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In this paper we study the effect of localizing quantum field degrees of freedom by dynamically growing cavity walls through a time-dependent potential. We use our results to show that it is possible to do this without introducing non-negligible mixedness in localized modes of the field. We discuss how this addresses the concerns, raised in previous literature, that the high degree of entanglement of regular states in QFT may hinder relativistic quantum information protocols that make use of localized relativistic probes., Comment: 18 pages (including 1 appendix), 13 figures, RevTex 4.2

We present a phase space formalism to evaluate Bell inequality violations in continuous variable systems. By doing so we can generalize previous analyses (which have dealt only with pure states) to arbitrary mixed states. We leverage these results to analyze the effect of temperature on violations of Bell inequalities in a two-mode squeezed thermal state, which can become useful in tests of local realism in the presence of thermal noise. We also explore the non-monotonic relationship between the violations of Bell inequalities and the amount of entanglement present in this family of mixed states. Additionally, we discuss the optimal choices of pseudospin operators for states beyond the two-mode squeezed vacuum., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, 6 appendices. RevTex 4.2

We analyse the interaction between two quantum systems in spacetime and we compare two possible models to describe it: 1) a fully quantum field theoretical (QFT) description of the coupling of two quantum systems mediated by a quantum field and 2) a quantum-controlled model (qc-model), which is an effectively relativistic direct-coupling in which the interaction of two quantum systems is not mediated by a field with local quantum degrees of freedom. We show that while there are regimes where the qc-model can approximate QFT arbitrarily well, it can suffer from retrocausal effects. We discuss in what regimes those retrocausal predictions of the qc-model are non-negligible and whether they can be used to argue that gravity induced entanglement experiments can reveal genuinely quantum aspects of the gravitational interaction or not., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 appendix

We analyze how non-relativistic effective models for the magnetic coupling of a spin to the electromagnetic field (proportional to $\hat{\boldsymbol{\sigma}}\cdot \boldsymbol{B}$) emerge from a full quantum field theoretical description of charged fermionic fields with the quantum electromagnetic field. This allows us to keep track of relativistic corrections to the models commonly used in experimental spin physics. We discuss how this interaction compares to the usual simplified models used in relativistic quantum information., Comment: 13 pages + appendices, 1 figure, revTeX 4.2

We demonstrate the presence of multimode entanglement in the vacuum state of a free, massless scalar quantum field in four-dimensional flat spacetime between two sets of field modes, each contained within a spacetime region that is causally disconnected from the other. This is true despite the fact that entanglement between pairs of individual field modes is sparse and appears only when the two individual modes are carefully selected. Our results reveal that, while entanglement between individual modes is limited, bipartite multimode entanglement in quantum field theory is ubiquitous. We further argue that such multimode entanglement is operationally extractable, and it forms the basis of the entanglement commonly discussed in entanglement harvesting protocols., Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures

We discuss how the comment by A. Loeb [arXiv:2408.06714] has no bearing on the results of Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 041401 (2024) [arXiv:2405.02389]., Comment: 2 pages. RevTeX 4.2

We show that particle detectors coupled to a massless quantum field through its derivative can genuinely harvest entanglement form the field even when they are in causal contact in flat spacetime. This is particularly relevant since the derivative coupling model captures some interesting experimentally realizable systems and since the harvested entanglement peaks at full light contact., Comment: 7 Pages, 2 Figures, 1 Appendix. RevTeX 4.2

We show that it is not possible to concentrate enough light to precipitate the formation of an event horizon. We argue that the dissipative quantum effects coming from the self-interaction of light (such as vacuum polarization) are enough to prevent any meaningful buildup of energy that could create a black hole in any realistic scenario., Comment: 13 pages. RevTeX 4.2. v2: Updated to match published version

We reveal that the information exchange between particle detectors and their ability to harvest correlations from a quantum field can interfere constructively and destructively. This allows for scenarios where the presence of entanglement in the quantum field is actually detrimental to the process of getting the two detectors entangled., Comment: 25 Pages, 5 Figures, 6 Appendices. RevTeX 4.2

We analyze how the presence of closed timelike curves (CTCs) characterizing a time machine can be discerned by placing a local particle detector in a region of spacetime which is causally disconnected from the CTCs. Our study shows that not only can the detector tell if there are CTCs, but also that the detector can separate topological from geometrical information and distinguish periodic spacetimes without CTCs (like the Einstein cylinder), curvature, and spacetimes with topological identifications that enable time-machines., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; v2: fixed typos and updated to match published version

