Enhancement of feasibility of macroscopic quantum superposition state with the quantum Rabi-Stark model

We propose an efficient scheme to generate a macroscopical quantum superposition state with a cavity optomechanical system, which is composed of a quantum Rabi-Stark model coupling to a mechanical oscillator. In a low-energy subspace of the Rabi-Stark model, the dressed states and then the effective Hamiltonian of the system are given. Due to the coupling of the mechanical oscillator and the atom-cavity system, if the initial state of the atom-cavity system is one of the dressed states, the mechanical oscillator will evolve into a corresponding coherent state. Thus, if the initial state of the atom-cavity system is a superposition of two dressed states, a coherent state superposition of the mechanical oscillator can be generated. The quantum coherence and their distinguishable properties of the two coherent states are exhibited by Wigner distribution. We show that the Stark term can enhance significantly the feasibility and quantum coherence of the generated macroscopic quantum superposition state of the oscillator.     

Echo spectroscopy and quantum stability of trapped atoms

We investigate the dephasing of ultra cold 85Rb atoms trapped in an optical dipole trap and prepared in a coherent superposition of their two hyperfine ground states by interaction with a microwave pulse. We demonstrate that the dephasing, measured as the Ramsey fringe contrast, can be reversed by stimulating a coherence echo with a pi pulse between the two pi / 2 pulses, in analogy to the photon echo. We also demonstrate that "echo spectroscopy" can be used to study the quantum dynamics in the trap even when more than 10(6) states are thermally populated and to study the crossover from quantum to classical dynamics.     

Preservation of Quantum Coherence for Gaussian-State Dynamics in a Non-Markovian Process

Coherence is a key resource in quantum information science.Exactly understanding and controlling the variation of coherence are vital for implementation in realistic quantum systems.Using P-representation of density matrix,we obtain the analytical solution of the master equation for the classical states in the non-Markovian process and investigate the coherent dynamics of Gaussian states.It is found that quantum coherence can be preserved in such a process if the coupling strength between system and environment exceeds a threshold value.We also discuss the characteristic function of the Gaussian states in the non-Markovian process,which provides an inevitable bridge for the control and operation of quantum coherence.     

Melting of discrete vortices via quantum fluctuations

We consider nonlinear boson states with a nontrivial phase structure in the three-site Bose-Hubbard ring, quantum discrete vortices (or q vortices), and study their "melting" under the action of quantum fluctuations. We calculate the spatial correlations in the ground states to show the superfluid-insulator crossover and analyze the fidelity between the exact and variational ground states to explore the validity of the classical analysis. We examine the phase coherence and the effect of quantum fluctuations on q vortices and reveal that the breakdown of these coherent structures through quantum fluctuations accompanies the superfluid-insulator crossover.     

Variance Measure of Coherence of Quantum Pure States

We provide an expression for the measure of coherence of quantum pure states, which is obtained by quantifying the deviation or distance between the measured state and the maximally coherent states in the same Hilbert space. We classify quantum pure states in a Hilbert space according to their coherence and prove that the variance measure of coherence is proper for all quantum pure states. We demonstrate that the variance measure of coherence is simpler and easier to obtain than the l₁-norm of coherence and the relative entropy of coherence.

     

Two-photon spectral coherence matrix and characterization of multi-parameter entangled states

In this Letter we discuss how the classical coherence matrix can be generalized to describe the quantum properties of broadband two-photon entangled states. Procedures for experimental evaluation of two-photon matrix elements have been outlined. We illustrate how this formalism can be used for characterization of multi-parameter optical entanglement and discuss its possible applications in quantum optical measurement and quantum coherent control.     

Stimulated and spontaneous optical generation of electron spin coherence in charged GaAs quantum dots

We report on the coherent optical excitation of electron spin polarization in the ground state of charged GaAs quantum dots via an intermediate charged exciton (trion) state. Coherent optical fields are used for the creation and detection of the Raman spin coherence between the spin ground states of the charged quantum dot. The measured spin decoherence time, which is likely limited by the nature of the spin ensemble, approaches 10 ns at zero field. We also show that the Raman spin coherence in the quantum beats is caused not only by the usual stimulated Raman interaction but also by simultaneous spontaneous radiative decay of either excited trion state to a coherent combination of the two spin states.     

