Multipartite entanglement encoded in the photon-number basis by sequential excitation of a three-level system.

We propose a general scheme to generate entanglement encoded in the photon-number basis, via a sequential resonant two-photon excitation of a three-level system. We apply it to the specific case of a quantum dot three-level system, which can emit a photon pair through a biexciton-exciton cascade. The state generated in our scheme constitutes a tool for secure communication, as the multipartite correlations present in the produced state may provide an enhanced rate of secret communication with respect to a perfect GHZ state.

Generation of Maximally Entangled Long-Lived States with Giant Atoms in a Waveguide.

In this Letter, we show how to efficiently generate entanglement between two artificial giant atoms with photon-mediated interactions in a waveguide. Taking advantage of the adjustable decay processes of giant atoms into the waveguide and of the interference processes, spontaneous sudden birth of entanglement can be strongly enhanced with giant atoms. Highly entangled states can also be generated in the steady-state regime when the system is driven by a resonant classical field. We show that the statistics of the light emitted by the system can be used as a witness of the presence of entanglement in the system, since giant photon bunching is observed close to the regime of maximal entanglement. Given the degree of quantum correlations incoherently generated in this system, our results open a broad avenue for the generation of quantum correlations and manipulation of photon statistics in systems of giant atoms.

Localization effects in disordered quantum batteries.

We investigate the effect of localization on the local charging of quantum batteries (QBs) modeled by disordered spin systems. Two distinct schemes based on the transverse-field random Ising model are considered, with Ising couplings defined on a Chimera graph and on a linear chain with up to next-to-nearest-neighbor interactions. By adopting a low-energy demanding charging process driven by local fields only, we obtain that the maximum extractable energy by unitary processes (ergotropy) is highly enhanced in the ergodic phase in comparison with the many-body localization (MBL) scenario. As we turn off the next-to-nearest-neighbor interactions in the Ising chain, we have the onset of the Anderson localization phase. We then show that the Anderson phase exhibits a hybrid behavior, interpolating between large and small ergotropy as the disorder strength is increased. We also consider the splitting of total ergotropy into its coherent and incoherent contributions. This incoherent part implies in a residual ergotropy that is fully robust against dephasing, which is a typical process leading to the self-discharging of the battery in a real setup. Our results are experimentally feasible in scalable systems, such as in superconducting integrated circuits.

Quantum Wheatstone Bridge.

We propose a quantum Wheatstone bridge as a fully quantum analog to the classical version. The bridge is a few-body boundary-driven spin chain exploiting quantum effects to gain an enhanced sensitivity to an unknown coupling. The sensitivity is explained by a drop in population of an entangled Bell state due to destructive interference as the controllable coupling approaches the unknown coupling. A simple criterion for the destructive interference is found, and an approximate expression for the width of the drop is derived. The sensitivity to the unknown coupling is quantified using the quantum Fisher information, and we show that the state of the bridge can be measured indirectly through the spin current. Our results are robust toward calibration errors and generic in the sense that several of the current state-of-the-art quantum platforms could be used as a means of realization. The quantum Wheatstone bridge may thus find use in fields such as sensing and metrology using near-term quantum devices.

Enhancing self-discharging process with disordered quantum batteries.

One of the most important devices emerging from quantum technology are quantum batteries. However, self-discharging, the process of charge wasting of quantum batteries due to decoherence phenomenon, limits their performance, measured by the concept of ergotropy and half-life time of the quantum battery. The effects of local field fluctuation, introduced by the disorder term in the Hamiltonian of the system, on the performance of the quantum batteries is investigated in this paper. The results reveal that the disorder term could compensate disruptive effects of the decoherence, i.e., self-discharging, and hence improve the performance of the quantum battery via "incoherent gain of ergotropy" procedure. Adjusting the strength of the disorder parameter to a proper value and choosing a suitable initial state of the quantum battery, the amount of free ergotropy, defined with respect to the free Hamiltonian, could exceed the amount of initial stored ergotropy. In addition harnessing the degree of the disorder parameter could help to enhance the half-life time of the quantum battery. This study opens perspective to further investigation of the performance of quantum batteries that explore disorder and many-body effects.

