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Wednesday 28 January

Quantum Physics

Co-Designed Adaptive Quantum State Preparation Protocols

We propose a co-designed variant of ADAPT-VQE (Co-ADAPT-VQE) where the quantum hardware is taken into account in the construction of the ansatz. This framework can be readily used to optimize state preparation circuits for any device, addressing shortcomings such as limited connectivity, short coherence times, and variable gate errors. We exemplify the impact of Co-ADAPT-VQE by creating state preparation circuits for devices with linear nearest-neighbor (LNN) connectivity. We show a reduction of the CNOT count of the final circuits by up to 97% for 12-14 qubit systems, with the impact being greater for larger and more strongly correlated systems. Surprisingly, the circuits created by Co-ADAPT-VQE provide an over 70% CNOT count reduction with respect to the original ADAPT-VQE in all-to-all connectivity, despite being restricted to LNN qubit interactions.
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All authors Mafalda Ramôa, Luis Paulo Santos, Nicholas J. Mayhall, Edwin Barnes, Sophia E. Economou

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.optics

Quantum Squeezing Enhanced Photothermal Microscopy

Label-free optical microscopy through absorption or scattering spectroscopy provides fundamental insights across biology and materials science, yet its sensitivity remains fundamentally limited by photon shot noise. While recent demonstrations of quantum nonlinear microscopy show sub-shot-limited sensitivity, they are intrinsically limited by availability of high peak-power squeezed light sources. Here, we introduce squeezing-enhanced photothermal (SEPT) microscopy, a quantum imaging technique that leverages twin-beam quantum correlations to detect absorption induced signals with unprecedented sensitivity. SEPT achieves 3.5 dB noise suppression beyond the standard quantum limit, enabling a 2.5-fold increase in imaging throughput or 31% reduction in pump power, while providing an unmatched versatility through the intrinsic compatibility between continuous-wave squeezing and photothermal modulation. We showcase SEPT applications by providing high-precision characterization of nanoparticles and revealing subcellular structures, such as cytochrome c, that remain undetectable under shot-noise-limited imaging. By combining label-free contrast, quantum-enhanced sensitivity, and compatibility with existing microscopy platforms, SEPT establishes a new paradigm for molecular absorption imaging with far-reaching implications in cellular biology, nanoscience, and materials characterization.
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All authors Pengcheng Fu, Xiao Liu, Siming Wang, Nan Li, Chenran Xu, Han Cai, Huizhu Hu, Vladislav V. Yakovlev, Xu Liu, Shi-Yao Zhu, Xingqi Xu, Delong Zhang, Da-Wei Wang

Quantum Physics

Rydberg Receivers for Space Applications

Rydberg-atom sensors convert radiofrequency, microwave and terahertz fields into optical signals with SI-traceable calibration, high sensitivity, and broad tunability. This review assesses their potential for space applications by comparing five general architectures (Autler-Townes, AC-Stark, superheterodyne, radiofrequency-to-optical conversion, and fluorescence) against space application needs. We identify promising roles in radiometry, radar, terahertz sensing, and in-orbit calibration, and outline key limitations, including shot noise, sparse terahertz transitions, and currently large Size, Weight, Power and Cost. A staged roadmap highlights which uncertainties should be resolved first and how research organisations, industry and space agencies could take the lead for the different aspects.
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All authors Gianluca Allinson, Mark Bason, Alexis Bonnin, Sebastian Borówka, Petronilo Martin-Iglesias, Manuel Martin Neira, Mateusz Mazelanik, Richard Murchie, Michał Parniak, Sophio Pataraia, Thibaud Ruelle, Sylvain Schwartz, Aaron Strangfeld

Quantum Physics

Foundations of Quantum Optics for Quantum Information: Crash Course on Nonclassical States and Quantum Correlations

