"Stirring by staring: Induced non-equilibrium states by measurements in quantum systems"Israel Klich , University of Virginia - Department of Physics [Host: Despina Louca]
ABSTRACT:
In quantum mechanics, the role of an observer is fundamentally different from that of a classical observer. The quantum mechanical observer necessarily plays an active role in the dynamics of the system that it is observing. This apparent difficulty may be turned into a tool to drive an initially trivial system into a complicated quantum many-body state simply by observing it. I will present two remarkable examples of states induced by measurement. In the first, we examine the role of a moving density measuring device interacting with a system of fermions, and in particular, show that it would leave behind a wake of purely quantum origin. In the second example, inspired by the recent invention of topological Floquet insulators, we will see how a suitably chosen set of density measurements, repeated periodically, will induce robust chiral edge motion on a lattice of free fermions. Our examples show how quantum mechanical observation can be added as a versatile tool to the arsenal of quantum engineering in condensed matter systems. VIDEO:
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Colloquium Friday, September 10, 2021 3:30 PM Physics Building, Room 204 Note special room.
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