Quantum simulation of topologically protected states using directionally unbiased linear-optical multiports

David S. Simon, Casey A. Fitzpatrick, Shuto Osawa, and Alexander V. Sergienko

Phys. Rev. A 96, 013858 – Published 31 July 2017

Abstract

It is shown that quantum walks on one-dimensional arrays of special linear-optical units allow the simulation of discrete-time Hamiltonian systems with distinct topological phases. In particular, a slightly modified version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) system can be simulated, which exhibits states of nonzero winding number and has topologically protected boundary states. In the large-system limit this approach uses quadratically fewer resources to carry out quantum simulations than previous linear-optical approaches and can be readily generalized to higher-dimensional systems. The basic optical units that implement this simulation consist of combinations of optical multiports that allow photons to reverse direction.

Received 26 May 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.96.013858

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Quantum networks Quantum optics Quantum simulation

Quantum Information, Science & TechnologyAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

David S. Simon^1,2,*, Casey A. Fitzpatrick^2,†, Shuto Osawa^2,‡, and Alexander V. Sergienko^2,3,§

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, Stonehill College, 320 Washington Street, Easton, Massachusetts 02357, USA
²Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering & Photonics Center, Boston University, 8 Saint Mary's Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
³Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

^*simond@bu.edu
^†cfitz@bu.edu
^‡sosawa@bu.edu
^§alexserg@bu.edu

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Vol. 96, Iss. 1 — July 2017

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