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We explore the interplay of disorder and topological phenomena in honeycomb lattices of atoms coupled by the electromagnetic field. On the one hand, disorder can trigger transitions between distinct topological phases and drive the lattice into the topological Anderson insulator state. On the other hand, the nontrivial topology of the photonic band structure suppresses Anderson localization of modes that disorder introduces inside the band gap of the ideal lattice. Furthermore, we discover that disorder can both open a topological pseudogap in the spectrum of an otherwise topologically trivial system and introduce spatially localized modes inside it., Comment: Extended version with two appendices (11 pages, 5 figures)

Considering a minimal number of assumptions and in the context of the timeless formalism, conditional probabilities are derived for subsequent measurements in the non-relativistic regime. Only unitary transformations are considered with detection processes described by generalized measurements (POVM). One-time conditional probabilities are unambiguously derived via the Gleason-Bush theorem, including for puzzling cases like the Wigner's friend scenario where their form underlines the relativity aspect of measurements. No paradoxical situations emerge and the roles of Wigner and the friend are completely interchangeable. Wigner can be seen by his friend as being in a superposition but, at the same time, the friend acts as a which-path detector destroying the coherence of the measured state.

We present two protocols for constructing quantum processor nodes in randomly doped rare-earth-ion crystals and analyze their properties. By varying the doping concentration and the accessible laser tunability, the processor nodes can contain anywhere from only a few tens to almost $1000$ qubits. Furthermore, the average number of qubits each qubit can interact with, denoted by the connectivity, can be partly tailored to lie between just a few and roughly one hundred. We also study how a limited tunability of the laser affects the results, and conclude that a tuning range of $100$ GHz limits the results to roughly $100$ qubits with around $50$ connections per qubit on average. In order to construct an even larger processor, the vision is that several of these quantum processor nodes should be connected to each other in a multi-node architecture via, e.g., optical interfaces or flying qubits in the form of light. Our results are encouraging for establishing the rare-earth-ion-based systems as a quantum computing platform with strong potential and can serve to focus the efforts within the field.

We consider a cryptographically motivated framework for quantum metrology in the presence of a malicious adversary. We begin by devising an estimation strategy for a (potentially) altered resource (due to a malicious adversary) and quantify the amount of bias and the loss in precision as a function of the introduced uncertainty in the resource. By incorporating an appropriate cryptographic protocol, the uncertainty in the resource can be bounded with respect to the soundness of the cryptographic protocol. Thus the effectiveness of the quantum metrology problem can be directly related to the effectiveness of the cryptography protocol. As an example, we consider a quantum metrology problem in which resources are exchanged through an unsecured quantum channel. We then construct two protocols for this task which offer a trade-off between difficulty of implementation and efficiency., Comment: 3 figures, appendix

Encoding a dimension in the internal degree of freedom of an atom provides an interesting tool for quantum simulation, facilitating the realization of artificial gauge fields. We propose an extension of the synthetic dimension toolbox, making it possible to encode two dimensions within a large atomic spin. The protocol combines first- and second-order spin couplings, such that the spin projection $m$ and the remainder $r=m$ (mod 3) of its Euclidian division by 3 act as orthogonal coordinates on a synthetic cylinder. It is suited for an implementation with lanthanide atoms, which feature a large electronic spin and narrow optical transitions for applying the required spin couplings. This method is useful for simulating geometries with periodic boundary conditions, and engineering various types of topological systems evolving in high dimensions., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the continuous-time dynamics of highly-entangling intermediate-scale quantum circuits in the presence of dissipation and decoherence. By compressing the Hilbert space to a time-dependent "corner" subspace that supports faithful representations of the density matrix, we simulate a noisy quantum Fourier transform processor with up to 21 qubits. Our method is efficient to compute with a controllable accuracy the time evolution of intermediate-scale open quantum systems with moderate entropy, while taking into account microscopic dissipative processes rather than relying on digital error models. The circuit size reached in our simulations allows to extract the scaling behaviour of error propagation with the dissipation rates and the number of qubits. Moreover, we show that depending on the dissipative mechanisms at play, the choice of input state has a strong impact on the performance of the quantum algorithm., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. Final version accepted in PRA

We apply the Small Tip-Angle Approximation in the Toggling Frame in order to analytically design robust pulses against resonance offsets for state to state transfer in two-level quantum systems. We show that a broadband or a local robustness up to an arbitrary order can be achieved. We provide different control parameterizations to satisfy experimental constraints and limitations on the amplitude or energy of the pulse. A comparison with numerical optimal solutions is made., Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures

