable. In this paper, we propose a way to generate a type-II Weyl semimetal via a generalized Harper model interacting with a harmonic driving field. When the field is treated classically, we find that only type-I Weyl points emerge. However, by treating the field quantum mechanically, some of these type-I Weyl points may turn into type-II Weyl points. Moreover, by tuning the coupling strength, it is possible to control the tilt of the Weyl points and the energy difference between two Weyl points, which makes it possible to generate a pair of mixed Weyl points of type-I and type-II. We also discuss how to physically distinguish these two types of Weyl points in the framework of our model via the Landau level structures in the presence of an artificial magnetic field. The results are of general interest to quantum optics as well as ongoing studies of Floquet topological phases.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2017

Merits and Qualms of Work Fluctuations in Classical Fluctuation Theorems

Work is one of the most basic notion in statistical mechanics, with work fluctuation theorems being one central topic in nanoscale thermodynamics. With Hamiltonian chaos commonly thought to provide a foundation for classical statistical mechanics, here we present general salient results regarding how (classical) Hamiltonian chaos generically impacts on nonequilibrium work fluctuations. For isolated chaotic systems prepared with a microcanonical distribution, work fluctuations are minimized and vanish altogether in adiabatic work protocols. For isolated chaotic systems prepared at an initial canonical distribution at inverse temperature $β$, work fluctuations depicted by the variance of $e^{-βW}$ are also minimized by adiabatic work protocols. This general result indicates that if the variance of $e^{-βW}$ diverges for an adiabatic work protocol, then it diverges for all nonadiabatic work protocols sharing the same initial and final Hamiltonians. How such divergence explicitly impacts on the efficiency of using the Jarzynski's equality to simulate free energy differences is studied in a Sinai model. Our general insights shall boost studies in nanoscale thermodynamics and are of fundamental importance in designing useful work protocols.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2016

Floquet Semimetal with Floquet-band Holonomy

Exotic topological states of matter such as Floquet topological insulator or Floquet Weyl semimetal can be induced by periodic driving. This work proposes a Floquet semimetal with Floquet-band holonomy. That is, the system is gapless, but as a periodic parameter viewed as quasimomentum of a synthetic dimension completes an adiabatic cycle, each Floquet band as a whole exchanges with other Floquet bands. The dynamical manifestations of such Floquet-band holonomy are studied. Under open boundary conditions, we discover anomalous chiral edge modes localized only at one edge, winding around the entire quasienergy Brillouin zone, well separated from bulk states, and possessing holonomy different from bulk states. These remarkable properties are further exploited to realize quantized or half-quantized edge state pumping.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2016

Towards large-Chern-number topological phases by periodic quenching

Topological phases with large Chern numbers have important implications. They were previously predicted to exist by considering fabricated long-range interactions or multi-layered materials. Stimulated by recent wide interests in Floquet topological phases, here we propose a scheme to engineer large-Chern-number phases with ease by periodic quenching. Using a two-band system as an example, we theoretically show how a variety of topological phases with widely tunable Chern numbers can be generated by periodic quenching between two simple Hamiltonians that otherwise give low Chern numbers. The obtained large Chern numbers are explained through the emergence of multiple Dirac cones in the Floquet spectra. The transition lines between different topological phases in the two-band model are also explicitly found, thus establishing a class of easily solvable but very rich systems useful for further understandings and applications of topological phases in periodically driven systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Floquet topological semimetal phases of an extended kicked Harper model

Recent discoveries on topological characterization of gapless systems have attracted interest in both theoretical studies and experimental realizations. Examples of such gapless topological phases are Weyl semimetals, which exhibit 3D Dirac cones (Weyl points), and nodal line semimetals, which are characterized by line nodes (two bands touching along a line). Inspired by our previous discoveries that the kicked Harper model exhibits many fascinating features of Floquet topological phases, in this manuscript we consider a generalization of the model, where two additional periodic system parameters are introduced into the Hamiltonian to serve as artificial dimensions, so as to simulate a 3D system. We observe that by increasing the hopping strength and the kicking strength of the system, many new band touching points at Floquet quasienergies $0$ and $π$ will start to appear. Some of them are Weyl points, while the others form line nodes in the parameter space. By taking open boundary conditions along the physical dimension, edge states analogues to Fermi arcs in static Weyl semimetal systems are observed. Finally, by designing an adiabatic pumping scheme, the chirality of the Weyl points and the $π$ Berry phase around line nodes can be manifested.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2015

