Quantum Thermodynamic Uncertainty Relations,Generalized Current Fluctuations and Nonequilibrium Fluctuation–Dissipation Inequalities

Thermodynamic uncertainty relations (TURs) represent one of the few broad-based and fundamental relations in our toolbox for tackling the thermodynamics of nonequilibrium systems. One form of TUR quantifies the minimal energetic cost of achieving a certain precision in determining a nonequilibrium current. In this initial stage of our research program, our goal is to provide the quantum theoretical basis of TURs using microphysics models of linear open quantum systems where it is possible to obtain exact solutions. In paper [Dong et al., Entropy 2022, 24, 870], we show how TURs are rooted in the quantum uncertainty principles and the fluctuation–dissipation inequalities (FDI) under fully nonequilibrium conditions. In this paper, we shift our attention from the quantum basis to the thermal manifests. Using a microscopic model for the bath’s spectral density in quantum Brownian motion studies, we formulate a “thermal” FDI in the quantum nonequilibrium dynamics which is valid at high temperatures. This brings the quantum TURs we derive here to the classical domain and can thus be compared with some popular forms of TURs. In the thermal-energy-dominated regimes, our FDIs provide better estimates on the uncertainty of thermodynamic quantities. Our treatment includes full back-action from the environment onto the system. As a concrete example of the generalized current, we examine the energy flux or power entering the Brownian particle and find an exact expression of the corresponding current–current correlations. In so doing, we show that the statistical properties of the bath and the causality of the system+bath interaction both enter into the TURs obeyed by the thermodynamic quantities.     

Strong Coupling Optomechanics Mediated by a Qubit in the Dispersive Regime

Cavity optomechanics represents a flexible platform for the implementation of quantum technologies, useful in particular for the realization of quantum interfaces, quantum sensors and quantum information processing. However, the dispersive, radiation–pressure interaction between the mechanical and the electromagnetic modes is typically very weak, harnessing up to now the demonstration of interesting nonlinear dynamics and quantum control at the single photon level. It has already been shown both theoretically and experimentally that if the interaction is mediated by a Josephson circuit, one can have an effective dynamics corresponding to a huge enhancement of the single-photon optomechanical coupling. Here we analyze in detail this phenomenon in the general case when the cavity mode and the mechanical mode interact via an off-resonant qubit. Using a Schrieffer–Wolff approximation treatment, we determine the regime where this tripartite hybrid system behaves as an effective cavity optomechanical system in the strong coupling regime.     

Entropic Uncertainty for Two Coupled Dipole Spins Using Quantum Memory under the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction

In the thermodynamic equilibrium of dipolar-coupled spin systems under the influence of a Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (D–M) interaction along the z-axis, the current study explores the quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation (QMA-EUR), entropy mixedness and the concurrence two-spin entanglement. Quantum entanglement is reduced at increased temperature values, but inflation uncertainty and mixedness are enhanced. The considered quantum effects are stabilized to their stationary values at high temperatures. The two-spin entanglement is entirely repressed if the D–M interaction is disregarded, and the entropic uncertainty and entropy mixedness reach their maximum values for equal coupling rates. Rather than the concurrence, the entropy mixedness can be a proper indicator of the nature of the entropic uncertainty. The effect of model parameters (D–M coupling and dipole–dipole spin) on the quantum dynamic effects in thermal environment temperature is explored. The results reveal that the model parameters cause significant variations in the predicted QMA-EUR.     

Generation of maximally entangled atom pairs in driven dissipative cavity QED systems

We investigate the entanglement of an open tripartite system where a cavity field mode in thermal equilibrium is off-resonantly coupled with two atoms that are simultaneously driven by a resonant coherent field. For moderately detuned atom-field coupling and strong atomic driving we show the generation, at given interaction times and for low enough cavity decay rates, of atomic Bell states and of Bell state superpositions relevant for quantum gates implementation. The system can oscillate between bi-separable and fully separable states. Also we describe the distribution of quantum correlations between the atom-atom and the two atom-field subsystems. In the dispersive coupling regime with strongly driven atoms we show the generation of nearly stationary Bell states which remain protected from cavity dissipation.     

