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Thursday 18 December

Quantum Physics

Molecular Quantum Computations on a Protein

This work presents the implementation of a fragment-based, quantum-centric supercomputing workflow for computing molecular electronic structure using quantum hardware. The workflow is applied to predict the relative energies of two conformers of the 300-atom Trp-cage miniprotein. The methodology employs wave function-based embedding (EWF) as the underlying fragmentation framework, in which all atoms in the system are explicitly included in the CI treatment. CI calculations for individual fragments are performed using either sample-based quantum diagonalization (SQD) for challenging fragments or full configuration interaction (FCI) for trivial fragments. To assess the accuracy of SQD for fragment CI calculations, EWF-(FCI,SQD) results are compared against EWF-MP2 and EWF-CCSD benchmarks. Overall, the results demonstrate that large-scale electronic configuration interaction (CI) simulations of protein systems containing hundreds or even thousands of atoms can be realized through the combined use of quantum and classical computing resources.
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All authors Akhil Shajan, Danil Kaliakin, Fangchun Liang, Thaddeus Pellegrini, Hakan Doga, Subhamoy Bhowmik, Susanta Das, Antonio Mezzacapo, Mario Motta, Kenneth M. Merz Jr

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.hist-ph

Realism and Ontology in Quantum Mechanics and String Theory

Dualities in physics have challenged traditional forms of scientific realism by undermining the idea that theories describe a unique underlying ontology. In this paper, we develop a new perspective on scientific realism that responds to this challenge. We argue that while realist commitment remains appropriate at the level of a theory's full formal structure, ontological commitment should be treated as tied to specific empirical contexts rather than to a fixed, real ontology. Our proposal draws inspiration from Dennett's notion of a "compression algorithm" as a defining criterion of a scientific theory. On this basis, we separate realism from ontological commitment. To clarify the stakes of this distinction, we contrast our approach with common core realism, which locates ontology in the invariant structure shared by dual models. Focusing on dualities in quantum mechanics and string theory, we show how our view accommodates ontological pluralism while preserving a robust form of structural realism.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.optics

Cryogenic Dielectric Metasurface-Integrated Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors

Over the past decade, multi-element superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) have emerged as the leading single-photon detection technology due to their exceptional system detection efficiency (SDE), ultrahigh timing precision, negligible dark counts, etc. However, achieving these performances with a single-element SNSPD has been an outstanding challenge due to a fundamental trade-off: a large active area is necessary for high SDE, while a smaller area is crucial for higher photon count rates, lower dark counts, and lower jitter. Here, we introduce an all-dielectric cryogenic metalens integrated with a single-element SNSPD to achieve high SDE with a smaller active area. Furthermore, we leverage a bifunctional metalens to demonstrate polarization-resolved photodetection at the telecommunication wavelength theoretically. Integrating multifunctional cryogenic metaurfaces with the state-of-the-art SNSPDs may enable novel capabilities with reduced size, weight, power, cost, and cooling (SWaP-C$^{2}$) requirements.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from hep-th

Gauging Open EFTs from the top down

We present explicit top-down calculations of Open EFTs for gauged degrees of freedom with a focus on the effects of gauge fixing. Starting from the in-in contour with two copies of the action, we integrate out the charged matter in various $U(1)$ gauge theories to obtain the Feynman-Vernon influence functional for the photon, or, in the case of symmetry breaking, for the photon and Stückelberg fields. The influence functional is defined through a quantum path integral, which – as is always the case when quantizing gauge degrees of freedom – contains redundancies that must be eliminated via a gauge-fixing procedure. We implement the BRST formalism in this setting. The in-in boundary conditions break the two copies of BRST symmetry down to a single diagonal copy. Nevertheless the single diagonal BRST is sufficient to ensure that the influence functional is itself gauge invariant under two copies of gauge symmetries, retarded and advanced, regardless of the choice of state or symmetry-breaking phase. We clarify how this is consistent with the decoupling limit where the global advanced symmetry is generically broken by the state. We illustrate our results with several examples: a gauge field theory analogue of the Caldeira-Leggett model, spinor QED with fermions integrated out, scalar QED in a thermal state, the Abelian Higgs-Kibble model in the spontaneously broken state with the Higgs integrated out, and Abelian Higgs-Kibble model coupled to a charged bath in a symmetry-broken phase. The latter serves as an example of an open system for Stückelberg/Goldstone fields.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.supr-con

