Detail Cantuman

H a r n e s s i n g s y m m e t r y t o c o n t ro l q u a n t u m t r a n s p o r t
D. Manzano∗ and P.I. Hurtado
Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Física de la Materia, and Institute Carlos I for Theoretical and
Computational Physics, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
(Received 24 August 2017; accepted 31 August 2018)
Controlling transport in quantum systems holds the key to many promising quantum technologies. Here we review the power of symmetry as a resource to manipulate quantum transport and
apply these ideas to engineer novel quantum devices. Using tools from open quantum systems
and large deviation theory, we show that symmetry-mediated control of transport is enabled by
a pair of twin dynamic phase transitions in current statistics, accompanied by a coexistence of
different transport channels. By playing with the symmetry decomposition of the initial state,
one can modulate the importance of the different transport channels and hence control the
flowing current. Motivated by the problem of energy harvesting, we illustrate these ideas in
open quantum networks, an analysis that leads to the design of a symmetry-controlled quantum
thermal switch. We review an experimental setup recently proposed for symmetry-mediated
quantum control in the lab based on a linear array of atom-doped optical cavities, and the possibility of using transport as a probe to uncover hidden symmetries, as recently demonstrated
in molecular junctions, is also discussed. Other symmetry-mediated control mechanisms are
also described. Overall, these results demonstrate the importance of symmetry not only as an
organizing principle in physics but also as a tool to control quantum systems.
PACS: 5.60.Gg; 03.65.Yz; 44.10. + i.
Keywords: quantum transport; nonequilibrium statistical physics; symmetries; quantum control; Lindblad; master equation; large deviations; fluctuations theorems; quantum thermal
switch