Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Ralf Schützhold

Publications and source records attributed to Ralf Schützhold.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The large coordination number expansion of a lattice Bose gas at finite temperature

The expansion of the partition function for large coordination number $Z$ is a long standing method and has formerly been used to describe the Ising model at finite temperatures. We extend this approach and study the interacting Bose gas at finite temperatures. An analytical expression for the free energy is derived which is valid for weakly interacting and strongly interacting bosons. The transition line which separates the superfluid phase from Mott insulating/normal gas phase is shown for fillings $\langle\hat n\rangle=1$ and $\langle\hat n\rangle=2$. For unit filling, our findings agree qualitatively with Quantum Monte-Carlo results. Contrary to the well-known mean-field result, the shift of the critical temperature in the weakly interacting regime is apparent.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Avalanche of entanglement and correlations at quantum phase transitions

We study the ground-state entanglement in the quantum Ising model with nearest neighbor ferromagnetic coupling $J$ and find a sequential increase of entanglement depth with growing $J$. This entanglement avalanche starts with two-point entanglement, as measured by the concurrence, and continues via the three-tangle and four-tangle, until finally, deep in the ferromagnetic phase for $J=\infty$, arriving at pure $\ell$-partite (GHZ type) entanglement of all $\ell$ spins. Comparison with the two, three, and four-point correlations reveals a similar sequence and shows strong ties to the above entanglement measures for small $J$. However, we also find a partial inversion of the hierarchy, where the four-point correlation exceeds the three- and two-point correlations, well before the critical point is reached. Qualitatively similar behavior is also found for the Bose-Hubbard model, suggesting that this is a general feature of a quantum phase transition. This should have far reaching consequences for approximations starting from a mean-field limit.

quant-ph↗

Dicke superradiance as nondestructive probe for the state of atoms in optical lattices

We present a proposal for a probing scheme utilizing Dicke superradiance to obtain information about ultracold atoms in optical lattices. A probe photon is absorbed collectively by an ensemble of lattice atoms generating a Dicke state. The lattice dynamics (e.g., tunneling) affects the coherence properties of that Dicke state and thus alters the superradiant emission characteristics -- which in turn provides insight into the lattice (dynamics). Comparing the Bose-Hubbard and the Fermi-Hubbard model, we find similar superradiance in the strongly interacting Mott insulator regime, but crucial differences in the weakly interacting (superfluid or metallic) phase. Furthermore, we study the possibility to detect whether a quantum phase transition between the two regimes can be considered adiabatic or a quantum quench.

quant-ph↗

Derivation of Hawking radiation in dispersive dielectric media

Motivated by recent experimental efforts, we study a black hole analog induced by the propagation of a strong laser pulse in a nonlinear dielectric medium. Based on the Hopfield model (one pair of Sellmeier coefficients), we perform an analytic and fully relativistic microscopic derivation of the analog of Hawking radiation in this setup. The Hawking temperature is determined by the analog of the surface gravity (as expected), but we also find a frequency-dependent gray-body factor (i.e., a nonthermal spectrum at infinity) due to the breaking of conformal invariance in this setup.

gr-qc↗

Duality in spin systems via the $SU(4)$ algebra

We provide several examples and an intuitive diagrammatic representation demonstrating the use of two-qubit unitary transformations for mapping coupled spin Hamiltonians to simpler ones and vice versa. The corresponding dualities may be exploited to identify phase transition points or to aid the diagonalization of such Hamiltonians. For example, our method shows that a suitable one-parameter family of coupled Hamiltonians whose ground states transform from an initially factorizing state to a final cluster state on a lattice of arbitrary dimension is dual to a family of trivial decoupled Hamiltonians containing local on-site terms only. As a consequence, the minimum enery gap (which determines the adiabatic run-time) does not scale with system size, which facilitates an efficient and simple adiabatic preparation of e.g. the two-dimensional cluster state used for measurement-based quantum computation.

quant-ph↗

Dicke superradiance as a nondestructive probe for quantum quenches in optical lattices

We study Dicke superradiance as collective and coherent absorption and (time-delayed) emission of photons from an ensemble of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. Since this process depends on the coherence properties of the atoms (e.g., superfluidity), it can be used as a probe for their quantum state. In analogy to pump-probe spectroscopy in solid-state physics, this detection method facilitates the investigation of nonequilibrium phenomena and is less invasive than time-of-flight experiments or direct (projective) measurements of the atom number (or parity) per lattice site, which both destroy properties of the quantum state such as phase coherence.

quant-ph↗

Inverse approach to solutions of the Dirac equation for space-time dependent fields