Chronicle: "Foot of the iceberg" of Nobel Prize in Physics 2025: ILTPE and LTP contribution

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025 has been awarded to John Clarke, John Martinis, and Michel Devoret for "the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit". The paper explains the essence of their studies and shows in a historical context the importance of earlier research in superconductivity and quantum physics of macroscopic systems by other physicists, particularly, Ukrainian scientists, including employees of the B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering of the NAS of Ukraine (ILTPE). The role of the Fizyka Nyzkykh Temperatur (FNT) journal issued by ILTPE in Kharkiv and its translation as AIP Low Temperature Physics (LTP) in dissemination of results of the theoretical and experimental studies in the field is emphasized as well.
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Quantum Physics

Attosecond Control of Squeezed Light

Squeezed light is a key resource in quantum metrology and quantum information science. It is primarily generated through nonlinear optical interactions, where the degree of squeezing is set by the nonlinearity of the medium. Here, we modulate the third-order nonlinear response of a dielectric with strong ultrafast laser fields to control squeezed light generation on attosecond time scales. By tuning a sub-cycle phase delay between the input femtosecond pulses, we switch the generated light between amplitude-squeezed and phase-squeezed states. We measure the quantum noise using a frequency-resolved balanced homodyne detection scheme that extracts field quadratures in many frequency modes simultaneously. From these measurements we obtain the complete coherency matrix containing quadrature correlations across the frequency modes of the pulse. These results enable quantum light sources with sub-cycle control of squeezing and open a route to transduction of dynamical quantum correlations in matter to quantum correlations in electric fields.
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All authors Russell Zimmerman, Shashank Kumar, Shiva Kant Tiwari, Md Ehsanuzzaman, Eric Liu, Francis Walz, Siddhant Pandey, George J. Economou II, Hadiseh Alaeian, Chen-Ting Liao, Valentin Walther, Niranjan Shivaram

Quantum Physics

Comparing Homodyne and Heterodyne Tomography of Quantum States of Light

Non-Gaussian quantum states are critical resources in photonic quantum information processing, rendering their generation and characterization of increasing importance in quantum optics. In this work, we theoretically and numerically analyze the relative efficiency of homodyne versus heterodyne measurements for reconstructing non-Gaussian states, a major outstanding question in continuous-variable tomography. Combining a Fisher information-based formalism with simulated experiments, we find homodyne tomography to outperform heterodyne measurements for all non-Gaussian states tested, although the separation between the two modalities proves significantly narrower than suggested by the asymptotic Cramer-Rao lower bound. Our results should find use for optimizing measurement strategies in practical continuous-variable quantum systems.
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All authors Rhea P. Fernandes, Andrew J. Pizzimenti, Christos N. Gagatsos, Joseph M. Lukens

Quantum Physics

Subsystems (in)dependence in GIE proposals

Recent proposals suggest that detecting entanglement between two spatially superposed masses would establish the quantum nature of gravity. However, these gravitationally induced entanglement (GIE) experiments rely on assumptions about subsystem independence. We sharpen the theoretical underpinnings of such proposals by examining them through the lens of algebraic quantum field theory (AQFT), distinguishing distinct operational and algebraic notions of independence. We argue that state and measurement independence of subsystems, essential to the experimental logic, is nontrivial in the presence of gauge constraints and gravitational dressing. Using gravitationally dressed fields, we recall that commutation relations between spacelike separated observables are nontrivial, undermining strict Hilbert space factorization. We further explore the implications for entanglement witnesses, investigating the Tsirelson bound when subsystem algebras fail to commute, and showing that the Tsirelson bound persists for a suitably symmetrized CHSH observable even though the operational status of such "joint" observables becomes delicate when commensurability fails. Our analysis highlights how even within linearized covariant quantum gravity, violations of microcausality may affect both the interpretation, modelling, and design of proposed laboratory tests of quantum gravity, despite remaining negligible for current experimental regimes. Although we consider GIE-style protocols as a concrete case study, the subsystem-independence issues we highlight are generic to low-energy (perturbative) quantum gravity. Finally, we derive estimates for dressing-induced microcausality violations, which suggest a complementary avenue to current proposals: in principle, bounding dressing-induced microcausality violations themselves as a probe of the quantum nature of gravity.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from hep-th

