A collection of $N$ emitters can exhibit an $N$-fold broadening of the radiative linewidth resulting from the development of a macroscopic dipole moment. Such a broadening of the radiative linewidth has previously been observed in systems of several nanoparticles and has often been described in terms of superradiant behavior. However, the understanding of the physics behind the observed dependence of radiative linewidth on the number of irradiated nanoparticles is far from complete. In this paper, we present theoretical and experimental results that elucidate this broadening mechanism in plasmonic systems and draw a connection with the phenomenon of Dicke superradiance. We demonstrate that, in the limit where radiative broadening dominates, the extinction linewidth of a planar array of plasmonic nanoantennas scales linearly with the number of nanoantennas contained within a circle of radius equal to the resonant optical wavelength. We explain this classical phenomenon as a weak superradiance effect, which corresponds to the case in the Dicke model where only the ground state and the first collective excited state contribute to the enhanced radiation.

We study a circuit QED setup where multiple superconducting qubits are ultrastrongly coupled to a single radio-frequency resonator. In this extreme parameter regime of cavity QED the dynamics of the electromagnetic mode is very slow compared to all other relevant timescales and can be described as an effective particle moving in an adiabatic energy landscape defined by the qubits. The focus of this paper is placed on settings with two or multiple qubits, where different types of symmetry-breaking transitions in the ground- and excited-state potentials can occur. Specifically, we show how the change in the level structure and the wave-packet dynamics associated with these transition points can be probed via conventional excitation spectra and Ramsey measurements performed at GHz frequencies. More generally, this analysis demonstrates that state-of-the-art circuit QED systems can be used to access a whole range of particlelike quantum-mechanical phenomena beyond the usual paradigm of coupled qubits and oscillators.

We report the observation of strong nonreciprocal soliton amplification mediated by a Raman-scattering-like effect in single isolated collisions. A pump soliton is found to lose the greater part of its energy to a signal soliton, irrespective of the pump-signal relative amplitude. The result is an efficient rectifying mechanism able to accumulate energy into extreme waves. Experiments are carried out through photorefractive soliton two-wave mixing with a gain coefficient of up to 80 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{-1}$ that emerges in conditions of nonlinear response, leading to the formation of rogue waves.

We propose a general method to simulate arbitrary lattice models using a single degenerate cavity. Such a cavity supports a large number of degenerate optical modes with different angular momenta. Couplings between different optical modes can be readily controlled. These features allow us to simulate lattice models that are not convenient to realize using other systems, particularly models in high dimensions and with complicated hopping amplitudes. As a concrete example, we demonstrate how to construct two topological lattice models: the two-dimensional Haldane model and a four-dimensional time-reversal invariant model. For the latter case, we show how topological properties can be detected from the outputs of the cavity, where the second Chern number can be extracted. In the presence of open boundaries, the chirality of the Weyl edge modes can also be detected using the input-output formalism of the cavity modes.

The recent experimental realization of a three-dimensional (3D) optical lattice clock not only reduces the influence of collisional interactions on the clock's accuracy but also provides a promising platform for studying dipolar many-body quantum physics. Here, by solving the governing master equation, we investigate the role of both elastic and dissipative long-range interactions in the clock's dynamics and study its dependence on lattice spacing, dimensionality, and dipolar orientation. For small lattice spacing, i.e., $k_{0}a\ll 1$, where $a$ is the lattice constant and $k_0$ is the transition wave number, a sizable spin squeezing appears in the transient state which is favored in a head-to-tail dipolar configuration in 1D systems and a side-by-side configuration in 2D systems, respectively. For large lattice spacing, i.e., $k_{0}a\gg 1$, the single atomic decay rate can be effectively suppressed due to the destructive dissipative emission of neighboring atoms in both 1D and 2D. Our results will not only aid in the design of the future generation of ultraprecise atomic clocks but also illuminates the rich many-body physics exhibited by radiating dipolar system.

The resource theory of thermal operations explains the state transformations that are possible in a very specific thermodynamic setting: there is only one thermal bath, auxiliary systems can only be in the corresponding thermal state (free states), and the interaction must commute with the free Hamiltonian (free operation). In this paper we study the mildest deviation: the reservoir particles are subject to inhomogeneities, either in the local temperature (introducing resource states) or in the local Hamiltonian (generating a resource operation). For small inhomogeneities, the two models generate the same channel and thus the same state transformations. However, their thermodynamics is significantly different when it comes to work generation or to the interpretation of the “second laws of thermal operations.”

