A charged particle in a homogeneous magnetic field accelerated by a time-periodic Aharonov–Bohm flux

We consider a nonrelativistic quantum charged particle moving on a plane under the influence of a uniform magnetic field and driven by a periodically time-dependent Aharonov–Bohm flux. We observe an acceleration effect in the case when the Aharonov–Bohm flux depends on time as a sinusoidal function whose frequency is in resonance with the cyclotron frequency. In particular, the energy of the particle increases linearly for large times. An explicit formula for the acceleration rate is derived with the aid of the quantum averaging method, and then it is checked against a numerical solution and a very good agreement is found.     

Contradiction between the results of observations of resistance and critical current quantum oscillations in asymmetric superconducting rings

Magnetic field dependences of critical current, resistance, and rectified voltage of asymmetric (half circles of different widths) and symmetrical (half circles of equal widths) aluminum rings close to the super-conducting transition were measured. All these dependences are periodic magnetic field functions with periods corresponding to the flux quantum in the ring. The periodic dependences of critical current measured in opposite directions were found to be close to each other for symmetrical rings and shifted with respect to each other by half the flux quantum in asymmetric rings with ratios between half circle widths of from 1.25 to 2. This shift of the dependences by a quarter of the flux quantum as the ring becomes asymmetric makes critical current anisotropic, which explains the effect of alternating current rectification observed for asymmetric rings. Shifts of the extrema of the periodic dependences of critical current by a quarter of the flux quantum directly contradict the results obtained by measuring asymmetric ring resistance oscillations, whose extrema are, as for symmetrical rings, observed at magnetic fluxes equal to an integer and a half of flux quanta.     

Quantum toys for quantum computing: persistent currents controlled by the spin Josephson effect

Quantum devices and computers will need operational units in different architectural configurations for their functioning. The unit should be a simple "quantum toy," an easy to handle superposition state. Here such a novel unit of quantum mechanical flux state (or persistent current) in a conducting ring with three ferromagnetic quantum dots is presented. The state is labeled by the two directions of the persistent current, which is driven by the spin chirality of the dots, and is controlled by the spin (the spin Josephson effect). It is demonstrated that by the use of two connected rings, one can carry out unitary transformations on the input flux state by controlling one spin in one of the rings, enabling us to prepare superposition states. The flux is shown to be a quantum operation gate, and may be useful in quantum computing.     

Electronic properties of a quantum ring perturbed with a quantum well in the presence of perpendicular magnetic flux

Here, we study the effects of the number of sites, quantum ring radius and potential well depth on the energy levels, persistent current, magnetic susceptibility and density of states (DOS) of a quantum ring with a quantum well within its circumstance in a magnetic flux perpendicular to its plane. We show that, for small radius quantum ring systems, there are periodic local gaps along the magnetic flux axis in the DOS plots and along the axis ‘energy’. For large radius quantum ring systems, a uniform gap along the energy axis exists and along the phi axis nothing changes. In quantum rings with a quantum well in their circumstance, by using the large confining potential, we can create uniform gaps in the Energy–phi plane. The energy eigenvalues, persistent current and magnetic susceptibility decrease by increasing the confining potential. A quantum ring even with a very small confining potential in its circumstance can sensibly decrease the persistent current and magnetic susceptibility, although it may do not change the energy eigenvalues and DOS maximum considerably. Thus, by using the abovementioned parameters, we are able to tune the DOS, persistent current, magnetic susceptibility and energy levels, desirably.     

Current characteristics of mesoscopic rings in quantum Smoluchowski regime

In normal mesoscopic metals of a ring topology persistent currents can be induced by threading the center of the ring with a magnetic flux. This phenomenon is an example of the famous Aharonov-Bohm effect. In the paper we study the current vs the external constant magnetic flux characteristics of the system driven by both the classical and the quantum thermal fluctuations. The problem is formulated in terms of Langevin equations in classical and quantum Smoluchowski regimes. We analyze the impact of the quantum thermal fluctuations on the current-flux characteristics. We demonstrate that the current response can be changed from paramagnetic to diamagnetic when the quantum nature of the thermal fluctuations increases.     

Observation of flux qubit states with the help of a superconducting differential double contour interferometer

The critical current of a new structure, the superconducting differential double contour interferometer (DDCI), investigated recently, depends on the parity of the sum of quantum numbers of the two superconducting loops connected in two points by two Josephson junctions. The theory confirms that the DDCI structure can be used for the ideal readout of quantum states of the flux qubit. Large jumps in the critical current and voltage enables to observe continuously the change in time the state of the flux qubit. Such observations can have fundamental importance for the investigation of macroscopic quantum systems with strongly discrete spectrum such as the flux qubit. The DDCI structure can also be used for precise measurement of a very weak magnetic field.     

