Department of Physics
Condensed Matter Seminar

The idea of Quantum Annealing, alias Adiabatic Quantum Computation, is doing optimization by an adiabatic evolution which tracks the ground state of a suitable time-dependent quantum Hamiltonian, where quantum fluctuation are slowly switched off. I will begin by illustrating and reviewing some applications of Quantum Annealing strategies, starting from textbook toy-models. I will then move to presenting more recent work where the adiabatic dynamics of a quantum Ising chain across its quantum critical point has been studied to understand the effects produced on the coherent quantum dynamics by temperature [1], through a coupling to a thermal bath of quantum oscillators, or by quenched disorder [2]. [1] D. Patane', A. Silva, L. Amico, R. Fazio, and G.E. Santoro, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 175701 (2008). [2] T. Caneva, R. Fazio, and G.E. Santoro, Phys. Rev. B 76, 144427 (2007).