Nonclassical states of light and their correlations lie at the heart of quantum optics, serving as fundamental resources that underpin both the exploration of quantum phenomena and the realisation of quantum information protocols. These lecture notes provide an accessible yet rigorous introduction to the foundations of quantum optics, emphasising their relevance to quantum information science and technology. Starting from the quantisation of the electromagnetic field and the bosonic formalism of Fock space, the notes develop a unified framework for describing and analysing quantum states of light. Key families of states – thermal, coherent, and squeezed – are introduced as paradigmatic examples illustrating the transition from classical to nonclassical behaviour. The concepts of convexity, classicality, and quasiprobability representations are presented as complementary tools for characterising quantumness and defining operational notions such as P-nonclassicality. The discussion extends naturally to Gaussian states, composite systems, and continuous-variable entanglement, highlighting how nonclassicality serves as a resource for generating and quantifying quantum correlations. Theoretical developments are complemented by computational and experimental perspectives, including simulations of optical states using the Python library Strawberry Fields and data analysis from simulated data. Together, these notes aim to bridge the foundational concepts of quantum optics and modern quantum information, offering both conceptual insight and practical tools for students and researchers entering the field.
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All authors Jhoan Eusse, Esteban Vasquez, Tom Rivlin, Elizabeth Agudelo

Quantum Physics

Enhanced quantum parameter estimation based on the Hardy paradox

Statistical paradoxes such as the Hardy paradox and the enhancement of phase estimation via post-selection both draw upon the same non-classical features of quantum statistics described by non-positive quasi-probabilities. In this paper, we introduce a post-selected quantum metrology scenario where the initial state, the dynamics associated with the phase shift, and the post-selection are all inspired by the Hardy paradox. Specifically, we identify an anomalous weak value that is characteristic of both the Hardy paradox and the potential enhancement of sensitivity by the post-selection. We find that the efficiency of the enhancement is reduced when the expectation value associated with the anomalous weak value is different from the inverse of this value. We conclude that the relation between enhanced phase estimation and the Hardy paradox requires a detailed understanding of the relation between weak values and expectation values.
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Quantum Physics

A Hybrid Jump-Diffusion Model for Coherent Optical Control of Quantum Emitters in hBN

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has emerged as a promising two-dimensional host for stable single-photon emission owing to its wide bandgap, high photostability, and compatibility with nanophotonic integration. We present a simulation-based study of temperature-dependent spectral dynamics and optical coherence in a mechanically decoupled quantum emitter in hBN. Employing a hybrid stochastic framework that combines Ornstein–Uhlenbeck detuning fluctuations with temperature-dependent, Gaussian-distributed discrete frequency jumps, motivated by experimentally observed spectral diffusion and blinking, we reproduce the measured evolution of inhomogeneous linewidth broadening and the progressive degradation of photon coherence across the relevant cryogenic range (5-30K). The model captures phonon-related spectral diffusion with a cubic temperature dependence and the onset of jump-like spectral instabilities at higher temperatures. By calibrating the hybrid diffusion, jump parameters to the experimentally measured full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the emission line and analyzing the second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ under resonant driving, we establish a unified phenomenological description that links stochastic detuning dynamics to the decay of optical coherence in a resonantly driven emitter. Analysis of $g^{(2)}(\tau)$ under resonant driving reveals an additional dephasing rate $\gamma_{\mathrm{sd+j}}$ that rises monotonically with temperature and drive strength, leading to a predicted critical crossover to overdamped dynamics at $T_{\mathrm{crit}} \approx 25.91$~K. This hybrid framework provides a quantitative connection between accessible spectroscopic observables and the dominant noise mechanisms limiting coherent optical control in mechanically decoupled quantum emitters, exemplified in hBN and generalizable to similar emitters in other materials.
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All authors Saifian Farooq Bhat, Michael K. Koch, Sachin Negi, Alexander Kubanek, Vibhav Bharadwaj

