The exact correspondence between phase times and dwell times in a symmetrical quantum tunneling configuration

The general and explicit relation between phase times and dwell times for quantum tunneling or scattering is investigated. Considering two identical propagating wave packets symmetrically impinging a one-dimensional barrier, here we demonstrate that these two distinct transit time definitions give connected results where, for such a colliding configuration, the phase time (group delay) accurately describes the exact position of the scattered particles. The analytical difficulties that arise when the stationary phase method is employed for obtaining the phase (traversal) times are all overcome, since the multiple wave packet decomposition allows us to recover the exact position of the reflected and transmitted waves. In addition to the exact relation between the phase time and the dwell time, this leads to the right interpretation for both of them. PACS 03.65.Xp     

Stationary phase method and delay times for relativistic and non-relativistic tunneling particles

The stationary phase method is frequently adopted for calculating tunneling phase times of analytically-continuous Gaussian or infinite-bandwidth step pulses which collide with a potential barrier. This report deals with the basic concepts on deducing transit times for quantum scattering: the stationary phase method and its relation with delay times for relativistic and non-relativistic tunneling particles. After reexamining the above-barrier diffusion problem, we notice that the applicability of this method is constrained by several subtleties in deriving the phase time that describes the localization of scattered wave packets. Using a recently developed procedure - multiple wave packet decomposition - for some specifical colliding configurations, we demonstrate that the analytical difficulties arising when the stationary phase method is applied for obtaining phase (traversal) times are all overcome. In this case, we also investigate the general relation between phase times and dwell times for quantum tunneling/scattering. Considering a symmetrical collision of two identical wave packets with an one-dimensional barrier, we demonstrate that these two distinct transit time definitions are explicitly connected. The traversal times are obtained for a symmetrized (two identical bosons) and an antisymmetrized (two identical fermions) quantum colliding configuration. Multiple wave packet decomposition shows us that the phase time (group delay) describes the exact position of the scattered particles and, in addition to the exact relation with the dwell time, leads to correct conceptual understanding of both transit time definitions. At last, we extend the non-relativistic formalism to the solutions for the tunneling zone of a one-dimensional electrostatic potential in the relativistic (Dirac to Klein-Gordon) wave equation where the incoming wave packet exhibits the possibility of being almost totally transmitted through the potential barrier. The conditions for the occurrence of accelerated and, eventually, superluminal tunneling transmission probabilities are all quantified and the problematic superluminal interpretation based on the non-relativistic tunneling dynamics is revisited. Lessons concerning the dynamics of relativistic tunneling and the mathematical structure of its solutions suggest revealing insights into mathematically analogous condensed-matter experiments using electrostatic barriers in single- and bi-layer graphene, for which the accelerated tunneling effect deserves a more careful investigation.     

New approach to the quantum tunneling process: Characteristic times for transmission and reflection

In [1] we have demonstrated that scattering of a quantum particle on a one-dimensional potential barrier should be considered as a combined process involving two alternative elementary transmission and reflection processes. For symmetric potential barriers, we have found solutions of the Schrödinger equation which describe the transmission and reflection processes in all stages of scattering. The present work studies time aspects of both processes. The local and asymptotic group tunneling times, dwell time, and Larmor tunneling time are determined for each process. Among these time characteristics, the group tunneling times should be considered as auxiliary. As to the dwell and Larmor tunneling times, they are the best estimates (of the expected values) of times the quantum particle in stationary and localized nonstationary states dwells in the barrier region. Moreover, the Larmor time is simply the dwell time averaged over the corresponding ensemble of particles. This characteristic can be measured experimentally and hence the suggested model of scattering can be verified.     

Quantum mechanical look at the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy

We derive the Shafieloo, Hazra, Sahni and Starobinsky (SHSS) phenomenological formula for the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy directly from the principles of quantum mechanics. To this aim we use the Fock–Krylov theory of quantum unstable states. We obtain deeper insight on the decay process as having three basic phases: the phase of radioactive decay, the next phase of damping oscillations, and finally the phase of power-law decay. We consider the cosmological model with matter and dark energy in the form of decaying metastable dark energy and study its dynamics in the framework of non-conservative cosmology with an interacting term determined by the running cosmological parameter. We study the cosmological implications of metastable dark energy and estimate the characteristic time of ending of the radioactive-like decay epoch to be \(2.2\times 10^4\) of the present age of the Universe. We also confront the model with astronomical data which show that the model is in good agreement with the observations. Our general conclusion is that we are living in the epoch of the radioactive-like decay of metastable dark energy which is a relict of the quantum age of the Universe.     