We estimate and analyze the error rates and the resource overheads of the repetition cat qubit approach to universal and fault-tolerant quantum computation. The cat qubits stabilized by two-photon dissipation exhibit an extremely biased noise where the bit-flip error rate is exponentially suppressed with the mean number of photons. In a recent work, we suggested that the remaining phase-flip error channel could be suppressed using a 1D repetition code. Indeed, using only bias-preserving gates on the cat-qubits, it is possible to build a universal set of fault-tolerant logical gates at the level of the repetition cat qubit. In this paper, we perform Monte-Carlo simulations of all the circuits implementing the protected logical gates, using a circuit-level error model. Furthermore, we analyze two different approaches to implement a fault-tolerant Toffoli gate on repetition cat qubits. These numerical simulations indicate that very low logical error rates could be achieved with a reasonable resource overhead, and with parameters that are within the reach of near-term circuit QED experiments., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures

The quantum kicked rotor is well-known to display dynamical localization in the non-interacting limit. In the interacting case, while the mean-field (Gross-Pitaevskii) approximation displays a destruction of dynamical localization, its fate remains debated beyond mean-field. Here we study the kicked Lieb-Liniger model in the few-body limit. We show that for any interaction strength, two kicked interacting bosons always dynamically localize, in the sense that the energy of the system saturates at long time. However, contrary to the non-interacting limit, the momentum distribution $\Pi(k)$ of the bosons is not exponentially localized, but decays as $\mathcal C/k^4$, as expected for interacting quantum particles, with Tan's contact $\mathcal C$ which remains finite at long time. We discuss how our results will impact the experimental study of kicked interacting bosons., Comment: v1) 10 pages, 10 figures; v2) minor typos corrected, published version

The problem of the time of arrival of a quantum system in a specified state is considered in the framework of the repeated measurement protocol and in particular the limit of continuous measurements is discussed. It is shown that for a particular choice of system-detector coupling, the Zeno effect is avoided and the system can be described effectively by a non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian. As a specific example we consider the evolution of a quantum particle on a one-dimensional lattice that is subjected to position measurements at a specific site. By solving the corresponding non-Hermitian wave function evolution equation, we present analytic closed-form results on the survival probability and the first arrival time distribution. Finally we discuss the limit of vanishing lattice spacing and show that this leads to a continuum description where the particle evolves via the free Schrodinger equation with complex Robin boundary conditions at the detector site. Several interesting physical results for this dynamics are presented., Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures

A generic qubit unitary operator affected by depolarizing noise is duplicated and inserted in a quantum switch process realizing a superposition of causal orders. The characterization of the resulting switched quantum channel is worked out for its action on the joint state of the probe-control qubit pair. The switched channel is then specifically investigated for the important metrological task of phase estimation on the noisy unitary operator, with the performance assessed by the Fisher information, classical or quantum. A comparison is made with conventional techniques of estimation where the noisy unitary is directly probed in a one-stage or two-stage cascade with definite order, or several uses of them with two or more qubits. In the switched channel with indefinite order, specific properties are reported, meaningful for estimation and not present with conventional techniques. It is shown that the control qubit, although it never directly interacts with the unitary, can nevertheless be measured alone for effective estimation, while discarding the probe qubit that interacts with the unitary. Also, measurement of the control qubit maintains the possibility of efficient estimation in difficult conditions where conventional estimation becomes less efficient, as with ill-configured input probes, or in blind situations when the axis of the unitary is unknown. Effective estimation by measuring the control qubit remains possible even when the input probe tends to align with the axis of the unitary, or with a fully depolarized input probe, while in these conditions conventional estimation gets inoperative. Measurement of the probe qubit of the switched channel is also shown to add useful capabilities for phase estimation. The results contribute to the analysis of switched quantum channels with indefinite order for information processing, and uncover new possibilities for qubit metrology., Comment: 29 pages, 7 figures, 52 references

International audience; The existence of quantum droplets in binary Bose-Einstein condensate mixtures rely on beyond-mean field effects, competing with mean-field-effects. Interestingly, the beyond-mean-field effects change from repulsive in three dimension (3D) to attractive in 1D leading to drastically different behaviors. We quantitatively model quantum droplets in the beyond-mean-field crossover from 1D to 3D in the relevant case of an elongated harmonic trap and give realistic numbers for experimental realizations. We identify and quantify two main limiting factors: three-body losses and tiny energy scales. The crossover region is appealing as it offers a trade-off between these two main limitations opening the possibility of observing stable flat-top density profiles, a yet unobserved, characteristic feature of quantum droplets. It would permit testing beyond-mean-field theories to an unprecedented precision.

