arXiv subjects

Paul M. Alsing

Publications and source records attributed to Paul M. Alsing.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Verifying Energy-Time Entanglement with Irregularly Sampled Correlations

Verifying entanglement with experimental measurements requires that we take the limitations of experimental techniques into account, while still proving that the data obtained could not have been generated from a classical source. In the energy-time degree of freedom, this challenge is exacerbated because realistic high-resolution frequency measurements are obtained as a function of light passing through arbitrary filters positioned at uneven intervals. In this work, we show how the data gathered from these kinds of measurements can be used to fully certify the degree of energy and timing correlations needed to certify energy-time entanglement without having to make special assumptions about the state or the measurement device. We accomplish this by showing how to construct a continuous-variable probability density from the data that can closely estimate, but never over-estimate the correlations (and entanglement) actually present in the system, and note that these methods are applicable to all continuous-variable degrees of freedom (e.g., spatial, field quadratures, etc). We illustrate the feasibility of these methods using frequency and timing correlations obtainable from photon pairs in Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Bypassing the filtering challenges in microwave-optical quantum transduction through optomechanical four-wave mixing

Microwave-optical quantum transduction is a key enabling technology in quantum networking, but has been plagued by a formidable technical challenge. As most microwave-optical-transduction techniques rely on three-wave mixing processes, the processes consume photons from a driving telecom-band (pump) laser to convert input microwave photons into telecom-band photons detuned from the laser by this microwave frequency. However, cleanly separating out single photons detuned only a few GHz away from a classically bright laser in the same spatial mode requires frequency filters of unprecedented extinction over a very narrow transition band, straining the capabilities of today's technology. Instead of confronting this challenge directly, we show how one may achieve the same transduction objective with comparable efficiency using a four-wave mixing process in which $pairs$ of pump photons are consumed to produce transduced optical photons widely separated in frequency from the pump. We develop this process by considering higher-order analogues of photoelasticity and electrostriction than those used in conventional optomechanics, and examine how the efficiency of this process can be made to exceed conventional optomechanical couplings.

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arXiv2024

Non-Reciprocity in Photon Polarization based on direction of polarizer under Gravitational Fields

Unification of gravity with quantum mechanics is still a terra incognita. Photon polarization measurements offer a unique window for probing the interaction between these two fundamental forces. We have revealed that non-reciprocity in the photon polarization angle can arise by tailoring the quantization axis, which corresponds to the direction of polarizer. Due to this non-reciprocity, the measured polarization angle can become ten times larger than that of gravitationally induced frame rotation in both near-Earth and black hole environments. To verify this finding, we propose an astronomical interferometer composed of satellites with the tailored quantization axis, challenging the conventional view of their triviality in closed paths of a photon. Notably, this non-reciprocity can extend to any rotation in the polarization plane, irrespective of the origins, all of which can dictate polarization rotation. Our findings could offer new opportunities for testing fundamental principles in physics.

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arXiv2024

Upper limit on the acceleration of a quantum evolution in projective Hilbert space

It is remarkable that Heisenberg's position-momentum uncertainty relation leads to the existence of a maximal acceleration for a physical particle in the context of a geometric reformulation of quantum mechanics. It is also known that the maximal acceleration of a quantum particle is related to the magnitude of the speed of transportation in projective Hilbert space. In this paper, inspired by the study of geometric aspects of quantum evolution by means of the notions of curvature and torsion, we derive an upper bound for the rate of change of the speed of transportation in an arbitrary finite-dimensional projective Hilbert space. The evolution of the physical system being in a pure quantum state is assumed to be governed by an arbitrary time-varying Hermitian Hamiltonian operator. Our derivation, in analogy to the inequalities obtained by L. D. Landau in the theory of fluctuations by means of general commutation relations of quantum-mechanical origin, relies upon a generalization of Heisenberg's uncertainty relation. We show that the acceleration squared of a quantum evolution in projective space is upper bounded by the variance of the temporal rate of change of the Hamiltonian operator. Moreover, focusing for illustrative purposes on the lower-dimensional case of a single spin qubit immersed in an arbitrarily time-varying magnetic field, we discuss the optimal geometric configuration of the magnetic field that yields maximal acceleration along with vanishing curvature and unit geodesic efficiency in projective Hilbert space. Finally, we comment on the consequences that our upper bound imposes on the limit at which one can perform fast manipulations of quantum systems to mitigate dissipative effects and/or obtain a target state in a shorter time.

