Bloch oscillations appear when an electric field is superimposed on a quantum particle that evolves on a lattice with a tight-binding Hamiltonian (TBH), i.e., evolves via what we will call an electric TBH; this phenomenon will be referred to as TBH Bloch oscillations. A similar phenomenon is known to show up in so-called electric discrete-time quantum walks (DQWs); this phenomenon will be referred to as DQW Bloch oscillations. This similarity is particularly salient when the electric field of the DQW is weak. For a wide, i.e., spatially extended initial condition, one numerically observes semi-classical oscillations, i.e., oscillations of a localized particle, both for the electric TBH and the electric DQW. More precisely: The numerical simulations strongly suggest that the semi-classical DQW Bloch oscillations correspond to two counter-propagating semi-classical TBH Bloch oscillations. In this work it is shown that, under certain assumptions, the solution of the electric DQW for a weak electric field and a wide initial condition is well approximated by the superposition of two continuous-time expressions, which are counter-propagating solutions of an electric TBH whose hopping amplitude is the cosine of the arbitrary coin-operator mixing angle. In contrast, if one wishes the continuous-time approximation to hold for spatially localized initial conditions, one needs at least the DQW to be lazy, as suggested by numerical simulations and by the fact that this has been proven in the case of a vanishing electric field.
A scheme for implementing the discrete-time quantum walk on the Bloch sphere is proposed, which is closely related to the SU(2) group. A spin cluster serves as the walker, whereas its location on the Bloch sphere is described by the spin coherent state. An additional spin that interacts with the spin cluster plays the role of a coin, whose state determines the rotation of the spin cluster. The Wigner function is calculated to visualize the movement of the walker on the Bloch sphere, with which the probability distribution and the standard deviation are also achieved. The quadratic enhancement …
We experimentally investigate a discrete time quantum walk in a system of coupled fiber loops and observe typical phenomena known from the wave propagation in periodic structures as ballistic spreading or an oscillation between two internal quantum states similar to Zitterbewegung (trembling motion). If a position-dependent phase gradient is applied we find localization and Bloch oscillations of the field for moderate as well as Landau-Zener tunneling for strong phase gradients.
The topology of a single-particle band structure plays a fundamental role in understanding a multitude of physical phenomena. Motivated by the connection between quantum walks and such topological band structures, we demonstrate that a simple time-dependent, Bloch-oscillating quantum walk enables the direct measurement of topological invariants. We consider two classes of one-dimensional quantum walks and connect the global phase imprinted on the walker with its refocusing behavior. By disentangling the dynamical and geometric contributions to this phase we describe a general strategy to measu…
We study the dynamics of a quantum walker simultaneously subjected to time-independent and -dependent phases. Such dynamics emulates a charged quantum particle in a lattice subjected to a superposition of static and harmonic electric fields. With proper settings, we investigate the possibility to induce Bloch-like super-oscillations, resulting from a close tuning of the frequency of the harmonic phase $ω$ and that associated with the regular Bloch-like oscillations $ω_B$ . By exploring the frequency spectra of the wavepacket centroid, we are able to distinguish the regimes on which regular and…
A hallmark of topological band theory in periodic media is that bulk properties are not affected by boundary conditions. Remarkably, in certain non-Hermitian lattices the bulk properties are largely affected by boundaries, leading to such major effects as the non-Hermitian skin effect and violation of the bulk-boundary correspondence. Here we unveil that non-unitary discrete-time quantum walks of photons in systems involving gain and loss show rather generally non-Bloch parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$) symmetry breaking phase transitions, and suggest a bulk probing method to detect such boundary-d…
Quantum walks are processes that model dynamics in coherent systems. Their experimental implementations proved key to unveil novel phenomena in Floquet topological insulators. Here we realize a photonic quantum walk in the presence of a synthetic gauge field, which mimics the action of an electric field on a charged particle. By tuning the energy gaps between the two quasi-energy bands, we investigate intriguing system dynamics characterized by the interplay between Bloch oscillations and Landau-Zener transitions. When both gaps at quasi-energy values 0 and $π$ are vanishingly small, the Floqu…
We propose a scheme for the realization of a quantum walker and a quantum simulator for the Dirac equation with ultracold spinor atoms in driven optical lattices. A precise control of the dynamics of the atomic matter wave can be realized using time-dependent external forces. If the force depends on the spin state of the atoms, the dynamics will entangle the inner and outer degrees of freedom which offers unique opportunities for quantum information and quantum simulation. Here, we introduce a method to realize a quantum walker based on the state-dependent transport of spinor atoms and a coher…
The time evolution of a two-level quantum mechanical system can be geometrically described using the Bloch sphere. By mapping the Bloch sphere evolution onto the dynamics of oscillating electric dipoles, we provide a physically intuitive link between classical electromagnetism and the electric dipole transitions of atomic & molecular physics.
