A method of simulating the full quantum field dynamics of multimode, multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates is developed. The truncated Wigner representation is used to obtain a probabilistic theory. The representation is extended to to use a functional calculus and can be applied to quantum fields in the arbitrary number of dimensions. Detailed proofs of the corresponding theorems are given. This approach produces c-number stochastic equations which may be solved using conventional stochastic integration methods, with the limitation that it is only valid for large mode occupation numbers. The equations describe the spatial evolution of spinor components and properly account for nonlinear interactions and losses. The method is further used to model several experiments where quantum effects are significant, and cannot be calculated with simpler approximations. It is shown to describe leading quantum corrections accurately, including effects such as phase noise, quantum squeezing, entanglement, and interactions with engineered nonlinear reservoirs. In addition to this approach, other positive phase-space methods are also analysed for sampling highly nonclassical states. In conclusion, the phase-space representations developed in this thesis provide a relatively fast and accurate method of simulating dynamics of large nonlinear quantum systems, such as trapped Bose-Einstein condensates. The required stochastic equations are easily and scalably integrated in parallel. Algorithms for efficient computation on modern graphical processing unit hardware are presented.
A method of simulating the full quantum field dynamics of multimode, multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates is developed. The truncated Wigner representation is used to obtain a probabilistic theory. The representation is extended to to use a functional calculus and can be applied to quantum fields in the arbitrary number of dimensions. Detailed proofs of the corresponding theorems are given. This approach produces c-number stochastic equations which may be solved using conventional stochastic integration methods, with the limitation that it is only valid for large mode occupation numbers. The equations describe the spatial evolution of spinor components and properly account for nonlinear interactions and losses. The method is further used to model several experiments where quantum effects are significant, and cannot be calculated with simpler approximations. It is shown to describe leading quantum corrections accurately, including effects such as phase noise, quantum squeezing, entanglement, and interactions with engineered nonlinear reservoirs. In addition to this approach, other positive phase-space methods are also analysed for sampling highly nonclassical states. In conclusion, the phase-space representations developed in this thesis provide a relatively fast and accurate method of simulating dynamics of large nonlinear quantum systems, such as trapped Bose-Einstein condensates. The required stochastic equations are easily and scalably integrated in parallel. Algorithms for efficient computation on modern graphical processing unit hardware are presented.
We develop a method of simulating the full quantum field dynamics of multi-mode multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates in a trap. We use the truncated Wigner representation to obtain a probabilistic theory that can be sampled. This method produces c-number stochastic equations which may be solved using conventional stochastic methods. The technique is valid for large mode occupation numbers. We give a detailed derivation of methods of functional Wigner representation appropriate for quantum fields. Our approach describes spatial evolution of spinor components and properly accounts for nonlinear losses. Such techniques are applicable to calculating the leading quantum corrections, including effects such as quantum squeezing, entanglement, EPR correlations, and interactions with engineered nonlinear reservoirs. By using a consistent expansion in the inverse density, we are able to explain an inconsistency in the nonlinear loss equations found by earlier authors.
The quantum dynamics and grand canonical thermodynamics of many-mode (one-, two-, and three-dimensional) interacting Bose gases are simulated from first principles. The model uses a lattice Hamiltonian based on a continuum second-quantized model with two-particle interactions, external potential, and interactions with an environment, with no further approximations. The interparticle potential can be either an (effective) delta function as in Bose-Hubbard models, or extended with a shape resolved by the lattice. Simulations are of a set of stochastic equations that in the limit of many realizations correspond exactly to the full quantum evolution of the many-body systems. These equations describe the evolution of samples of the gauge P distribution of the quantum state, details of which are developed. Conditions under which general quantum phase-space representations can be used to derive stochastic simulation methods are investigated in detail, given the criteria: 1) The simulation corresponds exactly to quantum mechanics in the limit of many trajectories. 2) The number of equations scales linearly with system size, to allow the possibility of efficient first-principles quantum mesoscopic simulations. 3) All observables can be calculated from one simulation. 4) Each stochastic realization is independent to allow straightforward use of parallel algorithms. Special emphasis is placed on allowing for simulation of open systems. In contrast to typical Monte Carlo techniques based on path integrals, the phase-space representation approach can also be used for dynamical calculations. Two major (and related) known technical stumbling blocks with such stochastic simulations are instabilities in the stochastic equations, and pathological trajectory distributions as the boundaries of phase space are approached. These can (and often do) lead to systematic biases in the calculated observables. The nature of these problems are investigated in detail. Many phase-space distributions have, however, more phase-space freedoms than the minimum required for exact correspondence to quantum mechanics, and these freedoms can in many cases be exploited to overcome the instability and boundary term problems, recovering an unbiased simulation. The stochastic gauge technique, which achieves this in a systematic way, is derived and heuristic guidelines for its use are developed. The gauge P representation is an extension of the positive P distribution, which uses coherent basis states, but allows a variety of useful stochastic gauges that are used to overcome the stability problems. Its properties are investigated, and the resulting equations to be simulated for the open interacting Bose gas system are derived. The dynamics of the following many-mode systems are simulated as examples: 1) Uniform one-dimensional and two-dimensional Bose gases after the rapid appearance of significant two-body collisions (e.g. after entering a Feshbach resonance). 2) Trapped bosons, where the size of the trap is of the same order as the range of the interparticle potential. 3) Stimulated Bose enhancement of scattered atom modes during the collision of two Bose-Einstein condensates. The grand canonical thermodynamics of uniform one-dimensional Bose gases is also calculated for a variety of temperatures and collision strengths. Observables calculated include first to third order spatial correlation functions (including at finite interparticle separation) and momentum distributions. The predicted phenomena are discussed. Improvements over the positive P distribution and other methods are discussed, and simulation times are analyzed for Bose-Hubbard lattice models from a general perspective. To understand the behavior of the equations, and subsequently optimize the gauges for the interacting Bose gas, single- and coupled two-mode dynamical and thermodynamical models of interacting Bose gases are investigated in detail. Directions in which future progress can be expected are considered. Lastly, safeguards are necessary to avoid biased averages when exponentials of Gaussian-like trajectory distributions are used (as here), and these are investigated.
