The two-dimensional q-state clock models exhibit the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition for q ≥ 5 since they are a subset of the isotropic XY model. We examine the 6-state clock model with an anisotropic deformation. Selecting the 6-state Potts model as a source of the deformation, the model naturally violates the discrete rotational symmetry of the clock model. We introduce the anisotropic deformation parameter α in the clock model interpolating the clock ( α = 1) and the Potts ( α = 0) models. We employ the corner transfer matrix renormalization group method to analyze the phase transitions on the square lattice in the thermodynamic limit. Three different phases and phase transitions are identified. The phase diagram is constructed, and we determine a tricritical point at α c = 0 . 21405(4) and T c = 0 . 834017(5). Analyzing the latent heat and the entanglement entropy in the vicinity of the T c ( α c ), we observe a single discontinuous phase transition and two BKT phase transitions meeting in the tricritical point. The tricritical point exhibits a phase transition of the second order with the critical exponents β ≈ 1 / 10 and δ ≈ 14. We conjecture that an infinitesimal surrounding of the tricritical point consists of the three fundamental phase transitions, in which the first and the BKT orders gradually weaken into the second-order tricritical point.

Researcher from the Institute of Physics of Slovak Academy of Sciences - Dr. Denis Kochan - participated at exciting discovery reported recently in highly impacted journal Nature Nanotechnology (impact factor 40.523). Jointly with physics research teams of Professor Christoph Strunk and Professor Jaroslav Fabian (both from University of Regensburg in Germany) they have demonstrated both experimentally and theoretically a dramatic change in sign of the supercurrent diode effect. Superconducting diodes, first designed in 2021 and also known as Josephson diodes, serve as the basic building blocks for new types of superconducting circuits that may replace the resistive ones in the future. The discovery will have major implications in the field of superconductivity and superconducting spintronics and boost further the development of quantum electronics and quantum technologies. Denis Kochan is the holder of the prestigous Slovak Academy of Sciences grant IMPULZ (IM-2021-26) focused on theoretical development and understanding of the physics of superconducting spintronics.

The recent discovery of the intrinsic supercurrent diode effect, and its prompt observation in a rich variety of systems, has shown that non-reciprocal supercurrents naturally emerge when both space-inversion and time-inversion symmetries are broken. In Josephson junctions, non-reciprocal supercurrent can be conveniently described in terms of spin-split Andreev states. Here we demonstrate a sign reversal of the Josephson inductance magnetochiral anisotropy, a manifestation of the supercurrent diode effect. The asymmetry of the Josephson inductance as a function of the supercurrent allows us to probe the current–phase relation near equilibrium, and to probe jumps in the junction ground state. Using a minimal theoretical model, we can then link the sign reversal of the inductance magnetochiral anisotropy to the so-called 0−π-like transition, a predicted but still elusive feature of multichannel junctions. Our results demonstrate the potential of inductance measurements as sensitive probes of the fundamental properties of unconventional Josephson junctions.

The maximal evolution speed of any quantum system can be expressed by the quantum speed limit time. In this paper, we consider a model in which the system has a correlation with the environment. The influence of the initial correlation between the system and environment on the quantum speed limit is investigated. It is shown that the appearance of non-Markovianity effects causes the speedup of quantum evolution. Moreover, we demonstrate the dependence of quantum dynamical speedup on the quantum coherence of the correlated initial state.

In quantum mechanics, quantum batteries are devices that can store energy by utilizing the principles of quantum mechanics. While quantum batteries has been investigated largely theoretical, recent research indicates that it may be possible to implement such a device using existing technologies. The environment plays an important role in the charging of quantum batteries. If a strong coupling exists between the environment and the battery, then battery can be charged properly. It has also been demonstrated that quantum battery can be charged even in weak coupling regime just by choosing a suitable initial state for battery and charger. In this study, we investigate the charging process of open quantum batteries mediated by a common dissipative environment. We will consider a wireless-like charging scenario, where there is no external power and direct interaction between charger and battery. Moreover, we consider the case in which the battery and charger move inside the environment with a particular speed. Our results demonstrate that the movement of the quantum battery inside the environment has a negative effect on the performance of the quantum batteries during the charging process. It is also shown that the non-Markovian environment has a positive effect on improving battery performance.

Measurement error and disturbance, in the presence of conservation laws, are analysed in general operational terms. We provide novel quantitative bounds demonstrating necessary conditions under which accurate or non-disturbing measurements can be achieved, highlighting an interesting interplay between incompatibility, unsharpness, and coherence. From here we obtain a substantial generalisation of the Wigner-Araki-Yanase (WAY) theorem. Our findings are further refined through the analysis of the fixed-point set of the measurement channel, some extra structure of which is characterised here for the first time.

