Quantum Physics Commons^™

Vibrational Relaxation Theory For Systems Embedded In Microscopically Specified Reservoirs, Anastasia Aemilia Ierides

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

This dissertation is a study of the theoretical framework of the practical as well as fundamental problem of the process of relaxation to equilibrium of quantum mechanical systems. The fundamental aspect is concerned with the simultaneous occurrence of decoherence and population equilibration. The practical aspect deals with experimental observations of vibrational relaxation of molecules embedded in liquids or solids. The systems include, but are not limited to, the nondegenerate dimer and harmonic oscillator, in one case weak and in the other strong, interaction with a thermal bath. The time dependence of the energy and the temperature dependence of the relaxation …

Comparative Study Of Qubits, Juliano A. Everett, Mubinjon Satymov, Zechariah Ilmot

Publications and Research

In quantum computing, a quantum bit ("qubit") is a unit of quantum information. A qubit is a two-level quantum system. The developing of qubits with optimal properties, related to quantum entanglement and possibilities of control the states of qubits, is very important for quantum computing applications. We analyzed various types of qubits. There are at least five major quantum computing approaches being explored worldwide: silicon spin qubits, ion traps, superconducting loops, diamond vacancies and topological qubits. We compared the advantages and disadvantages in the properties of all these qubits for applications for quantum computing. We analyzed possible strategies to improve …

Efficient Quantum Approximation : Examining The Efficiency Of Select Universal Gate Sets In Approximating 1-Qubit Quantum Gates., Brent A. Mode

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Quantum computation is of current ubiquitous interest in physics, computer science, and the public interest. In the not-so-distant future, quantum computers will be relatively common pieces of research equipment. Eventually, one can expect an actively quantum computer to be a common feature of life. In this work, I study the approximation efficiency of several common universal quantum gate sets at short sequence lengths using an implementation of the Solovay-Kitaev algorithm. I begin by developing from almost nothing the relevant formal mathematics to rigorously describe what one means by the terms universal gate set and covering efficiency. I then describe some …

Power Corrections To Tmd Factorization For Z-Boson Production, I. Balitsky, A. Tatasov

Physics Faculty Publications

A typical factorization formula for production of a particle with a small transverse momentum in hadron-hadron collisions is given by a convolution of two TMD parton densities with cross section of production of the final particle by the two partons. For practical applications at a given transverse momentum, though, one should estimate at what momenta the power corrections to the TMD factorization formula become essential. In this paper we calculate the first power corrections to TMD factorization formula for Z-boson production and Drell-Yan process in high-energy hadron-hadron collisions. At the leading order in N_c power corrections are expressed in …

N-Representability In The Quantum Kernel Energy Method, Walter Polkosnik

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Kernel Energy Method (KEM) delivers accurate full molecule energies using less computational resources than standard ab-initio quantum chemical approaches. KEM achieves this efficiency by decomposing a system of atoms into disjoint subsets called kernels. The results of full ab-initio calculations on each individual single kernel and on each double kernel formed by the union of each pair of single kernels are combined in an equation of a form that is specific to KEM to provide an approximation to the full molecule energy. KEM has been demonstrated to give accurate molecular energies over a wide range of systems, chemical methods …

Finding Paths Via Quantum Systems And Its Application For Quantum Algorithms, Daniel S. Koch

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The field of Quantum Information Theory provides the theoretical foundation for the pursuit of quantum computers. The ongoing questions of how quantum computers will be realized and what they will achieve, are both very uncertain. However, worldwide efforts are beginning to converge on some answers, and the future of quantum computers is looking brighter than ever. In contribution to the grand goal that is quantum computing, this thesis serves as a demonstration to the usefulness of quantum over classical computing. The central theme of my work, and my collaborators, is the exploration of using quantum systems as a tool for …

Primordial Black Hole Atoms, David Zwick, Tyler Hanover, Brian Nepper

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

Primordial black holes are thought to have been formed at the early stages of the universe in the presence of non-homogeneous density distributions of dark matter. We are working under the assumption that dark matter consists of elementary low mass particles, specifically, spin 1/2 fermions. We further assume that dark matter is electrically neutral, thus its main interaction is gravitational. We investigate dark matter spin 1/2 fermions in orbit around a black hole atom and consider mass ranges for which the quantum description is appropriate. Solutions to the Dirac equation are utilized to describe the radial mass distribution of primordial …

Achieving A Stable Magneto-Optical Trap, Chasen S. Himeda

Honors Thesis

The utilization of the Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT) as a method for cooling and confining atoms is a recent development in the field of modern optical physics. Producing an effective MOT relies on a constant magnetic field throughout the trapping region and successful laser cooling, a technique used to achieve optical molasses by slowing particles using a three-dimensional intersection of laser beams. A successful MOT occurs when the trapped atoms slow down to approximately 30 cm/s at a temperature in the microkelvin range and is observable when a small bright orb of atoms is located in the center of the chamber. …

