We determine the set of the Bloch vectors for N-level systems, generalizing the familiar Bloch ball in 2-level systems. An origin of the structural difference from the Bloch ball in 2-level systems is clarified.
An ability to describe quantum states directly by average values of measurement outcomes is provided by the Bloch vector. For an informationally complete set of measurements one can construct unique Bloch vector for any quantum state. However, not every Bloch vector corresponds to a quantum state. It seems that only for two dimensional quantum systems it is easy to distinguish proper Bloch vectors from improper ones, i.e. the ones corresponding to quantum states from the other ones. I propose an alternative approach to the problem in which more than one vector is used. In particular, I show th…
Using the Bloch representation of an N-dimensional quantum system and immediate results from quantum stochastic calculus, we establish a closed formula for the Bloch vector, hence also for the density operator, of a quantum system following a Lindblad evolution with selfadjoint Lindblad operators.
We describe and characterize an equal-fidelity surface in Bloch space targeted for a qubit state by means of equal-distance concept. The distance is generalized and defined as the Euclidean distance between extended Bloch vectors for arbitrary dimensional states. The distance is a genuine distance according to the definition and is related to other distances between quantum states and super-fidelity.
So far there is no closed formula for relative entropy of entanglement of arbitrary two-qubit states. In this paper we present a method, which guarantees the derivation of the relative entropy of entanglement for most states that have $z$-directional Bloch vectors. It is shown that the closest separable states for those states also have $z$-directional Bloch vectors though there are few exceptions.
We investigate the norms of the Bloch vectors for any quantum state with subsystems less than or equal to four. Tight upper bounds of the norms are obtained, which can be used to derive tight upper bounds for entanglement measure defined by the norms of Bloch vectors. By using these bounds a trade-off relation of the norms of Bloch vectors is discussed. Theses upper bounds are then applied on separability. Necessary conditions are presented for different kinds of separable states in four-partite quantum systems. We further present a complete classification of quantum states for four qudits qua…
Bloch-vector spaces for $N$-level systems are investigated from the spherical-coordinate point of view in order to understand their geometrical aspects. We show that the maximum radius in each direction, which is due to the construction of the Bloch-vector space, is determined by the minimum eigenvalue of the corresponding observable (orthogonal generator of SU(N)). From this fact, we reveal the dual property of the structure of the Bloch-vector space; if in some direction the space reachs the large sphere (pure state), then in the opposite direction the space can only get to the small sphere,…
We have considered a system of two superconducting charge qubits capacitively coupled to a microwave resonator. The dynamics of the Bloch vectors are investigated for different regimes. By means of the Bloch vectors and cross dyadic we quantify the degree of entanglement contained in the generated entangled state. We consider different values of the system parameters to discuss the dynamics of the channel capacity between the qubits. We show that there is an important role played by initial state settings, coupling constant and the mean photon number on generating entangled state with high deg…
In this paper we present a simple algorithm for representation of statistical data of any origin by complex probability amplitudes. Numerical simulation with Mathematica-6 is performed. The Bloch's sphere is used for visualization of results of numerical simulation. On the one hand, creation of such a quantum-like (QL) representation and its numerical approval is an important step in clarification of extremely complicated interrelation between classical and quantum randomness. On the other hand, it opens new possibilities for application the mathematical formalism of QM in other domains of sci…
We introduce a Hermitian generalization of Pauli matrices to higher dimensions which is based on Heisenberg-Weyl operators. The complete set of Heisenberg-Weyl observables allows us to identify a real-valued Bloch vector for an arbitrary density operator in discrete phase space, with a smooth transition to infinite dimensions. Furthermore, we derive bounds on the sum of expectation values of any set of anti-commuting observables. Such bounds can be used in entanglement detection and we show that Heisenberg-Weyl observables provide a first non-trivial example beyond the dichotomic case.