Finite-time Landau-Zener processes and counter-diabatic driving in open systems: beyond Born, Markov and Rotating-wave approximations

We investigate Landau-Zener processes modeled by a two-level quantum system, with its finite bias energy varied in time and in the presence of a single broadened cavity mode at zero temperature. By applying the hierarchy equation method to the Landau-Zener problem, we computationally study the survival fidelity of adiabatic states without Born, Markov, rotating-wave or other perturbative approximations. With this treatment it also becomes possible to investigate cases with very strong system-bath coupling. Different from a previous study of infinite-time Landau-Zener processes, the fidelity of the time-evolving state as compared with instantaneous adiabatic states shows non-monotonic dependence on the system-bath coupling and on the sweep rate of the bias. We then consider the effect of applying a counter-diabatic driving field, which is found to be useful in improving the fidelity only for sufficiently short Landau-Zener processes. Numerically exact results show that different counter-diabatic driving fields can have much different robustness against environment effects. Lastly, using a case study we discuss the possibility of introducing a dynamical decoupling field in order to eliminate the decoherence effect of the environment and at the same time to retain the positive role of a counter-diabatic field. Our work indicates that finite-time Landau-Zener processes with counter-diabatic driving offer a fruitful test bed to understand controlled adiabatic processes in open systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Perfect Zitterbewegung oscillations in the Kitaev chain system

Superconducting systems such as those modeled by the Kitaev Hamiltonian are found to exhibit the Zitterbewegung (ZB) oscillations. Remarkably, the dispersion relation in one-dimensional Kitaev systems allows for wavepackets of arbitrary size undergoing non-decaying ZB without any distortion, with the typical ZB amplitude being one lattice site. To motivate possible experimental interest in this dynamical aspect of superconducting systems, we further show that certain on-resonance modulation of the Hamiltonian parameter can be exploited to convert ZB oscillations to net drifting of particle's wavepacket and hole's wavepacket along opposite directions, leading to long-distance particle-hole separation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Effects of Dephasing on Quantum Adiabatic Pumping with Nonequilibrium Initial States

Thouless's quantum adiabatic pumping is of fundamental interest to condensed-matter physics. It originally considered a zero-temperature equilibrium state uniformly occupying all the bands below a Fermi surface. In the light of recent direct simulations of Thouless's concept in cold-atom systems, this work investigates the dynamics of quantum adiabatic pumping subject to dephasing, for rather general initial states with nonuniform populations and possibly interband coherence. Using a theory based on pure-dephasing Lindblad evolution, we find that the pumping is contributed by two parts of different nature, a dephasing-modified geometric part weighted by initial Bloch state populations, and an interband-coherence-induced part compromised by dephasing, both of them being independent of the pumping time scale. The overall pumping reflects an interplay of the band topology, initial state populations, initial state coherence, and dephasing. Theoretical results are carefully checked in a Chern insulator model coupled to a pure-dephasing environment, providing a useful starting point to understand and coherently control quantum adiabatic pumping in general situations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

From Disordered Quantum Walk to Physics of Off-diagonal Disorder

Systems with purely off-diagonal disorder have peculiar features such as the localization-delocalization transition and long-range correlations in their wavefunctions. To motivate possible experimental studies of the physics of off-diagonal disorder, we study in detail disordered discrete-time quantum walk in a finite chain, where the diagonal disorder can be set to zero by construction. Starting from a transfer matrix approach, we show, both theoretically and computationally, that the dynamics of the quantum walk with disorder manifests all the main features of off-diagonal disorder. We also propose how to prepare a remarkable delocalized zero-mode from a localized and easy-to-prepare initial state using an adiabatic protocol that increases the disorder strength slowly. Numerical experiments are also performed with encouraging results.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Principle of Minimal Work Fluctuations

Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, in considering the Jarzynski equality $\langle e^{-βW} \rangle=e^{-βΔF}$, a change in the fluctuations of $e^{-βW}$ may impact on how fast the statistical average of $e^{-βW}$ converges towards the theoretical value $e^{-βΔF}$, where $W$ is the work, $β$ is the inverse temperature, and $ΔF$ is free energy difference between two equilibrium states. Motivated by our previous study aiming at the suppression of work fluctuations, here we obtain a principle of minimal work fluctuations. In brief, adiabatic processes as treated in quantum and classical adiabatic theorems yield the minimal fluctuations in $e^{-βW}$. In the quantum domain, if a system initially prepared at thermal equilibrium is subject to a work protocol but isolated from a bath during the time evolution, then a quantum adiabatic process without energy level crossing (or an assisted adiabatic process reaching the same final states as in a conventional adiabatic process) yields the minimal fluctuations in $e^{-βW}$, where $W$ is the quantum work defined by two energy measurements in the beginning and at the end of the process. In the classical domain where the classical work protocol is realizable by an adiabatic process, then the classical adiabatic process also yields the minimal fluctuations in $e^{-βW}$. Numerical experiments based on a Landau-Zener process confirm our theory in the quantum domain, and our theory in the classical domain explains our previous numerical findings regarding the suppression of classical work fluctuations [G.~Y.~Xiao and J.~B.~Gong, Phys. Rev. E {\bf 90}, 052132 (2014)].

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2015

Hierarchical Theory of Quantum Adiabatic Evolution

Quantum adiabatic evolution is a dynamical evolution of a quantum system under slow external driving. According to the quantum adiabatic theorem, no transitions occur between non-degenerate instantaneous eigen-energy levels in such a dynamical evolution. However, this is true only when the driving rate is infinitesimally small. For a small nonzero driving rate, there are generally small transition probabilities between the energy levels. We develop a classical mechanics framework to address the small deviations from the quantum adiabatic theorem order by order. A hierarchy of Hamiltonians are constructed iteratively with the zeroth-order Hamiltonian being determined by the original system Hamiltonian. The $k$th-order deviations are governed by a $k$th-order Hamiltonian, which depends on the time derivatives of the adiabatic parameters up to the $k$th-order. Two simple examples, the Landau-Zener model and a spin-1/2 particle in a rotating magnetic field, are used to illustrate our hierarchical theory. Our analysis also exposes a deep, previously unknown connection between classical adiabatic theory and quantum adiabatic theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Interband Coherence Induced Correction to Adiabatic Pumping in Periodically Driven Systems

Periodic driving can create topological phases of matter absent in static systems. In terms of the displacement of the position expectation value of a time-evolving wavepacket in a closed system, a type of adiabatic dynamics in periodically driven systems is studied for general initial states possessing coherence between different Floquet bands. Under one symmetry assumption, the displacement of the wavepacket center over one adiabatic cycle is found to be comprised by two components independent of the time scale of the adiabatic cycle: a weighted integral of the Berry curvature summed over all Floquet bands, plus an interband coherence induced correction. The found correction is beyond a naive application of the quantum adiabatic theorem but survives in the adiabatic limit due to interband coherence. Our theoretical results are hence of general interest towards an improved understanding of the quantum adiabatic theorem. Our theory is checked using a periodically driven superlattice model with nontrivial topological phases. In addition to probing topological phase transitions, the adiabatic dynamics studied in this work is now also anticipated to be useful in manifesting coherence and decoherence effects in the representation of Floquet bands.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Construction and Optimization of the Quantum Analog of Carnot Cycles

