arXiv subjects

Sabrina Maniscalco

Publications and source records attributed to Sabrina Maniscalco.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Complex quantum networks as structured environments: engineering and probing

We consider structured environments modeled by bosonic quantum networks and investigate the probing of their spectral density, structure, and topology. We demonstrate how to engineer a desired spectral density by changing the network structure. Our results show that the spectral density can be very accurately detected via a locally immersed quantum probe for virtually any network configuration. Moreover, we show how the entire network structure can be reconstructed by using a single quantum probe. We illustrate our findings presenting examples of spectral densities and topology probing for networks of genuine complexity.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Efficient superdense coding in the presence of non-Markovian noise

Many quantum information tasks rely on entanglement, which is used as a resource, for example, to enable efficient and secure communication. Typically, noise, accompanied by loss of entanglement, reduces the efficiency of quantum protocols. We develop and demonstrate experimentally a superdense coding scheme with noise, where the decrease of entanglement in Alice's encoding state does not reduce the efficiency of the information transmission. Having almost fully dephased classical two-photon polarization state at the time of encoding with concurrence $0.163\pm0.007$, we reach values of mutual information close to $1.52\pm 0.02$ ($1.89\pm 0.05$) with 3-state (4-state) encoding. This high efficiency relies both on non-Markovian features, that Bob exploits just before his Bell-state measurement, and on very high visibility ($99.6\%\pm0.1\%$) of the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference within the experimental set-up. Our proof-of-principle results with measurements on mutual information pave the way for exploiting non-Markovianity to improve the efficiency and security of quantum information processing tasks.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Heat flux and information backflow in cold condensed matter systems

We examine non-Markovian effects in an open quantum system from the point of view of information flow. To this end, we consider the spin-boson model with a cold reservoir, accounting for the exact time-dependent correlations between the system and the bath to study the exchange of information and heat. We use an information theoretic measure of the relevant memory effects and demonstrate that the information backflow from the reservoir to the system does not necessarily correlate with the backflow of heat. We also examine the influence of temperature and coupling strength on the loss and gain of information between the system and the bath. Finally, we discuss how additional driving changes the backflow of information, giving rise to potential applications in reservoir engineering.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Dynamics of incompatibility of quantum measurements in open systems

The non-classical nature of quantum states, often illustrated using entanglement measures or quantum discord, constitutes a resource for quantum information protocols. However, the non-classicality of a quantum system cannot be encapsulated as a property of the state alone, as the set of available measurements used to extract information on the system is typically restricted. In this work we study how the non-classicality of quantum measurements, quantified via their incompatibility, is influenced by quantum noise and, further, how a non-Markovian environment may help us in maintaining the measurement resources.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Dynamical decoupling efficiency versus quantum non-Markovianity

We investigate the relationship between non-Markovianity and the effectiveness of a dynamical decoupling protocol for qubits undergoing pure dephasing. We consider an exact model in which dephasing arises due to a bosonic environment with a spectral density of the Ohmic class. This is parametrised by an Ohmicity parameter by changing which we can model both Markovian and non-Markovian environments. Interestingly, we find that engineering a non-Markovian environment is detrimental to the efficiency of the dynamical decoupling scheme, leading to a worse coherence preservation. We show that each dynamical decoupling pulse reverses the flow of quantum information and, on this basis, we investigate the connection between dynamical decoupling efficiency and the reservoir spectral density. Finally, in the spirit of reservoir engineering, we investigate the optimum system-reservoir parameters for achieving maximum stationary coherences.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Time-Invariant Discord in Dynamically Decoupled Systems

