Two-level Hamiltonian Research Articles

Dynamical approach to shortcuts to adiabaticity for general two-level non-Hermitian systems

In this Letter, we apply a class of general two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonians whose off-diagonal elements are neither equal nor conjugate of each other to study the dynamical approach to shortcut to adiabaticity which is based on engineering the Hamiltonian and dynamical properties of the system to remove any unwanted probability amplitude or implant the desired probability amplitude. Using the special characteristics that one of the eigenvalues of the general two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is real and the other is complex, we can decay (amplify) the population exponentially in the undesired (desired) eigenstate, and maintain the conservation of probability amplitude of the other eigenstate. Applying this approach to general two-level non-Hermitian systems, we find that the efficient population transfer can be achieved by our method, which works even in almost instantaneous manner and has a lower cost compared with the common approach of shortcut to adiabaticity.

Time-dependent [formula omitted]-operators as Lewis-Riesenfeld invariants in non-Hermitian theories

C-operators were introduced as involution operators in non-Hermitian theories that commute with the time-independent Hamiltonians and the parity/time-reversal operator. Here we propose a definition for time-dependent C(t)-operators and demonstrate that for a particular signature they may be expanded in terms of time-dependent biorthonormal left and right eigenvectors of Lewis-Riesenfeld invariants. The vanishing commutation relation between the C-operator and the Hamiltonian in the time-independent case is replaced by the Lewis-Riesenfeld equation in the time-dependent scenario. Thus, C(t)-operators are always Lewis-Riesenfeld invariants, whereas the inverse is only true in certain circumstances. We demonstrate the working of the generalities for a non-Hermitian two-level matrix Hamiltonian. We show that solutions for C(t) and the time-dependent metric operator may be found that hold in all three PT-regimes, i.e., the PT-regime, the spontaneously broken PT-regime and at the exceptional point.

Tuning the adiabaticity of spin dynamics in diamond nitrogen vacancy centers

We study the spin dynamics of diamond nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in an oscillating magnetic field along the symmetry axis of the NV in the presence of transverse magnetic fields. It is well-known that the coupling between the otherwise degenerate Zeeman levels |M S = ±1⟩ due to strain and electric fields is responsible for a Landau–Zener process near the pseudo-crossing of the adiabatic energy levels when the axial component of the oscillating magnetic field changes sign. We derive an effective two-level Hamiltonian for the NV system that includes coupling between the two levels via virtual transitions into the third far-detuned level |M S = 0⟩ induced by transverse magnetic fields. This coupling adds to the coupling due to strain and electric fields, with a phase that depends on the direction of the transverse field in the plane perpendicular to the NV axis. Hence, the total coupling of the Zeeman levels can be tuned to control the adiabaticity of spin dynamics by fully or partially compensating the effect of the strain and electric fields, or by enhancing it. Moreover, by varying the strength and direction of the transverse magnetic fields, one can determine the strength and direction of the local strain and electric fields at the position of the NV center, and even the external stress and electric field. The nuclear spin hyperfine interaction is shown to introduce a nuclear spin dependent offset of the axial magnetic field for which the pseudo-crossing occurs, while the adiabaticity remains unaffected by the nuclear spin. If the NV center is coupled to the environment, modeled by a bath with a Gaussian white noise spectrum, as appropriate for NVs near the diamond surface, then the spin dynamics is accompanied by relaxation of the Zeeman level populations and decoherence with a non-monotonic decrease of the purity of the system. The results presented here have important impact for metrology with NV centers, quantum control of spin systems in solids and coupled dynamics of spin and rotations in levitated nano-objects in the presence of magnetic fields.

The non-Hermitian geometrical property of 1D Lieb lattice under Majorana’s stellar representation

The topological properties of non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is a hot topic, and the theoretical studies along this research line are usually based on the two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian (or, equivalently, a spin-1/2 non-Hermitian Hamiltonian). We are motivated to study the geometrical phases of a three-level Lieb lattice model (or, equivalently, a spin-1 non-Hermitian Hamiltonian) with the flat band in the context of a polariton condensate. The topological invariants are calculated by both winding numbers in the Brillouin zone and the geometrical phase of Majorana stars on the Bloch sphere. Besides, we provide an intuitive way to study the topological phase transformation with the higher spin, and the flat band offers a platform to define the topological phase transition on the Bloch sphere. According to the trajectories of the Majorana stars, we calculate the geometrical phases of the Majorana stars. We study the Lieb lattice with a complex hopping and find their phases have a jump when the parameters change from the trivial phase to the topological phase. The correlation phase of Majorana stars will rise along with the increase of the imaginary parts of the hopping energy. Besides, we also study the Lieb lattice with different intracell hopping and calculate the geometrical phases of the model using non-Bloch factor under the Majorana’s stellar representation. In this case, the correlation phases will always be zero because of the normalized coefficient is always a purely real number and the phase transition is vividly shown with the geometrical phases of the Majorana stars calculated by the mean values of the total phases of both right and the joint left eigenstates.

