We consider the superradiant phase transition of a two-component Fermi gas in a cavity across a Feshbach resonance. It is known that quantum statistics plays a crucial role for the superradiant phase transition in atomic gases; in contrast to bosons, in a Fermi gas this transition exhibits strong density dependence. We show that across a Feshbach resonance, while the two-component Fermi gas passes through the BEC-BCS crossover, the superradiant phase transition undergoes a corresponding crossover from a fermionic behavior on the weakly interacting BCS side, to a bosonic behavior on the molecular Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) side. This intricate statistics crossover makes the superradiance maximally enhanced either in the unitary regime for low densities, in the BCS regime for moderate densities close to Fermi surface nesting, or in the BEC regime for high densities.

We develop and implement a model for decoherence in time-dependent transport. Inspired in a dynamical formulation of the Landauer-Büttiker equations, it boils down into a form of wave function that undergoes a smooth stochastic drift of the phase in a local basis, the quantum-drift (QD) model. This drift is nothing else but a local energy fluctuation. Unlike quantum-jumps (QJ) models, no jumps are present in the density as the evolution is unitary. As a first application, we address the transport through a resonant state $|0\rangle$ that undergoes decoherence. Its numerical resolution shows the equivalence with the decoherent steady-state transport in presence of a Büttiker's voltage probe. In order to test the dynamics we consider two many-spin systems, which are cases of experimental interest, where a local energy fluctuation is a natural phenomenon. A two-spin system is reduced to a two-level system (TLS) that oscillates among $|0\rangle \equiv |\uparrow \downarrow \rangle$ and $|1\rangle \equiv |\downarrow \uparrow \rangle$. We show that the QD model recovers not only the exponential damping of the oscillations in the low perturbation regime, but also the nontrivial bifurcation of the damping rates at a critical point, i.e., the quantum dynamical phase transition. We also address the spin-wave-like dynamics of local polarization in a spin chain. By averaging over $N_{\mathbf{s}}$ realizations, the QD solution has about half the dispersion respect to the mean dynamics than QJ. By evaluating the Loschmidt echo (LE), we find that the pure states $|0\rangle \equiv |\uparrow \downarrow \rangle$ and $|1\rangle \equiv |\downarrow \uparrow \rangle$ are quite robust against the local decoherence. In contrast, the LE, and hence coherence, decays faster when the system is in a superposition state $\left(\right|\uparrow \downarrow \rangle \pm |\downarrow \uparrow \rangle )/\sqrt{2}$, which is consistent with the general trend recently observed in spin systems through NMR. Because of its simple implementation, the method is well suited to assess decoherent transport problems as well as to include decoherence in both one-body and many-body dynamics.

We describe a direct method to determine the negativity of an arbitrary two-qubit state in experiments. The method is derived by analyzing the relation between the purity, negativity, and a universal entanglement witness for two-qubit entanglement. We show how the negativity of a two-qubit state can be calculated from just three experimentally accessible moments of the partially transposed density matrix of a two-photon state. Moreover, we show that the negativity can be given as a function of only six invariants, which are linear combinations of nine invariants from the complete set of 21 fundamental and independent two-qubit invariants. We analyze the relation between these moments and the concurrence for some classes of two-qubit states (including the $X$ states, as well as pure states affected by the amplitude-damping and phase-damping channels). We also discuss the possibility of using the universal entanglement witness as an entanglement measure for various classes of two-qubit states. Moreover, we analyze how noise affects the estimation of entanglement via this witness.

Quantum walks on translation-invariant regular graphs spread quadratically faster than their classical counterparts. The same coherence that gives them this quantum speedup inhibits or even stops their spread in the presence of disorder. We ask how to create an efficient transport channel from a fixed source site $\left(A\right)$ to fixed target site $\left(B\right)$ in a disordered two-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk by cutting some of the links. We show that the somewhat counterintuitive strategy of cutting links along a single line connecting $A$ to $B$ creates such a channel. The efficient transport along the cut is due to topologically protected chiral edge states, which exist even though the bulk Chern number in this system vanishes. We give a realization of the walk as a periodically driven lattice Hamiltonian and identify the bulk topological invariant responsible for the edge states as the quasienergy winding of this Hamiltonian.

We perform an ab initio all-electron study of the subcycle structure, dynamics, and spectra of high harmonic generation (HHG) processes of Ar atoms in the presence of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulses and near-infrared (NIR) laser fields by means of the self-interaction-free time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The TDDFT equations are solved accurately and efficiently via the time-dependent generalized pseudospectral (TDGPS) method. We focus on the subcycle (with respect to NIR field) temporal behavior of the level shift of the excited energy levels and related dynamics of harmonic photon emission. We observe and identify the subcycle shifts in the harmonic emission spectrum as a function of the time delay between the XUV and NIR pulses. In the region where the two pulses overlap, the photon emission peaks have an oscillatory structure with a period of $\sim 1.3$ fs, which is half of the NIR laser optical cycle. We present and analyze the harmonic emission spectra from $3sn{p}_0,3p_{0}ns,3p_{1}n{d}_1,3p_{1}n{p}_1,3p_{0}n{d}_0,3p_{0}n{p}_0$, and $3p_{0}ns$ excited states and the $3p_{0}4p_0^{-}$ virtual state as functions of the time delay. In addition, we explore the subcycle a.c. Stark shift phenomenon in NIR fields and its influence on the harmonic emission process. Our analysis reveals several features of the subcycle HHG dynamics and spectra as well as a temporal energy level shift.

