We propose a quantum memory scheme to transfer and store the quantum state of a superconducting flux qubit (FQ) into the electron spin of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond via yttrium iron garnet (YIG), a ferromagnet. Unlike an ensemble of NV centers, the YIG moderator can enhance the effective FQ-NV-center coupling strength without introducing additional appreciable decoherence. We derive the effective interaction between the FQ and the NV center by tracing out the degrees of freedom of the collective mode of the YIG spins. We demonstrate the transfer, storage, and retrieval procedures, taking into account the effects of spontaneous decay and pure dephasing. Using realistic experimental parameters for the FQ, NV center and YIG, we find that a combined transfer, storage, and retrieval fidelity higher than 0.9, with a long storage time of 10 ms, can be achieved. This hybrid system not only acts as a promising quantum memory, but also provides an example of enhanced coupling between various systems through collective degrees of freedom.

We demonstrate that quantum Fisher information and superradiance can be formulated as coherence measures in accordance with the resource theory of coherence, thus establishing a direct link between metrological resources, superradiance, and coherence. The arguments are generalized to show that coherence may be considered as the underlying fundamental resource for any functional of state that is first of all faithful, and second, concave or linear. It is also shown that quantum Fisher information and the superradiant quantity are in fact antithetical resources in the sense that if coherence were directed to saturate one quantity, then it must come at the expense of the other. Finally, a key result of the paper is to demonstrate that coherence, quantum Fisher information, superradiant quantity, and entanglement are mutually interconvertible resources under incoherent operations.

We investigate the excitation of a quantum particle shuttled in a harmonic trap with weak spring-constant colored noise. The Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model for the noise correlation function describes a wide range of possible noises, in particular for short correlation times the white-noise limit examined by Lu et al. [Phys. Rev. A 89, 063414 (2014)] and, by averaging over correlation times, “$1/f$ flicker noise.” We find expressions for the excitation energy in terms of static (independent of trap motion) and dynamical sensitivities, with opposite behavior with respect to shuttling time, and demonstrate that the excitation can be reduced by proper process timing and design of the trap trajectory.

In most models and theoretical calculations describing multiphoton ionization by infrared light, the dipole approximation is used. This is equivalent to setting the very small photon momentum to zero. Using numerical solutions of the (nondipole) three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation for one electron in a ${\mathrm{H}}_2{}^{+}$ molecular ion we investigate the effect the photon-momentum transfer to the photoelectron in an ${\mathrm{H}}_2{}^{+}$ ion in various regimes. We find that the photon-momentum transfer in a molecule is very different from the transfer in atoms due to two-center interference effects. The photon-momentum transfer is very sensitive to the symmetry of the initial electronic state and is strongly dependent on the internuclear distance and on the ellipticity of the laser.

We study the exact bound state and time evolution for single excitations in one-dimensional $XXZ$ spin chains within a non-Markovian reservoir. For the bound state, a common feature is the localization of single excitations, which means the spontaneous emission of excitations into the reservoir is prohibited. Exceptionally, the pseudo-bound state can be found, for which the single excitation has a finite probability of emission into the reservoir. In addition, a critical energy scale for bound states is also identified, below which only one bound state exists, and it is also the pseudo-bound state. The effect of quasirandom disorder in the spin chain is also discussed; such disorder induces the single excitation to locate at some spin sites. Furthermore, to display the effect of bound state and disorder on the preservation of quantum information, the time evolution of single excitations in spin chains is studied exactly. An interesting observation is that the excitation can stay at its initial location with high probability only when the bound state and disorder coexist. In contrast, when either one of them is absent, the information of the initial state can be erased completely or becomes mixed. This finding shows that the combination of bound state and disorder can provide an ideal mechanism for quantum memory.

We develop a general operational framework that formalizes the concept of conditional uncertainty in a measure-independent fashion. Our formalism is built upon a mathematical relation which we call conditional majorization. We define conditional majorization and, for the case of classical memory, we provide its thorough characterization in terms of monotones, i.e., functions that preserve the partial order under conditional majorization. We demonstrate the application of this framework by deriving two types of memory-assisted uncertainty relations, (1) a monotone-based conditional uncertainty relation and (2) a universal measure-independent conditional uncertainty relation, both of which set a lower bound on the minimal uncertainty that Bob has about Alice's pair of incompatible measurements, conditioned on arbitrary measurement that Bob makes on his own system. We next compare the obtained relations with their existing entropic counterparts and find that they are at least independent.

