No Arabic abstract
The response of a linear system to an external perturbation is governed by the Fourier limit, with the inverse of the interaction time constituting a lower limit for the system bandwidth. This does not hold for nonlinear systems, which can thus exhibit sub-Fourier behavior. The present work identifies a mechanism for sub-Fourier sensitivity in driven quantum systems, which relies on avoided crossing between Floquet states. Features up to three orders of magnitude finer than the Fourier limit are presented.
We characterize the avoided crossings in a two-parameter, time-periodic system which has been the basis for a wide variety of experiments. By studying these avoided crossings in the near-integrable regime, we are able to determine scaling laws for the dependence of their characteristic features on the non-integrability parameter. As an application of these results, the influence of avoided crossings on dynamical tunneling is described and applied to the recent realization of multiple-state tunneling in an experimental system.
The theoretical treatment of quasi-periodically driven quantum systems is complicated by the inapplicability of the Floquet theorem, which requires strict periodicity. In this work we consider a quantum system driven by a bi-harmonic driving and examine its asymptotic long-time limit, the limit in which features distinguishing systems with periodic and quasi-periodic driving occur. Also, in the classical case this limit is known to exhibit universal scaling, independent of the system details, with the systems reponse under quasi-periodic driving being described in terms of nearby periodically driven system results. We introduce a theoretical framework appropriate for the treatment of the quasi-periodically driven quantum system in the long-time limit, and derive an expression, based on Floquet states for a periodically driven system approximating the different steps of the time evolution, for the asymptotic scaling of relevant quantities for the system at hand. These expressions are tested numerically, finding excellent agreement for the finite-time average velocity in a prototypical quantum ratchet consisting of a space-symmetric potential and a time-asymmetric oscillating force.
In this review we present some of the work done in India in the area of driven and out-of-equilibrium systems with topological phases. After presenting some well-known examples of topological systems in one and two dimensions, we discuss the effects of periodic driving in some of them. We discuss the unitary as well as the non-unitary dynamical preparation of topologically non-trivial states in one and two dimensional systems. We then discuss the effects of Majorana end modes on transport through a Kitaev chain and a junction of three Kitaev chains. Transport through the surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator is discussed. The effects of hybridization between the top and bottom surfaces and the application of electromagnetic radiation on a strip-like region on the top surface are described. Two unusual topological systems are mentioned briefly, namely, a spin system on a kagome lattice and a Josephson junction of three superconducting wires. We have also included a pedagogical discussion on topology and topological invariants in the appendices, where the connection between topological properties and the intrinsic geometry of quantum states is also elucidated.
We study a quantum interacting spin system subject to an external drive and coupled to a thermal bath of spatially localized vibrational modes, serving as a model of Dynamic Nuclear Polarization. We show that even when the many-body eigenstates of the system are ergodic, a sufficiently strong coupling to the bath may effectively localize the spins due to many-body quantum Zeno effect, as manifested by the hole-burning shape of the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum. Our results provide an explanation of the breakdown of the thermal mixing regime experimentally observed above 4 - 5 Kelvin.
We examine structural and dynamical properties of quantum resonances associated with an avoided crossing and identify the parameter shifts where these properties attain maximal or extreme values, first at a general level, and then for a two-level system coupled to a harmonic oscillator, of the type commonly found in quantum optics. Finally the results obtained are exemplified and applied to optimize the fidelity and speed of quantum gates in trapped ions.