arXiv subjects

Kevin T. Geier

Publications and source records attributed to Kevin T. Geier.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Fraunhofer Patterns in Atomic Josephson Junctions

Driven atomic Josephson junctions allow one to monitor phase-coherent dynamics with unprecedented control and flexibility of the system's physical conditions. While cold-atom manifestations of the Josephson effect have been extensively studied in a wide variety of settings, atomic Josephson junctions in synthetic electromagnetic fields remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that synthetic magnetic fields can induce Fraunhofer-like modulations of the critical current in atomic Josephson junctions. Although this effect presents analogies to the Fraunhofer patterns found in superconducting devices, distinctive features emerge due to the neutral nature of the superfluid. We investigate the underlying spatial interference mechanisms and elucidate the role of Josephson vortices in the formation of spatially modulated current distributions based on numerical simulations. Our results open up new avenues for matter-wave circuits to deepen our understanding of spatial coherence in Josephson junctions, which are fundamental to the development of novel quantum technologies.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Boosting quantum annealing performance through direct polynomial unconstrained binary optimization

Quantum annealing aims at solving optimization problems of practical relevance using quantum-computing hardware. Problems of interest are typically formulated in terms of quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) Hamiltonians. However, many optimization problems are much more naturally formulated in terms of polynomial unconstrained binary optimization (PUBO) functions of higher order. As we show with various problem examples, leveraging the PUBO formulation can bring considerable savings in terms of required number of qubits. Moreover, in numerical benchmarks for the paradigmatic 3-SAT problem, we find scenarios where the scaling of the minimum energy gap during the optimization sweep differs significantly, suggesting the possibility of an exponentially faster annealing time when using the PUBO as compared to the QUBO formulation. This advantage persists even when considering the overhead caused by the higher-order interactions necessary for PUBO cost Hamiltonians. As an interesting side effect, the analysis on minimum energy gaps of different 3-SAT instance generators reveals different degrees of hardness, which will be of interest also for classical benchmark calculations. Our findings show a promising path to improving the resource efficiency and sweeping speed of quantum annealing protocols on both analog and digital platforms, which are important prerequisites when aiming at solving larger optimization problems with relevance to industry.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

The role of higher-order terms in trapped-ion quantum computing with magnetic gradient induced coupling

Trapped-ion hardware based on the Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling (MAGIC) scheme is emerging as a promising platform for quantum computing. Nevertheless, in this -- as in any other -- quantum-computing platform, many technical questions still have to be resolved before large-scale and error-tolerant applications are possible. In this work, we present a thorough discussion of the structure and effects of higher-order terms in the MAGIC setup, which can occur due to anharmonicities in the external potential of the ion crystal (e.g., through Coulomb repulsion) or through curvature of the applied magnetic field. These terms generate systematic shifts in the leading-order interactions and take the form of three-spin couplings, two-spin couplings, local fields, as well as diverse phonon-phonon conversion mechanisms. We find that most of these are negligible in realistic situations, with only two contributions that need careful attention. First, there are undesired longitudinal fields contributing shifts to the resonance frequency, whose strength increases with chain length and phonon occupation numbers; while their mean effect can easily be compensated by additional $Z$ rotations, phonon number fluctuations need to be avoided for precise gate operations. Second, anharmonicities of the Coulomb interaction can lead to well-known two-to-one conversions of phonon excitations. Both of these error terms can be mitigated by sufficiently cooling the phonons to the ground-state. Our detailed analysis constitutes an important contribution on the way of making magnetic-gradient trapped-ion quantum technology fit for large-scale applications, and it may inspire new ways to purposefully design interaction terms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Superfluidity and sound propagation in disordered Bose gases

Superfluidity describes the ability of quantum matter to flow without friction. Due to its fundamental role in many transport phenomena, it is crucial to understand the robustness of superfluid properties to external perturbations. Here, we theoretically study the effects of speckle disorder on the propagation of sound waves in a two-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate at zero temperature. We numerically solve the Gross-Pitaevskii equation in the presence of disorder and employ a superfluid hydrodynamic approach to elucidate the role of the compressibility and superfluid fraction on the propagation of sound. A key result is that disorder reduces the superfluid fraction and hence the speed of sound; it also introduces damping and mode coupling. In the limit of weak disorder, the predictions for the speed of sound and its damping rate are well reproduced by a quadratic perturbation theory. The hydrodynamic description is valid over a wide range of parameters, while discrepancies become evident if the disorder becomes too strong, the effect being more significant for disorder applied in only one spatial direction. Our predictions are well within the reach of state-of-the-art cold-atom experiments and carry over to more general disorder potentials.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Qudit-native measurement protocol for dynamical correlations using Hadamard tests

