arXiv subjects

Scott Lawrence

Publications and source records attributed to Scott Lawrence.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Instantons, analytic continuation, and $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric field theory

Ordinary Hermitian $λϕ^4$ theory is known to exist in $d<4$ dimensions when $λ>0$. For negative values of the coupling, it has been suggested that a physical meaningful definition of the interacting theory can be given in terms of ${\cal PT}$-symmetric field theory. In this work, we critically re-examine the relation between analytically continued Hermitian field theory with quartic interaction, and ${\cal PT}$-symmetric field theory, including $O(N)$ models. We find that in general ${\cal PT}$-symmetric field theory does not correspond to the analytic continuation of the Hermitian theory, except at high temperature where the instanton contribution present in the analytically continued theory can be neglected.

hep-th↗

arXiv2022

Lattice Scalar Field Theory At Complex Coupling

Lattice scalar field theories encounter a sign problem when the coupling constant is complex. This is a close cousin of the real-time sign problems that afflict the lattice Schwinger-Keldysh formalism, and a more distant relative of the fermion sign problem that plagues calculations of QCD at finite density. We demonstrate the methods of complex normalizing flows and contour deformations on scalar fields in $0+1$ and $1+1$ dimensions, respectively. In both cases, intractable sign problems are readily bypassed. These methods extend to negative couplings, where the partition function can be defined only by analytic continuation. Finally, we examine the location of partition function zeros, and discuss their relation to the performance of these algorithms.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2022

On the Gravitational Wave to Matter Coupling of Superfluid Fermi Gases Near Unitarity

It is well known that gravitational waves distort equilibrium matter globally, making them amenable to detection with laser interferometers. Less well known is the fact that gravitational waves create local non-equilibrium stresses inside matter, which could conceivably lead to alternative detection methods. The gravitational wave to matter coupling $κ$ is a transport coefficient depending on the material, and is poorly known for most substances. In the present work, we calculate $κ$ for a superfluid Fermi gas near unitarity using large-$N$ techniques, finding $κ= \frac{n}{12m}$, with $n$ the number density and $m$ the mass of the fermion, matching the result for free Dirac fermions at zero temperature. Our prediction is amenable to non-perturbative theoretical as well as experimental tests.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Normalizing Flows and the Real-Time Sign Problem

Normalizing flows have recently been applied to the problem of accelerating Markov chains in lattice field theory. We propose a generalization of normalizing flows that allows them to applied to theories with a sign problem. These complex normalizing flows are closely related to contour deformations (i.e. the generalized Lefschetz thimble method), which been applied to sign problems in the past. We discuss the question of the existence of normalizing flows: they do not exist in the most general case, but we argue that exact normalizing flows are likely to exist for many physically interesting problems, including cases where the Lefschetz thimble decomposition has an intractable sign problem. Finally, normalizing flows can be constructed in perturbation theory. We give numerical results on their effectiveness across a range of couplings for the Schwinger-Keldysh sign problem associated to a real scalar field in $0+1$ dimensions.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Real-Time Dynamics at Large $N$

The large-$N$ limit of $O(N)$-symmetric bosonic field theories, or $U(N)$-symmetric fermionic field theories, is amenable to a saddle point approximation. As a result, there is a family of closely related algorithms for efficient lattice simulations in this limit, even in the presence of fermionic or real-time sign problems. These can be used to study quenches, or other observables for which

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Normalizing flows for the real-time sign problem

We discuss the application of normalizing flows to bosonic lattice field theories with real-time sign problems. A normalizing flow, once it is found for such a lattice field theory, is guaranteed to solve its sign problem. We argue for the existence of normalizing flows for bosonic lattice field theories in the Schwinger-Keldish formalism in a few ways. We then discuss how this existence is a specific feature of bosonic theories: such arguments break down for fermionic systems, whether at finite density or in real-time.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Bootstrapping Lattice Vacua

