Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 11, 2025
11:03
An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
8.8K
Nondispersing Wave Packets in Lattice Floquet Systems.
Zhoushen Huang1, Aashish Clerk2, Ivar Martin1
1Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, USA.
Physical Review Letters
|March 30, 2021
Summary
Nondispersing wave packets in tight binding chains can be created using spatially inhomogeneous drives. Their recurrence times lock to rational ratios, enabling control over wave packet dynamics for quantum information applications.
Area of Science:
- Quantum Physics
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Quantum Information Science
Background:
- Tight binding models describe electron behavior in materials.
- Floquet theory analyzes systems subjected to periodic driving forces.
- Wave packet dispersion is a common phenomenon in quantum systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the creation of nondispersing wave packets in one-dimensional tight binding chains.
- To explore the role of spatially inhomogeneous drives in controlling wave packet dynamics.
- To establish a connection between wave packet behavior and Floquet engineering.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing Floquet eigenstates and their linear combinations.
- Applying spatially inhomogeneous driving protocols, including single-site modulation.
- Analyzing recurrence times and spatial compactness of wave packets.
- Investigating discrete time translation symmetry breaking.
Main Results:
- Nondispersing wave packets realized as Floquet eigenstates.
- Wave packet recurrence times lock to rational ratios (sT/r) of the driving period.
- Coexistence of wave packets with different speeds and recurrence ratios.
- Infinite or long-term spatial compactness of wave packets.
- Demonstration of drive protocol reversal engineering for target micromotion.
Conclusions:
- Spatially inhomogeneous drives offer a versatile method for engineering nondispersing wave packets.
- The observed phenomena, including symmetry breaking, relate to Floquet time crystals.
- This work provides new avenues for Floquet engineering in quantum information science.
Related Concept Videos
02:32The de Broglie Wavelength
31.4K
In the macroscopic world, objects that are large enough to be seen by the naked eye follow the rules of classical physics. A billiard ball moving on a table will behave like a particle; it will continue traveling in a straight line unless it collides with another ball, or it is acted on by some other force, such as friction. The ball has a well-defined position and velocity or well-defined momentum, p = mv, which is defined by mass m and velocity v at any given moment. This is the typical...
31.4K
01:28Standing Waves in a Cavity
1.2K
A household microwave and lasers are examples of standing electromagnetic waves in a cavity. When two conducting metal plates are placed parallel at the nodal planes, it creates a cavity where standing waves are formed. The cavity between the two planes is analogous to a stretched string held at the points x = 0 and x = L. Here, the distance 'L' between the two planes must be an integer multiple of half of the wavelength. The wavelengths that satisfy this condition are given by:
1.2K
02:18Interference and Diffraction
50.2K
Interference is a characteristic phenomenon exhibited by waves. When two electromagnetic waves interact with their peaks and troughs coinciding, a resulting wave with enhanced amplitude is produced. This is known as constructive interference. In this case, the two waves interacting are in phase with each other.
50.2K
01:17Standing Waves
4.9K
Sometimes waves do not seem to move; rather, they just vibrate in place. Unmoving waves can be seen on the surface of a glass of milk kept in a refrigerator, which is one example of standing waves. Vibrations from the refrigerator motor create waves on the milk that oscillate up and down but do not seem to move across the surface. These waves are formed or created by the superposition of two or more identical moving waves in opposite directions. The waves move through each other, with their...
4.9K
01:12Bewley Lattice Diagram
1.0K
The Bewley lattice diagram, developed by L. V. Bewley, effectively organizes the reflections occurring during transmission-line transients. It visually represents how voltage waves propagate and reflect within a transmission line, making it easier to understand the complex interactions that occur.
1.0K
01:07Propagation of Waves
2.6K
When a wave propagates from one medium to another, part of it may get reflected in the first medium, and part of it may get transmitted to the second medium. In such a case, the interface of the two mediums can be considered as a boundary that is neither fixed nor free.
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
2.6K