Bosonic Systems Research Articles

Correlated quantum dynamics of graphene clusters

Phase-space representations are a family of methods for dynamics of both bosonic and fermionic systems, that work by mapping the system's density matrix to a quasiprobability density and the Liouville-von Neumann equation of the Hamiltonian to a corresponding density differential equation for the probability. We investigate here the accuracy and the computational efficiency of one approximate phase-space representation, called the fermionic truncated Wigner approximation (fTWA), applied to the Fermi-Hubbard model. On a many-body 2D system, with hopping strength and Coulomb $U$ tuned to represent the electronic structure of graphene, the method is found to be able to capture the time evolution of first-order (site occupation) and second-order (correlation functions) moments significantly better than the mean-field, Hartree-Fock method. The fTWA was also compared to results from the exact diagonalization method for smaller systems, and in general the agreement was found to be good. The fully parallel computational requirement of fTWA scales in the same order as the Hartree-Fock method, and the largest system considered here contained 198 lattice sites.

Measuring the quadrature coherence scale on a cloud quantum computer

Coherence underlies quantum phenomena, yet it is manifest in classical theories; delineating coherence's role is a fickle business. The quadrature coherence scale (QCS) was invented to remove such ambiguity, quantifying quantum features of any single-mode bosonic system without choosing a preferred orientation of phase space. The QCS is defined for any state, reducing to well-known quantities in appropriate limits, including Gaussian and pure states, and perhaps most importantly for a coherence measure, it is highly sensitive to decoherence. Until recently, it was unknown how to measure the QCS; we here report on an initial measurement of the QCS for squeezed light and thermal states of light. This is performed using Xanadu's machine Borealis, accessed through the cloud, which offers the configurable beam splitters and photon-number-resolving detectors essential for measuring the QCS. The data and theory match well, certifying the usefulness of interferometers and photon-counting devices in certifying quantumness.

Dynamically crossing diabolic points while encircling exceptional curves: A programmable symmetric-asymmetric multimode switch

Nontrivial spectral properties of non-Hermitian systems can lead to intriguing effects with no counterparts in Hermitian systems. For instance, in a two-mode photonic system, by dynamically winding around an exceptional point (EP) a controlled asymmetric-symmetric mode switching can be realized. That is, the system can either end up in one of its eigenstates, regardless of the initial eigenmode, or it can switch between the two states on demand, by simply controlling the winding direction. However, for multimode systems with higher-order EPs or multiple low-order EPs, the situation can be more involved, and the ability to control asymmetric-symmetric mode switching can be impeded, due to the breakdown of adiabaticity. Here we demonstrate that this difficulty can be overcome by winding around exceptional curves by additionally crossing diabolic points. We consider a four-mode {{{{{{{mathcal{PT}}}}}}}}-symmetric bosonic system as a platform for experimental realization of such a multimode switch. Our work provides alternative routes for light manipulations in non-Hermitian photonic setups.

Unitary matrix integrals, symmetric polynomials, and long-range random walks

Unitary matrix integrals over symmetric polynomials play an important role in a wide variety of applications, including random matrix theory, gauge theory, number theory, and enumerative combinatorics. We derive novel results on such integrals and apply these and other identities to correlation functions of long-range random walks (LRRW) consisting of hard-core bosons. We generalize an identity due to Diaconis and Shahshahani which computes unitary matrix integrals over products of power sum polynomials. This allows us to derive two expressions for unitary matrix integrals over Schur polynomials, which can be directly applied to LRRW correlation functions. We then demonstrate a duality between distinct LRRW models, which we refer to as quasi-local particle-hole duality. We note a relation between the multiplication properties of power sum polynomials of degree n and fermionic particles hopping by n sites. This allows us to compute LRRW correlation functions in terms of auxiliary fermionic rather than hard-core bosonic systems. Inverting this reasoning leads to various results on long-range fermionic models as well. In principle, all results derived in this work can be implemented in experimental setups such as trapped ion systems, where LRRW models appear as an effective description. We further suggest specific correlation functions which may be applied to the benchmarking of such experimental setups.

