Quantum Institute: Visitor Schedule

The Quantum Lunch is regularly held on Thursdays in the Theoretical Division Conference Room, TA-3, Building 123, Room 121.
For more information, contact Diego Dalvit.
To add your name to the Quantum Lunch email list, contact Charlotte Lehman

Thursday, April 22, 2010
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Speaker: Marek Rams (Jagiellonian University)

Technical Host: Bogdan Damski

TOPIC: Dynamics of an inhomogeneous quantum phase transition

Abstract
I will discuss a second order quantum phase transition driven by an inhomogeneous quench. I will argue that the density of quasiparticle excitations resulting from passing the critical point is suppressed when velocity at which a critical point propagates across a system falls below a threshold velocity equal to the Kibble-Zurek correlation length times the energy gap at freeze-out divided by hbar. This general prediction will be supported by an analytic solution in the quantum Ising chain. Our results suggest, in particular, that adiabatic quantum computers can be made more adiabatic when operated in an “inhomogeneous” way.