Efficient quantum simulation of open quantum dynamics at various Hamiltonians and spectral densities

Simulation of open quantum dynamics for various Hamiltonians and spectral densities are ubiquitous for studying various quantum systems. On a quantum computer, only log₂N qubits are required for the simulation of an N-dimensional quantum system, hence simulation in a quantum computer can greatly reduce the computational complexity compared with classical methods. Recently, a quantum simulation approach was proposed for studying photosynthetic light harvesting [npj Quantum Inf. 4, 52 (2018)]. In this paper, we apply the approach to simulate the open quantum dynamics of various photosynthetic systems. We show that for Drude–Lorentz spectral density, the dimerized geometries with strong couplings within the donor and acceptor clusters respectively exhibit significantly improved efficiency. We also demonstrate that the overall energy transfer can be optimized when the energy gap between the donor and acceptor clusters matches the optimum of the spectral density. The effects of different types of baths, e.g., Ohmic, sub-Ohmic, and super-Ohmic spectral densities are also studied. The present investigations demonstrate that the proposed approach is universal for simulating the exact quantum dynamics of photosynthetic systems.     

Phonon-assisted excitation energy transfer in photosynthetic systems

The phonon-assisted process of energy transfer aiming at exploring the newly emerging frontier between biology and physics is an issue of central interest.This article shows the important role of the intramolecular vibrational modes for excitation energy transfer in the photosynthetic systems.Based on a dimer system consisting of a donor and an acceptor modeled by two two-level systems,in which one of them is coupled to a high-energy vibrational mode,we derive an effective Hamiltonian describing the vibration-assisted coherent energy transfer process in the polaron frame.The effective Hamiltonian reveals in the case that the vibrational mode dynamically matches the energy detuning between the donor and the acceptor,the original detuned energy transfer becomes resonant energy transfer.In addition,the population dynamics and coherence dynamics of the dimer system with and without vibration-assistance are investigated numerically.It is found that,the energy transfer efficiency and the transfer time depend heavily on the interaction strength of the donor and the high-energy vibrational mode,as well as the vibrational frequency.The numerical results also indicate that the initial state and dissipation rate of the vibrational mode have little influence on the dynamics of the dimer system.Results obtained in this article are not only helpful to understand the natural photosynthesis,but also offer an optimal design principle for artificial photosynthesis.     

Quantum Transfer Energy and Nonlocal Correlation in a Dimer with Time-Dependent Coupling Effect

The presence of coherence phenomenon due to the interference of probability amplitude terms, is one of the most important features of quantum mechanics theory. Recent experiments show the presence of quantum processes whose coherence provided over suddenly large interval-time. In particular, photosynthetic mechanisms in light-harvesting complexes provide oscillatory behaviors in quantum mechanics due to quantum coherence. In this work, we investigate the coherent quantum transfer energy for a single-excitation and nonlocal correlation in a dimer system modelled by a two-level atom system with and without time-dependent coupling effect. We analyze and explore the required conditions that are feasible with real experimental realization for optimal transfer of quantum energy and generation of nonlocal quantum correlation. We show that the enhancement of the probability for a single-excitation transfer energy is greatly benefits from the combination of the energy detuning and time-dependent coupling effect. We investigate the presence of quantum correlations in the dimer using the entanglement of formation. We also find that the entanglement between the donor and acceptor is very sensitive to the physical parameters and it can be generated during the coherent energy transfer. On the other hand, we study the dynamical behavior of the quantum variance when performing a measurement on an observable of the density matrix operator. Finally, an interesting relationship between the transfer probability, entanglement and quantum variance is explored during the time evolution in terms of the physical parameters.     