It has been observed that quantum walks on regular lattices can give rise to wave equations for relativistic particles in the continuum limit. In this paper, we define the three-dimensional discrete-time walk as a product of three coined one-dimensional walks. The factor corresponding to each one-dimensional walk involves two projection operators that act on an internal coin space; each projector is associated with either the “forward” or “backward” direction in that physical dimension. We show that the simple requirement that there is no preferred axis or direction along an axis—that is, that the walk be symmetric under parity transformations and steps along different axes of the cubic lattice be uncorrelated—leads, in the case of the simplest solution, to the requirement that the continuum limit of the walk is fully Lorentz-invariant. We show further that, in the case of a massive particle, this symmetry requirement necessitates the use of a four-dimensional internal space (as in the Dirac equation). The “coin flip” operation is generated by the parity transformation on the internal coin space, while the differences of the projection operators associated with each dimension must all anticommute. Finally, we discuss the leading correction to the continuum limit, and the possibility of distinguishing through experiment between the discrete random walk and the continuum-based Dirac equation as a description of fermion dynamics.

In this work, we show that the dissipation in a many-body system under an arbitrary nonequilibrium process is related to the Rényi divergences between two states along the forward and reversed dynamics under a very general family of initial conditions. This relation generalizes the links between dissipated work and Rényi divergences to quantum systems with conserved quantities whose equilibrium state is described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble. The relation is applicable for quantum systems with conserved quantities and can be applied to protocols driving the system between integrable and chaotic regimes. We demonstrate our ideas by considering the one-dimensional transverse quantum Ising model and the Jaynes-Cummings model which are driven out of equilibrium.

Quantum processors promise a paradigm shift in high-performance computing which needs to be assessed by accurate benchmarking measures. In this article, we introduce a benchmark for the variational quantum algorithm (VQA), recently proposed as a heuristic algorithm for small-scale quantum processors. In VQA, a classical optimization algorithm guides the processor's quantum dynamics to yield the best solution for a given problem. A complete assessment of the scalability and competitiveness of VQA should take into account both the quality and the time of dynamics optimization. The method of optimal stopping, employed here, provides such an assessment by explicitly including time as a cost factor. Here, we showcase this measure for benchmarking VQA as a solver for some quadratic unconstrained binary optimization. Moreover, we show that a better choice for the cost function of the classical routine can significantly improve the performance of the VQA algorithm and even improve its scaling properties.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) allows two remote users to establish a secret key in the presence of an eavesdropper. The users share quantum states prepared in two mutually unbiased bases: one to generate the key while the other monitors the presence of the eavesdropper. Here, we show that a general $d$-dimension QKD system can be secured by transmitting only a subset of the monitoring states. In particular, we find that there is no loss in the secure key rate when dropping one of the monitoring states. Furthermore, it is possible to use only a single monitoring state if the quantum bit error rates are low enough. We apply our formalism to an experimental $d=4$ time-phase QKD system, where only one monitoring state is transmitted, and obtain a secret key rate of $17.4\pm 2.8$ Mbits/s at a 4 dB channel loss and with a quantum bit error rate of $0.045\pm 0.001$ and $0.037\pm 0.001$ in time and phase bases, respectively, which is 58.4% of the secret key rate that can be achieved with the full setup. This ratio can be increased, potentially up to 100%, if the error rates in time and phase basis are reduced. Our results demonstrate that it is possible to substantially simplify the design of high-dimensional QKD systems, including those that use the spatial or temporal degrees of freedom of the photon, and still outperform qubit-based ($d=2$) protocols.

