Dynamical localization in 2D topological quantum random walks

Abstract: We study the dynamical localization of discrete time evolution of topological split-step quantum random walk (QRW) on a single-site defect starting from a uniform distribution. Using analytical and numerical calculations, we determine the high localization probability regions in the parameter space of the quantum walker. These regions contain two or more pairs of trapped states, forming near a lattice defect. By investigating the spectral properties of the discrete-time evolution operators, we show that these trapped states have large overlap with the initial uniformly distributed state, thus offering a simple interpretation of the localization effect. As this localization scheme could be interpreted as a variation of spatial quantum search algorithm, we compare the localization probability and time with other types of two-dimensional quantum walks that do not have topological phases and realize localization time scaling similar to Grover's algorithm. Finally we show that mechanism of localization we identified is robust against the influence of disorder.