1,721,006 research outputs found
Adiabatic preparation of topological order
Full text linkTopological order characterizes those phases of matter that defy a description in terms of symmetry and cannot be distinguished in terms of local order parameters. Here we show that a system of n spins forming a lattice on a Riemann surface can undergo a second order quantum phase transition between a spin-polarized phase and a string-net condensed phase. This is an example of a quantum phase transition between magnetic and topological order. We furthermore show how to prepare the topologically ordered phase through adiabatic evolution in a time that is upper bounded by O(root n). This provides a physically plausible method for constructing and initializing a topological quantum memory. RI Lidar, Daniel/A-5871-200
Topological order, entanglement, and quantum memory at finite temperature
Full text linkWe compute the topological entropy of the toric code models in arbitrary dimension at finite temperature. We find that the critical temperatures for the existence of full quantum (classical) topological entropy correspond to the confinement-deconfinement transitions in the corresponding Z(2) gauge theories. This implies that the thermal stability of topological entropy corresponds to the stability of quantum (classical) memory. The implications for the understanding of ergodicity breaking in topological phases are discussed. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Quantum entangling power of adiabatically connected Hamiltonians
Full text linkThe space of quantum Hamiltonians has a natural partition in classes of operators that can be adiabatically deformed into each other. We consider parametric families of Hamiltonians acting on a bipartite quantum state space. When the different Hamiltonians in the family fall in the same adiabatic class, one can manipulate entanglement by moving through energy eigenstates corresponding to different values of the control parameters. We introduce an associated notion of adiabatic entangling power. This novel measure is analyzed for general dxd quantum systems, and specific two-qubit examples are studied
Background-independent condensed matter models for quantum gravity
Full text linkA number of recent proposals for a quantum theory of gravity are based on the idea that spacetime geometry and gravity are derivative concepts and only apply at an approximate level. There are two fundamental challenges to any such approach. At the conceptual level, there is a clash between the "timelessness" of general relativity and emergence. Second, the lack of a fundamental spacetime makes difficult the straightforward application of well-known methods of statistical physics to the problem. We recently initiated a study of such problems using spin systems based on evolution of quantum networks with no a priori geometric notions as models for emergent geometry and gravity. In this article we review two such models. The first is a model of emergent (flat) space and matter and we show how to use methods from quantum information theory to derive features such as speed of light from a non-geometric quantum system. The second model exhibits interacting matter and geometry, with the geometry defined by the behavior of matter. This model has primitive notions of gravitational attraction which we illustrate with a toy black hole, and exhibits entanglement between matter and geometry and thermalization of the quantum geometry
Entanglement and area law with a fractal boundary in a topologically ordered phase
Full text linkQuantum systems with short-range interactions are known to respect an area law for the entanglement entropy: The von Neumann entropy S associated to a bipartition scales with the boundary p between the two parts. Here we study the case in which the boundary is a fractal. We consider the topologically ordered phase of the toric code with a magnetic field. When the field vanishes it is possible to analytically compute the entanglement entropy for both regular and fractal bipartitions (A, B) of the system and this yields an upper bound for the entire topological phase. When the A-B boundary is regular we have S/p = 1 for large p. When the boundary is a fractal of the Hausdorff dimension D, we show that the entanglement between the two parts scales as S/p = gamma <= 1/D, and gamma depends on the fractal considered. RI Lidar, Daniel/A-5871-200
Entanglement dynamics of coupled qubits and a semi-decoherence free subspace
Full text linkWe study the entanglement dynamics and relaxation properties of a system of two interacting qubits in the cases of (I) two independent bosonic baths and (II) one common bath. We find that in the case (II) the existence of a decoherence-free subspace (DFS) makes entanglement dynamics very rich. We show that when the system is initially in a state with a component in the DFS the relaxation time is surprisingly long, showing the existence of semi-decoherence free subspaces. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Optimal correlations in many-body quantum systems
Full text linkInformation and correlations in a quantum system are closely related through the process of measurement. We explore such relation in a many-body quantum setting, effectively bridging between quantum metrology and condensed matter physics. To this aim we adopt the information-theory view of correlations and study the amount of correlations after certain classes of positive-operator-valued measurements are locally performed. As many-body systems, we consider a one-dimensional array of interacting two-level systems (a spin chain) at zero temperature, where quantum effects are most pronounced. We demonstrate how the optimal strategy to extract the correlations depends on the quantum phase through a subtle interplay between local interactions and coherence. © 2012 American Physical Society
Ground-state factorization and correlations with broken symmetry
Full text linkWe show how the phenomenon of factorization in a quantum many-body system is of collective nature. To this aim we study the quantum discord Q in the one-dimensional XY model in a transverse field. We analyze the behavior of Q at both the critical point and at the non-critical factorizing field. The factorization is found to be governed by an exponential scaling law for Q. We also address the thermal effects fanning out from the anomalies occurring at zero temperature. Close to the quantum phase transition, Q exhibits a finite-temperature crossover with universal scaling behavior, while the factorization phenomenon results in a non-trivial pattern of correlations present at low temperature. © Europhysics Letters Association 2011
String and membrane condensation on three-dimensional lattices
Full text linkIn this paper, we investigate the general properties of lattice spin models that have string and/or membrane condensed ground states. We discuss the properties needed to define a string or membrane operator. We study three three-dimensional spin models which lead to Z(2) gauge theory at low energies. All the three models are exactly soluble and produce topologically ordered ground states. The first model contains both closed-string and closed-membrane condensations. The second model contains closed-string condensation only. The ends of open strings behave like fermionic particles. The third model also has condensations of closed membranes and closed strings. The ends of open strings are bosonic while the edges of open membranes are fermionic. The third model contains a different type of topological order
Toric-boson model: Toward a topological quantum memory at finite temperature
Full text linkWe discuss the existence of stable topological quantum memory at finite temperature. At stake here is the fundamental question of whether it is, in principle, possible to store quantum information for macroscopic times without the intervention from the external world, that is, without error correction. We study the toric code in two dimensions with an additional bosonic field that couples to the defects, in the presence of a generic environment at finite temperature: the toric-boson model. Although the coupling constants for the bare model are not finite in the thermodynamic limit, the model has a finite spectrum. We show that in the topological phase, there is a finite temperature below which open strings are confined and therefore the lifetime of the memory can be made arbitrarily (polynomially) long in system size. The interaction with the bosonic field yields a long-range attractive force between the end points of open strings but leaves closed strings and topological order intact
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