Exact solutions of the Dirac equation in external electromagnetic background fields are very helpful for understanding non-perturbative phenomena in quantum electrodynamics (QED). However, for the limited set of known solutions, the field often depends on one coordinate only, which could be the time $t$, a spatial coordinate such as $x$ or $r$, or a light-cone coordinate such as $ct-x$. By swapping the roles of known and unknown quantities in the Dirac equation, we are able to generate families of solutions of the Dirac equation in the presence of genuinely space-time dependent electromagnetic fields in $1+1$ and $2+1$ dimensions.

hep-th↗

Dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect in inhomogeneous electric fields

Via the worldline instanton method, we study electron-positron pair creation by a strong electric field of the profile $E/\cosh^2(kx)$ superimposed by a weaker pulse $E'/\cosh^2(ωt)$. If the temporal Keldysh parameter $γ_ω=mω/(qE)$ exceeds a threshold value $γ_ω^{\rm crit}$ which depends on the spatial Keldysh parameter $γ_k=mk/(qE)$, we find a drastic enhancement of the pair creation probability -- reporting on what we believe to be the first analytic non-perturbative result for the interplay between temporal and spatial field dependences $E(t,x)$ in the Sauter-Schwinger effect.

hep-th↗

Ion trap analogue of particle creation in black holes and cosmology

We consider the transversal modes of ions in a linear radio frequency (rf) trap where we control the time dependent axial confinement to show that we can excite quanta of motion via a two-mode squeezing process. This effect is analogous to phenomena predicted to occur during the evaporation of black holes and cosmological particle creation, in general out of reach for experimental investigation. As substantial advantage of this proposal in comparison to previous ones we propose to exploit radial and axial modes simultaneously to permit experimental access of these effects based on state-of-the-art technology. In addition, we propose to create and explore entanglement, starting with two ions, and relate the results to fundamental aspects of the entropy of black holes.

quant-ph↗

Multiple particle-hole pair creation in the Fermi-Hubbard model by a pump laser

We study the Fermi-Hubbard model in the strongly correlated Mott phase under the influence of a harmonically oscillating electric field, e.g., a pump laser. In the Peierls representation, this pump field can be represented as an oscillating phase of the hopping rate $J(t)$, such that the effective time-averaged rate $\bar J$ is reduced, i.e., switching the pump laser suddenly is analogous to a quantum quench. Apart from this time-averaged rate $\bar J$, it is well known that the oscillating component of $J(t)$ can resonantly create particle-hole pairs if the pump frequency $ω_{\rm pump}$ equals (or a little exceeds) the Mott gap. In addition, we find that it is possible to create multiple pairs if $ω_{\rm pump}$ is near an integer multiple of the gap. These findings should be relevant for pump-probe experiments.

quant-ph↗

The fourtangle in the transverse XY model

We analyze the entanglement measure $C_4$ for mixed states in general and for the transverse XY model. We come to the conclusion that it cannot serve alone for guaranteeing an entanglement of $GHZ_4$-type. The genuine negativity calculated in Ref.~\cite{Hofmann14} isn't sufficient for that either and some additional measure of entanglement must be considered. In particular we study the transverse XY-model and find a non-zero $C_4$ measure which is of the same order of magnitude than the genuine negativity. Furthermore, we observe a feature in the $C_4$ values that resembles a destructive interference with the underlying concurrence.

quant-ph↗

Pulse shape dependence in the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect

While the Sauter-Schwinger effect describes nonperturbative electron-positron pair creation from vacuum by a strong and slowly varying electric field $E_{\mathrm{strong}}$ via tunneling, the dynamically assisted Sauter-Schwinger effect corresponds to a strong (exponential) enhancement of the pair-creation probability by an additional weak and fast electric or electromagnetic pulse $E_{\mathrm{weak}}$. Using the WKB and worldline instanton method, we find that this enhancement mechanism strongly depends on the shape of the fast pulse. For the Sauter profile $1/\cosh^2(ωt)$ considered previously, the threshold frequency $ω_{\mathrm{crit}}$ (where the enhancement mechanism sets in) is basically independent of the magnitude $E_{\mathrm{weak}}$ of the weak pulse---whereas for a Gaussian pulse $\exp(-ω^2t^2)$, an oscillating profile $\cos(ωt)$ or a standing wave $\cos(ωt)\cos(kx)$, the value of $ω_{\mathrm{crit}}$ does depend (logarithmically) on $E_{\mathrm{weak}}/E_{\mathrm{strong}}$.