Evidence of quantum interference in transport properties of a triple quantum dot T-shape system

We consider the transport and the noise characteristic in the case of a triple quantum dots T-shape system where two of the dots form a two-level system and the other works in a detector-like setup. Our theoretical results are obtained using the equation of motion method for the case of zero and finite on-site Coulomb interaction in the detector dot. We present analytic results for the electronic Green’s functions in the system’s component quantum dots, and we used numerical calculations to evaluate the system’s transport properties. The transport trough the T-shaped system can be controlled by varying the coupling between the two-level system dots or the coupling between the detector dot and the exterior electrodes. The system’s conductance presents Fano dips for both strong (fast detector) and weak coupling (slow detector) between the detector dot and the external electrodes. Due to stronger electronic correlations the noise characteristics in the case of a slow detector are much higher. This setup may be of interest for the practical realization of qubit states in quantum dots systems.     

Effect of Quantum Coherence on Landauer’s Principle

Landauer’s principle provides a fundamental lower bound for energy dissipation occurring with information erasure in the quantum regime. While most studies have related the entropy reduction incorporated with the erasure to the lower bound (entropic bound), recent efforts have also provided another lower bound associated with the thermal fluctuation of the dissipated energy (thermodynamic bound). The coexistence of the two bounds has stimulated comparative studies of their properties; however, these studies were performed for systems where the time-evolution of diagonal (population) and off-diagonal (coherence) elements of the density matrix are decoupled. In this paper, we aimed to broaden the comparative study to include the influence of quantum coherence induced by the tilted system–reservoir interaction direction. By examining their dependence on the initial state of the information-bearing system, we find that the following properties of the bounds are generically held regardless of whether the influence of the coherence is present or not: the entropic bound serves as the tighter bound for a sufficiently mixed initial state, while the thermodynamic bound is tighter when the purity of the initial state is sufficiently high. The exception is the case where the system dynamics involve only phase relaxation; in this case, the two bounds coincide when the initial coherence is zero; otherwise, the thermodynamic bound serves the tighter bound. We also find the quantum information erasure inevitably accompanies constant energy dissipation caused by the creation of system–reservoir correlation, which may cause an additional source of energetic cost for the erasure.     

Environment and initial state engineered dynamics of quantum and classical correlations

Based on an open exactly solvable system coupled to an environment with nontrivial spectral density, we connect the features of quantum and classical correlations with some features of the environment, initial states of the system, and the presence of initial system–environment correlations. Some interesting features not revealed before are observed by changing the structure of environment, the initial states of system, and the presence of initial system–environment correlations. The main results are as follows. (1) Quantum correlations exhibit temporary freezing and permanent freezing even at high temperature of the environment, for which the necessary and sufficient conditions are given by three propositions. (2) Quantum correlations display a transition from temporary freezing to permanent freezing by changing the structure of environment. (3) Quantum correlations can be enhanced all the time, for which the condition is put forward. (4) The one-to-one dependency relationship between all kinds of dynamic behaviors of quantum correlations and the initial states of the system as well as environment structure is established. (5) In the presence of initial system–environment correlations, quantum correlations under local environment exhibit temporary multi-freezing phenomenon. While under global environment they oscillate, revive, and damp, an explanation for which is given.     

Quantum Non-Markovian Environment-to-System Backflows of Information: Nonoperational vs. Operational Approaches

Quantum memory effects can be qualitatively understood as a consequence of an environment-to-system backflow of information. Here, we analyze and compare how this concept is interpreted and implemented in different approaches to quantum non-Markovianity. We study a nonoperational approach, defined by the distinguishability between two system states characterized by different initial conditions, and an operational approach, which is defined by the correlation between different outcomes associated to successive measurement processes performed over the system of interest. The differences, limitations, and vantages of each approach are characterized in detail by considering diverse system–environment models and dynamics. As a specific example, we study a non-Markovian depolarizing map induced by the interaction of the system of interest with an environment characterized by incoherent and coherent self-dynamics.     