Quantum Physics

Time complexity of a monitored quantum search with resetting

Searching a database is a central task in computer science and is paradigmatic of transport and optimization problems in physics. For an unstructured search, Grover's algorithm predicts a quadratic speedup, with the search time $\tau(N)=\Theta(\sqrt{N})$ and $N$ the database size. Numerical studies suggest that the time complexity can change in the presence of feedback, injecting information during the search. Here, we determine the time complexity of the quantum analog of a randomized algorithm, which implements feedback in a simple form. The search is a continuous-time quantum walk on a complete graph, where the target is continuously monitored by a detector. Additionally, the quantum state is reset if the detector does not click within a specified time interval. This yields a non-unitary, non-Markovian dynamics. We optimize the search time as a function of the hopping amplitude, detection rate, and resetting rate, and identify the conditions under which time complexity could outperform Grover's scaling. The overall search time does not violate Grover's optimality bound when including the time budget of the physical implementation of the measurement. For databases of finite sizes monitoring can warrant rapid convergence and provides a promising avenue for fault-tolerant quantum searches.
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All authors Emma C. King, Sayan Roy, Francesco Mattiotti, Maximilian Kiefer-Emmanouilidis, Markus Bläser, Giovanna Morigi

Quantum Physics

Detector's response to coherent Rindler and Minkowski photons

We observe that the transition probability in a static two-level quantum detector interacting with a coherent Rindler field mode differs from that of the Rindler detector interacting with a coherent Minkowski field mode. The situation does not change in the quantum detector's response in the semiclassical limit of the field state. This we investigate in $(1+1)$ and $(3+1)$-spacetime dimensions. Interestingly, in $(1+1)$-dimensions, the transition probabilities of the “classical” detector in the semiclassical limit of the field state for these two scenarios appear to be identical when the field mode and detector frequencies are taken to be the same. However, in $(3+1)$ dimensions, the detector transition probabilities calculated under the large-acceleration condition do not exhibit such a signature. The implications of these observations are also discussed.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Gravitational wave detection via photon-graviton scattering and quantum interference

We present a fully quantum field-theoretic framework for gravitational wave (GW) detection, describing the interaction as inelastic photon-graviton scattering. We demonstrate that for a coherent graviton state, this microscopic model explicitly reproduces the standard classical geometric-optics time delay, providing a rigorous consistency test of the correspondence limit. We propose a detection scheme based on Hong-Ou-Mandel interference, where the GW-induced spectral shifts render entangled photon pairs distinguishable. This encodes the gravitational signal into the modulation of photon coincidence rates — a quantum observable robust against laser intensity noise. Furthermore, we show that non-classical graviton states, such as squeezed states, induce unique decoherence signatures, establishing theoretical bounds on gravitational decoherence and defining the operational limits for probing the quantum nature of gravity.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.dis-nn

Unified Symmetry Classification of Many-Body Localized Phases

The Altland–Zirnbauer (AZ) tenfold way classifies disordered non-interacting systems by symmetry, but a unified symmetry classification of interacting many-body localized (MBL) phases has been lacking. Here we develop such a classification directly from the emergent local integrals of motion (LIOMs). Our scheme rests on two complementary criteria: whether a symmetry is compatible with a complete LIOM algebra, and whether it enforces many-body degeneracies. These criteria partition MBL phases into stable, fragile, symmetry-protected topological, and unstable classes, and unify AZ classes, onsite Abelian symmetries, and continuous non-Abelian symmetries within a single operator-algebraic framework. Our results provide a systematic foundation for understanding how symmetry constrains the stability and structure of MBL phases.
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Quantum Physics

Will we ever quantize the centers of mass of heavy systems? A case for a Heisenberg cut in quantum mechanics

The quantum orthodoxy attests that all dynamical degrees of freedom should be quantized, including those associated with the centers of mass of composite/complex systems, such as protons/pebbles. By assuming that the centers of mass of protons/pebbles should be quantized, one implies the existence of a corresponding Fock space, since, according to the present lore, quantum mechanics is a consequence of quantum field theory. Despite the fabulous success of quantum mechanics, it is unreasonable to assume the existence of annihilation and creation operators for pebbles. Fortunately, there are strong reasons to doubt that wave mechanics can describe the centers of mass of systems at or above the Planck scale, thereby jeopardizing the construction of the corresponding Fock space. We argue that isolated (free) systems with masses exceeding the Planck mass would have their centers of mass governed by classical (rather than quantum) mechanics, despite harboring macroscopic quantum phenomena as observed in the laboratory. Here, we briefly revisit (i) the arguments for the need for a Heisenberg cut delimiting the boundary between the quantum and classical realms and (ii) the kind of new physics expected at (the uncharted region of) the Heisenberg cut.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.quant-gas