Energy transfer between two aggregates in light-harvesting complexes

Energy transfer processes between two aggregates in a coupled chromophoric-pigment(protein)system are studied via the standard master equation approach.Each pigment of the two aggregates is modeled as a two-level system.The excitation energy is assumed to be transferred from the donor aggregate to the acceptor aggregate.The model can be used to theoretically simulate many aspects of light-harvesting complexes(LHCs).By applying the real bio-parameters of photosynthesis,we numerically investigate the efficiency of energy transfer(EET)between the two aggregates in terms of some factors,e.g.,the initial coherence of the donor aggregate,the coupling strengthes between the two aggregates and between different pigments,and the effects of noise from the environment.Our results provide evidence for that the actual numbers of pigments in the chromophoric rings of LHCs should be the optimum parameters for a high EET.We also give a detailed analysis of the effects of noise on the EET.     

Nonradiative and radiative Förster energy transfer between quantum dots

We theoretically study nonradiative and radiative energy transfer between two localized quantum emitters, a donor (initially excited) and an acceptor (receiving the excitation). The rates of nonradiative and radiative processes are calculated depending on the spatial and spectral separation between the donor and acceptor states and for different donor and acceptor lifetimes for typical parameters of semiconductor quantum dots. We find that the donor lifetime can be significantly modified only due to the nonradiative Förster energy transfer process at donor–acceptor separations of approximately 10 nm (depending on the acceptor radiative lifetime) and for the energy detuning not larger than 1–2 meV. The efficiency of the nonradiative Förster energy transfer process under these conditions is close to unity and decreases rapidly with an increase in the donor–acceptor distance or energy detuning. At large donor–acceptor separations greater than 40 nm, the radiative corrections to the donor lifetime are comparable with nonradiative ones but are relatively weak.     

Influences of Initial States on Entanglement Dynamics of Two Central Spins in a Spin Environment

We investigate the entanglement dynamics of two electronic spins coupled to a bath of nuclear spins for two special cases, one is that two central spins both interact with a common bath, and the other is that one of two spins interacts with a bath. We consider three types of initial states with different correlations between the system and the bath, i.e., quantum correlation, classical correlation, and no-correlation. We show that the initial correlations (no matter quantum correlations or classical correlations) can effectively avoid the occurrence of entanglement sudden death. Irrespective of whether both two spins or only one of the two spins interacts with the bath, the system can gain more entanglement in the process of the time evolution for initial quantum correlations. In addition, we find that the effects of the distribution of coupling constants on entanglement dynamics crucially depend on the initial state of the spin bath.     

Decoherence-and Dimerization-assisted Energy Transport in Protomer of Light-Harvesting Complexes

We have investigated the dynamics of a protomer coupled to two different decoherent environments,each in a configuration called the spin star configuration.Using the quantum mechanics method,in different situations,we obtain the analytical expressions for the transition probability in the protomer system.In thermal equilibrium,there exist well-defined ranges of parameters for which decoherent interaction between the protomer and the environment assists energy transfer in the protomer system,while in pure quantum mechanics states,the decoherent interaction assists energy transfer for an eigenstate but against energy transfer for quantum mechanics averages.In particular,we also find that the dimerization of two bacteriochlorophylls in protomer can always assist energy transfer in certain parameter range,and in the appropriate spin bath energy,the efficiency of energy transport is sensitively depended on the temperature of environments.     

Quantizing Ulam's control conjecture

Like classically chaotic systems, can quantum systems be nudged from a given initial state to any other by arbitrarily weak control fields? We explore a scaling theory that sets fundamental limits on the time required for population transfer with weak control fields. Our results depend on the size of the quantum state space and on the rate and extent of energy flow within the system. When the unperturbed dynamics is quantum localized, the total distance in state space over which control can be achieved grows linearly with the number of photons that are expended.     

Robustness of quantum correlations against decoherence

We study dynamics of nonclassical correlations by exactly solving a model consisting of two atomic qubits with spontaneous emission. We find that the nonclassical correlations defined by different measures give different qualitative characterizations of those correlations. The relative behaviors of those correlation measures are presented explicitly for various quantum states in the two-qubit atomic system. In particular, we find that the robustness of quantum correlations can be greatly enhanced by performing appropriate local unitary operations on the initial state of the system.     

