Na primeira parte deste trabalho empregamos a equação estocástica de Itô para obter uma interpretação generazilada de be-ables, que engloba dissipação, decoerência e a transição da dinâmica quântica para clássica. Ao escolher uma fonte de estocasticidade que leva à correção dissipativa da dinâmica hamiltoniana na forma de Lindblad, obtemos uma nova classe de trajetórias que incorpora às trajetórias de Bohm o termo difusivo presente na formulação de Nelson. Utilizando nossa formulação extendida dos be-ables identificamos o processo de decoerência e verificamos que este encontra-se em concordância com o formalismo quântico usual. Na segunda parte deste trabalho analisamos a dinâmica de um sistema quântico sob a competição de dois sistemas multimodais contra-atuantes: um atenuador ou reservatório térmico e um amplificador de Glauber. Mapeamos o comportamento dinâmico deste sistema, identificando diferentes regimes de parâmetros. Calculamos o processo de decoerência emergente da ação dos sistemas multimodais e discutimos aplicações para o nosso sistema. Na terceira parte deste trabalho, usamos a abordagem de campo médio para a obtençãoo da equação mestra que descreve o problema da superradiância sob a ação de flutuações térmicas do reservatório. Desejamos com isso explorar a possibilidade de se verificar o processo de ressonância estocástica no âmbito da superradiância. / In the first part of this work we employ the Itô stochastic equation to extend Bells be-able interpretation of quantum mechanics to encompass dissipation, decoherence and quantum-to-classical transition through quantum trajectories. For a particular choice of the source of stochasticity, the one leading to a dissipative Lindblad type correction to the Hamiltonian dynamics, we verify that the diffusive term in Nelson´s formalism is naturally incorporated into Bohm´s one, rendering a unified Bohm-Nelson theory. Mainly, analyzing the intereference between quantum trajectories, we clearly identify the decoherence time, as estimated from the usual quantum formalism. We also observe the quantum-to-classical transition through the convergence of the infinite possible quantum trajectories to their associated classical counterparts. In the second part of this work we analyze the dynamical behavior of a quantum system under the actions of two counteracting baths: the inevitable energy draining reservoir and, oppositly, an enginereed Glauber amplifier feeding the system excitation. We trace the system dynamics towards equilibrium to mapp its distinct behaviors following from the attenuation × amplification interplay. The decoherence process emerging from the action of both counteracting baths is also computed and, finally, applications of such an attenuation × amplification competition is discussed. Finally, in the third part of this work we employ the mean field approximation to derive the master equation describing the process of superradiant emission under the presence of thermal fluctuation. We envisage to explore the possibility of observe stochastic resonance within the superradiant process.

One of the main goals of the theory of open quantum systems is to devise methods which help preserve the quantum properties of a system interacting with its environment. One possible pathway to achieve this goal is to use non-Markovian reservoirs, characterized by information backflows and revivals of certain quantum properties. These reservoirs usually require advanced engineering techniques, which may turn their implementation impractical. In this dissertation we propose an alternative technique: the injection of a classical colored noise, which induces the desired quantum non-Markovianity. In order to do that, we investigate the dynamics of a quantum system interacting with its surrounding environment and under the injection of a classical stochastic colored noise. A time-local master equation for the system is derived by using the stochastic wave function formalism and functional calculus. Afterwards, the non-Markovianity of the evolution is detected by using the Andersson, Cresser, Hall and Li measure, which is based on the decay rates of the master equation in canonical Lindblad-like form. Finally, we evaluate the measure for three different colored noises and study the interplay between environment and noise pump necessary to induce quantum non-Markovianity, as well as the energy balance of the system. / Um dos objetivos principais da teoria de sistemas quânticos abertos é desenvolver métodos que ajudem a preservar as propriedades quânticas de um sistema interagindo com o ambiente. Um possível caminho para alcançar essa meta é usar reservatórios não-Markovianos, caracterizados por refluxos de informação e renascimento de certas propriedades quânticas. Esses reservatóris geralmente requerem o uso de técnicas avançadas de engenharia, o que pode tornar sua implementação impraticável. Nessa dissertação nós propomos uma técnica alternativa: a injeção de um ruído colorido clássico, o qual induz a desejada não-Markovianidade quântica. De modo a fazer isso, nós investigamos a dinâmica de um sistema quântico interagindo com o ambiente e sob a injeção de um ruído colorido clássico estocástico. Uma equação mestra local no tempo é derivada usando-se do formalismo da função de onda estocástica e de técnicas de cálculo funcional. Após isso, a não-Markovianidade da evolução é detectada através da medida de Andersson, Cresser, Hall e Li, a qual é baseada nos coeficientes da equação mestra na forma de Lindblad-like canônica. Finalmente, nós calculamos a medida para três diferentes ruídos coloridos e estudamos a relação entre o ambiente e o bombeio estocástico necessária para induzir não-Markovianidade quântica, assim como o balanço de energia do sistema.