一种新型的高频半导体量子点单电子泵

除了直流负电压外,还在浅法刻蚀出的GaAs/AlGaAs量子线上的两个金属指形门上分别叠加两个相位相差π的正弦信号,从而对形成量子点的两个势垒作不等幅调制.在无源漏偏压的情况下,通过周期形成的量子点实现了单电子的搬运.由于新的半导体量子点单电子泵不是依赖库仑阻塞效应通过隧穿进行单电子输运,因此,该器件就不会受到固定隧穿时间引起的低工作频率限制.在1.7K温度下,频率达到3GHz仍然可以观测到量子化电流平台,对应的电流值达到0.5nA量级.这种新器件提供了实现高速度、高精度搬运单电子的另一种可能途径. 关键词： 单电子输运 单电子旋转门 单电子泵 量子化电流平台     

Quantum pump in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot driven by an ac field

With the help of the nonequilibrium Green's function method, the quantum pump in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer with a quantum dot driven by an ac field are studied theoretically. The ac field applied to the quantum dot may give rise to a pumped charge current at zero-bias voltage in the presence of a nonzero magnetic flux. The possibility of manipulating the pumped charge current is explored by tuning the dot level, the magnetic flux, the coupling strength and the ac field. By making use of various tunings, the magnitude and direction of the pumped charge current can be well controlled. Furthermore, the possibility to generate a pure spin current in the presence of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction has been discussed, which provides an idea for the design of a spin pump electrically.     

Persistent current and transmission probability in the Aharonov-Bohm ring with an embedded quantum dot

Persistent current and transmission probability in the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) ring with an embedded quantum dot (QD) are studied using the technique of the scattering matrix. For the first time, we find that the persistent current can arise in the absence of magnetic flux in the ring with an embedded QD. The persistent current and the transmission probability are sensitive to the lead-ring coupling and the short-range potential barrier. It is shown that increasing the lead-ring coupling or the short-range potential barrier causes the suppression of the persistent current and the increasing resonance width of the transmission probability. The effect of the potential barrier on the number of the transmission peaks is also investigated. The dependence of the persistent current and the transmission probability on the magnetic flux exhibits a periodic property with period of the flux quantum.     

Studying quantum current magnification in mesoscopic coupling metallic rings

We propose a quantum Hamiltonian and obtain the relationship between external magnetic field and currents of three mesoscopic coupling rings. The impact of coupling on quantum current magnification in the system is studied. It is found that the quantum current magnification effect strongly depend on both the external magnetic flux and the coupling factors. As a result, by taking use of coupling rings, we can design some circuits to transfer and communicate signals.     

特殊结构的多臂量子环的持续电流

提出了中臂弯曲的多臂量子环模型,且是上臂最短和下臂最长的不等臂量子环.研究发现：总磁通为零时,持续电流随半导体环增大发生非周期性振荡,并与电极的磁矩方向及隧穿电子的自旋方向相关,下臂因为最长而获得最小的平均持续电流.AB磁通增强时,持续电流会发生周期性振荡,各臂之间明显出现相互制约的现象.各臂持续电流之间的差异与臂长和磁通分布相关,Rashba自旋轨道耦合具有改变持续电流相位和相位差的效应.在一定条件下,两种波函数所对应的持续电流是可分离的. 关键词： 多臂量子环 持续电流 Rashba自旋轨道耦合     

Currents in a Quantum Nanoring Controlled by Non-Classical Electromagnetic Field

Quantum ring accommodating interacting spin-less fermions threaded by magnetic flux with a non-classical component added to a static, inducing persistent current, is considered. It is investigated how current flowing in the ring becomes affected by a state of non-classical flux and how Coulomb interaction between fermions influences entanglement of quantum ring and the driving field. In particular it is shown that in an absence of decoherence and under certain conditions fermion–fermion interaction is necessary for a ring–field entanglement to occur.     

Spectroscopy and coherent manipulation of single and coupled flux qubits

Measurements of three-junction flux qubits, both single flux qubits and coupled flux qubits, using a coupled direct current superconducting quantum interference device （dc-SQUID） for readout are reported. The measurement procedure is described in detail. We performed spectroscopy measurements and coherent manipulations of the qubit states on a single flux qubit, demonstrating quantum energy levels and Rabi oscillations, with Rabi oscillation decay time TRabi =- 78 ns and energy relaxation time T~ = 315 ns. We found that the value of TRabi depends strongly on the mutual inductance between the qubit and the magnetic coil. We also performed spectroscopy measurements on inductively coupled flux qubits.     

