Digital Quantum Rabi and Dicke Models in Superconducting Circuits

We propose the analog-digital quantum simulation of the quantum Rabi and Dicke models using circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). We find that all physical regimes, in particular those which are impossible to realize in typical cavity QED setups, can be simulated via unitary decomposition into digital steps. Furthermore, we show the emergence of the Dirac equation dynamics from the quantum Rabi model when the mode frequency vanishes. Finally, we analyze the feasibility of this proposal under realistic superconducting circuit scenarios.

Biomimetic Cloning of Quantum Observables

We propose a bio-inspired sequential quantum protocol for the cloning and preservation of the statistics associated to quantum observables of a given system. It combines the cloning of a set of commuting observables, permitted by the no-cloning and no-broadcasting theorems, with a controllable propagation of the initial state coherences to the subsequent generations. The protocol mimics the scenario in which an individual in an unknown quantum state copies and propagates its quantum information into an environment of blank qubits Finally, we propose a realistic experimental implementation of this protocol in trapped ions.

Quantum Simulation of Dissipative Processes without Reservoir Engineering

We present a quantum algorithm to simulate general finite dimensional Lindblad master equations without the requirement of engineering the system-environment interactions. The proposed method is able to simulate both Markovian and non-Markovian quantum dynamics. It consists in the quantum computation of the dissipative corrections to the unitary evolution of the system of interest, via the reconstruction of the response functions associated with the Lindblad operators. Our approach is equally applicable to dynamics generated by effectively non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. We confirm the quality of our method providing specific error bounds that quantify its accuracy.

Quantum Simulator for Transport Phenomena in Fluid Flows

Transport phenomena still stand as one of the most challenging problems in computational physics. By exploiting the analogies between Dirac and lattice Boltzmann equations, we develop a quantum simulator based on pseudospin-boson quantum systems, which is suitable for encoding fluid dynamics transport phenomena within a lattice kinetic formalism. It is shown that both the streaming and collision processes of lattice Boltzmann dynamics can be implemented with controlled quantum operations, using a heralded quantum protocol to encode non-unitary scattering processes. The proposed simulator is amenable to realization in controlled quantum platforms, such as ion-trap quantum computers or circuit quantum electrodynamics processors.

Evaluation of holonomic quantum computation: Adiabatic versus nonadiabatic

Based on the analytical solution to the time-dependent Schrodinger equations, we evaluate the holonomic quantum computation beyond the adiabatic limit. Besides providing rigorous confirmation of the geometrical prediction of holonomies, the present dynamical resolution offers also a practical means to study the nonadiabaticity induced effects for the universal qubit operations.

Quantum computation with coupled quantum dots embedded in optical microcavities

Based on an idea that spatial separation of charge states can enhance quantum coherence, we propose a scheme for a quantum computation with the quantum bit (qubit) constructed from two coupled quantum dots. Quantum information is stored in the electron-hole pair state with the electron and hole located in different dots, which enables the qubit state to be very long-lived. Universal quantum gates involving any pair of qubits are realized by coupling the quantum dots through the cavity photon which is a hopeful candidate for the transfer of long-range information. The operation analysis is carried out by estimating the gate time versus the decoherence time.

Effects of helium and oxygen common implantation in silicon wafer

Defect engineering for SiO2] precipitation is investigated using He-ion implantation as the first stage of separation by implanted oxygen (STMOX). Cavities are created in Si by implantation with helium ions. After thermal annealing at different temperatures, the sample is implanted with 120keV 8.0 x 10(16) cm(-2) O ions. The O ion energy is chosen such that the peak of the concentration distribution is centred at the cavity band. For comparison, another sample is implanted with O ions alone. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), Fourier transform infrared absorbance spectrometry (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements are used to investigate the samples. The results show that a narrow nano-cavity layer is found to be excellent nucleation sites that effectively assisted SiO2 formation and released crystal lattice strain associated with silicon oxidation.