International audience; We present experiments revealing the competing effect of quantum fluctuations and of a coherent seed in the dynamics of a spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate, and discuss the relevance of a mean-field description of our system. We first explore a near-equilibrium situation, where the mean-field equations can be linearized around a fixed point corresponding to all atoms in the same Zeeman state $m=0$. Preparing the system at this classical fixed point, we observe a reversible dynamics triggered by quantum fluctuations, which cannot be understood within a classical framework. We demonstrate that the classical description becomes accurate provided a coherent seed of a few atoms only is present in the other Zeeman states $m= \pm 1$. In a second regime characterized by a strong non-linearity of the mean-field equations, we observe a collapse dynamics driven by quantum fluctuations. This behavior cannot be accounted for by a classical description and persists for a large range of initial states. We show that all our experimental results can be explained with a semi-classical description (truncated Wigner approximation), using stochastic classical variables to model the quantum noise.

International audience; Chirality is ubiquitous in nature and of fundamental importance in science. The present work focuses on understanding the conditions required to modify the chirality during ultrafast electronic motion by bringing enantiomers out-of-equilibrium. Different kinds of ultrashort linearly-polarised laser pulses are used to drive an ultrafast charge migration process by the excitation of a small number of low-lying excited states from the ground electronic state of S- and R-epoxypropane. Control over chiral electron dynamics is achieved by choosing the different orientations of the linearly polarised pulse. We find that chirality breaking electric fields are only possible in oriented molecules, and that charge migration remains chiral when the polarisation of the field lies in the mirror plane defining the enantiomer pair, or when it is strictly perpendicular to it. Ultimately, the presence or the absence of a mirror symmetry for the enantiomer pair in the external field determines the chiral properties of the charge migration process.

Weak coin flipping is among the fundamental cryptographic primitives which ensure the security of modern communication networks. It allows two mistrustful parties to remotely agree on a random bit when they favor opposite outcomes. Unlike other two-party computations, one can achieve information-theoretic security using quantum mechanics only: both parties are prevented from biasing the flip with probability higher than $1/2+\epsilon$, where $\epsilon$ is arbitrarily low. Classically, the dishonest party can always cheat with probability $1$ unless computational assumptions are used. Despite its importance, no physical implementation has been proposed for quantum weak coin flipping. Here, we present a practical protocol that requires a single photon and linear optics only. We show that it is fair and balanced even when threshold single-photon detectors are used, and reaches a bias as low as $\epsilon=1/\sqrt{2}-1/2\approx 0.207$. We further show that the protocol may display quantum advantage over a few hundred meters with state-of-the-art technology., Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures

In the late 1980's, Ou and Mandel experimentally observed signal beatings by performing a non-time-resolved coincidence detection of two photons having interfered in a balanced beam splitter [Phys. Rev. Lett 61, 54 (1988)]. In this work, we provide an alternative interpretation of the fringe pattern observed in this experiment as the direct measurement of the chronocyclic Wigner distribution of a frequency Schr\"odinger-cat-like state produced by local spectral filtering. Based on this analysis, we also study the time-resolved HOM experiment to measure such frequency state.

The achievement of quantum supremacy boosted the need for a robust medium of quantum information. In this task, higher-dimensional qudits show remarkable noise tolerance and enhanced security for quantum key distribution applications. However, to exploit the advantages of such states, we need a thorough characterisation of their entanglement. Here, we propose a measure of entanglement which can be computed either for pure and mixed states of a $M$-qudit hybrid system. The entanglement measure is based on a distance deriving from an adapted application of the Fubini-Study metric. This measure is invariant under local unitary transformations and has an explicit computable expression that we derive. In the specific case of $M$-qubit systems, the measure assumes the physical interpretation of an obstacle to the minimum distance between infinitesimally close states. Finally, we quantify the robustness of entanglement of a state through the eigenvalues analysis of the metric tensor associated with it., Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1908.03117

A collision of Bose-Einstein condensates is a useful source of single nonclassically correlated pairs of atoms. Here, we consider elastic scattering of atoms from elongated clouds taking into account an effective, finite duration of the collision due to the expansion of the condensates. Also, we include the quasicondensate nature of the degenerate quantum gases, due to a finite temperature of the system. We evaluate the pair correlation function measured experimentally in K. V. Kheruntsyan, et. al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 260401 (2012). We show that the finite duration of the collision is an important factor determining the properties of the correlations. Our analytic calculations are in agreement with the measurements. The analytical model we provide, useful for identifying physical processes that influence the correlations, is relevant for experiments with nonclassical pairs of atoms.