Three-body scattering area of identical bosons in two dimensions

We study the wave function $\phi^{(3)}$ of three identical bosons scattering at zero energy, zero total momentum, and zero orbital angular momentum in two dimensions, interacting via short-range potentials with a finite two-body scattering length $a$. We derive asymptotic expansions of $\phi^{(3)}$ in two regimes: the 111-expansion, where all three pairwise distances are large, and the 21-expansion, where one particle is far from the other two. In the 111-expansion, the leading term grows as $\ln^3(B/a)$ at large hyperradius $B=\sqrt{(s_1^2+s_2^2+s_3^2)/2}$. At order $B^{-2}\ln^{-3}(B/a)$, we identify a three-body parameter $D$ with dimension of length squared, which we term the three-body scattering area. This quantity should be contrasted with the three-body scattering area previously studied for infinite or vanishing two-body scattering length. If the two-body interaction is attractive and supports bound states, $D$ acquires a negative imaginary part, and we derive its relation to the probability amplitudes for the production of two-body bound states in three-body collisions. Under weak modifications of the interaction potentials, we derive the corresponding shift of $D$ in terms of $\phi^{(3)}$ and the changes of the two-body and three-body potentials. We also study the effects of $D$ and $\phi^{(3)}$ on three-body and many-body physics, including the three-body ground-state energy in a large periodic volume, the many-body energy and the three-body correlation function of the dilute two-dimensional Bose gas, and the three-body recombination rates of two-dimensional ultracold atomic Bose gases.
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Quantum Physics

Revisiting the Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics: From FAPP Solutions to Contextual Ontologies

This note presents a concise and non-polemical comparison of several major interpretations of quantum mechanics, with a particular emphasis on the distinction between FAPP-solutions ("For All Practical Purposes”) versus ontological solutions to the measurement problem. Building on this distinction, we argue that the Contexts-Systems-Modalities (CSM) framework, supplemented by the operator-algebraic description of macroscopic contexts, provides a conceptually complete, non-FAPP ontology that naturally incorporates irreversibility and the physical structure of measurement devices. This approach differs significantly from other ontological interpretations such as Bohmian mechanics, spontaneous collapse, or many-worlds, and highlights the major role of contextual quantization in shaping quantum theory.
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Quantum Physics

Multiple mobility rings in non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger chain with quasiperiodic potentials

The localization property of a non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) chain with quasi-periodic on-site potential is investigated. In contrast to the preceding investigations, the quantum phase transition between localized state and extended one is achieved by adjusting the strength of intracellular or intercellular hopping. The energy spectra and eigenstate distributions of the system's Hamiltonian near the boundary of the phase transition exhibit different behaviors when the Hermiticity, non-Hermiticity and mosaic modulation of the quasi-periodic potential are considered, respectively. The existence of the mobility ring is revealed in the non-Hermitian SSH chain by studying of the critical behaviors near the boundary. More interestingly, the multiple mobility rings emerge when the period number of the mosaic modulation is increased. The result is helpful for the investigation of the localization-delocalization transition in the SSH-type system under the combined action of the non-Hermiticity and quasi-periodicity.
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All authors Guan-Qiang Li, Zhi-Yu Lin, You-Jiao Dong, Ya-Feng Xue, Chun-Yang Ren, Ping Peng

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.str-el

Critical Charge and Current Fluctuations across a Voltage-Driven Phase Transition

