Dynamical Quantum Phase Transitions Research Articles

Environmentally induced quantum dynamical phase transition in the spin swapping operation

Quantum information processing relies on coherent quantum dynamics for a precise control of its basic operations. A swapping gate in a two-spin system exchanges the degenerate states |(up arrow, down arrow)> and |(down arrow, up arrow)>. In NMR, this is achieved turning on and off the spin-spin interaction b=DeltaE that splits the energy levels and induces an oscillation with a natural frequency DeltaE/Planck's. Interaction of strength Planck's/tau(SE), with an environment of neighboring spins, degrades this oscillation within a decoherence time scale tau(phi). While the experimental frequency omega and decoherence time tau(phi) were expected to be roughly proportional to b/Planck's and tau(SE), respectively, we present here experiments that show drastic deviations in both omega and tau(phi). By solving the many spin dynamics, we prove that the swapping regime is restricted to DeltaEtau(SE) similar or greater than Planck's. Beyond a critical interaction with the environment the swapping freezes and the decoherence rate drops as 1/tau(phi) proportional to (b/Planck's)2tau(SE). The transition between quantum dynamical phases occurs when omega proportional to sqrt (b/Planck's)2-(k/tau(SE)2 becomes imaginary, resembling an overdamped classical oscillator. Here, 0< or =k2< or =1 depends only on the anisotropy of the system-environment interaction, being 0 for isotropic and 1 for XY interactions. This critical onset of a phase dominated by the quantum Zeno effect opens up new opportunities for controlling quantum dynamics.

Dynamics of a Quantum Phase Transition

We present two approaches to the dynamics of a quench-induced phase transition in the quantum Ising model. One follows the standard treatment of thermodynamic second order phase transitions but applies it to the quantum phase transitions. The other approach is quantum, and uses Landau-Zener formula for transition probabilities in avoided level crossings. We show that predictions of the two approaches of how the density of defects scales with the quench rate are compatible, and discuss the ensuing insights into the dynamics of quantum phase transitions.

Erratum: Dynamics of Quantum Phase Transition in an Array of Josephson Junctions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 167001 (2002)

Erratum: Dynamics of Quantum Phase Transition in an Array of Josephson Junctions [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 167001 (2002)

Dynamics of Quantum Phase Transition in an Array of Josephson Junctions

We study the dynamics of the Mott insulator-superfluid quantum phase transition in a periodic 1D array of Josephson junctions. We show that crossing the critical point at a finite rate with a quench time tau(Q) induces finite quantum fluctuations of the current around the loop proportional to tau(-1/6)(Q). This scaling could be experimentally verified with an array of weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates or superconducting grains.