Paternostro group
University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
- Tracked papers
- 20 (2008–2026)
Topics
The most frequent field-map topics among the PI' tracked papers.
Recent papers
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Stochastic Quantum Information Geometry and Speed Limits at the Trajectory Level
Abstract
In quantum metrology, precision is typically characterized by an ensemble-averaged quantity, the quantum Fisher information (QFI), which averages over the fluctuations of individual measurement records. Here we introduce the conditional quantum Fisher information (CQFI), a trajectory-level version of the QFI that generalizes the classical stochastic Fisher information to the quantum domain. Defined through the symmetric logarithmic derivative and conditioned on a measurement outcome, the CQFI is a random variable whose average recovers the QFI. Using it, we derive a trajectory-level quantum speed limit, illustrated by the quantum-jump unraveling of a driven thermal qubit. Moreover, the CQFI decomposes into incoherent (population) and coherent (basis-rotation) contributions, together with an interference cross-term. This cross-term vanishes on average but can take negative values along single trajectories, providing a local witness of destructive interference between classical and quantum information channels.
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Speeding up thermalization and quantum state preparation through engineered quantum collisions
Abstract
We realize fast thermalization and state preparation of a single mode cavity field using a collision model-like approach, where a sequence of qubits or three level system ancillae, sequentially interacting with the field, is engineered with a genetic algorithm approach. In contrast to optimal control techniques, there is no time-dependent system Hamiltonian control deployed and, in contrast to reservoir engineering, the engineered full system-environment dynamics is optimized, and the target is not a steady state. We prove a significant speed up in thermalization - for which we show that diagonal qubit ancilla states are sufficient - and in the preparation of coherent states. We demonstrate the preparation of squeezed states and of highly non-Gaussian states. Our work offers a new alternative for fast preparation of cavity states that lays in between optimal Hamiltonian control and reservoir engineering, and gives further insights on the resources needed to realize or speed up the preparation of such states.
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Quantifying protocol efficiency: a thermodynamic figure of merit for classical and quantum state-transfer protocols
Abstract
Manipulating quantum systems undergoing non-Gaussian dynamics in a fast and accurate manner is becoming fundamental to many quantum applications. Here, we focus on classical and quantum protocols transferring a state across a double-well potential. The classical protocols are achieved by deforming the potential, while the quantum ones are assisted by a counter-diabatic driving. We show that quantum protocols perform more quickly and accurately. Finally, we design a figure of merit for the performance of the transfer protocols -- namely, the protocol grading -- that depends only on fundamental physical quantities, and which accounts for the quantum speed limit, the fidelity and the thermodynamic of the process. We test the protocol grading with classical and quantum protocols, and show that quantum protocols have higher protocol grading than the classical ones.
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Optimal quantum control via genetic algorithms for quantum state engineering in driven-resonator mediated networks
Abstract
We employ a machine learning-enabled approach to quantum state engineering based on evolutionary algorithms. In particular, we focus on superconducting platforms and consider a network of qubits -- encoded in the states of artificial atoms with no direct coupling -- interacting via a common single-mode driven microwave resonator. The qubit-resonator couplings are assumed to be in the resonant regime and tunable in time. A genetic algorithm is used in order to find the functional time-dependence of the couplings that optimise the fidelity between the evolved state and a variety of targets, including three-qubit GHZ and Dicke states and four-qubit graph states. We observe high quantum fidelities (above 0.96 in the worst case setting of a system of effective dimension 96) and resilience to noise, despite the algorithm being trained in the ideal noise-free setting. These results show that the genetic algorithms represent an effective approach to control quantum systems of large dimensions.
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A Tutorial on Optimal Control and Reinforcement Learning methods for Quantum Technologies
Abstract
Quantum Optimal Control is an established field of research which is necessary for the development of Quantum Technologies. In recent years, Machine Learning techniques have been proved usefull to tackle a variety of quantum problems. In particular, Reinforcement Learning has been employed to address typical problems of control of quantum systems. In this tutorial we introduce the methods of Quantum Optimal Control and Reinforcement Learning by applying them to the problem of three-level population transfer. The jupyter notebooks to reproduce some of our results are open-sourced and available on github.