We investigate bias-driven non-equilibrium quantum phase transitions in a paradigmatic quantum-transport setup: an interacting quantum dot coupled to non-interacting metallic leads. Using the Random Phase Approximation, which is exact in the limit of a large number of dot levels, we map out the zero-temperature non-equilibrium phase diagram as a function of interaction strength and applied bias. We focus our analysis on the behavior of the charge susceptibility and the current noise in the vicinity of the transition. Remarkably, despite the intrinsically non-equilibrium nature of the steady state, critical charge fluctuations admit an effective-temperature description, $T_{\text{eff}}(T,V)$, that collapses the steady-state behavior onto its equilibrium form. In sharp contrast, current fluctuations exhibit genuinely non-equilibrium features: the fluctuation-dissipation ratio becomes negative in the ordered phase, corresponding to a negative effective temperature for the current degrees of freedom. These results establish current noise as a sensitive probe of critical fluctuations at non-equilibrium quantum phase transitions and open new directions for exploring voltage-driven critical phenomena in quantum transport systems.
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Quantum Physics

Echo Cross Resonance gate error budgeting on a superconducting quantum processor

High fidelity quantum operations are key to enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation. Superconducting quantum processors have demonstrated high-fidelity operations, but on larger devices there is commonly a broad distribution of qualities, with the low-performing tail affecting near-term performance and applications. Here we present an error budgeting procedure for the native two-qubit operation on a 32-qubit superconducting-qubit-based quantum computer, the OQC Toshiko gen-1 system. We estimate the prevalence of different forms of error such as coherent error and control qubit leakage, then apply error suppression strategies based on the most significant sources of error, making use of pulse-shaping and additional compensating gates. These techniques require no additional hardware overhead and little additional calibration, making them suitable for routine adoption. An average reduction of 3.7x in error rate for two qubit operations is shown across a chain of 16 qubits, with the median error rate improving from 4.6$\%$ to 1.2$\%$ as measured by interleaved randomized benchmarking. The largest improvements are seen on previously under-performing qubit pairs, demonstrating the importance of practical error suppression in reducing the low-performing tail of gate qualities and achieving consistently good performance across a device.
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All authors Travers Ward, Russell P. Rundle, Richard Bounds, Norbert Deak, Gavin Dold, Apoorva Hegde, William Howard, Ailsa Keyser, George B. Long, Benjamin Rogers, Jonathan J. Burnett, Bryn A. Bell

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality in photon-graviton conversion

The Leggett-Garg inequality (LGI) is a temporal analogue of Bell's inequality and provides a quantitative test of the nonclassicality of a system through its violation. We analytically investigate the violation of the LGI in the context of photon-graviton conversion in a magnetic field background, motivated by its potential applications to testing the nonclassicality of gravity. When gravitational perturbations are quantized as gravitons, the conversion of an initial single photon state gives rise to a superposition of photon and graviton states. We show that the temporal correlations obtained from successive projective measurements on the photon-graviton system violate the LGI. Observation of such a violation would provide a novel avenue for probing the quantum nature of gravity.
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Quantum Physics

Network Nonlocality Sharing in Generalized Star Network from Bipartite Bell Inequalities

This work investigates network nonlocality sharing for a broad class of bipartite Bell inequalities in a generalized star network with an $(n,m,k)$ configuration, comprising $n$ independent branches, $m$ sequential Alices per branch, and $k$ measurement settings per party. On each branch, the intermediate Alices implement optimal weak measurements, whereas the final Alice and the central Bob perform sharp projective measurements. Network nonlocality sharing is witnessed when the quantum values of the network correlations associated with relevant parties simultaneously violate a star-network Bell inequality generated from the given class of bipartite Bell inequalities. We streamline the calculation of the quantum values of the network correlations and derive an analytical expression for the bipartite quantum correlator, valid for arbitrary measurement settings and weak-measurement strengths. The network nonlocality sharing for Vértesi inequalities has been studied within the framework, and simultaneous violations are found in $(2,2,6)$ and $(2,2,465)$ cases, with the latter exhibiting greater robustness. Our approach suggests a practical route to studying network nonlocality sharing by utilizing diverse bipartite Bell inequalities beyond the commonly used CHSH-type constructions.
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All authors Hao-Miao Jiang, Xiang-Jiang Chen, Liu-Jun Wang, Qing Chen

Quantum Physics

Scalable Multi-QPU Circuit Design for Dicke State Preparation: Optimizing Communication Complexity and Local Circuit Costs