Algorithmic cooling (AC) protocols have been predominantly studied for their cooling capabilities, with limited attention paid to their thermodynamic properties. This work explores a novel perspective by analyzing a broad family of AC protocols from a thermodynamic standpoint. First, we give an in-depth review and formal classification of standard AC protocols. Leveraging the transfer matrix formalism, we achieve a consistent calculation of performance metrics, encompassing both cooling limits and target state evolution. We obtained a unification of these diverse cooling limits into a single, coherent mathematical expression, streamlining comparative analyses. Then, to assess the efficiency of coherent cooling protocols, we introduce two generic metrics: the coefficient of performance $K$ and the Landauer Ratio $R_L$, and establish a direct interrelation. Applying these metrics, we thoroughly evaluate selected AC protocols, highlighting their relative strengths. Finally, we propose improved versions of AC protocols that exhibit enhanced thermodynamic performance, achieving desired target temperatures with lower work inputs. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of AC protocols and provides valuable insights for designing efficient cooling strategies in various applications.

We present a formal definition of superoscillating function. We discuss the limitations of previously proposed definitions and illustrate that they do not cover the full gamut of superoscillatory behaviours. We demonstrate the suitability of the new proposal with several examples of well-known superoscillating functions that were not encompassed by previous definitions., Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2: Updated to match published version

We show that detector switching profiles consisting of trains of delta couplings are a useful computational tool to efficiently approximate results involving continuous switching functions, both in setups involving a single detector and multiple ones. The rapid convergence to the continuous results at all orders in perturbation theory for sufficiently regular switchings means that this tool can be used to obtain non-perturbative results for general particle detector phenomena with continuous switching functions., Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2: Updated to match published version

We study the protocol of entanglement harvesting when the particle detectors that harvest entanglement from the field are replaced by fully relativistic quantum field theories. We show that two localized modes of the quantum field theories are able to harvest the same amount of leading order entanglement as two non-relativistic particle detectors, thus implying that QFT probes can generally harvest more entanglement than particle detectors. These results legitimize the use of particle detectors to study entanglement harvesting regardless of their internally non-relativistic nature., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2: Updated to match published version

We show that it is possible to still use semiclassical gravity together with quantum field theory beyond the regimes where the field state is coherent. In particular, we identify families of cat states (superposition of almost-distinguishable coherent states that have very non-classical features) for which the gravitational backreaction can be modeled by semiclassical gravity., Comment: 9 pages, 1 Appendix. RevTeX 4.2

We present a general construction of a geometric notion of circuit complexity for Gaussian states (both bosonic and fermionic) in terms of Riemannian geometry. We lay out general conditions that a Riemannian metric function on the space of Gaussian states should satisfy in order for it to yield a physically reasonable measure of complexity. This general formalism can naturally accommodate modifications to complexity geometries that arise from cost functions that depend nontrivially on the instantaneous state and on the direction on circuit space at each point. We explore these modifications and, as a particular case, we show how to account for time-reversal symmetry breaking in measures of complexity, which is often natural from an experimental (and thermodynamical) perspective, but is absent in commonly studied complexity measures. This establishes a first step towards building a quantitative, geometric notion of complexity that faithfully mimics what is experienced as "easy" or "hard" to implement in a lab from a physically motivated point of view., Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure. V2 updated to match published version

We present a fully relativistic model for localized probes in quantum field theory. Furthermore, we show that it is possible to obtain particle detector models from localized quantum field theories that interact with a free quantum field. In particular, a particle detector model is obtained when one traces out over inaccessible degrees of freedom of the localized field. This gives rise to a particle detector model, that is, a quantum degree of freedom that couples to a free field theory in an extended region of spacetime. Moreover, we show that the predictions of traditional particle detector models and fully relativistic localized fields completely coincide to leading order in perturbation theory., Comment: 10 pages, 2 appendices. V2: Updated to match published version