Exergy of passive states: Waste energy after ergotropy extraction.

Work extraction protocol is always a significant issue in the context of quantum batteries, in which the notion of ergotropy is used to quantify a particular amount of energy that can be extracted through unitary processes. Given the total amount of energy stored in a quantum system, quantifying wasted energy after the ergotropy extraction is a question to be considered when undesired coupling with thermal reservoirs is taken into account. In this paper, we show that some amount of energy can be lost when we extract ergotropy from a quantum system and quantified by the exergy of passive states. Through a particular example, one shows that ergotropy extraction can be done by preserving the quantum correlations of a quantum system. Our study opens the perspective for new advances in open system quantum batteries able to explore exergy stored as quantum correlations.

Quantum advantage of two-level batteries in the self-discharging process.

Devices that use quantum advantages for storing energy in the degree of freedom of quantum systems have drawn attention due to their properties of working as quantum batteries (QBs). However, one can identify a number of problems that need to be adequately solved before the start of a real manufacturing process of these devices. In particular, it is important to pay attention to the ability of quantum batteries in storing energy when no consumption center is connected to them. In this paper, by considering quantum batteries disconnected from external charging fields and consumption center, we study the dissipative effects that lead to charge leakage to the surrounding environment. We identify this phenomena as a self-discharging of QBs, in analogy to the inherent decay of the stored charge of conventional classical batteries in a open-circuit configuration. The performance of QBs compared to the classical counterpart is highlighted for single- and multicell quantum batteries.

Entanglement, coherence, and charging process of quantum batteries.

Quantum devices are systems that can explore quantum phenomena, such as entanglement or coherence, for example, to provide some enhancement performance concerning their classical counterparts. In particular, quantum batteries are devices that use entanglement as the main element in their high performance in powerful charging. In this paper, we explore quantum battery performance and its relationship with the amount of entanglement that arises during the charging process. By using a general approach to a two- and three-cell battery, our results suggest that entanglement is not the main resource in quantum batteries, where there is a nontrivial correlation-coherence tradeoff as a resource for the high efficiency of such quantum devices.

Stable and charge-switchable quantum batteries.

A fully operational loss-free quantum battery requires an inherent control over the energy transfer process, with the ability of keeping the energy retained with no leakage. Moreover, it also requires a stable discharge mechanism, which entails that no energy revivals occur as the device starts its energy distribution. Here we provide a scalable solution for both requirements. To this aim, we propose a general design for a quantum battery based on an energy current (EC) observable quantifying the energy transfer rate to a consumption hub. More specifically, we introduce an instantaneous EC operator describing the energy transfer process driven by an arbitrary interaction Hamiltonian. The EC observable is shown to be the root for two main applications: (1) a trapping energy mechanism based on a common eigenstate between the EC operator and the interaction Hamiltonian, in which the battery can indefinitely retain its energy even if it is coupled to the consumption hub, and (2) an asymptotically stable discharge mechanism, which is achieved through an adiabatic evolution eventually yielding vanishing EC. These two independent but complementary applications are illustrated in quantum spin chains, where the trapping energy control is realized through Bell pairwise entanglement and the stability arises as a general consequence of the adiabatic spin dynamics.

Stable adiabatic quantum batteries.

With the advent of quantum technologies comes the requirement of building quantum components able to store energy to be used whenever necessary, i.e., quantum batteries. In this paper we exploit an adiabatic protocol to ensure a stable charged state of a three-level quantum battery which allows one to avoid the spontaneous discharging regime. We study the effects of the most relevant sources of noise on the charging process, and, as an experimental proposal, we discuss superconducting transmon qubits. In addition we study the self-discharging of our quantum battery where it is shown that spectrum engineering can be used to delay such phenomena.

Validation of quantum adiabaticity through non-inertial frames and its trapped-ion realization.