Weak Values From Strong Interactions In Neutron Interferometry, Tobias Denkmayr, Justin Dressel, Hermann Geppert-Kleinrath, Yuji Hasegawa, Stephan Sponar

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

In their original framework weak values must be measured by weak measurements that are minimally disturbing, meaning that the coupling between an investigated quantum system and a measurement device has no influence on the evolution of the system. However, under certain circumstances this weakness of the interaction is not necessary. In that case weak values can still be exactly determined from the statistics of the outcomes of arbitrary-strength generalized measurements. Here, we report an experimental procedure for neutron matter-waves that extends the notion of generalized eigenvalues for the neutron’s path system to allow the exact determination of weak values using …

Quasiprobability Behind The Out-Of-Time-Ordered Correlator, Nicole Yunger Halpern, Brian Swingle, Justin Dressel

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Two topics, evolving rapidly in separate fields, were combined recently: the out-of-time-ordered correlator (OTOC) signals quantum-information scrambling in many-body systems. The Kirkwood-Dirac (KD) quasiprobability represents operators in quantum optics. The OTOC was shown to equal a moment of a summed quasiprobability [Yunger Halpern, Phys. Rev. A 95, 012120 (2017)]. That quasiprobability, we argue, is an extension of the KD distribution. We explore the quasiprobability's structure from experimental, numerical, and theoretical perspectives. First, we simplify and analyze Yunger Halpern's weak-measurement and interference protocols for measuring the OTOC and its quasiprobability. We decrease, exponentially in system size, the number of trials …

Entropic Bounds On Two-Way Assisted Secret-Key Agreement Capacities Of Quantum Channels, Noah Anthony Davis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In order to efficiently put quantum technologies into action, we must know the characteristics of the underlying quantum systems and effects. An interesting example is the use of the secret-key-agreement capacity of a quantum channel as a guide and measure for the implementation of quantum key distribution (QKD) and distributed quantum computation. We define the communication task of establishing a secret key over a quantum channel subject to an energy constraint on the input state and while allowing for unlimited local operations and classical communication (LOCC) between a sender and receiver. We then use the energy-constrained squashed entanglement to bound …

Characterization Of Polymers Containing Ferrocene And Imidazole With Density Functional Theory, Eric Mullins

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Electrochemical and UV-Vis studies on these polymers in the presence of aqueous solutions containing metal ions have revealed significant modifications in the electrochemical properties and absorption spectra. These modifications in electrochemical properties could be attributed to the ability of the imidazole to coordinate with metal ions, increasing its electron deficiency and enhancing oxidization of the nearby ferrocene moiety if it is in close proximity with imidazole. However, the mechanism of interaction between the imidazole and metal ions, as well as the equilibrium geometry of the resulting polymer-metal ion complex is unknown.

In this thesis, density functional theory (DFT) was used …

Slotted Rotatable Target Assembley And Systematic Error Analysis For A Search For Long Range Spin Dependent Interactions From Exotic Vector Boson Exchange Using Neutron Spin Rotation, C. Haddock, Bret E. Crawford, W. Fox, I. Francis, A. T. Holley, Scott W. Magers, M. Sarsour, W. M. Snow, J. Vanderwerp

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss the design and construction of a novel target array of nonmagnetic test masses used in a neutron polarimetry measurement made in search for new possible exotic spin dependent neutron–atominteractions of Nature at sub-mm length scales. This target was designed to accept and efficiently transmit a transversely polarized slow neutron beam through a series of long open parallel slots bounded by flat rectangular plates. These openings possessed equal atom density gradients normal to the slots from the flat test masses with dimensions optimized to achieve maximum sensitivity to an exotic spin-dependent interaction from vector boson exchanges with ranges in …

Universality Of Quantum Information In Chaotic Cfts, Nima Lashkari, Anatoly Dymarsky, Hong Liu

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We study the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) in chaotic conformal field theories (CFTs) of arbitrary dimensions. Assuming local ETH, we compute the reduced density matrix of a ball-shaped subsystem of finite size in the infinite volume limit when the full system is an energy eigenstate. This reduced density matrix is close in trace distance to a density matrix, to which we refer as the ETH density matrix, that is independent of all the details of an eigenstate except its energy and charges under global symmetries. In two dimensions, the ETH density matrix is universal for all theories with the …

Dissipation Effects In Schrödinger And Quantal Density Functional Theories Of Electrons In An Electromagnetic Field, Xiao-Yin Pan, Viraht Sahni