This paper demonstrates the application of semidefinite programming to lattice field theories, showcasing spin chains and lattice scalar field theory. Requiring expectation values of manifestly positive semi-definite operators to be non-negative results in a lower bound on the ground-state energy of any quantum mechanical system, which can be made arbitrarily tight for systems described by finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Such bounds can be obtained directly in the infinite-volume limit. The process of optimizing these lower bounds also yields estimates for a chosen set of expectation values in the ground state.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

Resurrecting the Strong KSS Conjecture

Many counterexamples to the proposed KSS bound $\fracηs \ge \frac 1 {4π}$ depend on constructing systems with large numbers of species. As a result, the entropy density grows large and $\frac ηs$ can be made arbitrarily small. However, these constructions do not affect the dimensionless shear viscosity $\frac {ηT}{ε+ P}$, which agrees with the traditional $\frac ηs$ only for vanishing chemical potential. This raises the possibility that a KSS-like bound holds for all systems, not just UV-complete quantum field theories, contrary to the previous understanding.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Quantum algorithms for transport coefficients in gauge theories

In the future, ab initio quantum simulations of heavy ion collisions may become possible with large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computers. We propose a quantum algorithm for studying these collisions by looking at a class of observables requiring dramatically smaller volumes: transport coefficients. These form nonperturbative inputs into theoretical models of heavy ions; thus, their calculation reduces theoretical uncertainties without the need for a full-scale simulation of the collision. We derive the necessary lattice operators in the Hamiltonian formulation and describe how to obtain them on quantum computers. Additionally, we discuss ways to efficiently prepare the relevant thermal state of a gauge theory.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2021

The thermodynamics of large-N QCD and the nature of metastable phases

In the limit of a large number of colors (N), both Yang-Mills and quantum chromodynamics are expected to have a first-order phase transition separating a confined hadronic phase and a deconfined plasma phase. One aspect of this separation is that at large N, one can unambiguously identify a plasma regime that is strongly coupled. The existence of a first-order transition suggests that the hadronic phase can be superheated and the plasma phase supercooled. The supercooled deconfined plasma present at large N, if it exists, has the remarkable property that it has negative absolute pressure -- i.e. a pressure below that of the vacuum. For energy densities of order unity in a 1/N expansion but beyond the endpoint of the hadronic superheated phase, a description of homogeneous matter composed of ordinary hadrons with masses of order unity in a 1/N expansion can exist, and acts as though it has a temperature of $T_H$ in order unity. However, the connection between the canonical and microcanonical descriptions breaks down and the system cannot fully equilibrate as $N \rightarrow \infty$. Rather, in a hadronic description, energy is pushed to hadrons with masses that are arbitrarily large. The thermodynamic limit of large volumes becomes subtle for such systems: the energy density is no longer intensive. These conclusions follow provided that standard large N scaling rules hold, the system at large N undergoes a generic first-order phase transition between the hadronic and plasma phases and that the mesons and glueballs follow a Hagedorn-type spectrum.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Perturbative Removal of a Sign Problem

This paper presents a method for alleviating sign problems in lattice path integrals, including those associated with finite fermion density in relativistic systems. The method makes use of information gained from some systematic expansion -- such as perturbation theory -- in order to accelerate the Monte Carlo. The method is exact, in the sense that no approximation to the lattice path integral is introduced. Thanks to the underlying systematic expansion, the method is systematically improvable, so that an arbitrary reduction in the sign problem can in principle be obtained. The Thirring model (in 0 + 1 and 1 + 1 dimensions) is used to demonstrate the ability of this method to reduce the finite-density sign problem.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2020