Dynamical correlations reveal important out-of-equilibrium properties of the underlying quantum many-body system, yet they are notoriously difficult to measure in experiments. While measurement protocols for dynamical correlations based on Hadamard tests for qubit quantum devices exist, they do not straightforwardly extend to qudits. Here, we propose a modified protocol to overcome this limitation by decomposing qudit observables into unitary operations that can be implemented and probed in a quantum circuit. We benchmark our algorithm numerically at the example of quench dynamics in a spin-1 XXZ chain with finite shot noise and demonstrate advantages in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio over established protocols based on linear response. Our scheme can readily be implemented on various platforms and offers a wide range of applications like variational quantum optimization and probing thermalization in many-body systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Dynamics of Stripe Patterns in Supersolid Spin-Orbit-Coupled Bose Gases

Despite ground-breaking observations of supersolidity in spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, until now the dynamics of the emerging spatially periodic density modulations has been vastly unexplored. Here, we demonstrate the nonrigidity of the density stripes in such a supersolid condensate and explore their dynamic behavior subject to spin perturbations. We show both analytically in infinite systems and numerically in the presence of a harmonic trap how spin waves affect the supersolid's density profile in the form of crystal waves, inducing oscillations of the periodicity as well as the orientation of the fringes. Both these features are well within reach of present-day experiments. Our results show that this system is a paradigmatic supersolid, featuring superfluidity in conjunction with a fully dynamic crystalline structure.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2022

From Non-Hermitian Linear Response to Dynamical Correlations and Fluctuation-Dissipation Relations in Quantum Many-Body Systems

Quantum many-body systems are characterized by their correlations. While equal-time correlators and unequal-time commutators between operators are standard observables, the direct access to unequal-time anti-commutators poses a formidable experimental challenge. Here, we propose a general technique for measuring unequal-time anti-commutators using the linear response of a system to a non-Hermitian perturbation. We illustrate the protocol at the example of a Bose-Hubbard model, where the approach to thermal equilibrium in a closed quantum system can be tracked by measuring both sides of the fluctuation-dissipation relation. We relate the scheme to the quantum Zeno effect and weak measurements, and illustrate possible implementations at the example of a cold-atom system. Our proposal provides a way of characterizing dynamical correlations in quantum many-body systems with potential applications in understanding strongly correlated matter as well as for novel quantum technologies.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Exciting the Goldstone Modes of a Supersolid Spin-Orbit-Coupled Bose Gas

Supersolidity is deeply connected with the emergence of Goldstone modes, reflecting the spontaneous breaking of both phase and translational symmetry. Here, we propose accessible signatures of these modes in harmonically trapped spin-orbit-coupled Bose-Einstein condensates, where supersolidity appears in the form of stripes. By suddenly changing the trapping frequency, an axial breathing oscillation is generated, whose behavior changes drastically at the critical Raman coupling. Above the transition, a single mode of hybridized density and spin nature is excited, while below it, we predict a beating effect signaling the excitation of a Goldstone spin-dipole mode. We further provide evidence for the Goldstone mode associated with the translational motion of stripes. Our results open up new perspectives for probing supersolid properties in experimentally relevant configurations with both symmetric as well as highly asymmetric intraspecies interactions.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Analog cosmological reheating in an ultracold Bose gas

Cosmological reheating describes the transition of the post-inflationary universe to a hot and thermal state. In order to shed light on the underlying dynamics of this process, we propose to quantum-simulate the reheating-like dynamics of a generic cosmological single-field model in an ultracold Bose gas. In our setup, the excitations on top of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate play the role of the particles produced by the decaying inflaton field after inflation. Expanding spacetime as well as the background oscillating inflaton field are mimicked in the non-relativistic limit by a time dependence of the atomic interactions, which can be tuned experimentally via Feshbach resonances. As we illustrate by means of classical-statistical simulations for the case of two spatial dimensions, the dynamics of the atomic system exhibits the characteristic stages of far-from-equilibrium reheating, including the amplification of fluctuations via parametric instabilities and the subsequent turbulent transport of energy towards higher momenta. The transport is governed by a non-thermal fixed point showing universal self-similar time evolution as well as a transient regime of prescaling with time-dependent scaling exponents. While the classical-statistical simulations can capture only the earlier stages of the dynamics for weak couplings, the proposed experiment has the potential of exploring the evolution up to late times even beyond the weak coupling regime.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Non-invasive measurement of currents in analog quantum simulators

Despite the pristine abilities of analog quantum simulators to study quantum dynamics, possibilities to detect currents are sparse. Here, we propose a flexible non-invasive technique to measure currents in quantum many-body systems by weakly coupling the system to an ancilla, followed by a measurement of the ancilla population. We numerically benchmark the scheme at the example of interacting bosons in a Harper-Hofstadter optical-lattice ladder, and discuss potential experimental error sources. The highly flexible protocol can be used with both hard-core and soft-core bosons as well as fermions, is easily extendable to more general observables like current-current correlations, and applies to other setups beyond cold atoms as we exemplify for the trapped-ion platform.

quant-ph↗