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arXiv · 2107.13563

Thermalization dynamics of a gauge theory on a quantum simulator

Zhao-Yu Zhou·Guo-Xian Su·Jad C. Halimeh·Robert Ott·Hui Sun·Philipp Hauke·Bing Yang·Zhen-Sheng Yuan·Jürgen Berges·Jian-Wei Pan
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Abstract

Gauge theories form the foundation of modern physics, with applications ranging from elementary particle physics and early-universe cosmology to condensed matter systems. We perform quantum simulations of the unitary dynamics of a U(1) symmetric gauge field theory and demonstrate emergent irreversible behavior. The highly constrained gauge theory dynamics is encoded in a one-dimensional Bose--Hubbard simulator, which couples fermionic matter fields through dynamical gauge fields. We investigate global quantum quenches and the equilibration to a steady state well approximated by a thermal ensemble. Our work may enable the investigation of elusive phenomena, such as Schwinger pair production and string-breaking, and paves the way for simulating more complex higher-dimensional gauge theories on quantum synthetic matter devices.

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Zhao-Yu Zhou, Guo-Xian Su, Jad C. Halimeh, Robert Ott, Hui Sun, Philipp Hauke, Bing Yang, Zhen-Sheng Yuan, Jürgen Berges, Jian-Wei Pan. 2021-07-28. Thermalization dynamics of a gauge theory on a quantum simulator. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl6277

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