In this paper we analyze the problem of "apparent" superluminal signalling and retrocausation that can appear for particle detector models when considering non-compactly supported field-detector interactions in quantum field theory in curved spacetimes and in relativistic quantum information protocols. For this purpose, we define a signalling estimator based on an adapted version of the quantum Fisher information to perturbative regimes. This allows us to study how the internal dynamics of the detectors (for example the gap between the detector energy levels) have an impact on the ability of a particle detectors to communicate with one another. Moreover, we show that, very generally, even for detectors with infinite tails in space and time, if the tails decay exponentially, one can define an effective lightcone, outside of which signalling is negligible. This provides concrete evidence supporting the use of non-compact (but exponentially decaying) detector smearings in protocols of relativistic quantum information., Comment: 25 pages, 3 Appendices, 3 Figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2: corrected small typo in original submission

An important feature of Schwarzschild spacetime is the presence of orbiting null geodesics and caustics. Their presence implies strong gravitational lensing effects for matter and radiation, i.e., for excitations of quantum fields. Here, we raise the question whether the lensing manifests itself also in the vacuum of quantum fields, namely by lensing the distribution of vacuum entanglement. To explore this possibility, we use the method of entanglement harvesting, where initially unentangled localized quantum systems are temporarily coupled to the field at different locations. We find that for the Boulware, Hartle-Hawking and Unruh vacua in 3+1 dimensional Schwarzschild spacetime, the harvesting of vacuum entanglement is indeed greatly amplified near caustics. In particular, we establish that pre-existing vacuum entanglement can be harvested also for lightlike separations., Comment: 22 pages (incl. 9 pages appendix), 10 figures (3 animated figures in ancillary files), RevTeX 4.1. v3: minor typos, update to published version

We present a framework to study the entanglement structure of a quantum field theory inspired by the formalism of particle detectors in relativistic quantum information. This framework can in principle be used to faithfully capture entanglement in a QFT between arbitrary-shaped regions of spacetime without encountering UV divergences, bypassing many of the issues typically present in other approaches. Our results also establish the limits of the efficiency of entanglement harvesting, and may also be used to motivate an operational definition of entanglement between spacetime subregions in field theory., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. RevTeX 4.2. V2 updated to match published version

We analyze the differences between relativistic fields with or without quantum degrees of freedom in relativistic quantum information protocols. We classify the regimes where the existence of quantum degrees of freedom is necessary to explain the phenomenology of interacting quantum systems. We also identify the precise regimes where quantum fields can be well approximated by quantum-controlled classical fields in relativistic quantum information protocols. Our results can be useful to discern which features are fundamentally different in classical and quantum field theory., Comment: 16 pages + appendix, 9 figures. V3: Updated examples

We study how quantum systems can harvest entanglement from the quantum degrees of freedom of the gravitational field. Concretely, we describe in detail the interaction of non-relativistic quantum systems with linearized quantum gravity, and explore how two spacelike separated probes can harvest entanglement from the gravitational field in this context. We provide estimates for the harvested entanglement for realistic probes which can be experimentally relevant in the future, since entanglement harvesting experiments can provide evidence for the existence of quantum degrees of freedom of gravity., Comment: 18 pages + appendices, 16 figures, revTex 4.2. V2: updated to match published version

We analyzed how entanglement harvesting is affected by the performance of a measurement on the quantum field. The measurement on the field is modelled as the coupling of a particle detector to the field, followed by a projective measurement performed on the detector. In our analysis, we considered different arrangements for two detectors harvesting entanglement and an ancillary detector used to perform a measurement. We found different regimes for how performing measurements on the field affects the entanglement harvested, depending on the initial and final states of the detector used to measure the field, as well as its coupling strength. We identified the regimes where it is possible to measure the field during the preparation of entanglement harvesting protocols without significantly interfering in the entanglement harvested. We also identify in what regimes the field measurement can degrade or slightly enhance the ability of particle detectors to harvest entanglement., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2: Updated to match published version

We analyze entanglement harvesting for arbitrary initial states of particle detectors and arbitrary quasifree states of the field. Despite the fact that spatially smeared particle detectors are known to break covariance for arbitrary initial states, we show that the entanglement harvested by a pair of detectors from a quasifree state of a scalar field is a covariant quantity up to second order in perturbation theory., Comment: 7 Pages. RevTeX 4.2

