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At least 739 records · Page 41

The quantum mechanics of ion-enhanced field emission and how it influences microscale gas breakdown

The presence of a positive gas ion can enhance cold electron field emission by deforming the potential barrier and increasing the tunneling probability of electrons—a process known as ion-enhanced field emission. In microscale gas discharges, ion-enhanced field emission produces additional emission from the cathode and effectively reduces the voltage required to breakdown a gaseous medium at the microscale (<10 μm). In this work, we enhance classic field emission theory by determining the impact of a gaseous ion on electron tunneling and compute the effect of ion-enhanced field emission on the breakdown voltage. We reveal that the current density for ion-enhanced field emission retains the same scaling as vacuum cold field emission and that this leads to deviations from traditional breakdown theory at microscale dimensions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Chiral Majorana fermion modes in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator–superconductor structure

Majorana fermion is a hypothetical particle that is its own antiparticle. We report transport measurements that suggest the existence of one-dimensional chiral Majorana fermion modes in the hybrid system of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator thin film coupled with a superconductor. As the external magnetic field is swept, half-integer quantized conductance plateaus are observed at the locations of magnetization reversals, giving a distinct signature of the Majorana fermion modes. This transport signature is reproducible over many magnetic field sweeps and appears at different temperatures. This finding may open up an avenue to control Majorana fermions for implementing robust topological quantum computing.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Pulse-level noisy quantum circuits with QuTiP

The study of the impact of noise on quantum circuits is especially relevant to guide the progress of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) computing. In this paper, we address the pulse-level simulation of noisy quantum circuits with the Quantum Toolbox in Python (QuTiP). We introduce new tools in qutip-qip, QuTiP's quantum information processing package. These tools simulate quantum circuits at the pulse level, leveraging QuTiP's quantum dynamics solvers and control optimization features. We show how quantum circuits can be compiled on simulated processors, with control pulses acting on a target Hamiltonian that describes the unitary evolution of the physical qubits. Various types of noise can be introduced based on the physical model, e.g., by simulating the Lindblad density-matrix dynamics or Monte Carlo quantum trajectories. In particular, the user can define environment-induced decoherence at the processor level and include noise simulation at the level of control pulses. We illustrate how the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm is compiled and executed on a superconducting-qubit-based processor, on a spin-chain-based processor and using control optimization algorithms. We also show how to easily reproduce experimental results on cross-talk noise in an ion-based processor, and how a Ramsey experiment can be modeled with Lindblad dynamics. Finally, we illustrate how to integrate these features with other software frameworks.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Autonomous quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computation with squeezed cat qubits

We propose an autonomous quantum error correction scheme using squeezed cat (SC) code against excitation loss in continuous-variable systems. Through reservoir engineering, we show that a structured dissipation can stabilize a two-component SC while autonomously correcting the errors. The implementation of such dissipation only requires low-order nonlinear couplings among three bosonic modes or between a bosonic mode and a qutrit. While our proposed scheme is device independent, it is readily implementable with current experimental platforms such as superconducting circuits and trapped-ion systems. Compared to the stabilized cat, the stabilized SC has a much lower dominant error rate and a significantly enhanced noise bias. Furthermore, the bias-preserving operations for the SC have much lower error rates. In combination, the stabilized SC leads to substantially better logical performance when concatenating with an outer discrete-variable code. The surface-SC scheme achieves more than one order of magnitude increase in the threshold ratio between the loss rate κ 1 and the engineered dissipation rate κ 2 . Under a practical noise ratio κ 1 /κ 2 = 10 -3 , the repetition-SC scheme can reach a 10 -15 logical error rate even with a small mean excitation number of 4, which already suffices for practically useful quantum algorithms.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

SQMS Quantum R&D in Machine Learning, Optimization and Sensing beyond Fundamental Physics Applications

