We investigate numerically and theoretically the effect of spatial disorder on two-dimensional split-step discrete-time quantum walks with two internal "coin" states. Spatial disorder can lead to Anderson localization, inhibiting the spread of quantum walks, putting them at a disadvantage against their diffusively spreading classical counterparts. We find that spatial disorder of the most general type, i.e., position-dependent Haar random coin operators, does not lead to Anderson localization but to a diffusive spread instead. This is a delocalization, which happens because disorder places the quantum walk to a critical point between different anomalous Floquet-Anderson insulating topological phases. We base this explanation on the relationship of this general quantum walk to a simpler case more studied in the literature and for which disorder-induced delocalization of a topological origin has been observed. We review topological delocalization for the simpler quantum walk, using time evolution of the wave functions and level spacing statistics. We apply scattering theory to two-dimensional quantum walks and thus calculate the topological invariants of disordered quantum walks, substantiating the topological interpretation of the delocalization and finding signatures of the delocalization in the finite-size scaling of transmission. We show criticality of the Haar random quantum walk by calculating the critical exponent $η$ in three different ways and find $η$ $\approx$ 0.52 as in the integer quantum Hall effect. Our results showcase how theoretical ideas and numerical tools from solid-state physics can help us understand spatially random quantum walks.
Quantum walks are promising for information processing tasks because on regular graphs they spread quadratically faster than random walks. Static disorder, however, can turn the tables: unlike random walks, quantum walks can suffer Anderson localization, whereby the spread of the walker stays within a finite region even in the infinite time limit. It is therefore important to understand when we can expect a quantum walk to be Anderson localized and when we can expect it to spread to infinity even in the presence of disorder. In this work we analyze the response of a generic one-dimensional qua…
Many-body localization in a disordered system of interacting spins coupled by the long-range interaction $1/R^α$ is investigated combining analytical theory considering resonant interactions and a finite size scaling of exact numerical solutions with a number of spins $N$. The numerical results for a one-dimensional system are consistent with the general expectations of analytical theory for $d$-dimensional system including the absence of localization in the infinite system at $α<2d$ and a universal scaling of a critical energy disordering $W_{c} \propto N^{\frac{2d-α}{d}}$. %The finite size e…
Localization and delocalization of quantum diffusion in time-continuous one-dimensional Anderson model perturbed by the quasi-periodic harmonic oscillations of $M$ colors is investigated systematically, which has been partly reported by the preliminary letter [PRE {\bf 103}, L040202(2021)]. We investigate in detail the localization-delocalization characteristics of the model with respect to three parameters: the disorder strength $W$, the perturbation strength $ε$ and the number of the colors $M$ which plays the similar role of spatial dimension. In particular, attentions are focused on the pr…
We study theoretically the competition between directional asymmetric coupling and disorder in a one-dimensional array of quantum emitters chirally coupled through a waveguide mode. Our calculation reveals highly nontrivial phase diagram for the eigenstates spatial profile, nonmonotonously depending on the disorder and directionality strength. The increase of the coupling asymmetry drives the transition from Anderson localization in the bulk through delocalized states to chirality-induced localization at the array edge. Counterintuitively, this transition is not smeared by strong disorder but …
We investigate one-dimensional (1D) discrete time quantum walks (QWs) with spatially or temporally random defects as a consequence of interactions with random environments. We focus on the QWs with chiral symmetry in a topological phase, and reveal that chiral symmetry together with bipartite nature of the QWs brings about intriguing behaviors such as coexistence of topologically protected edge states at zero energy and Anderson transitions in the 1D chiral class at non-zero energy in their dynamics. Contrary to the previous studies, therefore, the spatially disordered QWs can avoid complete l…
Delocalization transition is numerically found in a non-Hermitian extension of a discrete-time quantum walk on a one-dimensional random medium. At the transition, an eigenvector gets delocalized and at the same time the corresponding energy eigenvalue (the imaginary unit times the phase of the eigenvalue of the time-evolution operator) becomes complex. This is in accordance with a non-Hermitian extension of the random Anderson model in one dimension, called, the Hatano-Nelson model. We thereby numerically find that all eigenstates of the Hermitian quantum walk share a common localization lengt…
