Topological Schrödinger cats: Non-local quantum superpositions of topological defects
arXiv:1106.2823 · doi:10.1038/nphys2156
Abstract
Topological defects (such as monopoles, vortex lines, or domain walls) mark locations where disparate choices of a broken symmetry vacuum elsewhere in the system lead to irreconcilable differences. They are energetically costly (the energy density in their core reaches that of the prior symmetric vacuum) but topologically stable (the whole manifold would have to be rearranged to get rid of the defect). We show how, in a paradigmatic model of a quantum phase transition, a topological defect can be put in a non-local superposition, so that - in a region large compared to the size of its core - the order parameter of the system is "undecided" by being in a quantum superposition of conflicting choices of the broken symmetry. We demonstrate how to exhibit such a "Schrödinger kink" by devising a version of a double-slit experiment suitable for topological defects. Coherence detectable in such experiments will be suppressed as a consequence of interaction with the environment. We analyze environment-induced decoherence and discuss its role in symmetry breaking.
7 pages, 4 figures
References in corpus (2)
Cited by in corpus (33)
- Universality of Phase Transition Dynamics: Topological Defects from Symmetry Breaking
- Quantum electrodynamics of intense laser-matter interactions: A tool for quantum state engineering
- Universal breakdown of Kibble-Zurek scaling in fast quenches across a phase transition
- Do photosynthetic complexes use quantum coherence to increase their efficiency? Probably not
- Universal dynamics of inhomogeneous quantum phase transitions: suppressing defect formation
- Kibble-Zurek scaling of the irreversible entropy production
- Kibble-Zurek scaling in quantum speed limits for shortcuts to adiabaticity
- Quantum Magnetism of Spin-Ladder Compounds with Trapped-Ion Crystals
- Coherent Many-Body Oscillations Induced by a Superposition of Broken Symmetry States in the Wake of a Quantum Phase Transition
- Bright soliton quantum superpositions: signatures of high- and low-fidelity states
- The Kibble-Zurek Mechanism in a Topological Phase Transition
- Spontaneous symmetry breaking induced by quantum monitoring
- Measurement- and comparison-based sizes of Schrödinger cat states of light
- Analytic expressions for the steady-state current with finite extended reservoirs
- Environment assisted and environment hampered efficiency at maximum power in a molecular photo cell
- Measurement-induced decoherence and information in double-slit interference
- Decoherence in the quantum Ising model with transverse dissipative interaction in the strong coupling regime
- Fractional domain walls from on-site softening in dipolar bosons
- Chapter: Vulnerability of Quantum Information Systems to Collective Manipulation
- Experimental observation of spontaneous symmetry breaking in a quantum phase transition
- Decoherence and relaxation of topological states in extended quantum Ising models
- Optical Schrödinger Cat States in One Mode and two Coupled-Modes Subject to Environments
- Observation of quantum superposition of topological defects in a trapped ion quantum simulator
- Kibble-Zurek mechanism in quantum link model
- Experimental demonstration of spontaneous symmetry breaking with emergent multi-qubit entanglement
- Localized structures in three-field models: geometrically constrained configurations and the first-order framework
- Coherent States, Superpositions of Coherent States and Uncertainty Relations on a Möbius Strip
- Persistent oscillation of a Cooper-pair condensate of topological defects in a nonintegrable quantum Ising chain
- Defects in Quantum Computers
- Classical fields and quantum measurement for Bose-Einstein condensate
- Entanglement And Non-Trivial Topologies
- A quantum phase transition in a quantum external field: Superposing two magnetic phases
- Approaching the scaling limit of transport through lattices with dephasing