In this work, we study the transmission of classical information through three completely depolarizing channels in superposition of different causal orders. We thus introduce the quantum 3-switch as a resource for quantum communications. We perform a new kind of quantum control that was not accessible to the previously treated two-channel case. The fine and full quantum control achieved using selected combinations of causal orders let us uncover new features: non monotonous behavior on the transmission of information with respect to the number of causal orders involved, and different values of the transmission of information depending on the specific combinations of causal orders considered. Our results are a stepping stone to assess efficiency of coherent quantum control and optimize resources in the implementation of new indefinite causal structures. Finally, we suggest an optical implementation using standard telecom technology to test our predictions., arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1902.01807

Quenches are now routinely used in synthetic quantum systems to study a variety of fundamental effects, including ergodicity breaking, light-cone-like spreading of information, and dynamical phase transitions. It was shown recently that the dynamics of equal-time correlators may be related to ground-state phase transitions and some properties of the system excitations. Here, we show that the full low-lying excitation spectrum of a generic many-body quantum system can be extracted from the after-quench dynamics of equal-time correlators. We demonstrate it for a variety of one-dimensional lattice models amenable to exact numerical calculations, including Bose and spin models, with short- or long-range interactions. The approach also applies to higher dimensions, correlated fermions, and continuous models. We argue that it provides an alternative approach to standard pump-probe spectroscopic methods and discuss its advantages., Comment: 4 + 7 pages

International audience; We propose a method for measuring parity violation in neutral atoms. It is an adaptation of a seminal work by Fortson [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 2383 (1993)], proposing a scheme for a single trapped ion. In our version, a large sample of neutral atoms should be localised in an optical lattice overlapping a grid of detection sites, all tailored as the single site in Fortson's work. The methodology is of general applicability, but as an example, we estimate the achievable signal in an experiment probing a nuclear spin independent parity violation on the line 6s 2 S 1/2-5d 2 D 3/2 in 133 Cs. The projected result is based on realistic parameters and ab initio calculations of transition amplitudes, using the relativistic coupled-cluster method. The final result is a predicted spectroscopic signature, evidencing parity violation, of the order of 1 Hz, for a sample of 10 8 atoms. We show that a total interrogation time of 30000 s should, together with existing theoretical data, suffice for achieving a precision in the determination of the weak charge of Cs of the order of 0.1%-a sensitivity surpassing previously reported determinations by at least a factor of five.

We introduce a protocol for authenticated teleportation, which can be proven secure even when the receiver does not trust their measurement devices, and is experimentally accessible. We use the technique of self-testing from the device-independent approach to quantum information, where we can characterise quantum states and measurements from the exhibited classical correlations alone. First, we derive self-testing bounds for the Bell state and Pauli $\sigma_X, \sigma_Z$ measurements, that are robust enough to be implemented in the lab. Then, we use these to determine a lower bound on the fidelity of an untested entangled state to be used for teleportation. Finally, we apply our results to propose an experimentally feasible protocol for one-sided device-independent authenticated teleportation. This can be interpreted as a first practical authentication of a quantum channel, with additional one-sided device-independence., Comment: published version

Laser-driven cold atoms near a plane retroreflecting mirror exhibit self-organization above a pump threshold. We analyze the properties of self-organized spin patterns in the ground state of cold rubidium atoms. Antiferromagnetic patterns in zero magnetic field give way to ferrimagnetic patterns if a small longitudinal field is applied. We demonstrate how the experimental system can be modeled as spin-1 atoms diffractively coupled by the light reflected by the mirror. The roles of both dipolar and quadrupolar magnetization components in determining the threshold and symmetry variations with a weak longitudinal magnetic field are examined. Although the magnetic structures correspond dominantly to a lattice of magnetic dipoles, the symmetry breaking to ferrimagnetic structures in a finite field is mediated by the coupling to a homogenous quadrupole (alignment), which is not possible in a spin-1/2 system. Our study provides a basis for further exploration of instabilities in driven multilevel systems with feedback.

