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Simon Trebst

Publications and source records attributed to Simon Trebst.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2024

Noncoplanar orders and quantum disordered states in maple-leaf (anti)ferromagnets

A promising route towards the realization of chiral spin liquids is the quantum melting of classically noncoplanar spin states via quantum fluctuations. In the classical realm, such noncoplanar orders can effectively be stabilized by interactions beyond nearest neighbors. Motivated by the recent synthesis of materials with a maple-leaf lattice geometry, we study the effect of cross-plaquette couplings on elementary Heisenberg antiferromagnets for this geometry (as well as their ferromagnetic counterparts). We find a rich spectrum of noncoplanar states, including a novel icosahedral order as well as incommensurate spin spirals, using large-scale Monte Carlo simulations in combination with a semi-analytical analysis. To inspect the potential quantum melting of these states, we analyze the quantum $S = 1/2$ variant of these models using pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group (pf-FRG) simulations. Notably, we indeed find extended parameter regimes lacking long-range magnetic order -- in regions classically occupied by noncoplanar orders -- which we putatively identify with the possible formation of chiral quantum spin liquids.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2024

Entanglement dynamics in monitored Kitaev circuits: loop models, symmetry classification, and quantum Lifshitz scaling

Quantum circuits offer a versatile platform for simulating digital quantum dynamics and uncovering novel states of non-equilibrium quantum matter. One principal example are measurement-induced phase transitions arising from non-unitary dynamics in monitored circuits, which employ mid-circuit measurements as an essential building block next to standard unitary gates. Although a comprehensive understanding of dynamics in generic circuits is still evolving, we contend that monitored quantum circuits yield robust phases of dynamic matter, which -- akin to Hamiltonian ground state phases -- can be categorized based on symmetries and spatial dimensionality. To illustrate this concept, we focus on quantum circuits within symmetry classes BDI and D, which are measurement-only adaptations of the paradigmatic Kitaev and Yao-Kivelson models, embodying particle-hole-symmetric Majorana fermions with or without time-reversal. We establish a general framework -- Majorana loop models -- for both symmetry classes to provide access to the phenomenology of the entanglement dynamics in these circuits, displaying both an area-law phase of localized Majorana loops and a delocalized, highly entangled Majorana liquid phase. The two phases are separated by a continuous transition displaying quantum Lifshitz scaling, albeit with critical exponents of two distinct universality classes. The loop model framework provides not only analytical understanding of these universality classes in terms of non-linear sigma models, but also allows for highly efficient numerical techniques capable of simulating excessively large circuits with up to $10^8$ qubits. We utilize this framework to accurately determine universal probes that distinguish both the entangled phases and the critical points of the two symmetry classes. Our work thereby further solidifies the concept of emergent circuit phases and their phase transitions.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group for spin models

For decades, frustrated quantum magnets have been a seed for scientific progress and innovation in condensed matter. As much as the numerical tools for low-dimensional quantum magnetism have thrived and improved in recent years due to breakthroughs inspired by quantum information and quantum computation, higher-dimensional quantum magnetism can be considered as the final frontier, where strong quantum entanglement, multiple ordering channels, and manifold ways of paramagnetism culminate. At the same time, efforts in crystal synthesis have induced a significant increase in the number of tangible frustrated magnets which are generically three-dimensional in nature, creating an urgent need for quantitative theoretical modeling. We review the pseudo-fermion (PF) and pseudo-Majorana (PM) functional renormalization group (FRG) and their specific ability to address higher-dimensional frustrated quantum magnetism. First developed more than a decade ago, the PFFRG interprets a Heisenberg model Hamiltonian in terms of Abrikosov pseudofermions, which is then treated in a diagrammatic resummation scheme formulated as a renormalization group flow of $m$-particle pseudofermion vertices. The article reviews the state of the art of PFFRG and PMFRG and discusses their application to exemplary domains of frustrated magnetism, but most importantly, it makes the algorithmic and implementation details of these methods accessible to everyone. By thus lowering the entry barrier to their application, we hope that this review will contribute towards establishing PFFRG and PMFRG as the numerical methods for addressing frustrated quantum magnetism in higher spatial dimensions.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2024

