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arXiv:2305.08004 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Optimal quantum speed for mixed states

Ashraf Naderzadeh, Seyed Javad Akhtarshenas

Published Jan 18, 2024• 5 citations

Abstract

Abstract The question of how fast a quantum state can evolve is considered. Using the definition of squared speed based on the Euclidean distance given in (Brody and Longstaff 2019 Phys. Rev. Res. 2 033127), we present a systematic framework to obtain the optimal speed of a d-dimensional system evolved unitarily under a time-independent Hamiltonian. Among the set of mixed quantum states having the same purity, the optimal state is obtained in terms of its purity parameter. We show that for an arbitrary d, the optimal state is represented by a X-state with an additional property of being symmetric with respect to the secondary diagonal. For sufficiently low purities for which the purity exceeds the purity of maximally mixed state I / d by at most 2 / d 2 , the only nonzero off-diagonal entry of the optimal state is ϱ 1 d , corresponding to the transition amplitude between two energy eigenstates with minimum and maximum eigenvalues, respectively. For larger purities, however, whether or not the other secondary diameter entries ϱ i , d − i + 1 take nonzero values depends on their relative energy gaps | E d − i + 1 − E i | . The effects of coherence and entanglement, with respect to the energy basis, are also examined and found that for optimal states both resources are monotonic functions of purity, so they can cause speed up quantum evolution leading to a smaller quantum speed limit. Our results show that although the coherence of the states is responsible for the speed of evolution, only the coherence caused by some off-diagonal entries located on the secondary diagonal play a role in the fastest states.

DOI: 10.1088/1751-8121/ad203a

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Quantum speed limits describe how fast a system can evolve from one state to another. There are several well-known quantum speed limits such as the Mandelstam–Tamm and Margolus–Levitin bounds which were originally derived for pure states and are not always tight for mixed states. In this thesis a stronger bound is derived for mixed qubit states, which has been shown to be tight, by using additional information about the system. We chose to focus on a single qubit and use the Bloch representation to describe its evolution geometrically. Due to both the energy and the purity of the system being conserved under unitary time evolution, the Bloch vector moves in a circle. By expressing the fidelity between the initial and final state in terms of Bloch vectors, we can derive a stricter quantum speed limit for mixed qubit states. This new lower bound depends on both fidelity and purity and is tighter than the Margolus–Levitin bound. The result shows that taking conserved quantities like purity into account can lead to improved quantum speed limits and similar ideas might be useful for more complex systems as well.

The concept of quantum speed limit-time (QSL) was initially introduced as a lower bound to the time interval that a given initial state ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{I}$ may need so as to evolve into a state orthogonal to itself. Recently [V. Giovanetti, S. Lloyd, and L. Maccone, Phys. Rev. A 67, 052109 (2003)] this bound has been generalized to the case where ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{I}$ does not necessarily evolve into an orthogonal state, but into any other ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{F}$. It was pointed out that, for certain classes of states, quantum entanglement enhances the evolution ``speed'' of composite quantum systems. In this work we provide an exhaustive and systematic QSL study for pure and mixed states belonging to the whole 15-dimensional space of two qubits, with ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{F}$ a not necessarily orthogonal state to ${\ensuremath{\psi}}_{I}$. We display convincing evidence for a clear correlation between concurrence, on the one hand, and the speed of quantum evolution determined by the action of a rather general local Hamiltonian, on the other one.

Dissipation has traditionally been considered a hindrance to quantum information processing, but recent studies have shown that it can be harnessed to generate desired quantum states. To be useful for practical applications, the ability to speed up the dissipative evolution is crucial. In this study, we focus on a Markovian dissipative-state-preparation scheme in which the prepared state is one of the energy eigenstates. We derive an initial-state-dependent quantum speed limit (QSL) that offers a more refined measure of the actual evolution time compared to the commonly used initial-state-independent relaxation time. This allows for passive optimization of dissipative evolution across different initial states. By minimizing the dissipated heat during the preparation process, conditioned on the minimization of evolution time using the QSL, we find that the preferred initial state has a specific permutation of diagonal elements with respect to an ordered energy eigenbasis of increasing eigenvalues. In this configuration, the population on the prepared state is the largest, and the remaining diagonal elements are sorted in an order resembling that of a passive state in the same ordered energy eigenbasis. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy in a dissipative Rydberg-atom system for preparing the Bell state. Our work provides insights into the optimization of dissipative-state-preparation processes and could have significant implications for practical quantum technologies.

Abstract The minimum evolution time between multi-qubit quantum states is estimated for non-Markovian quantum channels. We consider the maximally coherent pure and mixed states as well as multi-qubit X states as initial states and discuss the impact of initial coherence and the behaviour of coherence on their speed of evolution for both dephasing and dissipative processes. The role of the non-zero value of initial coherence under information backflow conditions for the non-unital dissipative process is revealed by the flow of quantum speed limit time ( τ QSL ). The trade-off between mixedness and coherence on the speed limit time reveals the nature of the quantum process the states undergo. The complementarity effect between mixedness and coherence is more prominent in the quantum non-unital dissipation process. The parametric trajectory of speed limit time vividly depicts the difference in the evolution of pure and mixed initial states, and this could be used to distinguish between the unital and non-unital channels studied in this work. Our investigation of quantum speed limit time on multi-qubit entangled X states reveals that τ QSL can be identified as a potential dynamical witness to distinguish multi-qubit states in the course of evolution.

The minimal time a system needs to evolve from an initial state to its one orthogonal state is defined as the quantum speed limit time, which can be used to characterize the maximal speed of evolution of a quantum system. This is a fundamental question of quantum physics. We investigate the generic bound on the minimal evolution time of the open dynamical quantum system. This quantum speed limit time is applicable to both mixed and pure initial states. We then apply this result to the damped Jaynes-Cummings model and the Ohimc-like dephasing model starting from a general time-evolution state. The bound of this time-dependent state at any point in time can be found. For the damped Jaynes-Cummings model, when the system starts from the excited state, the corresponding bound first decreases and then increases in the Markovian dynamics. While in the non-Markovian regime, the speed limit time shows an interesting periodic oscillatory behavior. For the case of Ohimc-like dephasing model, this bound would be gradually trapped to a fixed value. In addition, the roles of the relativistic effects on the speed limit time for the observer in non-inertial frames are discussed.

Abstract. Inequalities of Mandelstam-Tamm and Margolus-Levitin type provide lower bounds on the time it takes for a quantum system to evolve from one state into another. Knowledge of such bounds, called quantum speed limits, is of utmost importance in virtually all areas of physics, where determination of the minimum time required for a quantum process is of interest. Most Mandelstam-Tamm and Margolus-Levitin inequalities found in the literature have been derived from growth estimates for the Bures length, which is a statistical distance measure. In this paper we derive such inequalities by differential geometric methods, and we compare the obtained quantum speed limits with those involving the Bures length. We also characterize the Hamiltonians which optimize the evolution time for generic finite-level quantum systems. 1.