Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Engineering Gaussian states of light from a planar microcavity

  Mathias Van Regemortel, Sylvain Ravets, Atac Imamoglu, Iacopo Carusotto, Michiel Wouters

  SciPost Phys. 5, 013 (2018) · published 30 July 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum fluids of light in a nonlinear planar microcavity can exhibit antibunched photon statistics at short distances due to repulsive polariton interactions. We show that, despite the weakness of the nonlinearity, the antibunching signal can be amplified orders of magnitude with an appropriate free-space optics scheme to select and interfere output modes. Our results are understood from the unconventional photon blockade perspective by analyzing the approximate Gaussian output state of the microcavity. In a second part, we illustrate how the temporal and spatial profile of the density-density correlation function of a fluid of light can be reconstructed with free-space optics. Also here the nontrivial (anti)bunching signal can be amplified significantly by shaping the light emitted by the microcavity.

  2 citations

• Dynamics of Majorana-based qubits operated with an array of tunable gates

  Bela Bauer, Torsten Karzig, Ryan V. Mishmash, Andrey E. Antipov, Jason Alicea

  SciPost Phys. 5, 004 (2018) · published 19 July 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the dynamics of Majorana zero modes that are shuttled via local tuning of the electrochemical potential in a superconducting wire. By performing time-dependent simulations of microscopic lattice models, we show that diabatic corrections associated with the moving Majorana modes are quantitatively captured by a simple Landau-Zener description. We further simulate a Rabi-oscillation protocol in a specific qubit design with four Majorana zero modes in a single wire and quantify constraints on the timescales for performing qubit operations in this setup. Our simulations utilize a Majorana representation of the system, which greatly simplifies simulations of superconductors at the mean-field level.

  36 citations

• Resonating valence bonds and spinon pairing in the Dicke model

  R. Ganesh, L. Theerthagiri, G. Baskaran

  SciPost Phys. 4, 044 (2018) · published 30 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Resonating valence bond (RVB) states are a class of entangled quantum many body wavefunctions with great significance in condensed matter physics. We propose a scheme to synthesize a family of RVB states using a cavity QED setup with two-level atoms (with states $\vert 0 \rangle$ and $\vert 1 \rangle$) coupled to a common photon mode. In the lossy cavity limit, starting with an initial state of $M$ atoms excited and $N$ atoms in the ground state, we show that this setup can be configured as a Stern Gerlach experiment. A measurement of photon emission collapses the wavefunction of atoms onto an RVB state composed of resonating long-ranged singlets of the form $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}[\vert 0 1 \rangle - \vert 1 0 \rangle]$. Each emitted photon reduces the number of singlets by unity, replacing it with a pair of lone spins or `spinons'. As spinons are formed coherently in pairs, they are analogous to Cooper pairs in a superconductor. To simulate pair fluctuations, we propose a protocol in which photons are allowed to escape the cavity undetected. This leads to a mixed quantum state with a fluctuating number of spinon pairs -- an inchoate superconductor. Remarkably, in the limit of large system sizes, this protocol reveals an underlying quantum phase transition. Upon tuning the initial spin polarization ($M-N$), the emission exhibits a continuous transition from a dark state to a bright state. This is reflected in the spinon pair number distribution which can be tuned from sub-poissonian to super-poissonian regimes. This opens an exciting route to simulate RVB states and superconductivity.

• Full counting statistics in the transverse field Ising chain

  Stefan Groha, Fabian H. L. Essler, Pasquale Calabrese

  SciPost Phys. 4, 043 (2018) · published 28 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We consider the full probability distribution for the transverse magnetization of a finite subsystem in the transverse field Ising chain. We derive a determinant representation of the corresponding characteristic function for general Gaussian states. We consider applications to the full counting statistics in the ground state, finite temperature equilibrium states, non-equilibrium steady states and time evolution after global quantum quenches. We derive an analytical expression for the time and subsystem size dependence of the characteristic function at sufficiently late times after a quantum quench. This expression features an interesting multiple light-cone structure.

  51 citations

• Many-body localization in the Fock space of natural orbitals

  Wouter Buijsman, Vladimir Gritsev, Vadim Cheianov

  SciPost Phys. 4, 038 (2018) · published 25 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the eigenstates of a paradigmatic model of many-body localization in the Fock basis constructed out of the natural orbitals. By numerically studying the participation ratio, we identify a sharp crossover between different phases at a disorder strength close to the disorder strength at which subdiffusive behaviour sets in, significantly below the many-body localization transition. We repeat the analysis in the conventionally used computational basis, and show that many-body localized eigenstates are much stronger localized in the Fock basis constructed out of the natural orbitals than in the computational basis.

