For a transition $F_e=0\leftrightarrow F_g=1$ driven by a linearly polarized light and probed by a circularly light, quantum coherence effects are investigated. Due to the coherence between the drive Rabi frequency and Zeeman splitting, electromagnetically induced transparency, electromagnetically induced absorption, and the transition from positive to negative dispersion are obtained, as well as the populations coherently oscillating in a wide spectral region. At the zero pump-probe detuning, the subluminal and superluminal light propagation is predicted. Finally, coherent population trapping states are not highly sensitive to the refraction and absorption in such ensemble.
We consider the possibility of a control field opening up multiple pathways and thereby leading to new interference and coherence effects. We illustrate the idea by considering the $J=1/2\leftrightarrow J=1/2$ transition. As a result of the additional pathways, we show the possibilities of nonzero refractive index without absorption and gain without inversion. We explain these results in terms of the coherence produced by the opening of an extra pathway.
We report the effect of a coherent drive on transient lasing in three-level $Λ$ and $Ξ$ configurations ($c\leftrightarrow a\leftrightarrow b$). We show that the presence of a resonant coherent drive on the $a\leftrightarrow c$ optical transition can yield an order of magnitude enhancement of the output laser energy on a $a\rightarrow b$ XUV or X-ray transition than with no coherent drive. We demonstrate the crucial role of coherence $\varrho_{ac}$ for the laser power enhancement. Contrary to the forward direction (with respect to the pump), where forward gain can be enhanced for some choice of…
Understanding the limits to the spin-coherence of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is vital to realizing the full potential of this quantum system. We show that relaxation on the $|m_{s}=-1\rangle \leftrightarrow |m_{s}=+1\rangle$ transition occurs approximately twice as fast as relaxation on the $|m_{s}=0\rangle \leftrightarrow |m_{s}=\pm 1\rangle$ transitions under ambient conditions in native NVs in high-purity bulk diamond. The rates we observe are independent of NV concentration over four orders of magnitude, indicating they are limited by spin-phonon interactions. We find that…
The method of perturbative expansion of master equation is employed to study the dissipative properties of system and of atom in the two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model (JCM) with degenerate atomic levels. The numerical results show that the degeneracy of atomic levels prolongs the period of entanglement between the atom and the field. The asymptotic value of atomic linear entropy is apparently increased by the degeneration. The amplitude of local entanglement and disentanglement is suppressed. The better the initial coherence property of the degenerate atom, the larger the coherence loss.
In this work, we show that the quantum coherence among non-degenerate energy subspaces (CANES) is essential for the energy flow in any quantum system. CANES satisfies almost all of the requirements as a coherence measure, except that the coherence within degenerate subspaces is explicitly eliminated.We show that the energy of a system becomes frozen if and only if the corresponding CANES vanishes, which is true regardless of the form of interaction with the environment. However, CANES can remain zero even if the entanglement changes over time. Furthermore, we show how the power of energy flow …
Real quantum systems couple to their environment and lose their intrinsic quantum nature through the process known as decoherence. Here we present a method for minimizing decoherence by making it energetically unfavorable. We present a Hamiltonian made up solely of two-body interactions between four two-level systems (qubits) which has a two-fold degenerate ground state. This degenerate ground state has the property that any decoherence process acting on an individual physical qubit must supply energy from the bath to the system. Quantum information can be encoded into the degeneracy of the gr…
We investigate the relevant spectroscopic properties of the 795 nm $^3$H$_6$$\leftrightarrow$$^3$H$_4$ transition in 1% Tm$^{3+}$:Y$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ at temperatures as low as 1.2 K for optical quantum memories based on persistent spectral tailoring of narrow absorption features. Our measurements reveal that this transition has uniform coherence properties over a 56 GHz bandwidth, and a simple hyperfine structure split by $\pm$44 MHz/T with lifetimes of up to hours. Furthermore, we find a $^3$F$_4$ population lifetime of 64 ms -- one of the longest lifetimes observed for an electronic level in…
The entropy production in dissipative processes is the essence of the arrow of time and the second law of thermodynamics. For dissipation of quantum systems, it was recently shown that the entropy production contains indeed two contributions: a classical one and a quantum one. Here we show that for degenerate (or near-degenerate) quantum systems there are additional quantum contributions which, remarkably, can become negative. Furthermore, such negative contributions are related to significant changes in the ongoing thermodynamics. This includes phenomena such as generation of coherences betwe…
