In the context of dynamical control, non-Hermitian systems offer unique opportunities and challenges. In the simplest case of two interacting levels with gain and/or loss, the existence of an exceptional point (EP) of degeneracy in the chiral complex eigenvalue landscape fundamentally changes how the system responds to adiabatic changes in the coupling $\gamma$ and energy separation $\delta$ of the bare levels. In particular, previous studies have shown that selective population transfer can be achieved by adiabatically steering the system around closed paths that encircle the EP with the proper helicity in the $\gamma$ vs $\delta$ parameter space. Here we show that efficient state-selective population transfer can, in some cases, be achieved even with control loops that do not enclose the EP.

We theoretically investigate the spontaneous quantum emission of phonon pairs by superradiant processes in an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate subject to a synthetic vector potential. Within the analog gravity perspective, this effect corresponds to the spontaneous emission of radiation from the ergosurface of rotating black holes. A general input-output formalism is built and used to characterize the spectral and correlation properties of the emission. Experimentally accessible signatures of the emission are pointed out in the correlation functions of the atomic gas.

Coherent perfect absorption (CPA) was introduced as a classical optics phenomenon of a standing-wave absorption by a subwavelength film. In this paper, we develop a theory of CPA of quantized standing waves taking account of a subwavelength thickness of the absorber. This approach allows us to merge all known quantum effects of CPA under a single theory and introduce other regimes of CPA including CPA of NOON states with arbitrary number of entangled photons, orthogonally squeezed vacuum states, continuous variable entangled states, and Schrödinger cat states. Detailed analysis of the quantum regime of CPA sheds light on fundamental aspects of quantum light dissipation and its practical implementation in quantum optics and quantum information.

Two important results of quantum physics are the no-cloning theorem and the monogamy of entanglement. The former forbids the creation of an independent and identical copy of an arbitrary unknown quantum state and the latter restricts the shareability of quantum entanglement among multiple quantum systems. For distinguishable particles, one of these results implies the other. In this Letter, we show that in qubit systems with indistinguishable particles (where each particle cannot be addressed individually) a maximum violation of the monogamy of entanglement is possible by the measures that are monogamous for distinguishable particles. To derive this result, we formulate the degree of freedom trace-out rule for indistinguishable particles corresponding to a spatial location where each degree of freedom might be entangled with the other degrees of freedom. Our result removes the restriction on the shareability of quantum entanglement for indistinguishable particles, without contradicting the no-cloning theorem.

We investigate memory effects in the spin-boson model using a recently proposed measure for non-Markovian behavior based on the information exchange between an open system and its environment. Employing the numerical exact multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree approach, we simulate the dynamics of the spin-boson model at zero temperature for a broad range of parameters. For a fast bath, i.e., in the scaling limit, we find non-Markovian dynamics for a coherently decaying spin at weak system-bath coupling, whereas memory effects are absent for stronger coupling in the regimes of incoherent decay and localization. If the timescales of system and bath are comparable, a complex, nonmonotonic dependence of non-Markovianity on the system-bath coupling strength is observed.

The thermodynamic cost of resetting an arbitrary initial state to a particular desired state is lower bounded by Landauer's bound. However, here we demonstrate that this lower bound is necessarily unachievable for every initial state (except possibly the single minimally dissipative input) for any reliable reset mechanism. Since local heating threatens rapid decoherence, this issue is of substantial importance beyond mere energy efficiency. For the case of qubit reset, we find the minimally dissipative state analytically for any reliable reset protocol, in terms of the entropy-flow vector introduced here. This allows us to verify a recent theorem about initial-state dependence of entropy production for any finite-time transformation, as it pertains to quantum state preparation.