Dynamical decoupling protocols are one of the most used tools for efficient quantum error corrections and for reservoir engineering. In this paper we study the effect of dynamical decoupling pulses on the preservation of both quantum and classical correlations, and their influence on the intriguing phenomenon of time-invariant discord. We study two qubits experiencing local dephasing with an Ohmic class spectrum and subject to dynamical decoupling protocols. We investigate the connection between the dynamics of both classical and quantum correlations and the behaviour of information flow between system and environment. Finally, we establish a set of necessary conditions for which time-invariant discord can be created using dynamically decoupling techniques.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Complete positivity, finite temperature effects, and additivity of noise for time-local qubit dynamics

We present a general model of qubit dynamics which entails pure dephasing and dissipative time-local master equations. This allows us to describe the combined effect of thermalisation and dephasing beyond the usual Markovian approximation. We investigate the complete positivity conditions and introduce a heuristic model that is always physical and provides the correct Markovian limit. We study the effects of temperature on the non-Markovian behaviour of the system and show that the noise additivity property discussed by Yu and Eberly in Ref. [1] holds beyond the Markovian limit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Controlling entropic uncertainty bound through memory effects

One of the defining traits of quantum mechanics is the uncertainty principle which was originally expressed in terms of the standard deviation of two observables. Alternatively, it can be formulated using entropic measures, and can also be generalized by including a memory particle that is entangled with the particle to be measured. Here we consider a realistic scenario where the memory particle is an open system interacting with an external environment. Through the relation of conditional entropy to mutual information, we provide a link between memory effects and the rate of change of conditional entropy controlling the lower bound of the entropic uncertainty relation. Our treatment reveals that the memory effects stemming from the non-Markovian nature of quantum dynamical maps directly control the lower bound of the entropic uncertainty relation in a general way, independently of the specific type of interaction between the memory particle and its environment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Non-Markovian dynamics in two-qubit dephasing channels with an application to superdense coding

We study the performance of two measures of non-Markovianity in detecting memory effects in two-qubit dephasing channels. By combining independent Markovian and non-Markovian noise on the qubits, our results show that the trace distance measure is able to detect the memory effects when at least one of the local channels displays non-Markovianity. A measure based on channel capacity, in turn, becomes non-zero when the global two-qubit dynamics shows memory effects. We apply these schemes to a well-known superdense coding protocol and demonstrate an optimal noise configuration to maximize the information transmission with independent local noises.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Thermodynamic meaning and power of non-Markovianity

We establish a connection between non-Markovian memory effects and thermodynamical quantities such as work. We show how memory effects can be interpreted as revivals of work that can be extracted from a quantum system. We prove that non-Markovianity may allow an increase in the extractable work even when the entropy of the system is increasing. Our results have important implications both in quantum thermodynamics and in quantum information theory. In the former context they pave the way to the understanding of concepts like work in a non-Markovian open system scenario. In the latter context they lead to interesting consequences for quantum state merging protocols in presence of noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Collapse and revival of quantum coherence for a harmonic oscillator interacting with a classical fluctuating environment

We address the dynamics of nonclassicality for a quantum system interacting with a noisy fluctuating environment described by a classical stochastic field. As a paradigmatic example, we consider a harmonic oscillator initially prepared in a maximally nonclassical state, e.g. a Fock number state or a Schroedinger cat-like state, and then coupled to either resonant or non-resonant external field. Stochastic modeling allows us to describe the decoherence dynamics without resorting to approximated quantum master equations, and to introduce non- Markovian effects in a controlled way. A detailed comparison among different nonclassicality criteria and a thorough analysis of the decoherence time reveal a rich phenomenology whose main features may be summarized as follows: i) classical memory effects increase the survival time of quantum coherence; ii) a detuning between the natural frequency of the system and the central frequency of the classical field induces revivals of quantum coherence.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Fluctuation relations for driven coupled classical two-level systems

We theoretically investigate fluctuation relations in a classical incomplete measurement process where just partial information is available. The scenario we consider consists of two coupled single-electron boxes where one or both devices can undergo a non-equilibrium transformation according to a chosen protocol. The entropy production of only one of the two boxes is recorded and fluctuation relations for this quantity are put to a test, showing strong modifications whose nature depends upon the specific case study.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2014