We revisit the Bose-Marletto-Vedral (BMV) table-top experimental proposal - which aims to witness quantum gravity using gravity mediated entanglement - analyzing the role of locality in the experiment. We first carry out a fully quantum modelling of the interaction of matter and gravity and then show in what way gravity mediated entanglement in the BMV experiment could be accounted for without appealing to quantum degrees of freedom of the gravitational field. We discuss what assumptions are needed in order to interpret the current BMV experiment proposals as a proof of quantum gravity, and also identify the modifications that a BMV-like experiment could have in order to serve as proof of quantum gravity without having to assume the existence of a local mediators in the gravitational field., Comment: 5 pages + appendices, 1 figure. V5: updated to match published version

Informal collection of lecture notes introducing quantum mechanics in phase space and basic Gaussian quantum mechanics., Comment: 56 pages. Informal lecture notes reviewing various topics on Phase Space Quantum Mechanics developed for the course "Quantum mechanics in Phase space" at the University of Waterloo. v6 (ver 1.3c): Minor typos corrected and added some clarification notes

In this work we analyse the potential for a warp drive spacetime to develop instabilities due to the presence of quantum matter. Particularly, we look for points of infinite blueshift (which are analogous to points of a black hole inner horizon, known for its semiclassical instability), and categorise them through the behaviour of geodesics in their vicinity. We find that warp-drive bubbles in dimension 2+1 or higher are in fact likely to be stable, as they generally contain only isolated points where divergences are approached, leading to a finite limit for the overall accumulation of destabilising energy. Furthermore, any semiclassical instabilities in the warp drive due to energy-density buildups can be further diminished with particular, more ``aerodynamic" shapes and trajectories for the drive., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

We investigate the protocol of entanglement harvesting, where two spacelike separated particle detectors extract quantum correlations from a quantum field. Specifically, we analyze the role of the mass of the field and the energy gap of the detectors in the protocol. Perhaps surprisingly, we find that there are regimes in which the entanglement harvested can increase with the mass of the field by decreasing the noise experienced by the detectors. Finally, we study the optimal relationship between the gap of the detectors and the other parameters of the setting that maximizes the entanglement harvested, showing that a small mass can improve the protocol even in this case., Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures. RevTex 4.1

Strong local passivity is a property of multipartite quantum systems from which it is impossible to extract energy locally. Surprisingly, if the strong local passive state displays entanglement, it could be possible to locally activate energy density by adding classical communication between different partitions of the system, through so-called "quantum energy teleportation" protocols. Here, we report both the first experimental observation of local activation of energy density on an entangled state and the first realization of a quantum energy teleportation protocol using nuclear magnetic resonance on a bipartite quantum system., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures

We explore entanglement harvesting with particle detectors that couple linearly to non-Hermitian fields. Specifically, we analyze the case of particle detectors coupled to a complex scalar quantum field and to a spin 1/2 fermionic field. We find that the complex scalar model can be a good approximation for the fermionic model in the protocol of entanglement harvesting when the mass of the field is sufficiently large compared to the inverse interaction time. Moreover, we show that by taking advantage of the U(1) degree of freedom of a complex detector it is possible to increase the harvested negativity by up to two orders of magnitude when compared to the case of a real detector., Comment: 24 pages, 18 Figures, 3 Appendices. RevTeX 4.1. V4: Updated to match published version

We provide a setup by which one can recover the geometry of spacetime from local measurements of quantum particle detectors coupled to a quantum field. Concretely, we show how one can recover the field's correlation function from measurements on the detectors. Then, we are able to recover the invariant spacetime interval from the measurement outcomes, and hence reconstruct a notion of spacetime metric. This suggest that quantum particle detectors are the experimentally accessible devices that could replace the classical 'rulers' and 'clocks' of general relativity., Comment: 19 pages, 10 Figures, 2 Appendices. RevTeX 4.2. V3: added a picture illustrating the setup

We study the non-perturbative harvesting of classical and quantum correlations between two parties coupled to a quantum field. First, we consider a scenario with an arbitrary number of two-level systems that couple to a quantum field locally in time. Then, we study the impact of the presence of additional detectors (interlopers) on the ability for two target detectors (Alice and Bob) to acquire correlations through their interaction with the field. We analyze the harvesting of different correlation measures in this non-perturbative regime and we demonstrate that even a single interloper can completely sabotage all correlation harvesting between Alice and Bob by acting on the causal past of one of them. Specifically, we show that the interloper is able to interact with the field so that the field itself `floods' one of the parties with entropy. This prevents Alice and Bob from acquiring any correlations. Furthermore, we show that this kind of attack cannot be defended against., Comment: 30 pages, 6 Figures + 3 Figures in Appendices. RevTeX 4.2

