Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• The quantum cartpole: A benchmark environment for non-linear reinforcement learning

  Kai Meinerz, Simon Trebst, Mark Rudner, Evert van Nieuwenburg

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 026 (2024) · published 7 May 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Feedback-based control is the de-facto standard when it comes to controlling classical stochastic systems and processes. However, standard feedback-based control methods are challenged by quantum systems due to measurement induced backaction and partial observability. Here we remedy this by using weak quantum measurements and model-free reinforcement learning agents to perform quantum control. By comparing control algorithms with and without state estimators to stabilize a quantum particle in an unstable state near a local potential energy maximum, we show how a trade-off between state estimation and controllability arises. For the scenario where the classical analogue is highly nonlinear, the reinforcement learned controller has an advantage over the standard controller. Additionally, we demonstrate the feasibility of using transfer learning to develop a quantum control agent trained via reinforcement learning on a classical surrogate of the quantum control problem. Finally, we present results showing how the reinforcement learning control strategy differs from the classical controller in the non-linear scenarios.

• Group invariants for Feynman diagrams

  Idrish Huet, Michel Rausch de Traubenberg, Christian Schubert

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 14, 031 (2023) · published 24 November 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  It is well-known that the symmetry group of a Feynman diagram can give important information on possible strategies for its evaluation, and the mathematical objects that will be involved. Motivated by ongoing work on multi-loop multi-photon amplitudes in quantum electrodynamics, here I will discuss the usefulness of introducing a polynomial basis of invariants of the symmetry group of a diagram in Feynman-Schwinger parameter space.

• All fractional Shapiro steps in the RSJ model with two Josephson harmonics

  Pavel N. Tsarev, Yakov V. Fominov

  SciPost Phys. 19, 148 (2025) · published 8 December 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Synchronization between the internal dynamics of the superconducting phase in a Josephson junction (JJ) and an external ac signal is a fundamental physical phenomenon, manifesting as constant-voltage Shapiro steps in the current-voltage characteristic. Mathematically, this phase-locking effect is captured by the Resistively Shunted Junction (RSJ) model, an important example of a nonlinear dynamical system. The standard RSJ model considers an overdamped JJ with a sinusoidal (single-harmonic) current-phase relation (CPR) in the current-driven regime with a monochromatic ac component. While this model predicts only integer Shapiro steps, the inclusion of higher Josephson harmonics is known to generate fractional Shapiro steps. In this paper, we show that only two Josephson harmonics in the CPR are sufficient to produce all possible fractional Shapiro steps within the RSJ framework. Using perturbative methods, we analyze the amplitudes of these fractional steps. Furthermore, by introducing a phase shift between the two Josephson harmonics, we reveal an asymmetry between positive and negative fractional steps—a signature of the Josephson diode effect.

• Update on the angular resolution of GRAPES-3 experiment based on Moon shadow analysis

  D. Pattanaik, S. Ahmad, M. Chakraborty, S. R. Dugad, U. D. Goswami, S. K. Gupta, B. Hariharan, Y. Hayashi, P. Jagadeesan, A. Jain, P. Jain, S. Kawakami, H. Kojima, S. Mahapatra, P. K. Mohanty, R. Moharana, Y. Muraki, P. K. Nayak, T. Nonaka, A. Oshima, B. P. Pant, M. Rameez, K. Ramesh, L. V. Reddy, S. Shibata, F. Varsi, M. Zuberi

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 13, 033 (2023) · published 29 September 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  GRAPES-3 is an extensive air shower array located at Ooty (11.6$^\circ$N, 76.7$^\circ$E, 2200 m a.s.l.) in southern India. Recently, the angular resolution of the GRAPES-3 array has been improved by correcting the shower front curvature based on the shower size and age. Here, we present the results of the angular resolution and pointing accuracy of the array through observation of the Moon shadow. We have analyzed the data for the period of 2014-2016 containing $\sim$ 3$×$10$^9$ air shower events with a median energy of 15 TeV. A significant improvement in the angular resolution has been observed compared to the earlier analysis by the group through the Moon shadow method and is comparable to the arrays located at a 2 km higher altitude than the GRAPES-3 experiment.

• Hands-on introduction to randomized benchmarking

  Ana Silva, Eliska Greplova

  SciPost Phys. Lect. Notes 97 (2025) · published 21 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Randomized benchmarking techniques have been an essential tool for assessing the performance of contemporary quantum devices. The goal of this tutorial is to provide a pedagogical, self-contained, introduction to randomized benchmarking. With this intention, every chapter is also supplemented with an accompanying Python notebook, illustrating the essential steps of each protocol. In addition, we also introduce more recent trends in the field that bridge shadow tomography with randomized benchmarking, namely through the gate-set shadow protocol.

• Quasiparticle disintegration in fermionic superfluids

  Senne Van Loon, Jacques Tempere, Hadrien Kurkjian

  SciPost Phys. 12, 108 (2022) · published 28 March 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the fermionic quasiparticle spectrum in a zero-temperature superfluid Fermi gas, and in particular how it is modified by different disintegration processes. On top of the disintegration by emission of a collective boson ($1\to2$, subject of a previous study, PRL 124, 073404), we consider here disintegration events where three quasiparticles are emitted ($1\to3$). We show that both disintegration processes are described by a $t$-matrix self-energy (as well as some highly off-resonant vacuum processes), and we characterize the associated disintegration continua. At strong coupling, we show that the quasiparticle spectrum is heavily distorted near the $1\to3$ disintegration threshold. Near the dispersion minimum, where the quasiparticles remain well-defined, the main effect of the off-shell disintegration processes is to shift the location of the minimum by a value that corresponds to the Hartree shift in the BCS limit. With our approximation of the self-energy, the correction to the energy gap with respect to the mean-field result however remains small, in contrast with experimental measurements.