Quantum manipulation protocols for quantum sensors and quantum computation often require many single qubit rotations. However, the impact of phase noise in the field that performs the qubit rotations is often neglected or treated only for special cases. We present a general framework for calculating the impact of phase noise on the state of a qubit, as described by its equivalent Bloch vector. The analysis applies to any Bloch vector orientation, and any rotation axis azimuthal angle for both a single pulse, and pulse sequences. Experimental examples are presented for several special cases. We…
We present three different matrix bases that can be used to decompose density matrices of d--dimensional quantum systems, so-called qudits: the generalized Gell-Mann matrix basis, the polarization operator basis, and the Weyl operator basis. Such a decomposition can be identified with a vector --the Bloch vector, i.e. a generalization of the well known qubit case-- and is a convenient expression for comparison with measurable quantities and for explicit calculations avoiding the handling of large matrices. We consider the important case of an isotropic two--qudit state and decompose it accordi…
In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of the Bloch vector of a single two-level atom which interacts with a single quantized electromagnetic field mode according to the Jaynes-Cummings model, where the field is initially prepared in a thermal state. The time evolution of the Bloch vector S(t) seems to be in complete disorder because of the thermal distribution of the initial state of the field. Both the norm and the direction of S(t) oscillate hard and their periods seem infinite. We observe that the trajectory of the time evolution of S(t) in the two- or three-dimensional space does not …
We present three different matrix bases that can be used to decompose density matrices of $d$--dimensional quantum systems, so-called qudits: the \emph{generalized Gell-Mann matrix basis}, the \emph{polarization operator basis}, and the \emph{Weyl operator basis}. Such a decomposition can be identified with a vector --the Bloch vector, i.e. a generalization of the well known qubit case-- and is a convenient expression for comparison with measurable quantities and for explicit calculations avoiding the handling of large matrices. We present a new method to decompose density matrices via so--cal…
As is well known, when an SU(2) operation acts on a two-level system, its Bloch vector rotates without change of magnitude. Considering a system composed of two two-level systems, it is proven that for a class of nonlocal interactions of the two subsystems including σ_i\otimesσ_j (with i,j \in {x,y,z}) and the Heisenberg interaction, the geometric description of the motion is particularly simple: each of the two Bloch vectors follows an elliptical orbit within the Bloch sphere. The utility of this result is demonstrated in two applications, the first of which bears on quantum control via quant…
Geometric algebra is a mathematical structure that is inherent in any metric vector space, and defined by the requirement that the metric tensor is given by the scalar part of the product of vectors. It provides a natural framework in which to represent the classical groups as subgroups of rotation groups, and similarly their Lie algebras. In this article we show how the geometric algebra of a six-dimensional real Euclidean vector space naturally allows one to construct the special unitary group on a two-qubit (quantum bit) Hilbert space, in a fashion similar to that used in the well-establish…
We present a unitary equivalent spin-boson Hamiltonian in which terms can be identified which contribute to the Bloch-Siegert shift, and to the level splittings at the anticrossings associated with the Bloch-Siegert resonances. First-order degenerate perturbation theory is used to develop approximate results in the case of moderate coupling for the level splitting.
Physical constraints such as positivity endow the set of quantum states with a rich geometry if the system dimension is greater than two. To shed some light on the complicated structure of the set of quantum states, we consider a stratification with strata given by unitary orbit manifolds, which can be identified with flag manifolds. The results are applied to study the geometry of the coherence vector for n-level quantum systems. It is shown that the unitary orbits can be naturally identified with spheres in R^{n^2-1} only for n=2. In higher dimensions the coherence vector only defines a non-…
We show that the Bloch vectors lying on any great circle is the largest set S(L) for which the parallel states |n,n> can always be transformed into the anti-parallel states |n,-n>. Thus more information about the Bloch vector is not extractable from |n,-n> than from |n,n> by any measuring strategy, for the Bloch vector belonging to S(L). Surprisingly, the largest set of Bloch vectors for which the corresponding qubits can be flipped is again S(L). We then show that probabilistic exact parallel to anti-parallel transformation is not possible if the corresponding anti-parallel spins span the who…
For one qubit systems, we present a short, elementary argument characterizing unital quantum operators in terms of their action on Bloch vectors. We then show how our approach generalizes to multi-qubit systems, obtaining inequalities that govern when a ``diagonal'' superoperator on the Bloch region is a quantum operator. These inequalities are the n-qubit analogue of the Algoet-Fujiwara conditions. Our work is facilitated by an analysis of operator-sum decompositions in which negative summands are allowed.