Measurement-based feedback control is central in quantum computing and precise quantum control. Here we realize a fast and flexible field-programmable-gate-array-based feedback control in a superconducting Xmon qubit system. The latency of room-temperature electronics is custom optimized to be as short as 140 ns. Projective measurement of a signal qubit produces a feedback tag to actuate a conditional pulse gate to the qubit. In a feed-forward process, the measurement-based feedback tag is brought to a different target qubit for a conditional control. In a two-qubit experiment, the feedback an…
The propagation by continuous time quantum walks (CTQWs) on one-dimensional lattices shows structures in the transition probabilities between different sites reminiscent of quantum carpets. For a system with periodic boundary conditions, we calculate the transition probabilities for a CTQW by diagonalizing the transfer matrix and by a Bloch function ansatz. Remarkably, the results obtained for the Bloch function ansatz can be related to results from (discrete) generalized coined quantum walks. Furthermore, we show that here the first revival time turns out to be larger than for quantum carpets…
We report on the experimental realization of electric quantum walks, which mimic the effect of an electric field on a charged particle in a lattice. Starting from a textbook implementation of discrete-time quantum walks, we introduce an extra operation in each step to implement the effect of the field. The recorded dynamics of such a quantum particle exhibits features closely related to Bloch oscillations and interband tunneling. In particular, we explore the regime of strong fields, demonstrating contrasting quantum behaviors: quantum resonances vs. dynamical localization depending on whether…
We derive a set of optical Bloch equations (OBEs) directly from the minimal-coupling Hamiltonian density of the bound-state quantum electrodynamics (bound-state QED). Such optical Bloch equations are beyond the former widely-used ones due to that there is no electric dipole approximation (EDA) on the minimal-coupling Hamiltonian density of the bound-state QED. Then our optical Bloch equations can describe a two-level atom interacting with a monochromatic light of arbitrary wavelength, which are suitable to study the spectroscopy and the Rabi oscillations of two-level atoms in X-ray laser beams…
Quantum dynamics of a charged particle in a 2D lattice subject to magnetic and electric fields is a rather complicated interplay between cyclotron oscillations (the case of vanishing electric field) and Bloch oscillations (zero magnetic field), details of which has not yet been completely understood. In the present work we suggest to study this problem by using cold atoms in optical lattices. We introduce a 1D model which can be easily realized in laboratory experiments with quasi 1D optical lattices and show that this model captures many features of the cyclotron-Bloch dynamics of the quantum…
We construct a two-dimensional, discrete-time quantum walk exhibiting non-Hermitian skin effects under open-boundary conditions. As a confirmation of the non-Hermitian bulk-boundary correspondence, we show that the emergence of topological edge states are consistent with Floquet winding numbers calculated using a non-Bloch band theory invoking time-dependent generalized Billouin zones. Further, the non-Bloch topological invariants associated with quasienergy bands are captured by a non-Hermitian local Chern marker in real space, defined through local biorthogonal eigen wave functions of the no…
Under a perfect periodic potential, the electric current density induced by a constant electric field may exhibit nontrivial oscillations, so-called Bloch oscillations, with an amplitude that remains nonzero in the large system size limit. Such oscillations have been well studied for nearly noninteracting particles and observed in experiments. In this work, we revisit Bloch oscillations in strongly interacting systems. By analyzing the spin-1/2 XXZ chain, which can be mapped to a model of spinless electrons, we demonstrate that the current density at special values of the anisotropy parameter …
We study the quantum dynamics of a charged particle in a two-dimensional lattice, subject to constant and homogeneous electric and magnetic fields. We find that different regimes characterize these motions, depending on a combination of conditions, corresponding to weak and strong electric field intensities, rational or irrational directions of the electric field with respect to the lattice, and small or large values of the magnetic (Peierls) phase.
