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arXiv:2403.13930 · Physical Review A

dc atomtronic quantum interference device: Quantum superposition of persistent-current states and a parity-protected qubit

Horacio M. Cataldo

Published Mar 19, 2024• 1 citation

Abstract

A generalized Bose-Hubbard model in a two-mode approximation is applied to study the rotational dynamics of a direct-current atomtronic quantum interference device. Modified values of on-site interaction and pair-tunneling parameters of the Hamiltonian, derived from the small-oscillation periods of the Josephson modes, are shown to provide an excellent agreement to the Gross-Pitaevskii simulation results for the whole rotational frequency range, reaching also the critical values of imbalance and current. This amounts to a full validation of the semiclassical approximation of the modified Hamiltonian, whose quantization is employed to investigate the quantum features of the stationary states. Focusing on the frequency interval where the potential energy presents two minima, it is shown that the central frequency, at which such minima are symmetric, yields an atom number parity-protected qubit with a maximum entanglement of both persistent-current states, similar to those of superconducting circuits threaded by a half quantum of applied flux. Such a parity protection scheme survives within a small interval around the central frequency, which sets the minimum rotational frequency precision that should be required to implement the qubit. It is found that such a maximum admissible error in the frequency determination turns out to be inversely proportional to the qubit quality factor that measures the gap between the qubit energy levels and the following levels. It is shown that the chemical potential or condensate particle number could be employed as suitable control parameters to achieve the best trade-off between such qubit characteristics.

DOI: 10.1103/physreva.109.033314

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A generalized Bose-Hubbard model in a two-mode approximation is applied to study the rotational dynamics of a direct-current atomtronic quantum interference device. Modified values of on-site interaction and pair-tunneling parameters of the Hamiltonian, derived from the small-oscillation periods of the Josephson modes, are shown to provide an excellent agreement to the Gross-Pitaevskii simulation results for the whole rotational frequency range, reaching also the critical values of imbalance and current. This amounts to a full validation of the semiclassical approximation of the modified Hamiltonian, whose quantization is employed to investigate the quantum features of the stationary states. Focusing on the frequency interval where the potential energy presents two minima, it is shown that the central frequency, at which such minima are symmetric, yields an atom number parity-protected qubit with a maximum entanglement of both persistent-current states, similar to those of superconducting circuits threaded by a half quantum of applied flux. Such a parity protection scheme survives within a small interval around the central frequency, which sets the minimum rotational frequency precision that should be required to implement the qubit. It is found that such a maximum admissible error in the frequency determination turns out to be inversely proportional to the qubit quality factor that measures the gap between the qubit energy levels and the following levels. It is shown that the chemical potential or condensate particle number could be employed as suitable control parameters to achieve the best trade-off between such qubit characteristics.

By means of a two-mode model, we show that transitions to different arrays of coexistent regimes in the phase space can be attained by rotating a double-well system, which consists of a toroidal condensate with two diametrically placed barriers. Such a configuration corresponds to the atomtronic counterpart of the well-known direct-current superconducting quantum interference device. Due to the phase gradient experimented by the on-site localized functions when the system is subject to rotation, a phase difference appears on each junction in order to satisfy the quantization of the velocity field around the torus. We demonstrate that such a phase can produce a significant change on the relative values of different types of hopping parameters. In particular, we show that within a determined rotation frequency interval a hopping parameter, usually disregarded in nonrotating systems, turns out to rule the dynamics. At the limits of such a frequency interval, bifurcations of the stationary points occur, which substantially change the phase-space portrait that describes the orbits of the macroscopic canonical conjugate variables. We analyze the emerging dynamics that combines the zero and $\ensuremath{\pi}$ Josephson modes, and evaluate the small-oscillation time periods of such orbits at the frequency range where each mode survives. All the findings predicted by the model are confirmed by Gross-Pitaevskii simulations.

We study the atomtronic quantum interference device employing a semiclassical perspective. We consider an M site ring that is described by the Bose–Hubbard Hamiltonian. Coherent Rabi oscillations in the flow of the current are feasible, with an enhanced frequency due to chaos-assisted tunneling. We highlight the consequences of introducing a weak-link into the circuit. In the latter context we clarify the phase–space considerations that are involved in setting up an effective 'systems plus bath' description in terms of Josephson–Caldeira–Leggett Hamiltonian.

A dc superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) consisting of a symmetric ring circuit with four Josephson junctions and two independent external currents

{I}_{1}

and

{I}_{2}

, which enter the circuit at different points, has a phase boundary between the fully superconducting and the normal states that is different from that of a conventional SQUID. The control current

{I}_{2}

modifies the magnetic flux (\ensuremath{\varphi}) periodicity and the value of the maximum measuring current

{I}_{1m}

(\ensuremath{\varphi}). For values of

{I}_{2}

>

{I}_{2}

(critical current of Josephson junction) the fully resistive state exists over flux intervals centered around (n+(1/2)${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}$, where n is an integer and ${\ensuremath{\varphi}}_{0}$ is the fluxoid quantum. A superconducting circuit without Josephson junctions is suggested which should have a phase boundary similar to that found here. Minimization procedures which are usually employed in analyzing SQUID's are discussed.

Atomtronic devices are matter-wave circuits designed to emulate the functional behavior of their electronic counterparts. Motivated by superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), atomic quantum interference devices (AQUIDs) have been developed using Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) confined in toroidal geometries. Here, we propose and numerically investigate an alternative implementation of an AQUID based on a BEC confined in a rotating-box potential. A ringlike topology is established by introducing a central depletion region via a repulsive potential barrier. We observe the hallmark AQUID feature—quantized phase winding that increases in discrete steps with angular velocity. Centrifugal effects induced by rotation degrade phase coherence and impair AQUID performance, which we mitigate by applying a counteracting harmonic confinement. Phase slips are found to be mediated by a vortex propagating from the central depletion zone to the edge of the condensate. To characterize the voltage response, we induce a bias current by translating the box along its long axis while keeping the central barrier fixed. This generates a density imbalance between the two reservoirs, exhibiting a periodic dependence on angular velocity—analogous to the voltage-flux relation in electronic SQUIDs. Our results demonstrate that rotating-box geometries provide a viable and flexible platform for realizing AQUIDs with controllable dynamics and well-defined response characteristics.

A Bose-Einstein condensate confined in ring shaped lattices interrupted by a weak link and pierced by an effective magnetic flux defines the atomic counterpart of the superconducting quantum interference device: the atomtronic quantum interference device (AQUID). In this paper, we report on the detection of current states in the system through a self-heterodyne protocol. Following the original proposal of the NIST and Paris groups, the ring-condensate many-body wave function interferes with a reference condensate expanding from the center of the ring. We focus on the rf AQUID which realizes effective qubit dynamics. Both the Bose-Hubbard and Gross-Pitaevskii dynamics are studied. For the Bose-Hubbard dynamics, we demonstrate that the self-heterodyne protocol can be applied, but higher-order correlations in the evolution of the interfering condensates are measured to readout of the current states of the system. We study how states with macroscopic quantum coherence can be told apart analyzing the noise in the time of flight of the ring condensate.

dc measurements are made in a superconducting, persistent current qubit structure with a time-ordered meter. The persistent-current qubit has a double-well potential, with the two minima corresponding to magnetization states of opposite sign. Macroscopic resonant tunneling between the two wells is observed at values of energy bias that correspond to the positions of the calculated quantum levels. The magnetometer, a superconducting quantum interference device, detects the state of the qubit in a time-ordered fashion, measuring one state before the other. This results in a different meter output depending on the initial state, providing different signatures of the energy levels for each tunneling direction.