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arXiv:1512.04027 · Reports on Progress in Physics

Quantum systems under frequency modulation

Matti Silveri, Jani Tuorila, E V Thuneberg, Gheorghe Sorin Paraoanu

Published Apr 5, 2017• 153 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We review the physical phenomena that arise when quantum mechanical energy levels are modulated in time. The dynamics resulting from changes in the transition frequency is a problem studied since the early days of quantum mechanics. It has been of constant interest both experimentally and theoretically since, with the simple two-state model providing an inexhaustible source of novel concepts. When the transition frequency of a quantum system is modulated, several phenomena can be observed, such as Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana interference, motional averaging and narrowing, and the formation of dressed states with the appearance of sidebands in the spectrum. Adiabatic changes result in the accumulation of geometric phases, which can be used to create topological states. In recent years, an exquisite experimental control in the time domain was gained through the parameters entering the Hamiltonian, and high-fidelity readout schemes allowed the state of the system to be monitored non-destructively. These developments were made in the field of quantum devices, especially in superconducting qubits, as a well as in atomic physics, in particular in ultracold gases. As a result of these advances, it became possible to demonstrate many of the fundamental effects that arise in a quantum system when its transition frequencies are modulated. The purpose of this review is to present some of these developments, from two-state atoms and harmonic oscillators to multilevel and many-particle systems.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6633/aa5170