Following the method of Victor V. Kozlov et al.[PhysRevA. 74. 063829],we inspect the coherence induced by incoherent pump and spontaneous decay process in $Λ$ type three-level atomic system with degenerated lower duplicate levels. The system shows a coherent population trapping state and multi-steady states characteristic in different conditions. Interestingly, two kinds of steady states generated by the system in different sets of pumping and decaying parameters, the "singlet" state and the "triplet" state, exhibit stable or unstable characteristics under the action of pumping field and vacuu…
An inversionless gain of anti-Stokes radiation above the oscillation threshold in an optically-dense far-from-degenerate double-Lambda Doppler-broadened medium accompanied by Stokes gain is predicted. The outcomes are illustrated with numerical simulations applied to sodium dimer vapor. Optical switching from absorption to gain via transparency controlled by a small variation of the medium and of the driving radiation parameters which are at a level less than one photon per molecule is shown. Related video/audio clips see in: A.K. Popov, S.A. Myslivets, and T.F. George, Optics Express Vol. 7, …
We show that radiative coupling between two multilevel atoms having near-degenerate states can produce new interference effects in spontaneous emission. We explicitly demonstrate this possibility by considering two identical V systems each having a pair of transition dipole matrix elements which are orthogonal to each other. We discuss in detail the origin of the new interference terms and their consequences. Such terms lead to the evolution of certain coherences and excitations which would not occur otherwise. The special choice of the orientation of the transition dipole matrix elements enab…
We study the steady-state characteristics and the transient behavior of the nonequilibrium double-dot Aharonov-Bohm interferometer using analytical tools and numerical simulations. Our simple setup includes noninteracting degenerate quantum dots that are coupled to two biased metallic leads at the same strength. A magnetic flux $Φ$ is piercing the setup perpendicularly. As we tune the degenerate dots energies away from the symmetric point we observe four nontrivial magnetic flux control effects: (i) flux dependency of the dots occupation, (ii) magnetic flux induced occupation difference betwee…
Although quantum coherence is a basic trait of quantum mechanics, the presence of coherences in the quantum description of a certain phenomenon does not rule out the possibility to give an alternative description of the same phenomenon in purely classical terms. Here, we give definite criteria to determine when and to what extent quantum coherence is equivalent to non-classicality. We prove that a Markovian multi-time statistics obtained from repeated measurements of a non-degenerate observable cannot be traced back to a classical statistics if and only if the dynamics is able to generate cohe…
Quantum coherent feedback control is a measurement-free control method fully preserving quantum coherence. In this paper we show how time-delayed quantum coherent feedback can be used to control the degree of squeezing in the output field of a cavity containing a degenerate parametric oscillator. We focus on the specific situation of Pyragas-type feedback control where time-delayed signals are fed back directly into the quantum system. Our results show how time-delayed feedback can enhance or decrease the degree of squeezing as a function of time delay and feedback strength.
We demonstrate the preparation and probing of the coherence between the hyperfine ground states |5S_{1/2}, F=1> and |5S_{1/2}, F=2> of the Rubidium 87 isotope. The effect of various coherence control techniques, i.e. fractional Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage and Coherent Population Return on the coherence are investigated. These techniques are implemented using nearly degenerate pump and Stokes lasers at 795nm (Rubidium D1 transition) which couple the two hyperfine ground states via the excited state |5P_{1/2}, F=1> through a resonant two-photon process, in which a coherent superposition o…
Coherence, a strictly quantum phenomenon, has found many applications, from quantum information theory and thermodynamics to quantum foundations and biology. When physical constraints are taken into consideration creation of coherence in a system is usually impossible and must therefore be extracted from another system acting as a reservoir. In this article we present two faithful extraction protocols in the sense that the interaction involved between the system and reservoir is coherence preserving. As an example we implement both in the case where the reservoir is a quantum harmonic oscillat…
We show that quantum coherence can enhance the performance of a continuous quantum heat engine in the Lindblad description. We investigate the steady-state solutions of the particle-exchanging quantum heat engine, composed of degenerate double quantum dots coupled to two heat baths in parallel, where quantum coherence may be induced due to interference between relaxation channels. We find that the engine power can be enhanced by the coherence in the nonlinear response regime, when the symmetry of coupling configurations between dots and two baths is broken. In the symmetric case, the coherence…
