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Environment-Assisted Quantum Transport in a 10-qubit Network.
Christine Maier1,2, Tiff Brydges1,2, Petar Jurcevic1,2
1Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Technikerstr. 21A, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
Physical Review Letters
|March 2, 2019
Summary
Environmental noise can surprisingly boost quantum transport in spin networks. Researchers observed a transition from localized states to enhanced transport, with non-Markovian noise proving more effective than white noise.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum information science
Background:
- Energy transport governs key natural phenomena like conductivity and phase transitions.
- Environmental noise can unexpectedly enhance quantum transport, a phenomenon termed environment-assisted quantum transport (ENAQT).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate ENAQT in a network of coupled spins under engineered disorder and dephasing noise.
- To explore the impact of noise characteristics on quantum transport dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a trapped atomic ion chain to realize an interacting spin network.
- Representing energy transport as electronic excitation transfer between ions.
- Subjecting the system to engineered static disorder and time-varying dephasing noise.
Main Results:
- Observed a crossover from coherent dynamics and Anderson localization to ENAQT with increasing noise strength.
- Found that ENAQT is most effective in a primarily diffusive transport regime with short-lived coherences.
- Demonstrated that non-Markovian dephasing maintains coherences longer than white noise dephasing, influenced by spectral structure.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a controlled and scalable platform for investigating quantum transport in complex systems.
- Highlights the crucial role of noise characteristics and spectral structure in modulating quantum transport efficiency.
- Suggests potential for noise engineering to control quantum transport in many-body systems.
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