Continuum canonical purifications

We construct and characterize canonical purifications for general algebraic states, extending prior constructions by Woronowicz and by Dutta/Faulkner to general quantum theories. Given a state on a $*$-algebra, the canonical purification is a state on a "doubled" algebra that admits an interpretation in terms of CRT reflection. This interpretation holds for all quantum theories, even in the absence of gravity. We then identify conditions under which canonical purifications are "pure" in the technical sense, compute their modular conjugations, and relate them to GNS and natural-cone purifications in certain settings. In an appendix, we develop a general theory of von Neumann algebras generated by unbounded $*$-algebras. In a forthcoming paper with Caminiti and Capeccia, we provide an application of this general theory to the problem of excitability in quantum field theory.
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Quantum Physics

Bundling of bipartite entanglement

We investigate bipartite entanglement and prove that in constrained energy subspaces, the entanglement spectra of multiple bipartitions are the same across the whole subspace. We show that in quantum many-body systems the bipartite entanglement entropy is affected in such a way that it forms "bundles" under unitary time evolution. Leveraging the structure of the subspace, we present methods to verify whether the entanglement spectrum of two bipartitions is identical throughout the entire subspace. For the subspace defined by the parity embedding, we further provide an algorithm that can determine this in polynomial time.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.soc-ph

Irrelevant carrots and non-existent sticks: trust, governance, and security in the transition to quantum-safe systems

Quantum computing poses an urgent and widely recognised threat to global cybersecurity, enabling encrypted government, financial, and healthcare data harvested today to be decrypted in the near future. Transitioning to quantum-safe cryptography is therefore essential, demanding coordinated action across a complex, multi-actor innovation system. Drawing on insights from an expert workshop in Amsterdam, this study develops a socially informed vision for a quantum-safe future and analyses the current innovation landscape to identify critical gaps and the actions needed to address them. We map twelve key actor groups involved in the migration process, finding that regulators exert the strongest direct influence, while standardisation bodies play a crucial indirect role. This research provides one of the first system-level mappings of actors, influence pathways and governance responsibilities shaping the quantum-safe transition, revealing several responsibilities with unclear ownership. Although centred on the Netherlands, our findings are applicable to other national contexts navigating quantum-safe transitions.
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All authors Ailsa Robertson, Siân Brooke, Sebastian De Haro, Christian Schaffner

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cs.LG

QSMOTE-PGM/kPGM: QSMOTE Based PGM and kPGM for Imbalanced Dataset Classification

Quantum-inspired machine learning (QiML) employs mathematical principles from quantum theory, such as Hilbert-space representations and quantum state discrimination, to enhance classical learning algorithms. In this work, we investigate the integration of Quantum Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (QSMOTE) variants with two quantum-inspired classifiers: the Pretty Good Measurement (PGM) classifier and the kernelized Pretty Good Measurement (KPGM) classifier. We propose and analyze three QSMOTE variants, namely KNN-based, Fidelity-based, and Margin-based QSMOTE, designed to improve minority-class representation in imbalanced datasets through quantum-inspired similarity and sampling mechanisms. A unified theoretical and empirical comparison of PGM and KPGM is presented under amplitude and stereo encoding strategies with multiple quantum copies. Experimental evaluations on the Telco Customer Churn dataset demonstrate that the proposed quantum-inspired approaches consistently outperform a classical Random Forest baseline, particularly in terms of recall and balanced F1-score. Among all configurations, PGM with stereo encoding and n_{copies}=2 achieves the best performance with an accuracy of 0.8512 and an F1-score of 0.8234, while KPGM exhibits competitive and more stable behavior across different QSMOTE variants, reaching accuracies of 0.8511 under stereo encoding and 0.8483 under amplitude encoding. The results further show that increasing the number of quantum copies systematically improves classification performance, especially for minority-class detection. This work highlights the effectiveness of combining quantum-inspired oversampling and classification strategies for imbalanced learning, while providing practical insights into the complementary strengths of measurement-based and kernel-based quantum-inspired machine learning frameworks.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from hep-th