Effective Hamiltonians for interacting superconducting qubits: local basis reduction and the Schrieffer–Wolff transformation

An open question in designing superconducting quantum circuits is how best to reduce the full circuit Hamiltonian which describes their dynamics to an effective two-level qubit Hamiltonian which is appropriate for manipulation of quantum information. Despite advances in numerical methods to simulate the spectral properties of multi-element superconducting circuits (Yurke B and Denker J S 1984 Phys. Rev. A 29 1419, Reiter F and Sørensen A S 2012 Phys. Rev. A 85 032111 and Amin M H et al 2012 Phys. Rev. A 86 052314), the literature lacks a consistent and effective method of determining the effective qubit Hamiltonian. Here we address this problem by introducing a novel local basis reduction method. This method does not require any ad hoc assumption on the structure of the Hamiltonian such as its linear response to applied fields. We numerically benchmark the local basis reduction method against other Hamiltonian reduction methods in the literature and report specific examples of superconducting qubits, including the capacitively-shunted flux qubit, where the standard reduction approaches fail. By combining the local basis reduction method with the Schrieffer–Wolff transformation we further extend its applicability to systems of interacting qubits and use it to extract both non-stoquastic two-qubit Hamiltonians and three-local interaction terms in three-qubit Hamiltonians.

Nuclear supersymmetry and dual algebraic structures

Superalgebras and supersymmetries are relevant to mixed systems of bosons and fermions. A simple systematic procedure to construct the multi-level unitary and orthosymplectic superalgebras which appear in the generalized multi-level pairing models and for arbitrary choice of level degeneracies is presented. The algebraic substructures of these superalgebras are discussed and the explicit formulae for their generators and Casimir operators are given in spherical tensor (Racah) form. We draw attention to the existence of four general types of dynamical supersymmetry, including two vibrational limits and two γ-unstable limits. Their analytical expressions of the energies are derived. The relations between pairing operators and the multipole operators for the supersymmetric multi-level system are given in a closed form. The results presented show very clearly the duality between the orthosymplectic superalgebras and the generalized quasi-spin algebras for the supersymmetric system with pairing interactions. Using the concept of complementary subalgebras, the full super two-level pairing Hamiltonian, with uniform pairing strength, and the dynamical symmetries are rewritten, in a more convenient form. The generalization of the class C transitional Hamiltonian is demonstrated.

Comparative study of the requantization of the time-dependent mean field for the dynamics of nuclear pairing

To describe quantal collective phenomena, it is useful to requantize the time-dependent mean-field dynamics. We study the time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (TDHFB) theory for the two-level pairing Hamiltonian, and compare results of different quantization methods. The one constructing microscopic wave functions, using the TDHFB trajectories fulfilling the Einstein-Brillouin-Keller quantization condition, turns out to be the most accurate. The method is based on the stationary-phase approximation to the path integral. We also examine the performance of the collective model which assumes that the pairing gap parameter is the collective coordinate. The applicability of the collective model is limited for the nuclear pairing with a small number of single-particle levels, because the pairing gap parameter represents only a half of the pairing collective space.

Quantum metrology at level anticrossing

We address parameter estimation in two-level systems exhibiting level anti-crossing and prove that universally optimal strategies for parameter estimation may be designed, that is, we may find a parameter independent measurement scheme leading to the ultimate quantum precision independently on the nature and the value of the parameter of interest. Optimal estimation may be achievable also at high temperature depending on the structure of the two-level Hamiltonian. Finally, we show that no improvement is achievable by dynamical strategies and discuss examples of applications.

Multidimensional Quantum Mechanical Modeling of Electron Transfer and Electronic Coherence in Plant Cryptochromes: The Role of Initial Bath Conditions.

A multidimensional quantum mechanical protocol is used to describe the photoinduced electron transfer and electronic coherence in plant cryptochromes without any semiempirical, e.g., experimentally obtained, parameters. Starting from a two-level spin-boson Hamiltonian we look at the effect that the initial photoinduced nuclear bath distribution has on an intermediate step of this biological electron transfer cascade for two idealized cases. The first assumes a slow equilibration of the nuclear bath with respect to the previous electron transfer step that leads to an ultrafast decay with little temperature dependence; while the second assumes a prior fast bath equilibration on the donor potential energy surface leading to a much slower decay, which contrarily displays a high temperature dependence and a better agreement with previous theoretical and experimental results. Beyond Marcus and semiclassical pictures these results unravel the strong impact that the presence or not of equilibrium initial conditions has on the electronic population and coherence dynamics at the quantum dynamics level in this and conceivably in other biological electron transfer cascades.

