Abstract This thesis has two parts, in the first, the Caldeira-Leggett model is introduced; its derivation and general consequences are explored following a paper by Caldeira and Leggett[1]. An operator-formalism shortcut through some of the more mathematically cumbersome parts of the derivation of the model is also developed. The correlation of the force resulting from reservoir-interaction is examined in the high- and low-temperature limits, and the Langevin equation is shown to emerge in the classical limit.Abstract The second part introduces decoherence through a thought experiment that demonstrates the destructive effect of random phase shifts on interference terms, and then follows another paper by Caldeira and Leggett[2] in applying their model further to study the phenomenon of dissipative decoherence. The time-evolution of the interference terms in a superposition of Gaussian wave packets in a harmonic oscillator potential is studied when interacting with a heat bath, and they are shown to vanish at a rate much faster than the relaxation of the system.

In this work, the Dyson's equation formalism is outlined and applied toseveral open quantum systems. These systems are composed of a core,quantum-mechanical set of discrete states and several continua, representing macroscopic systems. The macroscopic systems introducedecoherence, as well as allowing the total particlenumber in the system to change.Dyson's equation, an expansion in terms of proper self-energy terms, isderived. The hybridization of two quantum levelsis reproduced in this formalism, and it is shown that decoherence followsnaturally when one of the levels is replaced by a continuum.The work considers three physical systems in detail. The first,quantum dots coupled in series with two leads, is presented in a realistic two-level model. Dyson's equation is used to account for the leads exactly to all ordersin perturbation theory, and the time dynamics of a single electron in the dotsis calculated. It is shown that decoherence from the leads damps the coherentRabi oscillations of the electron. Several regimes of physical interest areconsidered, and it is shown that the difference in couplings of the two leadsplays a central role in the decoherence processes.The second system relates to the decay-out ofsuperdeformed nuclei. In this case, decoherence is provided by coupling to theelectromagnetic field. Two, three, and infinite-level models are consideredwithin the discrete system. It is shown that the two-level model is usuallysufficient to describe decay-out for the classic regions of nuclearsuperdeformation. Furthermore, a statistical model for the normal-deformedstates allows extraction of parameters of interest to nuclear structure fromthe two-level model. An explanation for the universality of decayprofiles is also given in that model.The final system is a proposed small molecular transistor. TheQuantum Interference Effect Transistor is based on a single monocyclic aromatic annulene molecule, with twoleads arranged in the meta configuration. This device is shown to be completely opaque to charge carriers, due to destructive interference. Thiscoherence effect can be tunably broken by introducing new paths with a real orimaginary self-energy, and an excellentmolecular transistor is the result.

Orientador: Marcelo Moraes Guzzo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T10:36:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Oliveira_RobertoLeandroNevesde_M.pdf: 6432345 bytes, checksum: d334d500169812157f60b5fa09ef36ae (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Neste trabalho, estudamos algumas conseqüências fenomenológicas da introdução do fenômeno de descoerência quântica na fenomenologia de oscilações de neutrinos. O Modelo de Violação da Mecânica Quântica e o modelo de tratamento de Sistemas Quânticos Abertos são estudados. Mostramos o comportamento e as diferenças entre os dois modelos para encontrar qual deles melhor descreve os sistemas quânticos que podem sofrer efeitos de descoerência. Esses dois modelos são estudados na literatura e ambos incluem efeitos de descoerência na Mecânica Quântica Padrão. Investigamos como o efeito de descoerência pode ser incluído em oscilações de neutrinos e examinamos como a probabilidade padrão pode ser modificada fenomenologicamente quando levamos em conta o efeito de descoerência em duas famílias de neutrinos / Abstract: In this work, we study some phenomenological consequences of the introduction of the quantum decoherence in the phenomenology of neutrinos oscillations. The Model of Violation of the Quantum Mechanics and the general framework of Open Quantum Systems are studied. We explicitly show the behavior and the differences between the two models to find which of them better describes quantum systems that can suffer decoherence effect. These two models are studied in literature and both include decoherence effects in the Quantum Mechanics standard. We investigate how decoherence effects can be included in neutrino oscillations and examine how the standard oscillation probability can be phenomenologically modified when take into account quantum decoherence effects in two neutrinos avor / Mestrado / Física das Particulas Elementares e Campos / Mestre em Física