Fighting non-locality with non-locality: microcausality and boundary conditions in QED

In gauge theories, globally charged observables necessarily depend non-locally on the kinematical fields, with this dependence extending to the asymptotic boundary of spacetime. Despite this, we show that a subset of such observables can be consistently regarded as local to the bulk, in a manner that respects microcausality and leaves locality properties of uncharged observables untouched. A sufficient condition for this is to impose kinematically non-local boundary conditions on the large gauge sector of the theory, and to invoke a relational notion of localisation for observables. This reveals a relatively underappreciated link between boundary conditions, and different notions of microcausality and locality. We develop this point through a detailed case study in scalar QED, describing non-local boundary conditions that allow a large family of observables on a codimension-1 bulk surface to be viewed as local to that surface, despite being dressed by asymptotic Wilson lines. We show that this property continues to hold within a perturbative quantisation of the theory, and we argue that this leads to a consistent local net of algebras that includes these charged observables in bulk algebras. We explain how this setup may be understood in terms of a preferred dynamical reference frame for small gauge transformations appearing in the boundary conditions. Many features of the theory (such as microcausality, the vacuum state, and the net of algebras of observables) depend on the choice of this frame, and we briefly discuss some repercussions of this for algebraic formulations of QFT. While our analysis is performed in QED, we expect our results to carry over qualitatively to more complicated theories including gravity.
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Quantum Physics

Many-body contextuality and self-testing quantum matter via nonlocal games

Contextuality is arguably the fundamental property that makes quantum mechanics different from classical physics. It is responsible for quantum computational speedups in both magic-state-injection-based and measurement-based models of computation, and can be directly probed in a many-body setting by multiplayer nonlocal quantum games. Here, we discuss a family of games that can be won with certainty when performing single-site Pauli measurements on a state that is a codeword of a Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) error-correcting quantum code. We show that these games require deterministic computation of a code-dependent Boolean function, and that the classical probability of success is upper bounded by a generalized notion of nonlinearity/nonquadraticity. This success probability quantifies the state's contextuality, and is computed via the function's (generalized) Walsh-Hadamard spectrum. To calculate this, we introduce an efficient, many-body-physics-inspired method that involves identifying the symmetries of an auxiliary hypergraph state. We compute the classical probability of success for several paradigmatic CSS codes and relate it to both classical statistical mechanics models and to strange correlators of symmetry-protected topological states. We also consider CSS submeasurement games, which can only be won with certainty by sharing the appropriate codeword up to local isometries. These games therefore enable self-testing, which we illustrate explicitly for the 2D toric code. We also discuss how submeasurement games enable an extensive notion of contextuality in many-body states.
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All authors Oliver Hart, David T. Stephen, Evan Wickenden, Rahul Nandkishore

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.soft

Polar chiral active matter as a motile, disordered Josephson array: Information supercurrents and Goldstone spin waves

We consider a minimalist model of polar chiral active matter: overdamped, self-propelled agents coupled through a localized Kuramoto–Sakaguchi interaction, which causes alignment. Intrinsic frustration drawn from a broad distribution constitutes a temperature for the ensemble. In the co-moving frame of the local order parameter, the agent dynamics reduce exactly to the Adler equation, placing each agent in a tilted washboard potential: trapped agents are phase-synchronized, and we demonstrate thereby that synchronization (phase rigidity) is maintained by information supercurrents; agents that are running in this potential form a resistive bath. The model is therefore formally isomorphic to a disordered, resistively shunted Josephson array, and a Monte-Carlo sweep over the frequency dispersion empirically recovers the disorder-broadened Adler–Ohmic crossover of the ensemble-averaged slip velocity. Lifting the dynamics from $S^1$ to $S^2$, the polar alignment torque (the Kuramoto-term) is geometrically equivalent to the Gilbert-damping term of the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert equation; the mapping establishes an effortless azimuthal precession, yielding a Goldstone-mode dispersion that carries an effective inertia $\propto R^2$, where $R$ is the local order parameter. This furnishes a microscopic basis for the spin-wave transport assumed in inertial-spin models of flocking. Within its regime of validity, i.e., dry, polar, chiral agents under marginal synchronization with sufficient frustration, the model is well-described as a dissipative spintronic fluid.
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Quantum Physics

