arXiv subjects

Vittorio Giovannetti

Publications and source records attributed to Vittorio Giovannetti.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Entanglement Protection via Periodic Environment Resetting in Continuous Time Quantum Dynamical Processes

The temporal evolution of entanglement between a noisy system and an ancillary system is analyzed in the context of continuous time open quantum system dynamics. Focusing on a couple of analytically solvable models for qubit systems, we study how Markovian and non-Markovian characteristics influence the problem, discussing in particular their associated entanglement-breaking regimes. These performances are compared with those one could achieve when the environment of the system is forced to return to its input configuration via periodic instantaneous resetting procedures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Entropy production and asymptotic factorization via thermalization: a collisional model approach

The Markovian evolution of an open quantum system is characterized by a positive entropy production, while the global entropy gets redistributed between the system and the environment degrees of freedom. Starting from these premises, we analyze the entropy variation of an open quantum system in terms of two distinct relations: the Clausius inequality, that provides an intrinsic bound for the entropy variation in terms of the heat absorbed by the system, and an extrinsic inequality, which instead relates the former to the corresponding entropy increment of the environment. By modeling the thermalization process with a Markovian collisional model, we compare and discuss the two bounds, showing that the latter is asymptotically saturated in the limit of large interaction time. In this regime not only the reduced density matrix of the system reaches an equilibrium configuration, but it also factorizes from the environment degrees of freedom. This last result is proven analytically when the system-bath coupling is sufficiently strong and through numerical analysis in the weak-coupling regime.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Gaussian optimizers for entropic inequalities in quantum information

We survey the state of the art for the proof of the quantum Gaussian optimizer conjectures of quantum information theory. These fundamental conjectures state that quantum Gaussian input states are the solution to several optimization problems involving quantum Gaussian channels. These problems are the quantum counterpart of three fundamental results of functional analysis and probability: the Entropy Power Inequality, the sharp Young's inequality for convolutions, and the theorem "Gaussian kernels have only Gaussian maximizers." Quantum Gaussian channels play a key role in quantum communication theory: they are the quantum counterpart of Gaussian integral kernels and provide the mathematical model for the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the quantum regime. The quantum Gaussian optimizer conjectures are needed to determine the maximum communication rates over optical fibers and free space. The restriction of the quantum-limited Gaussian attenuator to input states diagonal in the Fock basis coincides with the thinning, which is the analog of the rescaling for positive integer random variables. Quantum Gaussian channels provide then a bridge between functional analysis and discrete probability.

math-ph↗

arXiv2018

The One-Mode Quantum-Limited Gaussian Attenuator and Amplifier Have Gaussian Maximizers

We determine the p->q norms of the Gaussian one-mode quantum-limited attenuator and amplifier and prove that they are achieved by Gaussian states, extending to noncommutative probability the seminal theorem "Gaussian kernels have only Gaussian maximizers" (Lieb in Invent Math 102(1):179-208, 1990). The quantum-limited attenuator and amplifier are the building blocks of quantum Gaussian channels, which play a key role in quantum communication theory since they model in the quantum regime the attenuation and the noise affecting any electromagnetic signal. Our result is crucial to prove the longstanding conjecture stating that Gaussian input states minimize the output entropy of one-mode phase-covariant quantum Gaussian channels for fixed input entropy. Our proof technique is based on a new noncommutative logarithmic Sobolev inequality, and it can be used to determine the p->q norms of any quantum semigroup.

math-ph↗

arXiv2018

A dynamical approach to ancilla assisted quantum thermometry

A scheme for improving the sensitivity of quantum thermometry is proposed where the sensing quantum system used to recover the temperature of an external bath is dynamically coupled with an external ancilla (a meter) via a Hamiltonian term $\hat{H}_I$. At variance with previous approaches, our scheme relies neither on the presence of initial entanglement between the sensor and the meter, nor on the possibility of performing joint measurements on the two systems. The advantages we report arise from the fact that the presence of $\hat{H}_I$ interferes with the bath-sensor interaction, transforming the sensor into an effective transducer which extracts the intrinsically incoherent information on the bath temperature, and maps it into coherences in the meter where it can finally be recovered by local measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Optimal thermodynamic control in open quantum systems