• Tunable quantum transport in flux-driven designer rings: Role of hopping dimerization, electron filling, and phase architecture

  Souvik Roy, Ranjini Bhattacharya

  SciPost Phys. Core 8, 090 (2025) · published 8 December 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We explore quantum transport in a one-dimensional Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) ring threaded by an Aharonov-Bohm flux, incorporating a quasiperiodic site potential based on a generalized cosine modulation with both primary and secondary components. Focusing on spinful, non-interacting electrons, we analyze persistent current behavior across a broad range of filling factors, Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) phase shifts, and hopping dimerizations. Our results uncover a rich interplay of localization-delocalization transitions, driven by the secondary modulation strength, leading to highly tunable and non-monotonic transport signatures. Persistent current is markedly enhanced near the symmetric hopping regime, where quantum interference dominates. In spin-imbalanced configurations, we identify regimes exhibiting pure spin current without net charge flow, suggesting potential for dissipationless spintronic functionalities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic study to examine quantum transport in such a flux-threaded SSH ring with dual-component quasiperiodic modulations, unifying re-entrant localization, spin-current generation, current stabilization, and phase-selective control. The inverse and normalized participation ratios, together with the state-resolved current, reveal the interplay between eigenstate localization and transport, providing insight into the microscopic mechanisms underlying current suppression and enhancement. For completeness, we also present the system-size dependence of the current. These findings position the quasiperiodic SSH ring as a versatile platform for realizing controllable quantum interference and spin-resolved transport in low-dimensional systems.

• Skyrmion-vortex hybrid and spin wave solutions in ferromagnetic superconductors

  Shantonu Mukherjee, Amitabha Lahiri

  SciPost Phys. 19, 022 (2025) · published 18 July 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The coexistence of Ferromagnetism and superconductivity in so called ferromagnetic superconductors (FMSC) is an intriguing phenomenon which may lead to novel physical effects as well as applications. Here in this work we have explored the interplay of topological excitations, namely vortices and Skyrmions, in ferromagnetic superconductors using a field theoretic description of such systems. In particular, numerical solutions for the continuous spin field compatible to a given vortex profile are determined in absence and presence of a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) term. The solutions show that the spin configuration is like a Skyrmion but intertwined with the vortex structure — the radius of the the Skyrmion-like solution depends on the penetration depth and also the polarity of the Skyrmion depends on the sign of the winding number. Thus our solution describes a Skyrmion-vortex composite — but as a topological object in a bulk ferromagnetic superconductor, rather than on the interface of a ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructure. We have also determined the spin wave solutions in such systems in presence and absence of a vortex. In absence of a vortex, the frequency and the wave vector satisfy a cubic equation which leads to various interesting features. In particular, we have shown that in the low frequency regime the minimum in dispersion relation shifts from $k=0$ to a non-zero $k$ value depending on the parameters. We also discuss the nature of spin wave dispersion when the frequency $\omega$ is close to the photon mass $\tilde{m}$\,, for which we find multiple local minima in the dispersion curve. The group velocity of the spin wave would change its sign across such a minimum which is unique to FMSC. Also, the spin wave modes around the local minimum looks like roton mode in superfluid and hence called a magnetic roton. In presence of a vortex, the spin wave amplitude is shown to vary spatially such that the profile looks like that of a Néel Skyrmion. Possible experimental signature of both solutions are also discussed.

• Possible studies of gluon transversity in the spin-1 deuteron at hadron-accelerator facilities

  S. Kumano, Qin-Tao Song

  SciPost Phys. Proc. 8, 100 (2022) · published 13 July 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Chiral-odd gluon transversity distribution could shed light on a new aspect of hadron physics. Although we had much progress recently on quark transversity distributions, there is no experimental measurement on the gluon transversity. The gluon trasversity does not exist in the spin-1/2 nucleons and it exists in the spin-1 deuteron. Therefore, it could probe new hadron physics in the deuteron beyond the basic bound system of a proton and a neutron because the nucleons cannot contribute directly. Here, we explain that the gluon transversity can be measured at hadron accelerator facilities, such as Fermilab and NICA, in addition to charged-lepton scattering measurements at lepton accelerator facilities by showing cross sections of the proton-deuteron Drell-Yan process as an example.

• Dynamically restoring conformal invariance in (integrable) $\sigma$-models

  Rigers Aliaj, Konstantinos Sfetsos, Konstantinos Siampos

  SciPost Phys. 14, 043 (2023) · published 21 March 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Integrable $\lambda$-deformed $\sigma$-models are characterized by an underlying current algebra/coset model CFT deformed, at the infinitesimal level, by current/parafermion bilinears. We promote the deformation parameters to dynamical functions of time introduced as an extra coordinate. It is conceivable that by appropriately constraining them, the beta-functions vanish and consequently the $\sigma$-model stays conformal. Remarkably, we explicitly materialize this scenario in several cases having a single and even multiple deformation parameters. These generically obey a system of non-linear second-order ordinary differential equations. They are solved by the fixed points of the RG flow of the original $\sigma$-model. Moreover, by appropriately choosing initial conditions we may even interpolate between the RG fixed points as the time varies from the far past to the far future. Finally, we present an extension of our analysis to the Yang--Baxter deformed PCMs.