Advantage of Warm Starts for Electron-Phonon Systems on Quantum Computers

Simulating electron-phonon interactions on quantum computers remains challenging, with most algorithmic effort focused on Hamiltonian simulation and circuit optimization. In this work, we study the single-electron Holstein model and propose an initial-state ansatz that substantially enhances ground state overlap in the strong coupling regime, thereby reducing the number of iterations required in standard quantum phase estimation. We further show that this ansatz can be implemented efficiently and yields an exponential reduction in overall circuit costs relative to conventional initial guesses. Our results highlight the practical value of incorporating physical intuition into initial state preparation for electron-phonon coupled systems.
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All authors Arnab Adhikary, S. E. Skelton, Alberto Nocera, Mona Berciu

Quantum Physics

Random purification channel for passive Gaussian bosons

The random purification channel, which, given $n$ copies of an unknown mixed state $\rho$, prepares $n$ copies of an associated random purification, has proved to be an extremely valuable tool in quantum information theory. In this work, we construct a Gaussian version of this channel that, given $n$ copies of a bosonic passive Gaussian state, prepares $n$ copies of one of its randomly chosen Gaussian purifications. The construction has the additional advantage that each purification has a mean photon number which is exactly twice that of the initial state. Our construction relies on the characterisation of the commutant of passive Gaussian unitaries via the representation theory of dual reductive pairs of unitary groups.
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All authors Francesco Anna Mele, Filippo Girardi, Senrui Chen, Marco Fanizza, Ludovico Lami

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.atom-ph

Electric field diagnostics in a continuous rf plasma using Rydberg-EIT

We present a non-invasive spectroscopic technique to measure electric fields in plasma, leveraging large polarizabilities and Stark shifts of Rydberg atoms. Rydberg Stark shifts are measured with high precision using narrow-linewidth lasers via Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) of rubidium vapor seeded into a continuous, inductively coupled radio-frequency (rf) plasma in a few mTorr of argon gas. Without plasma, the Rydberg-EIT spectra exhibit rf modulation sidebands caused by electric- and magnetic-dipole transitions in the rf drive coil. With the plasma present, the rf modulation sidebands vanish due to screening of the rf drive field from the plasma interior. The lineshapes of the EIT spectra in the plasma reflect the plasma's Holtsmark microfield distribution, allowing us to determine plasma density and collisional line broadening over a range of pressures and rf drive powers. The work is expected to have applications in non-invasive spatio-temporal electric-field diagnostics of low-pressure plasma, plasma sheaths, process plasma and dusty plasma.
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All authors Bineet Dash, Xinyan Xiang, Dingkun Feng, Eric Paradis, Georg Raithel

Quantum Physics

Slow growth of quantum magic in disorder-free Stark many-body localization

Disorder-free quantum many-body localization can strongly suppress transport while still enabling the dynamical buildup of computationally costly non-Clifford resources. In a tilted transverse-field Ising chain realizing disorder-free Stark many-body localization, we use the stabilizer Rényi entropy to quantify quantum magic (nonstabilizerness) and find that it remains finite and grows anomalously slowly over extended time windows before saturating to a size-dependent plateau deep in the strong-tilt regime, with pronounced initial-state selectivity. Upon increasing the Stark gradient, the long-time magic and half-chain entanglement exhibit consistent finite-size crossing behavior, indicating a crossover from ergodic dynamics to constrained localization. These results establish stabilizer-based magic as a practical complexity diagnostic of disorder-free ergodicity breaking and constrained dynamics, and provide an experimentally accessible route to benchmarking and designing near-term quantum simulators.
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All authors Han-Ze Li, Yi-Rui Zhang, Yu-Jun Zhao, Xuyang Huang, Jian-Xin Zhong