Revealing Quadrupolar Excitations with Non-Linear Spectroscopy

Local moments with a spin $S>1/2$ can exhibit a rich variety of elementary quasiparticle excitations, such as quadrupolar excitations, that go beyond the dipolar magnons of conventional spin-$1/2$ systems. However, the experimental observation of such quadrupolar excitations is often challenging due to the dipolar selection rules of many linear response probes, rendering them invisible. Here we show that non-linear spectroscopy, in the form of two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy (2DCS), can be used to reveal quadrupolar excitations. Considering a family of spin-1 Heisenberg ferromagnets with single-ion easy-axis anisotropy as an example, we explicitly calculate their 2DCS signature by combining exact diagonalization and generalized spin wave theory. We further demonstrate that 2DCS can provide access to the quadrupolar weight of an excitation, analogous to how linear response provides access to the dipolar weight. Our work highlights the potential of non-linear spectroscopy as a powerful tool to diagnose multipolar excitations in quantum magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2024

The Quantum Cartpole: A benchmark environment for non-linear reinforcement learning

Feedback-based control is the de-facto standard when it comes to controlling classical stochastic systems and processes. However, standard feedback-based control methods are challenged by quantum systems due to measurement induced backaction and partial observability. Here we remedy this by using weak quantum measurements and model-free reinforcement learning agents to perform quantum control. By comparing control algorithms with and without state estimators to stabilize a quantum particle in an unstable state near a local potential energy maximum, we show how a trade-off between state estimation and controllability arises. For the scenario where the classical analogue is highly nonlinear, the reinforcement learned controller has an advantage over the standard controller. Additionally, we demonstrate the feasibility of using transfer learning to develop a quantum control agent trained via reinforcement learning on a classical surrogate of the quantum control problem. Finally, we present results showing how the reinforcement learning control strategy differs from the classical controller in the non-linear scenarios.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Exploring Two-dimensional Coherent Spectroscopy with Exact Diagonalization: Spinons and Confinement in 1D Quantum Magnets

Two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy (2DCS) with terahertz radiation offers a promising new avenue for the exploration of many-body phenomena in quantum magnets. This includes the potential diagnosis of fractionalized excitations, for which linear response often struggles due to the indistinguishability of a continuum of fractional excitations from that caused by disorders or impurities. However, the interpretation of the complex results produced by 2DCS remains a challenge, and a general prediction of the spectral characteristics of different types of excitations has not yet been established. In this paper, we develop a numerical approach based on exact diagonalization (ED) to push our understanding of 2DCS towards different scenarios. We first validate our approach by comparing numerical ED and exact analytical results for the spectroscopic signatures of spinons in one-dimensional transverse field Ising model and develop how to deal with the inherently small system sizes in ED calculations. Augmenting the model by a longitudinal field, we demonstrate significant changes to the 2DCS spectrum upon the field-induced spinon pair confinement, which can be rationalized in our ED calculations and from a "two-kink" model (in the absence of integrability). One advantage of our ED approach is its possible extension to finite temperatures, which we explore using thermally pure quantum states and demonstrate to change the intensity and spectroscopical patterns of 2DCS when going beyond the integrable model. Our numerically exact results provide a benchmark for future experiments and theoretical studies relying on approximation methods, and pave the way for the exploration of fractionalized excitations in quantum magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2024

Chaotic fluctuations in a universal set of transmon qubit gates

Transmon qubits arise from the quantization of nonlinear resonators, systems that are prone to the buildup of strong, possibly chaotic, fluctuations. Such instabilities will likely affect fast gate operations which involve the transient population of higher excited states outside the computational subspace. Here we show that a statistical analysis of the instantaneous eigenphases of the time evolution operator, in particular of their curvatures, allows for identifying the subspace affected by chaotic fluctuations. Our analysis shows that fast entangling gates, operating at speeds close to the so-called quantum speed limit, contain transient regimes where the dynamics indeed becomes partially chaotic for just two transmons.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Candidate quantum disordered intermediate phase in the Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the maple-leaf lattice