We describe a technique for self-consistently characterizing both the quantum state of a single-qubit system, and the positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) that describes measurements on the system. The method works with only 10 measurements. We assume that a series of unitary transformations performed on the quantum state are fully known, while making minimal assumptions about both the density operator of the state and the POVM. The technique returns maximum-likely estimates of both the density operator and the POVM. To experimentally demonstrate the method, we perform reconstructions of over 300 state-measurement pairs, and we compare them to their expected density operators and POVMs. We find that 95% of the reconstructed POVMs have fidelities of 0.98 or greater, and 92% of the density operators have fidelities that are 0.98 or greater.

Quantum states that possess negative conditional von Neumann entropy provide quantum advantage in several information-theoretic protocols including superdense coding, state merging, distributed private randomness distillation, and one-way entanglement distillation. While entanglement is an important resource, only a subset of entangled states have negative conditional von Neumann entropy. In this work, we characterize the class of density matrices having non-negative conditional von Neumann entropy as convex and compact. This allows us to prove the existence of a Hermitian operator (a witness) for the detection of states having negative conditional entropy for bipartite systems in arbitrary dimensions. We show two constructions of such witnesses. For one of the constructions, the expectation value of the witness in a state is an upper bound to the conditional entropy of the state. We pose the problem of obtaining a tight upper bound to the set of conditional entropies of states in which an operator gives the same expectation value. We solve this convex optimization problem numerically for a two qubit case and find that this enhances the usefulness of our witnesses. We also find that for a particular witness, the estimated tight upper bound matches the value of conditional entropy for Werner states. We explicate the utility of our work in the detection of useful states in several protocols.

Qubits encoded in hyperfine states of trapped ions are ideal for quantum computation given their long lifetimes and low sensitivity to magnetic fields, yet they suffer from off-resonant scattering during detection, often limiting their measurement fidelity. In ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$ this is exacerbated by a low fluorescence yield, which leads to a need for complex and expensive hardware, a problematic bottleneck especially when scaling up the number of qubits. We demonstrate a detection routine based on electron shelving to address this issue in ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$ and achieve a $5.6\times$ reduction in single-ion detection error on an avalanche photodiode to $1.8\left(2\right)\times {10}^{-3}$ in a 100 $\mu \mathrm{s}$ detection period and a $4.3\times$ error reduction on an electron multiplying CCD camera with $7.7\left(2\right)\times {10}^{-3}$ error in 400 $\mu \mathrm{s}$. We further improve the characterization of a repump transition at 760 nm to enable a more rapid reset of the auxiliary ${}^2{F}_{7/2}$ states populated after shelving. Finally, we examine the detection fidelity limit using the long-lived ${}^2{F}_{7/2}$ state, achieving further $300\times$ and $12\times$ reductions in error to $6\left(7\right)\times {10}^{-6}$ and $6.3\left(3\right)\times {10}^{-4}$ in 1 ms on the respective detectors. While shelving-rate limited in our setup, we suggest various techniques to realize this detection method at speeds compatible with quantum information processing, providing a pathway to ultrahigh-fidelity detection in ${}^{171}{\text{Yb}}^{+}$.

Nonlinear interactions are recognized as potential resources for quantum metrology, facilitating parameter estimation precisions that scale as the exponential Heisenberg limit of $2^{-N}$. We explore such nonlinearity and propose an associated quantum measurement scenario based on the nonlinear interaction of $N$-probe entanglement-generating form. This scenario provides an enhanced precision scaling of $D^{-N}/(N-1)!$ with $D>2$ a tunable parameter. In addition, it can be readily implemented in a variety of experimental platforms and applied to measurements of a wide range of quantities, including local gravitational acceleration $g$, magnetic field, and its higher-order gradients.

We study the electron-loss-to-continuum (ELC) cusp experimentally and theoretically by comparing the ionization of ${\mathrm{U}}^{89+}$ projectiles in collisions with ${\mathrm{N}}_2$ and Xe targets, at a beam energy of 75.91 MeV/u. The coincidence measurement between the singly ionized projectile and the energy of the emitted electron is used to compare the shape of the ELC cusp at weak and strong perturbations. A significant energy shift for the centroid of the electron cusp is observed for the heavy target of Xe as compared to the light target of ${\mathrm{N}}_2$. Our results provide a stringent test for fully relativistic calculations of double-differential cross sections performed in the first-order approximation and in the continuum-distorted-wave approach.