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.mes-hall

Signatures of real-space geometry, topology, and metric tensor in quantum transport in periodically corrugated spaces

The motion of a quantum particle constrained to a two-dimensional non-compact Riemannian manifold with non-trivial metric can be described by a flat-space Schroedinger-type equation at the cost of introducing local mass and metric and geometry-induced effective potential with no classical counterpart. For a metric tensor periodically modulated along one dimension, the formation of bands is demonstrated and transport-related quantities are derived. Using S-matrix approach, the quantum conductance along the manifold is calculated and contrasted with conventional quantum transport methods in flat spaces. The topology, e.g. whether the manifold is simply connected, compact or non-compact shows up in global, non-local properties such as the Aharonov-Bohm phase. The results vividly demonstrate emergent phenomena due to the interplay of reduced-dimensionality, particles quantum nature, geometry, and topology.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.str-el

Revival Dynamics from Equilibrium States: Scars from Chords in SYK

We develop a novel framework to build quantum many-body scar states in bipartite systems characterized by perfect correlation between the Hamiltonians governing the two sides. By means of a Krylov construction, we build an interaction term which supports a tower of equally-spaced energy eigenstates. This gives rise to finite-time revivals whenever the system is initialized in a purification of a generic equilibrium state. The dynamics is universally characterized, and is largely independent of the specific details of the Hamiltonians defining the individual partitions. By considering the two-sided chord states of the double-scaled SYK model, we find an approximate realization of this framework. We analytically study the revival dynamics, finding rigid motion for wavepackets localized on the spectrum of a single SYK copy. These findings are tested numerically for systems of finite size, showing excellent agreement with the analytical predictions.
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Quantum Physics

Numerically exact open quantum system work statistics with process tensors

Accurately quantifying the thermodynamic work costs of quantum operations is essential for the continued development and optimisation of emerging quantum technologies. This present a significant challenge in regimes of rapid control within complex, non-equilibrium environments - conditions under which many contemporary quantum devices operate and conventional approximations break down. Here, we introduce a process tensor framework that enables the computation of the full numerically exact quantum work statistics of driven open quantum systems. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by applying it to a Landauer erasure protocol operating beyond the weak-coupling, Markovian, and slow-driving limits. The resulting work probability distributions reveal distinct quantum signatures that are missed by low-order moments yet significantly impact the erasure fidelity of the protocol. Our framework delivers non-perturbative accuracy and detail in characterising energy-exchange fluctuations in driven open quantum systems, establishing a powerful and versatile tool for exploring thermodynamics and control in the operating regimes of both near-term and future quantum devices.
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All authors Mike Shubrook, Moritz Cygorek, Erik Gauger, Jake Iles-Smith, Ahsan Nazir

Quantum Physics

Non-Linear Strong Data-Processing for Quantum Hockey-Stick Divergences

Data-processing is a desired property of classical and quantum divergences and information measures. In information theory, the contraction coefficient measures how much the distinguishability of quantum states decreases when they are transmitted through a quantum channel, establishing linear strong data-processing inequalities (SDPI). However, these linear SDPI are not always tight and can be improved in most of the cases. In this work, we establish non-linear SDPI for quantum hockey-stick divergence for noisy channels that satisfy a certain noise criterion. We also note that our results improve upon existing linear SDPI for quantum hockey-stick divergences and also non-linear SDPI for classical hockey-stick divergence. We define $F_\gamma$ curves generalizing Dobrushin curves for the quantum setting while characterizing SDPI for the sequential composition of heterogeneous channels. In addition, we derive reverse-Pinsker type inequalities for $f$-divergences with additional constraints on hockey-stick divergences. We show that these non-linear SDPI can establish tighter finite mixing times that cannot be achieved through linear SDPI. Furthermore, we find applications of these in establishing stronger privacy guarantees for the composition of sequential private quantum channels when privacy is quantified by quantum local differential privacy.
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Quantum Physics

