We describe an efficient numerical method for simulating the dynamics of interacting spin ensembles in the presence of dephasing and decay. The method builds on the discrete truncated Wigner approximation for isolated systems, which combines the mean
-field dynamics of a spin ensemble with a Monte Carlo sampling of discrete initial spin values to account for quantum correlations. Here we show how this approach can be generalized for dissipative spin systems by replacing the deterministic mean-field evolution by a stochastic process, which describes the decay of coherences and populations while preserving the length of each spin. We demonstrate the application of this technique for simulating nonclassical spin-squeezing effects or the dynamics and steady states of cavity QED models with hundred thousand interacting two-level systems and without relying on any symmetries. This opens up the possibility to perform accurate real-scale simulations of a diverse range of experiments in quantum optics or with solid-state spin ensembles under realistic laboratory conditions.
We consider the task of performing quantum state tomography on a $d$-state spin qudit, using only measurements of spin projection onto different quantization axes. By an exact mapping onto the classical problem of signal recovery on the sphere, we pr
ove that full reconstruction of arbitrary qudit states requires a minimal number of measurement axes, $r_d^{mathrm{min}}$, that is bounded by $2d-1le r_d^{mathrm{min}}le d^2$. We conjecture that $r_d^{mathrm{min}}=2d-1$, which we verify numerically for all $dle200$. We then provide algorithms with $O(rd^3)$ serial runtime, parallelizable down to $O(rd^2)$, for (i) computing a priori upper bounds on the expected error with which spin projection measurements along $r$ given axes can reconstruct an unknown qudit state, and (ii) estimating a posteriori the statistical error in a reconstructed state. Our algorithms motivate a simple randomized tomography protocol, for which we find that using more measurement axes can yield substantial benefits that plateau after $rapprox3d$.
We study the far-from-equilibrium dynamical regimes of a many-body spin boson model with disordered couplings relevant for cavity QED and trapped ions experiments, using the discrete truncated Wigner approximation (DTWA). We focus on the dynamics of
spin observables upon varying the disorder strength and the frequency of the photons, finding that the latter can considerably alter the structure of the systems dynamical responses. When the photons evolve at a similar rate as the spins, they can induce qualitatively distinct frustrated dynamics characterized by either logarithmic or algebraically slow relaxation. The latter illustrates resilience of glassy-like dynamics in the presence of active photonic degrees of freedom, suggesting that disordered quantum many body systems with resonant photons or phonons can display a rich diagram of non-equilibrium responses, with near future applications for quantum information science.
Macroscopic arrays of cold atoms trapped in optical cavities can reach the strong atom-light collective coupling regime thanks to the simultaneous interactions of the cavity mode with the atomic ensemble. In a recent work we reported a protocol that
takes advantage of the strong and collective atom-light interactions in cavity QED systems for precise electric field sensing in the optical domain. We showed that it can provide between $10$-$20$~dB of metrological gain over the standard quantum limit in current cavity QED experiments operating with long-lived alkaline-earth atoms. Here, we give a more in depth discussion of the protocol using both exact analytical calculations and numerical simulations, and describe the precise conditions under which the predicted enhancement holds after thoroughly accounting for both photon loss and spontaneous emission, natural decoherence mechanisms in current experiments. The analysis presented here not only serves to benchmark the protocol and its utility in cavity QED arrays but also sets the conditions required for its applicability in other experimental platforms such as arrays of trapped ions.
We investigate many-body spin squeezing dynamics in an XXZ model with interactions that fall off with distance $r$ as $1/r^alpha$ in $D=2$ and $3$ spatial dimensions. In stark contrast to the Ising model, we find a broad parameter regime where spin s
queezing comparable to the infinite-range $alpha=0$ limit is achievable even when interactions are short-ranged, $alpha>D$. A region of collective behavior in which optimal squeezing grows with system size extends all the way to the $alphatoinfty$ limit of nearest-neighbor interactions. Our predictions, made using the discrete truncated Wigner approximation (DTWA), are testable in a variety of experimental cold atomic, molecular, and optical platforms.