Witnessing entanglement in hybrid systems

We extend the definition of entanglement witnesses based on structure factors to the case in which the position of the scatterers is quantized. This allows us to study entanglement detection in hybrid systems. We provide several examples that show how these extra degrees of freedom affect the detection of entanglement by directly contributing to the measurement statistics. We specialize the proposed witness operators for a chain of trapped ions. Within this framework, we show how the collective vibronic state of the chain can act as an undesired quantum environment and how ions quantum motion can affect the entanglement detection. Finally, we investigate some specific cases where the method proposed leads to detection of hybrid entanglement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Effect of temperature on non-Markovian dynamics in Coulomb crystals

In this paper we generalize the results reported in Phys. Rev. A 88, 010101 (2013) and investigate the flow of information induced in a Coulomb crystal in presence of thermal noise. For several temperatures we calculate the non-Markovian character of Ramsey interferometry of a single 1/2 spin with the motional degrees of freedom of the whole chain. These results give a more realistic picture of the interplay between temperature, non-Markovianity and criticality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Non-Markovian Quantum Probes

We review the most recent developments in the theory of open quantum systems focusing on situations in which the reservoir memory effects, due to long-lasting and non-negligible correlations between system and environment, play a crucial role. These systems are often referred to as non-Markovian systems. After a brief summary of different measures of non-Markovianity that have been introduced over the last few years we restrict our analysis to the investigation of information flow between system and environment. Within this framework we introduce an important application of non-Markovianity, namely its use as a quantum probe of complex quantum systems. To illustrate this point we consider quantum probes of ultracold gases, spin chains, and trapped ion crystals and show how properties of these systems can be extracted by means of non-Markovianity measures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Coherence trapping and information back-flow in dephasing qubits

We study the interplay between coherence trapping, information back-flow and the form of the reservoir spectral density for dephasing qubits. We show that stationary coherence is maximized when the qubit undergoes non-Markovian dynamics, and we elucidate the different roles played by the low and high frequency parts of the environmental spectrum. We show that the low frequencies fully determine the presence or absence of information back-flow while the high frequencies dictate the maximal amount of coherence trapping.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

On the degree of non-Markovianity of quantum evolution

We propose a new characterization of non-Markovian quantum evolution based on the concept of non-Markovianity degree. It provides an analog of a Schmidt number in the entanglement theory and reveals the formal analogy between quantum evolution and the entanglement theory: Markovian evolution corresponds to a separable state and non-Markovian one is further characterized by its degree. It enables one to introduce a non-Markovinity witness -- an analog of an entanglement witness -- and a family of measures -- an analog of Schmidt coefficients -- and finally to characterize maximally non-Markovian evolution being an analog of maximally entangled state. Our approach allows to classify the non-Markovianity measures introduced so far in a unified rigorous mathematical framework.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Dynamical paths and universality in continuous variables open systems

We address the dynamics of quantum correlations in continuous variable open systems and analyze the evolution of bipartite Gaussian states in independent noisy channels. In particular, upon introducing the notion of dynamical path through a suitable parametrization for symmetric states, we focus attention on phenomena that are common to Markovian and non-Markovian Gaussian maps under the assumptions of weak coupling and secular approximation. We found that the dynamical paths in the parameter space are universal, that is they do depend only on the initial state and on the effective temperature of the environment, with non Markovianity that manifests itself in the velocity of running over a given path. This phenomenon allows one to map non-Markovian processes onto Markovian ones and it may reduce the number of parameters needed to study a dynamical process, e.g. it may be exploited to build constants of motions valid for both Markovian and non-Markovian maps. Universality is also observed in the value of Gaussian discord at the separability threshold, which itself is a function of the sole initial conditions in the limit of high temperature. We also prove the existence of excluded regions in the parameter space, i.e. of sets of states which cannot be linked by any Gaussian dynamical map.

quant-ph↗