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(Abridged) Observational surveys of entire star-forming regions have provided evidence of power-law correlations between the disc properties and the stellar mass, especially the disc mass (${M_d \propto M_*}^{\lambda_m}$) and the accretion rate ($\dot M \propto {M_*}^{\lambda_{acc}}$). Whether the secular disc evolution affects said correlations is still debated: while the purely viscous scenario has been probed, other mechanisms could impact differently. We study the evolution of the slopes $\lambda_m$ and $\lambda_{acc}$ in the wind-driven and hybrid case and compare it to the viscous prediction, using a combination of analytical calculations and numerical simulations (performed with the 1D population synthesis code Diskpop, that we also present and release). Assuming $M_d(0) \propto {M_*}^{\lambda_{m, 0}}$ and $\dot M(0) \propto {M_*}^{\lambda_{acc, 0}}$ as initial conditions, we find that viscous and hybrid accretion preserve the shape of the correlations and evolve their slope; on the other hand, MHD winds change the shape of the correlations, bending them according to the scaling of the accretion timescale with the stellar mass. We also show how a spread in the initial conditions conceals this behaviour. We then analyse the impact of disc dispersal, and find that the currently available sample sizes ($\sim 30$ discs at 5 Myr) introduce stochastic oscillations in the slopes evolution, which dominate over the physical signatures. Increasing the sample size could mitigate this issue: $\sim 140$ discs at 5 Myr, corresponding to the complete Upper Sco sample, would give small enough error bars to use the evolution of the slopes as a proxy for the driving mechanism of disc evolution. Finally, we discuss how the observational claim of steepening slopes necessarily leads to an initially steeper $M_d - M_*$ correlation with respect to $\dot M - M_*$., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures and 3 tables (plus Appendix). Accepted for publication in A&A. Includes Diskpop and popcorn software release

This work systematically investigates the phase diagram of a parallel double-quantum-dot Andreev molecule, where the two quantum dots are coupled to a common superconducting lead. Using the numerical renormalization group method, we map out the evolution of the ground state across a wide parameter space of level detunings, size of the superconducting gap, lead couplings, and inter-dot coupling strength. The intricate phase diagrams feature singlet, doublet, and a relatively uncommon triplet ground states, with the latter being a distinct signature of strong lead-mediated interactions between the quantum dots. We benchmark the applicability of simplified effective models, including the atomic limit and zero-bandwidth approximations, in capturing the complex behavior of this parallel configuration. Our analysis reveals severe limitations of these models, underscoring the necessity for maximal caution when extrapolating beyond their tested validity. In particular, all effective models except for the extended version of the zero-bandwidth approximation failed in reproducing the triplet ground state and made several false predictions. These findings provide crucial insights for interpreting experimental observations and designing superconducting devices based on quantum-dot architectures., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures

Long Wavelenght infrared devices, despite growing interest due to a wide range of applications in commercial, public, and academic sectors, are still struggling to achieve significant improvements over well-established technologies like HgCdTe detectors. Devices based on quantum nanostructures remain non competitive due to unresolved drawbacks, the most significant being the need to cool down to liquid nitrogen temperatures to improve the signal-to-noise ratio. In this work, we demonstrate an innovative solution to surpass the current generation of quantum dot-based detectors by exploiting the absorption from quantum dot localized states to resonant states in the continuum, that is states in the semiconductor conduction band with an enhanced probability density in the quantum dot region. This unprecedented approach takes advantage of the unique properties of such states to massively enhance carrier extraction, allowing to overcome one of the most crucial drawbacks of quantum dot-based infrared detectors. This innovative solution is discussed here from both theoretical and experimental perspectives. The measured room temperature operation with high detectivity demonstrates that exploiting resonant states absorption in quantum dots offers the long-sought solution for the next generation of infrared photodetectors.

The Kitaev chain can be engineered within a quantum dot-superconductor array, hosting Majorana zero modes at fine-tuned sweet spots. In this work, we propose and simulate the occurrence of Rabi and Ramsey oscillations to feasibly construct a minimal Majorana qubit in the quantum dot setup. Our real-time results incorporate realistic effects, e.g., charge noise and leakage, reflecting the latest experimental progress. We demonstrate that Majorana qubits with larger energy gaps exhibit significantly enhanced performance -- longer dephasing times, higher quality factors, reduced leakage probabilities, and improved visibilities -- compared to those with smaller gaps and with conventional quantum dot-based charge qubits. We introduce a method for reading out Majorana qubits via quantum capacitance measurements. Our work paves the way for future experiments on realizing Majorana qubits in quantum dot-superconductor arrays., Comment: 7 Pages, 4 figures

