arXiv subjects

Wolfgang Lechner

Publications and source records attributed to Wolfgang Lechner.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Many-body quantum heat engines with shortcuts to adiabaticity

Quantum heat engines are modeled by thermodynamic cycles with quantum-mechanical working media. Since high engine efficiencies require adiabaticity, a major challenge is to yield a nonvanishing power output at finite cycle times. Shortcuts to adiabaticity using counter-diabatic (CD) driving may serve as a means to speed up such, otherwise infinitely long, cycles. We introduce local approximate CD protocols for many-body spin quantum heat engines and show that this method improves the efficiency and power for finite cycle times considerably. The protocol does not require a priori knowledge of the system eigenstates and is thus realistic in experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Quantum phase transition with inhomogeneous driving in the Lechner-Hauke-Zoller model

We study the zero-temperature phase diagram of the Lechner-Hauke-Zoller model. An analytic expression for the free-energy and critical coefficients for finite-size systems and in the thermodynamic limit are derived and numerically verified. With the aim to improve standard quantum annealing, we introduce an inhomogeneously driven transverse field with an additional time-dependent parameter that allows one to evade the first-order quantum phase transition and, thus, improve the efficiency of the ground-state preparation considerably.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Rapid counter-diabatic sweeps in lattice gauge adiabatic quantum computing

We present a coherent counter-diabatic quantum protocol to prepare ground states in the lattice gauge mapping of all-to-all Ising models (LHZ) with considerably enhanced final ground state fidelity compared to a quantum annealing protocol. We make use of a variational method to find approximate counter-diabatic Hamiltonians that has recently been introduced by Sels and Polkovnikov [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 114, 3909 (2017)]. The resulting additional terms in our protocol are time-dependent local on-site y-magnetic fields. These additional Hamiltonian terms do not increase the minimal energy gap, but instead rely on coherent phase maximization. A single free parameter is introduced which is optimized via classical updates. The protocol consists only of local and nearest-neighbor terms which makes it attractive for implementations in near term experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Quantum Expectation-Maximization Algorithm

Clustering algorithms are a cornerstone of machine learning applications. Recently, a quantum algorithm for clustering based on the k-means algorithm has been proposed by Kerenidis, Landman, Luongo and Prakash. Based on their work, we propose a quantum expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). The robustness and quantum speedup of the algorithm is demonstrated. We also show numerically the advantage of GMM over k-means for non-trivial cluster data.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

A Quantum N-Queens Solver

The N-queens problem is to find the position of N queens on an N by N chess board such that no queens attack each other. The excluded diagonals N-queens problem is a variation where queens cannot be placed on some predefined fields along diagonals. This variation is proven NP-complete and the parameter regime to generate hard instances that are intractable with current classical algorithms is known. We propose a special purpose quantum simulator that implements the excluded diagonals N-queens completion problem using atoms in an optical lattice and cavity-mediated long-range interactions. Our implementation has no overhead from the embedding allowing to directly probe for a possible quantum advantage in near term devices for optimization problems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Designing ground states of Hopfield networks for quantum state preparation

We present a protocol to store a polynomial number of arbitrary bit strings, encoded as spin configurations, in the approximately degenerate low-energy manifold of an all-to-all connected Ising spin glass. The iterative protocol is inspired by machine learning techniques utilizing $k$-local Hopfield networks trained with $k$-local Hebbian learning and unlearning. The trained Hamiltonian is the basis of a quantum state-preparation scheme to create quantum many-body superpositions with tunable squared amplitudes using resources available in near term experiments. We find that the number of configurations that can be stored in the ground states and thus turned into superposition scales with the $k$-locality of the Ising interaction.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Perspectives of quantum annealing: Methods and implementations

Quantum annealing is a computing paradigm that has the ambitious goal of efficiently solving large-scale combinatorial optimization problems of practical importance. However, many challenges have yet to be overcome before this goal can be reached. This perspectives article first gives a brief introduction to the concept of quantum annealing, and then highlights new pathways that may clear the way towards feasible and large scale quantum annealing. Moreover, since this field of research is to a strong degree driven by a synergy between experiment and theory, we discuss both in this work. An important focus in this article is on future perspectives, which complements other review articles, and which we hope will motivate further research.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Programmable Superpositions of Ising Configurations