Validity conditions for the adiabatic approximation are useful tools to understand and predict the quantum dynamics. Remarkably, the resonance phenomenon in oscillating quantum systems has challenged the adiabatic theorem. In this scenario, inconsistencies in the application of quantitative adiabatic conditions have led to a sequence of new approaches for adiabaticity. Here, by adopting a different strategy, we introduce a validation mechanism for the adiabatic approximation by driving the quantum system to a non-inertial reference frame. More specifically, we begin by considering several relevant adiabatic approximation conditions previously derived and show that all of them fail by introducing a suitable oscillating Hamiltonian for a single quantum bit (qubit). Then, by evaluating the adiabatic condition in a rotated non-inertial frame, we show that all of these conditions, including the standard adiabatic condition, can correctly describe the adiabatic dynamics in the original frame, either far from resonance or at a resonant point. Moreover, we prove that this validation mechanism can be extended for general multi-particle quantum systems, establishing the conditions for the equivalence of the adiabatic behavior as described in inertial or non-inertial frames. In order to experimentally investigate our method, we consider a hyperfine qubit through a single trapped Ytterbium ion 171Yb+, where the ion hyperfine energy levels are used as degrees of freedom of a two-level system. By monitoring the quantum evolution, we explicitly show the consistency of the adiabatic conditions in the non-inertial frame.

Shortening time scale to reduce thermal effects in quantum transistors.

In this article, we present a quantum transistor model based on a network of coupled quantum oscillators destined to quantum information processing tasks in linear optics. To this end, we show in an analytical way how a set of N quantum oscillators (data-bus) can be used as an optical quantum switch, in which the energy gap of the data bus oscillators plays the role of an adjustable "potential barrier". This enables us to "block or allow" the quantum information to flow from the source to the drain. In addition, we discuss how this device can be useful for implementing single qubit phase-shift quantum gates with high fidelity, so that it can be used as a useful tool. To conclude, during the study of the performance of our device when considering the interaction of this with a thermal reservoir, we highlight the important role played by the set of oscillators which constitute the data-bus in reducing the unwanted effects of the thermal reservoir. This is achieved by reducing the information exchange time (shortening time scale) between the desired oscillators. In particular, we have identified a non-trivial criterion in which the ideal size of the data-bus can be obtained so that it presents the best possible performance. We believe that our study can be perfectly adapted to a large number of thermal reservoir models.

Experimental implementation of generalized transitionless quantum driving.

It is known that high intensity fields are usually required to implement shortcuts to adiabaticity via transitionless quantum driving (TQD). Here, we show that this requirement can be relaxed by exploiting the gauge freedom of generalized TQD, which is expressed in terms of an arbitrary phase when mimicking the adiabatic evolution. We experimentally investigate the performance of generalized TQD in comparison to both traditional TQD and adiabatic dynamics. By using a Yb+171 trapped ion hyperfine qubit, we implement a Landau-Zener adiabatic Hamiltonian and its (traditional and generalized) TQD counterparts. We show that the generalized theory provides energy-optimal Hamiltonians for TQD, with no additional fields required. In addition, the optimal TQD Hamiltonian for the Landau-Zener model is investigated under dephasing. Even using less intense fields, optimal TQD exhibits fidelities that are more robust against a decohering environment, with performance superior to that provided by the adiabatic dynamics.

Superadiabatic Controlled Evolutions and Universal Quantum Computation.

Adiabatic state engineering is a powerful technique in quantum information and quantum control. However, its performance is limited by the adiabatic theorem of quantum mechanics. In this scenario, shortcuts to adiabaticity, such as provided by the superadiabatic theory, constitute a valuable tool to speed up the adiabatic quantum behavior. Here, we propose a superadiabatic route to implement universal quantum computation. Our method is based on the realization of piecewise controlled superadiabatic evolutions. Remarkably, they can be obtained by simple time-independent counter-diabatic Hamiltonians. In particular, we discuss the implementation of fast rotation gates and arbitrary n-qubit controlled gates, which can be used to design different sets of universal quantum gates. Concerning the energy cost of the superadiabatic implementation, we show that it is dictated by the quantum speed limit, providing an upper bound for the corresponding adiabatic counterparts.