The archetypal quantum interferometry experiment yields an interference pattern that results from the indistinguishability of two spatiotemporal paths available to a photon or to a pair of entangled photons. A fundamental challenge in quantum interferometry is to perform such experiments with a higher number of paths and over large distances. We demonstrate that using indistinguishable frequency paths instead of spatiotemporal ones allows for robust, high-dimensional quantum interferometry in optical fibers. In our system, twin photons from an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen pair are offered up to nine frequency paths after propagation in long-haul optical fibers and we show that the multipath quantum interference patterns can be faithfully restored after the photons travel a total distance of up to $60\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{km}$.

We report on a scheme to cool and compress trapped clouds of highly magnetic 52Cr atoms. This scheme combines sequences of gray molasses, which freeze the velocity distribution, and free evolutions in the (close to) harmonic trap, which periodically exchange the spatial and velocity degrees of freedom. Taken together, the successive gray molasses pulses cool all external degrees of freedom, which leads to an increase of the phase-space density (PSD) by a factor of about 250, allowing to reach a high final PSD of about 1.7*10^-3. These experiments are performed within an optical dipole trap, in which gray molasses work equally well as in free space. The obtained samples are then an ideal starting point for the evaporation stage aiming at the quantum regime., Comment: 11 figures

The no-cloning property of quantum mechanics allows unforgeability of quantum banknotes and credit cards. Quantum credit card protocols involve a bank, a client and a payment terminal, and their practical implementation typically relies on encoding information on weak coherent states of light. Here, we provide a security proof in this practical setting for semi-device-independent quantum money with classical verification, involving an honest bank, a dishonest client and a potentially untrusted terminal. Our analysis uses semidefinite programming in the coherent state framework and aims at simultaneously optimizing over the noise and losses introduced by a dishonest party. We discuss secure regimes of operation in both fixed and randomized phase settings, taking into account experimental imperfections. Finally, we study the evolution of protocol security in the presence of a decohering optical quantum memory and identify secure credit card lifetimes for a specific configuration., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures

We present a general framework encompassing a number of continuous-variable quantum key distribution protocols, including standard one-way protocols, measurement-device-independent protocols as well as some two-way protocols, or any other continuous-variable protocol involving only a Gaussian modulation of coherent states and heterodyne detection. The main interest of this framework is that the corresponding protocols are all covariant with respect to the action of the unitary group $U(n)$, implying that their security can be established thanks to a Gaussian de Finetti reduction. In particular, we give a composable security proof of two-way continuous-variable quantum key distribution against general attacks. We also prove that no active symmetrization procedure is required for these protocols, which would otherwise make them prohibitively costly to implement., Comment: 14 pages

We present a scheme for a universal device which can be programmed by quantum states to approximate a chosen projective measurement to a given precision. Our scheme can be viewed as an extension of the swap test to the instance where one state is supplied many times. As such, it has many potential applications given the variety of quantum information tasks which make use of the swap test. In particular, we show that our scheme is optimal for state discrimination under the one-sided error requirement, and optimally approximates any projective measurement. Furthermore, we propose a practical implementation of our scheme with passive linear optics, which involves a simple interferometer composed only of balanced beam splitters., 12 pages, 7 figures

International audience; We explore the ground-state properties of a few bosons with dipole-dipole interactions in a one-dimensional optical lattice. For comparatively strong interactions, a transition from a Mott-insulator state to a crystal state occurs. Herein, we provide a detailed characterization and a detection protocol for the resulting crystal state. Using the eigenvalues of the reduced one-body density matrix, we define an order parameter that characterizes all the emergent states occurring in the finite-sized ensemble and agrees with the signatures obtained from the analysis of the one-and two-body densities. We further demonstrate that these few-body emergent states can be detected experimentally using the variance of single-shot measurements.

International audience; In the last decade Grice [Phys. Rev. A 84, 042331 (2011)] and Ewert and van Loock [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140403 (2014)] found linear optical networks achieving near-unit efficiency unambiguous Bell state discrimination, when fed with increasingly complex ancillary states. However, except for the vacuum ancilla case [Appl. Phys. B 72, 67 (2001)], the optimality of these schemes is unknown. Here, the optimality of these networks is investigated through analytical and numerical means. We show an analytical upper bound to the success probability for interferometers that preserve the polarization of the input photons, saturated by both Grice's and Ewert–van Loock's strategies. Furthermore, such an upper bound links the complexity of their ancilla states with the scaling of their performance. We also show a computer-aided approach to the optimization of such measurement schemes for generic interferometers, by simulating an optical network supplied with various kinds of ancillary input states. We numerically confirm the optimality of known small schemes. We use both methods to investigate other ancilla states, some of them never studied before.