We present a framework to prepare superpositions of bit strings, i.e., many-body spin configurations, with deterministic programmable probabilities. The spin configurations are encoded in the degenerate ground states of the lattice-gauge representation of an all-to-all connected Ising spin glass. The ground state manifold is invariant under variations of the gauge degrees of freedom, which take the form of four-body parity constraints. Our framework makes use of these degrees of freedom by individually tuning them to dynamically prepare programmable superpositions. The dynamics combines an adiabatic protocol with controlled diabatic transitions. We derive an effective model that allows one to determine the control parameters efficiently even for large system sizes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Approximate Optimization with Parallelizable Gates

The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) has been introduced as a heuristic digital quantum computing scheme to find approximate solutions of combinatorial problems with shallow circuits. We present a scheme to parallelize this approach for arbitrary all-to-all connected problem graphs in a layout of quantum bits (qubits) with nearest neighbor interactions. The protocol consisting of single qubit operations that encode the optimization problem and all interactions are problem-independent pair-wise CNOT gates among nearest neighbors. This allows for a parallelizable implementation in quantum devices with a square lattice geometry. The basis of this proposal is a lattice gauge model which also introduces additional parameters and protocols for QAOA to improve the efficiency.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Glass transitions in monodisperse cluster-forming ensembles: vortex matter in type-1.5 superconductors

At low enough temperatures and high densities, the equilibrium configuration of an ensemble of ultrasoft particles is a self-assembled, ordered, cluster-crystal. In the present work we explore the out-of-equilibrium dynamics for a two-dimensional realization, which is relevant to superconducting materials with multi-scale intervortex forces. We find that for small temperatures following a quench, the suppression of the thermally-activated particle hopping hinders the ordering. This results in a glass transition for a monodispersed ensemble, for which we derive a microscopic explanation in terms of an "effective polydispersity" induced by multi-scale interactions. This demonstrates that a vortex glass can form in clean systems of thin films of "type-1.5" superconductors. An additional setup to study this physics can be layered superconducting systems, where the shape of the effective vortex-vortex interactions can be engineered.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

A Coherent Quantum Annealer with Rydberg Atoms

There is a significant ongoing effort in realizing quantum annealing with different physical platforms. The challenge is to achieve a fully programmable quantum device featuring coherent adiabatic quantum dynamics. Here we show that combining the well-developed quantum simulation toolbox for Rydberg atoms with the recently proposed Lechner-Hauke-Zoller~(LHZ) architecture allows one to build a prototype for a coherent adiabatic quantum computer with all-to-all Ising interactions and, therefore, a novel platform for quantum annealing. In LHZ a infinite-range spin-glass is mapped onto the low energy subspace of a spin-1/2 lattice gauge model with quasi-local 4-body parity constraints. This spin model can be emulated in a natural way with Rubidium and Cesium atoms in a bipartite optical lattice involving laser-dressed Rydberg-Rydberg interactions, which are several orders of magnitude larger than the relevant decoherence rates. This makes the exploration of coherent quantum enhanced optimization protocols accessible with state-of-the-art atomic physics experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

A Transmon Quantum Annealer: Decomposing Many-Body Ising Constraints Into Pair Interactions

Adiabatic quantum computing is an analog quantum computing scheme with various applications in solving optimization problems. In the parity picture of quantum optimization, the problem is encoded in local fields that act on qubits which are connected via local 4-body terms. We present an implementation of a parity annealer with Transmon qubits with a specifically tailored Ising interaction from Josephson ring modulators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Tuneable defect interactions and supersolidity in dipolar quantum gases on a lattice potential

Point defects in self-assembled crystals, such as vacancies and interstitials, attract each other and form stable clusters. This leads to a phase separation between perfect crystalline structures and defect conglomerates at low temperatures. We propose a method that allows one to tune the effective interactions between point defects from attractive to repulsive by means of external periodic fields. In the quantum regime, this allows one to engineer strongly-correlated many-body phases. We exemplify the microscopic mechanism by considering dipolar quantum gases of ground state polar molecules and weakly bound molecules of strongly magnetic atoms trapped in a weak optical lattice in a two-dimensional configuration. By tuning the lattice depth, defect interactions turn repulsive, which allows us to deterministically design a novel supersolid phase in the continuum limit.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2015

From classical to quantum non-equilibrium dynamics of Rydberg excitations in optical lattices