We present a combined analytical and numerical investigation to show how an optimal control field can be designed to generate maximum field-free orientation of molecules for three populated rotational states. Based on a model involving pure rotational ladder-climbing excitation between rotational states, a set of optimal amplitude and phase conditions are analytically derived for the applied control fields. The maximum degree of orientation can be achieved when the field satisfies amplitude and phase conditions at the two transition frequencies. Multiple optimal solutions exist, and to examine these conditions, we devise a quantum coherent control scheme using two terahertz pulses and successfully apply it to the linear polar molecule HCN at ultracold temperature. The sensitivity of both populations and phases of rotational states to control field parameters, i.e., the detuning, bandwidth, and time delay, is analyzed so as to understand the optimal orientation mechanism. This work thus examines the frequency-domain landscape belonging to optimal pulses.

Multipath holographic interference in strong-field quantum tunnel ionization is key to revealing subangstrom attosecond dynamics for molecular movies. This critical subcycle motion is often obscured by longer timescale effects such as ring-shaped patterns that appear in above-threshold ionization (ATI). In the present work, we overcome this problem by combining two techniques in theory and experimental analysis: unit-cell averaging and time-filtering data and simulations. Together these suppress ATI rings and enable an unprecedented highly detailed quantitative match between strong-field ionization experiments in argon and the Coulomb-quantum orbit strong-field approximation (CQSFA) theory. Velocity map images reveal fine modulations on the holographic spiderlike interference fringes that form near the polarization axis. CQSFA theory traces this to the interference of three types of electron pathways. The level of agreement between experiment and theory allows sensitive determination of quantum phase differences and symmetries, providing an important tool for quantitative dynamical imaging in quantum systems.

The forerunners of the step-modulated sine pulse propagating in Drude dispersive media are calculated in the time domain. Two such problems are solved analytically. In the first problem, the plane source of the electric field is inside the medium. And the second problem considers the normal incidence of a linearly polarized wave from a vacuum upon a half-space medium. The obtained forerunners are identified as Sommerfeld precursors but the frequency of the oscillations and their amplitudes are closer to the exact solutions than the predictions of canonical Sommerfeld precursor. Moreover, the obtained periodicity of the forerunners is in perfect agreement with the exact solution. The developed analytics is an important contribution to the time-domain theory of the forerunners. The obtained data will be helpful for an experimental study of the forerunners and for the comparison with the forerunners in other dispersive media or with other waveforms of the incident pulse.

We studied theoretically optical spectra when circularly polarized light obliquely impinges on a slab of a chiral photonic structure with linearly and uniformly spatial varying pitch. The material that we considered locally has a $\overline{4}2m$ point-group symmetry and presents Pockels effect, hence, we controlled optical spectra by a low frequency (DC) electric field applied along the nonhomogeneity axis. The spectra display a Bragg-type broadband, where the edge wavelengths of the photonic band are expressed in terms of the medium parameters and the external electric-field magnitude. This allows us to select the region of the electromagnetic spectrum, where the band could become as broad as we choose. We studied three samples with iridescent, silver, and golden colors due to their reflection properties. We observed an enhancement as well as a broadening of the optical band by the application of the electric field. We found that, under certain conditions, when the optical band is practically absent, a very broad band could be created (comparable to the whole visible spectrum) when a DC electric field is applied. This is the result of electro-optic contributions in the permittivity tensor elements, which give rise to a tremendous increase in both the rotatory power and dichroism. Therefore, these media could be used as electrically controlled broadband frequency and polarization filters. Moreover, we observed the usual blueshift of the band as the incidence angle of light increases and an asymmetry in the reflection band amplitude as the incidence angle of the light increases, depending on whether the pitch increases or decreases and the pitch gradient; which endows the sample with different reflection colors for different gradients and incidence angles of the light. The asymmetry in the reflection band vanishes as the magnitude of the electric field increases.

