Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Yong-Chun Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Yong-Chun Liu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Quantum Signatures of Topological Phase in Bosonic Quadratic System

Quantum entanglement and classical topology are two distinct phenomena that are difficult to be connected together. Here we discover that an open bosonic quadratic chain exhibits topology-induced entanglement effect. When the system is in the topological phase, the edge modes can be entangled in the steady state, while no entanglement appears in the trivial phase. This finding is verified through the covariance approach based on the quantum master equations, which provide exact numerical results without truncation process. We also obtain concise approximate analytical results through the quantum Langevin equations, which perfectly agree with the exact numerical results. We show the topological edge states exhibit near-zero eigenenergies located in the band gap and are separated from the bulk eigenenergies, which match the system-environment coupling (denoted by the dissipation rate) and thus the squeezing correlations can be enhanced. Our work reveals that the stationary entanglement can be a quantum signature of the topological phase in bosonic systems, and inversely the topological quadratic systems can be powerful platforms to generate robust entanglement.

quant-ph↗

Observation of Exceptional Points in Thermal Atomic Ensembles

Exceptional points (EPs) in non-Hermitian systems have recently attracted wide interests and spawned intriguing prospects for enhanced sensing. However, EPs have not yet been realized in thermal atomic ensembles, which is one of the most important platforms for quantum sensing. Here we experimentally observe EPs in multi-level thermal atomic ensembles, and realize enhanced sensing of magnetic field for one order of magnitude. We take advantage of the rich energy levels of atoms and construct effective decays for selected energy levels by employing laser coupling with the excited state, yielding unbalanced decay rates for different energy levels, which finally results in the existence of EPs. Furthermore, we propose the optical polarization rotation measurement scheme to detect the splitting of the resonance peaks, which makes use of both the absorption and dispersion properties, and shows advantage with enhanced splitting compared with the conventional transmission measurement scheme. Besides, in our system both the effective coupling strength and decay rates are flexibly adjustable, and thus the position of the EPs are tunable, which expands the measurement range. Our work not only provides a new controllable platform for studying EPs and non-Hermitian physics, but also provide new ideas for the design of EP-enhanced sensors and opens up realistic opportunities for practical applications in the high-precision sensing of magnetic field and other physical quantities.

quant-ph↗

Spin Squeezing with Arbitrary Quadratic Collective-Spin Interaction

Spin squeezing is vitally important in quantum metrology and quantum information science. The noise reduction resulting from spin squeezing can surpass the standard quantum limit and even reach the Heisenberg Limit (HL) in some special circumstances. However, systems that can reach the HL are very limited. Here we study the spin squeezing in atomic systems with a generic form of quadratic collective-spin interaction, which can be described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick(LMG) model. We find that the squeezing properties are determined by the initial states and the anisotropic parameters. Moreover, we propose a pulse rotation scheme to transform the model into two-axis twisting model with Heisenberg-limited spin squeezing. Our study paves the way for reaching HL in a broad variety of systems.

quant-ph↗

Loss-induced Floquet non-Hermitian skin effect

Non-Hermitian topological systems have attracted lots of interest due to their unique topological properties when the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE) appears. However, the experimental realization of NHSE conventionally requires non-reciprocal couplings, which are compatible with limited systems. Here we propose a mechanism of loss-induced Floquet NHSE, where the loss provides the basic source of non-Hermicity and the Floquet engineering brings about the Floquet-induced complex next-nearest-neighbor couplings. We also extend the generalized Brillouin zone theory to nonequilibrium systems to describe the Floquet NHSE. Furthermore, we show that this mechanism can realize the second-order NHSE when generalized to two-dimensional systems. Our proposal can be realized in photonic lattices with helical waveguides and other related systems, which opens the door for the study of topological phases in Floquet non-Hermitian systems.

physics.optics↗

PT-symmetric feedback induced linewidth narrowing

Narrow linewidth is a long-pursuing goal in precision measurement and sensing. We propose a parity-time (PT )-symmetric feedback method to narrow the linewidths of resonance systems. By using a quadrature measurement-feedback loop, we transform a dissipative resonance system into a PT-symmetric system. Unlike the conventional PT-symmetric systems which typically require two or more modes, here the PT-symmetric feedback system contains only a single resonance mode, which greatly extends the scope of applications. The method enables remarkable linewidth narrowing and enhancement of measurement sensitivity. We illustrate the concept in a thermal ensemble of atoms, achieving a 48-fold narrowing of the magnetic resonance linewidth. By applying the method in magnetometry, we realize a 22-times improvement of the measurement sensitivity. This work opens the avenue for studying non-Hermitian physics and high-precision measurements in resonance systems with feedback.