The cross-resonance (CR) gate is an entangling gate for fixed-frequency superconducting qubits. While being simple and extensible, it is comparatively slow, at 160 ns, and thus of limited fidelity due to on-going incoherent processes. Using two different optimal control algorithms, we estimate the quantum speed limit for a controlled-not cnot gate in this system to be 10 ns, indicating a potential for great improvements. We show that the ability to approach this limit depends strongly on the choice of ansatz used to describe optimized control pulses and limitations placed on their complexity. Using a piecewise-constant ansatz, with a single carrier and bandwidth constraints, we identify an experimentally feasible 70-ns pulse shape. Further, an ansatz based on the two dominant frequencies involved in the optimal control problem allows for an optimal solution more than twice as fast again, at under 30 ns, with smooth features and limited complexity. This is twice as fast as gate realizations using tunable-frequency, resonantly coupled qubits. Compared to current CR-gate implementations, we project our scheme will provide a sixfold speed-up and thus a sixfold reduction in fidelity loss due to incoherent effects.

We observe the electric-dipole forbidden $7s\to 8s$ transition in the francium isotopes ${}^{208-211}\mathrm{Fr}$ and ${}^{213}\mathrm{Fr}$ using a two-photon excitation scheme. We collect the atoms online from an accelerator and confine them in a magneto-optical trap for the measurements. In combination with previous measurements of the $7s\to 7p_{1/2}$ transition we perform a King plot analysis. We compare the thus-determined ratio of the field shift constants (1.228 $\pm$ 0.019) to results obtained from new ab initio calculations (1.234 $\pm$ 0.010).

In this work, we analyze the incidence of the plates' thickness on the Casimir force and radiative heat transfer for a configuration of parallel plates in a nonequilibrium scenario, relating to Lifshitz's and Landauer's formulas. From a first-principles canonical quantization scheme for the study of the matter-field interaction, we give closed-form expressions for the nonequilibrium Casimir force and the heat transfer between plates of thicknesses $d_{\mathrm{L}},d_{\mathrm{R}}$. We distinguish three different contributions to the Casimir force and the heat transfer in the general nonequilibrium situation: two associated with each of the plates and one to the initial state of the field. We analyze the dependence of the Casimir force and heat transfer with the plate thickness (setting $d_{\mathrm{L}}=d_{\mathrm{R}}\equiv d$), showing the scale at which each magnitude converges to the value of infinite thickness ($d\to +\infty$) and how to correctly reproduce the nonequilibrium Lifshitz's formula. For the heat transfer, we show that Landauer's formula does not apply to every case (where the three contributions are present), but it is correct for some specific situations. We also analyze the interplay of the different contributions for realistic experimental and nanotechnological conditions, showing the impact of the thickness in the measurements. For small thicknesses (compared to the separation distance), the plates act to decrease the background blackbody flux, while for large thicknesses the heat is given by the baths' contribution only. The combination of these behaviors allows for the possibility, on one hand, of having a tunable minimum in the heat transfer that is experimentally attainable and observable for metals and, on the other hand, of having vanishing heat flux in the gap when those difference are of opposite signs (thermal shielding). These features turns out to be relevant for nanotechnological applications.

We consider the problem of three distinguishable fermions confined to a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) geometry, where there is a strong harmonic potential in one direction. We go beyond previous theoretical work and investigate the three-body bound states (trimers) for the case where the two-body short-range interactions between fermions are unequal. Using the scattering parameters from experiments on ultracold ${}^6\mathrm{Li}$ atoms, we calculate the trimer spectrum throughout the crossover from two to three dimensions. We find that the deepest Efimov trimer in the ${}^6\mathrm{Li}$ system is unaffected by realistic quasi-2D confinements, while the first excited trimer smoothly evolves from a three-dimensional-like Efimov trimer to an extended 2D-like trimer as the attractive interactions are decreased. We furthermore compute the excited trimer wave function and quantify the stability of the trimer against decay into a dimer and an atom by determining the probability that three fermions approach each other at short distances. Our results indicate that the lifetime of the trimer can be enhanced by at least an order of magnitude in the quasi-2D geometry, thus opening the door to realizing long-lived trimers in three-component Fermi gases.

An ion held in a radio-frequency trap interacting with a uniform buffer gas of neutral atoms develops a steady-state energy distribution characterized by a power-law tail at high energies instead of the exponential decay characteristic of thermal equilibrium. We have previously shown that the Tsallis statistics frequently used as an empirical model for this distribution is a good approximation when the ion is heated due to a combination of micromotion interruption and exchange of kinetic energy with the buffer gas [Rouse and Willitsch, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 143401 (2017)]. Here, we extend our treatment to include the heating due to additional motion of the ion caused by external forces, including the “excess micromotion” induced by uniform electric fields and rf phase offsets. We show that this also leads to a Tsallis distribution with a potentially different power-law exponent from that observed in the absence of this additional forced motion, with the difference increasing as the ratio of the mass of the neutral atoms to that of the ion decreases. Our results indicate that unless the excess micromotion is minimized to a very high degree, then even a system with very light neutrals and a heavy ion does not exhibit a thermal distribution.

Using the improved molecular strong-field approximation, we investigate (high-order) above-threshold ionization [(H)ATI] of various linear polyatomic molecules by a two-color laser field of frequencies $r\omega$ and $s\omega$ (with integer numbers $r$ and $s$) having coplanar counter-rotating circularly polarized components (a so-called bicircular field). Reflection and rotational symmetries for molecules aligned in the laser-field polarization plane, analyzed for diatomic homonuclear molecules in Phys. Rev. A 95, 033411 (2017), are now considered for diatomic heteronuclear molecules and symmetric and asymmetric linear triatomic molecules. There are additional rotational symmetries for (H)ATI spectra of symmetric linear molecules compared to (H)ATI spectra of the asymmetric ones. It is shown that these symmetries manifest themselves differently for $r+s$ odd and $r+s$ even. For example, HATI spectra for symmetric molecules with $r+s$ even obey inversion symmetry. For ATI spectra of linear molecules, reflection symmetry appears only for certain molecular orientation angles $\pm {90}^{\circ }-jr{180}^{\circ }/(r+s)$ ($j$ integer). For symmetric linear molecules, reflection symmetry appears also for the angles $-jr{180}^{\circ }/(r+s)$. For perpendicular orientation of molecules with respect to the laser-field polarization plane, the HATI spectra are very similar to those of the atomic targets, i.e., both spectra are characterized by the same type of the ($r+s$)-fold symmetry.

We perform a study of the evolution of helical quantum turbulence at different temperatures by solving numerically the Gross-Pitaevskii and the stochastic Ginzburg-Landau equations, using up to ${4096}^3$ grid points with a pseudospectral method. We show that for temperatures close to the critical one, the fluid described by these equations can act as a classical viscous flow, with the decay of the incompressible kinetic energy and the helicity becoming exponential. The transition from this behavior to the one observed at zero temperature is smooth as a function of temperature. Moreover, the presence of strong thermal effects can inhibit the development of a proper turbulent cascade. We provide Ansätze for the effective viscosity and friction as a function of the temperature.

We consider a field theory describing interacting nonrelativistic particles of two types, which map to each other under time reversal, with pointlike interaction. We identify an alternative type of interaction which depends on the relative velocity between the particles. We compute the renormalization-group running of the coupling constants and find a fixed point and a fixed line. We show that the scattering amplitudes can be expressed in terms of three parameters. The result matches with a quantum-mechanical analysis and represents the most general pointlike interaction consistent with unitarity and time-reversal invariance.

Electromagnetic metamaterials offer a great avenue to engineer and amplify the nonlinear response of materials. Their electric, magnetic, and magnetoelectric linear and nonlinear response are related to their structure, providing unprecedented liberty to control those properties. Both the linear and the nonlinear properties of metamaterials are typically anisotropic. While the methods to retrieve the effective linear properties are well established, existing nonlinear retrieval methods have serious limitations. In this work, we generalize a nonlinear transfer matrix approach to account for all nonlinear susceptibility terms and show how to use this approach to retrieve all effective nonlinear susceptibilities of metamaterial elements. The approach is demonstrated using sum frequency generation, but can be applied to other second-order or higher-order processes.

Non-Hermitian bipartite photonic lattices with charge-conjugation $\left(\mathcal{C}\mathcal{T}\right)$ symmetry can support resonant defect modes which are resilient to bipartite losses and structural imperfections. When, however, a (self-)induced violation of the $\mathcal{C}\mathcal{T}$ symmetry occurs via tiny permittivity variations, the resonant mode is exposed to the bipartite losses and it is destroyed. Consequently, the transmission peak is suppressed while the reflectance becomes (almost) unity. We propose the use of such photonic systems as power switches, limiters, and sensors.