We study Lévy walks in quenched disordered one-dimensional media, with scatterers spaced according to a long-tailed distribution. By analyzing the scaling relations for the random-walk probability and for the resistivity in the equivalent electric problem, we obtain the asymptotic behavior of the mean square displacement as a function of the exponent characterizing the scatterers distribution. We demonstrate that in quenched media different average procedures can display different asymptotic behavior. In particular, we estimate the moments of the displacement averaged over processes starting f…
Disordered quantum systems undergoing a many-body localization (MBL) transition fail to reach thermal equilibrium under their own dynamics. Distinguishing between asymptotically localized or delocalized dynamics based on numerical results is however nontrivial due to finite-size effects. Numerical linked cluster expansions (NLCE) provide a means to tackle quantum systems directly in the thermodynamic limit, but are challenging for models without translational invariance. Here, we demonstrate that NLCE provide a powerful tool to explore MBL by simulating quench dynamics in disordered spin-$1/2$…
The interplay between interaction, disorder, and dissipation has shown a rich phenomenology. Here we investigate a disordered XXZ spin chain in contact with a bath which, alone, would drive the system towards a highly delocalized and coherent Dicke state. We show that there exist regimes for which the natural orbitals of the single-particle density matrix of the steady state are all localized in the presence of strong disorders, either for weak interaction or strong interaction. We show that the averaged steady-state occupation in the eigenbasis of the open system Hamiltonian could follow an e…
As an unusual type of anomalous diffusion behavior, the (transient) superballistic transport has been experimentally observed recently but it is not well understood yet. In this paper, we investigate the white noise effect (in Markov approximation) on the quantum diffusion in 1D tight-binding model with periodic, disordered and quasi-periodic region of size L attached to two perfect lattices at both ends in which the wave packet is initially located at the center of the sublattice. We find that in some completely localized system inducing noise could delocalize the system to desirable diffusio…
We realize a pair of simultaneous ten-step one-dimensional quantum walks with two walkers sharing coins, which we prove is analogous to the ten-step two-dimensional quantum walk with a single walker holding a four-dimensional coin. Our experiment demonstrates a ten-step quantum walk over an 11x11 two-dimensional lattice with a line defect, thereby realizing a localized walker state.
Symmetrically evolving discrete quantum walk results in dynamic localization with zero mean displacement when the standard evolution operations are replaced by a temporal disorder evolution operation. In this work we show that the quantum ratchet action, that is, a directed transport in standard or disordered discrete-time quantum walk can be realized by introducing a pawl like effect realized by using a fixed coin operation at marked positions that is, different from the ones used for evolution at other positions. We also show that the combination of standard and disordered evolution operatio…
We study a 2-D disordered time-discrete quantum walk based on 1-D `generalized elephant quantum walk' where an entangling coin operator is assumed and which paves the way to a new set of properties. We show that considering a given disorder in one direction, it is possible to control the degree of spreading and entanglement in the other direction. This observation helps assert that the random quantum walks of this ilk serve as a controllable decoherence channel with the degree of randomness being the tunable parameter and highlight the role of dimensionality in quantum systems regarding inform…
Transport regimes of biphoton-state quantum walks in ordered and disordered arrays of nonlinear waveguides
Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, Universidad de Costa Rica（哥斯达黎加大学材料科学与工程研究中心）；Escuela de Física, Universidad de Costa Rica（哥斯达黎加大学物理学院）
We design a quantum probing protocol using Quantum Walks to investigate the Quantum Information spreading pattern. We employ Quantum Fisher Information, as a figure of merit, to quantify extractable information about an unknown parameter encoded within the Quantum Walk evolution. Although the approach is universal, we focus on the coherent static and dynamic disorder to investigate anomalous and classical transport as well as Anderson localization. Our results show that a Quantum Walk can be considered as a readout device of information about defects and perturbations occurring in complex netw…
We report on the theoretical analysis of bosonic and fermionic non-interacting systems in a discrete two-particle quantum walk affected by different kinds of disorder. We considered up to 100-step QWs with a spatial, temporal and space-temporal disorder observing how the randomness and the wavefunction symmetry non-trivially affect the final spatial probability distribution, the transport properties and the Shannon entropy of the walkers.