Effect of strain on hole tunneling dynamics in double barrier heterostructures

A study of the effects of strain due to external stress and lattice mismatch on hole tunneling times in double barrier heterostructures is presented. The band structure of holes is calculated based on a k·p method within the envelope function approximation, including band mixing effects. The phase delay time is obtained from the energy derivative of the total phase shift of the wave function upon tunneling and is used to estimate the hole tunneling time. The results demonstrate that strain can be utilized to tailor hole tunneling times by changing the energy separation and, consequently, the mixing between heavy hole and light hole states in the quantum well.     

Stabilization by dissipation and stochastic resonant activation in quantum metastable systems

In this tutorial paper we present a comprehensive review of the escape dynamics from quantum metastable states in dissipative systems and related noise-induced effects. We analyze the role of dissipation and driving in the escape process from quantum metastable states with and without an external driving force, starting from a nonequilibrium initial condition. We use the Caldeira–Leggett model and a non-perturbative theoretical technique within the Feynman–Vernon influence functional approach in strong dissipation regime. In the absence of driving, we find that the escape time from the metastable region has a nonmonotonic behavior versus the system-bath coupling and the temperature, producing a stabilizing effect in the quantum metastable system. In the presence of an external driving, the escape time from the metastable region has a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the frequency of the driving, the thermal-bath coupling and the temperature. The quantum noise enhanced stability phenomenon is observed in both systems investigated. Finally, we analyze the resonantly activated escape from a quantum metastable state in the spin-boson model. We find quantum stochastic resonant activation, that is the presence of a minimum in the escape time as a function of the driving frequency. Background and introductory material has been added in the first three sections of the paper to make this tutorial review reasonably self-contained and readable for graduate students and non-specialists from related areas.     

Supercooled superfluids in Monte Carlo simulations

We perform path integral Monte Carlo simulations to study the imaginary time dynamics of metastable supercooled superfluid states and nearly superglassy states of a one component fluid of spinless bosons square wells. Our study shows that the identity of the particles and the exchange symmetry is crucial for the frustration necessary to obtain metastable states in the quantum regime. Whereas the simulation time has to be chosen to determine whether we are in a metastable state or not, the imaginary time dynamics tells us if we are or not close to an arrested glassy state.     

Time delay

The concepts of time delay and dwell time in quantum mechanics, and their applications to regular and chaotic scattering, to statistical mechanics, and to the tunneling time problem, among others, are reviewed. The emphasis is on physical concepts and on a pedagogical presentation.     

Metastable states,the adiabatic theorem and parity violating geometric phases I

A system of metastable plus unstable states is discussed. The mass matrix governing the time development of the system is supposed to vary slowly with time. The adiabatic limit for this case is studied and it is shown that only the metastable states obtain the analogs of the dynamical and geometrical phase factors familiar from stable states. Abelian and non-Abelian geometric phase factors for metastable states are defined.     

Metastable states and their disintegration at pulse liquid heating and electrical explosion of conductors

The regularities of formation of metastable states and their disintegration under pulse liquid heating and electrical heating and explosion of conductors are studied. With a high energy flux density, the phase transitions occur with a high intensity of heat and mass fluxes, leading to spontaneous generation of a new phase and to phase explosion. The basic features of bubble-like disintegration in not uniformly superheated water and alcohol layers on the microheater are found. Regularities of matter disintegration with electrically exploded conductors are obtained. The metastable liquid disintegration is experimentally investigated for characteristic times of matter transfer to a metastable state of 1 to 4 μs; phase transitions during electric conductor explosion are studied at characteristic times of transfer to a metastable state to 200 ns. A common approach to describing the effects with radically different characteristic times of transfer of the matter to a metastable state is developed.     

A Scheme of Conditional Quantum Phase Gate for Dissipative Cavity QED System

We propose a scheme to implement a two-qubit conditional quantum phase gate via a single mode cavity and a cascade four-level atom assisted by a classical laser. The quantum information is encoded on the Fock states of the cavity mode and the two metastable ground states of the atom. Even under the condition of systematic dissipations,this scheme can also be realized with fidelity of 98.6% and success probability of 0.767.     

A Scheme of Conditional Quantum Phase Gate for Dissipative Cavity QED System

We propose a scheme to implement a two-qubit conditional quantum phase gate via a single mode cavity and a cascade four-level atom assisted by a classical laser. The quantum information is encoded.on the Flock states of the cavity mode and the two metastable ground states of the atom. Even under the condition of systematic dissipations, this scheme can also be realized with fidelity of 98.6% and success probability of 0.767.     

Rydberg spectroscopy in an optical lattice: blackbody thermometry for atomic clocks

We show that optical spectroscopy of Rydberg states can provide accurate in situ thermometry at room temperature. Transitions from a metastable state to Rydberg states with principal quantum numbers of 25-30 have 200 times larger fractional frequency sensitivities to blackbody radiation than the strontium clock transition. We demonstrate that magic-wavelength lattices exist for both strontium and ytterbium transitions between the metastable and Rydberg states. Frequency measurements of Rydberg transitions with 10(-16) accuracy provide 10 mK resolution and yield a blackbody uncertainty for the clock transition of 10(-18).     

