Date Awarded

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Physics

Advisor

George M Vahala

Abstract

Presented is a study of quantum entanglement from the perspective of the theory of quantum information dynamics. We consider pairwise entanglement and present an analytical development using joint ladder operators, the sum of two single-particle fermionic ladder operators. This approach allows us to write down analytical representations of quantum algorithms and to explore quantum entanglement as it is manifested in a system of qubits.;We present a topological representation of quantum logic that views entangled qubit spacetime histories (or qubit world lines) as a generalized braid, referred to as a super-braid. The crossing of world lines may be either classical or quantum mechanical in nature, and in the latter case most conveniently expressed with our analytical expressions for entangling quantum gates. at a quantum mechanical crossing, independent world lines can become entangled. We present quantum skein relations that allow complicated superbraids to be recursively reduced to alternate classical histories. If the superbraid is closed, then one can decompose the resulting superlink into an entangled superposition of classical links. Also, one can compute a superlink invariant, for example the Jones polynomial for the square root of a knot.;We present measurement-based quantum computing based on our joint number operators. We take expectation values of the joint number operators to determine kinetic-level variables describing the quantum information dynamics in the qubit system at the mesoscopic scale. We explore the issue of reversibility in quantum maps at this scale using a quantum Boltzmann equation. We then present an example of quantum information processing using a qubit system comprised of nuclear spins. We also discuss quantum propositions cast in terms of joint number operators.;We review the well known dynamical equations governing superfluidity, with a focus on self-consistent dynamics supporting quantum vortices in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Furthermore, we review the mutual vortex-vortex interaction and the consequent Kelvin wave instability. We derive an effective equation of motion for a Fermi condensate that is the basis of our qubit representation of superfluidity.;We then present our quantum lattice gas representation of a superfluid. We explore aspects of our model with two qubits per point, referred to as a Q2 model, particularly its usefulness for carrying out practical quantum fluid simulations. We find that it is perhaps the simplest yet most comprehensive model of superfluid dynamics. as a prime application of Q2, we explore the power-law regions in the energy spectrum of a condensate in the low-temperature limit. We achieved the largest quantum simulations to date of a BEC and, for the first time, Kolmogorov scaling in superfluids, a flow regime heretofore only obtainably by classical turbulence models.;Finally, we address the subject of turbulence regarding information conservation on the small scales (both mesoscopic and microscopic) underlying the flow dynamics on the large hydrodynamic (macroscopic) scale. We present a hydrodynamic-level momentum equation, in the form of a Navier-Stokes equation, as the basis for the energy spectrum of quantum turbulence at large scales. Quantum turbulence, in particular the representation of fluid eddies in terms of a coherent structure of polarized quantum vortices, offers a unique window into the heretofore intractable subject of energy cascades.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-x4jk-9z47

Rights

© The Author

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