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We review the physical phenomena that arise when quantum mechanical energy levels are modulated in time. The dynamics resulting from changes in the transition frequency is a problem studied since the early days of quantum mechanics. It has been of constant interest both experimentally and theoretically since, with the simple two-state model providing an inexhaustible source of novel concepts. When the transition frequency of a quantum system is modulated, several phenomena can be observed, such as Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana interference, motional averaging and narrowing, and the formation of dressed states with the appearance of sidebands in the spectrum. Adiabatic changes result in the accumulation of geometric phases, which can be used to create topological states. In recent years, an exquisite experimental control in the time domain was gained through the parameters entering the Hamiltonian, and high-fidelity readout schemes allowed the state of the system to be monitored non-destructively. These developments were made in the field of quantum devices, especially in superconducting qubits, as a well as in atomic physics, in particular in ultracold gases. As a result of these advances, it became possible to demonstrate many of the fundamental effects that arise in a quantum system when its transition frequencies are modulated. The purpose of this review is to present some of these developments, from two-state atoms and harmonic oscillators to multilevel and many-particle systems.
In this study, Landau–Zener–Stückelberg–Majorana (LZSM) dynamics of tunneling transmon quantum bits (qubits) and related interference effects (interferometry) in symmetrical Josephson junctions (JJs) are theoretically investigated. Accordingly, the deviation of the driving parameters from the symmetry point and the transmon frequency are introduced, leading to fluctuations of a superconducting gap that limit the computational power of state-of-the-art transmon qubits and micro-processors. Indeed, the theoretical approach is carried withing the framework of the dynamic matrix approach (DMA) and numerical experiment measurements are reported after both single and double passages through a complexity of the transmon qubit polarization energy . Therefore, we derive generalized analytical expressions of LZSM quantum tunneling probabilities (QTP) and energy eigenvalues for multiple passages processes, which allow us to efficiently establish the transmon frequency and determine the driving parameters. Our theoretical results seem relevant for the interpretation of several LZSM interferometry mechanisms in the modulation of superconducting gap through different transmon qubit spectroscopy experiments in which tunable LZSM transitions and quantum interference patterns are demonstrated by the use of universal nonadiabatic control to implement quantum emulations. Additionally, this mapping enables the investigation of JJ effects through the identification of the corresponding modulated topological phases accumulated during the LZSM transitions, which offer new opportunities to coherently manipulate qubit states and address the energy transfer of transmon qubits on the one hand. On the other hand, it suggests possibilities to reduce sensitivity and to suspected sources of imperfection from different superconducting qubit architectures, particularly in the context of materials optimization strategies that dig out nontrivial phenomena possessing powerful quantum interferometer functionality with realistic quantum controls of tunneling transmon qubit states.
The resonant quantum dynamics of an excited two-level emitter is investigated via classical modulation of its transition frequency while simultaneously the radiator interacts with a broadband electromagnetic field reservoir. The frequency of modulation is selected to be of the order of the bare-state spontaneous decay rate. In this way, one can induce quantum interference effects, and consequently, quantum coherences among multiple decaying transition pathways. Depending on the modulation depth and its absolute phase, both the spontaneous emission and the frequency shift may be conveniently modified and controlled.
Quantum systems can show qualitatively new forms of behavior when they are driven by fast time-periodic modulations. In the limit of large driving frequency, the long-time dynamics of such systems can often be described by a time-independent effective Hamiltonian, which is generally identified through a perturbative treatment. Here, we present a general formalism that describes time-modulated physical systems, in which the driving frequency is large, but resonant with respect to energy spacings inherent to the system at rest. Such a situation is currently exploited in optical-lattice setups, where superlattice (or Wannier-Stark-ladder) potentials are resonantly modulated so as to control the tunneling matrix elements between lattice sites, offering a powerful method to generate artificial fluxes for cold-atom systems. The formalism developed in this work identifies the basic ingredients needed to generate interesting flux patterns and band structures using resonant modulations. Additionally, our approach allows for a simple description of the micromotion underlying the dynamics; we illustrate its characteristics based on diverse dynamic-lattice configurations. It is shown that the impact of the micromotion on physical observables strongly depends on the implemented scheme, suggesting that a theoretical description in terms of the effective Hamiltonian alone is generally not sufficient to capture the full time evolution of the system.
ABSTRACT We propose and theoretically demonstrate a tailored shortcut to adiabaticity for accelerating the two‐photon Landau‐Zener‐Stückelberg‐Majorana (LZSM) transition in a superconducting transmon qutrit. Unlike conventional single‐photon LZSM processes, the two‐photon variant involves a virtual intermediate state and arises from a constrained three‐level dynamics with weak anharmonicity, leading to a nonlinear dependence of the effective Rabi coupling on the drive amplitude and stringent requirements on frequency modulation. Using the Lewis‐Riesenfeld invariant method, we construct an exact dynamical invariant for implementing a two‐photon LZSM transition with experimentally feasible, time‐dependent amplitude, and frequency modulation profiles that steer the system along an invariant eigenstate. Our protocol achieves high‐fidelity population transfer from the ground state to the second excited state in just ns, over faster than the reference adiabatic scheme. Crucially, the shortcut preserves the inherent robustness of the LZSM process against drive amplitude errors and exhibits enhanced resilience to decoherence due to the shortened operation time. This work provides a general and practical framework for accelerating higher‐order quantum transitions in multilevel systems, with direct relevance to ultrafast qudit control and scalable quantum information processing.
During recent years the interest to dynamics of quantum systems has grown considerably. Quantum many body systems out of equilibrium often manifest behavior, different from the one predicted by standard statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in equilibrium. Since the dynamics of a many body quantum system typically involve many excited eigenstates, with a non-thermal distribution, the time evolution of such a system provides an unique way for investigation of non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. Last decade such new subjects like quantum quenches, thermalization, pre-thermalization, equilibration, generalized Gibbs ensemble, etc. are among the most attractive topics of investigation in modern quantum physics. One of the most interesting themes in the study of dynamics of quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium is connected with the recently proposed important concept of dynamical quantum phase transitions. During the last few years a great progress has been achieved in studying of those singularities in the time dependence of characteristics of quantum mechanical systems, in particular, in understanding how the quantum critical points of equilibrium thermodynamics affect their dynamical properties. Dynamical quantum phase transitions reveal universality, scaling, connection to the topology, and many other interesting features. Here we review the recent achievements of this quickly developing part of low temperature quantum physics. The study of dynamical quantum phase transitions is especially important in context of their connection to the problem of the modern theory of quantum information, where namely non-equilibrium dynamics of many-body quantum system plays the major role.
A quantum system can be driven by either sinusoidal, rectangular, or noisy signals. In the literature, these regimes are referred to as Landau-Zener-Stückelberg-Majorana (LZSM) interferometry, latching modulation, and motional averaging, respectively. We demonstrate that these pronounced and interesting effects are also inherent in the dynamics of classical two-state systems. We discuss how such classical systems are realized using either mechanical, electrical, or optical resonators. In addition to the fundamental interest of such dynamical phenomena linking classical and quantum physics, we believe that these are attractive for the classical analogue simulation of quantum systems.