This newly formed team at SQMS under the Ecosystem Thrust is looking to develop capabilities impacting societal advances outside the core domain of HEP and condensed matter physics. We explicitly leverage the experimental and algorithmic innovations developed across all groups as well as connect to broad-scope external projects of the diverse team of PIs. As the inaugural set of projects, we are studying numerically quantum machine learning models inspired by efficiently trainable echo-state and orthogonal neural networks and developing designs for related experiments to be performed on quantum processors based on SQMS SRF cQED technology and Rigetti s transmon arrays. Investigated models exploit ideas and lessons learned from multiple prior work by SQMS team members in a variety of internal and external activities [R1]. Target initial applications include noisy signal processing, potentially captured by quantum sensors or noisy QPUs, as well as simulation and classification of healthcare data. For instance, image reconstruction of the brain s electrical properties by solving the inverse Maxwell equation problem with uncertainty [R2] through a hybrid quantum-classical physics-informed architecture for time-dependent processes [R3]. The group is also investigating the application and development of novel quantum sensors based on magnetic levitation of a superconducting sphere coupled to a superconducting qubit. This coupling enables high-precision measurements of the position of the sphere, which can be used for sensitive detection of forces, enabling practical applications such as gravimetry for geophysics analysis, or accelerometry for GPS-denied navigation [R4] [R1] Rieffel, Eleanor G., Ata Akbari Asanjan, M. Sohaib Alam, Namit Anand, David E. Bernal Neira, Sophie Block, Lucas T. Brady et al. "Assessing and advancing the potential of quantum computing: A NASA case study." Future Generation Computer Systems (2024). [R2] Yu, X., Serrall s, J.E., Giannakopoulos, I.I., Liu, Z., Daniel, L., Lattanzi, R. and Zhang, Z., 2023. Pifon-ept: Mr-based electrical property tomography using physics-informed fourier networks. IEEE Journal on Multiscale and Multiphysics Computational Techniques. [R3] Wudarski, Filip, Daniel OConnor, Shaun Geaney, Ata Akbari Asanjan, Max Wilson, Elena Strbac, P. Aaron Lott, and Davide Venturelli. "Hybrid quantum-classical reservoir computing for simulating chaotic systems." arXiv preprint arXiv:2311.14105 (2023). [R4] Higgins, Gerard, Saarik Kalia, and Zhen Liu. "Maglev for dark matter: Dark-photon and axion dark matter sensing with levitated superconductors." Physical Review D 109.5 (2024): 055024.

Venturelli, Davide↗

The transition to the metallic state in low density hydrogen

Solid atomic hydrogen is one of the simplest systems to undergo a metal-insulator transition. Near the transition, the electronic degrees of freedom become strongly correlated and their description provides a difficult challenge for theoretical methods. As a result, the order and density of the phase transition are still subject to debate. In this work, we use diffusion quantum Monte Carlo to benchmark the transition between paramagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic body centered cubic atomic hydrogen in its ground state. We locate the density of the transition by computing the equation of state for these two phases and identify the phase transition order by computing the band gap near the phase transition. These benchmark results show that the phase transition is continuous and occurs at a Wigner-Seitz radius of r{sub s} = 2.27(3) a{sub 0}. We compare our results to previously reported density functional theory, Hedin’s GW approximation, and dynamical mean field theory results.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Quantum simulations of SO(5) many-fermion systems using qudits

The structure and dynamics of many-body systems are the result of a delicate interplay between underlying interactions. Fermionic pairing, for example, plays a central role in various physical systems, ranging from condensed matter to nuclear systems, where it can lead to collective phenomena such as superconductivity and superfluidity. In atomic nuclei, the interplay between pairing and particle-hole interactions leads to a high degree of complexity and intricate entanglement structures. Despite this apparent complexity, symmetries emerge and manifest themselves in observable regular patterns. These symmetries and their breakings have long been used to determine relevant degrees of freedom and simplify classical descriptions of many-body systems. Here, this work explores the potential utility of quantum computers with arrays of qudits in simulating interacting fermionic systems, when the qudits can naturally map the relevant degrees of freedom determined by an underlying symmetry group. The Agassi model of fermions interacting via particle-hole and pairing interactions is based on an underlying so(5) algebra. Such systems can intuitively be partitioned into pairs of modes with five basis states, which thus naturally map to arrays of d = 5 qudits (qu5its). Classical noiseless simulations of the time evolution of systems with up to twelve qu5its are performed, by implementing quantum circuits that are developed herein, using PYTHON codes invoking Google's CIRQ software. The resource requirements of the qu5it circuits are analyzed and compared with two different mappings to qubit systems: a physics-aware Jordan-Wigner mapping requiring four qubits per mode pair and a state-to-state mapping requiring three qubits per mode pair. While the dimensionality of Hilbert spaces in mappings to qu5it systems are less than those for the corresponding qubit systems, the number of entangling operations, depending on the available hardware, can either be greater or smaller than for the physics-aware Jordan-Wigner mapping. The state-to-state mapping, while having a smaller Hilbert space than Jordan-Wigner mappings, appears to be the least efficient in gate counts. Further, a previously unknown sign problem has been identified from Trotterization errors in time evolving high-energy excitations. There appear to be advantages in employing quantum computers with arrays of qudits to perform simulations of many-body dynamics that exploit the role of underlying symmetries, specifically in lowering the required quantum resources and in reducing anticipated errors that take the simulation out of the physical space. If the necessary entangling gates are not directly supported by the hardware, physics-aware mappings to qubits may, however, be advantageous for other aspects.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Electronic spectra with paramagnon fractionalization in the single-band Hubbard model