We revisit the entanglement harvesting protocol when two detectors are in causal contact. We study the role of field-mediated communication in generating entanglement between the two detectors interacting with a quantum field. We provide a quantitative estimator of the relative contribution of communication versus genuine entanglement harvesting. For massless scalar fields in flat spacetime, we show that when two detectors can communicate via the field, the detectors do not really harvest entanglement from the field, and instead they get entangled only via the field-mediated communication channel. In other words, in these scenarios the entanglement harvesting protocol is truly "harvesting entanglement" from the field only when the detectors are not able to communicate. In contrast, for massive scalar fields both communication and genuine harvesting contribute equally to the bipartite entanglement when the detectors are causally connected. These results emphasize the importance of taking into account the causal relationships between two parties involved in this relativistic quantum information protocol before we can declare that it is truly entanglement harvesting., Comment: 13+6 pages, 8 figures; REVTeX4-2; v2: updated to match published version; v3: fixed typos

We study the relationship between the quantization of a massless scalar field on the two-dimensional Einstein cylinder and in a spacetime with a time machine. We find that the latter picks out a unique prescription for the state of the zero mode in the Einstein cylinder. We show how this choice arises from the computation of the vacuum Wightman function and the vacuum renormalized stress-energy tensor in the time-machine geometry. Finally, we relate the previously proposed regularization of the zero mode state as a squeezed state with the time-machine warp parameter, thus demonstrating that the quantization in the latter regularizes the quantization in an Einstein cylinder., Comment: 17 pages, 2 Appendices, RevTex4-2; v2: accepted to JHEP, updated to match the upcoming published version. Added one figure for the conformal diagram

We present a comparison of the AQFT-based Fewster-Verch framework with the Unruh-DeWitt particle detector models commonly employed in relativistic quantum information and QFT in curved space. We use this comparison to respond to a recent paper [arXiv:2103.13400] in which it was argued that the Reeh-Schlieder theorem prevents weakly coupled local particle detectors from harvesting vacuum entanglement from a quantum field. Their claim can be traced back to the mixedness that a local particle detector cannot escape from because of the entanglement that it must have with the quantum fields outside of the localization area. We argue that for any realistic scale of localization for physical particle detectors the effect of that mixedness is negligible, and that weakly coupled localized particle detectors are not impeded from harvesting vacuum entanglement., Comment: 28 pages, 7 Figures. RevTeX 4.2. v2 updated to match published version (including updated title)

We propose a measurement theory for quantum fields based on measurements made with localized non-relativistic systems that couple covariantly to quantum fields (like the Unruh-DeWitt detector). Concretely, we analyze the positive operator-valued measure (POVM) induced on the field when an idealized measurement is carried out on the detector after it coupled to the field. Using an information-theoretic approach, we provide a relativistic analogue to the quantum mechanical L\"uders update rule to update the field state following the measurement on the detector. We argue that this proposal has all the desirable characteristics of a proper measurement theory. In particular it does not suffer from the "impossible measurements" problem pointed out by Rafael Sorkin in the 90s which shows that idealized measurements cannot be used in quantum field theory., Comment: 26 pages, 1 Figure. RevTeX 4.2. V3: Updated to match published version

We analyze families of particle detector models that linearly couple to different kinds of fermionic and bosonic fields. We also study the response of these detectors to particle and anti-particle excitations of the field. We propose a simple linear complex scalar particle detector model that captures the fundamental features of fermionic field detectors similarly to how the Unruh-DeWitt model captures the features of the light matter interaction. We also discuss why we do not need to limit ourselves to quadratic models commonly employed in past literature. Namely, we provide a physically motivated mechanism that restores U(1) symmetry in these linear complex models., Comment: 30 pages, 5 Appendices, 3 figures. RevTeX 4.1

