School of Physical Sciences,

NISER 751007, INDIA

Colin Benjamin H +91-876-304-2340

T +91-674-2587319
u +91-674-2304070
Research Interests B [Link]@[Link]

My current research interests include quantum simulations[1], topological quantum

computation[2], studies on decoherence and entanglement[3] and quantum informa-
tion processing with graphene[4,5,6]. A recent work of mine has been featured in the
[Link] website [Link]
My recent research has encompassed diverse fields in the field of theoretical condensed
mater physics. The underlying link in all my works is quantum interference. These
effects are accentuated in mesoscopic systems, which lie inbetween the classical and
atomic scales. The distinguishing feature of these systems is that at extremely low
temperatures an electron retains its phase coherence throughout the sample. These
systems provide an opportunity to explore quantum effects beyond the atomic realm.
Some of my works which include especially a novel proposal of generating pure spin
currents[11,15], if experimentally realized, would substantially change the future of the
electronics industry. A topic wise break up of my past research is outlined below.
{ Quantum simulations- The power of a quantum computer can only be harnessed when
one can utilize them in tasks which are almost impossible on a classical computer.
One of them is quantum simulations. Simulations imply replicating the statics and
dynamics of another system exactly or almost exactly, such that the distinction be-
tween them disappers with the avowed purpose of understanding the other system
better. One such example is molecular collisions. Herein as the number of elements
in a reaction grow larger, classical simulation, i.e., simulation on classical computer
becomes increasingly anachronistic. However quantum simulations are not so. Infact
in our work[1] we show how a simple chemical reaction can be very effectively simu-
lated by a superconducting phase qubit based quantum computer in a relatively short
time with very good fidelity.
{ Toplogical quantum computation- Quantum computer as shown earlier are exteremly
powerful. However they have massive disadvantages too. They can only work for
relatively short periods of time and secondly errors during compuation are very difficult
to manage. To overcome these odds one takes recourse to topology as encoding qubits
in topological degrees of freedom will free the qubits fro environment and thus make
them immune to decoherence and errors. One of the most well known topological
degree of freedom is what is known as a Majorana fermions, a neutral quasi-particle
which is it’s own anti-particle. These are predicted to occur in some special systems

1/5
 but are very difficult to detect. We predict given their unique properties with respect
to Magnetic and electric field one can have situations where their detection is relatively
easy[3].
{ Time in quantum mechanics- Several methods have been proposed based on scattering
phase shifts and using different quantum clocks, where the time taken is clocked by
some external input or indirectly from the phase of the scattering amplitudes. In
our work we have proposed a new method of determining the time spent by a given
particle in a scattering region of interest[21,23].
{ Dephasing in mesoscopic systems- Dephasing is the process by which quantum-
mechanical interference is gradually destroyed. Inelastic scattering, i.e., scattering
of electrons with electrons , phonons or with other quasi particles leads to dephas-
ing. The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is one of the best examples for illustrating
and analyzing how quantum interference effects are affected by dephasing. We deal
with the problem of dephasing of AB oscillations using a simple model based on wave
attenuation[24]. We have worked on the Fano effect. Fano resonances arise when a
discrete set of states are coupled to the continuum. Especially Fano resonances are
caused by interference of two alternative paths, a resonant and a non-resonant one.
In close proximity to recent experimental results we find the transition from Fano to
Lorentzian line-shapes with increasing incoherence[16,17].
{ Persistent currents in Aharonov-Bohm interferometers- In the presence of transport
currents(non-equilibrium situation), circulating currents can flow in a ring even in
the absence of magnetic field [25]. Magnetic moments calculated via currents are
strongly dependent on the topological configuration while that evaluated through
the eigenenergy spectra are independent of any topological variations[22] with the
coupling between system-lead and the reservoir playing a non-trivial role[14].
{ Spintronics in the domain of quantum adiabatic transport- Pure spin current can be
generated using adiabatic quantum pumping. In this process, in absence of any net
bias, a dc current can be generated via adiabatically modulating two independent
parameters of a coherent system. We show how via adiabatic quantum pumping a
maganetic barrier system, which does not transport any spin current in presence of
a voltage bias, can produce a pure spin current. In another work we show how to
generate a pure spin current using the twin effects of crossed Andreev reflection and
adiabatic quantum pumping[11,15].
{ Detecting the order parameter of unconventional superconductors-The pairing sym-
metry of High Tc superconductors can be easily deciphered using the phenomena of
quantum pumping. On the other hand crossed Andreev reflection can be exploited
to unravel the pairing symmetry of Ferromagnetic superconductors[9,12].
{ Detecting a true quantum pump effect-Even though quantum pumping is a very
promising field, it has unfortunately not been unambiguously experimentally detected.