Graphene features topological edge bands that connect the pair of Dirac points through either sectors of the 1D Brillouin zone depending on edge configurations (zigzag or bearded). Because of their flat dispersion, spontaneous edge magnetisation can arise from Coulomb interaction in graphene nanoribbons, which has caught remarkable interest. We find an anomalous Bloch oscillation in such edge bands, in which the flat dispersion freezes electron motion along the field direction, while the topological connection of the bands through the bulk leads to electron oscillation in the transverse direct…
We report new oscillations of wavepackets in quantum walks subjected to electric fields, that decorate the usual Bloch-Zener oscillations of insulators. The number of turning points (or sub-oscillations) within one Bloch period of these oscillations is found to be governed by the winding of the quasienergy spectrum. Thus, this provides a new physical manifestation of a topological property of periodically driven systems that can be probed experimentally. Our model, based on an oriented scattering network, is readily implementable in photonic and cold atomic setups.
We revisit the Floquet-Bloch eigenstates of a one-dimensional electron gas in the presence of the periodic Kronig-Penny potential and an oscillating electric field. Considering the appropriate boundary conditions for the wave function and its derivative, we derive the determining equations for the Floquet-Bloch eigenstates, which are represented by a single-infinite matrix rather than a double-infinite matrix needed for a generic potential. We numerically solve these equations, showing that there appear anticrossings at the crossing points of the different Floquet bands as well as the band gap…
In this paper, we present a detailed study on discrete-time Dirac quantum walks (DQWs) on triangular and honeycomb lattices. At the continuous limit, these DQWs coincide with the Dirac equation. Their differences in the discrete regime are analyzed through the dispersion relations, with special emphasis on Zitterbewegung. An extension which couples these walks to arbitrary discrete electromagnetic field is also proposed and the resulting Bloch oscillations are discussed.
Recent experimental progress in the creation of synthetic electric and magnetic fields, acting on cold atoms in a two-dimensional lattice, has attracted renewed interest to the problem of a quantum particle in the Hall configuration. The present work contains a detailed analysis of the eigenstates of this system, called Landau-Stark states, and of the associated dynamical phenomenon of cyclotron-Bloch oscillations. It is shown that Landau-Stark states and cyclotron-Bloch oscillations crucially depend on two factors. The first is the orientation of the electric field relative to the primary axe…
This paper studies the quantum dynamics of a charged particle in a 2D square lattice, under the influence of electric and magnetic fields, the former being aligned with one of the lattice axes and the latter perpendicular to the lattice plane. While in free space these dynamics consist of uniform motions in the direction orthogonal to the electric field vector, we find that, in a lattice, this directed drift takes place only for specific initial conditions and for electric field magnitudes smaller than a critical value. Otherwise, the quantum wave--packet spreads ballistically in both directio…
We consider dynamics of a charged particle in a finite along the $x$ direction square lattice in the presence of normal to the lattice plane magnetic field and in-plane electric field aligned with the $y$ axis. For vanishing magnetic field this dynamics would be common Bloch oscillations where the particle oscillates in the $y$ direction with amplitude inverse proportional to the electric field. We show that a non-zero magnetic field crucially modifies this dynamics. Namely, the new Bloch oscillations consist of time intervals where the particle moves with constant velocity in the $x$ directio…
