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At least 19 records

Fast ground-state-to-ground-state separation of small ion crystals

Rapid separation of linear crystals of trapped ions into different subsets is critical for realizing trapped ion quantum computing architectures where ions are rearranged in trap arrays to achieve all-to-all connectivity between qubits. Here we introduce a general theoretical framework that can be used to describe the separation of same-species and mixed-species crystals into smaller subsets. The framework relies on an efficient description of the evolution of Gaussian motional states under quadratic Hamiltonians that only requires a special solution of the classical equations of motion of the ions to describe their quantum evolution under the influence of a time-dependent applied potential and the ions' mutual Coulomb repulsion. We provide time-dependent applied potentials suitable for separation of a mixed-species three-ion crystal on timescales similar to that of free expansion driven by Coulomb repulsion, with all modes along the crystal axis starting and ending close to their ground states. Three separately confined mixed-species ions can be combined into a crystal held in a single well without energy gain by time-reversal of this separation process.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC

Odd oxygen formation in the laser irradiation of O2 at 248 nm - Evidence for reactions of O2 in the Herzberg states with ground state O2

Two O3 formation processes (initiation and autocatalytic) are studied in pure O2 and in O2+N2 and O2+Ar mixtures at pressures between 200 and 1600 torr and at temperatures between 298 and 370 K. Evidence is presented that the initiation process produces O3 through chemical reactions between ground state O2 and excited O2 in the Herzberg states, which are produced by the photoabsorption of O2 at 248 nm. For the autocatalytic process, the results are consistent with the proposal that the O3 formation is accelerated by photodissociating vibrationally excited O2(nu), produced in the photolysis of O3 following its initial formation. It is argued that the O2 Herzberg states and O2(nu) may play important roles in the odd oxygen chemistry in the middle atmosphere. It is estimated that the O2(A3Sigma-u(+))+O2 reaction may yield up to about 6 percent of the total odd oxygen production rate near 50 km.

Shi, Jichun

A resonant state and the ground state of positronium hydride

The lowest-lying resonance occurring in S-wave positronium-hydrogen scattering is reinvestigated, using the complex-rotation method. By employing a generalized Hylleraas-type wave function that includes all six interparticle coordinates, a very accurate value of the resonance position is obtained, along with a good value of the width. The present result for the resonance position (-1.205 plus or minus 0.001 Ry) is lower than the previous result of Drachman and Houston, who omitted the interelectronic coordinate in their trial function. In addition, the lowest ground-state energy of positronium hydride is obtained by using 210 terms in the trial wave function. The effect of the interelectronic coordinate and others on both the resonant energy and the binding energy of PsH is discussed.

Ho, Y. K.

Feedback-based quantum algorithms for ground state preparation

The ground state properties of quantum many-body systems are a subject of interest across chemistry, materials science, and physics. Thus, algorithms for finding ground states can have broad impacts. Variational quantum algorithms are one class of ground state algorithms that has received significant attention in recent years. These algorithms utilize a hybrid quantum-classical computing framework to prepare ground states on quantum computers. However, this requires solving a classical optimization problem that can become prohibitively expensive in high dimensions. Here, we develop formulations of feedback-based quantum algorithms for ground state preparation that can be used to address this challenge for two broad classes of Hamiltonians: Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonians, and molecular Hamiltonians represented in second quantization. Feedback-based quantum algorithms are optimization-free; in place of classical optimization, quantum circuit parameters are set according to a deterministic feedback law derived from quantum Lyapunov control principles. This feedback law guarantees a monotonic improvement in solution quality with respect to the depth of the quantum circuit. A variety of numerical illustrations are provided that analyze the convergence and robustness of feedback-based quantum algorithms for these problem classes. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Larsen, James B. (ORCID:000000020777440X)

Ground-state energies of the nonlinear sigma model and the Heisenberg spin chains

A theorem on the O(3) nonlinear sigma model with the topological theta term is proved, which states that the ground-state energy at theta = pi is always higher than the ground-state energy at theta = 0, for the same value of the coupling constant g. Provided that the nonlinear sigma model gives the correct description for the Heisenberg spin chains in the large-s limit, this theorem makes a definite prediction relating the ground-state energies of the half-integer and the integer spin chains. The ground-state energies obtained from the exact Bethe ansatz solution for the spin-1/2 chain and the numerical diagonalization on the spin-1, spin-3/2, and spin-2 chains support this prediction.

