The quantum transverse-field Ising chain in circuit quantum electrodynamics: effects of disorder on the nonequilibrium dynamics

Abstract

We study several dynamical properties of a recently proposed implementation of the quantum transverse-field Ising chain in the framework of circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). Particular emphasis is placed on the effects of disorder on the nonequilibrium behavior of the system. We show that small amounts of fabrication-induced disorder in the system parameters do not jeopardize the observation of previously predicted phenomena. Based on a numerical extraction of the mean free path of a wave packet in the system, we also provide a simple quantitative estimate for certain disorder effects on the nonequilibrium dynamics of the circuit QED quantum simulator. We discuss the transition from weak to strong disorder, characterized by the onset of Anderson localization of the system's wave functions, and the qualitatively different dynamics it leads to.