Orientadores: Carlos Ourivio Escobar, Amir Ordacgi Caldeira / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T20:52:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Coelho_JoaodeAbreuBarbosa_D.pdf: 8877509 bytes, checksum: fb8787302605bdb88dd855ddc2b5351f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A oscilação de neutrinos é um modelo muito bem sucedido em explicar uma grande variedade de experimentos. O modelo se embasa na premissa de que os neutrinos que interagem através da força fraca por corrente carregada não são autoestados de massa, mas uma superposição destes. De forma geral, a superposição em sistemas quânticos está sujeita a perda de coerência de forma que estados puros tendem a estados mistos. Esse tipo de evolução não é possível no contexto de sistemas quânticos isolados pois a evolução é unitária e, portanto, invariante por inversão temporal. A quebra da unitariedade permite que uma seta do tempo seja introduzida e o efeito característico para os neutrinos é o amortecimento das oscilações. Investigamos aqui alguns modelos fenomenológicos de descoerência e decaimento que podem ser observados por MINOS, um experimento de oscilação de neutrinos que consiste em medir o uxo de neutrinos produzidos num acelerador de partículas a 735 km de distância. Para esta tese, analisamos o desaparecimento de neutrinos muônicos em MINOS. Informações de outros experimentos são utilizadas para restringir o número de parâmetros de forma que apenas um parâmetro extra é introduzido para cada modelo. Adotamos uma dependência energética em forma de lei de potência para o parâmetro de descoerência. A simulação e software ociais do experimento MINOS são utilizados para obter a sensibilidade do experimento aos efeitos de quebra de unitariedade considerados / Abstract: The neutrino oscillation model is very successful in explaining a large variety of experiments. The model is based on the premise that the neutrinos that interact through the weak force via charged current are not mass eigenstates, but a superposition of them. In general, a quantum superposition is subject to loss of coherence, so that pure states tend toward mixed states. This type of evolution is not possible within the context of isolated quantum systems because the evolution is unitary and, therefore, is invariant under time reversal. By breaking unitarity, an arrow of time is introduced and the characteristic effect for neutrinos is a damping of oscillations. In this thesis, some phenomonological decoherence and decay models are investigated, which could be observed by MINOS, a neutrino oscillation experiment that consists of measuring the neutrino ux produced in a particle accelerator 735 km away. We analyse the disappearance of muon neutrinos in MINOS. Information from other experiments is used to constrain the number of parameters, leaving only one extra parameter in each model. We assume a power law energy dependence of the decoherence parameter. The o-cial MINOS software and simulation are used to obtain the experiment's sensitivities to the eects of unitarity breaking considered / Doutorado / Física / Doutor em Ciências

Orientador: José Antonio Roversi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T23:06:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Roque_ThalesFigueiredo_M.pdf: 4513526 bytes, checksum: 591f56a02e8cf1895d520faa78c27465 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Neste trabalho analisamos a dinâmica das correlações quânticas em um sistema composto por dois osciladores harmônicos em contato com um mesmo reservatório térmico e acoplados entre si com um acoplamento dependente do tempo. O reservatório térmico modelado de acordo com o modelo de Caldeira-Leggett e tanto a abordagem via integrais de caminho quanto a abordagem via equações mestras são usadas para estudar o sistema nos regimes Markoviano e não-Markoviano. O Hamiltoniano que descreve o sistema é bilinear nos operadores de campo, isto significa que se repararmos o sistema em um estado Gaussiano, o estado do