Quantum antiferromagnets on geometrically frustrated lattices have long attracted interest for the formation of quantum disordered states and the possible emergence of quantum spin liquid (QSL) ground states. Here we turn to the nearest-neighbor spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the maple-leaf lattice, which is known to relieve frustration by the formation of canted $120^{\circ}$ magnetic order or valence bond crystal order when varying the bond anisotropy. Employing a pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group approach to assess its ground state phase diagram in detail, we present evidence for a QSL regime sandwiched between these two limiting phases. The formation of such a QSL might signal proximity to a possible deconfined quantum critical point from which it emerges, and that is potentially accessible by tuning the exchange couplings. Our conclusions are based on large-scale simulations involving a careful finite-size scaling analysis of the behavior of magnetic susceptibility and spin-spin correlation functions under renormalization group flow.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2023

Realizing the Nishimori transition across the error threshold for constant-depth quantum circuits

Preparing quantum states across many qubits is necessary to unlock the full potential of quantum computers. However, a key challenge is to realize efficient preparation protocols which are stable to noise and gate imperfections. Here, using a measurement-based protocol on a 127 superconducting qubit device, we study the generation of the simplest long-range order -- Ising order, familiar from Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states and the repetition code -- on 54 system qubits. Our efficient implementation of the constant-depth protocol and classical decoder shows higher fidelities for GHZ states compared to size-dependent, unitary protocols. By experimentally tuning coherent and incoherent error rates, we demonstrate stability of this decoded long-range order in two spatial dimensions, up to a critical point which corresponds to a transition belonging to the unusual Nishimori universality class. Although in classical systems Nishimori physics requires fine-tuning multiple parameters, here it arises as a direct result of the Born rule for measurement probabilities -- locking the effective temperature and disorder driving this transition. Our study exemplifies how measurement-based state preparation can be meaningfully explored on quantum processors beyond a hundred qubits.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Non-Coplanar Magnetic Orders in Classical Square-Kagome Antiferromagnets

Motivated by the recent synthesis of a number of Mott insulating square-kagome materials, we explore the rich phenomenology of frustrated magnetism induced by this lattice geometry, also referred to as the squagome or shuriken lattice. On the classical level, square-kagome antiferromagnets are found to exhibit extensive degeneracies, order-by-disorder, and non-coplanar ordering tendencies, which we discuss for an elementary, classical Heisenberg model with nearest-neighbor and cross-plaquette interactions. Having in mind that upon introducing quantum fluctuations non-coplanar order can melt into chiral quantum spin liquids, we provide detailed information on the multitude of non-coplanar orders, including some which break rotational symmetry (possibly leading to nematic quantum orders), as well as a number of (incommensurate) spin spiral phases. Using extensive numerical simulations, we also discuss the thermodynamic signatures of these phases, which often show multi-step thermal ordering. Our comprehensive discussion of the classical square-kagome Heisenberg model, often drawing comparisons to the conventional kagome antiferromagnet, sets the stage for future explorations of quantum analogs of the various phases, either conceptually such as in quantum spin-1/2 generalizations of our model or experimentally such as in the Cu-based candidate materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2023

Nishimori's cat: stable long-range entanglement from finite-depth unitaries and weak measurements

In the field of monitored quantum circuits, it has remained an open question whether finite-time protocols for preparing long-range entangled states lead to phases of matter which are stable to gate imperfections, which can convert projective into weak measurements. Here we show that in certain cases, long-range entanglement persists in the presence of weak measurements, and gives rise to novel forms of quantum criticality. We demonstrate this explicitly for preparing the two-dimensional Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger cat state and the three-dimensional toric code as minimal instances. In contrast to the monitored random unitary circuits, In contrast to random monitored circuits, our circuit of gates and measurements is deterministic; the only randomness is in the measurement outcomes. We show how the randomness in these weak measurements allows us to track the solvable Nishimori line of the random-bond Ising model, rigorously establishing the stability of the glassy long-range entangled states in two and three spatial dimensions. Away from this exactly solvable construction, we use hybrid tensor network and Monte Carlo simulations to obtain a nonzero Edwards-Anderson order parameter as an indicator of long-range entanglement in the two-dimensional scenario. We argue that our protocol admits a natural implementation in existing quantum computing architectures, requiring only a depth-3 circuit on IBM's heavy-hexagon transmon chips.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Qubit fractionalization and emergent Majorana liquid in the honeycomb Floquet code induced by coherent errors and weak measurements