Chiral state conversion without encircling an exceptional point

Dynamically varying system parameters along a path enclosing an exceptional point is known to lead to chiral mode conversion. But is it necessary to include this non-Hermitian degeneracy inside the contour for this process to take place? We show that a slow enough variation of parameters, even away from the system's exceptional point, can also lead to a robust asymmetric state exchange. To study this process, we consider a prototypical two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with a constant coupling between elements. Closed form solutions are obtained when the amplification/attenuation coefficients in this arrangement are varied in conjunction with the resonance detuning along a circular contour. Using asymptotic expansions, this input-independent mode conversion is theoretically proven to take place irrespective of whether the exceptional point is enclosed or not upon encirclement. Our results significantly broaden the range of parameter space required for the experimental realization of such chiral mode conversion processes.

Dynamically Encircling Exceptional Points: Exact Evolution and Polarization State Conversion.

We show that a two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with constant off-diagonal exchange elements can be analyzed exactly when the underlying exceptional point is perfectly encircled in the complex plane. The state evolution of this system is explicitly obtained in terms of an ensuing transfer matrix, even for large encirclements, regardless of adiabatic conditions. Our results clearly explain the direction-dependent nature of this process and why in the adiabatic limit its outcome is dominated by a specific eigenstate-irrespective of initial conditions. Moreover, numerical simulations suggest that this mechanism can still persist in the presence of nonlinear effects. We further show that this robust process can be harnessed to realize an optical omnipolarizer: a configuration that generates a desired polarization output regardless of the input polarization state, while from the opposite direction it always produces the counterpart eigenstate.

Control of atom-atom entanglement by cavity detuning

Using the atomic levels previously employed to demonstrate a two-photon maser, we show that the atom-atom entanglement produced by the successive passage of two three-level Rydberg atoms across a single-mode lossless cavity can be enhanced using the Stark shift. The atoms are assumed to be prepared in their excited states and to interact with the field during the same amount of time. Employing a physically motivated perturbation-theory approach, we obtain an effective two-level Hamiltonian. We show that, within the limits of validity of the approximation, atomic entanglement can be controlled by changing the frequency of the cavity field, and can be enhanced up to a maximum where the squared concurrence attains the value 16/27.

Subharmonic transitions and Bloch-Siegert shift in electrically driven spin resonance

We theoretically study coherent subharmonic (multi-photon) transitions of a harmonically driven spin. We consider two cases: magnetic resonance (MR) with a misaligned, i.e., non-transversal driving field, and electrically driven spin resonance (EDSR) of an electron confined in a one-dimensional, parabolic quantum dot, subject to Rashba spin-orbit interaction. In the EDSR case, we focus on the limit where the orbital level spacing of the quantum dot is the greatest energy scale. Then, we apply time-dependent Schrieffer-Wolff erturbation theory to derive a time-dependent effective two-level Hamiltonian, allowing to describe both MR and EDSR using the Floquet theory of periodically driven two-level systems. In particular, we characterise the fundamental (single-photon) and the half-harmonic (two-photon) spin transitions. We demonstrate the appearance of two-photon Rabi oscillations, and analytically calculate the fundamental and half-harmonic resonance frequencies and the corresponding Rabi frequencies. For EDSR, we find that both the fundamental and the half-harmonic resonance frequency changes upon increasing the strength of the driving electric field, which is an effect analogous to the Bloch-Siegert shift known from MR. Remarkably, the drive-strength dependent correction to the fundamental EDSR resonance frequency has an anomalous, negative sign, in contrast to the corresponding Bloch-Siegert shift in MR which is always positive. Our analytical results are supported by numerical simulations, as well as by qualitative interpretations for simple limiting cases.

High-speed driving of a two-level system

A remarkably simple result is found for the optimal protocol of drivings for a general two-level Hamiltonian which transports a given initial state to a given final state in minimal time. If one of the three possible drivings is unconstrained in strength the problem is analytically completely solvable. A surprise arises for a class of states when one driving is bounded by a constant $c$ and the other drivings are constant. Then, for large $c$, the optimal driving is of type bang-off-bang and for increasing $c$ one recovers the unconstrained result. However, for smaller $c$ the optimal driving can suddenly switch to bang-bang type. It is also shown that for general states one may have a multistep protocol. The present paper explicitly proves and considerably extends the author's results contained in Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 111}, 260501 (2013).

The time-scale of nonlinear events driven by strong fields: can one control the spin coupling before ionization runs over?