Transport phenomena play a crucial role in modern physics and applied sciences. Examples include the dissipation of energy across a large system, the distribution of quantum information in optical networks, and the timely modeling of spreading diseases. In this work, we experimentally prove the feasibility of disordered quantum walks to realize a quantum simulator that is able to model general subdiffusive phenomena, exhibiting a sublinear spreading in space over time. Our experiment simulates such phenomena by means of a finely controlled insertion of various levels of disorder during the evo…
We present an approach to induce localization of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a one-dimensional lattice under the influence of unitary quantum walk evolution using disordered quantum coin operation. We introduce a discrete-time quantum walk model in which the interference effect is modified to diffuse or strongly localize the probability distribution of the particle by assigning a different set of coin parameters picked randomly for each step of the walk, respectively. Spatial localization of the particle/state is explained by comparing the variance of the probability distribution of the quan…
We study the effects of long-range hopping and long-range inter-particle interactions on quantum walk of hard-core bosons in ideal and disordered one-dimensional lattices. We find that the range of hopping has a much more significant effect on the particle correlation dynamics than the range of interactions. We illustrate that long-range hopping makes the correlation diagrams asymmetric with respect to the sign of the interaction and examine the relative role of repulsive and attractive interactions on the dynamics of scattering by isolated impurities and Anderson localization in dis- ordered …
Many disordered systems show a superdiffusive dynamics, intermediate between the diffusive one, typical of a classical stochastic process, and the so called ballistic behaviour, which is generally expected for the spreading in a quantum process. We have experimentally investigated the superdiffusive behaviour of a quantum walk (QW), whose dynamics can be related to energy transport phenomena, with a resolution which is high enough to clearly distinguish between different disorder regimes. By our experimental setup, the region between ballistic and diffusive spreading can be effectively scanned…
We study the quantum walk of two interacting particles on a line with an interface separating two topologically distinct regions. The interaction induces a localization-delocalization transition of the edge state at the interface. We characterize the transition through the entanglement between the two particles.
We investigate the emerging properties of quantum walks with temporal disorder engineered from a binary Markov chain with tailored correlation, $C$, and disorder strength, $r$. We show that when the disorder is weak -- $r \ll 1$ -- the introduction of negative correlation leads to a counter-intuitive higher production of spin-lattice entanglement entropy, $S_e$, than the setting with positive correlation, that is $S_e(-|C|)>S_e(|C|)$. These results show that negatively correlated disorder plays a more important role in quantum entanglement than it has been assumed in the literature.
We show that the entanglement between the internal (spin) and external (position) degrees of freedom of a qubit in a random (dynamically disordered) one-dimensional discrete time quantum random walk (QRW) achieves its maximal possible value asymptotically in the number of steps, outperforming the entanglement attained by using ordered QRW. The disorder is modeled by introducing an extra random aspect to QRW, a classical coin that randomly dictates which quantum coin drives the system's time evolution. We also show that maximal entanglement is achieved independently of the initial state of the …
One-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk has played an important role in development of quantum algorithms and protocols for different quantum simulations. The speedup observed in quantum walk algorithms is attributed to quantum interference and coherence of the wave packet in position space. Similarly, localization in quantum walk due to disorder is also attributed to quantum interference effect. Therefore, it is intriguing to have a closer look and understand the way quantum interference manifests in different forms of quantum walk dynamics. Quantum coherence in the system is responsible f…
Quantum walks constitute a versatile platform for simulating transport phenomena on discrete graphs including topological material properties while providing a high control over the relevant parameters at the same time. To experimentally access and directly measure the topological invariants of quantum walks we implement the scattering scheme proposed by Tarasinski et al.[Phys. Rev. A 89, 042327 (2014)] in a photonic time multiplexed quantum walk experiment. The tunable coin operation provides opportunity to reach distinct topological phases, and accordingly to observe the corresponding topolo…
Systems with purely off-diagonal disorder have peculiar features such as the localization-delocalization transition and long-range correlations in their wavefunctions. To motivate possible experimental studies of the physics of off-diagonal disorder, we study in detail disordered discrete-time quantum walk in a finite chain, where the diagonal disorder can be set to zero by construction. Starting from a transfer matrix approach, we show, both theoretically and computationally, that the dynamics of the quantum walk with disorder manifests all the main features of off-diagonal disorder. We also …
We examine the excitation transport across quantum networks that are continuously driven by a constant and incoherent light source. In particular we investigate the coherence properties of incoherently driven networks by employing recent tools from entanglement theory that enable a rigorous interpretation of coherence in the site basis. With these tools at hand we identify coherent delocalization of excitations over several sites to be a crucial prerequisite for highly efficient transport across networks driven by an incoherent source. These results are set into context with the latest discuss…
Quantum particles in a disordered potential, photons or classical waves in a random medium, or the universe expansion in a fluctuating cosmic field, all share Anderson localization as a communality. In general, localization is enhanced for strong disorder and low dimensions. In one dimension and for discrete uncorrelated random potentials, such as tight binding models, all states are localized for any disorder strength. This is in contrast to continuous random potentials, where we show here that regardless of the strength of the random potential, we have delocalization in the limit where the r…