Nonlinear non-Hermitian Landau–Zener–Stückelberg–Majorana interferometry

In this work, we have studied the non-Hermitian nonlinear Landau–Zener–Stückelberg–Majorana (LZSM) interferometry in a non-Hermitian N-body interacting boson system in which the non-Hermiticity is from the nonreciprocal tunnelings between the bosons. By using the mean-field approximation and projective Hilbert space, the effect of nonreciprocity and nonlinearity on the energy spectrum, the dynamics, and the formation of the interference fringes have been studied. The different symmetries and the impact of the two different types of reciprocity, i.e. the in-phase tunneling and anti-phase tunneling, on the energy spectrum and the phase transition between the Josephson oscillations and the self-trapping have been investigated. For the LZSM interferometry, the strength of the nonreciprocity is found to take an essential role in the population of the projective state and the strengths of the interference patterns in the projective space. While the conditions of destructive and constructive interference under the weak-coupling approximation still only depend on the strength of nonlinearity. Our result provides an application of the nonlinear non-Hermitian LZSM interferometry in studying the parameters of a two-level system which related to the nonlinearity and the non-Hermiticity.

Stable pair liquid phase in fermionic systems

We predict the existence of a pair-liquid phase in lattice fermion systems with finite-range attractive interactions. This exotic state competes on one side with a normal Fermi liquid of unpaired fermions and on the other side with a phase-separated state where all fermions are coupled into macroscopic clusters. We show that such a phase is absent in bosonic systems and therefore is protected by the exclusion principle. In contrast with zero-range attractive systems where clustering of more than two fermions is directly prohibited, here quantum statistics acts dynamically and in a more subtle way. Since a many-fermion wave function must have nodes, the cluster formation threshold is larger than the pair formation threshold. By directly solving a four-body Schroedinger equation on one- and two-dimensional lattices, we map the boundaries of pair stability. The pair liquid phase should be observable in cold atom systems. We also discuss implications for the preformed-pair mechanism of high-temperature superconductivity.

Observation of photon-photon thermodynamic processes under negative optical temperature conditions.

Statistical mechanics demands that the temperature of a system is positive provided that its internal energy has no upper bound. Yet if this condition is not met, it is possible to attain negative temperatures for which higher-order energy states are thermodynamically favored. Although negative temperatures have been reported in spin and Bose-Hubbard settings as well as in quantum fluids, the observation of thermodynamic processes in this regime has thus far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate isentropic expansion-compression and Joule expansion for negative optical temperatures, enabled by purely nonlinear photon-photon interactions in a thermodynamic microcanonical photonic system. Our photonic approach provides a platform for exploring new all-optical thermal engines and could have ramifications in other bosonic systems beyond optics, such as cold atoms and optomechanics.

Microscopic formulation of the interacting boson model for reflection asymmetric nuclei

Reflection asymmetric, octupole shapes in nuclei are a prominent aspect of nuclear structure, and have been recurrently studied over the decades. Recent experiments using radioactive-ion beams have provided evidence for stable octupole shapes. A variety of nuclear models have been employed for the related theoretical analyses. We review recent studies on the nuclear octupole shapes and collective excitations within the interacting boson model. A special focus is placed on the microscopic formulation of this model by using the mean-field method that is based on the framework of nuclear density functional theory. As an illustrative example, a stable octupole deformation, and a shape phase transition as a function of nucleon number that involves both quadrupole and octupole degrees of freedom are shown to occur in light actinides. Systematic spectroscopic studies indicate enhancement of the octupole collectivity in a wide mass region. Couplings between the octupole and additional degrees of freedom are incorporated in a microscopic manner in the boson system, and shown to play a crucial role in the description of the related intriguing nuclear structure phenomena such as the shape coexistence.

Rényi entanglement entropy after a quantum quench starting from insulating states in a free boson system

We investigate the time-dependent R\'{e}nyi entanglement entropy after a quantum quench starting from the Mott-insulating and charge-density-wave states in a one-dimensional free boson system. The second R\'{e}nyi entanglement entropy is found to be the negative of the logarithm of the permanent of a matrix consisting of time-dependent single-particle correlation functions. From this relation and a permanent inequality, we obtain rigorous conditions for satisfying the volume-law entanglement growth. We also succeed in calculating the time evolution of the R\'{e}nyi entanglement entropy in unprecedentedly large systems by brute-force computations of the permanent. We discuss possible applications of our findings to the real-time dynamics of noninteracting bosonic systems.

