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arXiv:0708.0644 · Physical Review B

Spin density matrix of a two-electron system. I. General theory and exact master equations

Sharif D. Kunikeev, Daniel A. Lidar

Published Jan 17, 2008• 1 citation
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Abstract

We consider a scenario where interacting electrons confined in quantum dots (QDs) are either too close to be resolved, or we do not wish to apply measurements that resolve them. Then, the physical observable is an electron spin only and the system state is fully described by the spin density matrix. Accounting for the spatial degrees of freedom, we examine to what extent a Hamiltonian description of the spin-only degrees of freedom is valid. We show that as long as there is no coupling between singlet and triplet states, this is indeed the case, but when there is such a coupling, there are open systems effects, i.e., the dynamics is nonunitary even without interaction with a true bath. Our primary focus is an investigation of nonunitary effects, based on exact master equations we derive for the spin density matrix in the Lindblad and time-convolutionless forms, and the implications for quantum computation. In particular, we demonstrate that the Heisenberg interaction does not affect the unitary part (apart from a Lamb shift) but does affect the nonunitary contributions to the time evolution of the spin density matrix. In a sequel paper, we present a detailed analysis of an example system of two quantum dots, including spin-orbit effects.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.77.045319

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We consider a scenario where interacting electrons confined in quantum dots (QDs) are either too close to be resolved, or we do not wish to apply measurements that resolve them. Then, the physical observable is an electron spin only and the system state is fully described by the spin density matrix. Accounting for the spatial degrees of freedom, we examine to what extent a Hamiltonian description of the spin-only degrees of freedom is valid. We show that as long as there is no coupling between singlet and triplet states, this is indeed the case, but when there is such a coupling, there are open systems effects, i.e., the dynamics is nonunitary even without interaction with a true bath. Our primary focus is an investigation of nonunitary effects, based on exact master equations we derive for the spin density matrix in the Lindblad and time-convolutionless forms, and the implications for quantum computation. In particular, we demonstrate that the Heisenberg interaction does not affect the unitary part (apart from a Lamb shift) but does affect the nonunitary contributions to the time evolution of the spin density matrix. In a sequel paper, we present a detailed analysis of an example system of two quantum dots, including spin-orbit effects.
This work is a sequel to our preceding work [Phys. Rev. B 77, 045319 (2008)]. Here we compare pure-spin and pseudospin dynamics using as an example a system of two quantum dots, a pair of localized conduction-band electrons in an nnn-doped GaAs semiconductor. Pure-spin dynamics is obtained by tracing out the orbital degrees of freedom, whereas pseudospin dynamics retains (as is conventional) an implicit coordinate dependence. We show that magnetic field inhomogeneity and spin-orbit interaction result in a nonunitary evolution in pure-spin dynamics, whereas these interactions contribute to the effective pseudospin Hamiltonian via terms that are asymmetric in spin permutations, in particular, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) spin-orbit interaction. We numerically investigate the nonunitary effects in the dynamics of the triplet-state population, purity, and Lamb energy shift as a function of interdot distance and magnetic field difference $\ensuremath{\Delta}\stackrel{P\vec}{B}$. The spin-orbit interaction is found to produce effects of roughly 4 orders of magnitude smaller than those due to $\ensuremath{\Delta}\stackrel{P\vec}{B}$ in the pure-spin model. We estimate the spin-orbit interaction magnitude in the DM-interaction term. Our estimate gives a smaller value than that recently obtained by Kavokin [Phys. Rev. B 64, 075305 (2001)], who did not include double-occupancy effects. We show that a necessary and sufficient condition for obtaining a universal set of quantum logic gates, involving only two spins, in both pure-spin and pseudospin models is that the magnetic field inhomogeneity $\ensuremath{\Delta}\stackrel{P\vec}{B}$ and the Heisenberg interaction are both nonvanishing. We also briefly analyze pure-spin dynamics in the electron on liquid helium system recently proposed by Lyon [Phys. Rev. A 74, 052338 (2006)].
The time-dependent Schrodinger equation of a many particle spin system consisting of an electron in a quantum dot interacting with the spins of the nuclei (N) in the dot due to hyperfine interaction is solved exactly for a given arbitrary initial state. The electron spin dynamics is then expressed in terms of the reduced density matrix of the composite system by computing the marginal density matrix of the electron. This is accomplished by classifying states of the system by the total spin of the coupled electron and nuclear system that commutes with the system Hamiltonian. These states are used in enumerating and finding the exact solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. In each sector of the total spin, the problem reduces to solving a linear simultaneous set of equations that are solved by matrix inversion. Such solutions enable one to make a reliable approximate scheme for purposes of numerical estimation of the various physical quantities. A methematical and physical discussion of this procedure with the density matrix approach to this problem is given here. To elucidate the procedure and its advantages, special cases of N=3,4 are given in some detail in an Appendix.
The theoretical description of materials' properties driven out of equilibrium has important consequences in various fields such as semiconductor spintronics, nonlinear optics, and continuous and discrete quantum information science and technology. The coupling of a quantum many-body system to an external bath can dramatically modify its dynamics compared to that of closed systems; new phenomena like relaxation and decoherence appear as a consequence of the non-unitary evolution of the quantum system. In addition, electron-electron correlations must be properly accounted for in order to go beyond a simple one-electron or mean-field description of the electronic system. Here, we discuss a first-principles methodology based on the evolution of the electronic density matrix capable of treating electron-environment interactions and electron-electron correlations at the same level of description. The effect of the environment is separated into a coherent contribution, like the coupling to applied external electromagnetic fields, and an incoherent contribution, like the interaction with lattice vibrations or the thermal background of radiation. Electron-electron interactions are included using the nonequilibrium Green's function plus the generalized Kadanoff-Baym ansatz. The obtained non-Markovian coupled set of equations reduces to the ordinary Lindblad quantum master equation form in the Markovian limit.
