Publications from 2015

Driven Spin-Boson Luttinger Liquids

A. Kurcz, J.J. Garcia-Ripoll, and A. Bermudez
We introduce a lattice model of interacting spins and bosons that leads to Luttinger-liquid physics, and allows for quantitative tests of the theory of bosonization by means of trapped-ion or superconducting-circuit experiments. By using a variational bosonization ansatz, we calculate the power-law decay of spin and boson correlation functions, and study their dependence on a single tunable parameter, namely a bosonic driving. For small drivings, Matrix-Product-States (MPS) numerical methods are shown to be efficient and validate our ansatz. Conversely, even static MPS become inefficient for large-driving regimes, such that the experiment can potentially outperform classical numerics, achieving one of the goals of quantum simulations.

Interaction-Dependent Photon-Assisted Tunneling in Optical Lattices: A Quantum Simulator of Strongly-Correlated Electrons and Dynamical Gauge Fields

A. Bermudez, D. Porras
We introduce a scheme that combines photon-assisted tunneling by a moving optical lattice with strong Hubbard interactions, and allows for the quantum simulation of paradigmatic quantum many-body models. We show that, in a certain regime, this quantum simulator yields an effective Hubbard Hamiltonian with tunable bond-charge interactions, a model studied in the context of strongly-correlated electrons. In a different regime, we show how to exploit a correlated destruction of tunneling to explore Nagaoka ferromagnetism at finite Hubbard repulsion. By changing the photon-assisted tunneling parameters, we can also obtain a t-J model with independently controllable tunneling t, super-exchange interaction J, and even a Heisenberg-Ising anisotropy. Hence, the full phase diagram of this paradigmatic model becomes accessible to cold-atom experiments, departing from the region t≫J allowed by standard single-band Hubbard Hamiltonians in the strong-repulsion limit. We finally show that, by generalizing the photon-assisted tunneling scheme, the quantum simulator yields models of dynamical Gauge fields, where atoms of a given electronic state dress the tunneling of the atoms with a different internal state, leading to Peierls phases that mimic a dynamical magnetic field.

Measuring molecular electric dipoles using trapped atomic ions and ultrafast laser pulses

Jordi Mur-Petit and Juan José García-Ripoll
We study a hybrid quantum system composed of an ion and an electric dipole. We show how a trapped ion can be used to measure the small electric field generated by a classical dipole. We discuss the application of this scheme to measure the electric dipole moment of cold polar molecules, whose internal state can be controlled with ultrafast laser pulses, by trapping them in the vicinity of a trapped ion

Nonlinear quantum optics in the (ultra)strong light-matter coupling

E. Sánchez-Burillo, J. J. García-Ripoll, L. Martín-Moreno, D. Zueco
The propagation of N photons in one dimensional waveguides coupled to M qubits is discussed, both in the strong and ultrastrong qubit-waveguide coupling. Special emphasis is placed on the characterisation of the nonlinear response and its linear limit for the scattered photons as a function of N, M, qubit inter distance and light-matter coupling. The quantum evolution is numerically solved via the Matrix Product States technique. Both the time evolution for the field and qubits is computed. The nonlinear character (as a function of N/M) depends on the computed observable. While perfect reflection is obtained for N/M≅1, photon-photon correlations are still resolved for ratios N/M=2/20. Inter-qubit distance enhances the nonlinear response. Moving to the ultrastrong coupling regime, we observe that inelastic processes are \emph{robust} against the number of qubits and that the qubit-qubit interaction mediated by the photons is qualitatively modified. The theory developed in this work modelises experiments in circuit QED, photonic crystals and dielectric waveguides.

Photon-mediated qubit interactions in 1D discrete and continous models

Guillermo Diaz-Camacho, Diego Porras, Juan Jose Garcia-Ripoll
In this work we study numerically and analytically the interaction of two qubits in a one-dimensional waveguide, as mediated by the photons that propagate through the guide. We develop strategies to assert the Markovianity of the problem, the effective qubit-qubit interactions and their individual and collective spontaneous emission. We prove the existence of collective Lamb-shifts that affect the qubit-qubit interactions and the dependency of coherent and incoherent interactions on the qubit separation. We also develop the scattering theory associated to these models and prove single photon spectroscopy does probes the renormalized resonances of the single- and multi-qubit models, in sharp contrast with earlier toy models where individual and collective Lamb shifts cancel.