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arXiv2024

From the classical Frenet-Serret apparatus to the curvature and torsion of quantum-mechanical evolutions. Part I. Stationary Hamiltonians

It is known that the Frenet-Serret apparatus of a space curve in three-dimensional Euclidean space determines the local geometry of curves. In particular, the Frenet-Serret apparatus specifies important geometric invariants, including the curvature and the torsion of a curve. It is also acknowledged in quantum information science that low complexity and high efficiency are essential features to achieve when cleverly manipulating quantum states that encode quantum information about a physical system. In this paper, we propose a geometric perspective on how to quantify the bending and the twisting of quantum curves traced by dynamically evolving state vectors. Specifically, we propose a quantum version of the Frenet-Serret apparatus for a quantum trajectory in projective Hilbert space traced by a parallel-transported pure quantum state evolving unitarily under a stationary Hamiltonian specifying the Schrodinger equation. Our proposed constant curvature coefficient is given by the magnitude squared of the covariant derivative of the tangent vector to the state vector and represents a useful measure of the bending of the quantum curve. Our proposed constant torsion coefficient, instead, is defined in terms of the magnitude squared of the projection of the covariant derivative of the tangent vector, orthogonal to both the tangent vector and the state vector. The torsion coefficient provides a convenient measure of the twisting of the quantum curve. Remarkably, we show that our proposed curvature and torsion coefficients coincide with those existing in the literature, although introduced in a completely different manner...

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

From the classical Frenet-Serret apparatus to the curvature and torsion of quantum-mechanical evolutions. Part II. Nonstationary Hamiltonians

We present a geometric perspective on how to quantify the bending and the twisting of quantum curves traced by state vectors evolving under nonstationary Hamiltonians. Specifically, relying on the existing geometric viewpoint for stationary Hamiltonians, we discuss the generalization of our theoretical construct to time-dependent quantum-mechanical scenarios where both time-varying curvature and torsion coefficients play a key role. Specifically, we present a quantum version of the Frenet-Serret apparatus for a quantum trajectory in projective Hilbert space traced out by a parallel-transported pure quantum state evolving unitarily under a time-dependent Hamiltonian specifying the Schrodinger evolution equation. The time-varying curvature coefficient is specified by the magnitude squared of the covariant derivative of the tangent vector to the state vector and measures the bending of the quantum curve. The time-varying torsion coefficient, instead, is given by the magnitude squared of the projection of the covariant derivative of the tangent vector to the state vector, orthogonal to the tangent vector and state vector and, in addition, measures the twisting of the quantum curve. We find that the time-varying setting exhibits a richer structure from a statistical standpoint. For instance, unlike the time-independent configuration, we find that the notion of generalized variance enters nontrivially in the definition of the torsion of a curve traced out by a quantum state evolving under a nonstationary Hamiltonian. To physically illustrate the significance of our construct, we apply it to an exactly soluble time-dependent two-state Rabi problem specified by a sinusoidal oscillating time-dependent potential...

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arXiv2024

Feynman's "Simulating Physics with Computers"

This invited essay belongs to a series considering highly influential articles published by the International Journal of Theoretical Physics. In this paper, we highlight the physical content and the profound consequences of Richard Feynman's 1982 paper on "Simulating Physics with Computers".

