Abstract We develop a package of numerical simulations implemented in MATLAB to solve complex many-body quantum systems. We focus on widely used examples that include the calculation of the magnetization dynamics for the closed and open Ising model, dynamical quantum phase transition in cavity QED arrays, Markovian dynamics for interacting two-level systems, and the non-Markovian dynamics of the pure-dephasing spin-boson model. These examples will be useful for undergraduate and graduate students with a medium or high-level background in MATLAB, and also for researchers interested in numerical studies applied to quantum optics and condensed matter systems.
Abstract We develop a package of numerical simulations implemented in MATLAB to solve complex many-body quantum systems. We focus on widely used examples that include the calculation of the magnetization dynamics for the closed and open Ising model, dynamical quantum phase transition in cavity QED arrays, Markovian dynamics for interacting two-level systems, and the non-Markovian dynamics of the pure-dephasing spin-boson model. These examples will be useful for undergraduate and graduate students with a medium or high-level background in MATLAB, and also for researchers interested in numerical studies applied to quantum optics and condensed matter systems.
Abstract Convenient and simple numerical techniques for performing quantum computations based on matrix representations of Hilbert space operators are presented and illustrated by various examples. The applications include the calculations of spectral and dynamical properties for one-dimensional and two-dimensional single-particle systems as well as bosonic many-particle and open quantum systems. Due to their technical simplicity these methods are well suited as a tool for teaching quantum mechanics to undergraduates and graduates. Explicit implementations of the presented numerical methods in Matlab are given.
In the first part of this thesis we extensively review the general theory of open quantum systems. We introduce new approaches to describe, in a hopefully more transparent way, some aspects which are usually misleading in a broad range of the literature. In addition, we revise new concepts and methods developed in recent years that complement the general theory mainly developed in the 1970s. In the second part, we focus our attention on the so-called Markovian processes which have been described in the previous part. We study the validity of typical equations used in simple systems such as harmonic oscillators, and propose and check different strategies to describe Markovian dynamics in more complicated interacting systems. Finally we propose a counter-intuitive situation where some level of noise can be actually useful for information tasks. In the third and last part, we approach the problem of the non-Markovian description of open quantum systems. To quantify how non-Markovian an open quantum system is we introduce a computable measure and apply it to some relevant situations. We also propose a way of probing the complexity of an environment by visualizing properties of a pair of qubits embedded in it. In addition, we develop a technique based on orthogonal polynomial theory to transform a wide range of environments into simple chains of particles which can be efficiently simulated with numerical techniques.
Open quantum systems have drawn attention over decades due to its applicability in the foundation of theoretical physics, e.g. statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics and condensed matter physics. The dynamics of open quantum systems has been described as separate entities from their surrounding environment that consists of a very large number of modes, somehow coupled to the mode of the system. Even though the exact solution of the dynamical behavior of the system is impossible to calculate, we obtain a tentative solution using the crucial Markov approximation. The input-output formalism of the quantum Langevin equation (QLE) has been considered as a useful tool which provides a semi-classical description of the dynamics of the system, whereas the master equation provides a complete picture of the dynamics of the system expressed in terms of density matrix. While studying the dynamics of nonlinear system/environment coupling using QLE, we see, for a small value of external field, that the steady state system field does not change much from the steady state field obtained in the absence of nonlinear dissipation. However, in a case where a stronger external field is applied, we see that the deviation becomes substantial from the solution of linear system. We also see that the nonlinear coupling introduces significant difference in the cavity fluctuation spectrum. The description, therefore, provides a potential explanation of parametric effects in terms of nonlinear dissipation phenomena associated with the nonlinear coupling. Even though the theories developed in the context of open quantum systems have proven to be powerful tools, they do not provide a satisfactory platform to be implemented on non-linear Hamiltonians. We often approximate it by linearizing over nonlinear steady state field