sistema sera sempre Gaussiano. Para um estado Gaussiano toda a informa ¸ao sobre as correlações quânticas está contida na matriz de covariância s. Conhecida a matriz s podemos medir o emaranhamento usando a negatividade Logarítmica e calcular uma aproximação para a discórdia quântica em estados Gaussianos, que é a discórdia Gaussiana. Nós mostramos que mesmo à temperaturas muito altas as correlações quânticas, inclusive o emaranhamento, persistem. Esta persistência tem uma relação estreita com a estabilidade do sistema. Como as correlações quânticas são a principal assinatura da mecânica quântica, isto sugere que este tipo particular de acoplamento entre os osciladores pode reduzir a descoerência, introduzida pela interação com o reservatório térmico / Abstract: In this work we analise the dinamics of quantum correlations in a system composed by two harmonic oscillators in contact with a common heat bath and coupled with each other by a time dependent coupling. The heat bath is modeled according to the Caldeira-Leggett model and both the path integral and the master equation approaches are used to study the system in the Markovian and in the non-Markovian regime. The Hamiltonian that describes the system is bilinear in the field opperators, this means that if we prepare the system in a Gaussian state, it remains in a Gaussian state indefinitely. For a Gaussian state all the information about the quantum correlations is in the covariance matrix s and we are able to calculate the Logarithmic Negativity as a measure of the systems¿ entanglement and the Gaussian discord as an approximantion to the usual quantum discord, that is a measure of quantum correlations. We have shown that in some circunstances we can observe the survival of quantum correlations and entanglement, even at very high temperatures. This survival has close relationship with the stability of the system¿s equation of motion. As quantum correlations are the main feature of quantum mechanics, this sugests that this particular coupling between the oscillators can reduce the decoherence effects induced by the interaction with the heat bath / Mestrado / Física / Mestre em Física

Abstract The quantum-mechanical effects typical for single atoms or molecules can be reproduced in micrometer-scale electric devices. In these systems the essential component is a small Josephson junction (JJ) consisting of two superconductors separated by a thin insulator. The quantum phenomena can be controlled in real time by external signals and have a great potential for novel applications. However, their fragility on uncontrolled disturbance caused by typical nearby environments is a drawback for quantum information science, but a virtue for detector technology. Motivated by this we have theoretically studied transistor kind of devices based on single-charge tunneling through small JJs. A common factor of the research is the analysis of the interplay between the coherent Cooper-pair (charge carriers in the superconducting state) tunneling and incoherent environmental processes. In the first work we calculate the current due to incoherent Cooper-pair tunneling through a voltage-biased small JJ in series with large JJs and compare the results with recent experiments. We are able to reproduce the main experimental features and interpret these as traces of energy levels and energy bands of the mesoscopic device. In the second work we analyze a similar circuit (asymmetric single-Cooper-pair transistor) but under the assumption that the Cooper-pair tunneling is mainly coherent. This predicts new resonant transport voltages in the circuit due to higher-order processes. However, no clear traces of most of them are seen in the experiments, and similar discrepancy is present also in the case of the symmetric circuit. We continue to study this problem by modeling the interplay between the coherent and incoherent processes more accurately using a density-matrix approach. By this we are able to demonstrate that in typical conditions most of these resonances are indeed washed out by strong decoherence caused by the environment. We also analyze the contribution of three typical weakly interacting dissipative environments: electromagnetic environment, spurious charge fluctuators in the nearby insulating materials, and quasiparticles. In the last work we model the dynamics of a current-biased JJ perturbed by a smaller JJ using a similar density-matrix approach. We demonstrate that the small JJ can be used also as a detector of the energy-band dynamics in a current biased JJ. The method is also used for modeling the charge transport in the Bloch-oscillating transistor.

