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Abstract Quantum state tomography is the experimental procedure of determining an unknown state. It is not only essential for the verification of resources and processors of quantum information but is also important in its own right with regard to the foundation of quantum mechanics. Standard methods have been elusive for large systems because of the enormous number of observables to be measured and the exponential complexity of data post-processing. Here, we propose a new scheme of quantum state tomography that requires the measurement of only three observables (acting jointly on the system and pointer) regardless of the size of the system. The system is coupled to a “pointer” of single qubit, and the wavefunction of the system is “reaped” onto the pointer upon the measurement of the system. Subsequently, standard two-state tomography on the pointer and classical post-processing are used to reconstruct the quantum state of the system. We also developed an efficient and scalable iterative maximum likelihood algorithm to estimate states from statistically incomplete data.

In this study, we explore the dynamics of entanglement in an ensemble of qutrits with a lambda-type level structure interacting with single-mode bosons. Our investigation focuses on zero-energy states within the subspace of totally symmetric wave functions. Remarkably, we observe a universal two-stage dynamics of entanglement with intriguing revival behavior. The revival of entanglement is a consequence of the self-purification process, where the quantum state relaxes and converges universally to a special dark state within the system.

We present a global optimization routine for the variational quantum algorithms, which utilizes the dynamic tunneling flow. Originally designed to leverage information gathered by a gradient-based optimizer around local minima, we adapt the conventional dynamic tunneling flow to exploit the distance measure of quantum states, resolving issues of extrinsic degeneracy arising from the parametrization of quantum states. Our global optimization algorithm is applied to the variational quantum eigensolver for the transverse-field Ising model to demonstrate the performance of our routine while comparing it with the conventional dynamic tunneling method, which is based on the Euclidean distance measure on the parameter space.

We derive an equality for non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in finite-dimensional quantum systems. The equality concerns the worst-case work output of a time-dependent Hamiltonian protocol in the presence of a Markovian heat bath. It has the form ‘worst-case work = penalty—optimum’. The equality holds for all rates of changing the Hamiltonian and can be used to derive the optimum by setting the penalty to 0. The optimum term contains the max entropy of the initial state, rather than the von Neumann entropy, thus recovering recent results from single-shot statistical mechanics. Energy coherences can arise during the protocol but are assumed not to be present initially. We apply the equality to an electron box.

We consider a topological superconducting wire and use the string order parameter to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of the topological order upon a quantum quench across the critical point. We also analyze the propagation of the initially localized Majorana bound states after the quench, in order to examine the connection between the topological order and the unpaired Majorana states, which has been well established at equilibrium but remains illusive in dynamical situations. It is found that after the quench the string order parameters decay over a finite time and that the decaying behavior is universal, independent of the wire length and the final value of the chemical potential (the quenching parameter). It is also found that the topological order is revived repeatedly although the amplitude gradually decreases. Further, the topological order can propagate into the region which was initially in the nontopological state. It is observed that all these behaviors are in parallel and consistent with the propagation and dispersion of the Majorana wave functions. Finally, we propose local probing methods which can measure the nonlocal topological order.

We investigate the mesoscopic resistor-capacitor circuit consisting of a quantum dot coupled to spatially separated Majorana fermion modes in a chiral topological superconductor. We find substantially enhanced relaxation resistance due to the nature of Majorana fermions, which are their own antiparticles and are composed of particle and hole excitations in the same abundance. Further, if only a single Majorana mode is involved, the zero-frequency relaxation resistance is completely suppressed due to a destructive interference. As a result, the Majorana mode opens an exotic dissipative channel on a superconductor which is typically regarded as dissipationless due to its finite superconducting gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) experiment of Cooper pairs on the edge channels of quantum spin Hall insulators. The helical edge channels provide a well-defined beam of Cooper pairs and perfect Andreev reflections from superconductors. This allows our setup to be identical in spirit to the original HBT experiment. Interestingly, the cross correlation is always negative and provides no hint of the bosonic nature of Cooper pairs. This counterintuitive result is attributed to the perfect Andreev reflection and the true beam splitter in the setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on the Department of Physics at Korea University, located in Seoul, South Korea. It discusses the university's reputation in the education sector, courses being offered at the university, the faculty members of the department, and the department's contribution to the field of high energy physics research.

