Quantum simulation of classical thermal states

We establish a connection between ground states of local quantum Hamiltonians and thermal states of classical spin systems. For any discrete classical statistical mechanical model in any spatial dimension, we find an associated quantum state such that the reduced density operator behaves as the thermal state of the classical system. We show that all these quantum states are unique ground states of a universal 5-body local quantum Hamiltonian acting on a (polynomially enlarged) qubit system on a 2D lattice. The only free parameters of the quantum Hamiltonian are coupling strengths of two-body interactions, which allow one to choose the type and dimension of the classical model as well as the interaction strength and temperature. This opens the possibility to study and simulate classical spin models in arbitrary dimension using a 2D quantum system.     

Quantum phase transitions and bipartite entanglement

We develop a general theory of the relation between quantum phase transitions (QPTs) characterized by nonanalyticities in the energy and bipartite entanglement. We derive a functional relation between the matrix elements of two-particle reduced density matrices and the eigenvalues of general two-body Hamiltonians of d-level systems. The ground state energy eigenvalue and its derivatives, whose nonanalyticity characterizes a QPT, are directly tied to bipartite entanglement measures. We show that first-order QPTs are signaled by density matrix elements themselves and second-order QPTs by the first derivative of density matrix elements. Our general conclusions are illustrated via several quantum spin models.     

光子两自由度超并行量子计算与超纠缠态操控

光子系统在量子信息处理和传输过程中有非常重要的应用. 譬如, 利用光子与原子(或人工原子)之间的相互作用, 可以完成信息的安全传输、存储和快速的并行计算处理等任务. 光子系统具有多个自由度, 如极化、空间模式、轨道角动量、时间-能量、频率等自由度. 光子系统的多个自由度可以同时应用于量子信息处理过程. 超并行量子计算利用光子系统多个自由度的光量子态同时进行量子并行计算, 使量子计算具有更强的并行性, 且需要的量子资源少, 更能抵抗光子数损耗等噪声的影响. 多个自由度同时存在纠缠的光子系统量子态称为超纠缠态, 它能够提高量子通信的容量与安全性, 辅助完成一些重要的量子通信任务. 在本综述中, 我们简要介绍了光子系统两自由度量子态在量子信息中的一些新应用, 包括超并行量子计算、超纠缠态分析、超纠缠浓缩和纯化三个部分.     

Product-State Approximations to Quantum States

We show that for any many-body quantum state there exists an unentangled quantum state such that most of the two-body reduced density matrices are close to those of the original state. This is a statement about the monogamy of entanglement, which cannot be shared without limit in the same way as classical correlation. Our main application is to Hamiltonians that are sums of two-body terms. For such Hamiltonians we show that there exist product states with energy that is close to the ground-state energy whenever the interaction graph of the Hamiltonian has high degree. This proves the validity of mean-field theory and gives an explicitly bounded approximation error. If we allow states that are entangled within small clusters of systems but product across clusters then good approximations exist when the Hamiltonian satisfies one or more of the following properties: (1) high degree, (2) small expansion, or (3) a ground state where the blocks in the partition have sublinear entanglement. Previously this was known only in the case of small expansion or in the regime where the entanglement was close to zero. Our approximations allow an extensive error in energy, which is the scale considered by the quantum PCP (probabilistically checkable proof) and NLTS (no low-energy trivial-state) conjectures. Thus our results put restrictions on the possible Hamiltonians that could be used for a possible proof of the qPCP or NLTS conjectures. By contrast the classical PCP constructions are often based on constraint graphs with high degree. Likewise we show that the parallel repetition that is possible with classical constraint satisfaction problems cannot also be possible for quantum Hamiltonians, unless qPCP is false. The main technical tool behind our results is a collection of new classical and quantum de Finetti theorems which do not make any symmetry assumptions on the underlying states.     

Feasibility of self-correcting quantum memory and thermal stability of topological order

Recently, it has become apparent that the thermal stability of topologically ordered systems at finite temperature, as discussed in condensed matter physics, can be studied by addressing the feasibility of self-correcting quantum memory, as discussed in quantum information science. Here, with this correspondence in mind, we propose a model of quantum codes that may cover a large class of physically realizable quantum memory. The model is supported by a certain class of gapped spin Hamiltonians, called stabilizer Hamiltonians, with translation symmetries and a small number of ground states that does not grow with the system size. We show that the model does not work as self-correcting quantum memory due to a certain topological constraint on geometric shapes of its logical operators. This quantum coding theoretical result implies that systems covered or approximated by the model cannot have thermally stable topological order, meaning that systems cannot be stable against both thermal fluctuations and local perturbations simultaneously in two and three spatial dimensions.     

Quantum nonlocality and beyond: limits from nonlocal computation

We address the problem of "nonlocal computation," in which separated parties must compute a function without any individual learning anything about the inputs. Surprisingly, entanglement provides no benefit over local classical strategies for such tasks, yet stronger nonlocal correlations allow perfect success. This provides intriguing insights into the limits of quantum information processing, the nature of quantum nonlocality, and the differences between quantum and stronger-than-quantum nonlocal correlations.     