Orientador: Amir Ordacgi Caldeira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T14:38:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Valente_DanielMendonca_M.pdf: 3285803 bytes, checksum: ada969db5abe126088faf5bdf5aa0c24 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Este trabalho consiste em um estudo do emaranhamento em sistemas quânticos abertos, modelados como partículas brownianas. O interesse surge da possibilidade de entender como o meio pode criar ou manter emaranhamento entre sistemas quânticos, em vez de somente ocasionar perda de coerência e energia. Primeiramente, revisamos os significados do emaranhamento em mecânica quântica e algumas formas de quantificá-lo. Em seguida, estudamos a literatura de sistemas quânticos abertos para uma partícula, em especial o movimento browniano quântico. Com isso, foi possível calcular o emaranhamento entre uma partícula quântica browniana e seu reservatório. Numa segunda etapa, estudamos o modelo de duas partículas brownianas em um banho comum. Esse modelo permite a introdução não só de uma escala de tempo característica como também uma de comprimento. Um potencial efetivo entre as partículas surge no modelo como consequência das hipóteses assumidas. Na ausência de potencial externo, é preservada a invariância translacional do sistema. Porém, pudemos alcançar nosso principal resultado, que foi calcular a matriz densidade das duas partículas em equilíbrio térmico e, com ela, o emaranhamento entre as partículas / Abstract: This work consists in a study of entanglement in open quantum systems, within the brownian particles model. The interest comes from the possibility of understanding the mechanisms that lead the environment to create or to keep entanglement between quantum systems and not only make them lose energy or coherence. We start by making a review of the meaning of entanglement to quantum mechanics and some ways to quantify it. Then, we study the literature of open quantum systems for one particle, specially the quantum brownian motion. Moreover, it has been possible to calculate the entanglement between the quantum brownian particle and its reservoir. At a second stage, we studied the model of two brownian particles in a common bath. This model permits not only the introduction of a time scale but also of a lenth one. An effective potential between the particles emerges in the model as a consequence of our assumptions. In the absence of an external potential, the system's translational invariance is preserved. The last step was to achieve what became our main result. We have calculated the equilibrium density matrix for the two brownian particles and the entanglement between them / Mestrado / Física Geral / Mestre em Física

This thesis experimentally studies quantum interference phenomena and quantum coherence in mesoscopic systems, and quantum transport as well as magnetotransport in various materials system. One overarching aim is exploring the different mechanisms that give rise to quantum phase decoherence in lithographically patterned mesoscopic structures, of importance in the field of quantum technologies and spintronics. Various mesoscopic structures, namely quantum stadia, quantum wires, and side-gated rings, were fabricated to function as quantum interference devices and platforms to study quantum coherence on two-dimensional electron systems in InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures. The mesoscopic structures were fabricated by photolithography and electron-beam lithography. The dependence of quantum coherence on geometry or temperature is investigated for each of the quantum interference devices. In the case of quantum stadia, phase coherence lengths were extracted by universal conductance fluctuations, and the extracted phase coherence lengths show a dependence on both temperature and geometry. Phase coherence lengths decreased with increasing temperature, as expected. Moreover, phase coherence lengths also varied with the width-to-length ratio and length of the side wires connected to the stadia, where competition between Nyquist decoherence and environmental coupling decoherence mechanisms coexists. For the quantum wires studied, the phase coherence lengths were extracted from antilocalization signals. Antilocalization measurements provide a sensitive mean of probing the quantum mechanical correction to electronic transport. The phase coherence lengths increased as the wire length increased, due to reduction of the environmental coupling that induces decoherence at the ends of a wire; longer wires tend to have longer phase coherence lengths. In related work, the thesis shows that the spin coherence length, as limited by spin-orbit interaction, increases as the wire width decreases. Decoherence in side-gated rings was measured from the amplitudes of the quantum-mechanical Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. The side gates allow for an in-plane controllable electric field. Asymmetrically biased side-gate voltages allow for the breaking of the two-dimensional parity symmetry of the ring device, effectively resulting in reduced amplitude of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations. The