T. McDermott | Searcharxiv

arXiv2020

Josephson junctions as nanoelectromechanical Bloch oscillators

Bloch oscillations were predicted and observed long ago in Josephson junctions, which are thin insulating or conducting layers bridging two superconductors. Here we forward a scheme for utilizing these oscillations to amplify nano-metric mechanical vibrations. Highly coherent non-classical mechanical states can be produced and controlled by simply applying a DC bias current and an in-plane magnetic field. The vibrations induce peaks in the I-V characteristic of the junction and can be detected by simple DC voltage measurements.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Quantum simulations with multiphoton Fock states

Quantum simulations are becoming an essential tool for studying complex phenomena, e.g. quantum topology, quantum information transfer, and relativistic wave equations, beyond the limitations of analytical computations and experimental observations. To date, the primary resources used in proof-of-principle experiments are collections of qubits, coherent states or multiple single-particle Fock states. Here we show the first quantum simulation performed using genuine higher-order Fock states, with two or more indistinguishable particles occupying the same bosonic mode. This was implemented by interfering pairs of Fock states with up to five photons on an interferometer, and measuring the output states with photon-number-resolving detectors. Already this resource-efficient demonstration reveals new topological matter, simulates non-linear systems and elucidates a perfect quantum transfer mechanism which can be used to transport Majorana fermions.

quant-ph↗