The operating principle of traveling-wave parametric amplifiers is typically understood in terms of the standard coupled mode theory, which describes the evolution of forward propagating waves without any reflections, i.e., for perfect impedance matching. However, in practice, superconducting microwave amplifiers are unmatched nonlinear finite-length devices, where the reflecting waves undergo complex parametric processes, not described by the standard coupled mode theory. Here, we present an analytical solution for the TWPA gain, which includes the interaction of reflected waves. These reflections result in corrections to the well-known results of the standard coupled mode theory, which are obtained for both three-wave and four-wave mixing processes. Due to these reflections, the gain is enhanced and unwanted nonlinear phase modulations are suppressed. Predictions of the model are experimentally demonstrated on two types of unmatched TWPA, based on coplanar waveguides with a central wire consisting of (i) a high kinetic inductance superconductor, and (ii) an array of 2000 Josephson junctions.

The so-called quantum Cheshire cat is a phenomenon in which an object, identified with a “cat”, is dissociated from a property of the object, identified with the “grin” of the cat. We propose a thought experiment, similar to this phenomenon, with an interferometric setup, where a property (a component of polarization) of an object (photon) can be separated from the object itself and can simultaneously be amplified when it is already decoupled from its object. We further show that this setup can be used to dissociate two complementary properties, e.g., two orthogonal components of polarization of a photon and identified with the grin and the snarl of a cat, from each other and one of them can be amplified while being detached from the other. Moreover, we extend the work to a noisy scenario, effected by a spin-orbit-coupling–like additional interaction term in the Hamiltonian for the measurement process, with the object in this scenario being identified with a so-called confused Cheshire cat. We devise a gedanken experiment in which such a “confusion” can be successfully dissociated from the system, and we find that the dissociation helps in the amplification of signals.

The phase transition of the classical Ising model on the Sierpiński carpet, which has the fractal dimension log₃8=1.8927, is studied by an adapted variant of the higher-order tensor renormalization group method. The second-order phase transition is observed at the critical temperature T_c=1.478. Position dependence of local functions is studied through impurity tensors inserted at different locations on the fractal lattice. The critical exponent β associated with the local magnetization varies by two orders of magnitude, depending on lattice locations, whereas Tc is not affected. Furthermore, we employ automatic differentiation to accurately and efficiently compute the average spontaneous magnetization per site as a first derivative of free energy with respect to the external field, yielding the global critical exponent of β=0.135.

The quantum speed limit (QSL) of the Jaynes-Cummings model with detuning for arbitrary initial states is investigated. We mainly focus on the influences of the detuning, width of Lorentzian spectral density, and coherence of the initial state on the non-Markovian speedup evolution in an open system. It is found that even in the Markovian regime, increasing the detuning parameter leads to quantum speedup. Moreover, we reveal that the QSL has an inverse relation with the population of the initial excited state. Notably, we show that the QSL depends on the quantum coherence of the system’s initial state such that the maximal coherent state can saturate its bound.

Proximity-induced fine features and spin-textures of the electronic bands in graphene-based van der Waals heterostructures can be explored from the point of tailoring a twist angle. Here we study spin–orbit coupling and exchange coupling engineering of graphene states in the proximity of 1T-TaS 2 not triggering the twist, but a charge density wave (CDW) in 1T-TaS 2 —a realistic low-temperature phase. Using density functional theory and effective model we found that the emergence of the CDW in 1T-TaS 2 significantly enhances Rashba spin–orbit splitting in graphene and tilts the spin texture by a significant Rashba angle—in a very similar way as in the conventional twist-angle scenarios. Moreover, the partially filled Ta d-band in the CDW phase leads to the spontaneous emergence of the in-plane magnetic order that transgresses via proximity from 1T-TaS 2 to graphene, hence, simultaneously superimposing along the spin–orbit also the exchange coupling proximity effect. To describe this intricate proximity landscape we have developed an effective model Hamiltonian and provided a minimal set of parameters that excellently reproduces all the spectral features predicted by the first-principles calculations. Conceptually, the CDW provides a highly interesting knob to control the fine features of electronic states and to tailor the superimposed proximity effects—a sort of twistronics without twist.

We address the question of the existence of quantum channels that are divisible in two quantum channels but not in three or, more generally, channels divisible in n but not in n þ 1 parts. We show that for the qubit those channels do not exist, whereas for general finite-dimensional quantum channels the same holds at least for full Kraus rank channels. To prove these results, we introduce a novel decomposition of quantum channels which separates them into a boundary and Markovian part, and it holds for any finite dimension. Additionally, the introduced decomposition amounts to the well-known connection between divisibility classes and implementation types of quantum dynamical maps and can be used to implement quantum channels using smaller quantum registers.

Quantum networks have been shown to connect users with full-mesh topologies without trusted nodes. We present advancements on our scalable polarisation entanglement-based quantum network testbed, which has the ability to perform protocols beyond simple quantum key distribution. Our approach utilises wavelength multiplexing, which is ideal for quantum networks across local metropolitan areas due to the ease of connecting additional users to the network without increasing the resource requirements per user. We show a 10 user fully connected quantum network with metropolitan scale deployed fibre links, demonstrating polarisation stability and the ability to generate secret keys over a period of 10.8 days with a network wide average-effective secret key rate of 3.38 bps.