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arXiv:1808.08812 · Modern Physics Letters A

Quantum holonomies and the Heisenberg group

J. E. Nelson, R. F. Picken

Published Jul 22, 2019• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum holonomies of closed paths on the torus [Formula: see text] are interpreted as elements of the Heisenberg group [Formula: see text]. Group composition in [Formula: see text] corresponds to path concatenation and the group commutator is a deformation of the relator of the fundamental group [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], making explicit the signed area phases between quantum holonomies of homotopic paths. Inner automorphisms of [Formula: see text] adjust these signed areas, and the discrete symplectic transformations of [Formula: see text] generate the modular group of [Formula: see text].

DOI
10.1142/s0217732319502560

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Quantum holonomies of closed paths on the torus [Formula: see text] are interpreted as elements of the Heisenberg group [Formula: see text]. Group composition in [Formula: see text] corresponds to path concatenation and the group commutator is a deformation of the relator of the fundamental group [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text], making explicit the signed area phases between quantum holonomies of homotopic paths. Inner automorphisms of [Formula: see text] adjust these signed areas, and the discrete symplectic transformations of [Formula: see text] generate the modular group of [Formula: see text].
Quantum holonomies are investigated in different contexts. A geometric phase is proposed for decomposition dependent evolution, where each component of a given decomposition of a mixed state evolves independently. It is shown that this geometric phase only depends on the path traversed in the space of decompositions. A holonomy is associated to general paths of subspaces of a Hilbert space, both discrete and continuous. This opens up the possibility of constructing quantum holonomic gates in the open path setting. In the discrete case it is shown that it is possible to associate two distinct holonomies to a given path. Interferometric setups for measuring both holonomies are provided. It is further shown that there are cases when the holonomy is only partially defined. This has no counterpart in the Abelian setting. An operational interpretation of amplitudes of density operators is provided. This allows for a direct interferometric realization of Uhlmann's parallelity condition, and the possibility of measuring the Uhlmann holonomy for sequences of density operators. Off-diagonal geometric phases are generalized to the non-Abelian case. These off-diagonal holonomies are undefined for cyclic evolution, but must contain members of non-zero rank if all standard holonomies are undefined. Experimental setups for measuring the off-diagonal holonomies are proposed. The concept of nodal free geometric phases is introduced. These are constructed from gauge invariant quantities, but do not share the nodal point structure of geometric phases and off-diagonal geometric phases. An interferometric setup for measuring nodal free geometric phases is provided, and it is shown that these phases could be useful in geometric quantum computation. A holonomy associated to a sequence of quantum maps is introduced. It is shown that this holonomy is related to the Uhlmann holonomy. Explicit examples are provided to illustrate the general idea.
Abstract. Symmetries of the finite Heisenberg group represent an im-portant tool for the study of deeper structure of finite-dimensional quan-tum mechanics. As is well known, these symmetries are properly ex-pressed in terms of certain normalizer. This paper extends previous investigations to composite quantum systems consisting of two subsys-tems — qudits — with arbitrary dimensions n and m. In this paper we present detailed descriptions — in the group of inner automorphisms of GL(nm,C) — of the normalizer of the Abelian subgroup generated by tensor products of generalized Pauli matrices of orders n and m. The symmetry group is then given by the quotient group of the normalizer. Contents
Gaussian unitary transformations are generated by quadratic Hamiltonians, i.e., Hamiltonians containing quadratic terms in creations and annihilation operators, and are heavily used in many areas of quantum physics, ranging from quantum optics and condensed matter theory to quantum information and quantum field theory in curved spacetime. They are known to form a representation of the metaplectic and spin group for bosons and fermions, respectively. These groups are the double covers of the symplectic and special orthogonal group, respectively, and our goal is to analyze the behavior of the sign ambiguity that one needs to deal with when moving between these groups and their double cover. We relate this sign ambiguity to expectation values of the form ⟨0∣exp⁡(−iH^)∣0⟩\langle 0|\exp{(-i\hat{H})}|0\rangle⟨0∣exp(−iH^)∣0⟩, where ∣0⟩|0\rangle∣0⟩ is a Gaussian state and H^\hat{H}H^ an arbitrary quadratic Hamiltonian. We provide closed formulas for ⟨0∣exp⁡(−iH^)∣0⟩\langle 0|\exp{(-i\hat{H})}|0\rangle⟨0∣exp(−iH^)∣0⟩ and show how we can efficiently describe group multiplications in the double cover without the need of going to a faithful representation on an exponentially large or even infinite-dimensional space. Our construction relies on an explicit parametrization of these two groups (metaplectic, spin) in terms of symplectic and orthogonal group elements together with a twisted U(1) group.
This thesis develops a phase-space generalization of the Talbot effect using the modular-variable formalism of quantum mechanics. Starting from the standard Fresnel-diffraction description of self-imaging behind periodic gratings, the work reframes the effect as the action of symplectic transformations on a discrete phase-space lattice, visualized through Wigner functions. The central result is that free propagation, responsible for the ordinary integer Talbot effect, is just one instance of a much larger symmetry: every element of the group SL(2,Z) maps modular eigenstates onto modular eigenstates, generating its own Talbot-like recurrence. Closed-form expressions for the associated quantum phases, written in terms of quadratic Gauss sums, are derived and shown to reduce to the classical Fresnel results in the appropriate limit. The extension to rational transformations, SL(2,Q), reproduces the fractional Talbot effect and yields consistent analytical formulas for rational shears, though a discrete path-integral construction reveals a structural obstruction that remains unresolved and is proposed as a direction for future work. The thesis also explores a first, preliminary application to quantum information processing: an encoding of qubits and qutrits in modular eigenstates based on torsion points of the modular torus, together with generalized Pauli gates and a phase-readout scheme based on SL(2,Z) interference. This application is left incomplete, since the displacement-operator formalism used cannot by itself generate the superposition required for universal quantum computation.
Abstract When a quantum system undergoes slow changes, the evolution of its state depends only on the corresponding trajectory in Hilbert space. This phenomenon, known as quantum holonomy, brings to light the geometric aspects of quantum theory. Depending on the number of degrees of freedom involved, these purely geometric entities can be scalar or belong to a matrix-valued symmetry group. In their various forms, holonomies are vital elements in the description of the fundamental forces in particle physics as well as theories beyond the standard model such as loop quantum gravity or topological quantum field theory. Yet, implementing matrix-valued holonomies thus far has proven challenging, being further complicated by the difficulties involved in identifying suitable dark states for their construction in bosonic systems. Here we develop a representation of holonomic theory founded on the Heisenberg picture and leverage these insights for the experimental realization of a three-dimensional quantum holonomy. Its non-Abelian geometric phase is implemented via the judicious manipulation of bosonic modes constructed from indistinguishable photons and obeys the U(3) symmetry relevant to the strong interaction. Our findings could enable the experimental study of higher-dimensional non-Abelian gauge symmetries and the exploration of exotic physics on a photonic chip.