Sign Problems in Quantum Field Theory: Classical and Quantum Approaches

Monte Carlo calculations in the framework of lattice field theory provide non-perturbative access to the equilibrium physics of quantum fields. When applied to certain fermionic systems, or to the calculation of out-of-equilibrium physics, these methods encounter the so-called sign problem, and computational resource requirements become impractically large. These difficulties prevent the calculation from first principles of the equation of state of quantum chromodynamics, as well as the computation of transport coefficients in quantum field theories, among other things. This thesis details two methods for mitigating or avoiding the sign problem. First, via the complexification of the field variables and the application of Cauchy's integral theorem, the difficulty of the sign problem can be changed. This requires searching for a suitable contour of integration. Several methods of finding such a contour are discussed, as well as the procedure for integrating on it. Two notable examples are highlighted: in one case, a contour exists which entirely removes the sign problem, and in another, there is provably no contour available to improve the sign problem by more than a (parametrically) small amount. As an alternative, physical simulations can be performed with the aid of a quantum computer. The formal elements underlying a quantum computation - that is, a Hilbert space, unitary operators acting on it, and Hermitian observables to be measured - can be matched to those of a quantum field theory. In this way an error-corrected quantum computer may be made to serve as a well controlled laboratory. Precise algorithms for this task are presented, specifically in the context of quantum chromodynamics.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2020

Suppressing Coherent Gauge Drift in Quantum Simulations

Simulations of field theories on noisy quantum computers must contend with errors introduced by that noise. For gauge theories, a large class of errors violate gauge symmetry, and thus may result in unphysical processes occurring in the simulation. We present a method, applicable to non-Abelian gauge theories, for suppressing coherent gauge drift errors through the repeated application of pseudorandom gauge transformation. In cases where the dominant errors are gauge-violating, we expect this method to be a practical way to improve the accuracy of NISQ-era simulations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

The Brute-Force Search for Planet Nine

A recent proposal for the detection of a hypothetical gravitating body 500 AU from the Sun (termed Planet 9) calls for a fleet of near-relativistic spacecraft, equipped with high-precision clocks, to be sent to a region where the object is suspected to be. We show that the technological constraints of such a mission can be relaxed somewhat, while improving the sensitivity: high-precision clocks can be avoided when the transverse displacement induced by Planet 9 is measurable with Earth-based, or near-Earth, telescopes. Furthermore, we note that in the absence of Planet 9, these spacecraft still yield useful data by mapping gravitational perturbations in the outer parts of the solar system.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2020

Quantum algorithms for disordered physics

We show how a quantum computer may efficiently simulate a disordered Hamiltonian, by incorporating a pseudo-random number generator directly into the time evolution circuit. This technique is applied to quantum simulation of few-body disordered systems in the large volume limit; in particular, Anderson localization. The method requires a number of (error corrected) qubits proportional to the logarithm of the volume of the system, and each time evolution step requires a number of gates polylogarithmic in the volume. We simulate the method to observe the metal-insulator transition on a three-dimensional lattice. Additionally, we demonstrate the algorithm on a one-dimensional lattice, using physical quantum processors.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2020

Parton Physics on a Quantum Computer

Parton distribution functions and hadronic tensors may be computed on a universal quantum computer without many of the complexities that apply to Euclidean lattice calculations. We detail algorithms for computing parton distribution functions and the hadronic tensor in the Thirring model. Their generalization to QCD is discussed, with the conclusion that the parton distribution function is best obtained by fitting the hadronic tensor, rather than direct calculation. As a side effect of this method, we find that lepton-hadron cross sections may be computed relatively cheaply. Finally, we estimate the computational cost of performing such a calculation on a digital quantum computer, including the cost of state preparation, for physically relevant parameters.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2020

Quantum Simulation of Field Theories Without State Preparation

We propose an algorithm for computing real-time observables using a quantum processor while avoiding the need to prepare the full quantum state. This reduction in quantum resources is achieved by classically sampling configurations in imaginary-time using standard lattice field theory. These configurations can then be passed to quantum processor for time-evolution. This method encounters a signal-to-noise problem which we characterize, and we demonstrate the application of standard lattice QCD methods to mitigate it.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2019

General Methods for Digital Quantum Simulation of Gauge Theories

A general scheme is presented for simulating gauge theories, with matter fields, on a digital quantum computer. A Trotterized time-evolution operator that respects gauge symmetry is constructed, and a procedure for obtaining time-separated, gauge-invariant operators is detailed. We demonstrate the procedure on small lattices, including the simulation of a 2+1D non-Abelian gauge theory.

hep-lat↗