We analyze the driven Harper model, which appears in the problem of tight-binding electrons in the Hall configuration (normal to the lattice plane magnetic field plus in-plane electric field). The presence of an electric field extends the celebrated Harper model, which is parametrized by the Peierls phase, into the driven Harper model, which is additionally parametrized by two Bloch frequencies associated with the two components of the electric field. We show that the eigenstates of the driven Harper model are either extended or localized, depending on the commensurability of Bloch frequencies…
Bloch-Zener oscillations (BZO), i.e. the interplay between Bloch oscillations and Zener tunneling in two-band lattices under an external dc force, are ubiquitous in different areas of wave physics, including photonics. While in Hermitian systems such oscillations are rather generally aperiodic and only accidentally periodic, in non-Hermitian (NH) lattices BZO can show a transition from aperiodic to periodic as a NH parameter in the system is varied. Remarkably, the phase transition can be either smooth or sharp, contrary to other types of NH phase transitions which are universally sharp. A dis…
We study electric quantum walks in two dimensions considering Grover, Alternate, Hadamard, and DFT quantum walks. In the Grover walk the behaviour under an electric field is easy to summarize: when the field direction coincides with the x or y axes, it produces a transient trapping of the probability distribution along the direction of the field, while when it is directed along the diagonals, a perfect 2D trapping is frustrated. The analysis of the alternate walk helps to understand the behaviour of the Grover walk as both walks are partially equivalent; in particular, it helps to understand t…
We analyze continuous-time quantum walks on necklace graphs - cyclical graphs consisting of many copies of a smaller graph (pearl). Using a Bloch-type ansatz for the eigenfunctions, we block-diagonalize the Hamiltonian, reducing the effective size of the problem to the size of a single pearl. We then present a general approach for showing that the mixing time scales (with growing size of the necklace) similarly to that of a simple walk on a cycle. Finally, we present results for mixing on several necklace graphs.
Non-Bloch topological invariants preserve the bulk-boundary correspondence in non-Hermitian topological systems, and are a key concept in the contemporary study of non-Hermitian topology. Here we report the dynamic detection of non-Bloch topological invariants in single-photon quantum walks, revealed through the biorthogonal chiral displacement, and crosschecked with the dynamic spin textures in the generalized quasimomentum-time domain following a quantum quench. Both detection schemes are robust against symmetry-preserving disorders, and yield consistent results with theoretical predictions.…
We study the dynamics of a generalization of quantum coin walk on the line which is a natural model for a diffusion modified by quantum or interference effects. In particular, our results provide surprisingly simple explanations to phenomena observed by Bouwmeester et al. (Phys. Rev. A, 61, 13410 (1999)) in their optical Galton board experiment, and a description of a stroboscopic quantum walks given by Buershaper and Burnett (quant-ph/0406039) through numerical simulations. We also provide heuristic explanations for the behavior of our model which show, in particular, that its dynamics can be…
We prove that a quantum walk can detect the presence of a marked element in a graph in $O(\sqrt{WR})$ steps for any initial probability distribution on vertices. Here, $W$ is the total weight of the graph, and $R$ is the effective resistance. This generalizes the result by Szegedy that is only applicable if the initial distribution is stationary. We describe a time-efficient quantum algorithm for 3-distinctness based on these ideas.
