Enhancing correlation times for edge spins through dissipation

Vasiloiu, Loredana M.; Carollo, Federico; Garrahan, Juan P.

Abstract

Spin chains with open boundaries, such as the transverse field Ising model, can display coherence times for edge spins that diverge with the system size as a consequence of almost conserved operators, the so-called strong zero modes. Here we discuss the fate of these coherence times when the system is perturbed in two different ways. First, we consider the effects of a unitary coupling connecting the ends of the chain; when the coupling is weak and noninteracting, we observe stable long-lived harmonic oscillations between the strong zero modes. Second, and more interestingly, we consider the case when dynamics becomes dissipative. While in general dissipation induces decoherence and loss of information, here we show that particularly simple environments can actually enhance correlation times beyond those of the original unitary case. This allows us to generalize the notion of strong zero modes to irreversible Markovian time evolutions, thus defining conditions for dissipative strong zero maps. Our results show how dissipation could, in principle, play a useful role in protocols for storing information in quantum devices.

Citation

Vasiloiu, L. M., Carollo, F., & Garrahan, J. P. (2018). Enhancing correlation times for edge spins through dissipation. Physical Review B, 98(9), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.98.094308

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 12, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Sep 26, 2018
• Publication Date: Sep 26, 2018
• Deposit Date: Sep 28, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 28, 2018
• Journal: Physical Review B
• Print ISSN: 2469-9950
• Electronic ISSN: 2469-9969
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 98
• Issue: 9
• Article Number: 094308
• Pages: 1-6
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.98.094308
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1139242
• Contract Date: Sep 28, 2018