arXiv subjects

Andrew M. Projansky

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew M. Projansky.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Gaussianity and Simulability of Cliffords and Matchgates

Though Cliffords and matchgates are both examples of classically simulable circuits, they are considered simulable for different reasons. The celebrated Gottesman-Knill explains the simulability Cliffords, and the efficient simulability of matchgates is understood via Pfaffians of antisymmetric matrices. We take the perspective that by studying Clifford-matchgate hybrid circuits, we expand the set of known simulable circuits and reach a better understanding of what unifies these two circuit families. While the simulability of Clifford conjugated matchgate circuits for single qubit outputs has been briefly considered, the simulability of Clifford and matchgate hybrid circuits has not been generalized up to this point. In this paper we extend that work, studying simulability of marginals as well as Pauli expectation values of Clifford and matchgate hybrid circuits. We describe a hierarchy of Clifford circuits, and find that as we consider more general Cliffords, we lose some amount of simulability of bitstring outputs. We then show that the known simulability of Pauli expectation values of Clifford circuits acting on product states can be generalized to Clifford circuits acting after any matchgate circuit. We conclude with general discussion about the relationship between Cliffords and matchgates, and show that both circuit families can be understood as being Gaussian.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Fermionic Mean-Field Theory as a Tool for Studying Spin Hamiltonians

The Jordan--Wigner transformation permits one to convert spin $1/2$ operators into spinless fermion ones, or vice versa. In some cases, it transforms an interacting spin Hamiltonian into a noninteracting fermionic one which is exactly solved at the mean-field level. Even when the resulting fermionic Hamiltonian is interacting, its mean-field solution can provide surprisingly accurate energies and correlation functions. Jordan--Wigner is, however, only one possible means of interconverting spin and fermionic degrees of freedom. Here, we apply several such techniques to the XXZ and $J_1\text{--}J_2$ Heisenberg models, as well as to the pairing or reduced BCS Hamiltonian, with the aim of discovering which of these mappings is most useful in applying fermionic mean-field theory to the study of spin Hamiltonians.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Entanglement spectrum of matchgate circuits with universal and non-universal resources

The entanglement level statistics of a quantum state have recently been proposed to be a signature of universality in the underlying quantum circuit. This is a consequence of level repulsion in the entanglement spectra being tied to the integrability of entanglement generated. However, such studies of the level-spacing statistics in the entanglement spectrum have thus far been limited to the output states of Clifford and Haar random circuits on product state inputs. In this work, we provide the first example of a circuit which is composed of a simulable gate set, yet has a Wigner-Dyson distributed entanglement level spectrum without any perturbing universal element. We first show that, for matchgate circuits acting on random product states, Wigner-Dyson statistics emerge by virtue of a single SWAP gate, in direct analog to previous studies on Clifford circuits. We then examine the entanglement spectrum of matchgate circuits with varied input states, and find a sharp jump in the complexity of entanglement as we go from two- to three-qubit entangled inputs. Studying Clifford and matchgate hybrid circuits, we find examples of classically simulable circuits whose output states exhibit Wigner-Dyson entanglement level statistics in the absence of universal quantum gate elements. Our study thus provides strong evidence that entanglement spectrum is not strongly connected to notions of simulability in any given quantum circuit.

quant-ph↗