mechanism that contributes to decoherence in these rings appears to be related to the breaking of the spatial symmetry. Measurements of antilocalization and weak-localization as well as magnetotransport were used to probe interesting or unique quantum mechanical phenomena in the following two, quite different, materials system: bismuth iridate thin films, and Ge/AlAs heterostructures on GaAs or Si substrates. Both materials are of interest for future quantum technologies and devices. Measurements in bismuth iridate thin films reveal interesting transport characteristics such as logarithmic temperature dependence of the resistivity, multiple charge carriers, and antilocalization due to spin-orbit interaction in the system. Weak localization measurements in the Ge/AlAs heterostructure on GaAs or Si substrates show that single carrier transport is essentially located in the Ge layer only. Further, the weak localization results indicate the near-absence of spin-orbit interaction for carriers in the electronically active Ge layer, suggesting the potential use of this materials system as a promising candidate for future electronic device applications. In short, quantum transport and interference measurements probe the quantum-mechanical behavior of materials system for future quantum, spin and electronic technologies. Mesoscopic patterned geometries in InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures offer a wide range of interesting and unique platforms to study quantum-mechanical phenomena, specifically quantum decoherence, in the solid state. The decoherence phenomena observed and the investigations to the underlying mechanisms studied and modeled in this thesis may be transferred to similar materials system, enriching the knowledge in the field of quantum technologies. Magnetotransport and quantum transport were also applied to Ge/AlAs heterostructures and bismuth iridate thin films, to study the properties of their carrier systems. / Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:15:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1995.pdf: 1566210 bytes, checksum: 7c5a0c3ef27c706d0ac9145573694cdf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-17 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / In this work we first present a protocol to build effective interactions between two cavity modes, considering a two-level atom under the action of classical fields. Bilinear Hamiltonians associated with parametric up- and down-conversion processes are derived, apart from nonlinear interactions associated with the degenerate parametric down-conversion process, resulting in the squeezing operation of a cavity mode. We also demonstrate how to construct nonlinear Hamiltonians related with a Kerr-type process for one or two cavity modes. In particular, we show how to implement, in the bimodal cavity, the Hamiltonian describing a two-specieis Bose-Einstein condensate in the two-mode approximation. Next, considering a two-level ion trapped in a cavity, under the action of classical amplification field, we show how to build an artificial reservoir for the electronic states of the ion. This reservoir is suited to protect nonstationary superpositions of the electronic levels, enabling us to measure the geometric phase acquired by these states under nonadiabatic evolutions of the system. Finally, we show how to construct squeezed reservoirs, either for a cavity mode or two-level atoms, by previously engineering an effective interaction between the atom(s) and the cavity mode which comprehends the simultaneous implementation of the Jaynes-Cummings and anti-Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonians. / Nesta tese, apresentamos primeiramente um protocolo para a construção de interações efetivas entre dois modos de uma cavidade, através de um átomo de dois níveis sob a ação de campos clássicos. hamiltonianos bilineares associados à processos de conversões paramétricas ascendente e descendente de frequências foram obtidos, bem como hamiltonianos não-lineares associados à compressão paramétrica de um modo da cavidade. Mostramos também como construir hamiltonianos associados a processos não-lineares do tipo Kerr para um ou dois modos da cavidade. Em especial, mostramos como implementar, na cavidade bi-modal, o hamiltoniano que descreve um condensado de Bose-Einstein de duas espécies atômicas na aproximação de dois modos. Em seguida, considerando um íon de dois níveis aprisionado no interior de uma cavidade e submetido à ação de campos clássicos, mostramos como construir um reservatório artificial para os estados eletrônicos do íon. Este reservatório permite a proteção de superposições não estacionárias dos níveis eletrônicos, possibilitando a medida de fases geométricas por elas adquiridas mediante evoluções não adiabáticas do sistema. Por fim, mostramos como construir reservatórios comprimidos tanto para um modo da cavidade como para átomos de dois níveis, mediante a construção prévia de uma interação efetiva entre átomo(s) e modo que compreende a realização simultânea dos hamiltonianos de Jaynes-Cummings e anti-Jaynes-Cummings. Para tanto, recorremos a átomo(s) de três níveis sob a ação de campos clássicos.