Dynamical generation of noiseless quantum subsystems

We combine dynamical decoupling and universal control methods for open quantum systems with coding procedures. By exploiting a general algebraic approach, we show how appropriate encodings of quantum states result in obtaining universal control over dynamically generated noise-protected subsystems with limited control resources. In particular, we provide a constructive scheme based on two-body Hamiltonians for performing universal quantum computation over large noiseless spaces which can be engineered in the presence of arbitrary linear quantum noise.     

A family of affine quantum group invariant integrable extensions of the Hubbard Hamiltonian

We construct a family of spin chain Hamiltonians, which have the affine quantum group symmetry . Their eigenvalues coincide with the eigenvalues of the usual spin chain Hamiltonians, but have the degeneracy of levels, corresponding to the affine . The space of states of these spin chains is formed by the tensor product of the fully reducible representations of the quantum group.

The fermionic representations of the constructed spin chain Hamiltonians show that we have obtained new extensions of the Hubbard Hamiltonians. All of them are integrable and have the affine quantum group symmetry. The exact ground state of such type of model is presented, exhibiting superconducting behavior via the η-pairing mechanism.     

Improving the local implementation of a nonlocal multi-party quantum Toffoli gate

Efficient local implementation of a nonlocal multi-party quantum Toffoli gate is considered. We present and demonstrate a scheme that can improve significantly the implementation of this nonlocal (N + 1)-party gate by harnessing N entangled pairs of qubits as quantum channels and a (N+1)-dimensional qudit as a catalyser. The quantum circuit that does the proposed implementation is built entirely of local single-body and two-body gates, and has only (2N + 1) two-body gates. The method that we describe is independent of the particular physical system used to encode quantum information and the way in which the elemental gates are realized.     

Information storage capacity of discrete spin systems

Understanding the limits imposed on information storage capacity of physical systems is a problem of fundamental and practical importance which bridges physics and information science. There is a well-known upper bound on the amount of information that can be stored reliably in a given volume of discrete spin systems which are supported by gapped local Hamiltonians. However, all the previously known systems were far below this theoretical bound, and it remained open whether there exists a gapped spin system that saturates this bound. Here, we present a construction of spin systems which saturate this theoretical limit asymptotically by borrowing an idea from fractal properties arising in the Sierpinski triangle. Our construction provides not only the best classical error-correcting code which is physically realizable as the energy ground space of gapped frustration-free Hamiltonians, but also a new research avenue for correlated spin phases with fractal spin configurations.     

Nonlocal conserved quantities,balance laws,and equations of motion

A formalism is developed whereby balance laws are directly obtained from nonlocal (integrodifferential) linear second-order equations of motion for systems described by several dependent variables. These laws augment the equations of motion as further useful information about the physical system and, under certain conditions, are shown to reduce to conservation laws. The formalism can be applied to physical systems whose equations of motion may be relativistic and either classical or quantum. It is shown to facilitate obtaining global conservation laws for quantities which include energy and momentum. Applications of the formalism are given for a nonlocal Schrödinger equation and for a system of local relativistic equations of motion describing particles of arbitrary integral spin.     

Control of qubits encoded in decoherence-free subspaces

Decoherence-free subspaces protect quantum information from the effects of noise that is correlated across the physical qubits used to implement them. Given the ability to impose suitable Hamiltonians upon such a multi-qubit system, one can also implement a set of logical gates which enables universal computation on this information without compromising this protection. Real physical systems, however, seldom come with the correct Hamiltonians built-in, let alone the ability to turn them off and on at will. In the course of our development of quantum information processing devices based on liquid-state NMR, we have found the task of operating on quantum information encoded in decoherence-free subspaces rather more challenging than is commonly assumed. This contribution presents an overview of these challenges and the methods we have developed for overcoming them in practice. These methods promise to be broadly applicable to many of the physical systems proposed for the implementation of quantum information processing devices.     

Coupling of nonlocal potentials to electromagnetic fields

Nonlocal Hamiltonians are used widely in first-principles quantum calculations; the nonlocality stems from eliminating undesired degrees of freedom, e.g., core electrons. To date, attempts to couple nonlocal systems to external electromagnetic (EM) fields have been heuristic or limited to weak or long wavelength fields. Using Feynman path integrals, we derive an exact, closed-form coupling of arbitrary EM fields to nonlocal systems. Our results justify and clarify the couplings used to date and are essential for systematic computation of linear and especially nonlinear responses.     