Zhang, Shoucheng

Formation of Triplet Positron-helium Bound State by Stripping of Positronium Atoms in Collision with Ground State Helium

Formation of triplet positron-helium bound state by stripping of positronium atoms in collision with ground state helium JOSEPH DI RlENZI, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, RICHARD J. DRACHMAN, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center - The system consisting of a positron and a helium atom in the triplet state e(+)He(S-3)(sup e) was conjectured long ago to be stable [1]. Its stability has recently been established rigorously [2], and the values of the energies of dissociation into the ground states of Ps and He(+) have also been reported [3] and [4]. We have evaluated the cross-section for this system formed by radiative attachment of a positron in triplet He state and found it to be small [5]. The mechanism of production suggested here should result in a larger cross-section (of atomic size) which we are determining using the Born approximation with simplified initial and final wave functions.

Drachman, Richard J.

Ab initio study of the ground state surface of Cu3

The ground state surface of the metallic trimer Cu3 is investigated theoretically. Relativistic and correlation effects are taken into account in ab initio computations, which are calibrated against analogous computations for the 1Sigma(g)+ state of Cu2; the results are presented in tables and analyzed. The Cu3 ground state is found to have a 2B2 C(2v) structure with angle greater than 60 deg, lying 59/cm below a 2A1 C(2v) geometry and 280/cm below the D(3h) equilateral geometry. These findings are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental measurements of Rohlfing and Valentini (1986) and their analysis (in terms of a Jahn-Teller distortion of 2E-prime equilateral-triangle geometry) by Truhlar et al. (1986).

Langhoff, Stephen R.

Gromov ground state in phase space engineering for fusion energy

Phase space engineering by rf waves plays important roles in both thermal D-T fusion and nonthermal advanced fuel fusion, but not all phase space manipulation is allowed; certain fundamental limits exist. In addition to Liouville's theorem, which requires the manipulation to be volume preserving, Gromov's nonsqueezing theorem imposes another constraint. Here, the Gardner ground state is defined as the ground state accessible by smooth volume-preserving maps. However, the extra Gromov constraint should produce a higher-energy ground state. An example of a Gardner ground state forbidden by Gromov's nonsqueezing theorem is given. The challenge question is “What is the Gromov ground state, i.e., the lowest energy state accessible by smooth symplectic maps?” This is a difficult problem. As a simplification, we conjecture that the linear Gromov ground state problem is solvable.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY

Exponentially-Biased Ground-State Sampling of Quantum Annealing Machines with Transverse-Field Driving Hamiltonians

We study the performance of the D-Wave 2X quantum annealing machine on systems with well-controlled ground-state degeneracy. While obtaining the ground state of a spin-glass benchmark instance represents a difficult task, the gold standard for any optimization algorithm or machine is to sample all solutions that minimize the Hamiltonian with more or less equal probability. Our results show that while naive transverse-field quantum annealing on the D-Wave 2X device can find the ground-state energy of the problems, it is not well suited in identifying all degenerate ground-state configurations associated to a particular instance. Even worse, some states are exponentially suppressed, in agreement with previous studies on toy model problems [New J. Phys. 11, 073021 (2009)]. These results suggest that more complex driving Hamiltonians are needed in future quantum annealing machines to ensure a fair sampling of the ground-state manifold.

Quantum Annealing

Single-ancilla ground state preparation via Lindbladians

We design a quantum algorithm for ground state preparation in the early fault tolerant regime. As a Monte Carlo style quantum algorithm, our method features a Lindbladian where the target state is stationary. The construction of this Lindbladian is algorithmic and should not be seen as a specific approximation to some weakly coupled system-bath dynamics in nature. Our algorithm can be implemented using just one ancilla qubit and efficiently simulated on a quantum computer. It can prepare the ground state even when the initial state has zero overlap with the ground state, bypassing the most significant limitation of methods like quantum phase estimation. As a variant, we also propose a discrete-time algorithm, demonstrating even better efficiency and providing a near-optimal simulation cost depending on the desired evolution time and precision. Numerical simulations using Ising and Hubbard models demonstrate the efficacy and applicability of our method. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Ding, Zhiyan (ORCID:000000018863403X)