A low approach to interscalene brachial plexus block results in more distal spread of sensory-motor coverage compared to the conventional approach.

A low approach to the interscalene block (LISB) deposits local anesthetic farther caudad on the brachial plexus compared with the conventional interscalene block (ISB). We compared the efficacy of LISB and ISB in achieving anesthesia of the distal extremity in 254 patients having upper extremity surgery. The most frequent elicited motor response was the deltoid for ISB and wrist for LISB. There was significantly greater sensory-motor block of regions below the elbow with the LISB compared with ISB (P < 0.001 for both sensory and motor coverage). Our data indicate that LISB results in a higher incidence of distal elicited motor response and greater sensory-motor blockage of the wrist and hand.

Paravertebral blocks provide superior same-day recovery over general anesthesia for patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair.

Inguinal herniorrhaphy is commonly performed on an outpatient basis under nerve blocks or local or general anesthesia (GA). Our hypothesis is that use of paravertebral blocks (PVB) as the sole anesthetic technique will result in shorter time to achieve home readiness and improved same-day recovery over a 'fast-track' GA. Fifty patients were randomly assigned to receive either PVB or GA under standardized protocols (PVB = 0.75% ropivacaine, followed by propofol sedation; GA = dolasetron 12.5 mg, propofol induction, rocuronium, endotracheal intubation; desflurane; bupivacaine 0.25% for field block). Eligibility for postanesthetic care unit (PACU) bypass and data on time-to-postoperative pain, ambulation, home readiness, and incidence of adverse events were collected. More patients in the PVB group (71%) met the criteria to bypass the postanesthetic care unit compared with patients in the GA group (8%; P < 0.001). Only 3 (13%) of patients in the PVB group requested treatment for pain while in the hospital, compared with 12 (50%) patients in the GA group, despite infiltration with local anesthetic (P = 0.005). Patients in the PVB group were able to ambulate earlier (102 +/- 55 minutes) than those in the GA group (213 +/- 108 minutes; P < 0.001). Time-to-home readiness and discharge times were shorter for patients in the PVB group (156 +/- 60 and 253 +/- 37 minutes) compared with those in the GA group (203 +/- 91 and 218 +/- 93 minutes) (P < 0.001). Adverse events (e.g., nausea, vomiting, sore throat) and pain requiring treatment in the first 24 hours occurred less frequently in patients who had received PVB than in those who had received GA. In outpatients undergoing inguinal herniorrhaphy, PVB resulted in faster time to home readiness and was associated with fewer adverse events and better analgesia before discharge than GA.

Post-cesarean delivery analgesia.

Post-cesarean delivery pain relief is important. Good pain relief will improve mobility and can reduce the risk of thromboembolic disease, which is increased during pregnancy. Pain may also impair the mother's ability to optimally care for her infant in the immediate postpartum period and may adversely affect early interactions between mother and infant. Pain and anxiety may also reduce the ability of a mother to breast-feed effectively. It is necessary that pain relief be safe and effective, that it not interfere with the mother's ability to move around and care for her infant, and that it result in no adverse neonatal effects in breast-feeding women. The most commonly used modalities are systemic administration of opioids, either by intramuscular injection or i.v. by patient-controlled analgesia, and neuraxial injection of opioid as part of a regional anesthetic for cesarean delivery. These techniques have specific advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed in this review. In addition, there are new drug applications of potential benefit for the treatment of post-cesarean delivery pain.

Neurologic complication after anterior sciatic nerve block.

The lack of reported complications related to lower extremity peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) may be related to the relatively infrequent application of these techniques and to the fact that most such events go unpublished. Our current understanding of the factors that lead to neurologic complications after PNBs is limited. This is partly the result of our inability to conduct meaningful retrospective studies because of a lack of standard and objective monitoring and documentation procedures for PNBs. We report a case of permanent injury to the sciatic nerve after sciatic nerve block through the anterior approach and discuss mechanisms that may have led to the injury. Intraneural injection and nerve injury can occur in the absence of pain on injection and it may be heralded by high injection pressure (resistance).