We report an experimental study of a one-dimensional quintuple-quantum-dot array integrated with two quantum dot charge sensors in an InAs nanowire. The device is studied by measuring double quantum dots formed consecutively in the array and corresponding charge stability diagrams are revealed with both direct current measurements and charge sensor signals. The one-dimensional quintuple-quantum-dot array are then tuned up and its charge configurations are fully mapped out with the two charge sensors. The energy level of each dot in the array can be controlled individually by using a compensated gate architecture (i.e., "virtual gate"). After that, four dots in the array are selected to form two double quantum dots and ultra strong inter-double-dot interaction is obtained. A theoretical simulation based on a 4-dimensional Hamiltonian confirms the strong coupling strength between the two double quantum dots. The highly controllable one-dimensional quantum dot array achieved in this work is expected to be valuable for employing InAs nanowires to construct advanced quantum hardware in the future.

A quantum system interacting with a time-periodic excitation creates a ladder of hybrid eigenstates in which the system is mixed with an increasing number of photons. This mechanism, referred to as dressing, has been observed in the context of light-matter interaction in systems as varied as atoms, molecules and solid-state qubits. In this work, we demonstrate state dressing in a semiconductor quantum dot tunnel-coupled to a charge reservoir. We observe the emergence of a Floquet ladder of states in the system's high-frequency electrical response, manifesting as interference fringes at the multiphoton resonances despite the system lacking an avoided crossing. We study the dressed quantum dot while changing reservoir temperature, charge lifetime, and excitation amplitude and reveal the fundamental nature of the mechanism by developing a theory based on the quantum dynamics of the Floquet ladder, which is in excellent agreement with the data. Furthermore, we show how the technique finds applications in the accurate electrostatic characterisation of semiconductor quantum dots., Comment: 8 Pages, 4 Figures. Supplementary: 4 Pages, 2 Figures

Realizing Majorana bound states (MBSs) in short, well-controllable chains of coupled quantum dots sidesteps the problem of disorder, but requires fine-tuning and does not give the true topological protection inherent to long chains. Here, we introduce a new quality measure that is applicable also in the presence of strong electron-electron interactions and that quantifies the closeness to topological protection of finetuned MBSs in short quantum-dot chains. We call this measure local distinguishability because it puts a bound to the degree an arbitrary local measurement can distinguish between two states. We study the local distinguishability for quantum-dot chains of different length. The three-dot chain is studied in detail, and we find that it may not always be an improvement over the two-dot case, a fact that can be understood within an effective model derived from perturbation theory. For longer chains, the local distinguishability vanishes exponentially, signalling a transition to a topological phase with two ground states that cannot be distinguished by any local measurement., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes to more closely match the published version

We investigate non-equilibrium transport of charge and heat through an interacting quantum dot coupled to a finite electron reservoir. Both the quantum dot and the finite reservoir are coupled to conventional electric contacts, i.e., infinite electron reservoirs, between which a bias voltage can be applied. We develop a phenomenological description of the system, combining a rate equation for transport through the quantum dot with standard linear response expressions for transport between the finite and infinite reservoirs. The finite reservoir is assumed to be in a quasi-equilibrium state with time-dependent chemical potential and temperature which we solve for self-consistently. We show that the finite reservoir can have a large impact on the stationary state transport properties, including a shift and broadening of the Coulomb diamond edges. We also demonstrate that there is a region around the conductance lines where a heat current flows out of the finite reservoir. Our results reveal the dependence of the temperature that can be reached by this thermoelectric cooling on the system parameters, in particular the coupling between the finite and infinite reservoirs and additional heat currents induced by electron-phonon couplings, and can thus serve as a guide to experiments on quantum dot-enabled thermoelectric cooling of finite electron reservoirs. Finally, we study the full dynamics of the system, with a particular focus on the timescales involved in the thermoelectric cooling., Comment: 6+2 pages, 4 figures, updated references and fixed typos, close to published version

Charge noise is a major obstacle to improved gate fidelities in silicon spin qubits. Numerous methods exist to mitigate charge noise, including improving device fabrication, dynamical decoupling, and real-time parameter estimation. In this work, we demonstrate a new class of techniques to mitigate charge noise in semiconductor quantum dots by controlling the noise sources themselves. Using two different classical feedback methods, we stabilize an individual charged two-level fluctuator in a Si/SiGe quantum dot. These control methods reduce the low-frequency component of the noise power spectrum by an order of magnitude. These techniques also enable stabilizing the fluctuator in either of its states. In the future, such techniques may enable improved coherence times in quantum-dot spin qubits.