ZnS∶Cu-罗丹明B的荧光共振能量转移性质

为了解决现有的基于量子点荧光共振能量转移体系的生物毒性问题,选用无毒的ZnS∶Cu量子点与罗丹明B构建新型荧光共振能量转移体系。通过共沉淀法成功制备了形貌均一的ZnS∶Cu纳米晶量子点。在此基础上,测试了不同掺杂浓度的ZnS∶Cu量子点及罗丹明B的荧光光谱。然后,通过对ZnS∶Cu量子点的表面修饰构建了以ZnS∶Cu量子点为供体、罗丹明B为受体的荧光共振能量转移体系。实验结果表明:ZnS∶2%Cu量子点的发光光谱与罗丹明B的吸收光谱在481 nm处有较大重合,说明构建荧光共振能量转移的最佳铜掺杂摩尔分数为2%。通过计算发现以ZnS∶2%Cu量子点为供体、罗丹明B为受体的荧光共振能量转移体系的能量转移效率为25.8%。进一步实验结果表明,罗丹明B浓度也能够影响能量转移。     

Thermodynamics of relativistic quantum fields confined in cavities

We investigate the quantum thermodynamical properties of localised relativistic quantum fields, and how they can be used as quantum thermal machines. We study the efficiency and power of energy transfer between the classical gravitational degrees of freedom, such as the energy input due to the motion of boundaries or an impinging gravitational wave, and the excitations of a confined quantum field. We find that the efficiency of energy transfer depends dramatically on the input initial state of the system. Furthermore, we investigate the ability of the system to extract energy from a gravitational wave and store it in a battery. This process is inefficient in optical cavities but is significantly enhanced when employing trapped Bose Einstein condensates. We also employ standard fluctuation results to obtain the work probability distribution, which allows us to understand how the efficiency is related to the dissipation of work. Finally, we apply our techniques to a setup where an impinging gravitational wave excites the phononic modes of a Bose Einstein condensate. We find that, in this case, the percentage of energy transferred to the phonons approaches unity after a suitable amount of time. These results give a quantitative insight into the thermodynamic behaviour of relativistic quantum fields confined in cavities.     

三量子比特系统中单个谐振子诱导的量子关联

我们考虑初始无关联并且与由一个谐振子构成的环境之间互相耦合的三量子比特系统。通过研究量子比特-环境的耦合强度以及量子比特初始态对量子关联的影响,我们发现环境可以诱导量子关联,提出并证明了四个命题阐述谐振子如何调控三个量子比特中量子关联的分布。给出了产生量子关联的条件。特别地,对于弱耦合,我们不但能够获得很多的量子关联,而且还使量子比特系统和环境始终处于分离态。一般地,量子关联动力学是很复杂 的,这是由于环境起着两个互相竞争的作用：一方面诱导出各个比特之间的量子关联;另一方面又使它们发生消相干,从而破坏量子关联。     

三量子比特系统中单个谐振子诱导的量子关联

我们考虑初始无关联并且与由一个谐振子构成的环境之间互相耦合的三量子比特系统。通过研究量子比特-环境的耦合强度以及量子比特初始态对量子关联的影响,我们发现环境可以诱导量子关联,提出并证明了四个命题阐述谐振子如何调控三个量子比特中量子关联的分布。给出了产生量子关联的条件。特别地,对于弱耦合,我们不但能够获得很多的量子关联,而且还使量子比特系统和环境始终处于分离态。一般地,量子关联动力学是很复杂 的,这是由于环境起着两个互相竞争的作用：一方面诱导出各个比特之间的量子关联;另一方面又使它们发生消相干,从而破坏量子关联。     

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.     

