arXiv subjects

Vittorio Giovannetti

Publications and source records attributed to Vittorio Giovannetti.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Building versatile bipartite probes for quantum metrology

We consider bipartite systems as versatile probes for the estimation of transformations acting locally on one of the subsystems. We investigate what resources are required for the probes to offer a guaranteed level of metrological performance, when the latter is averaged over specific sets of local transformations. We quantify such a performance via the average skew information, a convex quantity which we compute in closed form for bipartite states of arbitrary dimensions, and which is shown to be strongly dependent on the degree of local purity of the probes. Our analysis contrasts and complements the recent series of studies focused on the minimum, rather than the average, performance of bipartite probes in local estimation tasks, which was instead determined by quantum correlations other than entanglement. We provide explicit prescriptions to characterize the most reliable states maximizing the average skew information, and elucidate the role of state purity, separability and correlations in the classification of optimal probes. Our results can help in the identification of useful resources for sensing, estimation and discrimination applications when complete knowledge of the interaction mechanism realizing the local transformation is unavailable, and access to pure entangled probes is technologically limited.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum Estimation via Sequential Measurements

The problem of estimating a parameter of a quantum system through a series of measurements performed sequentially on a quantum probe is analyzed in the general setting where the underlying statistics is explicitly non-i.i.d. We present a generalization of the central limit theorem in the present context, which under fairly general assumptions shows that as the number $N$ of measurement data increases the probability distribution of functionals of the data (e.g., the average of the data) through which the target parameter is estimated becomes asymptotically normal and independent of the initial state of the probe. At variance with the previous studies [M. Guţă, Phys. Rev. A 83, 062324 (2011); M. van Horssen and M. Guţă, J. Math. Phys. 56, 022109 (2015)] we take a diagrammatic approach, which allows one to compute not only the leading orders in $N$ of the moments of the average of the data but also those of the correlations among subsequent measurement outcomes. In particular our analysis points out that the latter, which are not available in usual i.i.d. data, can be exploited in order to improve the accuracy of the parameter estimation. An explicit application of our scheme is discussed by studying how the temperature of a thermal reservoir can be estimated via sequential measurements on a quantum probe in contact with the reservoir.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Nanoscale Mach-Zehnder interferometer with spin-resolved quantum Hall edge states

We realize a nanoscale-area Mach-Zehnder interferometer with co-propagating quantum Hall spin-resolved edge states and demonstrate the persistence of gate-controlled quantum interference oscillations, as a function of an applied magnetic field, at relatively large temperatures. Arrays of top-gate magnetic nanofingers are used to induce a resonant charge transfer between the pair of spin-resolved edge states. To account for the pattern of oscillations measured as a function of magnetic field and gate voltage, we have developed a simple theoretical model which satisfactorily reproduces the data.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Gaussian Discriminating Strength

We present a quantifier of non-classical correlations for bipartite, multi-mode Gaussian states. It is derived from the Discriminating Strength measure, introduced for finite dimensional systems in A. Farace et al., New. J. Phys. 16, 073010 (2014). As the latter the new measure exploits the Quantum Chernoff Bound to gauge the susceptibility of the composite system with respect to local perturbations induced by unitary gates extracted from a suitable set of allowed transformations (the latter being identified by posing some general requirements). Closed expressions are provided for the case of two-mode Gaussian states obtained by squeezing or by linearly mixing via a beam-splitter a factorized two-mode thermal state. For these density matrices, we study how non-classical correlations are related with the entanglement present in the system and with its total photon number.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Entanglement-Breaking Indices

We study a set of new functionals (called entanglement--breaking indices) which characterize how many local iterations of a given (local) quantum channel are needed in order to completely destroy the entanglement between the system of interest over which the transformation is defined and an external ancilla. The possibility of contrasting the noisy effects introduced by the channel iterations via the action of intermediate ({\it filtering}) transformations is analyzed. We provide some examples in which our functionals can be exactly calculated. The differences between unitary and non-unitary filtering operations are analyzed showing that, at least for systems of dimension $d$ larger than or equal to 3, the non-unitary choice is preferable (the gap between the performances of the two cases being divergent in some cases). For $d=2$ (qubit case) on the contrary no evidences of the presence of such gap is revealed: we conjecture that for this special case unitary filtering transformations are optimal. The scenario in which more general filtering protocols are allowed is also discussed in some detail. The case of a depolarizing noise acting on a two--qubit system is exactly solved in a general case.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Two-Mode Bosonic Quantum Metrology with Number Fluctuations

