Operator-sum models of quantum decoherence in molecular quantum-dot cellular automata
Jackson S. Ramsey, Enrique Pacis Blair · Journal of Applied Physics · 2017
Quantum-dot cellular automata is a paradigm for classical computing which departs from the transistor paradigm and provides a system in which quantum phenomena may be studied. Here, the elementary computing device is a cell, a structure having multiple quantum dots and a few mobile charges. A specific operator-sum representation is developed for an exactly modeled double-dot, molecular cell within an environment of N similar neighboring molecules. While an operator-sum representation is not unique, a specific model can be determined by selecting a particular environmental basis. We select the environment's computational basis and calculate the specific and full set of 2N Kraus operators, which match exactly previous models of quantum decoherence in this system. Finally, the timescale for environmental interaction is characterized, enabling the reduction of the large set of Kraus operators to an approximate pair of Kraus operators, exact in the limit of large N.