The glass phase and its quantum analog are prominent challenges of current non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics. As a model system to study the transition from classical to quantum glassy dynamics, we propose a setup of laser driven three-level atoms trapped in an optical lattice. Tuning the strength of the laser driving to the intermediate level allows one to study the transition from a classical Kinetically Constrained Model to the coherent regime. For strong driving, Rydberg excitations evolve analogously to defects in the One-Spin Facilitated Model, a minimal model known to exhibit glassy dynamics. In our setup, the constraints result from the interplay between Rydberg interactions and the laser detuning from the Rydberg state. The emerging heterogeneous relaxation timescales are tuneable over several orders of magnitudes. In the opposite limit of weak driving of the intermediate level, we find an effective cluster model which describes the dynamics in a reduced subspace of the allowed number and positions of Rydberg excitations. This subspace is uniquely determined by the initial state and is characterized by a fixed number of clusters of Rydberg excitations. In addition, we investigate the influence of random fields on the classical relaxation. We find that the glassy dynamics can relax faster in the presence of weak random fields.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2015

Monodisperse cluster crystals: classical and quantum dynamics

We study the phases and dynamics of a gas of monodisperse particles interacting via soft-core potentials in two spatial dimensions, which is of interest for soft-matter colloidal systems and quantum atomic gases. Using exact theoretical methods, we demonstrate that the equilibrium low-temperature classical phase simultaneously breaks continuous translational symmetry and dynamic space-time homogeneity, whose absence is usually associated with out-of-equilibrium glassy phenomena. This results in an exotic self-assembled cluster crystal with coexisting liquid-like long-time dynamical properties, which corresponds to a classical analog of supersolid behavior. We demonstrate that the effects of quantum fluctuations and bosonic statistics on cluster-glassy crystals are separate and competing: zero-point motion tends to destabilize crystalline order, which can be restored by bosonic statistics.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2015

Probing Entanglement in Adiabatic Quantum Optimization with Trapped Ions

Adiabatic quantum optimization has been proposed as a route to solve NP-complete problems, with a possible quantum speedup compared to classical algorithms. However, the precise role of quantum effects, such as entanglement, in these optimization protocols is still unclear. We propose a setup of cold trapped ions that allows one to quantitatively characterize, in a controlled experiment, the interplay of entanglement, decoherence, and non-adiabaticity in adiabatic quantum optimization. We show that, in this way, a broad class of NP-complete problems becomes accessible for quantum simulations, including the knapsack problem, number partitioning, and instances of the max-cut problem. Moreover, a general theoretical study reveals correlations of the success probability with entanglement at the end of the protocol. From exact numerical simulations for small systems and linear ramps, however, we find no substantial correlations with the entanglement during the optimization. For the final state, we derive analytically a universal upper bound for the success probability as a function of entanglement, which can be measured in experiment. The proposed trapped-ion setups and the presented study of entanglement address pertinent questions of adiabatic quantum optimization, which may be of general interest across experimental platforms.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2015

Entropy and Kinetics of Point-Defects in Two-Dimensional Dipolar Crystals

We study in experiment and with computer simulation the free energy and the kinetics of vacancy and interstitial defects in two-dimensional dipolar crystals. The defects appear in different local topologies which we characterize by their point group symmetry; $C_n$ is the n-fold cyclic group and $D_n$ is the dihedral group, including reflections. The frequency of different local topologies is not determined by their almost degenerate energies but dominated by entropy for symmetric configurations. The kinetics of the defects is fully reproduced by a master equation in a multi-state Markov model. In this model, the system is described by the state of the defect and the time evolution is given by transitions occurring with particular rates. These transition rate constants are extracted from experiments and simulations using an optimisation procedure. The good agreement between experiment, simulation and master equation thus provides evidence for the accuracy of the model.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2015

A string reaction coordinate for the folding of a polymer chain

We investigate the crystallization mechanism of a single, flexible homopolymer chain with short range attractions. For a sufficiently narrow attractive well, the system undergoes a first-order like freezing transition from an expanded disordered coil to a compact crystalline state. Based on a maximum likelihood analysis of committor values computed for configurations obtained by Wang-Landau sampling, we construct a non-linear string reaction coordinate for the coil-to-crystal transition. In contrast to a linear reaction coordinate, the string reaction coordinate captures the effect of different degrees of freedom controlling different stages of the transition. Our analysis indicates that a combination of the energy and the global crystallinity parameter Q6 provide the most accurate measure for the progress of the transition. While the crystallinity parameter Q6 is most relevant in the initial stages of the crystallization, the later stages are dominated by a decrease in the potential energy.

cond-mat.soft↗