Publications and Research

Dissipative effects arise in an electronic system when it interacts with a time-dependent environment. Here, the Schrödinger theory of electrons in an electromagnetic field including dissipative effects is described from a new perspective. Dissipation is accounted for via the effective Hamiltonian approach in which the electron mass is time-dependent. The perspective is that of the individual electron: the corresponding equation of motion for the electron or time-dependent differential virial theorem—the ‘Quantal Newtonian’ second law—is derived. According to the law, each electron experiences an external field comprised of a binding electric field, the Lorentz field, and the electromagnetic field. In addition, …

Visualizing Quantum Dynamics, Tyler N. Thompson

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

My research has three main foci, one which is of interest to the fields of quantum information and quantum optics is to characterize the effects of coupling between quantum systems. Advances in technology made since the conception of quantum mechanics spurred the development of quantum technologies like quantum optics and quantum computing. These applications require a good understanding of the quantum systems that compose them, and the clever ways in which the information in these systems is stored and manipulated. By understanding the ways which quantum systems interact with their environment, their usefulness can be further utilized. The second is …

Nv Center Detection Of Electric Fields And Low-Intensity Light, Nicholas Harmon, Michael Flatte

Faculty Works

Nitrogen vacancy (NV) center spins in diamond are attractive candidates for quantum information processing and sensitive, nanoscale magnetometers due to their long spin coherence times under ambient conditions [1]. The ground state of the NV spin is also sensitive to electric fields [2]. We present a theory of quantum detection using positive operator valued measurements (POVMs) wherein the presence of an electric field is determined by spin-dependent fluorescence of an NV center. The predicted sensitivity to small electric fields can also be used for photon detection. Photons incident upon a chromophore near the diamond interface may induce a charge polarization …

Studies Of Light Generation With Four-Wave Mixing In A Cold Atomic Ensemble, Andrew Ferdinand

Physics & Astronomy ETDs

Correlated light generated from atomic ensembles can have a central role in prominent quantum information protocols, such as long-distance quantum communication. Here we present our studies on three topics involving the generation of correlated light with four-wave mixing (FWM) in a cold atomic ensemble for applications in quantum communications with high capacity. We experimentally investigate the generation of light with seeded FWM in cold cesium atoms and the time correlations of photon pairs generated with spontaneous FWM. We theoretically investigate the correlations in orbital angular momentum of photon pairs generated with spontaneous FWM for a range of experimental geometries. These …

Is The Quilted Multiverse Consistent With A Thermodynamic Arrow Of Time?, Yakir Aharonov, Eliahu Cohen, Tomer Shushi

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Theoretical achievements, as well as much controversy, surround multiverse theory. Various types of multiverses, with an increasing amount of complexity, were suggested and thoroughly discussed in literature by now. While these types are very different, they all share the same basic idea: our physical reality consists of more than just one universe. Each universe within a possibly huge multiverse might be slightly or even very different from the others. The quilted multiverse is one of these types, whose uniqueness arises from the postulate that every possible event will occur infinitely many times in infinitely many universes. In this paper we …

Light-Nuclei Spectra From Chiral Dynamics, M. Piarulli, A. Baroni, L. Girlanda, A. Kievsky, A. Lovato, Ewing Lusk, L. E. Marcucci, Steven C. Pieper, R. Schiavilla, M, Viviani, R. B. Wiringa

Physics Faculty Publications

In recent years local chiral interactions have been derived and implemented in quantum Monte Carlo methods in order to test to what extent the chiral effective field theory framework impacts our knowledge of few- and many-body systems. In this Letter, we present Green's function Monte Carlo calculations of light nuclei based on the family of local two-body interactions presented by our group in a previous paper in conjunction with chiral three-body interactions fitted to bound- and scattering-state observables in the three-nucleon sector. These interactions include Δ intermediate states in their two-pion-exchange components. We obtain predictions for the energy levels and …

Knowledge-Concealing Evidencing Of Knowledge About A Quantum State, Emily Adlam, Adrian Kent

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Bob has a black box that emits a single pure state qudit which is, from his perspective, uniformly distributed. Alice wishes to give Bob evidence that she has knowledge about the emitted state while giving him little or no information about it. We show that zero-knowledge evidencing of such knowledge is impossible in quantum relativistic protocols, extending a previous result of Horodecki, Horodecki, and Horodecki. We also show that no such protocol can be both sound and complete. We present a new quantum relativistic protocol which we conjecture to be close to optimal in security against Alice and which reveals …

Subsystem Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis, Anatoly Dymarsky, Nima Lashkari, Hong Liu

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Motivated by the qualitative picture of canonical typicality, we propose a refined formulation of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) for chaotic quantum systems. This formulation, which we refer to as subsystem ETH, is in terms of the reduced density matrix of subsystems. This strong form of ETH outlines the set of observables defined within the subsystem for which it guarantees eigenstate thermalization. We discuss the limits when the size of the subsystem is small or comparable to its complement. In the latter case we outline the way to calculate the leading volume-proportional contribution to the von Neumann and Renyi entanglment …

