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arXiv:1412.6142 · Physical Review A

Quantum speed limit and optimal control of many-boson dynamics

Ioannis Brouzos, Alexej I. Streltsov, Antonio Negretti, Ressa S. Said, Tommaso Caneva, Simone Montangero, Tommaso Calarco

Published Dec 7, 2015• 55 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We apply the concept of quantum speed limit (QSL)---the minimal time needed to perform a driven evolution---to complex interacting many-body systems where the effects of interactions have to be taken into account. We introduce a general strategy to eliminate the detrimental effects of the interparticle repulsion and drive the system at the QSL by applying a compensating control pulse (CCP). To prove the principles we consider a prototypical many-body system, a bosonic Josephson junction, and investigate a transfer of atoms from the ground state of one well to the ground state of the neighboring well, at increasing levels of complexity---from a textbook two-level approximation to full many-body treatment. By tracing the efficiency of the CCP protocol we show that the driven dynamics does follow the geodetic pathway and, therefore, it is optimal. The CCP strategy, applicable for a general interacting quantum many-body system with strong driving, can be of a practical relevance for the experimental implementation of quantum technology protocols, as quantum simulations or matter-wave metrology.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.92.062110

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We apply the concept of quantum speed limit (QSL)---the minimal time needed to perform a driven evolution---to complex interacting many-body systems where the effects of interactions have to be taken into account. We introduce a general strategy to eliminate the detrimental effects of the interparticle repulsion and drive the system at the QSL by applying a compensating control pulse (CCP). To prove the principles we consider a prototypical many-body system, a bosonic Josephson junction, and investigate a transfer of atoms from the ground state of one well to the ground state of the neighboring well, at increasing levels of complexity---from a textbook two-level approximation to full many-body treatment. By tracing the efficiency of the CCP protocol we show that the driven dynamics does follow the geodetic pathway and, therefore, it is optimal. The CCP strategy, applicable for a general interacting quantum many-body system with strong driving, can be of a practical relevance for the experimental implementation of quantum technology protocols, as quantum simulations or matter-wave metrology.
Quantum mechanics establishes a fundamental bound for the minimum evolution time between two states of a given system. Known as the quantum speed limit (QSL), it is a useful tool in the context of quantum control, where the speed of some control protocol is usually intended to be as large as possible. While QSL expressions for time-independent Hamiltonians have been well studied, the time-dependent regime has remained somewhat unexplored, albeit being usually the relevant problem to be compared with when studying systems controlled by external fields. In this paper we explore the relation between optimal times found in quantum control and the QSL bound, in the (relevant) time-dependent regime, by discussing the ubiquitous two-level Landau-Zener-type Hamiltonian.
Deriving minimum evolution times is of paramount importance in quantum mechanics. Bounds on the speed of evolution are given by the so called quantum speed limit (QSL). In this work we use quantum optimal control methods to study the QSL for driven many level systems which exhibit local two-level interactions in the form of avoided crossings (ACs). Remarkably, we find that optimal evolution times are proportionally smaller than those predicted by the well-known two-level case, even when the ACs are isolated. We show that the physical mechanism for such enhancement is due to non-trivial cooperative effects between the AC and other levels, which are dynamically induced by the shape of the optimized control field.
Quantum mechanics establishes a fundamental bound for the minimum evolution time between two states of a given system. Known as the quantum speed limit (QSL), it is a useful tool in the context of quantum control, where the speed of some control protocol is usually intended to be as large as possible. While QSL expressions for time-independent Hamiltonians have been well studied, the time-dependent regime has remained somewhat unexplored, albeit being usually the relevant problem to be compared with when studying systems controlled by external fields. In this paper we explore the relation between optimal times found in quantum control and the QSL bound, in the (relevant) time-dependent regime, by discussing the ubiquitous two-level Landau-Zener–type Hamiltonian.
A remarkably simple result is derived for the minimal time Tmin required to drive a general initial state to a final target state by a Landau-Zener-type Hamiltonian or, equivalently, by time-dependent laser driving. The associated protocol is also derived. A surprise arises for some states when the interaction strength is bounded by a constant c. Then, for large c, the optimal driving is of type bang-off-bang and for increasing c one recovers the unconstrained result. However, for smaller c the optimal driving can suddenly switch to bang-bang type. We discuss the notion of quantum speed limit time.
Quantum state change cannot occur instantly, but the speed of quantum evolution is limited to an upper bound value, called quantum speed limit (QSL). Understanding the quantum speed limit time (QSLT) is fundamental to advancing the control and optimization of quantum systems under decoherence. While significant progress has been made for single-qubit systems, the dynamics of two-qubit systems remain less explored. Studying the effects of dynamical decoupling (DD), such as periodic dynamical decoupling (PDD), on QSLT in two-qubit systems provides an opportunity to explore how to approach coherence preservation, entanglement stabilization, and environmental noise suppression. This exploration can lead to optimized strategies for controlling the evolution of two-qubit systems, which serve as the foundation of quantum gates and scalable quantum architectures. By analyzing QSLT in two-qubit systems, this research seeks to find how DD techniques can be adapted to mitigate the adverse effects of decoherence and extend their coherence times. The insights from this work will also shed light on the role of non-Markovian effects in two-qubit systems, offering potential pathways for leveraging such phenomena to maintain quantum coherence. The results reveal that under special conditions when decoupling pulses are applied to both qubits, the PDD method can completely remove all undesirable effects of the pure dephasing process. Eventually, these findings try to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and practical applications in quantum technologies, aiming to develop high-performance quantum processors.
Quantum technologies will ultimately require manipulating many-body quantum systems with high precision. Cold atom experiments represent a stepping stone in that direction: a high degree of control has been achieved on systems of increasing complexity. However, this control is still sub-optimal. In many scenarios, achieving a fast transformation is crucial to fight against decoherence and imperfection effects. Optimal control theory is believed to be the ideal candidate to bridge the gap between early stage proof-of-principle demonstrations and experimental protocols suitable for practical applications. Indeed, it can engineer protocols at the quantum speed limit - the fastest achievable timescale of the transformation. Here, we demonstrate such potential by computing theoretically and verifying experimentally the optimal transformations in two very different interacting systems: the coherent manipulation of motional states of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate and the crossing of a quantum phase transition in small systems of cold atoms in optical lattices. We also show that such processes are robust with respect to perturbations, including temperature and atom number fluctuations.