From the perspective of quantum many-body physics, the Floquet code of Hastings and Haah can be thought of as a measurement-only version of the Kitaev honeycomb model where a periodic sequence of two-qubit XX, YY, and ZZ measurements dynamically stabilizes a toric code state with two logical qubits. However, the most striking feature of the Kitaev model is its intrinsic fractionalization of quantum spins into an emergent gauge field and itinerant Majorana fermions that form a Dirac liquid, which is absent in the Floquet code. Here we demonstrate that by varying the measurement strength of the honeycomb Floquet code one can observe features akin to the fractionalization physics of the Kitaev model at finite temperature. Introducing coherent errors to weaken the measurements we observe three consecutive stages that reveal qubit fractionalization (for weak measurements), the formation of a Majorana liquid (for intermediate measurement strength), and Majorana pairing together with gauge ordering (for strong measurements). Our analysis is based on a mapping of the imperfect Floquet code to random Gaussian fermionic circuits (networks) that can be Monte Carlo sampled, exposing two crossover peaks. With an eye on circuit implementations, our analysis demonstrates that the Floquet code, in contrast to the toric code, does not immediately break down to a trivial state under weak measurements, but instead gives way to a long-range entangled Majorana liquid state.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Classical Chaos in Quantum Computers

The development of quantum computing hardware is facing the challenge that current-day quantum processors, comprising 50-100 qubits, already operate outside the range of quantum simulation on classical computers. In this paper we demonstrate that the simulation of classical limits can be a potent diagnostic tool potentially mitigating this problem. As a testbed for our approach we consider the transmon qubit processor, a computing platform in which the coupling of large numbers of nonlinear quantum oscillators may trigger destabilizing chaotic resonances. We find that classical and quantum simulations lead to similar stability metrics (classical Lyapunov exponents vs. quantum wave function participation ratios) in systems with $\mathcal{O}(10)$ transmons. However, the big advantage of classical simulation is that it can be pushed to large systems comprising up to thousands of qubits. We exhibit the utility of this classical toolbox by simulating all current IBM transmon chips, including the recently announced 433-qubit processor of the Osprey generation, as well as future devices with 1,121 qubits (Condor generation). For realistic system parameters, we find a systematic increase of Lyapunov exponents with system size, suggesting that larger layouts require added efforts in information protection.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Spin-valley magnetism on the triangular moiré lattice with SU(4) breaking interactions

The discovery of correlated insulating states in moiré heterostructures has renewed the interest in strongly-coupled electron systems where spin and valley (or layer) degrees of freedom are intertwined. In the strong-coupling limit, such systems can be effectively described by SU(4) spin-valley models akin to Kugel-Khomskii models long studied in the context of spin-orbit coupled materials. However, typical moiré heterostructures also exhibit interactions that break the SU(4) symmetry down to SU(2)${}_{\mathrm{spin}}\otimes$U(1)${}_{\mathrm{valley}}$. Here we investigate the impact of such symmetry-breaking couplings on the magnetic phase diagram for triangular superlattices considering a filling of two electrons (or holes) per moiré unit cell. We explore a broad regime of couplings -- including XXZ anisotropies, Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange and on-site Hund's couplings -- using semi-classical Monte Carlo simulations. We find a multitude of classically ordered phases, including (anti-)ferromagnetic, incommensurate, and stripe order, manifesting in different sectors of the spin-valley model's parameter space. Zooming in on the regimes where quantum fluctuations are likely to have an effect, we employ pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group (pf-FRG) calculations to resolve quantum disordered ground states such as spin-valley liquids, which we indeed find for certain parameter regimes. As a concrete example, we discuss the case of trilayer graphene aligned with hexagonal boron nitride using material-specific parameters.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2023

Topological fracton quantum phase transitions by tuning exact tensor network states

