Controlling and Measuring Quantum Transport of Heat in Trapped-Ion Crystals

Bermúdez, A.; Bruderer, M.; Plenio, Martin B.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.111.040601

Cited by 113 publications

(120 citation statements)

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“…Most rigorous theoretical results have been obtained for exactly solvable quasi-free models while systems with non-linearities are typically exceedingly difficult to treat. Equally, the controlled generation of non-linear physics in mesoscopic ion crystals is non-trivial and much recent progress has concerned harmonic models of complex networks and trapped-ion chains [22][23][24]. The richest phenomenology however can be expected in nonintegrable models [25] which mandates the development of both theoretical and experimental methods for their examination.…”

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Tuning heat transport in trapped-ion chains across a structural phase transition

et al. 2014

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We explore heat transport across an ion Coulomb crystal beyond the harmonic regime by tuning it across the structural phase transition between the linear and zigzag configurations. This demonstrates that the control of the spatial ion distribution by varying the trapping frequencies renders ion Coulomb crystals an ideal test-bed to study heat transport properties in finite open system of tunable non-linearities. 64.60.Ht, 05.70.Fh, 37.10.Ty Ultracold ion Coulomb crystals represent one of the most promising platforms for the simulation of many-body physics thanks to the high degree of spatial and temporal control of mesoscopic ion crystals they afford us with [1][2][3]. Recent years have seen a shift away from the study of ground and thermal state properties, towards the exploration of the potential role of ion traps as a test-bed for models of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics.In this context it is important to recognize that in addition to the electronic spin degrees of freedom trapped ions also possess motional degrees of freedom that can exhibit highly non-trivial static and dynamical properties including classical and quantum phase transitions. Indeed, ion Coulomb crystals confined in ion traps may support a wide variety of phases including a linear chain and a doubly-degenerate zigzag phase, extending further to increasingly complex configurations in two and three spatial dimensions [4][5][6]. The associated structural phase transitions between those configurations are generally of first order, with the exception of the linear-to-zigzag phase transition which is known to be of second order [7][8][9]. As a symmetry breaking scenario, it provides a natural testing ground for universal dynamics of phase transitions and topological defect formation [9][10][11][12], recently explored in the laboratory [13][14][15][16].Another fundamental setting in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics considers the thermal transport in low-dimensional systems, which exhibits a rich variety of anomalous features, including the breakdown of Fourier's law of heat conduction, instances in which sub-diffusive and super-diffusive behavior can be observed [17][18][19], as well as the divergence of the thermal conductivity with the system size [20,21]. Most rigorous theoretical results have been obtained for exactly solvable quasi-free models while systems with non-linearities are typically exceedingly difficult to treat. Equally, the controlled generation of non-linear physics in mesoscopic ion crystals is non-trivial and much recent progress has concerned harmonic models of complex networks and trapped-ion chains [22][23][24]. The richest phenomenology however can be expected in nonintegrable models [25] which mandates the development of both theoretical and experimental methods for their examination.In this Letter, we advance further the case for trapped ions as a model system for the examination of challenging problems in mesoscopic physics by considering continuously driven ion chains between two thermal reservoirs as a plat...

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Tuning heat transport in trapped-ion chains across a structural phase transition

et al. 2014

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“…In fact, our symmetry approach to transport has allowed us to introduce a symmetrycontrolled quantum thermal switch, i.e., a quantum qubit device where the heat current between hot and cold reservoirs can be completely blocked, modulated, or turned on by playing with the initial state symmetry. Note that a different transport control setup has been recently introduced by coupling vibrons to internal states of trapped ions in crystal lattices [57].…”

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Symmetry and the thermodynamics of currents in open quantum systems

Manzano

Hurtado

2014

Phys. Rev. B

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Symmetry is a powerful concept in physics, and its recent application to understand nonequilibrium behavior is providing deep insights and groundbreaking exact results. Here we show how to harness symmetry to control transport and statistics in open quantum systems. Such control is enabled by a first-order-type dynamic phase transition in current statistics and the associated coexistence of different transport channels (or nonequilibrium steady states) classified by symmetry. Microreversibility then ensues, via the Gallavotti-Cohen fluctuation theorem, a twin dynamic phase transition for rare current fluctuations. Interestingly, the symmetry present in the initial state is spontaneously broken at the fluctuating level, where the quantum system selects the symmetry sector that maximally facilitates a given fluctuation. We illustrate these results in a qubit network model motivated by the problem of coherent energy harvesting in photosynthetic complexes, and introduce the concept of a symmetry-controlled quantum thermal switch, suggesting symmetry-based design strategies for quantum devices with controllable transport properties.

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“…Recent advancements in manipulations of systems approaching quantum scales have further triggered research on transport between single quantum entities [1][2][3]. This interest has a two-fold reason: first, the understanding of energy fluxes is necessary for controlling micro-and nanoscale devices [1,4,5]; second, purely quantum effects allow for energy management not achievable in classical scenarios [6][7][8]. Probably the most celebrated of these effects is the role of quantum coherence in photosynthetic efficiency [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermally activated nonlocal amplification in quantum energy transport

Leggio¹,

Messina²,

Antezza³

2015

EPL

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We study energy-transport efficiency in light-harvesting planar and 3D complexes of two-level atomic quantum systems, embedded in a common thermal blackbody radiation. We show that the collective non-local dissipation induced by the thermal bath plays a fundamental role in energy transport. It gives rise to a dramatic enhancement of the energy-transport efficiency, which may largely overcome 100%. This effect, which improves the understanding of transport phenomena in experimentally relevant complexes, suggests a particularly promising mechanism for quantum energy management.

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Controlling and Measuring Quantum Transport of Heat in Trapped-Ion Crystals

Cited by 113 publications

References 65 publications

Tuning heat transport in trapped-ion chains across a structural phase transition

Tuning heat transport in trapped-ion chains across a structural phase transition

Symmetry and the thermodynamics of currents in open quantum systems

Thermally activated nonlocal amplification in quantum energy transport

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