We search for the optimal quantum pure states of identical bosonic particles for applications in quantum metrology, in particular in the estimation of a single parameter for the generic two-mode interferometric setup. We consider the general case in which the total number of particles is fluctuating around an average $N$ with variance $ΔN^2$. By recasting the problem in the framework of classical probability, we clarify the maximal accuracy attainable and show that it is always larger than the one reachable with a fixed number of particles (i.e., $ΔN=0$). In particular, for larger fluctuations, the error in the estimation diminishes proportionally to $1/ΔN$, below the Heisenberg-like scaling $1/N$. We also clarify the best input state, which is a "quasi-NOON state" for a generic setup, and for some special cases a two-mode "Schrödinger-cat state" with a vacuum component. In addition, we search for the best state within the class of pure Gaussian states with a given average $N$, which is revealed to be a product state (with no entanglement) with a squeezed vacuum in one mode and the vacuum in the other.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Experiments testing macroscopic quantum superpositions must be slow

We consider a thought experiment where the preparation of a macroscopically massive or charged particle in a quantum superposition and the associated dynamics of a distant test particle apparently allow for superluminal communication. We give a solution to the paradox which is based on the following fundamental principle: any local experiment, discriminating a coherent superposition from an incoherent statistical mixture, necessarily requires a minimum time proportional to the mass (or charge) of the system. For a charged particle, we consider two examples of such experiments, and show that they are both consistent with the previous limitation. In the first, the measurement requires to accelerate the charge, that can entangle with the emitted photons. In the second, the limitation can be ascribed to the quantum vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. On the other hand, when applied to massive particles our result provides an indirect evidence for the existence of gravitational vacuum fluctuations and for the possibility of entangling a particle with quantum gravitational radiation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum optomechanical piston engines powered by heat

We study two different models of optomechanical systems where a temperature gradient between two radiation baths is exploited for inducing self-sustained coherent oscillations of a mechanical resonator. Viewed from a thermodynamic perspective, such systems represent quantum instances of self-contained thermal machines converting heat into a periodic mechanical motion and thus they can be interpreted as nano-scale analogues of macroscopic piston engines. Our models are potentially suitable for testing fundamental aspects of quantum thermodynamics in the laboratory and for applications in energy efficient nanotechnology.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Quantum Time

We give a consistent quantum description of time, based on Page and Wootters' conditional probabilities mechanism, that overcomes the criticisms that were raised against similar previous proposals. In particular we show how the model allows to reproduce the correct statistics of sequential measurements performed on a system at different times.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Separation of heat and charge currents for boosted thermoelectric conversion

In a multi-terminal device the (electronic) heat and charge currents can follow different paths. In this paper we introduce and analyse a class of multi-terminal devices where this property is pushed to its extreme limits, with charge $and$ heat currents flowing in different reservoirs. After introducing the main characteristics of such $heat-charge$ $current$ $separation$ regime we show how to realise it in a multi-terminal device with normal and superconducting leads. We demonstrate that this regime allows to control independently heat and charge flows and to greatly enhance thermoelectric performances at low temperatures. We analyse in details a three-terminal setup involving a superconducting lead, a normal lead and a voltage probe. For a generic scattering region we show that in the regime of heat-charge current separation both the power factor and the figure of merit $ZT$ are highly increased with respect to a standard two-terminal system. These results are confirmed for the specific case of a system consisting of three coupled quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Efficiency of quantum controlled non-Markovian thermalization

We study optimal control strategies to optimize the relaxation rate towards the fixed point of a quantum system in the presence of a non-Markovian dissipative bath. Contrary to naive expectations that suggest that memory effects might be exploited to improve optimal control effectiveness, non-Markovian effects influence the optimal strategy in a non trivial way: we present a necessary condition to be satisfied so that the effectiveness of optimal control is enhanced by non-Markovianity subject to suitable unitary controls. For illustration, we specialize our findings for the case of the dynamics of single qubit amplitude damping channels. The optimal control strategy presented here can be used to implement optimal cooling processes in quantum technologies and may have implications in quantum thermodynamics when assessing the efficiency of thermal micro-machines.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Normal form decomposition for Gaussian-to-Gaussian superoperators

In this paper we explore the set of linear maps sending the set of quantum Gaussian states into itself. These maps are in general not positive, a feature which can be exploited as a test to check whether a given quantum state belongs to the convex hull of Gaussian states (if one of the considered maps sends it into a non positive operator, the above state is certified not to belong to the set). Generalizing a result known to be valid under the assumption of complete positivity, we provide a characterization of these Gaussian-to-Gaussian (not necessarily positive) superoperators in terms of their action on the characteristic function of the inputs. For the special case of one-mode mappings we also show that any Gaussian-to-Gaussian superoperator can be expressed as a concatenation of a phase-space dilatation, followed by the action of a completely positive Gaussian channel, possibly composed with a transposition. While a similar decomposition is shown to fail in the multi-mode scenario, we prove that it still holds at least under the further hypothesis of homogeneous action on the covariance matrix.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