Based on the three-level quantum system, when it is in resonance, according to any two lattice points closest to Hamiltonian coupling, electrons transition from high energy level to low energy level and release photons; Or absorb photons and transition from low energy level to high energy level, thus obtaining the physical process of quantum walking along a straight line under the condition of equal probability. Then, the optical radiation in the quantum walk is mapped into a Gaussian pulse of the electric field, and the Maxwell's equation is solved by the three dimensional finite-difference t…
This article aims to study the existence of stable Bloch oscillations and Landau-Zener tunneling in a non-Hermitian system when exposed to external fields. We investigate a non-Hermitian $\cal{PT}$-symmetric diamond chain network and its transport dynamics in two different situations, namely in a flat band case and a non-flat band case. The considered system does not support unbroken-$\cal{PT}$ phase or completely real eigenspectra in any of the parametric regions in both the flat and non-flat band cases. In the flat band case, up to a critical value of the gain-loss parameter, the bands are f…
We report an experimental implementation of a single-qubit generalised measurement scenario(POVM) based on a quantum walk model. The qubit is encoded in a single-photon polarisation. The photon performs a quantum walk on an array of optical elements, where the polarisation-dependent translation is performed via birefringent beam displacers and a change of the polarisation is implemented with the help of wave-plates. We implement: (i) Trine-POVM, i.e., the POVM elements uniformly distributed on an equatorial plane of the Bloch sphere; (ii) Symmetric-Informationally- Complete (SIC) POVM; and (ii…
Quantum transport properties of electron systems driven by strong electric fields are studied by mapping the Landau-Zener transition dynamics to a quantum walk on a semi-infinite one-dimensional lattice with a reflecting boundary, where the sites correspond to energy levels and the boundary the ground state. Quantum interference induces a distribution localized around the ground state, and when the electric field is strengthened, a delocalization transition occurs describing breakdown of the original electron system.
Quantum walks often provide telling insights about the structure of the system on which they are performed. In PT-symmetric and lossy dimer lattices, the topological properties of the band structure manifest themselves in the quantization of the mean displacement of such a walker. We investigate the fragile aspects of a topological transition in these two dimer models. We find that the transition is sensitive to the initial state of the walker on the Bloch sphere, and the resultant mean displacement has a robust topological component and a quasiclassical component. In PT symmetric dimer lattic…
We examine an unexplored quantum phenomenon we call oscillatory localization, where a discrete-time quantum walk with Grover's diffusion coin jumps back and forth between two vertices. We then connect it to the power dissipation of a related electric network. Namely, we show that there are only two kinds of oscillating states, called uniform states and flip states, and that the projection of an arbitrary state onto a flip state is bounded by the power dissipation of an electric circuit. By applying this framework to states along a single edge of a graph, we show that low effective resistance i…
We consider the Szegedy walk on graphs adding infinite length tails to a finite internal graph. We assume that on these tails, the dynamics is given by the free quantum walk. We set the $\ell^\infty$-category initial state so that the internal graph receives time independent input from the tails, say $\boldsymbolα_{in}$, at every time step. We show that the response of the Szegedy walk to the input, which is the output, say $\boldsymbolβ_{out}$, from the internal graph to the tails in the long time limit, is drastically changed depending on the reversibility of the underlying random walk. If t…
Deterministically aperiodic sequences are an intermediary between periodic sequences and completely random sequences. Materials which are translationally periodic have Bloch-like extended states, while random media exhibit Anderson localisation. Materials constructed on the basis of deterministic aperiodic sequences such as Fibonacci, Thue-Morse, and Rudin-Shapiro exhibit different properties, which can be related to their spectrum. Here, by investigating the dynamics of discrete-time quantum walks using different aperiodic sequences of coin operations in position space and time we establish t…
We provide an explanation of recent experimental results of Xue et al., where full revivals in a time-dependent quantum walk model with a periodically changing coin are found. Using methods originally developed for "electric" walks with a space-dependent, rather than a time-dependent coin, we provide a full explanation of the observations of Xue et al. We extend the analysis from periodic time-dependence to quasi-periodic behaviour with periods incommensurate to the step size. Spectral analysis, one of the principal tools for the study of electric walks, fails for time-dependent systems, but w…
Bloch theorem states the impossibility of persistent electric currents in the ground state of nonrelativistic fermion systems. We extend this theorem to generic systems based on the gauged particle number symmetry and study its consequences on the example of chiral transport phenomena. We show that the chiral magnetic effect can be understood as a generalization of the Bloch theorem to a nonequilibrium steady state, similarly to the integer quantum Hall effect. On the other hand, persistent axial currents are not prohibited by the Bloch theorem and they can be regarded as Pauli paramagnetism o…
The continuous limit of quantum walks (QWs) on the line is revisited through a recently developed method. In all cases but one, the limit coincides with the dynamics of a Dirac fermion coupled to an artificial electric and/or relativistic gravitational field. All results are carefully discussed and illustrated by numerical simulations.