Triangle Criterion: a mixed-state magic criterion with applications in distillation and detection

We introduce a mixed-state magic criterion, the Triangle Criterion, which plays a role for magic analogous to the Positive Partial Transposition (PPT) Criterion for entanglement: it combines strong detection capability, a clear geometric interpretation, and an operational link to magic distillation. Using this criterion, we uncover several new features of multi-qubit magic distillation and detection. We prove that genuinely multi-qubit magic distillation protocols are strictly more powerful than all single-qubit schemes by showing that the Triangle Criterion is not stable under tensor products. Moreover, we show that, with overwhelming probability, multi-qubit magic states with relatively low rank cannot be distilled by any single-qubit distillation protocol. We derive an upper bound on the minimal purity of magic states, which is conjectured to be tight with both numerical and constructive evidences. Using this minimal-purity result, we predict the existence of unfaithful magic states, namely states that cannot be detected by any fidelity-based magic witness, and reveal fundamental limitations of mixed-state magic detection in any single-copy scheme.
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All authors Zhenhuan Liu, Tobias Haug, Qi Ye, Zi-Wen Liu, Ingo Roth

Quantum Physics

Reconstruction of Quantum Fields: CCR, CAR and Transfields

One of the traditional ways of introducing bosons and fermions is through creation-annihilation algebras. Historically, these have been associated with emission and absorption processes at the quantum level and are characteristic of the language of second quantization. In this work, we formulate the transition from first to second quantization by taking quotients of the state spaces of distinguishable particles, so that the resulting equivalence classes identify states that contain no information capable of distinguishing between particles, thereby generalising the usual symmetrisation procedure. Assuming that the resulting indistinguishable-particle space (i) admits an ordered basis compatible with how an observer may label the accessible modes, (ii) is invariant under unitary transformations of those modes, and (iii) supports particle counting as a mode-wise local operation, we derive a new class of creation-annihilation algebras. These algebras reproduce the partition functions of transtatistics, the maximal generalisations of bosons and fermions consistent with these operational principles.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.optics

Model-Based Real-Time Synthesis of Acousto-Optically Generated Laser-Beam Patterns and Tweezer Arrays

Acousto-optic deflectors (AOD) enable spatiotemporal control of laser beams through diffraction at an ultrasonic grating that is controllable by radio-frequency (rf) waveforms. These devices are a widely used tool for high-bandwidth random-access scanning applications, such as optical tweezers in quantum technology. A single AOD can generate multiple optical tweezers by multitone rf input in one dimension. Two-dimensional (2D) patterns can be realized with two perpendicularly oriented AODs. As the acousto-optical response depends nonlinearly on the applied frequency components, phases, and amplitudes, and in addition experiences dimensional coupling in 2D setups, intensity regulation becomes a unique challenge. Guided by coupled-wave theory and experimental observations, we derive a compute-efficient model which we implement on a graphics processing unit. Only one-time sampling of single-tone laser-power calibration is needed for model parameter determination, allowing for straight-forward integration into optical instruments. We implement and experimentally validate an open-loop diffraction efficiency control system that enables programmable 2D multibeam trajectories with intensity control applied at every time step during digital signal generation, overcoming the limited flexibility, pattern-size constraints, and bandwidth limitations of methods using precalculation and precalibration of a predefined pattern set or closed-loop feedback. The system is capable of stable real-time waveform streaming of arrays with up to 50 x 50 tweezers with minimal time resolution of 1.4 ns (700 MS/s) and a peak latency below 257 microseconds for execution of newly requested patterns. Reactive, real-time 2D multibeam laser patterning and scanning with strict intensity matching will substantially benefit parallelization and increasing data rates in materials processing, microscopy, and optical tweezers.
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All authors Marcel Mittenbuehler, Lukas Sturm, Malte Schlosser, Gerhard Birkl