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Numerical evidence for a bipartite pure state entanglement witness from approximate analytical diagonalization

We show numerical evidence for a bipartite $d\times d$ pure state entanglement witness that is readily calculated from the wavefunction coefficients directly, without the need for the numerical computation of eigenvalues. This is accomplished by using an approximate analytic diagonalization of the bipartite state that captures dominant contributions to the negativity of the partially transposed state. We relate this entanglement witness to the Log Negativity, and show that it exactly agrees with it for the class of pure states whose quantum amplitudes form a positive Hermitian matrix. In this case, the Log Negativity is given by the negative logarithm of the purity of the amplitudes consider as a density matrix. In other cases, the witness forms a lower bound to the exact, numerically computed Log Negativity. The formula for the approximate Log Negativity achieves equality with the exact Log Negativity for the case of an arbitrary pure state of two qubits, which we show analytically. We compare these results to a witness of entanglement given by the linear entropy. Finally, we explore an attempt to extend these pure state results to mixed states. We show that the Log Negativity for this approximate formula is exact on the class of pure state decompositions for which the quantum amplitudes of each pure state form a positive Hermitian matrix.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Geodesics for mixed quantum states via their geometric mean operator

We examine the geodesic between two mixed states of arbitrary dimension by means of their geometric mean operator. We utilize the fiber bundle approach by which the distance between two mixed state density operators $ρ_1$ and $ρ_2$ in the base space $M$ is given by the shortest distance in the (Hilbert Schmidt) bundle space $E$ of their purifications. The latter is well-known to be given by the Bures distance along the horizontal lift in $E$ of the geodesic between the $ρ_1$ and $ρ_2$ in $M$. The horizontal lift is that unique curve in $E$ that orthogonally traverses the fibers $F\subset E$ above the curve in $M$, and projects down onto it. We briefly review this formalism and show how it can be used to construct the intermediate mixed quantum states $ρ(s)$ along the base space geodesic parameterized by affine parameter $s$ between the initial $ρ_1$ and final $ρ_2$ states. We emphasize the role played by geometric mean operator $M(s) = ρ_1^{-1/2}\, \sqrt{ρ_1^{1/2}ρ(s)ρ_1^{1/2}}\,ρ_1^{-1/2}$, where the Uhlmann root fidelity between $ρ_1$ and $ρ(s)$ is given by $\sqrt{F}(ρ_1,ρ(s)) = Tr[M(s)\,ρ_1] = Tr[\sqrt{ρ_1^{1/2}ρ(s)ρ_1^{1/2}}]$, and $ρ(s) = M(s)\,ρ_1\,M(s)$. We give examples for the geodesic between the maximally mixed state and a pure state in arbitrary dimensions, as well as for the geodesic between Werner states $ρ(p) = (1-p) I/N + p\,|Ψ\rangle\langle Ψ|$ with $|Ψ\rangle = \{|GHZ\rangle, |W\rangle\}$ in dimension $N=2^3$. For the latter, we compare expressions in the limit $p\to1$ to the infinite number of possible geodesics between the orthogonal pure states $|GHZ\rangle$ and $|W\rangle$. Lastly, we compute the analytic form for the density matrices along the geodesic that connects two arbitrary endpoint qubit density matrices within the Bloch ball for dimension $N=2$.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

A, B, C of Three-Qubit Entanglement: Three Vectors to Control It All

In this paper we are focusing on entanglement control problem in a three-qubit system. We demonstrate that vector representation of entanglement, associated with SO(6) representation of SU(4) two-qubit group, can be used to solve various control problems analytically including (i) the transformation between a W-type states and GHZ state, and (ii) manipulating bipartite concurrences and three-tangle under a restricted access to only two qubits, and (iii) designing USp(4)-type quaternionic operations and quantum states.