Using ground state and excited state density functional theory to decipher 3d dopant defects in GaN

Abstract Using ground state density functional theory (DFT) and implementing an occupation-constrained DFT (occ-DFT) for self-consistent excited state calculations, we decipher the electronic structure of the Mn dopant and other 3 d defects in GaN across the band gap. Our analysis, validated with broad agreement with defect levels (ground-state calculations) and photoluminescence data (excited-state calculations), mandates reinterpretation and reassignment of 3 d defect data in GaN. The Mn Ga defect is determined to span stable charge states from (1−) in n -type GaN through (2+) in p -type GaN. The Mn(2+) is predicted to be a d 2 ground state spin triplet defect with a singlet excited state, isoelectronic with the defect associated with the 1.19 eV photoluminescence in n -type GaN. The combined analysis of defect levels and excited states invites reassessment of all d 2 -capable dopants in GaN. We demonstrate that the 1.19 eV defect, a candidate defect for optically controlled quantum applications, cannot be the Cr(1+) assumed in literature and instead must be the V(0). The combined ground-state/excited-state DFT analysis is shown to be able to chemically fingerprint defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND

On the ground state of metallic hydrogen

A proposed liquid ground state of metallic hydrogen at zero temperature is explored and a variational upper bound to the ground state energy is calculated. The possibility that the metallic hydrogen is a liquid around the metastable point (rs = 1.64) cannot be ruled out. This conclusion crucially hinges on the contribution to the energy arising from the third order in the electron-proton interaction which is shown here to be more significant in the liquid phase than in crystals.

Chakravarty, S.

Ground state energy of electrons in a static point-ion lattice

The ground state energy of a neutral collection of protons and electrons was investigated under the assumption that in the ground state configuration, static protons occupy the sites of a rigid Bravais lattice. The Wigner-Seitz method was used in conjunction with three postulated potentials: bare Coulomb, Thomas-Fermi screening, and screening by a uniform bare background charge. Within these approximations, the exact band-minimum energy and wave functions are derived. For each of the three potentials, the approximate minimum ground state energy per proton (relative to isolated electrons and protons) is, respectively, -1.078 Ry, -1.038 Ry, and -1.052 Ry. These three minima all fall at a density of about 0.60 gm/cu cm, which is thus an approximate lower bound on the density of metallic hydrogen at its transition pressure.

Styer, D. F.

Measurement of the Ground State Spin and Parity of 22 Al Disfavors Halo Formation

We report the decisive resolution of the ground state spin and parity of the proton–drip line nucleus 22 Al, a prime candidate for a proton halo. The resolution stems from the first 𝛽-delayed charged particle emission experiment in the gas stopping area at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), leveraging high-intensity, low-energy beams extracted from the Advanced Cryogenic Gas Stopper (ACGS). The pristine beam quality from FRIB and the ACGS enabled a sensitive particle identification technique using thin silicon detectors, allowing for the suppression of the dominant proton background and the first observation of the weak 𝛽-delayed 𝛼 transition from the isobaric analog state in 22 Mg to the 18 Ne ground state. This observation uniquely fixes the 22 Al ground state as 4 + . The valence proton is confined by a dominant 𝑑-wave centrifugal barrier which, combined with the Coulomb repulsion, hinders the tunneling required for halo formation despite the exceptionally low proton separation energy of 22 Al.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38

Experimental Demonstration of the Dependence of the First Hyperpolarizability of Donor-Acceptor Substituted Polyenes on the Ground-State Polarization and Bond Length Alternation

The dependence of the product of the first hyperpolarizability, beta, and the ground-state dipole moment, mu, for a series of donor-acceptor polyenes with a large range of ground-state polarization, was measured in a variety of solvents by electric field induced second harmonic generation. The observed behavior of mu times beta as a function of ground-state polarization agrees well with theoretical predictions. In particular, as a function of increasing polarization, mu times beta was found to first increase, peak in a positive sense, decrease, pass through zero, become large and negative, and eventually peak in a negative sense.

hyperpolarizability donor-acceptor substituted pol