Classification of quantum phases and topology of logical operators in an exactly solved model of quantum codes

Searches for possible new quantum phases and classifications of quantum phases have been central problems in physics. Yet, they are indeed challenging problems due to the computational difficulties in analyzing quantum many-body systems and the lack of a general framework for classifications. While frustration-free Hamiltonians, which appear as fixed point Hamiltonians of renormalization group transformations, may serve as representatives of quantum phases, it is still difficult to analyze and classify quantum phases of arbitrary frustration-free Hamiltonians exhaustively. Here, we address these problems by sharpening our considerations to a certain subclass of frustration-free Hamiltonians, called stabilizer Hamiltonians, which have been actively studied in quantum information science. We propose a model of frustration-free Hamiltonians which covers a large class of physically realistic stabilizer Hamiltonians, constrained to only three physical conditions; the locality of interaction terms, translation symmetries and scale symmetries, meaning that the number of ground states does not grow with the system size. We show that quantum phases arising in two-dimensional models can be classified exactly through certain quantum coding theoretical operators, called logical operators, by proving that two models with topologically distinct shapes of logical operators are always separated by quantum phase transitions.     

Quantum information processing with large nuclear spins in GaAs semiconductors

We propose an implementation for quantum information processing based on coherent manipulations of nuclear spins I=3/2 in GaAs semiconductors. We describe theoretically an NMR method which involves multiphoton transitions and which exploits the nonequidistance of nuclear spin levels due to quadrupolar splittings. Starting from known spin anisotropies we derive effective Hamiltonians in a generalized rotating frame, valid for arbitrary I, which allow us to describe the nonperturbative time evolution of spin states generated by magnetic rf fields. We identify an experimentally observable regime for multiphoton Rabi oscillations. In the nonlinear regime, we find Berry phase interference.     

Auxiliary-field Monte Carlo methods

I discuss Monte Carlo algorithms for quantum many-body systems that employ an auxiliary field to linearize a two-body interaction. These reduce the evaluation of the partition function to sampling many one-body evolutions in a fluctuating field. Fermions and bosons are treated on an equal footing. Applications to potential models and to quantum spin systems are discussed. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, grants PHY82-07332 and PHY85-05682. The potential-model studies were done in collaboration with G. Sugiyama, while A. Khan and T. Troudet were responsible for the work on the quantum spin systems.     

Exactly solvable time-dependent models in quantum mechanics and their applications

Methods for obtaining exact and approximate solutions of the evolution of quantum-mechanical problems are discussed. The cyclic evolution of quantum systems described by time-periodic Hamiltonians is analyzed. A class of time-periodic Hamiltonians is constructed in the close analytical form. The corresponding cyclic solutions are calculated. Time-dependent Hamiltonians are generated whose expectation values calculated with cyclic solutions are time independent. It is shown that the expectation values of the spin projection calculated with the same cyclic solutions, as well as the probability density of finding a particle at a given space-time point, are also time independent. Therefore, the approach can be used to simulate quantum dynamic potential wells with the particle localization effect. Nonadiabatic geometric phases are expressed in terms of the cyclic solutions. Exactly solvable time-dependent problems are used to construct a universal set of gates for quantum computers. A method for obtaining entanglement operators is discussed.     

Decay of a thermofield-double state in chaotic quantum systems

Scrambling in interacting quantum systems out of equilibrium is particularly effective in the chaotic regime. Under time evolution, initially localized information is said to be scrambled as it spreads throughout the entire system. This spreading can be analyzed with the spectral form factor, which is defined in terms of the analytic continuation of the partition function. The latter is equivalent to the survival probability of a thermofield double state under unitary dynamics. Using random matrices from the Gaussian unitary ensemble (GUE) as Hamiltonians for the time evolution, we obtain exact analytical expressions at finite N for the survival probability. Numerical simulations of the survival probability with matrices taken from the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) are also provided. The GOE is more suitable for our comparison with numerical results obtained with a disordered spin chain with local interactions. Common features between the random matrix and the realistic disordered model in the chaotic regime are identified. The differences that emerge as the spin model approaches a many-body localized phase are also discussed.     

Quantum Fisher Information Gap for Systems with Nonlinear Hamiltonians

Quantum Fisher information(QFI) gap characterizes the stability of QFI to space directions. We study the QFI distributions and QFI gap for quantum states generated from nonlinear Hamiltonians for both spin and bosonic systems. We find that the same spin-squeezing parameter(or principle squeezing parameter) corresponds to two different values QFI gap, and the locations of all extreme points of the QFI are explicitly given.     

核磁共振中的量子控制

近年来, 随着量子信息科学的发展, 对由量子力学原理描述的微观世界的主动调控已成为重要的前沿研究领域. 为构造实际的量子信息处理器, 一个关键的挑战是: 如何对处于噪声环境下的量子体系实现一系列高精度的任意操作, 以完成目标量子信息处理任务. 为此, 人们将经典系统控制论的思想方法延伸到量子体系的领域, 提出了大量的量子控制方法以及相关的数值技术(如量子优化控制、量子反馈控制等), 并取得了丰富的研究成果. 核磁共振自旋体系具备成熟的系统理论和操控技术, 为量子控制方法的实用性研究提供了优秀的实验测试平台. 因此, 基于核磁共振的量子控制成为量子控制领域的重要方向. 本文简要介绍了量子控制的基本概念和方法; 从系统控制论的角度对核磁共振自旋体系的基本原理和重要控制任务做了阐述; 介绍了近些年来在该领域发展的相关控制方法及其应用; 对基于核磁共振体系的量子控制的进一步的研究做了几点展望.