A fully analytical approach based on the equation of motion technique to investigate the spectral properties and orbital occupations in an interacting double quantum dot in equilibrium is presented. By solving a linear system for the density correlators analytically, an explicit expression for the one body Green's function in terms of local occupations, intra- and inter-dot Coulomb interactions, and the model parameters is derived. In the uncontacted limit, the results coincide with those obtained from the grand canonical ensemble. The analytical results compare favourably with numerical results obtained with the non-crossing approximation and the hierarchical equation of motion methods accurately reproducing peak positions and spectral weight distributions in the Coulomb blockade regime., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

Atom manipulation by scanning tunneling microscopy was used to construct quantum dots on the InAs(111)A surface. Each dot comprised six ionized indium adatoms. The positively charged adatoms create a confining potential acting on surface-state electrons, leading to the emergence of a bound state associated with the dot. By lining up the dots into N-dot chains with alternating tunnel coupling between them, quantum-dot molecules were constructed that revealed electronic boundary states as predicted by the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model of one-dimensional topological phases. Dot chains with odd N were constructed such that they host a single end or domain-wall state, allowing one to probe the localization of the boundary state on a given sublattice by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We found probability density also on the forbidden sublattice together with an asymmetric energy spectrum of the chain-confined states. This deviation from the SSH model arises because the dots are charged and create a variation in onsite potential along the chain - which does not remove the boundary states but shifts their energy away from the midgap position. Our results demonstrate that topological boundary states can be created in quantum-dot arrays engineered with atomic-scale precision., Comment: 18 pages in total including 16 pages of main text plus figures and legends plus Appendix section and references as well as two pages of Supplemental Material

We investigate experimentally the quantum coherence of an electronic two-level system in a double quantum dot under continuous charge detection. The charge-state of the two-level system is monitored by a capacitively coupled single quantum dot detector that imposes a back-action effect to the system. The measured back-action is well described by an additional decoherence rate, approximately linearly proportional to the detector electron tunneling rate. We provide a model for the decoherence rate arising due to level detuning fluctuations induced by detector charge fluctuations. The theory predicts a factor of two lower decoherence rate than observed in the experiment, suggesting the need for a more elaborate theory accounting for additional sources of decoherence., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures

Initially introduced as a machine translation model, the Transformer architecture has now become the foundation for modern deep learning architecture, with applications in a wide range of fields, from computer vision to natural language processing. Nowadays, to tackle increasingly more complex tasks, Transformer-based models are stretched to enormous sizes, requiring increasingly larger training datasets, and unsustainable amount of compute resources. The ubiquitous nature of the Transformer and its core component, the attention mechanism, are thus prime targets for efficiency research. In this work, we propose an alternative compatibility function for the self-attention mechanism introduced by the Transformer architecture. This compatibility function exploits an overlap in the learned representation of the traditional scaled dot-product attention, leading to a symmetric with pairwise coefficient dot-product attention. When applied to the pre-training of BERT-like models, this new symmetric attention mechanism reaches a score of 79.36 on the GLUE benchmark against 78.74 for the traditional implementation, leads to a reduction of 6% in the number of trainable parameters, and reduces the number of training steps required before convergence by half., Comment: to be published in Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2024

We theoretically explore the emergence of strong zero modes in a two-site chain consisting of two quantum dots coupled due to a central dot that mediates electron hopping and singlet superconducting pairing. In the presence of time-reversal symmetry, the on-site Coulomb interaction leads to a three-fold ground-state degeneracy when tuning the system to a sweet spot as a function of the inter-dot couplings. This degeneracy is protected against changes of the dot energies in the same way as "poor man's'' Majorana bound states in short Kitaev chains. In the limit of strong interactions, this protection is maximal and the entire spectrum becomes triply degenerate, indicating the emergence of a ''poor man's'' version of a strong zero mode. We explain the degeneracy and protection by constructing corresponding Majorana Kramers-pair operators and $\mathbb{Z}_3$-parafermion operators. The strong zero modes share many properties of Majorana bound states in short Kitaev chains, including the stability of zero-bias peaks in the conductance and the behavior upon coupling to an additional quantum dot. However, they can be distinguished through finite-bias spectroscopy and the exhibit a different behavior when scaling to longer chains., Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures

We investigate the entanglement properties in semiconductor quantum dot systems modeled by extended Hubbard model, focusing on the impact of potential energy variations and electron interactions within a four-site quantum dot spin chain. Our study explores local and pairwise entanglement across configurations with electron counts N=4 and N=6, under different potential energy settings. By adjusting the potential energy in specific dots and examining the entanglement across various interaction regimes, we identify significant variations in the ground states of quantum dots. Our results reveal that local potential modifications lead to notable redistributions of electron configurations, significantly affecting the entanglement properties. These changes are depicted in phase diagrams that show entanglement dependencies on interaction strengths and potential energy adjustments, highlighting complex entanglement dynamics and phase transitions triggered by inter-dot interactions., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures

Machine learning offers a largely unexplored avenue for improving noisy disordered devices in physics using automated algorithms. Through simulations that include disorder in physical devices, particularly quantum devices, there is potential to learn about disordered landscapes and subsequently tune devices based on those insights. In this work, we introduce a novel methodology that employs machine learning, specifically convolutional neural networks (CNNs), to discern the disorder landscape in the parameters of the disordered extended Hubbard model underlying the semiconductor quantum dot spin qubit architectures. This technique takes advantage of experimentally obtainable charge stability diagrams from neighboring quantum dot pairs, enabling the CNN to accurately identify disorder in each parameter of the extended Hubbard model. Remarkably, our CNN can process site-specific disorder in Hubbard parameters, including variations in hopping constants, on-site potentials (gate voltages), and both intra-site and inter-site Coulomb terms. This advancement facilitates the prediction of spatially dependent disorder across all parameters simultaneously with high accuracy ($R^2>0.994$) and fewer parameter constraints, marking a significant improvement over previous methods that were focused only on analyzing on-site potentials at low coupling. Furthermore, our approach allows for the tuning of five or more quantum dots at a time, effectively addressing the often-overlooked issue of crosstalk. Not only does our method streamline the tuning process, potentially enabling fully automated adjustments, but it also introduces a "no trust" verification method to rigorously validate the neural network's predictions. Ultimately, this work aims to lay the groundwork for generalizing our method to tackle a broad spectrum of physical problems.

Planar germanium quantum wells have recently been shown to host hard-gapped superconductivity. Additionally, quantum dot spin qubits in germanium are well-suited for quantum information processing, with isotopic purification to a nuclear spin-free material expected to yield long coherence times. Therefore, as one of the few group IV materials with the potential to host superconductor-semiconductor hybrid devices, proximitized quantum dots in germanium is a compelling platform to achieve and combine topological superconductivity with existing and novel qubit modalities. Here we demonstrate a quantum dot (QD) in a Ge/SiGe heterostructure proximitized by a platinum germanosilicide (PtGeSi) superconducting lead (SC), forming a SC-QD-SC junction. We show tunability of the QD-SC coupling strength, as well as gate control of the ratio of charging energy and the induced gap. We further exploit this tunability by exhibiting control of the ground state of the system between even and odd parity. Furthermore, we characterize the critical magnetic field strengths, finding a critical out-of-plane field of 0.90(4). Finally we explore sub-gap spin splitting in the device, observing rich physics in the resulting spectra, that we model using a zero-bandwidth model in the Yu-Shiba-Rusinov limit. The demonstration of controllable proximitization at the nanoscale of a germanium quantum dot opens up the physics of novel spin and superconducting qubits, and Josephson junction arrays in a group IV material., Comment: Main text : 10 pages, 4 figures, Supplement : 11 pages, 8 figures

Semiconductor lasers have great potential for space laser communication. However, excessive radiation in space can cause laser failure. In principle, quantum dot (QD) lasers are more radiation-resistant than traditional semiconductor lasers because of their superior carrier confinement and smaller active regions. However, the multifaceted nature of radiation effects on QDs resulted in ongoing controversies. Comprehensive testing under simulated space conditions is also necessary to validate their performance. In this work, we conducted radiation tests on various In(Ga)As/GaAs QD and quantum well (QW) materials and devices. Our results revealed that InAs/GaAs QDs with filling factors greater than 50% exhibit greater radiation hardness than those below 50%. Furthermore, most InAs/GaAs QDs showed superior radiation resistance compared to InGaAs/GaAs QW when exposed to low proton fluences of 1E11 and 1E12 cm-2, resulting from radiation-induced defects. The linewidth enhancement factor (LEF) of well-designed QD lasers remains remarkably stable and close to zero, even under proton irradiation at a maximum fluence of 7E13 cm-2, owing to their inherent insensitivity to irradiation-induced defects. These QD lasers demonstrate an exceptional average relative intensity noise (RIN) level of -162 dB/Hz, with only a 1 dB/Hz increase in RIN observed at the highest fluence, indicating outstanding stability. Furthermore, the lasers exhibit remarkable robustness against optical feedback, sustaining stable performance even under a feedback strength as high as -3.1 dB. These results highlight the significant potential of QD lasers for space laser communication applications, where high reliability and resilience to radiation and environmental perturbations are critical., Comment: 5 figures

