Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

W. Dür

Publications and source records attributed to W. Dür.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Classical spin systems and the quantum stabilizer formalism: general mappings and applications

We present general mappings between classical spin systems and quantum physics. More precisely, we show how to express partition functions and correlation functions of arbitrary classical spin models as inner products between quantum stabilizer states and product states, thereby generalizing mappings for some specific models established in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 117207 (2007)]. For Ising- and Potts-type models with and without external magnetic field, we show how the entanglement features of the corresponding stabilizer states are related to the interaction pattern of the classical model, while the choice of product states encodes the details of interaction. These mappings establish a link between the fields of classical statistical mechanics and quantum information theory, which we utilize to transfer techniques and methods developed in one field to gain insight into the other. For example, we use quantum information techniques to recover well known duality relations and local symmetries of classical models in a simple way, and provide new classical simulation methods to simulate certain types of classical spin models. We show that in this way all inhomogeneous models of q-dimensional spins with pairwise interaction pattern specified by a graph of bounded tree-width can be simulated efficiently. Finally, we show relations between classical spin models and measurement-based quantum computation.

quant-ph↗

Quantum computation in correlation space and extremal entanglement

Recently, a framework was established to systematically construct novel universal resource states for measurement-based quantum computation using techniques involving finitely correlated states. With these methods, universal states were found which are in certain ways much less entangled than the original cluster state model, and it was hence believed that with this approach many of the extremal entanglement features of the cluster states could be relaxed. The new resources were constructed as "computationally universal" states--i.e. they allow one to efficiently reproduce the classical output of each quantum computation--whereas the cluster states are universal in a stronger sense since they are "universal state preparators". Here we show that the new resources are universal state preparators after all, and must therefore exhibit a whole class of extremal entanglement features, similar to the cluster states.

quant-ph↗

Unifying all classical spin models in a Lattice Gauge Theory

We show that the partition function of all classical spin models, including all discrete Standard Statistical Models and all abelian discrete Lattice Gauge Theories (LGTs), can be expressed as a special instance of the partition function of the 4D Z_2 LGT. In this way, all classical spin models with apparently very different features are unified in a single complete model, and a physical relation between all models is established. As applications of this result, we present a new method to do mean field theory for abelian discrete LGTs with d>3, and we show that the computation of the partition function of the 4D Z_2 LGT is a computationally hard (#P-hard) problem. We also extend our results to abelian continuous models, where we show the approximate completeness of the 4D Z_2 LGT. All results are proven using quantum information techniques.

hep-lat↗

Concatenated tensor network states

We introduce the concept of concatenated tensor networks to efficiently describe quantum states. We show that the corresponding concatenated tensor network states can efficiently describe time evolution and possess arbitrary block-wise entanglement and long-ranged correlations. We illustrate the approach for the enhancement of matrix product states, i.e. 1D tensor networks, where we replace each of the matrices of the original matrix product state with another 1D tensor network. This procedure yields a 2D tensor network, which includes -- already for tensor dimension two -- all states that can be prepared by circuits of polynomially many (possibly non-unitary) two-qubit quantum operations, as well as states resulting from time evolution with respect to Hamiltonians with short-ranged interactions. We investigate the possibility to efficiently extract information from these states, which serves as the basic step in a variational optimization procedure. To this aim we utilize known exact and approximate methods for 2D tensor networks and demonstrate some improvements thereof, which are also applicable e.g. in the context of 2D projected entangled pair states. We generalize the approach to higher dimensional- and tree tensor networks.

quant-ph↗

Quantum algorithms for spin models and simulable gate sets for quantum computation

We present elementary mappings between classical lattice models and quantum circuits. These mappings provide a general framework to obtain efficiently simulable quantum gate sets from exactly solvable classical models. For example, we recover and generalize the simulability of Valiant's match-gates by invoking the solvability of the free-fermion eight-vertex model. Our mappings furthermore provide a systematic formalism to obtain simple quantum algorithms to approximate partition functions of lattice models in certain complex-parameter regimes. For example, we present an efficient quantum algorithm for the six-vertex model as well as a 2D Ising-type model. We finally show that simulating our quantum algorithms on a classical computer is as hard as simulating universal quantum computation (i.e. BQP-complete).

quant-ph↗

Renormalization algorithm with graph enhancement

We introduce a class of variational states to describe quantum many-body systems. This class generalizes matrix product states which underly the density-matrix renormalization group approach by combining them with weighted graph states. States within this class may (i) possess arbitrarily long-ranged two-point correlations, (ii) exhibit an arbitrary degree of block entanglement entropy up to a volume law, (iii) may be taken translationally invariant, while at the same time (iv) local properties and two-point correlations can be computed efficiently. This new variational class of states can be thought of as being prepared from matrix product states, followed by commuting unitaries on arbitrary constituents, hence truly generalizing both matrix product and weighted graph states. We use this class of states to formulate a renormalization algorithm with graph enhancement (RAGE) and present numerical examples demonstrating that improvements over density-matrix renormalization group simulations can be achieved in the simulation of ground states and quantum algorithms. Further generalizations, e.g., to higher spatial dimensions, are outlined.

