- When: Jan, 28th 2026, 9:15am-12:30pm
- Where: Aula C, Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano (MI)
- Zoom: https://fisica-unimi.zoom.us/j/97333590111?pwd=0AZNggF7X4aTt9vaKGBkxJmHHkNL6R.1
- Venue: to get to the Physics department follow the directions here (https://maps.app.goo.gl/9KHVsUnTMiMPiDaY6). Once to the gate enter the double-doors in front of you and the turn left. Aula C is the last door to your left at the very end of the corridor (left to the window).
- Contact: Dario Tamascelli (dario.tamascelli@unimi.it)
Programme
9:15 am: Welcome
9:30 am: Stephen R. Clark, University of Bristol, UK
Non-Markovian Quantum Mpemba effect
10:15 am: Alex W. Chin, Sorbonne Université & CNRS, France
Simulating Ultrafast Quantum Dynamics in Molecular Excited States with MPSDynamics
11:00 am: Coffee break
11:30 am: Mauro Paternostro, Università degli Studi di Palermo
Enhancing quantum information processing with neouromorphic approaches to data processing
12:15 pm: Closure
Book of Abstracts
Speaker: Dr. Alex W. Chin, Sorbonne Université & CNRS, France
Title: Simulating Ultrafast Quantum Dynamics in Molecular Excited States with MPSDynamics
Abstract: The non-perturbative and non-Markovian dynamics of open quantum systems are highly challenging to simulate, due to the extensive quantum correlations that appear in both time and space between the observable systems and their environments. However, understanding and exploiting these rich – and often cooperative – physics could provide novel ways to optimise dissipative processes, particularly in the intrinsically ‘open’ conditions related to energy harvesting and transduction. In this talk I will present a numerically exact approach to such problems based on the Time-Evolving Density with Orthogonal Polynomials (TEDOPA) technique, as it is currently implemented in the open source code MPSDynamics.jl [1,2]. Through a series of examples covering photosynthetic light-harvesting, organic photovoltaic materials and molecular photphysics, I’ll demonstrate how this approach provides direct insights into the microscopic, multi-scale interplay of dissipative processes that drive advanced functionalities in such systems, and suggest how these tools and emerging concepts could be exploited in designing future quantum devices.
[1] MPSDynamics.jl: Tensor network simulations for finite-temperature (non-Markovian) open quantum system dynamics. Thibaut Lacroix, Brieuc Le Dé, Angela Riva, Angus J. Dunnett, Alex W. Chin
J. Chem. Phys. 161, 084116 (2024)
[2] https://github.com/shareloqs/MPSDynamics.jl
Speaker: Stephen R. Clark, University of Bristol
Title: Non-Markovian Quantum Mpemba effect
Abstract: The Mpemba effect is an umbrella term given to relaxation processes where a hot system cools faster than a cooler one. While commented on already by Galileo it was rediscovered by a high school student Erasto Mpemba in the twentieth century experimenting with cooling ice cream. Since then, it has been extensively studied in classical systems and has recently received significant attention in quantum systems. Many theories explaining this counter-intuitive behaviour in classical systems rely on memory effects. However, in quantum systems, the relation between the Mpemba effect and memory has remained unexplored. In this talk I will describe our recent work [1] which considers a general non-Markovian open quantum setting and reveal new classes of quantum Mpemba effects, with no analog in Markovian quantum dynamics. Generically, open quantum dynamics possess a finite memory time and a unique steady state. Due to non-Markovian dynamics, I will show that even if the reduced state of a system is initialized in a thermal state it can take a long time to relax back to this state when it is suddenly coupled to a bath at the same temperature. Instead we find other non-thermal initial states that reach the steady state much faster. Most notably, we demonstrate that there can be an initial state in which the system reaches the steady state within the finite memory time itself, therefore giving the fastest possible relaxation to stationarity. We verify the effect for quantum dot systems coupled to electronic reservoirs in equilibrium and non-equilibrium setups at weak, intermediate and strong coupling, and both with and without electronic interactions.
[1] D.J. Strachan, A. Purkayastha and S.R. Clark, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 220403 (2025).
Speaker: Mauro Paternostro, Università degli Studi di Palermo
Title: Enhancing quantum information processing with neouromorphic approaches to data processing
Abstract: Recent advances in machine learning (ML) enable resource-efficient quantum state characterization by embedding ML tools into experimental platforms. I will discuss a photonic quantum extreme learning machine (QELM) that leverages high-dimensional orbital angular momentum and a coined quantum walk to accurately and robustly characterize the state of a qubit system without requiring delicate calibration or detailed knowledge of the measurement apparatus. This approach inherently tolerates experimental imperfections and does not rely on prior assumptions. I will then show how this method facilitates the entanglement estimation and quantum feature detection through single-setting, informationally complete measurements that adapt automatically to noise. By overcoming interpretability and overfitting issues of conventional ML techniques, such QELM approach provides a promising, resource-efficient pathway for quantum property validation in complex experimental settings.