The geometric interpretation of (pseudo)spin 1/2 systems on the Bloch sphere has been appreciated across different areas ranging from condensed matter to quantum information and high energy physics. Although similar notions for larger Hilbert spaces are established in mathematics, they have been so far less explored beyond the two-level case for practical usage in condensed matter settings. We here theoretically characterize a general N-level system by its coherence vector described on the higher dimensional generalized Bloch (hyper)sphere, where topological properties such as the Berry curvature and the quantum metric take simple forms set by the SU(N) algebra. Focusing on two spatial dimensions, we present a geometric interpretation for the Chern number in larger Hilbert spaces in terms of a nested structure comprising N-1 two-spheres. We demonstrate that for the N-level case, there is an exterior two-sphere that provides a useful characterization of the system, notably by playing a primary role in determining the Chern number. The external sphere can be directly measured in ultracold atoms via well-established band mapping techniques, thereby imparting knowledge of the topological nature of state. We also investigate how the time evolution of the coherence vector defined on the generalized Bloch hypersphere can be utilized to extract the full state vector in experiments, allowing us to develop a tomography scheme involving quenches for three-level systems. Our geometric description opens up a new avenue for the interpretation of the topological classification and the dynamical illustration of multi-level systems, which in turn is anticipated to help in the design of new experimental probes.
The geometric interpretation of (pseudo)spin-
1/2 systems on the Bloch sphere has been appreciated across different areas ranging from condensed matter to quantum information and high-energy physics. Although similar notions for larger Hilbert spaces are established in mathematics, they have been so far less explored beyond the two-level case for practical usage in condensed matter settings, or have involved restrictions to sub manifolds within the full Hilbert space. We here employ a coherence vector description to theoretically characterize a general
N-level system on the higher dimensional generalized Bloch (hyper)sphere by respecting the structure of the underlying
SU(N) algebra and construct physically intuitive geometric pictures for topological concepts. Focusing on two spatial dimensions, we reveal a geometric interpretation for the Chern number in larger Hilbert spaces in terms of a nested structure comprising $N\ensuremath{-}1$ two-spheres. We demonstrate that for the
N-level case, there is an exterior two-sphere that provides a useful characterization of the system, notably by playing a primary role in determining the Chern number. The external sphere can be directly measured in ultracold atoms via well-established band mapping techniques, thereby imparting knowledge of the topological nature of state. We also investigate how the time evolution of the coherence vector defined on the generalized Bloch hypersphere can be utilized to extract the full state vector in experiments, allowing us to develop a tomography scheme involving quenches for three-level systems. Our geometric description opens up another avenue for the interpretation of the topological classification and the dynamical illustration of multilevel systems, which in turn is anticipated to help in the design of new experimental probes.
In the Bloch sphere based representation of qudits with dimensions greater than two, the Heisenberg-Weyl operator basis is not preferred because of presence of complex Bloch vector components. We try to address this issue and parametrize a qutrit using the Heisenberg-Weyl operators by identifying eight real parameters and separate them as four weight and four angular parameters each. The four weight parameters correspond to the weights in front of the four mutually unbiased bases sets formed by the eigenbases of Heisenberg-Weyl observables and they form a four-dimensional unit radius Bloch hypersphere. Inside the four-dimensional hypersphere all points do not correspond to a physical qutrit state but still it has several other features which indicate that it is a natural extension of the qubit Bloch sphere. We study the purity, rank of three level systems, orthogonality and mutual unbiasedness conditions and the distance between two qutrit states inside the hypersphere. We also analyze the two and three-dimensional sections centered at the origin which gives a close structure for physical qutrit states inside the hypersphere. Significantly, we have applied our representation to find mutually unbiased bases(MUBs) and to characterize the unital maps in three dimensions. It should also be possible to extend this idea in higher dimensions.