Évolution des systèmes quantiques ouverts : décohérence et informatique quantique

Ce travail de maîtrise a mené à la rédaction d'un article (Physical Review A 80, 062319 (2009)).

Why entanglement of formation is not generally monogamous

Unlike correlation of classical systems, entanglement of quantum systems cannot be distributed at will: if one system A is maximally entangled with another system B, it cannot be entangled at all with a third system C. This concept, known as the monogamy of entanglement, is manifest when the entanglement of A with a pair BC can be divided as contributions of the entanglement between A and B and A and C, plus a term τABC involving genuine tripartite entanglement and so expected to be always positive. A very important measure in quantum information theory, the entanglement of formation (EOF), fails to satisfy this last requirement. Here we present the reasons for that and show a set of conditions that an arbitrary pure tripartite state must satisfy for the EOF to become a monogamous measure, i.e., for τABC≥0. The relation derived is connected to the discrepancy between quantum and classical correlations, τABC being negative whenever the quantum correlation prevails over the classical one. This result is employed to elucidate features of the distribution of entanglement during a dynamical evolution. It also helps to relate all monogamous instances of the EOF to the squashed sntanglement, an entanglement measure that is always monogamous. © 2013 American Physical Society.

Teleportation of continuous-variable polarization states

This paper discusses methods for the optical teleportation of continuous-variable polarization states. We show that using two pairs of entangled beams, generated using four squeezed beams, perfect teleportation of optical polarization states can be performed. Restricting ourselves to three squeezed beams, we demonstrate that polarization state teleportation can still exceed the classical limit. The three-squeezer schemes involve either the use of quantum nondemolition measurement or biased entanglement generated from a single squeezed beam. We analyze the efficacies of these schemes in terms of fidelity, signal transfer coefficients, and quantum correlations.

Bright entanglement and the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox with coupled parametric oscillators

We show that two evanescently coupled chi((2)) parametric oscillators provide a tunable bright source of quadrature squeezed light, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen correlations and quantum entanglement. Analysing the system in the above threshold regime, we demonstrate that these properties can be controlled by adjusting the coupling strengths and the cavity detunings. As this can be implemented with integrated optics, it provides a possible route to rugged and stable EPR sources. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlations, quantum entanglement and interference in nanoscopic systems

Several of the most interesting quantum effects can or could be observed in nanoscopic systems. For example, the effect of strong correlations between electrons and of quantum interference can be measured in transport experiments through quantum dots, wires, individual molecules and rings formed by large molecules or arrays of quantum dots. In addition, quantum coherence and entanglement can be clearly observed in quantum corrals. In this paper we present calculations of transport properties through Aharonov-Bohm strongly correlated rings where the characteristic phenomenon of charge-spin separation is clearly observed. Additionally quantum interference effects show up in transport through pi-conjugated annulene molecules producing important effects on the conductance for different source-drain configurations, leading to the possibility of an interesting switching effect. Finally, elliptic quantum corrals offer an ideal system to study quantum entanglement due to their focalizing properties. Because of an enhanced interaction between impurities localized at the foci, these systems also show interesting quantum dynamical behaviour and offer a challenging scenario for quantum information experiments.

Correlations between the morphology and emission properties of trench defects in InGaN/GaN quantum wells

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with cathodoluminescence (CL) were performed on exactly the same defects in a blue-emitting InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (QW) sample enabling the direct correlation of the morphology of an individual defect with its emission properties. The defects in question are observed in AFM and SEM as a trench partially or fully enclosing a region of the QW having altered emission properties. Their sub-surface structure has previously been shown to consist of a basal plane stacking fault (BSF) in the plane of the QW stack, and a stacking mismatch boundary (SMB) which opens up into a trench at the sample surface. In CL, the material enclosed by the trench may emit more or less intensely than the surrounding material, but always exhibits a redshift relative to the surrounding material. A strong correlation exists between the width of the trench and both the redshift and the intensity ratio, with the widest trenches surrounding regions which exhibit the brightest and most redshifted emission. Based on studies of the evolution of the trench width with the number of QWs from four additional MQW samples, we conclude that in order for a trench defect to emit intense, strongly redshifted light, the BSF must be formed in the early stages of the growth of the QW stack. The data suggest that the SMB may act as a non-radiative recombination center. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

Positive Correlations in Tunneling through coupled Quantum Dots

Due to the Fermi-Dirac statistics of electrons the temporal correlations of tunneling events in a double barrier setup are typically negative. Here, we investigate the shot noise behavior of a system of two capacitively coupled quantum dot states by means of a Master equation model. In an asymmetric setup positive correlations in the tunneling current can arise due to the bunching of tunneling events. The underlying mechanism will be discussed in detail in terms of the current-current correlation function and the frequency-dependent Fano factor.