Recent advances in experimental condensed matter physics suggest a powerful new paradigm for the realization of exotic phases of quantum matter in the laboratory. Rather than conducting an exhaustive search for materials that realize these phases at low temperatures, it may be possible to design quantum systems that exhibit the desired properties. With the numerous advances made recently in the fields of cold atomic gases, superconducting qubits, trapped ions, and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, it appears that we will soon have a host of platforms that can be used to put exotic theoretical predictions to the test. In this dissertation, I will highlight two ways in which theorists can interact productively with this fast-emerging field. First, there is a growing interest in driving quantum systems out of equilibrium in order to induce novel topological phases where they would otherwise never appear. In particular, systems driven by time-periodic perturbations—known as “Floquet systems”—offer fertile ground for theoretical investigation. This approach to designer quantum matter brings its own unique set of challenges. In particular, Floquet systems explicitly violate conservation of energy, providing no notion of a ground state. In the first part of my dissertation, I will present research that addresses this problem in two ways. First, I will present studies of open Floquet systems, where coupling to an external reservoir drives the system into a steady state at long times. Second, I will discuss examples of isolated quantum systems that exhibit signatures of topological properties in their finite-time dynamics. The second part of this dissertation presents another way in which theorists can benefit from the designer approach to quantum matter; in particular, one can design analytically tractable theories of exotic phases. I will present an exemplar of this philosophy in the form of coupled-wire constructions. In this approach, one builds a topological state of matter from the ground up by coupling together an array of one-dimensional quantum wires with local interactions. I will demonstrate the power of this technique by showing how to build both Abelian and non-Abelian topological phases in three dimensions by coupling together an array of quantum wires.

Usamos um modelo exatamente solúvel para calcular a dinâmica da fidelidade de uma computação baseada em medidas projetivas cujo sistema interage com um meio ambiente comum que insere erros de fase. Mostramos que a fidelidade do estado de Cluster canônico oscila como função do tempo e, como consequência, a computação quântica baseada em medidas projetivas pode apresentar melhores resultados computacionais mesmo para um conjunto sequencial de medidas lentas. Além disso, apresentamos uma condição necessária para que a dinâmica da fidelidade de um estado quântico geral apresente um comportamento não-monotônico. / We use an exact solvable model to calculate the gate fidelity dynamics of a measurement-based quantum computation that interacts with a common dephasing environment. We show that the fidelity of the canonical cluster state oscillates as a function of time and, as a consequence, the measurement-based quantum computer can give better computational results even for a set of slow measurement sequences. Furthermore, we present a necessary condition to the fidelity dynamics of a general quantum state presents a non-monotonical shape.

