Solitary waves on finite-size antiferromagnetic quantum Heisenberg spin rings

Motivated by the successful synthesis of several molecular quantum spin rings we are investigating whether such systems can host magnetic solitary waves. The small size of these spin systems forbids the application of a classical or continuum limit. We therefore investigate whether the time-dependent Schrödinger equation itself permits solitary waves. Example solutions are obtained via complete diagonalization of the underlying Heisenberg Hamiltonian.     

Molecular engineering of antiferromagnetic rings for quantum computation

The substitution of one metal ion in a Cr-based molecular ring with dominant antiferromagnetic couplings allows the engineering of its level structure and ground-state degeneracy. Here we characterize a Cr7Ni molecular ring by means of low-temperature specific-heat and torque-magnetometry measurements, thus determining the microscopic parameters of the corresponding spin Hamiltonian. The energy spectrum and the suppression of the leakage-inducing S mixing render the Cr7Ni molecule a suitable candidate for the qubit implementation, as further substantiated by our quantum-gate simulations.     

Electron and nuclear spin dynamics in antiferromagnetic molecular rings

We study theoretically the spin dynamics of antiferromagnetic molecular rings, such as the ferric wheel Fe10. For a single nuclear or impurity spin coupled to one of the electron spins of the ring, we calculate nuclear and electronic spin correlation functions and show that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron spin resonance (ESR) techniques can be used to detect coherent tunneling of the Néel vector in these rings. The location of the NMR/ESR resonances gives the tunnel splitting and its linewidth an upper bound on the decoherence rate of the electron spin dynamics. We illustrate the experimental feasibility of our proposal with estimates for Fe10 molecules.     

Second- to first-order transition in two coupled antiferromagnetic rings

We numerically investigate an S=1/2 spin model, in which two dimerized antiferromagnetic rings interact with each other ferromagnetically. It is shown that the order of the magnetoelastic transition is strongly affected by the interring coupling J_⊥ and there may exist a critical J_⊥^* dividing the first-order transition and the continuous transition.     

Universal quantum logic gates in a scalable Ising spin quantum computer

We consider the model of quantum computer, which is represented as a Ising spin lattice, where qubits (spin-half systems) are separated by the isolators (two spin-half systems). In the idle mode or at the single bit operations the total spin of isolators is 0. There are no need of complicated protocols for correcting the phase and probability errors due to permanent interaction between the qubits. We present protocols for implementation of universal quantum gates with the rectangular radio-frequency pulses.     

Local spin moment distribution in antiferromagnetic molecular rings probed by NMR

The NMR spectra of 19F and 53Cr have been obtained at low temperatures in a heterometallic substituted antiferromagnetic (AF) ring Cr7Cd with an S=3/2 ground state and compared with the spectra in a homometallic Cr8 AF ring with an S=0 ground state. From the analysis of the spectra one can derive directly model independent values of the staggered nonuniform distribution of the local moment in the heterometallic ring Cr7Cd. The experimental values are found to be in excellent agreement with the theoretical values calculated on the basis of an effective spin Hamiltonian which includes crystal field effects.     

Impurity spin dynamics and quantum coherence in mesoscopic rings

We investigate the effects of impurity spin dynamics on quantum coherence in mesoscopic metallic rings. Spin relaxation induces temporal current fluctuations which are closely related to persistent currents in such systems. The persistent current is suppressed in the presence of magnetic impurities. We discuss spin-polarisation effects, spin-glass ordering, and the Kondo effect which are shown to restore the current even in the presence of magnetic scattering.     

Universal set of quantum gates for double-dot spin qubits with fixed interdot coupling

We propose a set of universal gate operations for the singlet-triplet qubit realized by two-electron spins in a double quantum dot, in the presence of a fixed inhomogeneous magnetic field. All gate operations are achieved by switching the potential offset between the two dots with an electrical bias, and do not require time-dependent control of the tunnel coupling between the dots. We analyze the two-electron dynamics and calculate the effective qubit rotation angle as a function of the applied electric bias. We present explicit gate sequences for single-qubit rotations about two orthogonal axes, and a CNOT gate sequence, completing the universal gate set.     

Effects of two energy scales in weakly dimerized antiferromagnetic quantum spin chains

By means of thermal expansion and specific heat measurements on the high-pressure phase of (VO)(2)P(2)O(7), the effects of two energy scales of the weakly dimerized antiferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg chain are explored. The low-energy scale, given by the spin gap Delta, is found to manifest itself in a pronounced thermal expansion anomaly. A quantitative analysis, employing the density-matrix renormalization-group approach for transfer matrices calculations, shows that this feature originates from changes in the magnetic entropy with respect to Delta, partial differentialS(m)/partial differentialDelta. This term, inaccessible by specific heat, is visible only in the weak-dimerization limit, where it reflects peculiarities of the excitation spectrum and its sensitivity to variations in Delta.     