In this paper, we show that the time evolution of the Bloch vector governed by the thermal Jaynes-Cummings model is equivalent to a compressible inviscid flow with zero vorticity. Because of its quasiperiodicity, the dynamics of the Bloch vector includes countably infinite angular momenta as integrals of motion. Moreover, to derive the Bloch vector, we trace out the Hilbert space of the cavity field and remove entanglement between the single atom and the cavity mode. These facts indicate that the dynamics of the Bloch vector can be described with a hidden-variable model that has local determin…
The Bloch vector's path of a two-level system exposed to a monochromatic field exhibits, in the regime of strong coupling, complex corkscrew trajectories. By considering the infinitesimal evolution of the two-level system when the field is treated as a classical object, we show that the Bloch vector's rotation speed oscillates between zero and twice the rotation speed predicted by the rotating wave approximation. Cusps appear when the rotation speed vanishes. We prove analytically that in correspondence to cusps the curvature of the Bloch vector's path diverges. On the other hand, numerical da…
Entanglement, a manifestation of quantumness of correlations between the observables of the subsystems of a composite system, and the quantumness of their mutual information are widely studied characteristics of a system of spin-1/2 particles. The concept of quantumness of correlations between the observables of a system is based on incommensurability of the correlations with the predictions of some local hidden variable (LHV) theory. However, the concept of quantumness of mutual information does not invoke the LHV theory explicitly. In this paper, by invoking explicitly the local hidden varia…
We consider a spin-boson model in which a spin 1 system is coupled to an oscillator. A unitary transformation is applied which allows a separation of terms responsible for the Bloch-Siegert shift, and terms responsible for the level splittings at anticrossings associated with Bloch-Siegert resonances. When the oscillator is highly excited, the system can maintain resonance for sequential multiphoton transitions. At lower levels of excitation, resonance cannot be maintained because energy exchange with the oscillator changes the level shift. An estimate for the critical excitation level of the …
A two-sphere ("Bloch" or "Poincare") is familiar for describing the dynamics of a spin-1/2 particle or light polarization. Analogous objects are derived for unitary groups larger than SU(2) through an iterative procedure that constructs evolution operators for higher-dimensional SU in terms of lower-dimensional ones. We focus, in particular, on the SU(4) of two qubits which describes all possible logic gates in quantum computation. For a general Hamiltonian of SU(4) with 15 parameters, and for Hamiltonians of its various sub-groups so that fewer parameters suffice, we derive Bloch-like rotatio…
The cascade, lambda and vee type of three-level systems are shown to be described by three different Hamiltonians in the SU(3) basis. We investigate the Bloch space structure of each configuration by solving the corresponding Bloch equation and show that at resonance, the seven-dimensional Bloch sphere ${\mathcal S}^7$ is broken into two distinct subspaces ${\mathcal S}^2{\times}{\mathcal S}^4$ due to the existence of a pair of quadratic constants. We also give a possible representation of the qutrit wave function and discuss its equivalence with the three-level system.
A topological formulation of the eigenspace anholonomy, where eigenspaces are interchanged by adiabatic cycles, is introduced. The anholonomy in two-level systems is identified with a disclination of the director (headless vector) of a Bloch vector, which characterizes eigenprojectors. The covering map structure behind the exotic quantum holonomy and the role of the homotopy classification of adiabatic cycles are elucidated. The extensions of this formulation to nonadiabatic cycles and N-level systems are outlined.