PT -symmetry phase transition in a Bose-Hubbard model with localized gain and loss

We study the dissipative dynamics of a one-dimensional bosonic system described in terms of the bipartite Bose-Hubbard model with alternating gain and loss. This model exhibits the $\mathcal{PT}$ symmetry under some specific conditions and features a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry phase transition. It is characterized by an order parameter corresponding to the population imbalance between even and odd sites, similar to the continuous phase transitions in the Hermitian realm. In the noninteracting limit, we solve the problem exactly and compute the parameter dependence of the order parameter. The interacting limit is addressed at the mean-field level, which allows us to construct the phase diagram for the model. We find that both the interaction and dissipation rates induce a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry breaking. On the other hand, periodic modulation of the dissipative coupling in time stabilizes the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric regime. Our findings are corroborated numerically on a tight-binding chain with gain and loss.

Analytically and numerically, dispersive, weakly nonlinear wave packets are presented in a quasi-monochromatic medium

This study applies computational and numerical techniques to develop some novel and accurate solutions for Gross–Pitaevskii (GP) equations. A quantum system of identical bosons is described using the Hartree–Fock approximation and pseudopotential interaction model by the Gross–Pitaevskii equation (GPE), named after Eugene P. Gross and Lev Petrovich Pitaevskii. Many solitary wave solutions are constructed in various forms based on the implementation of the Khater II method and the novel Kudryashov method. The gained solutions are numerically represented in various graph styles. The validity of the solutions is investigated by applying the septic-B-spline scheme based on calculating the requested conditions from the obtained computational solutions. To make our study more applicable, we study the stability of our solutions by focusing on the Hamiltonian system’s properties. Mathematica 13.1 checks all inputs and outcomes against the original model for further confidence.

Scalable and programmable phononic network with trapped ions

Controllable bosonic systems can provide post-classical computational power with sub-universal quantum computational capability. A network that consists of a number of bosons evolving through beam-splitters and phase-shifters between different modes, has been proposed and applied to demonstrate quantum advantages. While the network has been implemented mostly in optical systems with photons, recently alternative realizations have been explored, where major limitations in photonic systems such as photon loss, and probabilistic manipulation can be addressed. Phonons, the quantized excitations of vibrational modes, of trapped ions can be a promising candidate to realize the bosonic network. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a minimal-loss phononic network that can be programmed and in which any phononic states are deterministically prepared and detected. We realize the network with up to four collective-vibrational modes, which can be straightforwardly extended to reveal quantum advantage. We benchmark the performance of the network with an exemplary algorithm of tomography for arbitrary multi-mode states with a fixed total phonon number. We obtain reconstruction fidelities of 94.5 $\pm$ 1.95 % and 93.4 $\pm$ 3.15 % for single-phonon and two-phonon states, respectively. Our experiment demonstrates a clear and novel pathway to scale up a phononic network for various quantum information processing beyond the limitations of classical and other quantum systems.

Atomic Bose-Einstein condensate in twisted-bilayer optical lattices.

Observation of strong correlations and superconductivity in twisted-bilayer graphene1-4 has stimulated tremendous interest in fundamental and applied physics5-8. In this system, the superposition of two twisted honeycomb lattices, generating a moiré pattern, is the key to the observed flat electronic bands, slow electron velocity and large density of states9-12. Extension of the twisted-bilayer system to new configurations is highly desired, which can provide exciting prospects to investigate twistronics beyond bilayer graphene. Here we demonstrate a quantum simulation of superfluid to Mott insulator transition in twisted-bilayer square lattices based on atomic Bose-Einstein condensates loaded into spin-dependent optical lattices. The lattices are made of two sets of laser beams that independently address atoms in different spin states, which form the synthetic dimension accommodating the two layers. The interlayer coupling is highly controllable by a microwave field, which enables the occurrence of a lowest flat band and new correlated phases in the strong coupling limit. We directly observe the spatial moiré pattern and the momentum diffraction, which confirm the presence of two forms of superfluid and a modified superfluid to insulator transition in twisted-bilayer lattices. Our scheme is generic and can be applied to different lattice geometries and for both boson and fermion systems. This opens up a new direction for exploring moiré physics in ultracold atoms with highly controllable optical lattices.

Non-Gaussian entanglement criteria for atomic homodyne detection

Homodyne measurement is a crucial tool widely used to address continuous variables for bosonic quantum systems. While an ideal homodyne detection provides a powerful analysis, e.g., to effectively measure quadrature amplitudes of light in quantum optics, it relies on the use of a strong reference field, the so-called local oscillator, typically in a coherent state. Such a strong coherent local oscillator may not be readily available, particularly for a massive quantum system like a Bose-Einstein condensate, posing a substantial challenge in dealing with continuous variables appropriately. It is necessary to establish a practical framework that includes the effects of nonideal local oscillators for a rigorous assessment of various quantum tests and applications. We here develop entanglement criteria beyond a Gaussian regime applicable for this realistic homodyne measurement that do not require assumptions on the state of local oscillators. We discuss the working conditions of homodyne detection to effectively detect non-Gaussian quantum entanglement under various states of local oscillators.