Gapped fracton phases of matter generalize the concept of topological order and broaden our fundamental understanding of entanglement in quantum many-body systems. However, their analytical or numerical description beyond exactly solvable models remains a formidable challenge. Here we employ an exact 3D quantum tensor-network approach that allows us to study a $\mathbb{Z}_N$ generalization of the prototypical X cube fracton model and its quantum phase transitions between distinct topological states via fully tractable wavefunction deformations. We map the (deformed) quantum states exactly to a combination of a classical lattice gauge theory and a plaquette clock model, and employ numerical techniques to calculate various entanglement order parameters. For the $\mathbb{Z}_N$ model we find a family of (weakly) first-order fracton confinement transitions that in the limit of $N\to\infty$ converge to a continuous phase transition beyond the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm. We also discover a line of 3D conformal quantum critical points (with critical magnetic flux loop fluctuations) which, in the $N\to\infty$ limit, appears to coexist with a gapless deconfined fracton state.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2023

Structured volume-law entanglement in an interacting, monitored Majorana spin liquid

Monitored quantum circuits allow for unprecedented dynamical control of many-body entanglement. Here we show that random, measurement-only circuits, implementing the competition of bond and plaquette couplings of the Kitaev honeycomb model, give rise to a structured volume-law entangled phase with subleading $L \ln L$ liquid scaling behavior. This interacting Majorana liquid takes up a highly-symmetric, spherical parameter space within the entanglement phase diagram obtained when varying the relative coupling probabilities. The sphere itself is a critical boundary with quantum Lifshitz scaling separating the volume-law phase from proximate area-law phases, a color code or a toric code. An exception is a set of tricritical, self-dual points exhibiting effective (1+1)d conformal scaling at which the volume-law phase and both area-law phases meet. From a quantum information perspective, our results define error thresholds for the color code in the presence of projective error and stochastic syndrome measurements. We show that an alternative realization of our model circuit can be implemented using unitary gates plus ancillary single-qubit measurements only.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Network of chiral one-dimensional channels and localized states emerging in a moiré system

Moiré systems provide a highly tunable platform for engineering band structures and exotic correlated phases. Here, we theoretically study a model for a single layer of graphene subject to a smooth moiré electrostatic potential, induced by an insulating substrate layer. For sufficiently large moiré unit cells, we find that ultra-flat bands coexist with a triangular network of chiral one-dimensional (1D) channels. These channels mediate an effective interaction between localized modes with spin-, orbital- and valley degrees of freedom emerging from the flat bands. The form of the interaction reflects the chiralilty and 1D nature of the network. We study this interacting model within an $SU(4)$ mean-field theory, semi-classical Monte-Carlo simulations, and an $SU(4)$ spin-wave theory, focusing on commensurate order stabilized by local two-site and chiral three-site interactions. By tuning a gate voltage, one can trigger a non-coplanar phase characterized by a peculiar coexistence of three different types of order: ferromagnetic spin order in one valley, non-coplanar chiral spin order in the other valley, and 120$^\circ$ order in the remaining spin and valley-mixed degrees of freedom. Quantum and classical fluctuations have qualitatively different effects on the observed phases and can, for example, create a finite spin-chirality purely via fluctuation effects.

cond-mat.str-el↗
arXiv2022

Frustrated Ferromagnetism of Honeycomb Cobaltates: Incommensurate Spirals, Quantum Disordered Phases, and Out-of-Plane Ising Order

Recent experiments on the Co-based $d^7$ honeycomb materials BaCo$_2$(AsO$_4$)$_2$ and BaCo$_2$(PO$_4$)$_2$ have drawn renewed interest to XXZ models with competing interactions beyond the nearest neighbor exchange. While the case of dominant antiferromagnetic exchange has been extensively studied, the actual materials exhibit a ferromagnetic nearest neighbor exchange. Here we show that such a sign change of the dominant nearest neighbor coupling has substantial consequences on the phase diagram. In particular, the nature of the quantum disordered phase of interest changes from a plaquette valence bond crystal to a long-range entangled spin liquid phase. By means of complementary numerical simulations, based on exact diagonalization and the pseudo-fermion functional renormalization group, we demonstrate the formation of a gapless spin liquid state at the heart of the ferromagnetic phase diagram in the isotropic Heisenberg limit, which gives way to out-of-plane Ising magnetic order upon inclusion of XXZ anisotropy. The magnetically ordered phases surrounding this quantum disordered region are much less sensitive to the sign change of the dominant interaction and can be understood from their classical analogs. We briefly comment on the relevance of our results for Co-based $d^7$ honeycomb materials.

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