physics.optics↗

Heisenberg-limited spin squeezing in coupled spin systems

Spin squeezing plays a crucial role in quantum metrology and quantum information science. Its generation is the prerequisite for further applications but still faces an enormous challenge since the existing physical systems rarely contain the required squeezing interactions. Here we propose a universal scheme to generate spin squeezing in coupled spin models with collective spin-spin interactions, which commonly exist in various systems. Our scheme can transform the coupled spin interactions into squeezing interactions, and reach the extreme squeezing with Heisenberg-limited measurement precision scaling as $1/N$ for $N$ particles. Only constant and continuous driving fields are required, which is accessible to a series of current realistic experiments. This work greatly enriches the variety of systems that can generate the Heisenberg-limited spin squeezing, with broad applications in quantum precision measurement.

quant-ph↗

Mechanical Squeezing via Detuning-Switched Driving

Generation of mechanical squeezing has attracted a lot of interest for its nonclassical properties, applications in quantum information, and high-sensitivity measurement. Here we propose a detuning-switched method that can rapidly generate strong and stationary mechanical squeezing. The pulsed driving can dynamically transpose the optomechanical coupling into a linear optical force and maintain an effective mechanical frequency, which can introduce strong mechanical squeezing in a short time. Moreover, we show the obtained strong mechanical squeezing can be frozen by increasing the pulse intervals, leading to stationary mechanical squeezing with a fixed squeezing angle. Thus, our proposal provides fascinating insights and applications of modulated optomechanical systems.

quant-ph↗

Perfect nonreciprocity by loss engineering

Realization of nonreciprocal transmission with low insertion loss and high contrast simultaneously is in great demand for one-way optical communication and information processing. Here we propose a generic approach to achieving perfect nonreciprocity that allows lossless unidirectional transmission by engineering energy losses. The loss of the intermediate mode induces a phase lag impinging on the indirect channel for energy transmission, which does not depend on the energy transmission direction. When the direct transmission channel coexists with the indirect lossy transmission channel, the dual-channel interference can be tuned to be destructive simultaneously for backward transmission from the rightmost mode to the leftmost mode, and for forward transmission from the leftmost mode to the intermediate mode. The former interference outcome corresponds to 100% nonreciprocity contrast, and the latter guarantees zero insertion loss for forward transmission. Additionally, our scheme also allows a nonreciprocity response over a wide bandwidth by increasing the losses while keeping perfect nonreciprocity at resonance. The robustness against loss indicates that our scheme is advantageous in the implementation of nonreciprocal optical devices with high performance.

physics.optics↗

Constraints on Spin-Spin-Velocity-Dependent Interaction

The existence of exotic spin-dependent forces may shine light on new physics beyond the Standard Model. We utilize two iron shielded SmCo$_5$ electron-spin sources and two optically pumped magnetometers to search for exotic long-range spin-spin-velocity-dependent force. The orientations of spin sources and magnetometers are optimized such that the exotic force is enhanced and common-mode noise is effectively subtracted. We set direct limit on proton-electron interaction in the force range from 1\,cm to 1\,km. Our experiment represents more than ten orders of magnitude improvement than previous works.

physics.atom-ph↗

A concise review of Rydberg atom based quantum computation and quantum simulation

Quantum information processing based on Rydberg atoms emerged as a promising direction two decades ago. Recent experimental and theoretical progresses have shined exciting light on this avenue. In this concise review, we will briefly introduce the basics of Rydberg atoms and their recent applications in associated areas of neutral atom quantum computation and simulation. We shall also include related discussions on quantum optics with Rydberg atomic ensembles, which are increasingly used to explore quantum computation and quantum simulation with photons.

quant-ph↗

Classical route to quantum chaotic motions

We extract the information of a quantum motion and decode it into a certain orbit via a single measurable quantity. Such that a quantum chaotic system can be reconstructed as a chaotic attractor. Two configurations for reconstructing this certain orbit are illustrated, which interpret quantum chaotic motions from the perspectives of probabilistic nature and the uncertainty principle, respectively. We further present a strategy to import classical chaos to a quantum system, revealing a connection between the classical and quantum worlds.

quant-ph↗

Atom-Photon Spin-Exchange Collisions Mediated by Rydberg Dressing

We show that photons propagating through a Rydberg-dressed atomic ensemble can exchange its spin state with a single atom. Such a spin-exchange collision exhibits both dissipative and coherent features, depending on the interaction strength. For strong interaction, the collision dissipatively drives the system into an entangled dark state of the photon with an atom. In the weak interaction regime, the scattering coherently flips the spin of a single photon in the multi-photon input pulse, demonstrating a generic single-photon subtracting process. An analytic analysis of this process reveals a universal trade-off between efficiency and purity of the extracted photon, which applies to a wide class of single-photon subtractors. We show that such a trade-off can be optimized by adjusting the scattering rate under a novel phase-matching condition.

