Revivals in Quantum Walks with quasi-periodically time-dependent coin

TL;DR

This paper explains experimental revivals in quantum walks with quasi-periodically time-dependent coins by extending spectral analysis methods from electric walks, revealing propagation behaviors similar to electric cases.

Contribution

It extends spectral analysis techniques to quasi-periodic time-dependent quantum walks, providing a comprehensive explanation of observed revivals.

Findings

Revivals in quantum walks are explained by quasi-periodic coin dynamics.

Qualitative propagation behavior resembles electric walk cases.

Spectral analysis offers insights despite limitations in time-dependent systems.

Abstract

We provide an explanation of recent experimental results of Xue et al., where full revivals in a time-dependent quantum walk model with a periodically changing coin are found. Using methods originally developed for "electric" walks with a space-dependent, rather than a time-dependent coin, we provide a full explanation of the observations of Xue et al. We extend the analysis from periodic time-dependence to quasi-periodic behaviour with periods incommensurate to the step size. Spectral analysis, one of the principal tools for the study of electric walks, fails for time-dependent systems, but we find qualitative propagation behaviour of the time-dependent system in close analogy to the electric case.