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Condensed Matter

Resonant Quantum Kicked Rotor as A Continuous-Time Quantum Walk

Michele Delvecchio, Francesco Petiziol, Sandro Wimberger

Published Jan 11, 2020• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We analytically investigate the analogy between a standard continuous-time quantum walk in one dimension and the evolution of the quantum kicked rotor at quantum resonance conditions. We verify that the obtained probability distributions are equal for a suitable choice of the kick strength of the rotor. We further discuss how to engineer the evolution of the walk for dynamically preparing experimentally relevant states. These states are important for future applications of the atom-optics kicked rotor for the realization of ratchets and quantum search.

DOI
10.3390/condmat5010004

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New Journal of Physics•Dec 21, 2009•24 citations
We analytically investigate the analogy between a standard continuous-time quantum walk in one dimension and the evolution of the quantum kicked rotor at quantum resonance conditions. We verify that the obtained probability distributions are equal for a suitable choice of the kick strength of the rotor. We further discuss how to engineer the evolution of the walk for dynamically preparing experimentally relevant states. These states are important for future applications of the atom-optics kicked rotor for the realization of ratchets and quantum search.
Abstract The atom-optics kicked rotor can be used to prepare specific momentum distributions on a discrete basis set. We implement a continuous-time quantum walk (QW) and a quantum search protocol in this momentum basis. In particular we propose ways to identify a specific marked state from the final momentum distribution after the walker’s evolution. Our protocol is guided by current experimental possibilities making it accessible to experimentally implemented QWs with Bose–Einstein condensates.
The kicked rotor provides a simple yet powerful model for introducing many of the central concepts of classical and quantum chaos. Despite its apparent simplicity, it exhibits rich dynamical behavior and has found applications across a wide range of fields, including atomic and optical physics, condensed matter physics, and emerging quantum technologies. This chapter begins by exploring foundational ideas using the kicked rotor as a unifying framework. We first discuss the transition from regular to chaotic motion in the classical system, and then introduce key quantum phenomena such as dynamical localization and quantum resonances. Special attention is devoted to the emergence of characteristic time scales and their role in the quantum-classical correspondence. To make these ideas more concrete, we also provide a brief overview of experimental realizations of the kicked rotor and its variants, illustrating how theoretical concepts are implemented in practice. In the second part of the chapter, we guide the reader toward more recent and advanced developments. Topics include near-resonant dynamics, topological features of kicked systems, the emergence of quantum dynamical phases inferred from classical transport properties, and extensions to non-Hermitian physics. We conclude with a discussion of open problems and future perspectives, outlining directions in which the kicked rotor continues to offer valuable insights.
The kicking sequence of the atom-optics kicked rotor at quantum resonance can be interpreted as a quantum random walk in momentum space. We show how such a walk can become the basis for nontrivial classical walks by applying a random sequence of intensities and phases of the kicking lattice chosen according to a probability distribution. This distribution converts on average into the final momentum distribution of the kicked atoms. In particular, it is shown that a power-law distribution for the kicking strengths results in a L\'evy walk in momentum space and in a power law with the same exponent in the averaged momentum distribution. Furthermore, we investigate the stability of our predictions in the context of a realistic experiment with Bose-Einstein condensates.
We study analytically the effect of amplitude noise on the quantum resonances of an atom optics realization of the δ-kicked rotor. Noise is shown to add a time growth to the ‘deterministic’ energy and to induce a time increasing spreading in the momentum distribution; exact results are given for both effects. The ballistic peaks characteristic of the noiseless distribution for particular initial conditions broaden and eventually vanish, whereas the associated quadratic growth of energy persists; at large times, the survival probability decays as t −1 . Moreover, the nonexponential ‘localization’ linked to different initial conditions is gradually destroyed. Features specific to Gaussian noise, white and coloured, are analysed. The feasibility of experimental tests of these effects is discussed.
We investigate the dynamics of the atom-optics δ-kicked rotor in the vicinity of quantum resonance. Although small deviations from resonant conditions lead to a negligible change in the momentum space probability density, they lead to a significant relative phase change between the different momentum states taking part in the dynamics. By adding a tailored pulse to the kicked rotor pulse sequence, one can measure the overlap between the resonant state and any other state, i.e. perform a fidelity measurement. Using this sequence, we predict a narrow peak around quantum resonance with a width that scales as 1/ N 3 with N being the number of pulses in the kicked rotor sequence. This method may be of interest to precision measurements, such as h / M .