Long-lived quantum memory with nuclear atomic spins

We propose to store nonclassical states of light into the macroscopic collective nuclear spin (10(18) atoms) of a 3He vapor, using metastability exchange collisions. These collisions, commonly used to transfer orientation from the metastable state 2 3S1 to the ground state of 3He, can also transfer quantum correlations. This gives a possible experimental scheme to map a squeezed vacuum field state onto a nuclear spin state with very long storage times (hours).     

Universal quantum uncertainty relations: Minimum-uncertainty wave packet depends on measure of spread

Based on the statistical concept of the median, we propose a quantum uncertainty relation between semi-interquartile ranges of the position and momentum distributions of arbitrary quantum states. The relation is universal, unlike that based on the mean and standard deviation, as the latter may become non-existent or ineffective in certain cases. We show that the median-based one is not saturated for Gaussian distributions in position. Instead, the Cauchy-Lorentz distributions in position turn out to be the one with the minimal uncertainty, among the states inspected, implying that the minimum-uncertainty state is not unique but depends on the measure of spread used. Even the ordering of the states with respect to the distance from the minimum uncertainty state is altered by a change in the measure. We invoke the completeness of Hermite polynomials in the space of all quantum states to probe the median-based relation. The results have potential applications in a variety of studies including those on the quantum-to-classical boundary and on quantum cryptography.     

Quantum emulsion: a glassy phase of bosonic mixtures in optical lattices

We numerically investigate mixtures of two interacting bosonic species with unequal parameters in one-dimensional optical lattices. In large parameter regions full phase segregation is seen to minimize the energy of the system, but the true ground state is masked by an exponentially large number of metastable states characterized by microscopic phase separation. The ensemble of these quantum emulsion states, reminiscent of emulsions of immiscible fluids, has macroscopic properties analogous to those of a Bose glass, namely, a finite compressibility in absence of superfluidity. Their metastability is probed by extensive quantum Monte Carlo simulations generating rich correlated stochastic dynamics. The tuning of the repulsion of one of the two species via a Feshbach resonance drives the system through a quantum phase transition to the superfluid state.     

Traversal time for Dirac particles through a potential barrier

A traversal time that has no problem of superluminality was advanced for particles to tunnel through potential barriers in the non‐relativistic quantum theory in a previous paper by C.‐F. Li and Q. Wang, Physica B 296 (2001) 356. This time is generalized in this paper to Dirac's relativistic quantum theory. Both evanescent and propagating cases are considered. It is shown that the traversal time in the evanescent case has much the same properties as in the non‐relativistic quantum theory and thus has no problem of superluminality. It also gets rid of the problem of superluminality in the propagating case. Comparisons with the dwell time, the group delay, and the velocity of monochromatic front are also made.     

Distributed wireless quantum communication networks

The distributed wireless quantum communication network （DWQCN） ha~ a distributed network topology and trans- mits information by quantum states. In this paper, we present the concept of the DWQCN and propose a system scheme to transfer quantum states in the DWQCN. The system scheme for transmitting information between any two nodes in the DWQCN includes a routing protocol and a scheme for transferring quantum states. The routing protocol is on-demand and the routing metric is selected based on the number of entangled particle pairs. After setting up a route, quantum tele- portation and entanglement swapping are used for transferring quantum states. Entanglement swapping is achieved along with the process of routing set up and the acknowledgment packet transmission. The measurement results of each entan- glement swapping are piggybacked with route reply packets or acknowledgment packets. After entanglement swapping, a direct quantum link between source and destination is set up and quantum states are transferred by quantum teleportation. Adopting this scheme, the measurement results of entanglement swapping do not need to be transmitted specially, which decreases the wireless transmission cost and transmission delay.     

Quantum Correlations in Systems of Indistinguishable Particles

We discuss quantum correlations in systems of indistinguishable particles in relation to entanglement in composite quantum systems consisting of well separated subsystems. Our studies are motivated by recent experiments and theoretical investigations on quantum dots and neutral atoms in microtraps as tools for quantum information processing. We present analogies between distinguishable particles, bosons, and fermions in low-dimensional Hilbert spaces. We introduce the notion of Slater rank for pure states of pairs of fermions and bosons in analogy to the Schmidt rank for pairs of distinguishable particles. This concept is generalized to mixed states and provides a correlation measure for indistinguishable particles. Then we generalize these notions to pure fermionic and bosonic states in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces and also to the multi-particle case. We review the results on quantum correlations in mixed fermionic states and discuss the concept of fermionic Slater witnesses. Then the theory of quantum correlations in mixed bosonic states and of bosonic Slater witnesses is formulated. In both cases we provide methods of constructing optimal Slater witnesses that detect the degree of quantum correlations in mixed fermionic and bosonic states.