Enhancing non-local correlations in the bipartite partitions of two qubit-system with non-mutual interaction

Several quantum-mechanical correlations, notably, quantum entanglement, measurement-induced nonlocality and Bell nonlocality are studied for a two qubit-system having no mutual interaction. Analytical expressions for the measures of these quantum-mechanical correlations of different bipartite partitions of the system are obtained, for initially two entangled qubits and the two photons are in their vacuum states. It is found that the qubits-fields interaction leads to the loss and gain of the initial quantum correlations. The lost initial quantum correlations transfer from the qubits to the cavity fields. It is found that the maximal violation of Bell’s inequality is occurring when the quantum correlations of both the logarithmic negativity and measurement-induced nonlocality reach particular values. The maximal violation of Bell’s inequality occurs only for certain bipartite partitions of the system. The frequency detuning leads to quick oscillations of the quantum correlations and inhibits their transfer from the qubits to the cavity modes. It is also found that the dynamical behavior of the quantum correlation clearly depends on the qubit distribution angle.     

Dynamics and protection of tripartite quantum correlations in a thermal bath

We study the dynamics and protection of tripartite quantum correlations in terms of genuinely tripartite concurrence, lower bound of concurrence and tripartite geometric quantum discord in a three-qubit system interacting with independent thermal bath. By comparing the dynamics of entanglement with that of quantum discord for initial GHZ state and W state, we find that W state is more robust than GHZ state, and quantum discord performs better than entanglement against the decoherence induced by the thermal bath. When the bath temperature is low, for the initial GHZ state, combining weak measurement and measurement reversal is necessary for a successful protection of quantum correlations. But for the initial W state, the protection depends solely upon the measurement reversal. In addition, the protection cannot usually be realized irrespective of the initial states as the bath temperature increases.     

Energy Transfer in the Light-Harvesting Complexes of Purple Bacteria

In this paper, we use a nonlinear decohering quantum model to study the initial step of photosynthesis which is an ultrafast transfer process of absorption the sunlight by light-harvesting complexes and electronic excitation transfer to the reaction center(RC). In this decohering model, the Hamiltonian of the system commutes with the systemenvironment interaction. We take B850 ring of light-harvesting complex II(LH-II) in purple bacteria as an example to calculate the efficiency of the energy transfer as a function of time. We find that the environmental noise can make the LH-II have stable energy transfer efficiency over a long time. This is to say that the environmental noise which is the decohering source has advantage of the energy transfer in the process of photosynthesis.     

Detecting Quantum Dissonance and Discord in Exact Dynamics of qubit Systems

In this paper, we evaluate the quantum and classical correlations in exact dynamics of qubit systems interacting with a common dephasing environment. We show the existence of a sharp transition between the classical and quantum loss of correlations during the time evolution. We show that it is possible to exploit a large class of initial states in different tasks of quantum information and processing without any perturbation of the correlations from the environment noisy for large time intervals. On the other hand, we include the dynamics of a new kind of correlation so-called quantum dissonance, which contains the rest of the nonclassical correlations. We show that the quantum dissonance can be considered as an indicator to expect the behavior of the dynamics of classical and quantum correlations in composite open quantum systems.     

两原子相干共振能量传递的单次与N次能量提取

两原子间隔一定距离且两原子跃迁频率接近时,两原子之间可发生能量传递.理论研究了供能原子和受能原子两共振原子的能量传递.求解薛定谔方程得出两原子共振能量传递效率.结果表明,供能原子在真空场中的激发态寿命在能量传递效率中起到十分重要的作用.能量传递效率与两原子间距离的负三次幂的正弦值的平方成正比,在一阶近似条件下,与两原子间距离的6次方成反比.以供能原子处于激发态时为初始时刻,能量从初始时刻随时间由供能原子向受能原子传递,对受能原子的单次能量提取的最大值大约在供能原子寿命的2/3时刻;对受能原子的连续N次能量提取的最大值,每次提取时间大约在供能原子寿命的1/2时刻.