Motivated by the recent experimental realization of a minimal Kitaev chain in quantum dot systems, we present our theoretical findings on the dynamics and fusion of MZMs at or near the $``$sweet spot" $t_h = \Delta$ (where the fermionic hopping $t_h$ and superconducting coupling $\Delta$ are equal). We investigated the dynamics and fusion of MZMs using time-dependent real-space local density-of-states methods. The movement of Majoranas and the detection of fusion channels are crucial for topological quantum computations. Additionally, we discuss our recent discovery of exotic $``$multi-site" MZMs in $Y$-shaped Kitaev wires, which is important for the potential braiding of Majoranas in $Y$-junctions formed from arrays of quantum dots. Finally, we present results on "non-trivial" fusion using canonical Kitaev wires at the sweet spot., Comment: 6 pages and 2 figures

We perform readout of a quantum-dot hybrid qubit coupled to a superconducting resonator through a parametric, longitudinal interaction mechanism. Our experiments are performed with the qubit and resonator frequencies detuned by $\sim$10 GHz, demonstrating that longitudinal coupling can facilitate semiconductor qubit operation in the 'ultra-dispersive' regime of circuit quantum electrodynamics., Comment: Main text and Supplementary Information; 13 pages, 7 figures

Models to describe electrical conduction in quantum dot (QD) constituted films often overlook the effects of geometric disorder. We address related issues by examining the influence of the QD packing fraction (PF) on the charge transport and transmission in QD arrays. Using transfer matrix based algorithms and Monte Carlo simulations, we quantify the transmission across disordered QD assemblies. Our results indicate a critical packing fraction ($PF_c $) of $\sim$ 0.64, marking a transition from a non-conducting to a conducting state, aligning well with experimental observations and analytical predictions. This study enhances the understanding of transport in QD arrays, with implications for designing efficient electronic devices based on disordered nanoscale systems., Comment: 5 pages (including references/acknowledgements) and 3 figures

Edge magnetoplasmon is an emergent chiral bosonic mode promising for studying electronic quantum optics. While the plasmon transport has been investigated with various techniques for decades,its coupling to a mesoscopic device remained unexplored. Here, we demonstrate the coupling between a single plasmon mode in a quantum Hall plasmon resonator and a double quantum dot (DQD). Resonant plasmon-assisted tunneling is observed in the DQD through absorbing or emitting plasmons stored in the resonator. By using the DQD as a spectrometer, the plasmon energy and the coupling strength are evaluated, which can be controlled by changing the electrostatic environment of the quantum Hall edge. The observed plasmon-electron coupling encourages us for studying strong coupling regimes of plasmonic cavity quantum electrodynamics., Comment: 6+5 pages, 5+5 figures

Energy sustainability and interconnectivity are the two main pillars on which cutting-edge architecture is based and require the realisation of energy and intelligent devices that can be fully integrated into buildings, capable of meeting stringent regulatory requirements and operating in real-world conditions. Luminescent solar concentrators, particularly those based on near-infrared emitting reabsorption-free quantum dots, are considered good candidates for the realisation of semi-transparent photovoltaic glazing, but despite important advances in optical property engineering strategies, studies of finished devices suitable for real-world operation are still lacking. In this paper, we demonstrate the first example of a fully assembled quantum dot luminescent solar concentrator-based photovoltaic glazing that meets all international standards for photovoltaic and building elements. We also show that these devices are capable of functioning as efficient Visible Light Communication (VLC) receivers even under full sunlight, thus combining energy and wireless connectivity functions in a realistic solution for smart, sustainable buildings.

Highly efficient anti-Stokes (AS) photoluminescence (PL) is observed from halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) due to their strong electron-phonon interactions. The AS PL is particularly intriguing as it suggests the potential for semiconductor optical cooling if the external quantum efficiency approaches 100%. However, the PL quantum efficiency in QDs is primarily dominated by multiparticle nonradiative Auger recombination processes under intense photoexcitation, which impose limits on the optical cooling gain. Here, we investigate the Auger recombination of dot-in-crystal perovskites. We quantitatively estimate the maximum optical cooling gain and the corresponding excitation intensity. We further conducted optical cooling experiments and demonstrate a maximum photo-cooling of approximately 9 K from room temperature. Additionally, we confirmed that increasing the excitation intensity leads to a transition from photo-cooling to photo-heating. These observations are consistent with our time-resolved measurements, offering insights into the potential and limitations of optical cooling in semiconductor QDs.