Emergent Order and Quantum Information Flow in Non-equilibrium Systems
Abstract
Understanding the dynamics of strongly-interacting systems composed of many particles is a prerequisite for controlling complex quantum phenomena. While the equations of motion governing these dynamics have been known for almost a century, solving them in full generality is simply too difficult. Fortunately, a combination of analytic, numerical and experimental progress has led to the development of insights and tools that bridge the gap between microscopic quantum dynamics and macroscopic quantum behavior. These insights suggest a remarkable proposition: that out-of-equilibrium systems can stabilize many-body entanglement and exhibit phenomena fundamentally richer than their static counterparts. However, predicting and measuring the non-equilibrium dynamics of strongly correlated quantum systems remains a central open challenge in physics. Part of this challenge stems from the fact that many-body systems can be taken out of equilibrium in a variety of different ways, each with its own set of expectations and guiding intuition. Among others, this plenitude of non-equilibrium strategies include: periodic driving, prethermalization, strong disorder, quantum quenches, and dissipation. To this end, the overarching goal of this proposal is to explore quantum phenomena, which can only be realized via the cooperative synergy between multiple non-equilibrium techniques. In particular, we propose to investigate two intertwined questions: first, what are the novel types of emergent quantum order that can arise in systems, which exhibit a combination of disorder, driving, and dissipation. And second, how do the microscopic dynamics of quantum information in such systems lead to late-time, macroscopic steady-states. We will address these long-standing questions by developing: 1) analytical techniques which bound the speed-limit for quantum information flow, 2) massively-parallel computational methods which enable large-scale quantum dynamics simulations, and 3) a novel experimental platform composed of two different species of strongly-interacting spin-defects in the solid-state. In addition to answering fundamental questions in the broad landscape of quantum physics, our results will directly impact a number of applications - such as quantum metrology, computing, and communication - which rely upon the production, preservation, and manipulation of far-from-equilibrium quantum systems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 2021
- Source ID
- W911NF2110262
Entities
People
- Norman Y Yao
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- United States Army
- University of California, Berkeley