We propose a protocol for generating generalized GHZ states using ultracold fermions in 3D optical lattices or optical tweezer arrays. The protocol uses the interplay between laser driving, onsite interactions and external trapping confinement to enf
orce energetic spin- and position-dependent constraints on the atomic motion. These constraints allow us to transform a local superposition into a GHZ state through a stepwise protocol that flips one site at a time. The protocol requires no site-resolved drives or spin-dependent potentials, exhibits robustness to slow global laser phase drift, and naturally makes use of the harmonic trap that would normally cause difficulties for entanglement-generating protocols in optical lattices. We also discuss an improved protocol that can compensate for holes in the loadout at the cost of increased generation time. The state can immediately be used for quantum-enhanced metrology in 3D optical lattice clocks, opening a window to push the sensitivity of state-of-the-art sensors beyond the standard quantum limit.
We introduce protocols for designing and manipulating qubits with ultracold alkali atoms in 3D optical lattices. These qubits are formed from two-atom spin superposition states that create a decoherence-free subspace immune to stray magnetic fields,
dramatically improving coherence times while still enjoying the single-site addressability and Feshbach resonance control of state-of-the-art alkali atom systems. Our protocol requires no continuous driving or spin-dependent potentials, and instead relies upon the population of a higher motional band to realize naturally tunable in-site exchange and cross-site superexchange interactions. As a proof-of-principle example of their utility for entanglement generation for quantum computation, we show the cross-site superexchange interactions can be used to engineer 1D cluster states. Explicit protocols for experimental preparation and manipulation of the qubits are also discussed, as well as methods for measuring more complex quantities such as out-of-time-ordered correlation functions (OTOCs).
The recent advances in creating nearly degenerate quantum dipolar gases in optical lattices are opening the doors for the exploration of equilibrium physics of quantum systems with anisotropic and long-range dipolar interactions. In this paper we stu
dy the zero- and finite-temperature phase diagrams of a system of hard-core dipolar bosons at half-filling, trapped in a two-dimensional optical lattice. The dipoles are aligned parallel to one another and tilted out of the optical lattice plane by means of an external electric field. At zero-temperature, the system is a superfluid at all tilt angles $theta$ provided that the strength of dipolar interaction is below a critical value $V_c(theta)$. Upon increasing the interaction strength while keeping $theta$ fixed, the superfluid phase is destabilized in favor of a checkerboard or a stripe solid depending on the tilt angle. We explore the nature of the phase transition between the two solid phases and find evidence of a micro-emulsion phase, following the Spivak-Kivelson scenario, separating these two solid phases. Additionally, we study the stability of these quantum phases against thermal fluctuations and find that the stripe solid is the most robust, making it the best candidate for experimental observation.
We present a protocol to prepare decoherence free cluster states using ultracold atoms loaded in a two dimensional superlattice. The superlattice geometry leads to an array of 2*2 plaquettes, each of them holding four spin-1/2 particles that can be u
sed for encoding a single logical qubit in the two-fold singlet subspace, insensitive to uniform magnetic field fluctuations in any direction. Dynamical manipulation of the supperlattice yields distinct inter and intra plaquette interactions and permits to realize one qubit and two qubit gates with high fidelity, leading to the generation of universal cluster states for measurement based quantum computation. Our proposal based on inter and intra plaquette interactions also opens the path to study polymerized Hamiltonians which support ground states describing arbitrary quantum circuits.
We show that entanglement monotones can characterize the pronounced enhancement of entanglement at a quantum phase transition if they are sensitive to long-range high order correlations. These monotones are found to develop a sharp peak at the critic
al point and to exhibit universal scaling. We demonstrate that similar features are shared by noise correlations and verify that these experimentally accessible quantities indeed encode entanglement information and probe separability.