Intuition dictates that a very long, very thin cavity (e.g., a fiber optic cable) could perhaps be modeled as an approximately one dimensional system. In this paper we rigorously explore the validity of such intuition from the perspective of a localized probe coupling to a quantum field inside a cavity (e.g., an atom or an Unruh-DeWitt particle detector in a fiber optic cable). To do so, we introduce the notion of subfield decomposition in which a $D+1$ dimensional quantum field in an axially-symmetric cavity can be reduced to an infinite collection of uncoupled, massive $1+1$ dimensional fields. We show that the ability to approximate a higher-dimensional scenario by a $1+1$ dimensional model is equivalent to making a certain change of the probe's shape in the higher-dimensional space. The approximation is justified whenever this change of shape is "small enough". In this light, we identify the dynamically relevant norm by which the magnitude of these changes in probe shape ought to be judged. Finally, we explore this approximation in particular setups corresponding to quantum optics and superconducting circuits., Comment: 14 Pages, 4 Figures. RevTeX 4.1

We highlight fundamental differences in the models of light-matter interaction between the behaviour of Fock state detection in free space versus optical cavities. To do so, we study the phenomenon of resonance of detectors with Fock wavepackets as a function of their degree of monochromaticity, the number of spatial dimensions, the linear or quadratic nature of the light-matter coupling, and the presence (or absence) of cavity walls in space. In doing so we show that intuition coming from quantum optics in cavities does not straightforwardly carry to the free space case. For example, in $(3+1)$ dimensions the detector response to a Fock wavepacket will go to zero as the wavepacket is made more and more monochromatic and in coincidence with the detector's resonant frequency. This is so even though the energy of the free-space wavepacket goes to the expected finite value of $\hbar\Omega$ in the monochromatic limit. This is in contrast to the behaviour of the light-matter interaction in a cavity (even a large one) where the probability of absorbing a Fock quantum is maximized when the quantum is more monochromatic at the detector's resonance frequency. We trace this crucial difference to the fact that monochromatic Fock states are not normalizable in the continuum, thus physical Fock states need to be constructed out of normalizable wavepackets whose energy density goes to zero in the monochromatic limit as they get spatially delocalized., Comment: 27 pages, 8 figures, 4 appendices; RevTeX 4.2; V2: fixed to match published version

We analyze potential violations of causality in Unruh DeWitt-type detector models in relativistic quantum information. We proceed by first studying the relation between faster-than-light signaling and the causal factorization of the dynamics for multiple detector-field interactions. We show in what way spatially extended non-relativistic detector models predict superluminal propagation of the field's initial conditions. We draw parallels between this characteristic of detector models, stemming from their non-relativistic dynamics, and Sorkin's "impossible measurements on quantum fields" arXiv:gr-qc/9302018. Based on these features, we discuss the validity of measurements in QFT when performed with non-relativistic particle detectors., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 1 appendix. RevTeX 4.1. v2: some minor typos corrected

We show under what conditions an accelerated detector (e.g., an atom/ion/molecule) thermalizes while interacting with the vacuum state of a quantum field in a setup where the detector's acceleration alternates sign across multiple optical cavities. We show (non-perturbatively) in what regimes the probe `forgets' that it is traversing cavities and thermalizes to a temperature proportional to its acceleration. Then we analyze in detail how this thermalization relates to the renowned Unruh effect. Finally, we use these results to propose an experimental testbed for the direct detection of the Unruh effect at relatively low probe speeds and accelerations, potentially orders of magnitude below previous proposals., Comment: 5 pages (+ 8 pages of accessory appendices) 4 figures. RevTeX 4.1

We revisit the interaction of a first-quantized atomic system (consisting of two charged quantum particles) with the quantum electromagnetic field, pointing out the subtleties related to the gauge nature of electromagnetism and the effect of multipole approximations. We connect the full minimal-coupling model with the typical effective models used in quantum optics and relativistic quantum information such as the Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) model and the dipole coupling approximation. We point out in what regimes different degrees of approximation are reasonable and in what cases effective models need to be refined to capture the features of the light-matter interaction. This is particularly important when considering the center of mass (COM) of the atom as a quantum system that can be delocalized over multiple trajectories. For example, we show that the simplest UDW approximation with a quantum COM fails to capture crucial R\"ontgen terms coupling COM and internal atomic degrees of freedom with each other and the field. Finally we show how effective dipole interaction models can be covariantly prescribed for relativistically moving atoms., Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, 3 appendices. RevTeX 4.1

We study the notion of work fluctuations in quantum field theory, highlighting that the most common definitions used in finite-dimensional quantum systems cannot be applied to quantum field theory (QFT). Then we propose work distributions that are compatible with QFT and we show that they satisfy the first law of thermodynamics up to second moments. We also show how these distributions satisfy Crooks theorem and provide a fully non-perturbative thermodynamic analysis of spacetime localized unitary processes on a quantum field., Comment: 11 pages, 5 appendices. RevTeX 4.1. (v2: edited to match published version)

