Enhancing delocalization and entanglement in asymmetric discrete-time quantum walks

TL;DR

This paper explores how asymmetries in coin operations, initial states, and losses can enhance delocalization and entanglement in discrete-time quantum walks, with experimental validation showing improved robustness and localization control.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive study of asymmetry effects on quantum walk delocalization and entanglement, including experimental implementation and analysis of robustness against losses.

Findings

Asymmetric initial states enhance entanglement and delocalization.

Polarization-dependent loss affects photon distribution and localization.

Certain parameters improve robustness of entanglement against losses.

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the enhancement of delocalization and coin-position entanglement in asymmetric discrete-time quantum walks (DTQWs). The asymmetry results from asymmetric coin operations, asymmetric initial states, and asymmetric polarization-dependent losses. By varying these asymmetry factors, the inverse participation ratio and entanglement entropy of the walker are numerically calculated for different coin and loss parameters, both for symmetric and asymmetric initial states. We then experimentally implement a 16-step asymmetric DTQW using a time-multiplexing fiber loop structure. By choosing an asymmetric initial state, both coin-position entanglement and delocalization are simultaneously enhanced under specific coin parameters. Moreover, we observe that with finite asymmetric polarization-dependent loss, the photon probability on the left side decreases significantly, while that on the right side increases and becomes more localized. Interestingly, under specific coin parameters, the entanglement and delocalization exhibit improved robustness against polarization-dependent loss. These results demonstrate that the DTQWs constitute an ideal platform for investigating photonic delocalization and hybrid entanglement.