Anderson localisation in spin chains for perfect state transfer

Anderson localisation is an important phenomenon arising in many areas of physics, and here we explore it in the context of quantum information devices. Finite dimensional spin chains have been demonstrated to be important devices for quantum information transport, and in particular can be engineered to allow for “perfect state transfer” (PST). Here we present extensive investigations of disordered PST spin chains, demonstrating spatial localisation and transport retardation effects, and relate these effects to conventional Anderson localisation. We provide thresholds for Anderson localisation in these finite quantum information systems for both the spatial and the transport domains. Finally, we consider the effect of disorder on the eigenstates and energy spectrum of our Hamiltonian, where results support our conclusions on the presence of Anderson localisation. Graphical abstract