We investigate the thermodynamic uncertainty relation (TUR), \textit{i.e.} a trade-off between entropy production rate and relative power fluctuations, for nondegenerate three-level and degenerate four-level maser heat engines. In the nondegenerate case, we consider two slightly different configurations of three-level maser heat engine and contrast their degree of violation of standard TUR. In the high-temperature limit, standard TUR relation is always violated for both configurations. We also uncover an invariance of TUR under simultaneous rescaling of the matter-field coupling constant and s…
Photon impingement is capable of liberating electrons in electronic devices and driving the electron flux from the lower chemical potential to higher chemical potential. Previous studies hinted that the thermodynamic efficiency of a nano-sized photoelectric converter at maximum power is bounded by the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency. In this study, we apply quantum effects to design a photoelectric converter based on a three-level quantum dot (QD) interacting with fermionic baths and photons. We show that, by adopting a pair of suitable degenerate states, quantum coherences induced by the couplings …
The temporal evolution of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and absorption (EIA) coherence resonances in pump-probe spectroscopy of degenerate two-level atomic transition is studied for light intensities below saturation. Analytical expression for the transient absorption spectra are given for simple model systems and a model for the calculation of the time dependent response of realistic atomic transitions, where the Zeeman degeneracy is fully accounted for, is presented. EIT and EIA resonances have a similar (opposite sign) time dependent lineshape, however, the EIA evolution is…
Optical Investigations of Coherence and Relaxation Dynamics of a Thulium-doped Yttrium Gallium Garnet Crystal at sub-Kelvin Temperatures for Optical Quantum Memory
Spectroscopic features revealing the coherent interaction of a degenerate two-level atomic system with two optical fields are examined. A model for the numerical calculation of the response of a degenerate two-level system to the action of an arbitrarily intense resonant pump field and a weak probe in the presence of a magnetic field is presented. The model is valid for arbitrary values of the total angular momentum of the lower and upper levels and for any choice of the polarizations of the optical waves. Closed and open degenerate two-level systems are considered. Predictions for probe absor…
Transport in nonequilibrium degenerate quantum systems is investigated. Transfer rate depends on parameters of the system. In this paper we investigate dependence of the flow (transfer rate) on the angle between "bright" vectors (which define interaction of the system with the environment). We show that in some approximation for the system under investigation the flow is proportional to cosine squared of the angle between "bright" vectors. Earlier in arXiv:1603.07182 it was shown that in this degenerate quantum system excitation of non-decaying quantum "dark" states is possible, moreover the e…
We report the results of two experiments performed with two-photon light, produced via collinear degenerate optical spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), in which both second-order (one-photon) and fourth-order (two-photon) interferograms are recorded in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). In the first experiment, high-visibility fringes are obtained for both the second- and fourth-order interferograms. In the second experiment, the MZI is modified by the removal of a mirror from one of its arms; this leaves the fourth-order interferogram unchanged, but extinguishes the second-order i…
Recently, the coherent Ising machine (CIM) as a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (DOPO) network has been researched to solve Ising combinatorial optimization problems. We formulate a theoretical model for the CIM with discrete-time measurement feedback processes, and perform numerical simulations for the simplest network, composed of two degenerate optical parametric oscillator pulses with the anti-ferromagnetic mutual coupling. We evaluate the extent to which quantum coherence exists during the optimization process.
Kitaev's 0-$π$ qubit encodes quantum information in two protected, near-degenerate states of a superconducting quantum circuit. In a recent work, we have shown that the coherence times of a realistic 0-$π$ device can surpass that of today's best superconducting qubits [Groszkowski et al., New Journal of Physics 20 043053 (2018)]. Here we address controllability of the 0-$π$ qubit. Specifically, we investigate the potential for dispersive control and readout, and introduce a new, fast and high-fidelity single-qubit gate that can interpolate smoothly between logical X and Z. We characterize the …
We present a novel approach to modeling dynamics of trapped, degenerate, weakly interacting Bose gases beyond the mean field limit. We transform a many-body problem to the interaction representation with respect to a suitably chosen part of the Hamiltonian and only then apply a multimode coherent-state ansatz. The obtained equations are almost as simple as the Gross--Pitaevskii equation, but our approach captures essential features of the quantum dynamics such as the collapse of coherence.