We apply advanced methods of control theory to open quantum systems and we determine finite-time processes which are optimal with respect to thermodynamic performances. General properties and necessary conditions characterizing optimal drivings are derived, obtaining bang-bang type solutions corresponding to control strategies switching between adiabatic and isothermal transformations. A direct application of these results is the maximization of the work produced by a generic quantum heat engine, where we show that the maximum power is directly linked to a particular conserved quantity naturally emerging from the control problem. Finally we apply our general approach to the specific case of a two level system, which can be put in contact with two different baths at fixed temperatures, identifying the processes which minimize heat dissipation. Moreover, we explicitly solve the optimization problem for a cyclic two-level heat engine driven beyond the linear-response regime, determining the corresponding optimal cycle, the maximum power, and the efficiency at maximum power.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Bridging thermodynamics and metrology in non-equilibrium Quantum Thermometry

Single-qubit thermometry presents the simplest tool to measure the temperature of thermal baths with reduced invasivity. At thermal equilibrium, the temperature uncertainty is linked to the heat capacity of the qubit, however the best precision is achieved outside equilibrium condition. Here, we discuss a way to generalize this relation in a non-equilibrium regime, taking into account purely quantum effects such as coherence. We support our findings with an experimental photonic simulation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Interferometric modulation of quantum cascade interactions

We consider many-body quantum systems dissipatively coupled by a cascade network, i.e. a setup in which interactions are mediated by unidirectional environmental modes propagating through a linear optical interferometer. In particular we are interested in the possibility of inducing different effective interactions by properly engineering an external dissipative network of beam-splitters and phase-shifters. In this work we first derive the general structure of the master equation for a symmetric class of translation-invariant cascade networks. Then we show how, by tuning the parameters of the interferometer, one can exploit interference effects to tailor a large variety of many-body interactions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Geometrical bounds on irreversibility in open quantum systems

Clausius inequality has deep implications for reversibility and the arrow of time. Quantum theory is able to extend this result for closed systems by inspecting the trajectory of the density matrix on its manifold. Here we show that this approach can provide an upper and lower bound to the irreversible entropy production for open quantum systems as well. These provide insights on the thermodynamics of the information erasure. Limits of the applicability of our bounds are discussed, and demonstrated in a quantum photonic simulator.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Asymmetric information capacities of reciprocal pairs of quantum channels

Reciprocal pairs of quantum channels are defined as completely positive transformations which admit a rigid, distance-preserving, yet not completely-positive transformation that allows to reproduce the outcome of one from the corresponding outcome of the other. From a classical perspective these transmission lines should exhibit the same communication efficiency. This is no longer the case in the quantum setting: explicit asymmetric behaviours are reported studying the classical communication capacities of reciprocal pairs of depolarizing and Weyl-covariant channels.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Optimal continuous variable quantum teleportation with limited resources

Given a certain amount of entanglement available as a resource, what is the most efficient way to accomplish a quantum task? We address this question in the relevant case of continuous variable quantum teleportation protocols implemented using two-mode Gaussian states with a limited degree of entanglement and energy. We first characterize the class of single-mode phase-insensitive Gaussian channels that can be simulated via a Braunstein--Kimble protocol with non-unit gain and minimum shared entanglement, showing that infinite energy is not necessary apart from the special cases of the quantum limited attenuator and amplifier. We also find that, apart from the identity, all phase-insensitive Gaussian channels can be simulated through a two-mode squeezed state with finite energy, albeit with a larger entanglement. We then consider the problem of teleporting single-mode coherent states with Gaussian-distributed displacement in phase space. Performing a geometrical optimization over phase-insensitive Gaussian channels, we determine the maximum average teleportation fidelity achievable with any finite entanglement and for any realistically finite variance of the input distribution.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Locally optimal symplectic control of multimode Gaussian states

The relaxation of a system to a steady state is a central point of interest in many attempts to advance control over the quantum world. In this paper, we consider control through instantaneous Gaussian unitary operations on the ubiquitous lossy channel, and find locally optimal conditions for the cooling and heating of a multimode Gaussian state subject to losses and possibly thermal noise. This is done by isolating the parameters that encode entropy and temperature and by deriving an equation for their evolution. This equation is in such a form that it grants clear insight into how relaxation may be helped by instantaneous quantum control. It is thus shown that squeezing is a crucial element in optimising the rate of change of entropic properties under these channels. Exact relaxation times for heating and cooling are derived, up to an arbitrarily small distance from the fixed point of the lossy channel with locally optimal strategies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Slow dynamics and thermodynamics of open quantum systems