São estudadas flutuações de variáveis spin de bloco em alguns modelos de Curie-Weiss. É descrito rigorosamente o comportamento assintótico de suas distribuições de probabilidade no limite termodinâmico, mantendo constante a razão entre o tamanho do sistema e o tamanho do bloco. São considerados o modelo de Ising com campo aleatório e o antiferromagneto diluído. Os seguintes fatos sobre flutuações nestes modelos são provados: a) Elas não são auto-mediantes; b) Fora da criticalidade têm distribuição Gaussiana com contribuições vindas de flutuações térmicas e de flutuações devidas aos parâmetros aleatórios; c) Na criticalidade a sua distribuição e não mais Gaussiana e as flutuações das impurezas dominam as flutuações térmicas. Como sub-produto desta análise mostra-se que as flutuações destes dois modelos não são equivalentes sob o mapeamento que estabelece a sua equivalência termodinâmica. Também é descrita a aplicação do método ao vidro de spin de van Hemmen, sem provas, levando a resultados similares. Finalmente mostra-se que o método é problemático quando aplicado a sistemas quânticos. Embora a sua termodinâmica possa ser bem descrita, aparecem alguns problemas matemáticos, ainda por resolver, no estudo das suas flutuações. / Fluctuations of block spin variables in some Curie-Weiss models are studied. The asymptotic behavior of their probability distributions in the thermodynamic limit is rigorously described, keeping constant the ratio between the size of the system and the size of the block. The Ising model with random field and the dilute antiferromagnet with uniform field are considered. The following facts about fluctuations in these models are proved: a) They are not self-averaging; b) Out of criticality they have a Gaussian distribution with contributions coming both from thermal fluctuations and from those fluctuations due to the random parameters; c) At criticality their distribution is no longer Gaussian and the fluctuation of impurities dominate thermal fluctuations. As a by-product of this analysis, the fluctuations of these two models are shown to be non-equivalent under the mapping which establishes their thermodynamical equivalence. It is also described the application of the method to the van Hemmen spin-glass model, without proofs, leading to similar results. Finally the method is shown to be problematic when applied to quantum systems. Although their thermodynamics can be well described, some mathematical problems, yet to be solved, appear in the study of their fluctuations.

Part I of this thesis is concerned with cavity optomechanical systems subject to periodic driving. We develop a Floquet approach to solve time-periodic quantum Langevin equations in the steady state, show that two-time correlation functions of system operators can be expanded in a Fourier series, and derive a generalized Wiener-Khinchin theorem that relates the Fourier transform of the autocorrelator to the noise spectrum. Weapply our framework to optomechanical systems driven with two tones. In a setting used to prepare mechanical resonators in quantum squeezed states, we nd and study the general solution in the rotating-wave approximation. In the following chapter, we show that our technique reveals an exact analytical solution of the explicitly time-periodic quantum Langevin equation describing the dual-tone backaction-evading measurement of a single mechanical oscillator quadrature due to Braginsky, Vorontsov, and Thorne [Science 209, 547 (1980)] beyond the commonly used rotating-wave approximation and show that our solution can be generalized to a wide class of systems, including to dissipatively or parametrically squeezed oscillators, as well as recent two-mode backaction-evading measurements. In Part II, we study nonreciprocal optomechanical systems with several optical and mechanical modes. We show that an optomechanical plaquette with two cavity modes coupled to two mechanical modes is a versatile system in which isolators, quantum-limited phase-preserving, and phase-sensitive directional ampliers for microwave signals can be realized. We discuss the noise added by such devices, and derive isolation bandwidth, gain bandwidth, and gain-bandwidth product, paving the way toward exible, integrated nonreciprocal microwave ampliers. Finally, we show that similar techniques can be exploited for current rectication in double quantum dots, thereby introducing fermionic reservoir engineering. We verify our prediction with a weak-coupling quantum master equation and the exact solution. Directionality is attained through the interference of coherent and dissipative coupling. The relative phase is tuned with an external magnetic eld, such that directionality can be reversed, as well as turned on and off dynamically.