Precise AC magnetic measurement under sinusoidal magnetic flux by using digital feedback of harmonic compensation

This paper presents an important improvement for precise AC magnetic measurement under sinusoidal magnetic flux by using the digital feedback of harmonic compensation. Core loss-testing can be simply carried out with the sinusoidal magnetic flux even at a magnetic induction up to 1.87 T. The principle, circuit diagram, experimental results and its analysis are reported. Also it is found that the hysteresis loss per cycle P is smaller after correcting the magnetic flux waveform than before.     

Vertical Josephson interferometers for quantum computation

We characterize a niobium-based vertical Josephson interferometer which we propose to include in a superconducting loop for applications to quantum computation using flux qubits. The most interesting feature of this device is that the Josephson current is precisely modulated by a small transversal magnetic field parallel to superconducting loop plane from a maximum to zero, with fine control and precision. This device can be used to independently control the off-diagonal Hamiltonian terms of flux qubits and/or to control the flux transfer function of a superconducting transformer for inter-qubits coupling.     

三臂环中的持续电流

利用量子波导理论研究三臂环中的持续电流.结果表明,输运电流存在时,不含磁场且上、下臂等长的三臂环中仍可以有持续电流出现,而且上臂和下臂中的持续电流是相同的.三臂环的各臂长不等时,三个臂中的持续电流各不相同.我们还发现,即使三臂环和单环的上、下臂比值一样,两个环中的持续电流也明显不同.     

Quantum Circuits and Schr?dinger’s Cat States

Quantum systems that are confined to circuit geometries are called quantum circuits. Macroscopic superconducting circuits are quantum circuits which can be modelled using a Quantisation by Parts scheme based on the macroscopic wave function approach of Feynman. This paper studies the circuit composed of an input wire and an output plate. We find that in order to achieve a consistent theory of supercurrent flow we have to generalize the quantisation by parts scheme to quantise in a path space. The generalized theory predicts a current flow down the wire into the plane. In addition to a current flowing radially outwards in the plane, the theory allows a circulating current round the origin. Strikingly, the circulating current can flow clockwise or anti-clockwise in such a way as to generate a magnetic moment of magnitude half of a Bohr magneton for an orbiting electron in an atom and a magnetic flux half that of the magnetic flux quantum of a superconducting ring. There is also the possibility of a macroscopic superposition of the two states of opposing circulating currents resembling a Schr?dinger’s cat situation. Furthermore, we outline a setup involving an external magnetic field that may allow experimental tests of the theory.     

Signatures of a noise-induced quantum phase transition in a mesoscopic metal ring

We study a mesoscopic ring with an inline quantum dot threaded by an Aharonov-Bohm flux. Zero-point fluctuations of the electromagnetic environment capacitively coupled to the ring, with omega(s) spectral density, can suppress tunneling through the dot, resulting in a quantum phase transition from an unpolarized to a polarized phase. We show that robust signatures of such a transition can be found in the response of the persistent current in the ring to the external flux as well as to the bias between the dot and the arm. Particular attention is paid to the experimentally relevant cases of Ohmic (s = 1) and sub-Ohmic (s = 1/2) noise.     

Persistent current and the existence of a metallic phase flanked by two insulating phases in a quantum ring with both electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions

The persistent current in the ground state of a quantum ring threaded by a magnetic flux is calculated within the framework of the Holstein-Hubbard model. It is found that the persistent current is suppressed by both the electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions. Calculation of Drude weight reveals that the persistent current is diamagnetic in nature. It is observed that as the number of atoms in the quantum ring increases, the persistent current decays in a continuous way. It is finally predicted that there exists an intervening metallic phase flanked in real time by two insulating phases, the SDW phase and the CDW phase.     

Macroscopic resonant tunneling in an rf-SQUID flux qubit under a single-cycle sinusoidal driving

We experimentally demonstrate the observation of macroscopic resonant tunneling(MRT) phenomenon of the macroscopic distinct flux states in a radio frequency superconducting quantum interference device(rf-SQUID) under a singlecycle sinusoidal driving.The population of the qubit exhibits interference patterns corresponding to resonant tunneling peaks between states in the adjacent potential wells.The dynamics of the qubit depends significantly on the amplitude,frequency,and initial phase of the driving signal.We do the numerical simulations considering the intra-well and interwell relaxation mechanism,which agree well with the experimental results.This approach provides an effective way to manipulate the qubit population by adjusting the parameters of the external driving field.