Non-Gaussian continuous variable states play a central role both in the foundations of quantum theory and for emergent quantum technologies. In particular, "cat states", i.e., two-component macroscopic quantum superpositions, embody quantum coherence in an accessible way and can be harnessed for fundamental tests and quantum information tasks alike. Degenerate optical parametric oscillators can naturally produce single-mode cat states and thus represent a promising platform for their realization and harnessing. We show that a dissipative coupling between degenerate optical parametric oscillato…
The pure quantum correlations totally independent of the classical coherence of light have been experimentally demonstrated. By measuring the visibility of the interference fringes and the correlation variances of amplitude and phase quadratures between a pair of bright twin optical beams with different frequencies produced from a non-degenerate optical parametric oscillator, we found that when classical interference became worse even vanished, the quadrature quantum correlations were not influenced, completely. The presented experiment obviously shows the quantum correlations of light do not …
We study first-order spatial coherence for interacting polar bosons trapped in triple-well potentials. It is argued that besides the well-known coherence produced by couplings related to tunneling between the sites, there exists a nonlocal coherence predominantly determined by intersite interactions, which prevails between the outer sites of the triple well when their total filling is odd. We find that the nonlocal interaction-induced coherence originates from the superposition of degenerate many-body states in symmetric triple wells, and demonstrate its robustness against perturbations due to…
Spin echo is a fundamental tool for quantum registers and biomedical imaging. It is believed that a strong magnetic field is needed for the spin echo to provide long memory and high resolution since a degenerate spin cannot be controlled or addressed under a zero magnetic field. While a degenerate spin is never subject to dynamic control, it is still subject to geometric control. Here we show the spin echo of a degenerate spin subsystem, which is geometrically controlled via a mediating state split by the crystal field, in a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond. The demonstration reveals that th…
We propose a scheme for performing an entanglement-swapping operation within a quantum communications hub (a Bell like measurement) using an NV centre's $|\pm 1\rangle \leftrightarrow | A_2 \rangle$ optical transition. This is based on the heralded absorption of a photon resonant with that transition. The quantum efficiency of a single photon absorption is low but can be improved by placing the NV center inside a micro cavity to boost the interaction time and further by recycling the leaked photon back into the cavity after flipping its phase and/or polarisation. Throughout this process, the N…
We propose a scheme able to generate on demand a steady-state entanglement between two non-degenerate cavity modes. The scheme relies on the interaction of the cavity modes with driven two or three-level atoms which act as a coupler to build entanglement between the modes. We show that in the limit of a strong driving, crucial for the generation of entanglement between the modes is to imbalance populations of the dressed states of the driven atomic transition. In the case of a three-level V-type atom, we find that a stationary entanglement can be created on demand by tuning the Rabi frequency …
Here, we study a minimal model, the three-level V system coupled to two heat baths, and investigate the role of quantum coherences in heat transport in both the transient regime and in the nonequilibrium steady-state. In our model, energy is exchanged between the baths through two parallel pathways, which can be made distinct through the nondegeneracy of excited levels (energy splitting $Δ$) and a control parameter $α$, which adjusts the strength of one of the arms. Using a nonsecular quantum master equation of Redfield form, we succeed in deriving closed-form expressions for the quantum coher…
The use of electron beams is ubiquitous; electron microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, electron lithography, and electron diffractometry all use well-collimated and focused beams. On the other hand, quantum degenerate electron beams do currently not exist. The realization of such beams may impact all electron beam technologies and are interesting to pursue. Past attempts to reach degeneracy were hampered by the low degeneracy of continuously emitting electron sources. With the recent advent of ultra-short electron pulses, high degeneracy is expected. Coulomb repulsion and low quantum coh…
One of the stunning consequences of quantum correlations in thermodynamics is the reversal of the arrow of time, recently shown experimentally in [K. Micadei, et al., Nat. Commun. 10:2456 (2019)], and manifesting itself by a reversal of the heat flow (from the cold system to the hot one). Here, we show that contrary to what could have been expected, heat flow reversal can happen without reversal of the arrow of time. Moreover, contrasting with previous studies, no initial correlations between system and bath is required. Instead, the heat flow reversal only relies on internal quantum coherence…
Spin Hamiltonians with degenerate ground states are one potential system for the storage of quantum information at low temperatures. Trapped ions can be used to simulate the dynamics of these Hamiltonians, but the coherence-preserving properties will be lost. This illustrates that a quantum simulation performed in an interaction frame will not thermalize with its environment.