快重离子在SiO2基材料中引起的强电子激发效应研究

具有特殊结构的SiO2基材料与Si平面工艺具有好的兼容性，在光电技术中的发光二极管、固体显示屏等器件的研制方面有巨大的潜在应用价值。本论文以快重离子与物质相互作用的特点为依据，选择具有重要应用价值的SiO2基材料，研究快重离子辐照在SiO2基材料中引起的强电子激发效应，特别是辐照相变等现象，探索制备具有特殊功能的新型材料的方法，主要开展了如下研究： 1）在单晶Si衬底上通过高温湿法氧化一层SiO2薄膜，制备出SiO2/Si样品；在室温条件下，用能量为100 keV的碳离子注入样品，注入剂量分别为2.0×1017、5.0×1017和1.2×1018 ions/cm2，使样品SiO2薄膜中一定区域内C、Si和O原子达到适当的原子浓度配比；再用能量为308 MeV的Xe和853 MeV的Pb离子在室温下对注碳后的SiO2/Si样品进行辐照，Xe离子辐照是在兰州重离子加速器国家实验室的扇聚焦回旋加速器（HIRFL-SFC）的重离子辐照终端上完成，辐照剂量分别为1.0×1012、5.0×1012、1.0×1013、1.0×1014 Xe-ions/cm2，Pb离子辐照实验是在法国重离子激光交叉学科研究中心(CIRIL,Caen)的中能离子辐照终端（IRASME）完成的，辐照剂量分别为5.0×1011、1.0×1012、2.0×1012、5.0×1012 Pb-ions/cm2；最后用荧光光谱、红外吸收光谱、拉曼光谱和透射电子显微镜分析等技术对样品进行了表征。研究了样品发光与注碳剂量、辐照剂量和离子在薄膜中电子能损值的依赖关系，辐照引起SiO2薄膜中微结构改变与实验参数的依赖关系。发现快重离子辐照能显著改变注碳SiO2/Si样品的发光特性，如在5.0×1012 Pb-ions/cm2辐照的注碳2.0×1017 ions/cm2的样品中，探测到了很强的位于456、484和563nm的发光；在电镜照片中观察到了8H-SiC纳米晶及其他微结构的形成。基于实验结果，对薄膜发光特性与微结构改变之间的关系进行了初步探讨。 2）利用磁控溅射在单晶SiO2表面沉积Ni薄膜，制备了Ni/SiO2样品；在室温下用能量为308MeV的Xe和853MeV的Pb离子辐照Ni/SiO2样品，离子穿透Ni薄膜和Ni/SiO2界面，Xe、Pb离子辐照分别在HIRFL-SFC和法国CIRIL的IRASME辐照终端上完成，辐照剂量为1.0×1012、5.0×1012 Xe/cm2和5.0×1011Pb/cm2；用卢瑟福背散射技术和X射线衍射谱对样品进行了分析，研究了界面原子混合及相变效应与辐照剂量、电子能损值的依赖关系。发现快重离子辐照能引起Ni/SiO2样品界面处原子的混合，并导致界面形成NiSi2或Ni3Si新相，且原子扩散量随辐照剂量和电子能损值的增大而增大。 3）以热峰模型原理为基础，对实验观测到的快重离子辐照效应特别是电子能损效应的产生机理进行了探讨

Investigation of a series of synthetic cationic porphyrins using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) was used to study a series of synthetic cationic porphyrins as the perchlorate and bromide salts. This work presents the analytical results for the porphyrins obtained using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and 1,8,9-anthratriol as matrices. The selective use of matrix affects ion formation from these porphyrins. By using DHB as the matrix, we not only observed [M - nCIO(4)](+) (n = 1-4) ions, but also obtained [2M - nCIO(4)](+) (n = 2-7) ions from the synthetic cationic porphyrins. The space volume of the side chains (R groups) and the nature of the anions (Br- or CIO4-) affected the relative importance of monomeric and dimeric ions of the porphyrin. The possible mechanisms of desorption and ionization of these cationic porphyrins were also considered in this study. MALDI-TOFMS proved to be a very useful method for obtaining structural information on these synthetic cationic porphyrins. Copyright (C) 1999 John Whey & Sons, Ltd.