An initially populated spin state of an ion chain interacting with an external field can decay via spin coupling or via ionization. Using a simple two-level Hamiltonian we investigate the relation between spin-coupling and ionization rate and identify conditions for an efficient spin-control via a non-resonant Stark effect by suppressing ionization. The results are confirmed in solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the interaction of a laser field with a spin-coupled model system where two electrons and a nucleus move in a collinear configuration. It is thus shown, that quantum control of intersystem crossing can indeed be effective if the intensity of the external field and the accompanying Stark-shift is adjusted properly to the spin-coupling strength.

Low-frequency anomalies in dynamic localization

Quantum mechanical spreading of a particle hopping on tight binding lattices can be suppressed by the application of an external ac force, leading to periodic wave packet reconstruction. Such a phenomenon, referred to as dynamic localization (DL), occurs for certain ‘magic’ values of the ratio Γ = F0/ω between the amplitude F0 and frequency ω of the ac force. It is generally believed that in the low-frequency limit (ω → 0) DL can be achieved for an infinitesimally small value of the force F0, i.e. at finite values of Γ. Such normal behavior is found in homogeneous lattices as well as in inhomogeneous lattices of the Glauber–Fock (GF) type. Here we introduce a tight-binding lattice model with inhomogeneous hopping rates, referred to as a pseudo-GF lattice, which shows DL but fails to reproduce the normal low-frequency behavior of homogeneous and GF lattices. In pseudo-GF lattices, DL can be exactly realized; however, at the DL condition the force amplitude F0 remains finite as ω → 0. Such an anomalous behavior is explained in terms of a symmetry-breaking transition of an associated two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian that effectively describes the dynamics of the Hermitian lattice model.

Analytically solvable two-level quantum systems and Landau-Zener interferometry

I present a simple algorithm based on a type of partial reverse-engineering that generates an unlimited number of exact analytical solutions to the Schrodinger equation for a general time-dependent two-level Hamiltonian. I demonstrate this method by deriving new exact solutions corresponding to fast control pulses that contain arbitrarily many tunable parameters. It is shown that the formalism is naturally suited to generating analytical control protocols that perform precise non-adiabatic rapid passage and Landau-Zener interferometry near the quantum speed limit. A general, exact formula for Landau-Zener interference patterns is derived.

Topological invariance and global Berry phase in non-Hermitian systems

By studying the topological invariance andBerry phase in non-Hermitian systems, we reveal the basic properties of the complex Berry phase and generalize the global Berry phases Q to identify the topological invariance for non-Hermitian systems.We find thatQcan identify topological invariance in two kinds of non-Hermitian model, the two-level non-Hermitian Hamiltonian and the bipartite dissipative model. For the bipartite dissipative model, an abrupt change of the Berry phase in the parameter space reveals a quantum phase transition and is related to the exceptional points. These results give the basic relationships between the Berry phase and the quantum and topological phase transitions of non-Hermitian systems.

Singlet-triplet splitting in double quantum dots due to spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions

We analyze the low-energy spectrum of a two-electron double quantum dot under a potential bias in the presence of an external magnetic field. We focus on the regime of spin blockade, taking into account the spin orbit interaction and hyperfine coupling of electron and nuclear spins. Starting from a model for two interacting electrons in a double dot, we derive a perturbative, effective two-level Hamiltonian in the vicinity of an avoided crossing between singlet and triplet levels, which are coupled by the spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions. We evaluate the level splitting at the anticrossing, and show that it depends on a variety of parameters including the spin orbit coupling strength, the orientation of the external magnetic field relative to an internal spin-orbit axis, the potential detuning of the dots, and the difference between hyperfine fields in the two dots. We provide a formula for the splitting in terms of the spin orbit length, the hyperfine fields in the two dots, and the double dot parameters such as tunnel coupling and Coulomb energy. This formula should prove useful for extracting spin orbit parameters from transport or charge sensing experiments in such systems. We identify a parameter regime where the spin orbit and hyperfine terms can become of comparable strength, and discuss how this regime might be reached.

Circularly polarized few-optical-cycle solitons in the short-wave-approximation regime

We consider the propagation of few-cycle pulses (FCPs) beyond the slowly varying envelope approximation in media in which the dynamics of constituent atoms is described by a two-level Hamiltonian by taking into account the wave polarization. We consider the short-wave approximation, assuming that the resonance frequency of the two-level atoms is well below the inverse of the characteristic duration of the optical pulse. By using the reductive perturbation method (multiscale analysis), we derive from the Maxwell-Bloch-Heisenberg equations the governing evolution equations for the two polarization components of the electric field in the first order of the perturbation approach. We show that propagation of circularly polarized (CP) few-optical-cycle solitons is described by a system of coupled nonlinear equations, which reduces in the scalar case to the standard sine Gordon equation describing the dynamics of linearly polarized FCPs in the short-wave-approximation regime. By direct numerical simulations, we calculate the lifetime of CP FCPs, and we study the transition to two orthogonally polarized single-humped pulses as a generic route of their instability.