São estudadas flutuações de variáveis spin de bloco em alguns modelos de Curie-Weiss. É descrito rigorosamente o comportamento assintótico de suas distribuições de probabilidade no limite termodinâmico, mantendo constante a razão entre o tamanho do sistema e o tamanho do bloco. São considerados o modelo de Ising com campo aleatório e o antiferromagneto diluído. Os seguintes fatos sobre flutuações nestes modelos são provados: a) Elas não são auto-mediantes; b) Fora da criticalidade têm distribuição Gaussiana com contribuições vindas de flutuações térmicas e de flutuações devidas aos parâmetros aleatórios; c) Na criticalidade a sua distribuição e não mais Gaussiana e as flutuações das impurezas dominam as flutuações térmicas. Como sub-produto desta análise mostra-se que as flutuações destes dois modelos não são equivalentes sob o mapeamento que estabelece a sua equivalência termodinâmica. Também é descrita a aplicação do método ao vidro de spin de van Hemmen, sem provas, levando a resultados similares. Finalmente mostra-se que o método é problemático quando aplicado a sistemas quânticos. Embora a sua termodinâmica possa ser bem descrita, aparecem alguns problemas matemáticos, ainda por resolver, no estudo das suas flutuações. / Fluctuations of block spin variables in some Curie-Weiss models are studied. The asymptotic behavior of their probability distributions in the thermodynamic limit is rigorously described, keeping constant the ratio between the size of the system and the size of the block. The Ising model with random field and the dilute antiferromagnet with uniform field are considered. The following facts about fluctuations in these models are proved: a) They are not self-averaging; b) Out of criticality they have a Gaussian distribution with contributions coming both from thermal fluctuations and from those fluctuations due to the random parameters; c) At criticality their distribution is no longer Gaussian and the fluctuation of impurities dominate thermal fluctuations. As a by-product of this analysis, the fluctuations of these two models are shown to be non-equivalent under the mapping which establishes their thermodynamical equivalence. It is also described the application of the method to the van Hemmen spin-glass model, without proofs, leading to similar results. Finally the method is shown to be problematic when applied to quantum systems. Although their thermodynamics can be well described, some mathematical problems, yet to be solved, appear in the study of their fluctuations.

Dans les systèmes quantiques unidimensionnels, le rôle des fluctuations et des interactions est plus important et les théories utilisées à plus haute dimension ne peuvent plus être employées. Le point de départ pour décrire la plupart des systèmes unidimensionnels est la théorie du liquide de Luttinger. Bien que cette théorie décrive de nombreux phénomènes avec succès, elle a aussi ses limites. Par exemple, elle ne peut décrire que la limite de basse énergie d'un system unidimensionnel, elle échoue aussi lorsqu'il s'agit de décrire la désintégration des excitations du système. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions principalement deux types de problème en une dimension. Le premier est l'interaction effective entre des impuretés dans un liquide de bosons tandis que le deuxième est la désintégrations des quasi-particules dans un mélange bosons-fermions. Dans les deux cas, décrire le système comme un liquide de Luttinger n'est pas suffisant. Afin de pallier à cela, nous développons plusieurs approches pour ces systèmes unidimensionnels qui prennent en compte les différentes anharmonicités nécessaires afin de capturer les mécanismes importants en jeu dans ces problèmes. / In one-dimensional quantum systems, the role of fluctuations and interactions is enhanced and theories used in higher- dimensional systems cannot be employed anymore to describe such strongly-correlated systems. The starting point to describe most one-dimensional systems is the Luttinger liquid theory. Even though this theory is successful to describe many phenomena, it has its shortcomings. For example, it can only treat the low-energy limit of one-dimensional systems and fails to describe the decay of excitations. In this thesis, we mainly study two kinds of problems in one dimension. The first one is the effective interaction between impurities in a Bose liquid whereas the second one is the decay of quasiparticles in a Bose-Fermi mixture. In both cases, the description of the system in terms of a Luttinger liquid is not sufficient. To overcome this, we develop different approaches for these one-dimensional systems to account for the various anharmonicities which are necessary to capture the relevant physics of these problems.