quant-ph↗

Completeness of the classical 2D Ising model and universal quantum computation

We prove that the 2D Ising model is complete in the sense that the partition function of any classical q-state spin model (on an arbitrary graph) can be expressed as a special instance of the partition function of a 2D Ising model with complex inhomogeneous couplings and external fields. In the case where the original model is an Ising or Potts-type model, we find that the corresponding 2D square lattice requires only polynomially more spins w.r.t the original one, and we give a constructive method to map such models to the 2D Ising model. For more general models the overhead in system size may be exponential. The results are established by connecting classical spin models with measurement-based quantum computation and invoking the universality of the 2D cluster states.

quant-ph↗

Entanglement purification and quantum error correction

We give a review on entanglement purification for bipartite and multipartite quantum states, with the main focus on theoretical work carried out by our group in the last couple of years. We discuss entanglement purification in the context of quantum communication, where we emphasize its close relation to quantum error correction. Various bipartite and multipartite entanglement purification protocols are discussed, and their performance under idealized and realistic conditions is studied. Several applications of entanglement purification in quantum communication and computation are presented, which highlights the fact that entanglement purification is a fundamental tool in quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗

Fundamentals of universality in one-way quantum computation

We build a framework allowing for a systematic investigation of the issue: "Which quantum states are universal resources for one-way quantum computation?" We start by re-examining what is exactly meant by "universality" in quantum computation, and what the implications are for universal one-way quantum computation. Given the framework of a measurement-based quantum computer, where quantum information is processed by local operations only, the most general universal one-way quantum computer is one which is capable of accepting arbitrary classical inputs and producing arbitrary quantum outputs--we refer to this property as CQ-universality. We then show that a systematic study of CQ-universality in one-way quantum computation is possible by identifying entanglement features that must be present in every universal resource. These insights are used to identify several states as being not universal, such as 1D cluster states, W states, and ground states of non-critical 1D spin systems. Our criteria are strengthened by considering the efficiency of a quantum computation, and we find that entanglement measures must obey a certain scaling law with the system size for all efficient universal resources. This again leads to examples of non-universal resources, such as, e.g., ground states of critical 1D spin systems. We also provide several examples of efficient universal resources, namely graph states corresponding to hexagonal, triangular and Kagome lattices. Finally, we consider the more general notion of encoded CQ-universality, where quantum outputs are allowed to be produced in an encoded form. Again we provide entanglement-based criteria for encoded universality. Moreover, we present a general procedure to construct encoded universal resources.

quant-ph↗

Entanglement and its dynamics in open, dissipative systems

Quantum mechanical entanglement can exist in noisy open quantum systems at high temperature. A simple mechanism, where system particles are randomly reset to some standard initial state, can counteract the deteriorating effect of decoherence, resulting in an entangled steady state far from thermodynamical equilibrium. We present models for both gas-type systems and for strongly coupled systems. We point out in which way the entanglement resulting from such a reset mechanism is different from the entanglement that one can find in thermal states. We develop master equations to describe the system and its interaction with an environment, study toy models with two particles (qubits), where the master equation can often be solved analytically, and finally examine larger systems with possibly fluctuating particle numbers. We find that in gas-type systems, the reset mechanism can produce an entangled steady state for an arbitrary temperature of the environment, while this is not true in strongly coupled systems. But even then, the temperature range where one can find entangled steady states is typically much higher with the reset mechanism.

quant-ph↗

Graph states as ground states of many-body spin-1/2 Hamiltonians

We consider the problem whether graph states can be ground states of local interaction Hamiltonians. For Hamiltonians acting on n qubits that involve at most two-body interactions, we show that no n-qubit graph state can be the exact, non-degenerate ground state. We determine for any graph state the minimal d such that it is the non-degenerate ground state of a d-body interaction Hamiltonian, while we show for d'-body Hamiltonians H with d' n spins.

