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ABSTRACT: Early experiments on spin-blockaded double quantum dots revealed robust, large-amplitude current oscillations in the presence of a static (dc) source-drain bias. Despite experimental evidence implicating dynamical nuclear polarization, the mechanism has remained a mystery. Here we introduce a minimal albeit realistic model of coupled electron and nuclear spin dynamics which supports self-sustained oscillations. Our mechanism relies on a nuclear spin analog of the tunneling magnetoresistance phenomenon (spin-dependent tunneling rates in the presence of an inhomogeneous Overhauser field) and nuclear spin diffusion, which governs dynamics of the spatial profile of nuclear polarization. The proposed framework naturally explains the differences in phenomenology between vertical and lateral quantum dot structures as well as the extremely long oscillation periods.
Physical Review Letters 02/2013; 110(8):086601. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We present a scheme for achieving coherent spin squeezing of nuclear spin states in semiconductor quantum dots. The nuclear polarization dependence of the electron spin resonance generates a unitary evolution that drives nuclear spins into a collective entangled state. The polarization dependence of the resonance generates an area-preserving, twisting dynamics that squeezes and stretches the nuclear spin Wigner distribution without the need for nuclear spin flips. Our estimates of squeezing times indicate that the entanglement threshold can be reached in current experiments.
Physical Review Letters 11/2011; 107(20):206806. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Entanglement generation and detection are two of the most sought-after goals
in the field of quantum control. Besides offering a means to probe some of the
most peculiar and fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics, entanglement in
many-body systems can be used as a tool to reduce fluctuations below the
standard quantum limit. For spins, or spin-like systems, such a reduction of
fluctuations can be realized with so-called squeezed states. Here we present a
scheme for achieving coherent spin squeezing of nuclear spin states in
few-electron quantum dots. This work represents a major shift from earlier
studies in quantum dots, which have explored classical "narrowing" of the
nuclear polarization distribution through feedback involving stochastic spin
flips. In contrast, we use the nuclear-polarization-dependence of the electron
spin resonance (ESR) to provide a non-linearity which generates a non-trivial,
area-preserving, "twisting" dynamics that squeezes and stretches the nuclear
spin Wigner distribution without the need for nuclear spin flips.
01/2011;
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ABSTRACT: Electrons trapped in quantum dots can exhibit quantum-coherent spin dynamics over long timescales. These timescales are limited by the coupling of electron spins to the disordered nuclear spin background, which is a major source of noise and dephasing in such systems. We propose a scheme for controlling and suppressing fluctuations of nuclear spin polarization in double quantum dots, which uses nuclear spin pumping in the spin-blockade regime. We show that nuclear spin polarization fluctuations can be suppressed when electronic levels in the two dots are properly positioned near resonance. The proposed mechanism is analogous to that of optical Doppler cooling. The Overhauser shift due to fluctuations of nuclear polarization brings electron levels in and out of resonance, creating internal feedback to suppress fluctuations. Estimates indicate that a better than 10-fold reduction of fluctuations is possible.
Nanotechnology 07/2010; 21(27):274016. · 3.98 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Topological phase transitions can occur in the dissipative dynamics of a quantum system when the ratio of matrix elements for competing transport channels is varied. Here we establish a relation between such behavior in a class of non-Hermitian quantum walk problems [M. S. Rudner and L. S. Levitov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 065703 (2009)] and nuclear spin pumping in double quantum dots, which is mediated by the decay of a spin-blockaded electron triplet state in the presence of spin-orbit and hyperfine interactions. The transition occurs when the strength of spin-orbit coupling exceeds the strength of the net hyperfine coupling, and results in the complete suppression of nuclear spin pumping. Below the transition point, nuclear pumping is accompanied by a strong reduction in current due to the presence of non-decaying "dark states" in this regime. Due to its topological character, the transition is expected to be robust against dephasing of the electronic degrees of freedom.