We examine spectral properties of a recently proposed theory of the intermediate temperature pseudogap metal phase of the cuprates. We show that this theory can be obtained from the familiar paramagnon theory of nearly antiferromagnetic metals by fractionalizing the paramagnon into two “hidden” layers of S = 1 / 2 spins. The first hidden layer of spins hybridizes with the electrons as in a Kondo lattice heavy Fermi liquid, whereas the second hidden layer of spins forms a spin liquid with fractionalized spinon excitations. Here, we compute the imaginary part of the electronic self-energy induced by the spinon excitations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Non-local corrections to the typical medium theory of Anderson localization

We use the recently developed finite cluster typical medium approach to study the Anderson localization transition in three dimensions. Applying our method to the box and binary alloy disorder distributions, we find a fast convergence with the cluster size. We demonstrate the importance of the typical medium environment and the non-local spatial correlations for the proper characterization of the localization transition. As the cluster size increases, our typical medium cluster method recovers the correct critical disorder strength for the transition. Our findings highlight the importance of the non-local cluster corrections for capturing the localization behavior of the mobility edge trajectories. Our results demonstrate that the typical medium cluster approach developed here provides a consistent and systematic description of the Anderson localization transition in the framework of the effective medium embedding schemes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Modeling direct band-to-band tunneling: From bulk to quantum-confined semiconductor devices

A rigorous framework to study direct band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) in homo- and hetero-junction semiconductor nanodevices is introduced. An interaction Hamiltonian coupling conduction and valence bands (CVBs) is derived using a multiband envelope method. A general form of the BTBT probability is then obtained from the linear response to the “CVBs interaction” that drives the system out of equilibrium. Simple expressions in terms of the one-electron spectral function are developed to compute the BTBT current in two- and three-dimensional semiconductor structures. Additionally, a two-band envelope equation based on the Flietner model of imaginary dispersion is proposed for the same purpose. In order to characterize their accuracy and differences, both approaches are compared with full-band, atomistic quantum transport simulations of Ge, InAs, and InAs-Si Esaki diodes. As another numerical application, the BTBT current in InAs-Si nanowire tunnel field-effect transistors is computed. It is found that both approaches agree with high accuracy. The first one is considerably easier to conceive and could be implemented straightforwardly in existing quantum transport tools based on the effective mass approximation to account for BTBT in nanodevices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Computational design of soft materials for the capture of Cs-137 in contaminated environments: From 2D covalent cucurbituril networks to 3D supramolecular materials

Using computational quantum chemistry methods we design novel 2D and 3D soft materials made of cucurbituril macrocycles covalently connected with each other via rigid linkers. Such covalent cucurbituril networks might be useful for the capture of radioactive Cs-137 (present as Cs{sup +}) in the contaminated environment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Real-space density kernel method for Kohn–Sham density functional theory calculations at high temperature

Kohn–Sham density functional theory calculations using conventional diagonalization based methods become increasingly expensive as temperature increases due to the need to compute increasing numbers of partially occupied states. In this work, we present a density matrix based method for Kohn–Sham calculations at high temperatures that eliminates the need for diagonalization entirely, thus reducing the cost of such calculations significantly. Specifically, we develop real-space expressions for the electron density, electronic free energy, Hellmann–Feynman forces, and Hellmann–Feynman stress tensor in terms of an orthonormal auxiliary orbital basis and its density kernel transform, the density kernel being the matrix representation of the density operator in the auxiliary basis. Using Chebyshev filtering to generate the auxiliary basis, we next develop an approach akin to Clenshaw–Curtis spectral quadrature to calculate the individual columns of the density kernel based on the Fermi operator expansion in Chebyshev polynomials and employ a similar approach to evaluate band structure and entropic energy components. We implement the proposed formulation in the SPARC electronic structure code, using which we show systematic convergence of the aforementioned quantities to exact diagonalization results, and obtain significant speedups relative to conventional diagonalization based methods. Finally, we employ the new method to compute the self-diffusion coefficient and viscosity of aluminum at 116 045 K from Kohn–Sham quantum molecular dynamics, where we find agreement with previous more approximate orbital-free density functional methods.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Reinforcement learning pulses for transmon qubit entangling gates