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arXiv2024

A tripartite entanglement in de Sitter spacetime

We investigate the quantum correlation for tripartite entangled states in de Sitter space. First, we adopt the noisy quantum channel model. In this model, the expansion effect is represented by an operator sum representation with its corresponding Kraus operator. This map is shown to be trace-preserving and completely positive. Second, we analyze the quantum correlation by using the channel-state correspondence. For a large expansion rate, the tripartite mutual information has a large negative value, which corresponds to a small magnitude of bipartite mutual information. We relate this result with the challenge of recovering information from local measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Geometric aspects of mixed quantum states inside the Bloch sphere

When studying the geometry of quantum states, it is acknowledged that mixed states can be distinguished by infinitely many metrics. Unfortunately, this freedom causes metric-dependent interpretations of physically significant geometric quantities such as complexity and volume of quantum states. In this paper, we present an insightful discussion on the differences between the Bures and the Sjöqvist metrics inside a Bloch sphere. First, we begin with a formal comparative analysis between the two metrics by critically discussing three alternative interpretations for each metric. Second, we illustrate explicitly the distinct behaviors of the geodesic paths on each one of the two metric manifolds. Third, we compare the finite distances between an initial and final mixed state when calculated with the two metrics. Interestingly, in analogy to what happens when studying topological aspects of real Euclidean spaces equipped with distinct metric functions (for instance, the usual Euclidean metric and the taxicab metric), we observe that the relative ranking based on the concept of finite distance among mixed quantum states is not preserved when comparing distances determined with the Bures and the Sjöqvist metrics. Finally, we conclude with a brief discussion on the consequences of this violation of a metric-based relative ranking on the concept of complexity and volume of mixed quantum states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Comparing metrics for mixed quantum states: Sjoqvist and Bures

It is known that there are infinitely many distinguishability metrics for mixed quantum states. This freedom, in turn, leads to metric-dependent interpretations of physically meaningful geometric quantities such as complexity and volume of quantum states. In this paper, we first present an explicit and unabridged mathematical discussion on the relation between the Sjoqvist metric and the Bures metric for arbitrary nondegenerate mixed quantum states, using the notion of decompositions of density operators by means of ensembles of pure quantum states. Then, to enhance our comprehension of the difference between these two metrics from a physics standpoint, we compare the formal expressions of these two metrics for arbitrary thermal quantum states specifying quantum systems in equilibrium with a reservoir at non-zero temperature. For illustrative purposes, we show the difference between these two metrics in the case of a simple physical system characterized by a spin-qubit in an arbitrarily oriented uniform and stationary external magnetic field in thermal equilibrium with a finite-temperature bath. Finally, we compare the Bures and Sjoqvist metrics in terms of their monotonicity property.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Backscattering and Hong-Ou-Mandel Manifolds in Microring Resonators

We investigate the effect of backscattering on the Hong-Ou-Mandel manifold (HOMM) that manifests in double-bus mircoring resonators (MRRs). The HOMM represents higher-dimensional parameter solutions for the complete destructive interference of coincident detection in the HOM effect. To model the backscattering, we introduce a set of internal `beam splitters' inside the ring that allow photons to `reflect' into new counter-propagating modes inside the MRR. We find that the one-dimensional HOMM in MRRs investigated here is extremely robust against deterioration due to backscattering, even in a linear chain of identical MRRs. Further we find that a small amount of backscattering introduced into a chain of non-identical MRRs connected in parallel could be desirable, causing them to behave more like chain of identical MRRs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Nonlinear optics as a source of high-dimensional genuine tripartite entanglement

We lay down a general scheme to quantify the amount of genuine tripartite entanglement present in the spatial and energy-time degrees of freedom of entangled photon triplets using a resource-based measure known as the tripartite entanglement of formation. Quantifying genuine tripartite entanglement relative to a number of maximally entangled three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states called gebits, the tripartite entanglement of formation serves as a basis of comparison between different tripartite entangled states of differing dimension. Demonstrating genuine tripartite entanglement is doubly challenging because it is not enough to show that each party is inseparable from the other two (which is sufficient only for pure states). Instead, one must rule out all mixtures of all combinations of biseparable states from describing the tripartite state. To meet this challenge, we use entropic measures of the statistics of tripartite systems to simultaneously bound the correlations each party has with the other two, and in so doing place a lower limit to the tripartite entanglement of formation. Even though our measure never over-estimates the entanglement present, we estimate the effectiveness of our technique by determining the exact tripartite entanglement of a triple-gaussian triphoton wavefunction with the same correlations as seen in photon triplets generated in third-order spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC). Between these two efforts, we show that a substantial amount of tripartite entanglement exists in both the spatial and energy-time degrees of freedom of these systems, and propose an experiment that can measure them.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