hep-th↗

Giant magneto-photoelectric effect in suspended graphene

We study the optical response of a suspended graphene field-effect transistor in magnetic fields of up to 9 T (quantum Hall regime). With an illumination power of only 3 μW, we measure a photocurrent of up to 400 nA, corresponding to a photo-responsivity of 0.14 A/W, which we believe to be the highest value ever measured in single-layer graphene. We estimate that every absorbed photon creates more than 8 electron-hole pairs, which demonstrates highly effective carrier multiplication. As suggested by the dependence of the photocurrent on gate voltage and magnetic field, we propose a ballistic two-stage mechanism where the incident photons create primary charge carriers which then excite secondary charge carriers in the chiral edge states via Auger-type inelastic Coulomb scattering processes at the graphene edge.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Monogamy of entanglement and improved mean-field ansatz for spin lattices

We consider rather general spin-$1/2$ lattices with large coordination numbers $Z$. Based on the monogamy of entanglement and other properties of the concurrence $C$, we derive rigorous bounds for the entanglement between neighboring spins, such as $C\leq 1/\sqrt{Z}$, which show that $C$ decreases for large $Z$. In addition, the concurrence $C$ measures the deviation from mean-field behavior and can only vanish if the mean-field ansatz yields an exact ground state of the Hamiltonian. Motivated by these findings, we propose an improved mean-field ansatz by adding entanglement.

quant-ph↗

Quasi-particle approach for general lattice Hamiltonians

In many condensed-matter systems, it is very useful to introduce a quasi-particle approach, which is based on some sort of linearization around a suitable background state. In order to be a systematic and controlled approximation, this linearization should be justified by an expansion into powers of some small control parameter. Here, we present a method for general lattice Hamiltonians with large coordination numbers Z >> 1, which is based on an expansion into powers of 1/Z. In order to demonstrate the generality of our method, we apply it to various spin systems, as well as the Bose and Fermi Hubbard model.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Strong Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in folded graphene

We study electronic transport in graphene under the influence of a transversal magnetic field $\f{B}(\f{r})=B(x)\f{e}_z$ with the asymptotics $B(x\to\pm\infty)=\pm B_0$, which could be realized via a folded graphene sheet in a constant magnetic field, for example. By solving the effective Dirac equation, we find robust modes with a finite energy gap which propagate along the fold -- where particles and holes move in opposite directions. Exciting these particle-hole pairs with incident photons would then generate a nearly perfect charge separation and thus a strong magneto-thermoelectric (Nernst-Ettingshausen) or magneto-photoelectric effect -- even at room temperature.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

Entangling photons via the quantum Zeno effect

The quantum Zeno effect describes the inhibition of quantum evolution by frequent measurements. Here, we propose a scheme for entangling two given photons based on this effect. We consider a linear-optics set-up with an absorber medium whose two-photon absorption rate $ξ_{2γ}$ exceeds the one-photon loss rate $ξ_{1γ}$. In order to reach an error probability $P_{\rm error}$, we need $ξ_{1γ}/ξ_{2γ}<2P_{\rm error}^2/π^2$, which is a factor of 64 better than previous approaches (e.g., by Franson et al). Since typical media have $ξ_{2γ}<ξ_{1γ}$, we discuss three mechanisms for enhancing two-photon absorption as compared to one-photon loss. The first mechanism again employs the quantum Zeno effect via self-interference effects when sending two photons repeatedly through the same absorber. The second mechanism is based on coherent excitations of many atoms and exploits the fact that $ξ_{2γ}$ scales with the number of excitations but $ξ_{1γ}$ does not. The third mechanism envisages three-level systems where the middle level is meta-stable ($Λ$-system). In this case, $ξ_{1γ}$ is more strongly reduced than $ξ_{2γ}$ and thus it should be possible to achieve $ξ_{2γ}/ξ_{1γ}\gg1$. In conclusion, although our scheme poses challenges regarding the density of active atoms/molecules in the absorber medium, their coupling constants and the detuning, etc., we find that a two-photon gate with an error probability $P_{\rm error}$ below 25% might be feasible using present-day technology.

quant-ph↗

On the feasibility of a nuclear exciton laser

Nuclear excitons known from Mössbauer spectroscopy describe coherent excitations of a large number of nuclei -- analogous to Dicke states (or Dicke super-radiance) in quantum optics. In this paper, we study the possibility of constructing a laser based on these coherent excitations. In contrast to the free electron laser (in its usual design), such a device would be based on stimulated emission and thus might offer certain advantages, e.g., regarding energy-momentum accuracy. Unfortunately, inserting realistic parameters, the window of operability is probably not open (yet) to present-day technology -- but our design should be feasible in the UV regime, for example.

quant-ph↗