The utility of a quantum computer is highly dependent on the ability to reliably perform accurate quantum logic operations. For finding optimal control solutions, it is of particular interest to explore model-free approaches, since their quality is not constrained by the limited accuracy of theoretical models for the quantum processor—in contrast to many established gate implementation strategies. In this work, we utilize a continuous control reinforcement learning algorithm to design entangling two-qubit gates for superconducting qubits; specifically, our agent constructs cross-resonance and CNOT gates without any prior information about the physical system. Using a simulated environment of fixed-frequency fixed-coupling transmon qubits, we demonstrate the capability to generate novel pulse sequences that outperform the standard cross-resonance gates in both fidelity and gate duration, while maintaining a comparable susceptibility to stochastic unitary noise. We further showcase an augmentation in training and input information that allows our agent to adapt its pulse design abilities to drifting hardware characteristics, importantly, with little to no additional optimization. Our results exhibit clearly the advantages of unbiased adaptive-feedback learning-based optimization methods for transmon gate design.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

QCD Constraints on Isospin-Dense Matter and the Nuclear Equation of State

Understanding the behavior of dense hadronic matter is a central goal in nuclear physics as it governs the nature and dynamics of astrophysical objects such as supernovae and neutron stars. Because of the nonperturbative nature of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), little is known rigorously about hadronic matter in these extreme conditions. Here, lattice QCD calculations are used to compute thermodynamic quantities and the equation of state of QCD over a wide range of isospin chemical potentials with controlled systematic uncertainties. Agreement is seen with chiral perturbation theory when the chemical potential is small. Comparison to perturbative QCD at large chemical potential allows for an estimate of the gap in the superconducting phase, and this quantity is seen to agree with perturbative determinations. Since the partition function for an isospin chemical potential μ I bounds the partition function for a baryon chemical potential μ B = 3 μ I / 2 , these calculations also provide rigorous nonperturbative QCD bounds on the symmetric nuclear matter equation of state over a wide range of baryon densities for the first time. Published by the American Physical Society 2025

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Phononic bus for coherent interfaces between a superconducting quantum processor, spin memory, and photonic quantum networks

A hybrid quantum system performs high-fidelity quantum state transduction between a superconducting (SC) microwave qubit and the ground state spin system of a solid-state artificial atom. This transduction is mediated via an acoustic bus connected by piezoelectric transducers to the SC microwave qubit. For SC circuit qubits and diamond silicon vacancy centers in an optimized phononic cavity, the system can achieve quantum state transduction with fidelity exceeding 99% at a MHz-scale bandwidth. By combining the complementary strengths of SC circuit quantum computing and artificial atoms, the hybrid quantum system provides high-fidelity qubit gates with long-lived quantum memory, high-fidelity measurement, large qubit number, reconfigurable qubit connectivity, and high-fidelity state and gate teleportation through optical quantum networks.

Englund, Dirk Robert↗

Computational design of quantum defects in two-dimensional materials

We report missing atoms or atom substitutions (point defects) in crystal lattices in two-dimensional (2D) materials are potential hosts for emerging quantum technologies, such as single-photon emitters and spin quantum bits (qubits). First-principles-guided design of quantum defects in 2D materials is paving the way for rational spin qubit discovery. Here we discuss the frontier of first-principles theory development and the challenges in predicting the critical physical properties of point defects in 2D materials for quantum information technology, in particular for optoelectronic and spin-optotronic properties. Strong many-body interactions at reduced dimensionality require advanced electronic structure methods beyond mean-field theory. The great challenges for developing theoretical methods that are appropriate for strongly correlated defect states, as well as general approaches for predicting spin relaxation and the decoherence time of spin defects, are yet to be addressed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Anticipating decoherence in quantum systems

Large-scale quantum technologies require coherence across distant nodes, necessitating indistinguishable quantum states. However, environmental disorder, including dephasing, spectral diffusion, and spin-bath interactions, undermines coherence. Using statistical methods, we uncover correlations in decoherence channels induced by slowly varying environments. Spectral diffusion serves as a representative demonstration case that can be extended to other remote, disordered systems such as spins in nitrogen-vacancy centers and quantum-dot spin qubits, as well as flux noise in superconducting qubits. In this work, we employ replica-theory-inspired trajectory analysis to reveal predictable temporal structures in decoherence dynamics, and validate these through an anticipatory systems framework with internal prediction of unseen spectral dynamics in multiple quantum systems, showing that this framework could, if implemented, reduce spectral shift by average factors of approximately 2 to 19, depending on emitter stability, thereby enabling enhanced coherence and multi-node synchronization for scalable quantum communication, computation, imaging, and sensing.

Maan, Pranshu [Purdue University]↗