During the last years, with the evolution of technology enabling the control of nano-mesoscopic systems, the possibility of experimentally implementing a Maxwell’s demon has aroused much interest. Its classical version has already been implemented, in photonic and electronic systems, and currently its quantum version is being broadly studied. In this context, the purpose of this work is the development of a protocol for the implementation of the quantum version of an autonomous Maxwell’s demon in a system of superconducting qubits. The system is composed of an Asymmetrical Single-Cooper-Pair Transistor, ASCPT, which has its extremities in contact with heat baths, such that the left one has a lower temperature than the right one. And of a device of two interacting Cooper-Pair Boxes, CPB’s, named as an ECPB, for Extended Cooper-Pair Box. The ECPB is also in contact with a heat bath and possess a genuine quantum feature, entanglement, being described by its antisymmetric and symmetric states, that couple capacitively to the ASCPT with different strengths. A specific operating regime was found where the spontaneous dynamics of the tunneling of Cooper pairs through the ASCPT, will led to a heat transport from the bath in contact with the left extremity of the ASCPT to the bath at the right. And so, as in Maxwell’s original thought experiment, the demon, which is composed by the ECPB and the island of the ASCPT, mediates a heat flux from a cold to a hot bath, without the expense of work. However as expected, the violation of the 2nd law of thermodynamics does not occur, as during the dynamics heat is also released to the bath in contact with the ECPB, compensating the decrease of entropy that occurs in the baths in contact with the ASCPT. / Nos últimos anos, com a evolução da tecnologia que permite o controle de sistemas nano-mesoscópicos, a possibilidade de se implementar um demônio de Maxwell despertou muito interesse. A sua versão clássica já foi realizada experimentalmente com sucesso em sistemas fotônicos e eletrônicos e atualmente a versão quântica tem sido amplamente estudada. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver um protocolo para a implementação de uma versão quântica de um demônio de Maxwell autônomo utilizando dispositivos supercondutores. O sistema é composto por um Asymmetrical Single-Cooper-Pair Transistor, ASCPT, que possui as suas extremidades em contato com banhos térmicos, sendo que o banho à esquerda possui uma temperatura inferior ao da direita. E por um dispositivo composto por dois Cooper-Pair Boxes, CPB’s, interagentes, denominado ECPB, sigla para Extended Cooper-Pair Box. O ECPB também se encontra em contato com um banho e possui uma característica genuinamente quântica, emaranhamento, sendo descrito por seus estados antissimétrico e simétrico, que se acoplam capacitivamente ao ASCPT com intensidades distintas. Encontrou-se que em um regime de operação específico a dinâmica espontânea de tunelamento de pares de Cooper ao longo do ASCPT origina o transporte de calor do banho à esquerda do ASCPT, ao banho à direita. Desta forma, assim como proposto originalmente por Maxwell, o demônio, composto pelo ECPB e pela ilha do ASCPT, media um fluxo de calor de um banho frio para um banho quente, sem a realização alguma de trabalho. Contudo como esperado, a violação da 2ª lei da termodinâmica não ocorre, já que durante a dinâmica calor é liberado ao banho em contato com o dispositivo de CPB’s, compensando a diminuição de entropia que ocorre nos banhos em contato com o ASCPT.

All fields of physics - be it nuclear, atomic and molecular, solid state, or optical - offer examples of systems which are strongly influenced by the environment of the actual system under investigation. The scope of what is called "the environment" may vary, i.e., how far from the system of interest an interaction between the two does persist. Typically, however, it is much larger than the open system itself. Hence, a fully quantum mechanical treatment of the combined system without approximations and without limitations of the type of system is currently out of reach. With the single assumption of the environment to consist of an internally thermalized set of infinitely many harmonic oscillators, the seminal work of Stockburger and Grabert [Chem. Phys., 268:249-256, 2001] introduced an open system description that captures the environmental influence by means of a stochastic driving of the reduced system. The resulting stochastic Liouville-von Neumann equation describes the full non-Markovian dynamics without explicit memory but instead accounts for it implicitly through the correlations of the complex-valued noise forces. The present thesis provides a first application of the Stockburger-Grabert stochastic Liouville-von Neumann equation to the computation of the dynamics of anharmonic, continuous open systems. In particular, it is demonstrated that trajectory based propagators allow for the construction of a numerically stable propagation scheme. With this approach it becomes possible to achieve the tremendous increase of the noise sample count necessary to stochastically converge the results when investigating such systems with continuous variables. After a test against available analytic results for the dissipative harmonic oscillator, the approach is subsequently applied to the analysis of two different realistic, physical systems. As a first example, the dynamics of a dissipative molecular oscillator is investigated. Long time propagation - until thermalization is reached - is shown to be possible with the presented approach. The properties of the thermalized density are determined and they are ascertained to be independent of the system's initial state. Furthermore, the dependence on the bath's temperature and coupling strength is analyzed and it is demonstrated how a change of the bath parameters can be used to tune the system from the dissociative to the bound regime. A second investigation is conducted for a dissipative tunneling scenario in which a wave packet impinges on a barrier. The dependence of the transmission probability on the initial state's kinetic energy as well as the bath's temperature and coupling strength is computed. For both systems, a comparison with the high-temperature Markovian quantum Brownian limit is performed. The importance of a full non-Markovian treatment is demonstrated as deviations are shown to exist between the two descriptions both in the low temperature cases where they are expected and in some of the high temperature cases where their appearance might not be anticipated as easily.