Universality Of Fast Quenches From The Conformal Perturbation Theory, Anatoly Dymarsky, Michael Smolkin

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We consider global quantum quenches, a protocol when a continuous field theoretic system in the ground state is driven by a homogeneous time-dependent external interaction. When the typical inverse time scale of the interaction is much larger than all relevant scales except for the UV-cutoff the system’s response exhibits universal scaling behavior. We provide both qualitative and quantitative explanations of this universality and argue that physics of the response during and shortly after the quench is governed by the conformal perturbation theory around the UV fixed point. We proceed to calculate the response of one and two-point correlation functions confirming …

Pentaquarks With Hidden Charm As Hadroquarkonia, Michael I. Eides, Victor Yu. Petrov, Maxim V. Polyakov

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We consider hidden charm pentaquarks as hadroquarkonium states in a QCD inspired approach. Pentaquarks arise naturally as bound states of quarkonia excitations and ordinary baryons. The LHCb P_c(4450) pentaquark is interpreted as a ψ′-nucleon bound state with spin-parity J ^P =3/2⁻. The partial decay width Γ(P_c(4450) → J / ψ + N) ≈ 11 MeV is calculated and turned out to be in agreement with the experimental data for P_c(4450). The P_c(4450) pentaquark is predicted to be a member of one of the two almost degenerate …

Incoherent Qubit Control Using The Quantum Zeno Effect, S. Hachohen-Gourgy, L. P. García-Pintos, L. S. Martin, Justin Dressel, I. Siddiqi

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The quantum Zeno effect is the suppression of Hamiltonian evolution by repeated observation, which pins the system to an eigenstate of the measurement observable. Using measurement alone, control of the state can be achieved if the observable is slowly varied, so that the state tracks the now time-dependent eigenstate. We demonstrate this using a circuit-QED readout technique that couples to a dynamically controllable observable of a qubit. Continuous monitoring of the measurement record allows us to detect an escape from the eigenstate, thus serving as a built-in form of error detection. We show this by postselecting on realizations with high …

Spooky Action At A (Temporal) Distance, Emily Adlam

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Since the discovery of Bell’s theorem, the physics community has come to take seriously the possibility that the universe might contain physical processes which are spatially nonlocal, but there has been no such revolution with regard to the possibility of temporally nonlocal processes. In this article, we argue that the assumption of temporal locality is actively limiting progress in the field of quantum foundations. We investigate the origins of the assumption, arguing that it has arisen for historical and pragmatic reasons rather than good scientific ones, then explain why temporal locality is in tension with relativity and review some recent …

Resonant Anisotropic Emission In Rabbitt Spectroscopy, Bejan M. Ghomashi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

A variant of RABBITT pump-probe spectroscopy in which the attosecond pulse train comprises both even and odd harmonics of the fundamental IR probe frequency is explored to measure time-resolved photoelectron emission in systems that exhibit autoionizing states. It is shown that the group delay of both one-photon and two-photon resonant transitions is directly encoded in the energy-resolved photoelectron anisotropy as a function of the pump-probe time-delay. This principle is illustrated for a 1D model with symmetric zero-range potentials that supports both bound states and shape-resonances. The model is studied using both perturbation theory and solving the time-dependent Schodinger equation on …

Higher Cluster Categories And Qft Dualities, Sebastián Franco, Gregg Musiker

Publications and Research

We introduce a unified mathematical framework that elegantly describes minimally supersymmetry gauge theories in even dimensions, ranging from six dimensions to zero dimensions, and their dualities. This approach combines and extends recent developments on graded quivers with potentials, higher Ginzburg algebras, and higher cluster categories (also known as m-cluster categories). Quiver mutations studied in the context of mathematics precisely correspond to the order-(m + 1) dualities of the gauge theories. Our work indicates that these equivalences of quiver gauge theories sit inside an infinite family of such generalized dualities.

The Inferential Design Of Entropy And Its Application To Quantum Measurements, Kevin Vanslette

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This thesis synthesizes probability and entropic inference with Quantum Mechanics and quantum measurement [1-6]. It is shown that the standard and quantum relative entropies are tools \emph{designed} for the purpose of updating probability distributions and density matrices, respectively [1]. The derivation of the standard and quantum relative entropy are completed in tandem following the same inferential principles and design criteria. This provides the first design derivation of the quantum relative entropy while also reducing the number of required design criteria to two.

The Entropic Dynamics Approach To The Paradigmatic Quantum Mechanical Phenomena, Susan Difranzo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Standard Quantum Mechanics, although successful in terms of calculating and predicting