  10 citations

• The Inhomogeneous Gaussian Free Field, with application to ground state correlations of trapped 1d Bose gases

  Yannis Brun, Jérôme Dubail

  SciPost Phys. 4, 037 (2018) · published 25 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Motivated by the calculation of correlation functions in inhomogeneous one-dimensional (1d) quantum systems, the 2d Inhomogeneous Gaussian Free Field (IGFF) is studied and solved. The IGFF is defined in a domain $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^2$ equipped with a conformal class of metrics $[{\rm g}]$ and with a real positive coupling constant $K: \Omega \rightarrow \mathbb{R}_{>0}$ by the action $\mathcal{S}[h] = \frac{1}{8\pi } \int_\Omega \frac{\sqrt{{\rm g}} d^2 {\rm x}}{K({\rm x})} \, {\rm g}^{i j} (\partial_i h)(\partial_j h)$. All correlations functions of the IGFF are expressible in terms of the Green's functions of generalized Poisson operators that are familiar from 2d electrostatics in media with spatially varying dielectric constants. This formalism is then applied to the study of ground state correlations of the Lieb-Liniger gas trapped in an external potential $V(x)$. Relations with previous works on inhomogeneous Luttinger liquids are discussed. The main innovation here is in the identification of local observables $\hat{O} (x)$ in the microscopic model with their field theory counterparts $\partial_x h, e^{i h(x)}, e^{-i h(x)}$, etc., which involve non-universal coefficients that themselves depend on position --- a fact that, to the best of our knowledge, was overlooked in previous works on correlation functions of inhomogeneous Luttinger liquids ---, and that can be calculated thanks to Bethe Ansatz form factors formulae available for the homogeneous Lieb-Liniger model. Combining those position-dependent coefficients with the correlation functions of the IGFF, ground state correlation functions of the trapped gas are obtained. Numerical checks from DMRG are provided for density-density correlations and for the one-particle density matrix, showing excellent agreement.

  40 citations

• Current-induced magnetization hysteresis defines atom trapping in a superconducting atomchip

  Fritz Diorico, Stefan Minniberger, Thomas Weigner, Benedikt Gerstenecker, Naz Shokrani, Zaneta Kurpias, Jorg Schmiedmayer

  SciPost Phys. 4, 036 (2018) · published 22 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  The physics of superconducting films, and especially the role of remnant magnetization has a defining influence on the magnetic fields used to hold and manipulate atoms on superconducting atomchips. We magnetically trap ultracold ^{87}Rb atoms on a 200{\mu}m wide and 500nm thick cryogenically cooled niobium Z wire structure. By measuring the distance of the atomcloud to the trapping wire for different transport currents and bias fields, we probe the trapping characteristics of the niobium superconducting structure. At distances closer than the trapping wire width, we observe a different behaviour than that of normal conducting wire traps. Furthermore, we measure a stable magnetic trap at zero transport current. These observations point to the presence of a remnant magnetization in our niobium film which is induced by a transport current. This current-induced magnetization defines the trap close to the chip surface. Our measurements agree very well with an analytic prediction based on the critical state model (CSM). Our results provide a new tool to control atom trapping on superconducting atomchips by designing the current distribution through its current history.

  4 citations

• Tagging Jets in Invisible Higgs Searches

  Anke Biekoetter, Fabian Keilbach, Rhea Moutafis, Tilman Plehn, Jennifer M. Thompson

  SciPost Phys. 4, 035 (2018) · published 22 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Searches for invisible Higgs decays in weak boson fusion are a well-known laboratory for jets and QCD studies. We present a series of results on tagging jets and central jet activity. First, precision analyses of the central jet activity require full control of single top production in some analyses. Second, the rate dependence on the size of the tagging jets is not limited to weak boson fusion. For the first time, we show how subjet information on the tagging jets and on the additional jet activity can be used to extract the Higgs signal. The additional observables relieve some of the pressure on other, critical observables. Finally, we compare the performance of weak boson fusion and associated Higgs production.

  9 citations

• Puzzles and pitfalls involving Haar-typicality in holography

  Ning Bao, Aidan Chatwin-Davies

  SciPost Phys. 4, 033 (2018) · published 19 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Holographic states that have a well-defined geometric dual in AdS/CFT are not faithfully represented by Haar-typical states in finite-dimensional models. As such, trying to apply principles and lessons from Haar-random ensembles of states to holographic states can lead to apparent puzzles and contradictions. We point out a handful of these pitfalls.

  1 citation

• Exact results for a fractional derivative of elementary functions

  Gavriil Shchedrin, Nathanael C. Smith, Anastasia Gladkina, Lincoln D. Carr

  SciPost Phys. 4, 029 (2018) · published 15 June 2018 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We present exact analytical results for the Caputo fractional derivative of a wide class of elementary functions, including trigonometric and inverse trigonometric, hyperbolic and inverse hyperbolic, Gaussian, quartic Gaussian, and Lorentzian functions. These results are especially important for multi-scale physical systems, such as porous materials, disordered media, and turbulent fluids, in which transport is described by fractional partial differential equations. The exact results for the Caputo fractional derivative are obtained from a single generalized Euler's integral transform of the generalized hyper-geometric function with a power-law argument. We present a proof of the generalized Euler's integral transform and directly apply it to the exact evaluation of the Caputo fractional derivative of a broad spectrum of functions, provided that these functions can be expressed in terms of a generalized hyper-geometric function with a power-law argument. We determine that the Caputo fractional derivative of elementary functions is given by the generalized hyper-geometric function. Moreover, we show that in the most general case the final result cannot be reduced to elementary functions, in contrast to both the Liouville-Caputo and Fourier fractional derivatives. However, we establish that in the infinite limit of the argument of elementary functions, all three definitions of a fractional derivative - the Caputo, Liouville-Caputo, and Fourier- converge to the same result given by the elementary functions. Finally, we prove the equivalence between Liouville-Caputo and Fourier fractional derivatives.

  5 citations