Recently, a novel framework for semi-device-independent quantum prepare-and-measure protocols has been proposed, based on the assumption of a limited distinguishability between the prepared quantum states. Here, we discuss the problem of characterizing an unknown quantum measurement device in this setting. We present several methods to attack the problem. Considering the simplest scenario of two preparations with lower bounded overlap, we show that genuine three-outcome positive-operator valued measures (POVMs) can be certified, even in the presence of noise. Moreover, we show that the optimal POVM for performing unambiguous state discrimination can be self-tested.

Based on cyclic three-level systems of chiral molecules, we propose two methods to realize highly efficient inner-state enantioseparations of a chiral mixture with the two enantiomers initially prepared in their ground states. Our methods work in the region where the evolutions of the two enantiomers can be described by their corresponding effective two-level models, simultaneously. The approximately $100\%$-efficiency inner-state enantioseparations can be realized when the probability occupying the ground state of one enantiomer becomes zero by experiencing half-integer periods of its corresponding on-resonance Rabi oscillation and the other one stays always in the ground state approximately, under the conditions that the two enantiomers are governed by the effective on-resonance and large-detuning two-level models, respectively. Alternatively, the exactly $100\%$-efficiency inner-state enantioseparation can be obtained when the probability occupying the ground state of one enantiomer becomes zero by experiencing half-integer periods of its corresponding on-resonance Rabi oscillation and in the meanwhile that of the other one becomes 1 by experiencing integer periods of its corresponding detuned Rabi oscillation, respectively.

We theoretically propose a scheme to realize rotation sensing based on two coupled whispering-gallery-mode resonators with loss and gain. We consider that the active resonator with gain is rotated while the passive one with loss is stationary. The rotation will induce Sagnac effect and we show that the eigenfrequencies of the supermodes are sensitive to the Sagnac-Fizeau shift. Therefore, we can measure the average photon number in the steady state or the fluctuation spectrum of the output fields to detect the angular velocity of the rotation. We hope that our investigation will be useful in the design of a quantum gyroscope based on spinning resonators.

Recently, researchers have found that not only entanglement but also quantum discord and even classical correlation can enhance the precision of parameter estimation. Thus the correlation which contributes quantum metrology should be treated as a new type of resource. In this paper, we directly construct a measure of the resource named as the relative quantum Fisher information (rQFI). It quantifies the improvement of QFI caused by correlations naturally. Operationally, rQFI quantifies the improvement of optimal precision achieved by joint measurement on a composite system, instead of the local measurement on the subsystem. Furthermore, rQFI itself is an alternative type of total correlation which captures effects of quantum entanglement, quantum discord, and classical correlation. It reduces to an entanglement measure for pure states. A detailed study for general two-qubit states is presented. Additionally, an alternative generalized discord measure can be extracted out of the rQFI.

Quantum mechanics allows coherent superposition of different states of matter. This quality is responsible for major nonclassical phenomena that occur in quantum systems. Beyond states, coherent superpositions are also possible among quantum evolutions. We characterize such superpositions here. A resource theoretic framework is developed to quantify superposition present in an arbitrary quantum evolution. In addition to characterization, the framework considers superposition as a quantum resource. This resource can be exploited to perform certain quantum tasks that are otherwise impossible. We identify maximally resourceful evolutions and demonstrate how these could enable one to implement arbitrary quantum operations and superoperations. We also discuss the roles of superposition to exhibit nonclassical behaviors present in evolutions; for example, acausality, temporal Bell correlations, and indefinite temporal and causal orders.

An algorithm for calculating the leading relativistic corrections for $D$ states of atoms with an arbitrary number of electrons with all-electron explicitly correlated Gaussian functions is derived and tested in calculations for the helium and beryllium atoms. The finite-nuclear-mass approach used enables us to determine the isotopic shifts of the corrections. The results for interstate transitions for ${}^{1}D$ states of the helium atom are compared with previous calculations. The results for the beryllium atom are compared with the experimental values, as these are high-accuracy calculations of $D$ states of a four-electron atom performed with the inclusion of the leading relativistic corrections. The calculated and experimental values agree with each other within the experimental error bar.

In this paper two theoretical methodologies, the Schwinger multichannel (SMC) method and the independent atom model with the screening corrected additivity rule (IAM-SCAR), were employed to study positron scattering by benzene over a broad impact energy range. The SMC calculations were carried out in the static plus polarization approximation, accounting for the elastic channel, for impact energies up to 20 eV. The IAM-SCAR method covered energies up to 1000 eV to provide total, elastic, ionization, excitation, and positronium formation cross sections. In the low-energy region we discuss how the description of the polarization effects affects the cross sections. In particular, our calculations support the existence of a bound state in the positron scattering by benzene, in agreement with previous predictions by Young and Surko [Phys. Rev. A 77, 052704 (2008)].