A magnetic thermal switch for heat management at the nanoscale

In a multi-terminal setup, when time-reversal symmetry is broken by a magnetic field, the heat flows can be managed by designing a device with programmable Boolean behavior. We show that such device can be used to implement operations like on/off switching, reversal, selected splitting and swap of the heat currents. For each feature, the switching from one working condition to the other is obtained by inverting the magnetic field. This offers interesting opportunities of conceiving a programmable setup, whose operation is controlled by an external parameter (the magnetic field) without need to alter voltage and thermal biases applied to the system. Our results, generic within the framework of linear response, are illustrated by means of a three-terminal electronic interferometer model.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Quantum state majorization at the output of bosonic Gaussian channels

Quantum communication theory explores the implications of quantum mechanics to the tasks of information transmission. Many physical channels can be formally described as quantum Gaussian operations acting on bosonic quantum states. Depending on the input state and on the quality of the channel, the output suffers certain amount of noise. For a long time it has been conjectured, but never proved, that output states of Gaussian channels corresponding to coherent input signals are the less noisy ones (in the sense of a majorization criterion). In this work we prove this conjecture. Specifically we show that every output state of a phase insensitive Gaussian channel is majorized by the output state corresponding to a coherent input. The proof is based on the optimality of coherent states for the minimization of strictly concave output functionals. Moreover we show that coherent states are the unique optimizers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

A generalization of the Entropy Power Inequality to Bosonic Quantum Systems

In most communication schemes information is transmitted via travelling modes of electromagnetic radiation. These modes are unavoidably subject to environmental noise along any physical transmission medium and the quality of the communication channel strongly depends on the minimum noise achievable at the output. For classical signals such noise can be rigorously quantified in terms of the associated Shannon entropy and it is subject to a fundamental lower bound called entropy power inequality. Electromagnetic fields are however quantum mechanical systems and then, especially in low intensity signals, the quantum nature of the information carrier cannot be neglected and many important results derived within classical information theory require non-trivial extensions to the quantum regime. Here we prove one possible generalization of the Entropy Power Inequality to quantum bosonic systems. The impact of this inequality in quantum information theory is potentially large and some relevant implications are considered in this work.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Entanglement-Saving Channels

The set of Entanglement Saving (ES) quantum channels is introduced and characterized. These are completely positive, trace preserving transformations which when acting locally on a bipartite quantum system initially prepared into a maximally entangled configuration, preserve its entanglement even when applied an arbitrary number of times. In other words, a quantum channel $ψ$ is said to be ES if its powers $ψ^n$ are not entanglement-breaking for all integers $n$. We also characterize the properties of the Asymptotic Entanglement Saving (AES) maps. These form a proper subset of the ES channels that is constituted by those maps which, not only preserve entanglement for all finite $n$, but which also sustain an explicitly not null level of entanglement in the asymptotic limit~$n\rightarrow \infty$. Structure theorems are provided for ES and for AES maps which yield an almost complete characterization of the former and a full characterization of the latter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

The multi-mode quantum Entropy Power Inequality

The quantum version of a fundamental entropic data-processing inequality is presented. It establishes a lower bound for the entropy that can be generated in the output channels of a scattering process, which involves a collection of independent input bosonic modes (e.g., the modes of the electromagnetic field). The impact of this inequality in quantum information theory is potentially large and some relevant implications are considered in this work.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Heat flux dynamics in dissipative cascaded systems

We study the dynamics of heat flux in the thermalization process of a pair of identical quantum system that interact dissipatively with a reservoir in a {\it cascaded} fashion. Despite the open dynamics of the bipartite system S is globally Lindbladian, one of the subsystems "sees" the reservoir in a state modified by the interaction with the other subsystem and hence it undergoes a non-Markovian dynamics. As a consequence, the heat flow exhibits a non-exponential time behaviour which can greatly deviate from the case where each party is independently coupled to the reservoir. We investigate both thermal and correlated initial states of $S$ and show that the presence of correlations at the beginning can considerably affect the heat flux rate. We carry out our study in two paradigmatic cases -- a pair of harmonic oscillators with a reservoir of bosonic modes and two qubits with a reservoir of fermionic modes -- and compare the corresponding behaviours. In the case of qubits and for initial thermal states, we find that the trace distance discord is at any time interpretable as the correlated contribution to the total heat flux.

quant-ph↗