We develop a perturbation theory of quantum (and classical) master equations with slowly varying parameters, applicable to systems which are externally controlled on a time scale much longer than their characteristic relaxation time. We apply this technique to the analysis of finite-time isothermal processes in which, differently from quasi-static transformations, the state of the system is not able to continuously relax to the equilibrium ensemble. Our approach allows to formally evaluate perturbations up to arbitrary order to the work and heat exchange associated to an arbitrary process. Within first order in the perturbation expansion, we identify a general formula for the efficiency at maximum power of a finite-time Carnot engine. We also clarify under which assumptions and in which limit one can recover previous phenomenological results as, for example, the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

The capacity of coherent-state adaptive decoders with interferometry and single-mode detectors

A class of Adaptive Decoders (AD's) for coherent-state sequences is studied, including in particular the most common technology for optical-signal processing, e.g., interferometers, coherent displacements and photon-counting detectors. More generally we consider AD's comprising adaptive procedures based on passive multi-mode Gaussian unitaries and arbitrary single-mode destructive measurements. For classical communication on quantum phase-insensitive Gaussian channels with a coherent-state encoding, we show that the AD's optimal information transmission rate is not greater than that of a single-mode decoder. Our result also implies that the ultimate classical capacity of quantum phase-insensitive Gaussian channels is unlikely to be achieved with the considered class of AD's.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Amending entanglement-breaking channels via intermediate unitary operations

We report a bulk optics experiment demonstrating the possibility of restoring the entanglement distribution through noisy quantum channels by inserting a suitable unitary operation (filter) in the middle of the transmission process. We focus on two relevant classes of single-qubit channels consisting in repeated applications of rotated phase damping or rotated amplitude damping maps, both modeling the combined Hamiltonian and dissipative dynamics of the polarization state of single photons. Our results show that interposing a unitary filter between two noisy channels can significantly improve entanglement transmission. This proof-of-principle demonstration could be generalized to many other physical scenarios where entanglement-breaking communication lines may be amended by unitary filters.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Versatile Gaussian probes for squeezing estimation

We consider an instance of black-box quantum metrology in the Gaussian framework, where we aim to estimate the amount of squeezing applied on an input probe, without previous knowledge on the phase of the applied squeezing. By taking the quantum Fisher information (QFI) as the figure of merit, we evaluate its average and variance with respect to this phase in order to identify probe states that yield good precision for many different squeezing directions. We first consider the case of single-mode Gaussian probes with the same energy, and find that pure squeezed states maximize the average quantum Fisher information (AvQFI) at the cost of a performance that oscillates strongly as the squeezing direction is changed. Although the variance can be brought to zero by correlating the probing system with a reference mode, the maximum AvQFI cannot be increased in the same way. A different scenario opens if one takes into account the effects of photon losses: coherent states represent the optimal single-mode choice when losses exceed a certain threshold and, moreover, correlated probes can now yield larger AvQFI values than all single-mode states, on top of having zero variance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Universal locality of quantum thermal susceptibility

The ultimate precision of any measurement of the temperature of a quantum system is the inverse of the local quantum thermal susceptibility [De Pasquale et al., Nature Communications 7, 12782 (2016)] of the subsystem with whom the thermometer interacts. If this subsystem can be described with the canonical ensemble, such quantity reduces to the variance of the local Hamiltonian, that is proportional to the heat capacity of the subsystem. However, the canonical ensemble might not apply in the presence of interactions between the subsystem and the rest of the system. In this work we address this problem in the framework of locally interacting quantum systems. We prove that the local quantum thermal susceptibility of any subsystem is close to the variance of its local Hamiltonian, provided the volume to surface ratio of the subsystem is much larger than the correlation length. This result greatly simplifies the determination of the ultimate precision of any local estimate of the temperature, and rigorously determines the regime where interactions can affect this precision.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Interferometric Quantum Cascade Systems

In this work we consider quantum cascade networks in which quantum systems are connected through unidirectional channels that can mutually interact giving rise to interference effects. In particular we show how to compute master equations for cascade systems in an arbitrary interferometric configuration by means of a collisional model. We apply our general theory to two specific examples: the first consists in two systems arranged in a Mach-Zender-like configuration; the second is a three system network where it is possible to tune the effective chiral interactions between the nodes exploiting interference effects.

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