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Reinforcement learning-enhanced protocols for coherent population-transfer in three-level quantum systems
Abstract
We deploy a combination of reinforcement learning-based approaches and more traditional optimization techniques to identify optimal protocols for population transfer in a multi-level system. We constraint our strategy to the case of fixed coupling rates but time-varying detunings, a situation that would simplify considerably the implementation of population transfer in relevant experimental platforms, such as semiconducting and superconducting ones. Our approach is able to explore the space of possible control protocols to reveal the existence of efficient protocols that, remarkably, differ from (and can be superior to) standard Raman, STIRAP or other adiabatic schemes. The new protocols that we identify are robust against both energy losses and dephasing.
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Ultrafast critical ground state preparation via bang-bang protocols
Abstract
The fast and faithful preparation of the ground state of quantum systems is a challenging task but crucial for several applications in the realm of quantum-based technologies. Decoherence poses a limit to the maximum time-window allowed to an experiment to faithfully achieve such desired states. This is of particular significance in critical systems, where the vanishing energy gap challenges an adiabatic ground state preparation. We show that a bang-bang protocol, consisting of a time evolution under two different values of an externally tunable parameter, allows for a high-fidelity ground state preparation in evolution times no longer than those required by the application of standard optimal control techniques, such as the chopped-random basis quantum optimization. In addition, owing to their reduced number of variables, such bang-bang protocols are very well suited to optimization purposes, reducing the increasing computational cost of other optimal control protocols. We benchmark the performance of such approach through two paradigmatic models, namely the Landau-Zener and the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model. Remarkably, the critical ground state of the latter model can be prepared with a high fidelity in a total evolution time that scales slower than the inverse of the vanishing energy gap.
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Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of quantum processes assisted by transitionless quantum driving: the role of initial state preparation
Abstract
Adiabatic evolution is considered to be the ideal situation for most thermodynamic cycles, as it allows for the achievement of maximum efficiency. However, no power output is produced in light of the infinite amount of time required to perform a transformation. Such issue can be overcome through Shortcuts-To-Adiabaticity (STA) protocols, which allows a dynamics to mimic its adiabatic counterpart, but in a finite time. Transitionless quantum driving (TQD) is one form of STA. We develop and study the effects of TQD on a single-qubit system subjected to a changing magnetic field and a general two-qubit Heisenberg model with a time-dependent interaction strength. We establish a quantitative relation between the work produced across the dynamics and the entropy production resulting from the evolution at hand, focusing on the role played by the initial states of the work medium. We identify the states that extremize performance under the TQD protocol. The thermodynamic implications of STA are discussed in the end.
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Quantum state engineering by shortcuts-to-adiabaticity in interacting spin-boson systems
Abstract
We present a fast and robust framework to prepare non-classical states of a bosonic mode exploiting a coherent exchange of excitations with a two-level system ruled by a Jaynes-Cummings interaction mechanism. Our protocol, which is built on shortcuts to adiabaticity, allows for the generation of arbitrary Fock states of the bosonic mode, as well as coherent quantum superpositions of a Schrödinger cat-like form. In addition, we show how to obtain a class of photon-shifted states where the vacuum population is removed, a result akin to photon addition, but displaying more non-classicality than standard photon-added states. Owing to the ubiquity of the spin-boson interaction that we consider, our proposal is amenable for implementations in state-of-the-art experiments.
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Shortcut-to-adiabaticity quantum Otto refrigerator
Abstract
We investigate the performance of a quantum Otto refrigerator operating in finite time and exploiting local counterdiabatic techniques. We evaluate its coefficient of performance and cooling power when the working medium consists a quantum harmonic oscillator with a time-dependent frequency. We find that the quantum refrigerator outperforms its conventional counterpart, except for very short cycle times, even when the driving cost of the local counterdiabatic driving is included. We moreover derive upper bounds on the performance of the thermal machine based on quantum speed limits and show that they are tighter than the second law of thermodynamics.