Quantum Physics

QuantumSavory: symbolic modeling and multi-backend simulation of quantum computing and networking systems

Progress in quantum computing and networking depends on codesign across abstraction layers: device-level noise and heterogeneous hardware, algorithmic structure, and distributed classical control. We present QuantumSavory, an open-source toolkit built to make such end-to-end studies practical by cleanly separating a symbolic computer-algebra frontend from interchangeable numerical simulation backends. States, operations, measurements, and protocol logic are expressed in a backend-agnostic symbolic language; the same model can be executed across multiple backends (e.g., stabilizer, wavefunction, phase-space), enabling rapid exploration of accuracy-performance tradeoffs without rewriting the model. Furthermore, new custom backends can be added via a small, well-defined interface that immediately reuses existing models and protocols. QuantumSavory also addresses the classical-quantum interaction inherent to LOCC protocols via discrete-event execution and a tag/query system for coordination. Tags attach structured classical metadata to quantum registers and message buffers, and queries retrieve, filter, or wait on matching metadata by wildcards or arbitrary predicates. This yields a data-driven control plane where protocol components coordinate by publishing and consuming semantic facts (e.g., resource availability, pairing relationships, protocol outcomes) rather than by maintaining rigid object graphs or bespoke message plumbing, improving composability and reuse as models grow. Our toolkit is also not limited to qubits and Bell pairs; rather, any networking dynamics of any quantum system under any type of multipartite entanglement can be tackled. Lastly, QuantumSavory ships reusable libraries of standard states, circuits, and protocol building blocks with consistent interfaces, enabling full-stack examples to be assembled, modified, and compared with minimal glue code.
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All authors Hana Kimlee, Leonardo Bacciottini, Abhishek Bhatt, Andrew Kille, Stefan Krastanov

Quantum Physics

Propagators of singular anharmonic oscillators with quasi-equidistant spectra

Darboux transformations of the singular harmonic oscillator are considered. Analytical expressions for the propagators are obtained, using the image method applied to formal singular propagators. Two-well and three-well families of potentials and the corresponding propagators are presented. Axially symmetric magnetic field configurations corresponding to these potentials have been identified.
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Quantum Physics

On the Dynamics of Local Hidden-Variable Models

Bell nonlocality is an intriguing property of quantum mechanics with far reaching consequences for information processing, philosophy and our fundamental understanding of nature. However, nonlocality is a statement about static correlations only. It does not take into account dynamics, i.e. time evolution of those correlations. Consider a dynamic situation where the correlations remain local for all times. Then at each moment in time there exists a local hidden-variable (LHV) model reproducing the momentary correlations. Can the time evolution of the correlations then be captured by evolving the hidden variables? In this light, we define dynamical LHV models and motivate and discuss potential additional physical and mathematical assumptions. Based on a simple counter example we conjecture that such LHV dynamics does not always exist. This is further substantiated by a rigorous no-go theorem. Our results suggest a new type of nonlocality that can be deduced from the observed time evolution of measurement statistics and which generically occurs in interacting quantum systems.
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Quantum Physics

Symbolic Pauli Propagation for Gradient-Enabled Pre-Training of Quantum Circuits

Quantum Machine Learning models typically require expensive on-chip training procedures and often lack efficient gradient estimation methods. By employing Pauli propagation, it is possible to derive a symbolic representation of observables as analytic functions of a circuit's parameters. Although the number of terms in such functional representations grows rapidly with circuit depth, suitable choices of ansatz and controlled truncations on Pauli weights and trigonometric degree components yield accurate yet tractable estimators of the target observables. With the right ansatz design, this approach can be extended to system sizes beyond the reach of classical statevector simulation, enabling scalable training for larger quantum systems. This also enables a form of classical pre-training through gradient-based optimization prior to deployment on quantum hardware. The proposed approach is demonstrated on the Variational Quantum Eigensolver for obtaining the ground state of the ANNNI spin model on 32 qubits, showing that accurate results can be achieved with a scalable and computationally efficient procedure.
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All authors Saverio Monaco, Jamal Slim, Florian Rehm, Dirk Krücker, Kerstin Borras