Maxwell-Bloch system describing the resonant propagation of electromagnetic pulses in both two-level media with degeneracy in angle moment projection and three-level media with equal oscillator forces is considered. The inhomogeneous broadening of energy levels is accounted. Binary Darboux Transformation generating the solutions of the system is constructed. Pulses corresponding to the transition between levels with largest population difference are shown to be stable. The solution describing the propargation of pulses in the medium exited by the periodic wave is obtained. The hierarchy of inf…
We show that a quantum control procedure on a two-level system including dissipation gives rise to a semi-group corresponding to the Lie algebra semi-direct sum gl(3,R)+R^3. The physical evolution may be modelled by the action of this semi-group on a 3-vector as it moves inside the Bloch sphere, in the Bloch ball.
We study a quasiperiodic structure in the time evolution of the Bloch vector, whose dynamics is governed by the thermal Jaynes-Cummings model (JCM). Putting the two-level atom into a certain pure state and the cavity field into a mixed state in thermal equilibrium at initial time, we let the whole system evolve according to the JCM Hamiltonian. During this time evolution, motion of the Bloch vector seems to be in disorder. Because of the thermal photon distribution, both a norm and a direction of the Bloch vector change hard at random. In this paper, taking a different viewpoint compared with …
By use of a generalized Bloch vector construction, we study the decoherence of a system composed of two interacting qubits in a general noisy environment. In particular, we investigate the effects of correlations in the noise acting on distinct qubits. Our treatment of the two-qubit system by use of the generalized Bloch vector leads to tractable analytic equations for the dynamics of the 4-level Bloch vector and allows for the application of geometrical concepts from the well known 2-level Bloch sphere. We find that in the presence of correlated or anticorrelated noise, the rate of decoherenc…
In the Bloch sphere picture, one finds the coefficients for expanding a single-qubit density operator in terms of the identity and Pauli matrices. A generalization to $n$ qubits via tensor products represents a density operator by a real vector of length $4^n$, conceptually similar to a statevector. Here, we study this approach for the purpose of quantum circuit simulation, including noise processes. The tensor structure leads to computationally efficient algorithms for applying circuit gates and performing few-qubit quantum operations. In view of variational circuit optimization, we study ``b…
We present a practical scheme for the decomposition of a bipartite mixed state into a sum of direct products of local density matrices, using the technique developed in Li and Qiao (Sci. Rep. 8: 1442, 2018). In the scheme, the correlation matrix which characterizes the bipartite entanglement is first decomposed into two matrices composed of the Bloch vectors of local states. Then we show that the symmetries of Bloch vectors are consistent with that of the correlation matrix, and the magnitudes of the local Bloch vectors are lower bounded by the correlation matrix. Concrete examples for the sep…
In a direct two-level qubit system, when the Rabi frequency is comparable to the resonance frequency, the rotating wave approximation is not appropriate. In this case, the Rabi oscillation is accompanied by another oscillation at twice the frequency of the driving field, the so called Bloch-Siegert oscillation (BSO), which depends on the initial phase of the driving field. This oscillation may restrict the precise rotation of a qubit made of direct two-level system. Here, we show that in case of an effectively two-level lambda system, the BSO is inherently negligible, implying a greater precis…
We use polarization operators known from quantum theory of angular momentum to expand the $N \times N$ dimensional density operators. Thereby, we construct generalized Bloch vectors representing density matrices. We study their properties and derive positivity conditions for any $N$. We also apply the procedure to study Bloch vector space for a qubit and a qutrit.
In previous work we studied the spin-boson model in the multiphoton regime, using a rotation that provides a separation between terms that contribute most of the level energies away from resonance, and terms responsible for the level splittings at the anticrossing. Here, we consider a generalization of the spin-boson model consisting of a three-level system coupled to an oscillator. We construct a similar rotation and apply it to the more complicated model. We find that the rotation provides a useful approximation to the energy levels in the multiphoton region of the new problem. We find that …
Recently there has been theoretical and experimental interest in Bloch-Siegert shifts in an intense photon field. A perturbative treatment becomes difficult in this multiphoton regime. We present a unitary transform and rotated model, which allows us to get accurate results away from the level anticrossings. A simple variational energy estimate leads to a new expression for the dressed two-level system energy which is accurate, and useful over a wide range of the dimensionless coupling constant.