The ground state of spin-1 ultracold bosons trapped in a periodic one-dimensional optical superlattice is studied. The two sites of the unit cell have an energy shift between them, whose competition with the spin-dependent strength is the main focus of this paper. Charge-density wave (CDW) phases appear for semi-integer and integer densities, leading to rich phase diagrams with Mott insulator, superfluid, and CDW phases. The spin-dependent interaction favors insulator phases for integer densities and disfavors CDW phases for semi-integer densities, which tend to disappear. Also, quantum phase transitions at finite values of the spin-dependent strength are observed. For integer densities, Mott insulator-superfluid-CDW insulator transitions appear for an energy shift lower (higher) than the local repulsion for the global density $\rho =1$ $(\rho =2)$.

We theoretically investigate the thermal-transport properties of a unitary Fermi gas between two reservoirs connected by a quantum point contact. We find several distinguished properties that are qualitatively different from those of weak or noninteracting gas systems. The particle transport figure of merit is drastically enhanced in the unitary regime. The Lorentz number violates the Wiedemann-Franz law, demonstrating the breakdown of Fermi liquid. These transport properties are the hallmarks of the unitary Fermi gas and are attributed to the existence of preformed Cooper pairs. The variation of the thermal-transport coefficients due to the changing of the transmission coefficient is also studied.

An impurity immersed in a Bose-Einstein condensate is no longer accurately described by the Fröhlich Hamiltonian as the coupling between the impurity and the boson bath gets stronger. We study the dominant effects of the two-phonon terms beyond the Fröhlich model on the ground-state properties of the polaron using Feynman's variational path-integral approach. The previously reported discrepancy in the effective mass between the renormalization group approach and this theory is shown to be absent in the beyond-Fröhlich model on the positive side of the Feshbach resonance. Self-trapping, characterized by a sharp and dramatic increase of the effective mass, is no longer observed for the repulsive polaron once the two-phonon interactions are included. For the attractive polaron we find a divergence of the ground-state energy and effective mass at weaker couplings than previously observed within the Fröhlich model.

Wave-particle duality in multipath interference is fraught with issues despite substantial progress in recent years. It was experimentally shown that in certain specific conditions, getting path information in a multipath experiment can actually increase the visibility of interference. As a result, it was argued that in multipath interference experiments, visibility of interference and which-path information are not always complementary observables. In the present paper, an alternative wave-particle duality relation is presented, based on a sum of visibilities of interference from individual pairs of paths. This relation is always respected, even in the kinds of specific situations mentioned above. This sum of visibilities turns out to be related to a recently introduced measure of coherence. As one of the consequences, it provides an alternative way of experimentally measuring coherence in a multipath interference experiment. As another consequence, this relation suggests a simple way of measuring path-distinguishability in multipath interference. In addition, it resolves several outstanding issues concerning wave-particle duality in multipath interference.

Physically, quantum gates (unitary gates) for quantum computation are implemented by controlling the Hamiltonian dynamics of quantum systems. When full descriptions of the Hamiltonians are given, the set of implementable quantum gates is easily characterized by quantum control theory. In many real systems, however, the Hamiltonians may include unknown parameters due to the difficulty of performing precise measurements or instability of the system. In this paper, we consider the situation that some parameters of the Hamiltonian are unknown, but we still want to perform a robust control of the Hamiltonian dynamics to implement a quantum gate irrespectively to the unknown parameters. The existence of the robust control was previously shown for single-qubit systems, and a constructive method was developed for two-qubit systems if a full control of each qubit is available. We analytically investigate the robust controllability of two-qubit systems, and apply Lie-algebraic approaches to handle the cases where only one of the two qubits is controllable. We also numerically analyze the robust controllability of the two-qubit systems where the analytical approach is not necessarily applicable and investigate the relationship between the robust controllability of systems with a discrete and continuous unknown parameter.

Quantum state exchange is a quantum communication task in which two users exchange their respective quantum information in the asymptotic setting. In this paper, we consider a one-shot version of the quantum state exchange task, in which the users hold a single copy of the initial state, and they exchange their parts of the initial state by means of entanglement-assisted local operations and classical communication. We first derive lower bounds on the least amount of entanglement required for carrying out this task, and provide conditions on the initial state such that the protocol succeeds with zero entanglement cost. Based on these results, we study how the users deal with their symmetric information in order to reduce the entanglement cost. Moreover, we show that it is possible for the users to gain extra shared entanglement after this task.

The convergent close-coupling method has been applied to positron scattering by the hydrogen negative ion. Convergence of the cross sections is achieved and internal consistency of the method is verified using both the single- and two-center approaches. Calculations were performed using accurate target wave functions obtained with the multicore approach. Obtained results for Ps formation and breakup cross sections are compared with previous calculations.