We show that degenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) in nonlinear optics can be described by an effective Hamiltonian that is pseudo-Hermitian, which enables a transition between a pseudo-Hermitian phase with real eigenvalues and a broken pseudo-Hermitian phase with complex conjugate eigenvalues. While bearing certain similarity to that in Parity-Time symmetric systems, this transition is in stark contrast because of the absence of gain and loss in the effective Hamiltonian. The latter is real after factoring out the system decay, and the onset of non-Hermiticity in degenerate FWM is due to the tota…
We present a model for an autonomous quantum thermal machine comprised of two qubits capable of manipulating and even amplifying the local coherence in a non-degenerate external system. The machine uses only thermal resources, namely, contact with two heat baths at different temperatures, and the external system has a non-zero initial amount of coherence. The method we propose allows for an interconversion between energy, both work and heat, and coherence in an autonomous configuration working in out-of-equilibrium conditions. This model raises interesting questions about the role of fundament…
Zero-field dipolar decoupling of color center ensembles via universal qutrit control
Universidad de Murcia（穆尔西亚大学）；Monodon, Navantia, S.A（Navantia公司Monodon部门）；Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena（卡塔赫纳理工大学）；European University of Technology EUT+（欧洲理工大学联盟EUT+）；Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Tecnología, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja（拉里奥哈国际大学高等工程与技术学院）；Ulm University（乌尔姆大学）；Center for Integrated Quantum Science and Technology (IQST)（集成量子科学与技术中心）
提出 ZENITH 脉冲序列，通过三能级控制消除 V 型简并自旋-1 系统间的偶极相互作用，实现零场下的高保真度、兼容现有传感序列并提升直流检测能力。
We develop a mathematically rigorous theory for the quantum transfer processes in degenerate donor-acceptor dimers in contact with a thermal environment. We calculate explicitly the transfer rates and the acceptor population efficiency. The latter depends critically on the initial donor state. We show that quantum coherence in the initial state enhances the transfer process. If the electron is initially shared coherently by the donor levels then the efficiency can reach values close to 100%, while an incoherent initial donor state will significantly suppress the efficiency. The results are use…
We present a quantum-mechanical treatment of the coherence properties of a single-mode atom laser. Specifically, we focus on the quantum phase noise of the atomic field as expressed by the first-order coherence function, for which we derive analytical expressions in various regimes. The decay of this function is characterized by the coherence time, or its reciprocal, the linewidth. A crucial contributor to the linewidth is the collisional interaction of the atoms. We find four distinct regimes for the linewidth with increasing interaction strength. These range from the standard laser linewidth…
We present the general theory of a quantum heat machine based on an $N$-level system (working medium) whose $N-1$ excited levels are degenerate, a prerequisite for steady-state interlevel coherence. Our goal is to find out: To what extent is coherence in the working medium an asset for heat machines? The performance bounds of such a machine are common to (reciprocating) cycles that consist of consecutive strokes and continuous cycles wherein the periodically driven system is constantly coupled to cold and hot heat baths. Intriguingly, we find that the machine's performance strongly depends on …
We investigate the role of coherence and Markovianity in finding an answer to the question whether the outcomes of a projectively measured quantum stochastic process are compatible with a classical stochastic process. For this purpose we put forward an operationally motivated definition of incoherent dynamics applicable to any open system's dynamics. For non-degenerate observables described by rank-1 projective measurements we show that classicality always implies incoherent dynamics, whereas the converse is only true for invertible Markovian (but not necessarily time-homogeneous) dynamics. Fo…
Highly stable laser sources based on narrow atomic transitions provide a promising platform for direct generation of stable and accurate optical frequencies. Here we investigate a simple system operating in the high-temperature regime of cold atoms. The interaction between a thermal ensemble of $^{88}$Sr at mK temperatures and a medium-finesse cavity produces strong collective coupling and facilitates high atomic coherence which causes lasing on the dipole forbidden $^1$S$_0 \leftrightarrow ^3$P$_1$ transition. We experimentally and theoretically characterize the lasing threshold and evolution…
We perform the exact numerical diagonalization of the Hamiltonians that describe both degenerate and nondegenerate parametric amplifiers, by exploiting the conservation laws pertaining each device. We clarify the conditions under which the parametric approximation holds, showing that the most relevant requirement is the coherence of the pump after the interaction, rather than its undepletion.
We propose a model to study the coherence and entanglement resulting from the interaction of a finite-size atomic ensemble with degenerate counter-propagating field modes of a high-Q ring cavity. Our approach applies to an arbitrary number of atoms N and includes the spatial variation of the field throughout the ensemble. We report several new interesting aspects of coherence and entangled behavior that emerge when the size of the atomic ensemble is not taken to the thermodynamic limit of N>>1. Under such conditions, it is found that the counter-propagating cavity modes, although in the thermo…
We investigate the fate of coherence in the dynamical evolution of a symmetry protected quantum system. Under the formalism of system-plus-bath for open quantum system, the anti-unitary symmetry exhibits significant difference from the unitary one in protecting initial coherence. Specifically, taking advantage of Lindblad master equation, we find that a pure state in the symmetry protected degenerate subspace will decohere even though both the system Hamiltonian and system-environment interaction respect the same anti-unitary symmetry. In contrast, the coherence will persist when the protectin…
We investigate the spatial quantum properties of the light emitted by a perfectly spatially degenerate optical parametric oscillator (self-imaging OPO). We show that this device produces local squeezing for areas bigger than a coherence are that depends on the crystal length and pump width. Furthermore, it generates local EPR beams in the far field. We show, calculating the eigenmodes of the system, that it is highly multimode for realistic experimental parameters.