We introduce an approximate phase-space technique to simulate the quantum dynamics of interacting bosons. With the future goal of treating Bose-Einstein condensate systems, the method is designed for systems with a natural separation into highly occupied (condensed) modes and lightly occupied modes. The method self-consistently uses the Wigner representation to treat highly occupied modes and the positive-P representation for lightly occupied modes. In this method, truncation of higher-derivative terms from the Fokker-Planck equation is usually necessary. However, at least in the cases investigated here, the resulting systematic error, over a finite time, vanishes in the limit of large Wigner occupation numbers. We tested the method on a system of two interacting anharmonic oscillators, with high and low occupations, respectively. The hybrid method successfully predicted atomic quadratures to a useful simulation time 60 times longer than that of the positive-P method. The truncated Wigner method also performed well in this test. For the prediction of the correlation in a quantum nondemolition measurement scheme, for this same system, the hybrid method gave excellent agreement with the exact result, while the truncated Wigner method showed a large systematic error.
We review recent developments in the theory of quantum dynamics in ultracold atomic physics, including exact techniques and methods based on phase-space mappings that are applicable when the complexity becomes exponentially large. Phase-space representations include the truncated Wigner, positive- P and general Gaussian operator representations which can treat both bosons and fermions. These phase-space methods include both traditional approaches using a phase-space of classical dimension, and more recent methods that use a non-classical phase-space of increased dimensionality. Examples used include quantum Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) entanglement of a four-mode BEC, time-reversal tests of dephasing in single-mode traps, BEC quantum collisions with up to 106 modes and 105 interacting particles, quantum interferometry in a multi-mode trap with nonlinear absorption, and the theory of quantum entropy in phase-space. We also treat the approach of variational optimization of the sampling error, giving an elementary example of a nonlinear oscillator.
Many-mode interacting Bose gases (1D,2D,3D) are simulated from first principles. The model uses a second-quantized Hamiltonian with two-particle interactions (possibly ranged), external potential, and interactions with an environment, with no further approximations. Simulations are of a set of stochastic equations that in the limit of many realizations correspond exactly to the full quantum evolution. These are obtained using the stochastic gauge method (derived here), an extension of the positive P phase-space representation. The systems investigated are: 1) Dynamics of spatial correlations in uniform 1D and 2D Bose gases after the rapid appearance of significant two-body collisions (e.g. after entering a Feshbach resonance). 2) Dynamics of stimulated Bose enhancement of scattered atom modes during the collision of two Bose-Einstein condensates with a mean of 150 000 atoms. 3) Dynamics of trapped bosons, where the size of the trap is of the same order as the range of the interparticle potential. 4) Grand canonical thermodynamics of uniform 1D Bose gases for a variety of temperatures and collision strengths. Observables calculated include 1st-3rd order spatial correlation functions (including finite separation) and momentum distributions. The stochastic gauge method is derived, and its application to interacting Bose gases investigated in detail. It is found to improve simulation effectiveness under many conditions, and to be capable of overcoming instability and boundary term problems. Additionally, conditions under which very generalized phase-space represntations can be used to obtain tractable many-body simulations are analysed.
Simulation of conditional master equations is important to describe systems under continuous measurement and for the design of control strategies in quantum systems. For large bosonic systems, such as Bose-Einstein condensates and atom lasers, full quantum-field simulations must rely on scalable stochastic methods. Currently, these methods have a convergence time that is restricted by the use of representations based on coherent states. Here, we show that typical measurements on atom-optical systems have a common form that allows for an efficient simulation using the number-phase Wigner (NPW) phase-space representation. We demonstrate that a stochastic method based on the NPW can converge orders of magnitude longer and more precisely than its coherent equivalent. We then examine how these methods can be used in multimode simulations, demonstrated by a simulation of a two-mode Bose-Hubbard model. Finally, we combine these techniques to demonstrate a full-field simulation of a realistic multimode quantum system controlled by active feedback.