The quantum analog of Carnot cycles in few-particle systems consists of two quantum adiabatic steps and two isothermal steps. This construction is formally justified by use of a minimum work principle. It is then shown, without relying on any microscopic interpretations of work or heat, that the heat-to-work efficiency of the quantum Carnot cycle thus constructed may be further optimized, provided that two conditions regarding the expectation value of some generalized force operators evaluated at equilibrium states are satisfied. In general the optimized efficiency is system-specific, lower than the Carnot efficiency, and dependent upon both temperatures of the cold and hot reservoirs. Simple computational examples are used to illustrate our theory. The results should be an important guide towards the design of favorable working conditions of a realistic quantum heat engine.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Stabilizing Non-Hermitian Systems by Periodic Driving

The time evolution of a system with a time-dependent non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is in general unstable with exponential growth or decay. A periodic driving field may stabilize the dynamics because the eigenphases of the associated Floquet operator may become all real. This possibility can emerge for a continuous range of system parameters with subtle domain boundaries. It is further shown that the issue of stability of a driven non-Hermitian Rabi model can be mapped onto the band structure problem of a class of lattice Hamiltonians. As an application, we show how to use the stability of driven non-Hermitian two-level systems (0-dimension in space) to simulate a spectrum analogous to Hofstadter's butterfly that has played a paradigmatic role in quantum Hall physics. The simulation of the band structure of non-Hermitian superlattice potentials with parity-time reversal symmetry is also briefly discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Topological Effects in Chiral Symmetric Driven Systems

Recent years have seen a strong interest in topological effects within periodically driven systems. In this work, we explore topological effects in two closely related 2-dimensional driven systems described by Floquet operators possessing chiral symmetry (CS). Our numerical and analytical results suggest the following. Firstly, the CS is associated with the existence of the anomalous counter-propagating (ACP) modes reported recently. Specifically, we show that a particular form of CS protects the ACP modes occurring at quasienergies of $\pm π$. We also find that these modes are only present along selected boundaries, suggesting that they are a weak topological effect. Secondly, we find that CS can give rise to protected $0$ and $π$ quasienergy modes, and that the number of these modes may increase without bound as we tune up certain system parameters. Like the ACP modes, these $0$ and $π$ modes also appear only along selected boundaries and thus appear to be a weak topological effect. To our knowledge, this work represents the first detailed study of weak topological effects in periodically driven systems. Our findings add to the still-growing knowledge on driven topological systems.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Suppression of work fluctuations by optimal control: An approach based on Jarzynski's equality

Understanding and manipulating work fluctuations in microscale and nanoscale systems are of both fundamental and practical interest. For example, aspects of work fluctuations will be an important factor in designing nanoscale heat engines. In this work, an optimal control approach directly exploiting Jarzynski's equality is proposed to effectively suppress the fluctuations in the work statistics, for systems (initially at thermal equilibrium) subject to a work protocol but isolated from a bath during the protocol. The control strategy is to minimize the deviations of individual values of exp(-βW) from their ensemble average given by exp(-βΔF}, where W is the work, β is the inverse temperature, and ΔF is the free energy difference between two equilibrium states. It is further shown that even when the system Hamiltonian is not fully known, it is still possible to suppress work fluctuations through a feedback loop, by refining the control target function on the fly through Jarzynski's equality itself. Numerical experiments are based on linear and nonlinear parametric oscillators. Optimal control results for linear parametric oscillators are also benchmarked with early results based on accelerated adiabatic processes.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Quantum and Classical Superballistic Transport in a Relativistic Kicked-Rotor System

As an unusual type of anomalous diffusion behavior, superballistic transport is not well known but has been experimentally simulated recently. Quantum superballistic transport models to date are mainly based on connected sublattices which are constructed to have different properties. In this work, we show that both quantum and classical superballistic transport in the momentum space can occur in a simple periodically driven Hamiltonian system, namely, a relativistic kicked-rotor system with a nonzero mass term. The nonzero mass term essentially realizes a junction-like scenario: regimes with low or high momentum values have different dispersion relations and hence different transport properties. It is further shown that the quantum and classical superballistic transport should occur under much different choices of the system parameters. The results are of interest to studies of anomalous transport, quantum and classical chaos, and the issue of quantum-classical correspondence.

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