In the context of ultrafast quantum communication and random number generation, detection-timing jitter represents a strong limitation because it can introduce major time-tagging errors and affect the quality of time-correlated photon counting or quantum state engineering. Despite their importance in emerging photonic quantum technologies, no detector model including such effects has been developed so far. We propose here an operational theoretical model based on positive operator-valued measurements density formalism that is able to explicitly quantify the effect of timing jitter for a typical class of single-photon detector. We apply our model to some common experimental situations.

A discrete-time Quantum Walk (QW) is essentially an operator driving the evolution of a single particle on the lattice, through local unitaries. Some QWs admit a continuum limit, leading to well-known physics partial differential equations, such as the Dirac equation. We show that these simulation results need not rely on the grid: the Dirac equation in $(2+1)$--dimensions can also be simulated, through local unitaries, on the honeycomb or the triangular lattice. The former is of interest in the study of graphene-like materials. The latter, we argue, opens the door for a generalization of the Dirac equation to arbitrary discrete surfaces., 2 figures. Any comments is very welcome! Accepted in PRA

We theoretically study non-destructive detection of ultracold molecules, using a Fabry-Perot cavity. Specifically, we consider vacuum Rabi splitting where we demonstrate the use of collective strong coupling for detection of molecules with many participating energy levels. We also consider electromagnetically induced transparency and transient response of light for the molecules interacting with a Fabry-Perot cavity mode, as a mean for non-destructive detection. We identify the parameters that are required for the detection of molecules in the cavity electromagnetically induced transparency configuration. The theoretical analysis for these processes is parametrized with realistic values of both, the molecule and the cavity. For each process, we quantify the state occupancy of the molecules interacting with the cavity and determine to what extent the population does not change during a detection cycle., 10 pages, 5 figures

We introduce Bell inequalities based on covariance, one of the most common measures of correlation. Explicit examples are discussed, and violations in quantum theory are demonstrated. A crucial feature of these covariance Bell inequalities is their nonlinearity; this has nontrivial consequences for the derivation of their local bound, which is not reached by deterministic local correlations. For our simplest inequality, we derive analytically tight bounds for both local and quantum correlations. An interesting application of covariance Bell inequalities is that they can act as "shared randomness witnesses": specifically, the value of the Bell expression gives device-independent lower bounds on both the dimension and the entropy of the shared random variable in a local model., 15 pages, 3 figures

We present analytical compact solution for the density matrix and correlation functions of two collective-macroscopic spins evolving via Ising-like Hamiltonian in the presence of particle losses. The losses introduce non-local phase noise which destroys highly entangled states arising in the evolution. On the other hand, the states appearing at relatively short timescales, possessing EPR-like entanglement will survive. Applying our solutions to the recently proposed scheme to entangle two Bose-Einstein condensates, we estimate the optimal number of atoms for EPR correlations., 12 pages, 5 Figures

We study continuous-variable entanglement of bright quantum states in a pair of evanescently coupled nonlinear $\chi^{(2)}$ waveguides operating in the regime of degenerate down-conversion. We consider the case where only the energy of the nonlinearly generated fields is exchanged between the waveguides while the pump fields stay independently guided in each original waveguide. We show that this device, when operated in the depletion regime, entangles the two non-interacting bright pump modes due to a nonlinear cascade effect. It is also shown that two-colour quadripartite entanglement can be produced when certain system parameters are appropriately set. This device works in the traveling-wave configuration, such that the generated quantum light shows a broad spectrum. The proposed device can be easily realized with current technology and therefore stands as a good candidate for a source of bipartite or multipartite entangled states for the emerging field of optical continuous-variable quantum information processing., Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures

We propose a novel scheme to efficiently tune the scattering length of two colliding ground-state atoms by off-resonantly coupling the scattering-state to an excited Rydberg-molecular state using laser light. For the s-wave scattering of two colliding ${^{87}}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms, we demonstrate that the effective optical length and pole strength of this Rydberg optical Feshbach resonance can be tuned over several orders of magnitude, while incoherent processes and losses are minimised. Given the ubiquity of Rydberg molecular states, this technique should be generally applicable to homo-nuclear atomic pairs as well as to atomic mixtures with s-wave (or even p-wave) scattering., 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted in Phys. Rev. A

We provide an example of a communication model and a distributed task, for which there exists a realistic quantum protocol that is asymptotically more efficient than any classical protocol, both in the communication and the information resources. For this, we extend a recently proposed coherent state mapping for quantum communication protocols, study the use of coherent state fingerprints over multiple channels, and show their role in the design of an efficient quantum protocol for estimating the Euclidean distance of two real vectors within a constant factor.

