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On the stability of periodically time-dependent quantum systems

Pierre Duclos, Éric Soccorsi, Stovicek, Pavel, Michel Vittot

Published Jul 1, 2008• 8 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The main motivation of this article is to derive sufficient conditions for dynamical stability of periodically driven quantum systems described by a Hamiltonian H(t), i.e., conditions under which it holds sup_{t in R} | (psi(t),H(t) psi(t)) |<\infty where psi(t) denotes a trajectory at time t of the quantum system under consideration. We start from an analysis of the domain of the quasi-energy operator. Next we show, under certain assumptions, that if the spectrum of the monodromy operator U(T,0) is pure point then there exists a dense subspace of initial conditions for which the mean value of energy is uniformly bounded in the course of time. Further we show that if the propagator admits a differentiable Floquet decomposition then || H(t) psi(t) || is bounded in time for any initial condition psi(0), and one employs the quantum KAM algorithm to prove the existence of this type of decomposition for a fairly large class of H(t). In addition, we derive bounds uniform in time on transition probabilities between different energy levels, and we also propose an extension of this approach to the case of a higher order of differentiability of the Floquet decomposition. The procedure is demonstrated on a solvable example of the periodically time-dependent harmonic oscillator.

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The main motivation of this article is to derive sufficient conditions for dynamical stability of periodically driven quantum systems described by a Hamiltonian H(t), i.e., conditions under which it holds sup_{t in R} | (psi(t),H(t) psi(t)) |<\infty where psi(t) denotes a trajectory at time t of the quantum system under consideration. We start from an analysis of the domain of the quasi-energy operator. Next we show, under certain assumptions, that if the spectrum of the monodromy operator U(T,0) is pure point then there exists a dense subspace of initial conditions for which the mean value of energy is uniformly bounded in the course of time. Further we show that if the propagator admits a differentiable Floquet decomposition then || H(t) psi(t) || is bounded in time for any initial condition psi(0), and one employs the quantum KAM algorithm to prove the existence of this type of decomposition for a fairly large class of H(t). In addition, we derive bounds uniform in time on transition probabilities between different energy levels, and we also propose an extension of this approach to the case of a higher order of differentiability of the Floquet decomposition. The procedure is demonstrated on a solvable example of the periodically time-dependent harmonic oscillator.
The Floquet-Magnus expansion is a widely used tool to derive effective descriptions of time-periodic quantum systems by approximating their dynamics with a time-independent Hamiltonian. However, its standard formulation is, strictly speaking, restricted to bounded Hamiltonians. In this work, we extend its definition and analysis to a broad class of time-periodic unbounded Hamiltonians. Our approach is based on an a priori distinct nonperturbative framework for the construction of effective Hamiltonians, which we show to reproduce the Floquet-Magnus expansion. A particular strength of our framework is that it allows us to prove that the resulting effective dynamics approximates the original time evolution propagators to arbitrary order in the high-frequency limit without requiring convergence of the Floquet-Magnus expansion, a condition that is already highly restrictive even in the bounded setting. We illustrate the scope of the method on representative models: the quantum Rabi Hamiltonian in the interaction picture, and the periodically driven quantum harmonic oscillator.
A quantum system driven by a high-frequency periodic perturbation is studied. By using the asymptotic expansions in terms of inverse powers of the driving frequency, a class of unitary time-dependent canonical transformations is defined which renders the transformed Hamiltonians time independent. One representative of those Hamiltonians is the quasienergy operator, which is explicitly derived up to the fourth order. The classical limit of the theory and the possibility of separating the mean-motion Hamiltonian is discussed. It is shown that this separation can consistently be carried out to higher orders only in the case of a uniform external force. The application of the method to unperturbed systems with regular confining and singular potentials is discussed by considering the examples of harmonic oscillator, particle in the double-well potential, and particle in the Coulomb potential.