quant-ph↗

On the role of memory errors in quantum repeaters

We investigate the influence of memory errors in the quantum repeater scheme for long-range quantum communication. We show that the communication distance is limited in standard operation mode due to memory errors resulting from unavoidable waiting times for classical signals. We show how to overcome these limitations by (i) improving local memory, and (ii) introducing two new operational modes of the quantum repeater. In both operational modes, the repeater is run blindly, i.e. without waiting for classical signals to arrive. In the first scheme, entanglement purification protocols based on one-way classical communication are used allowing to communicate over arbitrary distances. However, the error thresholds for noise in local control operations are very stringent. The second scheme makes use of entanglement purification protocols with two-way classical communication and inherits the favorable error thresholds of the repeater run in standard mode. One can increase the possible communication distance by an order of magnitude with reasonable overhead in physical resources. We outline the architecture of a quantum repeater that can possibly ensure intercontinental quantum communication.

quant-ph↗

Classical spin models and the quantum stabilizer formalism

We relate a large class of classical spin models, including the inhomogeneous Ising, Potts, and clock models of q-state spins on arbitrary graphs, to problems in quantum physics. More precisely, we show how to express partition functions as inner products between certain quantum stabilizer states and product states. This connection allows us to use powerful techniques developed in quantum information theory, such as the stabilizer formalism and classical simulation techniques, to gain general insights into these models in a unified way. We recover and generalize several symmetries and high-low temperature dualities, and we provide an efficient classical evaluation of partition functions for all interaction graphs with a bounded tree-width.

quant-ph↗

Classical simulation versus universality in measurement based quantum computation

We investigate for which resource states an efficient classical simulation of measurement based quantum computation is possible. We show that the Schmidt--rank width, a measure recently introduced to assess universality of resource states, plays a crucial role in also this context. We relate Schmidt--rank width to the optimal description of states in terms of tree tensor networks and show that an efficient classical simulation of measurement based quantum computation is possible for all states with logarithmically bounded Schmidt--rank width (with respect to the system size). For graph states where the Schmidt--rank width scales in this way, we efficiently construct the optimal tree tensor network descriptions, and provide several examples. We highlight parallels in the efficient description of complex systems in quantum information theory and graph theory.

quant-ph↗

Scalable multi-particle entanglement of trapped ions

Among the various kinds of entangled states, the 'W state' plays an important role as its entanglement is maximally persistent and robust even under particle loss. Such states are central as a resource in quantum information processing and multiparty quantum communication. Here we report the scalable and deterministic generation of four-, five-, six-, seven- and eight-particle entangled states of the W type with trapped ions. We obtain the maximum possible information on these states by performing full characterization via state tomography, using individual control and detection of the ions. A detailed analysis proves that the entanglement is genuine. The availability of such multiparticle entangled states, together with full information in the form of their density matrices, creates a test-bed for theoretical studies of multiparticle entanglement. Independently, -Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger- entangled states with up to six ions have been created and analysed in Boulder.

quant-ph↗

Ground state approximation for strongly interacting systems in arbitrary dimension

We introduce a variational method for the approximation of ground states of strongly interacting spin systems in arbitrary geometries and spatial dimensions. The approach is based on weighted graph states and superpositions thereof. These states allow for the efficient computation of all local observables (e.g. energy) and include states with diverging correlation length and unbounded multi-particle entanglement. As a demonstration we apply our approach to the Ising model on 1D, 2D and 3D square-lattices. We also present generalizations to higher spins and continuous-variable systems, which allows for the investigation of lattice field theories.

quant-ph↗

Entanglement in Graph States and its Applications

Graph states form a rich class of entangled states that exhibit important aspects of multi-partite entanglement. At the same time, they can be described by a number of parameters that grows only moderately with the system size. They have a variety of applications in quantum information theory, most prominently as algorithmic resources in the context of the one-way quantum computer, but also in other fields such as quantum error correction and multi-partite quantum communication, as well as in the study of foundational issues such as non-locality and decoherence. In this review, we give a tutorial introduction into the theory of graph states. We introduce various equivalent ways how to define graph states, and discuss the basic notions and properties of these states. The focus of this review is on their entanglement properties. These include aspects of non-locality, bi-partite and multi-partite entanglement and its classification in terms of the Schmidt measure, the distillability properties of mixed entangled states close to a pure graph state, as well as the robustness of their entanglement under decoherence. We review some of the known applications of graph states, as well as proposals for their experimental implementation.

quant-ph↗

Steady state entanglement in open and noisy quantum systems at high temperature

We show that quantum mechanical entanglement can prevail even in noisy open quantum systems at high temperature and far from thermodynamical equilibrium, despite the deteriorating effect of decoherence. The system consists of a number N of interacting quantum particles, and it can interact and exchange particles with some environment. The effect of decoherence is counteracted by a simple mechanism, where system particles are randomly reset to some standard initial state, e.g. by replacing them with particles from the environment. We present a master equation that describes this process, which we can solve analytically for small N. If we vary the interaction strength and the reset against decoherence rate, we find a threshold below which the equilibrium state is classically correlated, and above which there is a parameter region with genuine entanglement.

quant-ph↗