We consider the spectral and dynamical properties of one-dimensional quantum walks placed into homogenous electric fields according to a discrete version of the minimal coupling principle. We show that for all irrational fields the absolutely continuous spectrum of these systems is empty, and prove Anderson localization for almost all (irrational) fields. This result closes a gap which was left open in the original study of electric quantum walks: a spectral and dynamical characterization of these systems for typical fields. Additionally, we derive an analytic and explicit expression for the L…
We study one-dimensional quantum walks in a homogeneous electric field. The field is given by a phase which depends linearly on position and is applied after each step. The long time propagation properties of this system, such as revivals, ballistic expansion and Anderson localization, depend very sensitively on the value of the electric field $Φ$, e.g., on whether $Φ/(2π)$ is rational or irrational. We relate these properties to the continued fraction expansion of the field. When the field is given only with finite accuracy, the beginning of the expansion allows analogous conclusions about th…
Quantum walks of interacting particles may display non-trivial features due to the interplay between the statistical nature and the many-body interactions associated to them. We analyze the quantum walk of interacting defects on top of an uniform bosonic Mott insulator at unit filling in an one dimensional graph. While the quantum walk of single particle defect shows trivial features, the case of two particles exhibits interesting phenomenon of quantum walk reversal as a function of additional onsite three-body attractive interactions. In the absence of the three-body interaction a quantum wal…
Quantum walks have by now been realized in a large variety of different physical settings. In some of these, particularly with trapped ions, the walk is implemented in phase space, where the corresponding position states are not orthogonal. We develop a general description of such a quantum walk and show how to map it into a standard one with orthogonal states, thereby making available all the tools developed for the latter. This enables a variety of experiments, which can be implemented with smaller step sizes and more steps. Tuning the non-orthogonality allows for an easy preparation of exte…
The discrete-time quantum walk dynamics can be generated by a time-dependent Hamiltonian, repeatedly switching between the coin and the shift generators. We change the model and consider the case where the Hamiltonian is time-independent, including both the coin and the shift terms in all times. The eigenvalues and the related Bloch vectors for the time-independent Hamiltonian are then compared with the corresponding quantities for the effective Hamiltonian generating the quantum walk dynamics. Restricted to the non-localized initial quantum walk states, we optimize the parameters in the time-…
The quasienergy spectrum of a Bloch electron affected by dc-ac fields is known to be a fractal function of the so-called electric matching ratio which is the ratio of the ac field frequency and the Bloch frequency. This paper studies a manifestation of the fractal spectrum in the system atom in a standing laser wave, which is a quantum optical realization of a Bloch electron. It is shown that for an appropriate choice of the system parameters the atomic survival probability (a quantity measured in laboratory experiments) develops a fractal structure as a function of the electric matching ratio…
The direct measurement of topological invariants in both engineered and naturally occurring quantum materials is a key step in classifying quantum phases of matter. Here we motivate a toolbox based on time-dependent quantum walks as a method to digitally simulate single-particle topological band structures. Using a superconducting qubit dispersively coupled to a microwave cavity, we implement two classes of split-step quantum walks and directly measure the topological invariant (winding number) associated with each. The measurement relies upon interference between two components of a cavity Sc…