We investigate the quantum dynamics of a one-dimensional tight-binding lattice driven by a spatially quadratic and time-periodic potential. Both Hermitian (J1=J2J_1 = J_2J1​=J2​) and non-Hermitian (J1≠J2J_1 \neq J_2J1​=J2​) hopping regimes are analyzed. Within the framework of Floquet theory, the time-dependent Hamiltonian is mapped onto an effective static Floquet Hamiltonian, enabling a detailed study of the quasi-energy spectrum as function of the driving frequency ωωω. By applying a gauge transformation, we find that critical frequencies ωcω_cωc​ emerge, at which nearly equidistant quasi-energy ladders appear, as revealed by a pronounced minimum in the normalized variance Δ(ω)Δ(ω)Δ(ω) of the level spacings. This spectral regularity leads to robust periodic revivals and Bloch-like oscillations in the time evolution. Numerical simulations confirm that such coherent oscillations persist even in the non-Hermitian regime, where the periodic driving stabilizes an almost real and uniformly spaced quasi-energy ladder.
The dynamics of the harmonic oscillator, with a fluctuating, time-dependent frequency, is studied in the quantum framework. For periodic fluctuations of period \ensuremath{\tau}, it is found that the mean energy diverges exponentially in time, provided \ensuremath{\tau} falls into certain ``bands,'' centered around ``quasiresonant'' values, for which the rate of increase is maximum. In agreement with the correspondence principle, this rate is shown to coincide exactly with the one obtained for the classic oscillator, in the same conditions [Loris Ferrari, Phys. Rev. B 56, 593 (1997)]. The notion of adiabaticity has been revisited in the case of exponentially diverging mean energy. It is found that the Heisenberg form of the Hamiltonian operator can be expressed as a new effective Hamiltonian, which is still harmonic, but has exponentially diverging coefficients. It is argued that the same results hold in general (that is, without any quasiresonance condition) if the frequency fluctuation in time is disordered. A brief discussion is presented about nonharmonic interactions leading to dissipative effects. Applications to real physical systems are outlined, with special reference to the electrons in a uniform and constant magnetic field, to which a small fluctuating component is added.
Quantum adiabaticity is the evolution of a quantum system that remains close to an instantaneous eigenstate of a time-dependent Hamiltonian. Using Floquet formalism, we derive a rigorous sufficient condition for adiabaticity in closed, finite-dimensional periodically driven systems that is valid for arbitrarily many driving periods. The condition is stroboscopic and geometric, depending only on single-cycle information: the Fubini--Study length of the instantaneous eigenray and a quasienergy-separation measure extracted from the Floquet operator. We also formulate a state-targeted refinement that reduces conservativeness when only one adiabatic branch is relevant. Rather than synthesizing control pulses, the result provides a certification criterion for a given periodic protocol. We illustrate the criterion and contrast it with conventional instantaneous-gap conditions in three representative examples.
Periodically driven quantum systems exhibit many fascinating phenomena absent in equilibrium systems, but their simulation is more challenging than that of static systems. Consequently, quantum simulation of these systems offers greater opportunity for achieving quantum advantage. To build the foundation for simulating time-periodic Hamiltonians, we utilize the Floquet-Hilbert space formalism to transform the Hamiltonian into a time-independent form and provide its Pauli decomposition. Within this formalism, we develop a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, Floquet-ADAPT-VQE, that produces three key quantities that govern periodically driven quantum dynamics: the quasienergy, the associated Floquet eigenstates, and expectation values of observables with respect to these eigenstates. The latter is achieved by applying a fixed-depth quantum circuit to an initial Floquet eigenstate—an efficient construction made possible by the Floquet-Hilbert space formalism. We also identify a suitable auxiliary initial state whose squared Floquet energy is independent of the number of auxiliary qubits as well as the driving frequency, which leads to better convergence with fewer ADAPT iterations. We demonstrate our algorithm by performing numerical simulations on a periodically driven XYZ model with a magnetic field. We also explore potential applications of our algorithm for studying various non-equilibrium phenomena in periodically driven systems.