International audience; We propose a scheme to measure the parity of two distant qubits, while ensuring that losses on the quantum channel between them does not destroy coherences within the parity subspaces. This capability enables deterministic preparation of highly entangled qubit states whose fidelity is not limited by the transmission loss. The key observation is that for a probe electromagnetic field in a particular quantum state, namely a superposition of two coherent states of opposite phases, the transmission loss stochastically applies a near-unitary back-action on the probe state. This leads to a parity measurement protocol where the main effect of the transmission losses is a decrease in the measurement strength. By repeating the non-destructive (weak) parity measurement, one achieves a high-fidelity entanglement in spite of a significant transmission loss.

Article 012138; International audience; We investigate the transport of energy in a linear chain of two-level quantum emitters (atoms) weakly coupled to a blackbody radiation bath. We show that simply by displacing one or more atoms from their regular-chain positions, the efficiency of the energy transport can be considerably amplified of at least one order of magnitude. In addition, in configurations providing an efficiency greater than 100%, the distance between the last two atoms of the chain can be up to 20 times larger than the one in the regular chain, thus achieving a much longer-range energy transport. By performing both a stationary and time-dependent analysis, we ascribe this effect to an elementary block of three atoms, playing the role of excitation injector from the blackbody bath to the extraction site. By considering chains with up to seven atoms, we also show that the amplification is robust and can be further enhanced up to 1400%.

In this work, we demonstrate a new way to perform classical multiparty computing amongst parties with limited computational resources. Our method harnesses quantum resources to increase the computational power of the individual parties. We show how a set of clients restricted to linear classical processing are able to jointly compute a non-linear multivariable function that lies beyond their individual capabilities. The clients are only allowed to perform classical XOR gates and single-qubit gates on quantum states. We also examine the type of security that can be achieved in this limited setting. Finally, we provide a proof-of-concept implementation using photonic qubits, that allows four clients to compute a specific example of a multiparty function, the pairwise AND., 6 pages, 4 figures

The addition or subtraction of a photon from a Gaussian state of light is a versatile and experimentally feasible procedure to create non-Gaussian states. In multimode setups, these states manifest a wide range of phenomena when the photon is added or subtracted in a mode-tunable way. In this contribution, we derive the truncated correlations, which are multimode generalisations of cumulants, between quadratures in different modes as statistical signatures of these states. These correlations are then used to obtain the full multimode Wigner function, the properties of which are subsequently studied. In particular we investigate the effect of impurity in the subtraction or addition process, and evaluate its impact on the negativity of the Wigner function. Finally, we elaborate on the generation of inherent entanglement through subtraction or addition of a photon from a pure squeezed vacuum., 27 pages (incl. appendix), 6 figures

We show how robust statistical features of a many-particle quantum state's two-point correlations after transmission through a multimode random scatterer can be used as a sensitive probe of the injected particles' mutual indistinguishability. This generalizes Hong-Ou-Mandel interference as a diagnostic tool for many-particle transmission signals across multimode random scatterers. Furthermore, we show how, from such statistical features of the many-particle interference pattern, information can be deduced on the temporal structure of the many-particle input state, by inspection of the many-particle interference with an additional probe particle of tunable distinguishability. ispartof: Physical Review A vol:94 issue:2 status: published

We apply the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for indistinguishable particles (MCTDH-X) to systems of bosons or fermions in lattices described by Hubbard type Hamiltonians with long-range or short-range interparticle interactions. The wavefunction is expanded in a variationally optimized time-dependent many-body basis generated by a set of effective creation operators that are related to the original particle creation operators by a time-dependent unitary transform. We use the time-dependent variational principle for the coefficients of this transform as well as the expansion coefficients of the wavefunction in the time-dependent many-body basis as variational parameters to derive equations of motion. The convergence of MCTDH-X is shown by comparing its results to the exact diagonalization of one-, two-, and three-dimensional lattices filled with bosons with contact interactions. We use MCTDH-X to study the buildup of correlations in the long-time splitting dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate loaded into a large two-dimensional lattice subject to a barrier that is ramped up in the center. We find that the system is split into two parts with emergent time-dependent correlations that depend on the ramping time -- for most barrier-raising-times the system becomes two-fold fragmented, but for some of the very fast ramps, the system shows revivals of coherence., 18 pages, 4 figures. Software available at http:\\ultracold.org

International audience; In analogy with quantum optics it is possible to impose nonseparability between different degrees of freedom of an optical beam. The resulting correlations between these degrees of freedom can be investigated with correlations functions traditionally employed in quantum mechanics, such as the well-known Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) correlation function. In this paper we present results achieving a maximal violation of Tsirelson's bound on CHSH correlations between spatial and polarization degrees of freedom of classical (Maxwell) fields. We describe the theoretical method, based on the realization of a nonunitary gate, and then proceed to its experimental implementation carried out with classical optical techniques. Our approach relies on the realization at the level of classical Maxwell fields of a so-called POVM (positive operator valued measure) which is traditionally discussed in the realm of quantum physics.