We study the effect of ultrastrong cavity-qubit coupling on the low-lying excitations of a chain of coupled circuit quantum electrodynamic (QED) systems. We show that, in the presence of the onsite ultrastrong coupling, the photon hopping between cavities can be mapped to the Ising interaction between the lowest two levels of individual circuit QED of the chain. Based on our mapping, we predict two nearly degenerate ground states whose wave functions involve maximal entanglement between the macroscopic quantum states of the cavities and the states of qubits and identify that they are mathematically equivalent to Majorana bound states. Further, we devise a scheme for the dispersive measurement of the ground states using an additional resonator attached to one end of the circuit QED chain. Finally, we discuss the effects of disorders and local noises on the coherence of the ground states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the Majorana physics and its effect on the electron transport in the nontopological superconductor (NS)-topological superconductor (TS) double junctions of a loop geometry. We find that, depending on the ratio between the lengths of two topologically different regions and the localization lengths of the Majorana fermions formed between them, two completely different transport mechanisms are working: perfect crossed Andreev reflection (CAR) for the short NS segment and perfect normal Andreev reflection for the short TS segment. The difference is explained in terms of the topologically distinct properties of subgap states in two regions, which have not been revealed so far. The exotic dependence of the CAR process on the magnetic flux threading the loop is uncovered and can be used to detect the Majorana fermions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domain walls between superconducting and magnetic regions placed on top of a topological insulator support transport channels for Majorana fermions. We propose to study noise correlations in a Hanbury Brown—Twiss type interferometer and find three signatures of the Majorana nature of the channels. First, the average charge current in the outgoing leads vanishes. Furthermore, we predict an anomalously large shot noise in the output ports for a vanishing average current signal. Adding a quantum point contact to the setup, we find a surprising absence of partition noise which can be traced back to the Majorana nature of the earners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate nonperturbatively the charge relaxation resistance and quantum capacitance in a coherent RC circuit in the strong-coupling regime. We find that the many-body correlations break the universality in the charge relaxation resistance: (i) The charge relaxation resistance has peaks at finite frequencies Γ&#x21)F;, where Γ is an effective level broadening, and (ii) the zero-frequency resistance deviates from the universal value when the Zeeman splitting is comparable to Γ. This behavior becomes even more prominent in the Kondo regime. The observed features are ascribed to the generation of particle-hole excitations in the contacts accomplished by spin-flip processes in the dot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the photon population dynamics in two coupled circuit QED systems. For a sufficiently weak intercavity photon hopping, as the photon-cavity coupling increases, the dynamics undergoes double transitions first from a delocalized to a localized phase and then from the localized to another delocalized phase. The latter delocalized phase is distinguished from the former one; instead of oscillating between the two cavities, the photons rapidly quasiequilibrate over the two cavities. These intriguing features are attributed to an interplay between two qualitatively distinctive nonlinear behaviors of the circuit QED systems in the utrastrong coupling regime, whose distinction has been widely overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kibble-Zurek mechanism (KZM) is generalized to a class of multilevel systems and applied to study the quenching dynamics of one-dimensional (1D) topological superconductors (TS) with open ends. Unlike the periodic boundary condition, the open boundary condition, which is crucial for the zero-mode Majorana states localized at the boundaries, requires one to consider many coupled levels. Our generalized KZM predictions agree well with the numerically exact results for the 1D TS. In particular, the generalized KZM explains well the Majorana-mode contribution to the topological defects, which utterly defies the traditional KZM. The inherent bound-state character and multilevel structure of the Majorana mode, which play key roles in the TS, are efficiently captured by the generalized KZM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report nonequilibrium transport measurements of gate-tunable Andreev bound states in a carbon nanotube quantum dot coupled to two superconducting leads. In particular, we observe clear features of two types of Kondo ridges, which can be understood in terms of the interplay between the Kondo effect and superconductivity. In the first type (type I), the coupling is strong and the Kondo effect is dominant. Levels of the Andreev bound states display anticrossing in the middle of the ridge. On the other hand, crossing of the two Andreev bound states is shown in the second type (type II) together with the 0-π transition of the Josephson junction. Our scenario is well understood in terms of only a single dimensionless parameter, kBTKmin/Δ, where TKmin/Δ and Δ are the minimum Kondo temperature of a ridge and the superconducting order parameter, respectively. Our observation is consistent with measurements of the critical current, and is supported by numerical renormalization group calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using dynamic cantilever magnetometry and experimentally determining the cantilever's vibrational mode shape, we precisely measured the magnetic moment of a lithographically defined micron-sized superconducting Nb ring, a key element for the previously proposed subpiconewton force standard. The magnetic moments due to individual magnetic fluxoids and a diamagnetic response were independently determined at T=4.3 K, with a subfemtoampere-square-meter resolution. The results show good agreement with the theoretical estimation yielded by the Brandt and Clem model within the spring constant determination accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]