Nesta dissertação estudamos, no âmbito teórico, algumas propostas recentes de processamento de informação quântica passiva, isto é, descartando protocolos de correção de erros. Recorrendo à criação de subespaços livres de decoerência através de um sistema físico de quatro spins acoplados ao resto do universo por um agente degenerado, mostramos ser possível construir um conjunto universal de portas lógicas (C-NOT, T e Hadamard) neste mesmo subespaço, alcançando, por conseguinte, a realização de qualquer operação computacional, insensivelmente ao resto do universo. Partimos de um hamiltoniano geral com interações individuais de cada spin com campos externos, além de acoplamentos controlados entre pares de spins. Experimentalmente, hamiltonianos deste tipo são comuns no contexto de junções Josephson, motivo pelo qual tratamos esta implementação em um capítulo especial. Introduzindo perturbativamente ao hamiltoniano operadores espúrios ao subespaço livre de decoerência, incluímos sensibilidade do sistema frente ao ambiente, criando a possibilidade da incursão de erros através de mecanismos de dissipação. Tais mecanismos foram investigados em termos da intensidade do parâmetro de acoplamento entre o sistema e o ambiente, revelando uma clara evidência teórica do Efeito Zenão Quântico, através da excelente concordância entre resultados de operações realizadas em subespaços livres de decoerência e operações realizadas em sistemas fortemente acoplados ao resto do universo. Neste sentido, selecionamos a fidelidade como medida de distância entre um estado em evolução a partir de um certo estado inicial do subespaço livre de decoerência (e submetido a dissipação), e um estado em evolução regida pela mesma operação quântica e a partir das mesmas condições iniciais no caso ideal, livre de decoerência. Essa abordagem explícita permitiu-nos obter a razão necessária entre os parâmetros associados a perturbação (que remove o estado do subespaço original) e acoplamento (entendido como a freqüência entre as medidas promovidas pelo resto do universo), para alcançar a eficiência desejada na realização de uma certa porta lógica. Tecnicamente, o trabalho envolveu vários resultados matemáticos novos e operacionalmente úteis, levando a simplificações importantes durante os cálculos envolvidos. / In this dissertation we studied theoretical aspects of some recent proposals of passive quantum information processing, that is, discarding error correction protocols. Falling back upon the creation of decoherence-free subspaces through a physical system of four spins coupled to the rest of the universe by a degenerate agent, we showed to be possible to build a universal set of logical quantum gates (C-NOT, T and Hadamard) in this same subspace, reaching, consequently, the accomplishment of any computational operation, callously to the rest of the universe. We started from a general Hamiltonian with individual interactions of each spin with external fields, besides controlled couplings between spin pairs. Experimentally, Hamiltonians like this are common in the context of Josephson junctions and, therefore, we treated this implementation in a special chapter. Perturbatively introducing spurious operators to the hamiltonian in the decoherence-free subspace, we included sensibility of the system to the environment, creating the possibility of the incursion of errors through dissipation mechanisms. Such mechanisms were investigated in terms of the intensity of the coupling parameter between the system and the environment, revealing an obvious theoretical evidence of the Quantum Zeno Effect, through the excellent agreement between the results of operations accomplished in decoherence-free subspace and operations accomplished in systems strongly coupled to the rest of the universe. In this sense, we selected the fidelity as the distance measure between a state in evolution starting from a certain initial state of the decoherence-free subspace (and submitted to the dissipation), and a state in evolution governed by the same quantum operation and starting from the same initial conditions in the ideal decoherence-free case. This explicit approach allowed us to obtain the necessary quotient between the associated disturbance parameter (that removes the state from the original subspace) and coupling parameter (understood as the frequency between the measurements promoted by the rest of the universe), to reach the efficiency desired in the accomplishment of a logic gate. Technically, the work involved several new operationally useful mathematical results, leading to important simplifications during the involved calculations.