Resonant scheme for realizing quantum phase gates for two separate atoms via coupled cavities

We propose a scheme for realizing conditional quantum phase gates for two atoms that are distributed in two coupled cavities. Due to the resonant interaction in temporal evolution of the entire system, the gate operation time is greatly reduced as compared with that of the nonresonant schemes. We study the influence of imperfections in the interaction and the effect of decoherence and find the gate to be robust. We discuss the issue related to the practical implementation and show that the gate is accessible within the current cavity QED technology.     

Reprint of : Flux sensitivity of quantum spin Hall rings

We analyze the periodicity of persistent currents in quantum spin Hall loops, partly covered with an s-wave superconductor, in the presence of a flux tube. Much like in normal (non-helical) metals, the periodicity of the single-particle spectrum goes from ${\Phi }_0=h/e$ to ${\Phi }_0/2$ as the length of the superconductor is increased past the coherence length of the superconductor. We further analyze the periodicity of the persistent current, which is a many-body effect. Interestingly, time reversal symmetry and parity conservation can significantly change the period. We find a 2Φ₀-periodic persistent current in two distinct regimes, where one corresponds to a Josephson junction and the other one to an Aharonov–Bohm setup.     

Theory of phonon-induced spin relaxation in laterally coupled quantum dots

Phonon-induced spin relaxation in coupled lateral quantum dots in the presence of spin-orbit coupling is calculated. The calculation for single dots is consistent with experiment. Spin relaxation in double dots at useful interdot couplings is dominated by spin-hot spots that are strongly anisotropic. Spin-hot spots are ineffective for a diagonal crystallographic orientation of the dots with a transverse in-plane field. This geometry is proposed for spin-based quantum information processing.     

Non-local and local ghost fields in quantum correlations

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen quantum correlations are discussed from the perspective of a ghost field introduced by Einstein. The concepts of ghost field, hidden variables, local reality and the Bell inequality are reviewed. In the framework of the correlated singlet state of two spin-½ particles, it is shown that quantum mechanics can be cast in a way that has the form of either a non-positive and local ghost field or a positive and non-local ghost field.     

Spectral properties of two electrons vertically coupled in toroidal quantum rings

The energy spectrum of two electrons spatially separated in two toroidal and vertically stacked narrow nanorings with different radii has been analyzed by using a very simple model based on the adiabatic approximation. The low-lying energy levels are found to be a function of the ratio between the ring centreline radii and the magnetic field. Our results coincide with the exact solution previously obtained for the limiting case in which two electrons are constrained to move in a one-dimensional quantum ring.     

Role of the spin anisotropy of the interchain interaction in weakly coupled antiferromagnetic Heisenberg chains

In quasi-one-dimensional(q1D) quantum antiferromagnets, the complicated interplay of intrachain and interchain exchange couplings may give rise to rich phenomena. Motivated by recent progress on field-induced phase transitions in the q1D antiferromagnetic(AFM) compound YbAlO_3, we study the phase diagram of spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains with Ising anisotropic interchain couplings under a longitudinal magnetic field via large-scale quantum Monte Carlo simulations,and investigate the role of the spin anisotropy of the interchain coupling on the ground state of the system. We find that the Ising anisotropy of the interchain coupling can significantly enhance the longitudinal spin correlations and drive the system to an incommensurate AFM phase at intermediate magnetic fields, which is understood as a longitudinal spin density wave(LSDW). With increasing field, the ground state changes to a canted AFM order with transverse spin correlations. We further provide a global phase diagram showing how the competition between the LSDW and the canted AFM states is tuned by the Ising anisotropy of the interchain coupling.     

Deterministic implementations of fermionic quantum SWAP and Fredkin gates for spin qubits based on charge detection

We propose a scheme to implement fermionic quantum SWAP and Fredkin gates for spin qubits with the aid of charge detection. The scheme is deterministic without the need of qubit–qubit interaction, and the proposed setups consist of simple polarizing beam splitters, single-spin rotations, and charge detectors. Compared with linear optics quantum computation, this charge-measurement-based qubit scheme greatly enhances the success probability for im- plementing quantum SWAP and Fredkin gates and greatly simplifies the experimental realization of scalable quantum computers with noninteracting electrons.     

Spin-dependent forces on trapped ions for phase-stable quantum gates and entangled states of spin and motion

Favored schemes for trapped-ion quantum logic gates use bichromatic laser fields to couple internal qubit states with external motion through a "spin-dependent force." We introduce a new degree of freedom in this coupling that reduces its sensitivity to phase decoherence. We demonstrate bichromatic spin-dependent forces on a single trapped 111Cd+ ion, and show that phase coherence of the resulting entangled states of spin and motion depends critically upon the spectral arrangement of the optical fields. This applies directly to the operation of entangling gates on multiple ions.