A Differential-Geometric Approach to Quantum Ignorance Consistent with Entropic Properties of Statistical Mechanics

In this paper, we construct the metric tensor and volume for the manifold of purifications associated with an arbitrary reduced density operator $ρ_S$. We also define a quantum coarse-graining (CG) to study the volume where macrostates are the manifolds of purifications, which we call surfaces of ignorance (SOI), and microstates are the purifications of $ρ_S$. In this context, the volume functions as a multiplicity of the macrostates that quantifies the amount of information missing from $ρ_S$. Using examples where the SOI are generated using representations of $SU(2)$, $SO(3)$, and $SO(N)$, we show two features of the CG. (1) A system beginning in an atypical macrostate of smaller volume evolves to macrostates of greater volume until it reaches the equilibrium macrostate in a process in which the system and environment become strictly more entangled, and (2) the equilibrium macrostate takes up the vast majority of the coarse-grainied space especially as the dimension of the total system becomes large. Here, the equilibrium macrostate corresponds to maximum entanglement between system and environment. To demonstrate feature (1) for the examples considered, we show that the volume behaves like the von Neumann entropy in that it is zero for pure states, maximal for maximally mixed states, and is a concave function w.r.t the purity of $ρ_S$. These two features are essential to typicality arguments regarding thermalization and Boltzmann's original CG.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Bound states of the Dirac equation in Schwarzschild spacetime: an exploration of intuition for the curious student

In this work we explore the possibility of quantum bound states in a Schwarzschild gravitational field leveraging the analogy of the elementary derivation of bound states in the Coulomb potential as taught in an undergraduate course in Quantum Mechanics. For this we will also need to go beyond non-relativistic quantum mechanics and utilize the relativistic Dirac equation for a central potential as taught in an advanced undergraduate or first year graduate (special) relativistic quantum mechanics course. Finally, the special relativistic Dirac equation must be extended to the general relativistic version for curved spacetime. All these disparate component pieces exist in excellent, very readable textbooks written for the student reader, with sufficient detail for a curious student to learn and explore. We pull all these threads together in order to explore a very natural question that a student might ask: "If the effective $1/r$ radial potential of the Schwarzschild metric (with angular momentum barrier), as taught in elementary GR courses for undergraduates, appears Newtonian-like (with a $1/r^3$ correction), then is it possible to derive quantum bound states in the Schwarzschild spacetime by simply changing the radial potential $V(r)$ from $V_C(r)=-e^2/r$ to $V_{Schw}=-G M m/r$?"

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Qubit Geodesics on the Bloch Sphere from Optimal-Speed Hamiltonian Evolutions

In the geometry of quantum evolutions, a geodesic path is viewed as a path of minimal statistical length connecting two pure quantum states along which the maximal number of statistically distinguishable states is minimum. In this paper, we present an explicit geodesic analysis of the dynamical trajectories that emerge from the quantum evolution of a single-qubit quantum state. The evolution is governed by an Hermitian Hamiltonian operator that achieves the fastest possible unitary evolution between given initial and final pure states. Furthermore, in addition to viewing geodesics in ray space as paths of minimal length, we also verify the geodesicity of paths in terms of unit geometric efficiency and vanishing geometric phase. Finally, based on our analysis, we briefly address the main hurdles in moving to the geometry of quantum evolutions for open quantum systems in mixed quantum states.

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