International audience; Three identical bosons or fermions are considered in the limit of zero-range interactions and finite effective range. By using a two channel model, we show that these systems are not integrable and that the wave function verifies specific continuity conditions at the contact of three particles. This last feature permits us to solve a contradiction brought by the contact model which can lead to an opposite result concerning the integrability issue. For fermions, the vicinity of integrability is characterized by large deviations with respect to the predictions of the Bethe ansatz.

We study the quantum many-body dynamics and the entropy production triggered by an interaction quench in a system of $N=10$ interacting identical bosons in an external one-dimensional harmonic trap. The multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree method for bosons (MCTDHB) is used for solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation at a high level of accuracy. We consider many-body entropy measures such as the Shannon information entropy, number of principal components, and occupation entropy that are computed from the time-dependent many-body basis set used in MCTDHB. These measures quantify relevant physical features such as irregular or chaotic dynamics, statistical relaxation and thermalization. We monitor the entropy measures as a function of time and assess how they depend on the interaction strength. For larger interaction strength, the many-body information entropy approaches the value predicted for the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble of random matrices and implies statistical relaxation. The basis states of MCTDHB are explicitly time-dependent and optimized by the variational principle in a way that minimizes the number of significantly contributing ones. It is therefore a non-trivial fact that statistical relaxation prevails in MCTDHB computations. Moreover, we demonstrate a fundamental connection between the production of entropy, the build-up of correlations and loss of coherence in the system. Since the coherence and correlations are experimentally accessible, their present connection to many-body entropies can be scrutinized to detect statistical relaxation. Our results are the first ones obtained for thermalization of finite quantum systems using an optimized time-dependent and genuinely many-body basis set., Comment: 28 pages, 7 figures; used software available at http://ultracold.org

We reconsider the problem of the spontaneous emission of light by an excited atomic state. We scrutinize the survival probability of this excited state for very short times, in the so-called Zeno regime, for which we show that the dynamics is dictated by a coherent --in phase -- response of the on-shell and off-shell vacuum modes. We also develop a perturbative approach in order to interpolate between different temporal regimes: the Zeno, golden rule (linear) and Wigner-Weisskopf (exponential) regimes. We compare results obtained with the $\hat{\mathbf{E}}\cdot\hat{\mathbf{x}}$ and $\hat{\mathbf{A}}\cdot\hat{\mathbf{p}}$ interaction Hamiltonian,s, using successively the dipole approximation and the exact coupling., 13 figures

In this reply we show that the criticisms raised by J. Noronha are based on a misapplication of the model we have proposed in [A. Jaouadi, M. Telmini, E. Charron, Phys. Rev. A 83, 023616 (2011)]. Here we explicitly discuss the range of validity of the approximations underlying our analytical model. We also show that the discrepancies pointed out for very small atom numbers and for very anisotropic traps are not surprising since these conditions exceed the range of validity of the model., Comment: Physical Review A, American Physical Society, 2015, pp.Not available yet

We consider the problem of constructing a "universal set" of Markovian processes, such that any Markovian open quantum system, described by a one-parameter semigroup of quantum channels, can be simulated through sequential simulations of processes from the universal set. In particular, for quantum systems of dimension $d$, we explicitly construct a universal set of semigroup generators, parametrized by $d^2-3$ continuous parameters, and prove that a necessary and sufficient condition for the dynamical simulation of a $d$ dimensional Markovian quantum system is the ability to implement a) quantum channels from the semigroups generated by elements of the universal set of generators, and b) unitary operations on the system. Furthermore, we provide an explicit algorithm for simulating the dynamics of a Markovian open quantum system using this universal set of generators, and show that it is efficient, with respect to this universal set, when the number of distinct Lindblad operators (representing physical dissipation processes) scales polynomially with respect to the number of subsystems., Revised version. Restricted recombination method to first order Suzuki-Lie-Trotter integrators, and added discussion concerning issues with the application of higher order integrators in the open quantum systems setting