Ion Pickup by Finite Amplitude Parallel Propagating Alfven Waves

Li, Xing; Lu, Q. M.; Li, B., 'Ion Pickup by Finite Amplitude Parallel Propagating Alfven Waves', The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2007) 661(1) pp.L105-L108 RAE2008

Surface-electrode point Paul trap

We present a model as well as experimental results for a surface electrode radiofrequency Paul trap that has a circular electrode geometry well suited for trapping single ions and two-dimensional planar ion crystals. The trap design is compatible with microfabrication and offers a simple method by which the height of the trapped ions above the surface may be changed in situ. We demonstrate trapping of single Sr88+ ions over an ion height range of 200-1000 μm for several hours under Doppler laser cooling and use these to characterize the trap, finding good agreement with our model. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

Entanglement Replication in Driven Dissipative Many-Body systems

We study the dissipative dynamics of two independent arrays of many-body systems, locally driven by a common entangled field. We showthat in the steady state the entanglement of the driving field is reproduced in an arbitrarily large series of inter-array entangled pairs over all distances. Local nonclassical driving thus realizes a scale-free entanglement replication and long-distance entanglement distribution mechanism that has immediate bearing on the implementation of quantum communication networks. 

Reconstructing the quantum state of oscillator networks with a single qubit

We introduce a scheme to reconstruct arbitrary states of networks composed of quantum oscillators-e. g., the motionalstate of trapped ions or the radiation state of coupled cavities. The scheme involves minimal resources and minimal access, in the sense that it (i) requires only the interaction between a one-qubit probe and a single node of the network; (ii) provides the Weyl characteristic function of the network directly from the data, avoiding any tomographic transformation; (iii) involves the tuning of only one coupling parameter. In addition, we show that a number of quantum properties can be extracted without full reconstruction of the state. The scheme can be used for probing quantum simulations of anharmonic many-body systems and quantum computations with continuous variables. Experimental implementation with trapped ions is also discussed and shown to be within reach of current technology.

Cement As a Waste Form for Nuclear Fission Products: The Case of 90Sr and Its Daughters

One of the main challenges faced by the nuclear industry is the long-term confinement of nuclear waste. Because it is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, cement is the material of choice to store large volumes of radioactive materials, in particular the low-level medium-lived fission products. It is therefore of utmost importance to assess the chemical and structural stability of cement containing radioactive species. Here, we use ab initio calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) to study the effects of ⁹⁰Sr insertion and decay in C-S-H (calcium-silicate-hydrate) in order to test the ability of cement to trap and hold this radioactive fission product and to investigate the consequences of its β-decay on the cement paste structure. We show that ⁹⁰Sr is stable when it substitutes the Ca²⁺ ions in C-S-H, and so is its daughter nucleus ⁹⁰Y after β-decay. Interestingly, ⁹⁰Zr, daughter of ⁹⁰Y and final product in the decay sequence, is found to be unstable compared to the bulk phase of the element at zero K but stable when compared to the solvated ion in water. Therefore, cement appears as a suitable waste form for ⁹⁰Sr storage.

Photoluminescence studies on RF plasma-polymerized thin films

Conjugated polymers in the form of thin films play an important role in the field of materials science due to their interesting properties. Polymer thin films find extensive applications in the fabrication of devices, such as light emitting devices, rechargeable batteries, super capacitors, and are used as intermetallic dielectrics and EMI shieldings. Polymer thin films prepared by plasma-polymerization are highly cross-linked, pinhole free, and their permittivity lie in the ultra low k-regime. Electronic and photonic applications of plasma-polymerized thin films attracted the attention of various researchers. Modification of polymer thin films by swift heavy ions is well established and ion irradiation of polymers can induce irreversible changes in their structural, electrical, and optical properties. Polyaniline and polyfurfural thin films prepared by RF plasmapolymerization were irradiated with 92MeV silicon ions for various fluences of 1×1011 ions cm−2, 1×1012 ions cm−2, and 1×1013 ions cm−2. FTIR have been recorded on the pristine and silicon ion irradiated polymer thin films for structural evaluation. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were recorded for RF plasma-polymerized thin film samples before and after irradiation. In this paper the effect of swift heavy ions on the structural and photoluminescence spectra of plasma-polymerized thin films are investigated.