Exact solution of a family of staggered Heisenberg chains with conclusive pretty good quantum state transfer

Abstract

We construct the exact solution for a family of one-half spin chains explicitly. The spin chains Hamiltonian corresponds to an isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian, with staggered exchange couplings (ECs) that take only two different values. We work out the exact solutions in the one-excitation subspace. Regarding the problem of quantum state transfer, we use the solution and some theorems concerning the approximation of irrational numbers, to show the appearance of conclusive pretty good transmission for chains with particular lengths. We present numerical evidence that pretty good transmission is achieved by chains whose length is not a power of two. The set of spin chains that shows pretty good transmission is a subset of the family with an exact solution. Using perturbation theory, we thoroughly analyze the case when one of the EC strengths is orders of magnitude larger than the other. This strong coupling limit (SCL) allows us to study, in a simple way, the appearance of pretty good transmission. The use of analytical closed expressions for the eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and transmission probabilities allows us to obtain the precise asymptotic behavior of the time where the pretty good transmission is observed. Moreover, we show that this time scales as a power law whose exponent is an increasing function of the chain length. We also discuss the crossover behavior obtained for the pretty good transmission time between the regimes of SCL and the one observed when the ECs are of the same order of magnitude.