amplitude, and therefore, the interesting effects are often overlooked. The limitation of the analytics provokes us to simulate open quantum dynamics numerically. The numerical method consists of transformation of the environmental degrees of freedom to a one-dimensional many-body chain, and the computational technique includes numerical diagonalization and renormalization process. The time-adaptive density matrix renormalisation group (t-DMRG) is known as one of the most powerful techniques for the simulation of strongly-correlated many-body quantum systems. In this thesis, along with the theoretical modeling, we implement DMRG numerical scheme for the simulation of canonical S/B model by mapping it to one-dimensional harmonic chain with nearest neighbor interactions, and use the method to investigate the dynamics of the free dissipative system. The thermalization of open quantum systems is also studied by generating minimally entangled typical thermal states (METTS) through imaginary time evolution, and real-time evolving an empty system in the presence of the thermal bath. Further, we simulate coherently driven free dissipative Kerr nonlinear system numerically using Euler's method by solving Heisenberg equation of motion and t-DMRG algorithm, and demonstrate how the numerical results are analogous to classical bistability. By comparing with analytics, we see that the DMRG numerics is analogous to the quantum-mechanical exact solution obtained by mapping the equation of motion of the density matrix of the system to a Fokker-Plank equation. The comparison between two different numerical techniques shows that the semi-classical Euler's method determines the dynamics of the system field of one among two coherent branches, whereas DMRG numerics gives the superposition of both of them. Hence, DMRG-determined time dynamics undergoes generating non-classical states. Our approach of dealing with nonlinearity represents an important contribution in the developments of technique to study the dynamical and steady-state behavior of open quantum systems, which is a fundamental aspect of quantum physics.
We present two different methods for modeling non-Markovian quantum light-matter interactions in waveguide QED systems, using matrix product states (MPSs) and a space-discretized waveguide (SDW) model.After describing the general theory and implementation of both approaches, we compare and contrast these methods directly on three topical problems of interest in waveguide-QED, including (i) a two-level system (TLS) coupled to an infinite (one-dimensional) waveguide, (ii) a TLS coupled to a terminated waveguide with a time-delayed coherent feedback, and (iii) two spatially separated TLSs coupled within an infinite waveguide.Both approaches are shown to efficiently describe multiphoton nonlinear dynamics in highly non-Markovian regimes, and we highlight the advantages and disadvantages of these methods for modeling waveguide QED interactions, including their implementation in PYTHON, computational run times, and ease of conceptual understanding.We explore both vacuum dynamics as well as regimes of strong optical pumping, where a weak excitation approximation cannot be applied.The MPS approach scales better when modeling multiphoton dynamics and long delay times and explicitly includes non-Markovian memory effects.In contrast, the SDW model accounts for non-Markovian effects through space discretization and solves Markovian equations of motion, yet rigorously includes the effects of retardation.The SDW model, based on an extension of recent collisional pictures in quantum optics, is solved through quantum trajectory techniques and can more easily add in additional dissipation processes, including off-chip decay and TLS pure dephasing.The impact of these processes is shown directly on feedback-induced population trapping and TLS entanglement between spatially separated TLSs.
Master equations are probably the most fundamental equations for anyone working in quantum optics in the presence of dissipation. In this context it is then incredibly useful to have efficient ways of coding and simulating such equations in the computer, and in this notes I try to introduce in a comprehensive way how do I do so, focusing on Matlab, but making it general enough so that it can be directly translated to any other language or software of choice. I inherited most of my methods from Juan José García-Ripoll (whose numerical abilities I cannot praise enough), changing them here and there to accommodate them to the way my (fairly limited) numerical brain works, and to connect them as much as possible to how I understand the theory behind them. At present, the notes focus on how to code master equations and find their steady state, but I hope soon I will be able to update them with time evolution methods, including how to deal with time-dependent master equations. During the last 4 years I've tested these methods in various different contexts, including circuit quantum electrodynamics, the laser problem, optical parametric oscillators, and optomechanical systems. Comments and (constructive) criticism are greatly welcome, and will be properly credited and acknowledged.