The two-level system

Kartiek Agarwal, Ivar Martin, Mikhail D. Lukin +1 more

While two-level systems (TLSs) are ubiqitous in solid state systems, microscopic understanding of their nature remains an outstanding problem. Conflicting phenomenological models are used to describe TLSs in seemingly similar materials when probed with different experimental techniques. Specifically, bulk measurements in amorphous solids have been interpreted using the model of a tunneling atom or group of atoms, whereas TLSs observed in the insulating barriers of Josephson junction qubits have been understood in terms of tunneling of individual electrons. Motivated by recent experiments studying TLSs in Josephson junctions, especially the effects of elastic strain on TLS properties, we analyze the interaction of the electronic TLS with phonons. We demonstrate that strong polaronic effects lead to dramatic changes in TLS properties. Our model gives a quantitative understanding of the TLS relaxation and dephasing as probed in Josephson junction qubits, while providing an alternative interpretation of bulk experiments. We demonstrate that a model of polaron dressed electronic TLS leads to estimates for the density and distribution of parameters of TLSs consistent with bulk experiments in amorphous solids. This model explains such surprising observations of recent experiments as the existence of minima in the energy of some TLSs as a function of strain and makes concrete predictions for the character of TLS dephasing near such minima. We argue that better understanding of the microscopic nature of TLSs can be used to improve properties of quantum devices, from an enhancement of relaxation time of TLSs to creating new types of strongly interacting optomechanical systems.

Alfred Brian Pippard

Ulrich Hohenester

Jie‐Qiao Liao, Jin‐Feng Huang, Le‐Man Kuang

We study analytically the quantum thermalization of two coupled two-level systems (TLSs), which are connected with either two independent heat baths (IHBs) or a common heat bath (CHB). We understand the quantum thermalization in eigenstate and bare-state representations when the coupling between the two TLSs is stronger and weaker than the TLS-bath couplings, respectively. In the IHB case, we find that, when the two IHBs have the same temperatures, the two coupled TLSs in eigenstate representation can be thermalized with the same temperature as those of the IHBs. However, in the case of two IHBs at different temperatures, just when the energy detuning between the two TLSs satisfies a special condition, the two coupled TLSs in eigenstate representation can be thermalized with an immediate temperature between those of the two IHBs. In bare-state representation, we find a counterintuitive phenomenon that, under some conditions, the temperature of the TLS connected with the high-temperature bath is lower than that of the other TLS, which is connected with the low-temperature bath. In the CHB case, the coupled TLSs in eigenstate representation can be thermalized with the same temperature as that of the CHB in nonresonant cases. In bare-state representation, the TLS with a larger energy separation can be thermalized to a thermal equilibrium with a lower temperature. In the resonant case, we find a phenomenon of antithermalization. We also study the steady-state entanglement between the two TLSs in both the IHB and CHB cases.

Xin-Xin Yang, Xiaoyan Yang, Liang-Liang Guo +5 more

One significant source of decoherence in superconducting circuits is known as two-level systems (TLSs), found in amorphous oxide layers. These circuits can, however, also be utilized as spectral and temporal TLS probes. Comprehensive investigations on the physics of TLSs are now possible thanks to recent advancements in superconducting qubits. Here, we simultaneously measure the tunable Xmon qubit decoherence time as well as the resonance frequency for more than 3 days to investigate stochastic fluctuations. Time-domain Allan deviation and frequency-domain power spectral density analysis indicate that two TLSs in near resonance with the qubit are responsible for the fluctuations. From the extracted oscillation in T1 decay, we locate the two TLSs near the junctions.

Brian P. Anderson