We show that the predictions of spatially smeared particle detectors coupled to quantum fields are not generally covariant outside the pointlike limit. This lack of covariance manifests itself as an ambiguity in the time-ordering operation. We analyze how the breakdown of covariance affects typical detector models in quantum field theory such as the Unruh-DeWitt model. Specifically, we show how the violations of covariance depend on the state of the detectors-field system, the shape and state of motion of the detectors, and the spacetime geometry. Furthermore, we provide the tools to explicitly evaluate the magnitude of the violation, and identify the regimes where the predictions of smeared detectors are either exactly or approximately covariant in perturbative analyses., Comment: 12 pages. RevTeX 4.1. V2. Corrected minor typos

We investigate vacuum entanglement harvesting in the presence of a zero mode. We show that, for a variety of detector models and couplings (namely, Unruh-DeWitt qubit and harmonic oscillator detectors, amplitude and derivative coupling), the results are strongly dependent on the state of the zero mode, revealing an ambiguity in studies of entanglement harvesting with Neumann or periodic boundary conditions, or in general in spacetimes with toroidal topologies., Comment: 10 pages, 2 Figures. V4: fixed typo on the general expression for Eq.(16), results unaffected

We study the quantum channel between two localized first-quantized systems that communicate in 3+1 dimensional Schwarzschild spacetime via a quantum field. We analyze the information carrying capacity of direct and black hole-orbiting null geodesics as well as of the timelike contributions that arise because the strong Huygens principle does not hold on the Schwarzschild background. We find, in particular, that the non-direct-null and timelike contributions, which do not possess an analog on Minkowski spacetime, can dominate over the direct null contributions. We cover the cases of both geodesic and accelerated emitters. Technically, we apply tools previously designed for the study of wave propagation in curved spacetimes to a relativistic quantum information communication setup, first for generic spacetimes, and then for the case of Schwarzschild spacetime in particular., Comment: 38 pages (incl. 13 pages appendix), 14 figures, RevTeX 4.1. v3: update to published version

Given that any communication is communication through quantum fields, we here study the scenario where a sender, Alice, causes information-carrying disturbances in a quantum field. We track the exact spread of these disturbances in space and time by using the technique of quantum information capsules (QIC). We find that the channel capacity between Alice and a receiver, Bob, is enhanced by Bob placing detectors not only inside but in addition also outside the causal future of Alice's encoding operation. Intuitively, this type of superadditivity arises because the field outside the causal future of Alice is entangled with the field inside Alice's causal future. Hence, the quantum noise picked up by Bob's detectors outside Alice's causal future is correlated with the noise of Bob's detectors inside Alice's causal future. In effect, this correlation allows Bob to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of those of his detectors which are in the causal future of Alice. Further, we develop the multimode generalization of the QIC technique. This allows us to extend the analysis to the case where Alice operates multiple localized and optionally entangled emitters. We apply the new techniques to the case where Alice enhances the channel capacity by operating multiple emitters that are suitably lined up and pre-timed to generate a quantum shockwave in the field., Comment: 22 pages, 49 figures. Typos have been fixed

We perform a non-perturbative analysis of the dynamics of a two-level quantum system subjected to repeated interactions with a bosonic environment when these interactions are intense and localized in time. We use the Weyl relations to obtain a closed expression for the resulting state of the spin despite the non-perturbative nature of the problem. Furthermore, we study divisibility and memory effects in the dynamics and draw conclusions about the role that the quantum-mechanical features of the environment play on the dynamics of the two-level system., Comment: 20 pages ~2 pages of Appendices. RevTeX 4.1

We prove a nonperturbative duality concerning the dynamics of harmonic-oscillator-type Unruh-DeWitt detectors in curved spacetimes. Concretely, using the Takagi transformation we show that the action of a harmonic oscillator Unruh-DeWitt detector with one frequency in a spacetime is equal to that of a detector with a different frequency in a conformally related spacetime. As an example, we show that the dynamics of simple stationary detectors in flat spacetime is dual to that of detectors in a cosmological scenario. The nonperturbative duality enables us to investigate entanglement harvesting in new scenarios in curved spacetime by using results obtained in simpler, conformally related spacetimes., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures