Collapse models are modifications of quantum theory where the wave function is treated as physically real and the collapse of the wave function is a physical process. This appears to introduce a time reversal asymmetry into the dynamics of the wave function since the collapses affect only the future state. This paper challenges this conclusion, showing that in three different examples of time asymmetries associated with collapse models, if the physically real part of the model can be reduced to the locations in space and time about which collapses occur, then such a model works both forward and backward in time, in each case satisfying the Born rule. Despite the apparent asymmetry of the collapse process, these models in fact have time reversal symmetry. Any physically observed time asymmetries that arise in such models are due to the asymmetric imposition of initial or final time boundary conditions, rather than from an inherent asymmetry in the dynamical law. This is the standard explanation of time asymmetric behaviour resulting from time symmetric laws.
We experimentally demonstrate the nonlocal reversal of a partial-collapse quantum measurement on two-photon entangled state. Both the partial measurement and the reversal operation are implemented in linear optics with two displaced Sagnac interferometers, which are characterized by single qubit quantum process tomography. The recovered state is measured by quantum state tomography and its nonlocality is characterized by testing the Bell inequality. Our result will be helpful in quantum communication and quantum error correction.
It was repeatedly underlined in literature that quantum mechanics cannot be considered a closed theory if the Born Rule is postulated rather than derived from the first principles. In this work the Born Rule is derived from the time-reversal symmetry of quantum equations of motion. The derivation is based on a simple functional equation that takes into account properties of probability, as well as the linearity and time-reversal symmetry of quantum equations of motion. The derivation presented in this work also allows to determine certain limits to applicability of the Born Rule.
The bulk conductivity of a two-dimensional system is studied assuming that quantum interference effects break time-reversal symmetry in the presence of strong spin-orbit interaction and strong lattice potential. The study is carried out by direct diagonalization in order to explore the nonlinear-response regime. The system displays a quantized conductivity that depends on the intensity of the electric field and under specific conditions the conductivity limit at zero electric field shows a nonvanishing value.
Many-body systems of quantum interacting particles in which time-reversal symmetry is broken give rise to a variety of rich collective behaviors, and are therefore a major target of research in modern physics. Quantum simulators can potentially be used to explore and understand such systems, which are often beyond the computational reach of classical simulation. Of these, platforms with universal quantum control can experimentally access a wide range of physical properties. However, simultaneously achieving strong programmable interactions, strong time-reversal symmetry breaking, and high fide…
Eigenvectors of decaying quantum systems are studied at exceptional points of the Hamiltonian. Special attention is paid to the properties of the system under time reversal symmetry breaking. At the exceptional point the chiral character of the system -- found for time reversal symmetry -- generically persists. It is, however, no longer circular but rather elliptic.
We formulate Grover's unstructured search algorithm as a chiral quantum walk, where transitioning in one direction has a phase conjugate to transitioning in the opposite direction. For small phases, this breaking of time-reversal symmetry is too small to significantly affect the evolution: the system still approximately evolves in its ground and first excited states, rotating to the marked vertex in time $π\sqrt{N} / 2$. Increasing the phase does not change the runtime, but rather changes the support for the 2D subspace, so the system evolves in its first and second excited states, or its seco…
The utilization of time reversal symmetry in designing and implementing (quantum) optical experiments has become more and more frequent over the past years. We review the basic idea underlying time reversal methods, illustrate it with several examples and discuss a number of implications.
It is well known that unitary symmetries can be `gauged', i.e. defined to act in a local way, which leads to a corresponding gauge field. Gauging, for example, the charge conservation symmetry leads to electromagnetic gauge fields. It is an open question whether an analogous process is possible for time reversal which is an anti-unitary symmetry. Here we discuss a route to gauging time reversal symmetry which applies to gapped quantum ground states that admit a tensor network representation. The tensor network representation of quantum states provides a notion of locality for the wave function…
Quantum mechanics still provides new unexpected effects when considering the transport of energy and information. Models of continuous time quantum walks, which implicitly use time-reversal symmetric Hamiltonians, have been intensely used to investigate the effectiveness of transport. Here we show how breaking time-reversal symmetry of the unitary dynamics in this model can enable directional control, enhancement, and suppression of quantum transport. Examples ranging from exciton transport to complex networks are presented. This opens new prospects for more efficient methods to transport ener…
We introduce a ${\mathbb Z}_2$-index for time reversal invariant Hamiltonians with unique gapped ground state on quantum spin chains. We show this is an invariant of a $C^1$-classification of gapped Hamiltonians.
Driven-dissipative quantum systems generically do not satisfy simple notions of detailed balance based on the time symmetry of correlation functions. We show that such systems can nonetheless exhibit a hidden time-reversal symmetry which most directly manifests itself in a doubled version of the original system prepared in an appropriate entangled thermofield double state. This hidden time-reversal symmetry has a direct operational utility: it provides a general method for finding exact solutions of non-trivial steady states. Special cases of this approach include the coherent quantum absorber…
In the nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation, the total spin $S$ and spin projection $M$ are good quantum numbers. In contrast, spin symmetry is lost in the presence of spin-dependent interactions such as spin-orbit couplings in relativistic Hamiltonians. Previous implementations of relativistic density matrix renormalization group algorithm (R-DMRG) only employing particle number symmetry are much more expensive than nonrelativistic DMRG. Besides, artificial breaking of Kramers degeneracy can happen in the treatment of systems with odd number of electrons. To overcome these issues, we introduc…
The current manuscript employs the parity and time reversal symmetry in the Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment. For this purpose, we develop a general scattering matrix framework founded on the concatenation of many individual compounded scattering processes on the setup. In this way, we derive the general scattering matrix of a parity and time reversal symmetric Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment (HBT-PT). Within such scattering formulation, we propose a theoretical framework which provides how to measure the symmetry of the system through the correlation function of a pair of particles transmitted t…
We extend to quantum mechanical systems results previously obtained for classical mechanical systems, concerning time reversibility in presence of a magnetic field. As in the classical case, results like the Onsager reciprocal relations are consequently obtained, without recourse to the Casimir modification. The quantum systems treated here are nonrelativistic, and are described by the Schr{ö}dinger equation or the Pauli equation. In particular, we prove that the spin-field interaction does not break the time reversal invariance (TRI) of the dynamics, and that it does not require additional co…
In an Anderson localized system, a quantum particle with a nonzero initial velocity returns, on average, to its origin. This recently discovered behavior is known as the quantum boomerang effect. Time reversal invariance was initially thought to be a necessary condition for the existence of this phenomenon. We theoretically analyze the impact of the symmetry breaking on the phenomenon using a one-dimensional system with a spin-orbit coupling and show that the time reversal invariance is not necessary for the boomerang effect to occur.
Robust Correlation-Induced Localization Under Time-Reversal Symmetry Breaking
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research（国际理论科学中心，塔塔基础研究所）；Nordita, Stockholm University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology（诺迪塔，斯德哥尔摩大学和皇家理工学院）；Department of Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology（物理系，皇家理工学院）
In a closed system, it is well known that the time-reversal symmetry can lead to Kramers degeneracy and protect nontrivial topological states such as quantum spin Hall insulator. In this letter we address the issue whether these effects are stable against coupling to environment, provided that both environment and the coupling to environment also respect the time-reversal symmetry. By employing a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian with the Langevin noise term and ultilizing the non-Hermitian linear response theory, we show that the spectral functions for Kramers degenerate states can be split by dissip…
It is one of the most important and long-standing issues of physics to derive the irreversibility out of a time-reversal symmetric equation of motion. The present paper considers the breaking of the time-reversal symmetry in open quantum systems and the emergence of an arrow of time. We claim that the time-reversal symmetric Schrödinger equation can have eigenstates that break the time-reversal symmetry if the system is open in the sense that it has at least a countably infinite number of states. Such eigenstates, namely the resonant and anti-resonant states, have complex eigenvalues. We show …
In the presence of time-reversal symmetry, quantum interference gives strong corrections to the electric conductivity of disordered systems. The self-interference of an electron wavefunction traveling time-reversed paths leads to effects such as weak localization and universal conductance fluctuations. Here, we investigate the effects of broken time-reversal symmetry in a driven artificial two-level system. Using a superconducting flux qubit, we implement scattering events as multiple Landau-Zener transitions by driving the qubit periodically back and forth through an avoided crossing. Interfe…