We present a theory of frequency comb generation in high-Q ring microresonators with quadratic nonlinearity and normal dispersion and demonstrate that the naturally large difference of the repetition rates at the fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies supports a family of bright soliton frequency combs provided the parametric gain is moderated by tuning the index-matching parameter to exceed the repetition rate difference by a significant factor. This factor equals the sideband number associated with the high-order phase-matched sum-frequency process. The theoretical framework, i.e., the dressed-resonator method, to study the frequency conversion and comb generation is formulated by including the sum-frequency nonlinearity into the definition of the resonator spectrum. The Rabi splitting of the dressed frequencies leads to four distinct parametric down conversion conditions (signal-idler-pump photon energy conservation laws). The parametric instability tongues associated with the generation of the sparse, i.e., Turing-pattern-like, frequency combs with varying repetition rates are analyzed in detail. The sum-frequency matched sideband exhibits optical Pockels nonlinearity and strongly modified dispersion, which limit the soliton bandwidth and also play a distinct role in Turing comb generation. Our methodology and data highlight the analogy between the driven multimode resonators and the photon-atom interaction.

Quantum causality violates classical intuitions of cause and effect and is a unique quantum feature different from other quantum phenomena such as entanglement and quantum nonlocality. In order to avoid the detection loophole in quantum causality, we initiate the study of the detection efficiency requirement for observing quantum causality. We first show that previous classical causal inequalities require detection efficiency at least $95.97\%$ ($89.44\%$) to show violation with quantum (nonsignaling) correlations. Next we derive a classical causal inequality $I_{222}$ and show that it requires lower detection efficiency to be violated, $92.39\%$ for quantum correlations and $81.65\%$ for nonsignaling correlations, hence substantially reducing the requirement on detection. Then we extend this causal inequality to the case of multiple measurement settings and analyze the corresponding detection efficiency. After that, we show that previous quantum causal inequalities require detection efficiency at least $94.29\%$ to violate with nonsignaling correlations. We subsequently derive a quantum causal bound $J_{222}$ that has a lower detection efficiency requirement of $91.02\%$ for violation with nonsignaling correlations. Our work paves the way towards an experimental demonstration of quantum causality and shows that causal inequalities significantly differ from Bell inequalities in terms of the detection efficiency requirement.

It was recently argued that the pigeonhole principle, which states that if three pigeons are put into two pigeonholes then at least one pigeonhole must contain more than one pigeon, is violated in quantum systems [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 113, 532 (2016)]. An experimental verification of this effect was recently reported [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 116, 1549 (2019)]. In another recent experimental work, it was argued that two entities were observed to exchange properties without meeting each other [Nat. Commun. 11, 3006 (2020)]. Here we describe all these proposals and experiments as simple quantum interference effects where no such dramatic conclusions appear. Besides demystifying some of the conclusions of the cited works, we also present physical insights for some interesting behaviors present in these treatments. For instance, we associate the anomalous particles behaviors in the quantum pigeonhole effect to a quantum interference of force.

We present a procedure to construct tensor-network representations of many-body Gaussian states efficiently and with a controllable error. These states include the ground and thermal states of bosonic and fermionic quadratic Hamiltonians, which are essential in the study of quantum many-body systems. The procedure improves computational time requirements for constructing many-body Gaussian states by up to five orders of magnitude in the low and up to two orders of magnitude in the intermediate temperature regime, thus allowing simulations beyond the range of what was hitherto feasible. Our procedure combines ideas from the theory of Gaussian quantum information with tensor-network-based numerical methods, thereby opening the possibility of exploiting the rich toolkit of Gaussian methods in tensor-network simulations.