quant-ph↗

Intracavity-squeezed optomechanical cooling

Quantum ground-state cooling of macroscopic mechanical resonators is of essential importance to both fundamental physics and applied science. Conventional method of laser cooling is limited by the quantum backaction, which requires mechanical sideband resolved in order to cool to ground state. This work presents an idea to break the quantum backaction limit by engineering intracavity optical squeezing. It gives rise to quantum interference for all the dissipation channels, and under certain circumstances can totally remove the influence of the cavity dissipation and the resultant quantum backaction, with much lower cooling limit irrespective of the sideband resolution. We show that our scheme enables ground-state cooling in the highly unresolved sideband limit and it also works beyond the weak coupling regime, which provides the opportunity for quantum manipulation of macroscopic mechanical systems.

quant-ph↗

Extreme Spin Squeezing from Deep Reinforcement Learning

Spin squeezing (SS) is a recognized resource for realizing measurement precision beyond the standard quantum limit $\propto 1/\sqrt{N}$. The rudimentary one-axis twisting (OAT) interaction can facilitate SS and has been realized in diverse experiments, but it cannot achieve extreme SS for precision at Heisenberg limit $\propto 1/{N}$. Aided by deep reinforcement learning (DRL), we discover size-independent universal rules for realizing nearly extreme SS with OAT interaction using merely a handful of rotation pulses. More specifically, only 6 pairs of pulses are required for up to $10^4$ particles, while the time taken to reach extreme SS remains on the same order of the optimal OAT squeezing time, which makes our scheme viable for experiments that reported OAT squeezing. This study highlights the potential of DRL for controlled quantum dynamics.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

Manipulating photonic quantum states with long-range interactions

We present a scheme for coherently manipulating quantum states of photons by incorporating multiple photonic modes in a system with long-range interactions. The presence of nonlocal photon-photon interactions destroys the energy or momentum matching conditions between distinct propagating polaritons, and consequently gives rise to blockaded effective coupling between the corresponding polaritons. Such a blockade mechanism protects the system from interaction-induced dissipations and enables highly tunable few-photon nonlinearities. Taking Rydberg atomic ensemble as an example, we illustrate several intriguing phenomena based on the proposed scheme, e.g., the deterministic generation of entangled photon pairs, the nonlinear beam splitting, as well as the establishment of a tunable dressed interaction between individual photons.

quant-ph↗

Chaotic synchronization of two optical cavity modes in optomechanical systems

The synchronization of the motion of microresonators has attracted considerable attention. Here we present theoretical methods to synchronize the chaotic motion of two optical cavity modes in an optomechanical system, in which one of the optical modes is strongly driven into chaotic motion and is coupled to another weakly-driven optical mode mediated by a mechanical resonator. In these optomechanical systems, we can obtain both complete and phase synchronization of the optical cavity modes in chaotic motion, starting from different initial states. We find that complete synchronization of chaos can be achieved in two identical cavity modes. In the strong-coupling small-detuning regime, we also {produce} phase synchronization of chaos between two nonidentical cavity modes.

quant-ph↗

Microcavity-engineered plasmonic resonances for radiation enhancement and strong coupling of a quantum emitter

Localized-surface plasmon resonance is of importance in both fundamental and applied physics for the subwavelength confinement of optical field, but realization of quantum coherent processes is confronted with challenges due to strong dissipation. Here we propose to engineer the electromagnetic environment of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) using optical microcavities. An analytical quantum model is built to describe the MNP-microcavity interaction, revealing the significantly enhanced dipolar radiation and consequentially reduced Ohmic dissipation of the plasmonic modes. As a result, when interacting with a quantum emitter, the microcavity-engineered MNP enhances the quantum yield over 40 folds and the radiative power over one order of magnitude. Moreover, the system can enter the strong coupling regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics, providing a promising platform for the study of plasmonic quantum electrodynamics, quantum information processing, precise sensing and spectroscopy.

quant-ph↗

Hybrid quantum device based on NV centers in diamond nanomechanical resonators plus superconducting waveguide cavities

We propose and analyze a hybrid device by integrating a microscale diamond beam with a single built-in nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spin to a superconducting coplanar waveguide (CPW) cavity. We find that under an ac electric field the quantized motion of the diamond beam can strongly couple to the single cavity photons via dielectric interaction. Together with the strong spin-motion interaction via a large magnetic field gradient, it provides a hybrid quantum device where the dia- mond resonator can strongly couple both to the single microwave cavity photons and to the single NV center spin. This enables coherent information transfer and effective coupling between the NV spin and the CPW cavity via mechanically dark polaritons. This hybrid spin-electromechanical de- vice, with tunable couplings by external fields, offers a realistic platform for implementing quantum information with single NV spins, diamond mechanical resonators, and single microwave photons.

quant-ph↗