Correlations between antibunching and blinking of photoluminescence from a single CdSe quantum dot

The antibunching and blinking from a single CdSe/ZnS nanocrystal with an emission wavelength of 655 nm were investigated under different excitation powers. The decay process of the photoluminescence from nanocrystal was fitted into a stretched exponential, and the small lifetime and the small stretching exponent under a high excitation power were explained by using nonradiative multi-channel model. The probability of distributions for off-times from photoluminescence intermittence was fitted into the power law, and the power exponents were explained by using a tunneling model. For higher excitation power, the Auger-assisted tunneling model takes effect, where the tunneling rate increases and the observed lifetime decreases. For weak excitation power, the electron directly tunnels between the nanocrystal and trapping state without Auger assistance. The correlation between antibunching and blinking from the same nanocrystal was analyzed.

Almost all quantum states have nonclassical correlations

Quantum discord quantifies nonclassical correlations in a quantum system including those not captured by entanglement. Thus, only states with zero discord exhibit strictly classical correlations. We prove that these states are negligible in the whole Hilbert space: typically a state picked out at random has positive discord and, given a state with zero discord, a generic arbitrarily small perturbation drives it to a positive-discord state. These results hold for any Hilbert-space dimension and have direct implications for quantum computation and for the foundations of the theory of open systems. In addition, we provide a simple necessary criterion for zero quantum discord. Finally, we show that, for almost all positive-discord states, an arbitrary Markovian evolution cannot lead to a sudden, permanent vanishing of discord.

Interaction-induced correlations and non-Markovianity of quantum dynamics

We investigate the conditions under which the trace distance between two different states of a given open system increases in time due to the interaction with an environment, therefore signaling non-Markovianity. We find that the finite-time difference in trace distance is bounded by two sharply defined quantities that are strictly linked to the occurrence of system-environment correlations created throughout their interaction and affecting the subsequent evolution of the system. This allows us to shed light on the origin of non-Markovian behaviors in quantum dynamics. We best illustrate our findings by tackling two physically relevant examples: a non-Markovian dephasing mechanism that has been the focus of a recent experimental endeavor and the open-system dynamics experienced by a spin connected to a finite-size quantum spin chain.

Decoherence of quantum kinematical correlations: Elastic scattering of identical particles

We include the dynamics of the angular straggling process in the angular distributions of Mott scattering of heavy ions. We model the passage of an incoming nucleus through a target as a diffusion process. It is then possible to derive a simple and physically transparent expression for the angular dispersion due to the straggling. The angular dispersion should be folded with the theoretical Mott cross section to see its effect on the amplitude of the Mott oscillations. Our results agree very well with data of Pb-208 + Pb-208 scattering. We define the "classical" limit as the limit when the angular dispersion due to straggling becomes comparable with the Mott oscillation period and get the disappearance of quantum interference occurring at the limit 0.050 root xi Z(4)/E-3/2 >= 1, where xi stands for the target thickness, Z is the system's charge, and E is the center-of-mass energy. The experiments on lead are very close to this limit. We show that the kinematical correlations due to the identity of the particles is maintained, as it should be, and the action of the environment is to reduce the fringe visibility.

Correlations and Quantum Dynamics of 1D Fermionic Models: New Results for the Kitaev Chain with Long-Range Pairing

In the first part of the thesis, we propose an exactly-solvable one-dimensional model for fermions with long-range p-wave pairing decaying with distance as a power law. We studied the phase diagram by analyzing the critical lines, the decay of correlation functions and the scaling of the von Neumann entropy with the system size. We found two gapped regimes, where correlation functions decay (i) exponentially at short range and algebraically at long range, (ii) purely algebraically. In the latter the entanglement entropy is found to diverge logarithmically. Most interestingly, along the critical lines, long-range pairing breaks also the conformal symmetry. This can be detected via the dynamics of entanglement following a quench. In the second part of the thesis we studied the evolution in time of the entanglement entropy for the Ising model in a transverse field varying linearly in time with different velocities. We found different regimes: an adiabatic one (small velocities) when the system evolves according the instantaneous ground state; a sudden quench (large velocities) when the system is essentially frozen to its initial state; and an intermediate one, where the entropy starts growing linearly but then displays oscillations (also as a function of the velocity). Finally, we discussed the Kibble-Zurek mechanism for the transition between the paramagnetic and the ordered phase.