Mesoscopic quantum coherence in an optical lattice

We observe the quantum coherent dynamics of atomic spinor wave packets in the double-well potentials of a far-off-resonance optical lattice. With appropriate initial conditions the system Rabi oscillates between the left and right localized states of the ground doublet, and at certain times the wave packet corresponds to a coherent superposition of these mesoscopically distinct quantum states. The atom/optical double-well potential is a flexible and powerful system for further study of quantum coherence, quantum control, and the quantum/classical transition.     

Degree of fourth-order coherence by double Hanbury Brownben Twiss detections

Photon quantum statistics of light can be shown by the high-order coherence. The fourth-order coherences of various quantum states including Fock states, coherent states, thermal states and squeezed vacuum states are investigated based on a double Hanbury Brown–Twiss (HBT) scheme. The analytical results are obtained by taking the overall efficiency and background into account.     

Catalytic Coherence Transformation and Distillation for Special Mixed States

The coherence transformation and distillation for a class of special mixed coherent states of rank-2 under incoherent operations (IO) is discussed. Similar to the entanglement transformation for mixed entangled states, the catalytic coherence transformation for this class of special mixed coherent states is analyzed. On the one hand, it is found that some of the mixed coherent states can be converted into other mixed coherent states under IO. But for those mixed coherent states which fail in the coherence conversion under IO, the catalytic coherence manipulation can solve this problem. In this case, a mixed coherent state cannot be converted into another under IO, while the coherence transformation can be realized with the help of coherence-assisted incoherent operations, that is, catalytic coherence transformation. On the other hand, these special mixed coherent states can be distilled into the maximally pure coherent states or mixed states of arbitrary dimensions by strictly incoherent operations with certain probabilities. Finally, the coherence transformation of this type of mixed states can be generalized to the case of higher rank in a similar way, which is discussed at the end of this paper.     

Quantum light memory using quantum dot spins in a microdisk cavity via Raman process

A solid state quantum circuit where an ensemble of self-assembled quantum dots in a microdisk cavity served as long-lived quantum light memory, is investigated. It is shown that via laser coupling Raman process, the coherent transfer between the light field (qubits) and the ensemble spin states of the quantum dots can be efficient and fast. The coherence properties of the system are analyzed, which enables us to obtain a long coherence time.     

The Tightness of Multipartite Coherence from Spectrum Estimation

Detecting multipartite quantum coherence usually requires quantum state reconstruction, which is quite inefficient for large-scale quantum systems. Along this line of research, several efficient procedures have been proposed to detect multipartite quantum coherence without quantum state reconstruction, among which the spectrum-estimation-based method is suitable for various coherence measures. Here, we first generalize the spectrum-estimation-based method for the geometric measure of coherence. Then, we investigate the tightness of the estimated lower bound of various coherence measures, including the geometric measure of coherence, the l1-norm of coherence, the robustness of coherence, and some convex roof quantifiers of coherence multiqubit GHZ states and linear cluster states. Finally, we demonstrate the spectrum-estimation-based method as well as the other two efficient methods. We observe that the spectrum-estimation-based method outperforms other methods in various coherence measures, which significantly enhances the accuracy of estimation.     

Storage of multiple coherent microwave excitations in an electron spin ensemble

Strong coupling between a microwave photon and electron spins, which could enable a long-lived quantum memory element for superconducting qubits, is possible using a large ensemble of spins. This represents an inefficient use of resources unless multiple photons, or qubits, can be orthogonally stored and retrieved. Here we employ holographic techniques to realize a coherent memory using a pulsed magnetic field gradient and demonstrate the storage and retrieval of up to 100 weak 10?GHz coherent excitations in collective states of an electron spin ensemble. We further show that such collective excitations in the electron spin can then be stored in nuclear spin states, which offer coherence times in excess of seconds.     