Transition from a polaronic condensate to a degenerate Fermi gas of heteronuclear molecules

The interplay of quantum statistics and interactions in atomic Bose–Fermi mixtures leads to a phase diagram markedly different from pure fermionic or bosonic systems. However, investigating this phase diagram remains challenging when bosons condense due to the resulting fast interspecies loss. Here we report observations consistent with a phase transition from a polaronic to a molecular phase in a density-matched degenerate Bose–Fermi mixture. The condensate fraction, representing the order parameter of the transition, is depleted by interactions, and the build-up of strong correlations results in the emergence of a molecular Fermi gas. The features of the underlying quantum phase transition represent a new phenomenon complementary to the paradigmatic Bose–Einstein condensate/Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer crossover observed in Fermi systems. By driving the system through the transition, we produce a sample of sodium–potassium molecules exhibiting a large molecule-frame dipole moment in the quantum-degenerate regime.

Leggett-Garg inequalities with deformed Pegg-Barnett phase observables

We investigate the Leggett-Garg inequalities (LGIs) for a boson system whose observables are given by deforming the Pegg-Barnett phase operators. We consider two observables and show that the quantum Fourier transform is useful in the realization of the required measurements. Deriving explicit forms for the LGIs using the coherent state $|\ensuremath{\alpha}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ as the initial state, we explore the regimes where they are violated when the time difference between observations of the phase operators is varied. We show that the system remains nonclassical in the large amplitude limit without dissipation; however, with dissipation, our violation diminishes rapidly.

Competing instabilities at long length scales in the one-dimensional Bose-Fermi-Hubbard model at commensurate fillings

We study the phase diagram of the one-dimensional Bose-Fermi-Hubbard model at unit filling for the scalar bosons and half filling for the $S=1/2$ fermions using quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The bare interaction between the fermions is set to zero. A central question of our study is what type of interactions can be induced between the fermions by the bosons, for both weak and strong interspecies coupling. We find that the induced interactions can lead to competing instabilities favoring phase separation, superconducting phases, and density wave structures, in many cases at work on length scales of more than 100 sites. Marginal bosonic superfluids with a density matrix decaying faster than what is allowed for pure bosonic systems with on-site interactions, are also found.

Many-body Aharonov-Bohm caging in a lattice of rings

We study a system of a few ultracold bosons loaded into the states with orbital angular momentum $l=1$ of a one-dimensional staggered lattice of rings. Local eigenstates with winding numbers $+l$ and $-l$ form a Creutz ladder with a real dimension and a synthetic one. States with opposite winding numbers in adjacent rings are coupled through complex tunnelings, which can be tuned by modifying the central angle $\phi$ of the lattice. We analyze both the single-particle case and the few boson bound-state subspaces for the regime of strong interactions using perturbation theory, showing how the geometry of the system can be engineered to produce an effective $\pi$-flux through the plaquettes. We find non-trivial topological band structures and many-body Aharonov-Bohm caging in the $N$-particle subspaces even in the presence of a dispersive single-particle spectrum. Additionally, we study the family of models where the angle $\phi$ is introduced at an arbitrary lattice periodicity $\Gamma$. For $\Gamma>2$, the $\pi$-flux becomes non-uniform, which enlarges the spatial extent of the Aharonov-Bohm caging as the number of flat bands in the spectrum increases. All the analytical results are benchmarked through exact diagonalization.

Pairing Mechanism at Finite Temperatures in Bosonic Systems

Pairing Mechanism at Finite Temperatures in Bosonic Systems

Non-Gaussian variational wave functions for interacting bosons on a lattice

A variational method for studying the ground state of strongly interacting quantum many-body bosonic systems is presented. Our approach constructs a class of extensive variational non-Gaussian wave functions which extend Gaussian states by means of nonlinear canonical transformations (NLCTs) on the fields of the theory under consideration. We illustrate this method with the one-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model for which the proposal presented here provides a family of approximate ground states at arbitrarily large values of the interaction strength. We find that, for different values of the interaction, the non-Gaussian NLCT-trial states sensibly improve the ground-state energy estimation when the system is in the Mott phase.