Solid state based quantum information processing is focused on physical implementation of all necessary elements of quantum computation and quantum information in solid state systems, mainly due to their scalability compared to e.g. optical systems. Among many proposals to realize these types of devices, such as quantum dots as charge qubits or Josephson junction circuits, we study here one of the most promising candidates, i.e., the spin of an electron confined to a quantum dot as a qubit. Experimentally, it has been shown that the relaxation rate of this two level system can be pushed above few seconds in low magnetic fields. Moreover, using spin echo techniques, \nthe spin dephasing time can be maximized up to milliseconds with the current technology. This long spin decay time is one of the main reasons that make this system desirable for quantum computation and quantum information purposes. \nWe reexamined the recent measurement based proposal called one-way quantum computation which exploits entanglement and local measurements as tools to perform quantum computation on N qubits. Although it was suggested in the original work to entangle the qubits via the nearest neighbor Ising interaction, we investigated how one can generate the so-called cluster states with the Heisenberg interaction. We extended our method to include more general forms of Heisenberg interaction such as asymmetric coupling of adjacent qubits. These forms of couplings, rather than Ising interaction, are more encountered in solid state devices, and therefore make it possible to perform one-way quantum computation with electron spins in quantum dots coupled via exchange interaction to their adjacent spins. \n \nChapters II, III, and IV of my thesis are devoted to the study of the spin-orbit interaction in heterostructure quantum dots and its effect on the spin dynamics. We observed that one can actually use spin-orbit interaction to manipulate the spin state of an electron on time scales much smaller than the spin dephasing time. Specifically, in chapter II, we studied the effect of a nearby functioning quantum point contact (QPC) on the relaxation of the electron spin and show that the charge fluctuations in QPC lead to spin relaxation of the confined electron in the presence of spin-orbit interactiom and an applied magnetic field. We also addressed the relation of this rate to the microscopic parameters of the system and found some geometrical dependence of the spin relaxation time on the orientation of the QPC on the substrate. Moreover, we showed in chapters III and IV that the spin-orbit interaction can play a positive role, in order to rotate the spin around the Bloch sphere. We considered different mechanisms, particularly, Electron Dipole Spin Resonance (EDSR) and holonomic unitary gates in quantum dots. We verified that these mechanisms of spin manipulation can be realized in solid state systems with the state of the art semiconductor technologies. \n \nChapter V of the thesis covers a slightly different topic and focuses on the role of the Coulomb interaction in electronic transport. There, we reviewed the non-analytic corrections to the Fermi liquid behavior and their consequences on the momentum occupation number of the electrons in a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG). As an example, we calculated the tunneling rate from an interacting electron reservoir onto a quantum dot and compared our result to the corresponding case for electron tunneling between bilayer 2DEGs. Moreover, within RPA approximation, we found that the electron-plasmon coupling leads to a quadratic frequency dependence of the electron self-energy at low frequencies at the Fermi surface. This correction suppresses the same order corrections due to the particle-hole bubble. \n \n \n
The properties of an electron pair confined in a coupled quantum dot (QD) system are currently being intensively investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Indeed the manipulation of the two-electron spin states is paramount for the realization of controllable entanglement so as to produce the fundamental quantum gate operations in a solid state quantum computer. The works usually concentrate on the properties of a two-electron system without going into detailed analysis of the contributions from various single-particle states or the effects produced by the constituent single QDs. Zeeman splitting is neglected as it affects only the magnitude of the exchange energy but not the single-particle state mixing. In summary, after numerically diagonalizing the two-electron Schrodinger equation in the model confinement potential of both single and laterally coupled double quantum dots, we computed the contributions from the various single-particle states to the final two-particle wave function.
The spin degree of freedom has become subject to one of the broadest and most intensively studied fields of research in physics. The present thesis is part of this field and deals with so-called central spin models. The thesis is devided into two parts. In the first one we investigate very basic properties of central spin models on an abstract level. We introduce a new, or rather enhanced, notion of quantum integrability. From this we derive an explicit and, to a certain extent, analytical relation between integrability and decoherence. Then we specify a model of two coupled Gaudin models with all coupling constants being equal to each other (``homogeneous''). We numerically study the spectral properties of the model and find the spectrum to exhibit systematically degenerate multiplets. We briefly discuss possible applications in solid state quantum information processing. The second part is devoted to concrete physical considerations in the context of solid state quantum information processing. Here we consider two exchange coupled electron spins confined in semiconductor quantum dots and evaluate the hyperfine induced spin dynamics for the case of a weak magnetic field applied to the electron spins by exact methods. In a first step we consider the two exchange coupled electron spins to interact with the same bath of nuclear spins via homogeneous couplings. In particular we derive a scaling law for the decoherence time. In a second step we try to turn vice into virtue by investigating to what extent it is possible to swap and entangle two separate nuclear spin baths. Surprisingly, it turns out that a nuclear swap is possible for weakly coupled nuclear spin baths of realistic size, but not for smaller ones. We indicate that under the same circumstances it should also be possible to fully entangle the baths. We close the thesis with a summary and an outlook on further important questions.