The detection of electron motion and electronic wave-packet dynamics is one of the core goals of attosecond science. Recently, choosing the nitric oxide molecule as an example, we have introduced and demonstrated an experimental approach to measure coupled valence electronic and rotational wave packets using high-order-harmonic-generation (HHG) spectroscopy [Kraus et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 243005 (2013)]. A short outline of the theory to describe the combination of the pump and HHG probe process was published together with an extensive discussion of experimental results [Baykusheva et al., Faraday Discuss. 171, 113 (2014)]. The comparison of theory and experiment showed good agreement on a quantitative level. Here, we present the theory in detail, which is based on a generalized density-matrix approach that describes the pump process and the subsequent probing of the wave packets by a semiclassical quantitative rescattering approach. An in-depth analysis of the different Raman scattering contributions to the creation of the coupled rotational and electronic spin-orbit wave packets is made. We present results for parallel and perpendicular linear polarizations of the pump and probe laser pulses. Furthermore, an analysis of the combined rotational-electronic density matrix in terms of irreducible components is presented that facilitates interpretation of the results.

The alignment-dependent ionization of acetylene and ethylene in short laser pulses is investigated in the framework of the time-dependent density-functional theory coupled with Ehrenfest dynamics. The molecular alignment is found to have a substantial effect on the total ionization. Bond stretching is shown to cause an increase of the ionization efficiency, i.e., enhanced ionization, in qualitative agreement with previous theoretical investigations. It is also demonstrated that the enhanced ionization mechanism greatly enhances the ionization from the inner valence orbitals, and the ionization of the inner orbitals is primarily due to their extended weakly bound density tails.

Non-Gaussian correlations in a pure state are inextricably linked with certain nonclassical features, such as a non-positive-definite Wigner function. In a commonly used simulation technique in ultracold atoms and quantum optics, known as the truncated Wigner method, the quantum dynamics is mapped to stochastic trajectories in phase space, governed by a positive approximation to the true Wigner distribution. The question thus arises: How accurate is this approach in predicting truly nonclassical behavior? In this article, we benchmark the ability of the truncated Wigner phase-space method to reproduce the non-Gaussian statistics of the single-mode anharmonic oscillator. We find that the this method can reliably predict departures from Gaussian statistics over a wide range of particle numbers, whereas the positive-$P$ representation, which involves no approximations, is limited by rapidly growing statistical uncertainty. The truncated Wigner function, furthermore, is able to reproduce the non-Gaussian correlations while satisfying the condition for purity.

This communication comments on the work of A.M. Frolov and D.M. Wardlaw in Phys. Rev. A 78, 042506 (2008), and specifically on its treatment of the expansion of the total nonrelativistic energies of small atomic systems in inverse powers of the nuclear charge.

In the device-independent approach to quantum information theory, quantum systems are regarded as black boxes that, given an input (the measurement setting), return an output (the measurement result). These boxes are then treated regardless of their actual internal working. In this paper we develop swap, a theoretical concept that, in combination with the tool of semidefinite methods for the characterization of quantum correlations, allows us to estimate physical properties of the black boxes from the observed measurement statistics. We find that the swap tool provides bounds orders of magnitude better than previously known techniques (e.g., for a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt violation larger than 2.57, swap predicts a singlet fidelity greater than $70\%$). This method also allows us to deal with hitherto intractable cases such as robust device-independent self-testing of nonmaximally entangled two-qutrit states in the Collins-Gisin-Linden-Massar-Popescu scenario (for which Jordan's lemma does not apply) and the device-independent certification of entangled measurements. We further apply the swap method to relate nonlocal correlations to work extraction and quantum dimensionality, hence demonstrating that this tool can be used to study a wide variety of properties relying on the sole knowledge of accessible statistics.

In this paper, we study the role of the nonlinear environment on the bound passage time of dynamical quantum spin systems, which is of great interest in quantum control and has been applied to quantum metrology, quantum computation, and quantum chemical dynamics. We consider the decoherence speed limit for the spin-deformed bosonic model and the impacts of the nonlinear environment and its temperature on the decoherence speed limit. Moreover, we show that, at an early enough time, the parameters associated with the nonlinear environment exhibit important roles in controlling the decoherence process. In addition our results reveal that, in long times, these parameters do not affect the decoherence process.

We consider the continuous-variable protocol of Pirandola et al. [arXiv:1312.4104] where the secret key is established by the measurement of an untrusted relay. In this network protocol, two authorized parties are connected to an untrusted relay by insecure quantum links. Secret correlations are generated by a continuous-variable Bell detection performed on incoming coherent states. In the present work we provide a detailed study of the symmetric configuration, where the relay is midway between the parties. We analyze symmetric eavesdropping strategies against the quantum links explicitly showing that, at fixed transmissivity and thermal noise, two-mode coherent attacks are optimal, manifestly outperforming one-mode collective attacks based on independent entangling cloners. Such an advantage is shown both in terms of security threshold and secret-key rate.

We propose a scheme by using the feed-forward control (FFC) to realize a better effect of discrimination of two nonorthogonal states after passing a noise channel based on the minimum-error (ME) discrimination. We show that the application of our scheme can highly improve the effect of discrimination compared with the ME discrimination without the FFC for any pair of nonorthogonal states and any degree of amplitude damping. Especially, the effect of our optimal discrimination can reach that of the two initial nonorthogonal pure states in the presence of the noise channel in a deterministic way for equal a priori probabilities or even be better than that in a probabilistic way for unequal a priori probabilities.

In light of the diverse range of reported values for the lifetimes of metastable states of ${}^{40}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$, we have carried out afresh both measurements and theoretical investigation to confirm the lifetime of its $3d{}^2{D}_{5/2}$ state $\left({\tau }_{3d5/2}\right)$. A high-efficiency quantum state detection method by monitoring the quantum jumps of a laser-cooled single ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ ion in a miniature ring Paul trap was employed in the measurement. Also, sophisticated calculations were performed considering higher order nonlinear terms in the relativistic coupled-cluster (RCC) method with all possible single and double excitations, but accounting only for the important triple excitations from both the core and the valence orbitals. Systematic factors affecting measurement, such as collision with background gases, heating effects, the power of the 866-nm laser, and state detection errors were carefully analyzed. Our observational and theoretical values for ${\tau }_{3d5/2}$ are 1174(10) ms and 1172(3) ms, respectively, which agree well with the experimental results reported by P. A. Barton et al. [Phys. Rev. A 62, 032503 (2000)] and A. Kreuter et al. [Phys. Rev. A 71, 032504 (2005)]. The present theoretical analysis demonstrates that the contributions from the core triples and Breit interaction are notable, as they improve the theoretical results obtained in the previous RCC calculations [B. K. Sahoo, Phys. Rev. A 74, 062504 (2006)].

We examine the archetype of an interference experiment for Auger electrons: two electron wave packets are launched by inner-shell ionizing a krypton atom using two attosecond light pulses with a variable time delay. This setting is an attosecond realization of the Ramsey method of separated oscillatory fields. Interference of the two ejected Auger-electron wave packets is predicted, indicating that the coherence between the two pulses is passed to the Auger electrons. For the detection of the interference pattern an accurate coincidence measurement of photo- and Auger electrons is necessary. The method allows one to control inner-shell electron dynamics on an attosecond timescale and represents a sensitive indicator for decoherence.

We study the two-body and three-body bound states in ultracold atomic mixtures with one of the atoms subjected to an isotropic spin-orbit (SO) coupling. We consider a system of two identical fermions interacting with one SO-coupled atom. It is found that there can exist two types of three-body bound states, Efimov trimers and universal trimers. The Efimov trimers are energetically less favored by the SO coupling, which will finally merge into the atom-dimer threshold as increasing the SO-coupling strength. Nevertheless, these trimers exhibit a discrete scaling law incorporating the SO-coupling effect. On the other hand, the universal trimers are more favored by the SO coupling. They can be induced at negative $s$-wave scattering lengths and with smaller mass ratios than those without SO coupling. These results are obtained by both the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and exact solutions from three-body equations.

We study numerically and experimentally the dynamics of an incoherently pumped passive optical fiber ring cavity nearby the zero-dispersion wavelength of the fiber. We show that the cavity exhibits a quasisoliton turbulence dynamics, whose properties are controlled by the degree of coherence of the injected pump wave: As the coherence of the pump is degraded, the cavity exhibits a transition from the quasisoliton condensation regime toward the weakly nonlinear turbulent regime characterized by short-lived rogue wave events. This behavior is reminiscent of the corresponding dynamics obtained in the purely conservative (Hamiltonian) problem. We report experimental results of an all-integrated incoherently pumped fiber cavity that provide some spectral and temporal complementary signatures of the processes predicted numerically.

Generating and characterizing randomness is fundamentally important in both classical and quantum information science. Here we report the experimental demonstration of ensembles of pseudorandom optical processes comprising what are known as $t$-designs. We show that in practical scenarios, certain finite ensembles of two-mode transformations—1- and 2-designs—are indistinguishable from truly random operations for 1- and 2-photon quantum interference, but they fail to mimic randomness for 2- and 3-photon cases, respectively. We make use of the fact that $t$-photon behavior is governed by degree-$2t$ polynomials (in the parameters of the optical process), to experimentally verify the ensembles' behavior for complete bases of polynomials, ensuring that average outputs will be uniform for arbitrary configurations. It is in this sense that a $t$-design is deemed to be a potentially useful pseudorandom resource.

We study the fundamental limitations of cooling to absolute zero for a qubit, interacting with a single mode of the electromagnetic field. Our results show that the dynamical Casimir effect, which is unavoidable in any finite-time thermodynamic cycle, forbids the attainability of the absolute zero of temperature, even in the limit of an infinite number of cycles.