Two-Qubit Local Fisher Information Correlation beyond Entanglement in a Nonlinear Generalized Cavity with an Intrinsic Decoherence

In this paper, we study a Hamiltonian system constituted by two coupled two-level atoms (qubits) interacting with a nonlinear generalized cavity field. The nonclassical two-qubit correlation dynamics are investigated using Bures distance entanglement and local quantum Fisher information under the influences of intrinsic decoherence and qubit–qubit interaction. The effects of the superposition of two identical generalized coherent states and the initial coherent field intensity on the generated two-qubit correlations are investigated. Entanglement of sudden death and sudden birth of the Bures distance entanglement as well as the sudden changes in local Fisher information are observed. We show that the robustness, against decoherence, of the generated two-qubit correlations can be controlled by qubit–qubit coupling and the initial coherent cavity states.     

Belavkin–Staszewski Relative Entropy,Conditional Entropy,and Mutual Information

Belavkin–Staszewski relative entropy can naturally characterize the effects of the possible noncommutativity of quantum states. In this paper, two new conditional entropy terms and four new mutual information terms are first defined by replacing quantum relative entropy with Belavkin–Staszewski relative entropy. Next, their basic properties are investigated, especially in classical-quantum settings. In particular, we show the weak concavity of the Belavkin–Staszewski conditional entropy and obtain the chain rule for the Belavkin–Staszewski mutual information. Finally, the subadditivity of the Belavkin–Staszewski relative entropy is established, i.e., the Belavkin–Staszewski relative entropy of a joint system is less than the sum of that of its corresponding subsystems with the help of some multiplicative and additive factors. Meanwhile, we also provide a certain subadditivity of the geometric Rényi relative entropy.     

Correlations,Information Backflow,and Objectivity in a Class of Pure Dephasing Models

We critically examine the role that correlations established between a system and fragments of its environment play in characterising the ensuing dynamics. We employ a dephasing model with different initial conditions, where the state of the initial environment represents a tunable degree of freedom that qualitatively and quantitatively affects the correlation profiles, but nevertheless results in the same reduced dynamics for the system. We apply recently developed tools for the characterisation of non-Markovianity to carefully assess the role that correlations, as quantified by the (quantum) Jensen–Shannon divergence and relative entropy, as well as changes in the environmental state, play in whether the conditions for classical objectivity within the quantum Darwinism paradigm are met. We demonstrate that for precisely the same non-Markovian reduced dynamics of the system arising from different microscopic models, some exhibit quantum Darwinistic features, while others show that no meaningful notion of classical objectivity is present. Furthermore, our results highlight that the non-Markovian nature of an environment does not a priori prevent a system from redundantly proliferating relevant information, but rather it is the system’s ability to establish the requisite correlations that is the crucial factor in the manifestation of classical objectivity.     

Ground state of an exciton in a three-dimensional parabolic quantum dot: Convergent perturbative calculation

Working in the effective-mass approximation, we apply a powerful convergent perturbative technique of Turbiner's to the calculation of the ground state energy and the wave function of an exciton confined to a three-dimensional parabolic quantum dot. Unlike the usual Rayleigh–Schrödinger perturbation theory, Turbiner's approach works well even in the regime of strong coupling and does not require the knowledge of the full solution to the undisturbed problem. The second-order convergent calculation presented below is in excellent agreement with the results of exact numerical simulations for a wide range of system's confinement parameters.     