2/5
 The reason being that in the experiments the rectification effect overshadows the
pumped current. One can however exploit the fact that in some systems the pumped
and rectified current have exactly opposite properties enabling an effective distinction
between them[8].
{ Controllable π junction: We consider a model for a single molecule with a large frozen
spin sandwiched in between two BCS superconductors at equilibrium, and show that
this system has a π junction behavior at low temperature[8]. In a graphene based
Josephson junction, one can have a controllable π junction which further can be
exploited to fashion a qubit system[4].
{ Detecting entanglement in the solid state: Shot noise cross-correlations can be a
good indicator of entanglement for spin-singlet electronic sources. We link this fact
to detect entanglement in a non-adiabatic pure spin pump where decoherence is the
reason for entanglement[2], a superconductor normal metal hybrid junction where in-
terface strengths and interactions can play a non-trivial role[7] and finally in graphene
based superconducting junctions where a small gate voltage can change the sign of
cross-correlations[5,6].

1 Quantum simulations of Molecular collisions with superconducting qubits, E J

Pritchett, Colin Benjamin, A. Galiutdinov, M Geller, A Sornborger, P Stancil, J.
M. Martinis, arxiv:1008.0701.
2 Can dephasing generate non-local spin correlations? Colin Benjamin, Euro Physics
Letters (2011).
3 Detecting Majorana bound states, Colin Benjamin and Jiannis K. Pachos, Phys.
Rev. B 81, 085101 (2010).
4 π−junction qubit in monolayer graphene, Colin Benjamin and Jiannis K. Pachos,
arxiv:0808.1979.
5 Entangled states in graphene: Detection and use, Colin Benjamin, G. Creeth and
J. K. Pachos, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 129 012005 (2008).
6 Detecting entangled states in graphene via crossed Andreev reflection, Colin Ben-
jamin and Jiannis K. Pachos, Phys. Rev. B 78, 235403 (2008).
7 Positive noise cross-correlations in superconducting hybrids: Role of interfaces and
interactions, R. Melin, C. Benjamin and T. Martin, Phys. Rev. B 77, 094512
(2008).
8 Controllable π-junction in a Josephson quantum-dot device with molecular spin,
Colin Benjamin, T. Jonckheere, A. Zazunov and T. Martin, European Physical
Journal B 57, 279 (2007).

3/5
9 Crossed Andreev reflection as a probe for the pairing symmetry of Ferromagnetic-
Superconductors, Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. B (Rapid Communication) 74,
180503(R)(2006).
10 Detecting a true quantum pump effect, Colin Benjamin, European Physical Jour-
nal B 52, 403 (2006).
11 Non-local pure spin current injection via quantum pumping and crossed Andreev
reflection, Colin Benjamin and Roberta Citro, Phys. Rev. B 72, 085340 (2005).
12 Resolving the order parameter of high-Tc superconductors through quantum
pumping spectroscopy, Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. B 71, 174512 (2005).
13 Trends in mesoscopic transport, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Popular
review article, Science Letters 27 No. 5 & 6 page 177 (2004) (published by The
National Academy of Sciences, India).
14 Equilibrium currents in quantum double ring system: A non-trivial role of system-
reservoir coupling, Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Int. J. Mod. Phys B 18,
3343 (2004).
15 Quantum spin pumping with adiabatically modulated magnetic barriers, Ronald
Benjamin and Colin Benjamin, Phys. Rev. B 69, 085318 (2004).
16 Fano resonances in presence of dephasing and evanescent modes, Colin Benjamin
and A. M. Jayannavar, Indian J. Physics 77A(6), 565-569 (2003).
17 A comparative study of some models of incoherence at the mesoscopic scale,
Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 17, 4733 (2003).
18 Features in evanescent Aharonov-Bohm interferometry, Colin Benjamin and A.
M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 68, 085325 (2003).
19 Quantum current enhancement effects in hybrid rings at equilibrium, Colin Ben-
jamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Indian J. Physics. 77A(2), 119-123 (2003).
20 Survival of Φ0 /2 periodicity in presence of incoherence in asymmetric AharonovBohm
rings, C. Benjamin, S. Bandopadhyay and A. M. Jayannavar, Solid State Commun.
124, 331 (2002).
21 Wave attenuation model for dephasing and measurement of conditional times, A.
M. Jayannavar and Colin Benjamin, Pramana J. Phys. 59, 385 (2002).
22 Study of quantum current enhancement, eigenenergy spectra and magnetic mo-
ments in a multiply connected system at equilibrium, Colin Benjamin and A. M.
Jayannavar, Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 16, 1787 (2002).

4/5
23 Wave attenuation to clock sojourn times, C. Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar,
Solid State Commun. 121, 591 (2002).
24 Dephasing via stochastic absorption: A case study in Aharonov-Bohm oscillations,
Colin Benjamin and A. M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 65, 153309 (2002).
25 Current magnification effect in mesoscopic systems at equilibrium, Colin Benjamin
and A. M. Jayannavar, Phys. Rev. B 64, 233406 (2001).
26 Role of quantum entanglement due to a magnetic impurity on current magnifi-
cation effect in mesoscopic open rings, Colin Benjamin, Sandeep K. Joshi, Deben-
dranath Sahoo and A. M. Jayannavar, Mod. Phys. Lett B 15, 19 (2001).

5/5