Exponentially decaying velocity bounds of quantum walks in periodic fields

Abstract: We consider a class of discrete-time one-dimensional quantum walks, associated with CMV unitary matrices, in the presence of a local field. This class is parametrized by a transmission parameter $t\in[0,1]$. We show that for a certain range for $t$, the corresponding asymptotic velocity can be made arbitrarily small by introducing a periodic local field with a sufficiently large period. In particular, we prove an upper bound for the velocity of the $n$-periodic quantum walk that is decaying exponentially in the period length $n$. Hence, localization-like effects are observed even after a long number of quantum walk steps when $n$ is large.