05/2010;
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ABSTRACT: Transport through spin-blockaded quantum dots provides a means for electrical
control and detection of nuclear spin dynamics in the host material. Although
such experiments have become increasingly popular in recent years,
interpretation of their results in terms of the underlying nuclear spin
dynamics remains challenging. Here we point out a fundamental process in which
nuclear spin dynamics can be driven by electron shot noise; fast electric
current fluctuations generate much slower nuclear polarization dynamics, which
in turn affect electron dynamics via the Overhauser field. The resulting
extremely slow intermittent current fluctuations account for a variety of
observed phenomena that were not previously understood.
01/2010;
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ABSTRACT: Spin-blockaded quantum dots provide a unique setting for studying nuclear-spin dynamics in a nanoscale system. Despite recent experimental progress, observing phase-sensitive phenomena in nuclear spin dynamics remains challenging. Here we point out that such a possibility opens up in the regime where hyperfine exchange directly competes with a purely electronic spin-flip mechanism such as the spin-orbital interaction. Interference between the two spin-flip processes, resulting from long-lived coherence of the nuclear-spin bath, modulates the electron-spin-flip rate, making it sensitive to the transverse component of nuclear polarization. In a system repeatedly swept through a singlet-triplet avoided crossing, nuclear precession is manifested in oscillations and sign reversal of the nuclear-spin pumping rate as a function of the waiting time between sweeps. This constitutes a purely electrical method for the detection of coherent nuclear-spin dynamics. Comment: Updated to match published version
08/2009;
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ABSTRACT: We analyze a quantum walk on a bipartite one-dimensional lattice, in which the particle can decay whenever it visits one of the two sublattices. The corresponding non-Hermitian tight-binding problem with a complex potential for the decaying sites exhibits two different phases, distinguished by a winding number defined in terms of the Bloch eigenstates in the Brillouin zone. We find that the mean displacement of a particle initially localized on one of the nondecaying sites can be expressed in terms of the winding number, and is therefore quantized as an integer, changing from zero to one at the critical point. We show that the topological transition is relevant for a variety of experimental settings. The quantized behavior can be used to distinguish coherent from incoherent dynamics.
Physical Review Letters 03/2009; 102(6):065703. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The interference between repeated Landau-Zener transitions in a qubit swept through an avoided level crossing results in Stückelberg oscillations in qubit magnetization, a hallmark of the coherent strongly driven regime in two-level systems. The two-dimensional Fourier transforms of the resulting oscillatory patterns are found to exhibit a family of one-dimensional curves in Fourier space, in agreement with recent observations in a superconducting qubit. We interpret these images in terms of time evolution of the quantum phase of the qubit state and show that they can be used to probe dephasing mechanisms.
Physical Review Letters 12/2008; 101(19):190502. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We propose a new mechanism for polarizing nuclear spins in quantum dots, based on periodic modulation of the hyperfine coupling by electric driving at the electron spin resonance frequency. Dynamical nuclear polarization results from resonant excitation rather than hyperfine relaxation mediated by a thermal bath, and thus is not subject to Overhauser-like detailed balance constraints. This allows polarization in the direction opposite to that expected from the Overhauser effect. Competition of the electrically driven and bath-assisted mechanisms can give rise to spatial modulation and sign reversal of polarization on a scale smaller than the electron confinement radius in the dot.
Physical Review Letters 01/2008; 99(24):246602. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The spin-blockade regime of double quantum dots features coupled dynamics of electron and nuclear spins resulting from the hyperfine interaction. We explain observed nuclear self-polarization via a mechanism based on feedback of the Overhauser shift on electron energy levels, and propose to use the instability toward self-polarization as a vehicle for controlling the nuclear spin distribution. In the dynamics induced by a properly chosen time-dependent magnetic field, nuclear spin fluctuations can be suppressed significantly below the thermal level.
Physical Review Letters 08/2007; 99(3):036602. · 7.37 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We propose to use the spin-blockade regime in double quantum dots to reduce nuclear spin polarization fluctuations in analogy with optical Doppler cooling. The Overhauser shift brings electron levels in and out of resonance, creating feedback to suppress fluctuations. Coupling to the disordered nuclear spin background is a major source of noise and dephasing in electron spin measurements in such systems. Estimates indicate that a better than 10-fold reduction of fluctuations is possible.
06/2007;