Quantum estimation via parametric amplification in circuit QED arrays

Ashley Wilkins and Carlos Sabín
We propose a scheme for quantum estimation by means of parametric amplification in circuit Quantum Electrodynamics. The modulation of a SQUID interrupting a superconducting waveguide transforms an initial thermal two-mode squeezed state in such a way that the new state is sensitive to the features of the parametric amplifier. We find the optimal initial parameters which maximize the Quantum Fisher Information. In order to achieve a large number of independent measurements we propose to use an array of non-interacting resonators. We show that the combination of both large QFI and large number of measurements enables -in principle- the use of this setup for Quantum Metrology applications.

The Bose-Hubbard model with squeezed dissipation

F. Quijandría, U. Naether, D. Porras, J. J. Garcí-Ripoll, D. Zueco
The stationary properties of the Bose-Hubbard model under squeezed dissipation are investigated. The dissipative model does not possess a U(1) symmetry, but parity is conserved: ⟨aj⟩→−⟨aj⟩. We find that ⟨aj⟩=0 always holds, so no symmetry breaking occurs. Without the onsite repulsion, the linear case is known to be critical. At the critical point the system freezes to an EPR state with infinite two mode entanglement. We show here that the correlations are rapidly destroyed whenever the repulsion is switched on. Then, the system approaches a thermal state with an effective temperature defined in terms of the squeezing parameter in the dissipators. We characterize this transition by means of a Gutzwiller {\it ansatz} and the Gaussian Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation.

The Interspersed Spin Boson Lattice Model

A. Kurcz, J.J. Garcia-Ripoll, and A. Bermudez
We describe a family of lattice models that support a new class of quantum magnetism characterized by correlated spin and bosonic ordering [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 180405 (2014)]. We explore the full phase diagram of the model using Matrix-Product-State methods. Guided by these numerical results, we describe a modified variational ansatz to improve our analytic description of the groundstate at low boson frequencies. Additionally, we introduce an experimental protocol capable of inferring the low-energy excitations of the system by means of Fano scattering spectroscopy. Finally, we discuss the implementation and characterization of this model with current circuit-QED technology.

Topological phases of shaken quantum Ising lattices

S. Fernández-Lorenzo, J. J. García-Ripoll, D. Porras
The quantum compass model consists of a two-dimensional square spin lattice where the orientation of the spin–spin interactions depends on the spatial direction of the bonds. It has remarkable symmetry properties and the ground state shows topological degeneracy. The implementation of the quantum compass model in quantum simulation setups like ultracold atoms and trapped ions is far from trivial, since spin interactions in those systems typically are independent of the spatial direction. Ising spin interactions, on the contrary, can be induced and controlled in atomic setups with state-of-the art experimental techniques. In this work, we show how the quantum compass model on a rectangular lattice can be simulated by the use of the photon-assisted tunneling induced by periodic drivings on a quantum Ising spin model. We describe a procedure to adiabatically prepare one of the doubly degenerate ground states of this model by adiabatically ramping down a transverse magnetic field, with surprising differences depending on the parity of the lattice size. Exact diagonalizations confirm the validity of this approach for small lattices. Specific implementations of this scheme are presented with ultracold atoms in optical lattices in the Mott insulator regime, as well as with Rydberg atoms.

Tunable and Switchable Coupling Between Two Superconducting Resonators

A. Baust et al
We realize a device allowing for tunable and switchable coupling between two frequency-degenerate superconducting resonators mediated by an artificial atom. For the latter, we utilize a persistent current flux qubit. We characterize the tunable and switchable coupling in the frequency and time domains and find that the coupling between the relevant modes can be varied in a controlled way. Specifically, the coupling can be tuned by adjusting the flux through the qubit loop or by controlling the qubit population via a microwave drive. Our measurements allow us to find parameter regimes for optimal coupler performance and quantify the tunability range.