从离散Wigner函数的角度探讨量子相干性度量

量子相干性是量子信息处理的基本要素,在量子计算中扮演着重要的角色.为了便于讨论量子相干性在量子计算中的作用,本文从离散Wigner函数角度对量子相干性进行了探讨.首先对奇素数维量子系统的离散Wigner函数进行了分析,分离出表征相干性的部分,提出了一种可能的基于离散Wigner函数的量子相干性度量方法,并对其进行了量子相干性度量规范的分析;同时也比较了该度量与l_1范数相干性度量之间的关系.重要的是,这种度量方法能够明确给出量子相干性程度与衡量量子态量子计算加速能力的负性和之间不等式关系,由此可以解析地解释量子相干性仅是量子计算加速的必要条件.     

通过Raman相互作用制备三个腔场的W型纠缠相干态

通过对比分立变量量子信息过程和连续变量量子信息过程的差别,利用相干态比较容易获得的这个特点,提出一种方案制备三个腔场的W型纠缠相干态.方案基于Λ型三能级原子与单模腔场的简并Raman 相互作用.三个相同的腔初始分别处于相干态,三个相同的原子初始处于W型纠缠态,通过三个原子分别与三个腔的Raman相互作用、选择适当的相互作用时间并探测作用后的三个原子,三个腔场坍缩为W型纠缠相干态.在原子与腔的相互作用过程中原子不处于高能级,可以忽略原子的自发辐射,系统的相干性能够得到较好的维持.基于当前的腔量子电动力学技术,相信方案能在实验上实现.该方案制备的三个腔场W型纠缠相干态有望在连续变量量子信息过程中有重要的应用价值.文中将方案推广到制备n(n〉3)个腔场的W型纠缠相干态.     

Maximum relative entropy of coherence for quantum channels

Based on the resource theory for quantifying the coherence of quantum channels, we introduce a new coherence quantifier for quantum channels via maximum relative entropy. We prove that the maximum relative entropy for coherence of quantum channels is directly related to the maximally coherent channels under a particular class of superoperations, which results in an operational interpretation of the maximum relative entropy for coherence of quantum channels. We also introduce the conception of subsuperchannels and sub-superchannel discrimination. For any quantum channels, we show that the advantage of quantum channels in sub-superchannel discrimination can be exactly characterized by the maximum relative entropy of coherence for quantum channels. Similar to the maximum relative entropy of coherence for channels, the robustness of coherence for quantum channels has also been investigated. We show that the maximum relative entropy of coherence for channels provides new operational interpretations of robustness of coherence for quantum channels and illustrates the equivalence of the dephasing-covariant superchannels,incoherent superchannels, and strictly incoherent superchannels in these two operational tasks.     

Entanglement and dynamics of spin chains in periodically pulsed magnetic fields: accelerator modes

We study the dynamics of a single excitation in a Heisenberg spin-chain subjected to a sequence of periodic pulses from an external, parabolic, magnetic field. We show that, for experimentally reasonable parameters, a pair of counterpropagating coherent states is ejected from the center of the chain. We find an illuminating correspondence with the quantum time evolution of the well-known paradigm of quantum chaos, the quantum kicked rotor. From this we can analyze the entanglement production and interpret the ejected coherent states as a manifestation of the so-called "accelerator modes" of a classically chaotic system.     

Reversible state transfer between light and a single trapped atom

We demonstrate the reversible mapping of a coherent state of light with a mean photon number (-)n approximately equal to 1.1 to and from the hyperfine states of an atom trapped within the mode of a high-finesse optical cavity. The coherence of the basic processes is verified by mapping the atomic state back onto a field state in a way that depends on the phase of the original coherent state. Our experiment represents an important step toward the realization of cavity QED-based quantum networks, wherein coherent transfer of quantum states enables the distribution of quantum information across the network.