Robustness of tripartite entanglement transfer from bosonic modes to localized qubits

We address entanglement transfer from a three-mode bosonic system to a tripartite systems of spatially separated flying or fixed qubits through the interaction with their local environments. We focus on the robustness of entanglement transfer against several effects, including off-resonant interactions for both qubit-local environment and local environment-bosonic mode subsystems, and also exploring the effect of changing the coupling constants, with the possibility to have different values for each qubit-local environment interaction. For the entangled bosonic modes we consider both Gaussian states and qubit-like states, comparing three different Generalized Schmidt Decompositions forms widely used in the literature and analyzing how the deviation from qubit-like approximation influences entanglement transfer. Finally, we investigate the multimode coupling between bosonic modes and each local environment showing a comparison between various qubit-like initial states and discussing how to improve the efficiency of entanglement transfer.     

SymGF: a symbolic tool for quantum transport analysis and its application to a double quantum dot system

We report the development and an application of a symbolic tool, called SymGF, for analytical derivations of quantum transport properties using the Keldysh nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. The inputs to SymGF are the device Hamiltonian in the second quantized form, the commutation relation of the operators and the truncation rules of the correlators. The outputs of SymGF are the desired NEGF that appear in the transport formula, in terms of the unperturbed Green's function of the device scattering region and its coupling to the device electrodes. For complicated transport analysis involving strong interactions and correlations, SymGF provides significant assistance in analytical derivations. Using this tool, we investigate coherent quantum transport in a double quantum dot system where strong on-site interaction exists in the side-coupled quantum dot. Results obtained by the higher-order approximation and Hartree-Fock approximation are compared. The higher-order approximation reveals Kondo resonance features in the density of states and conductances. Results are compared both qualitatively and quantitatively to the experimental data reported in the literature.     

应用级联运动方程方法研究并联双量子点的量子纠缠

Quantum dots comprise a type of quantum impurity system. The entanglement and coherence of quantum states are significantly influenced by the strong electron-electron interactions among impurities and their dissipative coupling with the surrounding environment. Competition between many-body effects and transfer couplings plays an important role in determining the entanglement among localized impurity spins. In this work, we employ the hierarchical-equations-of-motion approach to explore the entanglement of a strongly correlated double quantum dots system. The relation between the total system entropy and those of subsystems is also investigated.     

Thermal quantum correlations of a spin-1/2 Ising-Heisenberg diamond chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

We investigate the properties of thermal quantum correlations in an infinite spin-1/2 Ising-Heisenberg diamond chain with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya(DM) interaction. The thermal quantum discord(TQD) and the thermal entanglement(TE)are discussed as two kinds of important methods to measure the quantum correlation, respectively. It is found that DM interaction plays an important role in the thermal quantum correlations of the system. It can enhance the thermal quantum correlations by increasing DM interaction. Furthermore, the thermal quantum correlations can be promoted by tuning the external magnetic field and the Heisenberg coupling parameter in the antiferromagnetic system. It is shown that the behaviors of TQD differ from those of TE. TQD is more robust against decoherence than TE. For the measurement of TQD, the "regrowth" phenomenon occurs in the ferromagnetic system. We also find that the anisotropy favors the thermal quantum correlations of the system with weak DM interaction.     

Entanglement Dynamics of Two Spins in Initially Correlated Wheel-Shaped Spin Baths

We study the effects of the initial correlations in environment on the entanglement dynamics of spin system. The correlated environment is novelly simulated by two correlated wheel-shaped spin baths, each consisting of an intermediate spin interacting with a spin-ring. The correlations in environment are achieved by the entanglement between two intermediate spins. The spin system includes two system-spins, and the interaction between the spin system and the environment is implemented by the coupling between the system-spin and the intermediate spin. Firstly, we analyze the influences of the initial entanglement between the two intermediate spins, the coupling parameters and the temperature of the baths on the entanglement dynamics of the two system-spins in equivalent subsystems. It is demonstrated that the initial entanglement between the baths can act as a resource for the generation and the revivals of the entanglement of the system-spins. Moreover, the amount of the generation and the revivals of the entanglement of the system-spins can be enhanced by regulating the coupling constants and the temperature of the baths. In addition, we also investigate the influences of different coupling ratios in non-equivalent subsystems, it is found that changing the coupling ratios of two subsystems has a significant effect on the generation and revivals of entanglement of system-spins.