We present a surprisingly simple three-dimensional Bloch sphere representation of a qutrit, i.e., a single three-level quantum system. We start with a symmetric state of a two-qubit system and relate it to the spin-1 representation. Using this representation we associate each qutrit state with a three-dimensional vector $\mathbf{a}$ and a metric tensor $\mathbf{\hatΓ}$ which satisfy $\mathbf{a}\cdot \mathbf{\hatΓ} \cdot \mathbf{a}\leq 1$. This resembles the well known condition for qubit Bloch vectors in which case $\mathbf{\hatΓ}=\hat{I}$. In our case the vector $\mathbf{a}$ corresponds to sp…
We consider the problem of carrying an initial Bloch vector to a final Bloch vector in a specified amount of time under the action of three control fields (a vector control field). We show that this control problem is solvable and therefore it is possible to optimize the control. We choose the physically motivated criteria of minimum energy spent in the control, minimum magnitude of the rate of change of the control and a combination of both. We find exact analytical solutions.
The Bloch sphere is a familiar and useful geometrical picture of the dynamics of a single spin or two-level system's quantum evolution. The analogous geometrical picture for three-level systems is presented, with several applications. The relevant SU(3) group and su(3) algebra are eight-dimensional objects and are realized in our picture as two four-dimensional manifolds describing the time evolution operator. The first, called the base manifold, is the counterpart of the S^2 Bloch sphere, whereas the second, called the fiber, generalizes the single U(1) phase of a single spin. Now four-dimens…
A superconducting qubit was driven in an ultrastrong fashion by an oscillatory microwave field, which was created by coupling via the nonlinear Josephson energy. The observed Stark shifts of the `atomic' levels are so pronounced that corrections even beyond the lowest-order Bloch-Siegert shift are needed to properly explain the measurements. The quasienergies of the dressed two-level system were probed by resonant absorption via a cavity, and the results are in agreement with a calculation based on the Floquet approach.
We consider the kinematics of bi-partite quantum states as determined by observable quantities, in particular the Bloch vectors of the subsystems. In examining the simplest case of a pair of two-level systems, there is a remarkable connection between the presence of non-classical correlations and the chirality of the two bases generated by the singular value decomposition of the correlation matrix of the Bloch vectors. We investigate the limits imposed by quantum mechanics of this effect and it relationship with other methods on quantifying the system's non-classical behaviour.
We show that when N>>1 the geometric entanglement measure of general N-qubit W states, except maximally entangled W states, is a one-variable function and depends only on the Bloch vector with the minimal z component. Hence one can prepare a W state with the required maximal product overlap by altering the Bloch vector of a single qubit. Next we compute analytically the geometric measure of large-scale W states by describing these systems in terms of very few parameters. The final formula relates two quantities, namely the maximal product overlap and the Bloch vector, that can be easily estima…
The entanglement of atomic system consists of two atoms interacts with a deformed cavity mode is quantified by the means of Bloch vectors and the cross dyadic of the travelling state inside the cavity. For large value of the deformation the amplitude of Bloch vectors decrease very fast and consequently the traveling state turns into mixed state quickly. The generated entangled state is used as quantum channel to implement quantum teleportation protocol. It is shown that both of the deformed parameter and the number of photons inside the cavity play a central role on controlling the fidelity of…
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…
Geometric intuition is a crucial tool to obtain deeper insight into many concepts of physics. A paradigmatic example of its power is the Bloch ball, the geometrical representation for the state space of the simplest possible quantum system, a two-level system (or qubit). However, already for a three-level system (qutrit) the state space has eight dimensions, so that its complexity exceeds the grasp of our three-dimensional space of experience. This is unfortunate, given that the geometric object describing the state space of a qutrit has a much richer structure and is in many ways more represe…
Two connected equiperiodic one-dimensional multi-well potentials of different well depths are studied. Floquet/Bloch energy bands for respective multi-well potential are found to be relevant for understanding level structures. Althoug energies are classically allowed in both multi-well potentials, a band gap of one multi-well potential makes this potential quantum-mechanically 'forbidden'. All energy levels are located in the union of the band regions.
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.