Preparing large-qubit Dicke states is of broad interest in quantum computing and quantum metrology. However, the number of qubits available on a single quantum processing unit (QPU) is limited – motivating the distributed preparation of such states across multiple QPUs as a practical approach to scalability. In this article, we investigate the distributed preparation of $n$-qubit $k$-excitation Dicke states $D(n,k)$ across a general number $p$ of QPUs, presenting a distributed quantum circuit (each QPU hosting approximately $\lceil n/p \rceil$ qubits) that prepares the state with communication complexity $O(p \log k)$, circuit size $O(nk)$, and circuit depth $O\left(p^2 k + \log k \log (n/k)\right)$. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first construction to simultaneously achieve logarithmic communication complexity and polynomial circuit size and depth. We also establish a lower bound on the communication complexity of $p$-QPU distributed state preparation for a general target state. This lower bound is formulated in terms of the canonical polyadic rank (CP-rank) of a tensor associated with the target state. For the special case $p = 2$, we explicitly compute the CP-rank corresponding to the Dicke state $D(n,k)$ and derive a lower bound of $\lceil\log (k + 1)\rceil$, which shows that the communication complexity of our construction matches this fundamental limit.
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All authors Ziheng Chen, Junhong Nie, Xiaoming Sun, Jialin Zhang, Jiadong Zhu

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from math-ph

Miniatures on Open Quantum Systems

We presents a unified and concise exposition of key topics in the mathematical theory of open quantum systems, developed within the framework of operator algebras. The manuscript consolidates and extends a series of invited articles originally prepared for the Modern Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics, combining foundational material with modern perspectives on non-equilibrium quantum statistical mechanics. After introducing the C*- and W*-algebraic formulation of quantum mechanics, the paper reviews quantum dynamical systems, KMS states, and Tomita-Takesaki modular theory, as well as CCR and CAR algebras for bosonic and fermionic systems. Particular emphasis is placed on infinite systems, non-equilibrium steady states, entropy production, and linear response theory. The later sections develop a systematic treatment of small systems coupled to reservoirs, open lattice quantum spin systems, culminating in a detailed discussion of competing notions of quantum entropy production. The presentation highlights structural insights, conceptual clarity, and connections between equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena, providing a self-contained reference for researchers and graduate students in mathematical physics.
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Quantum Physics

Electromagnetically Induced Transparency Spectra of Ladder Four-Level System with Quantum Frequency Mixing

In this paper, we generalized the quantum frequency mixing technology to a ladder-type four-level system and studied its effect on electromagnetically induced transparency spectra. We found a secondary splitting of Autler-Townes splitting in the probing field transmission spectra, which could be understood by the effective Hamiltonian derived with multi-mode Floquet theory. The Frequency mixing scheme developed here enables continuous tunablity of the resonant frequency between upper levels, which facilitates the broad band sensing of AC field. Furthermore, by introducing an additional periodic driving, we realize an effective model that two distinct quantum interference effects coexist: interference among Floquet channels and loop interference arising from closed coherent pathways. Both interference effects could be read out from the transmission spectra independently. The changing of the distance between double splitting peaks represents the interference of Floquet channels, while their asymmetric linewidth broadening is linked with the total effective phase of the loop. This not only provides complementary readout for extracting the phase of AC field, but also establishes a new paradigm for coherent control in multi-level quantum systems.
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Quantum Physics

Fingerprints of classical memory in quantum hysteresis

We present a simple framework for classical and quantum “memory” in which the Hamiltonian at time $t$ depends on past values of a control Hamiltonian through a causal kernel. This structure naturally describes finite-bandwidth or filtered control channels and provides a clean way to distinguish between memory in the control and genuine non-Markovian dynamics of the state. We focus on models where $H(t)=H_0+\int_{-\infty}^{t}K(t-s)\,H_1(s)\,ds$, and illustrate the framework on single-qubit examples such as $H(t)=\sigma_z+\Phi(t)\sigma_x$ with $\Phi(t)=\int_{-\infty}^{t}K(t-s)\,u(s)\,ds$. We derive basic properties of such dynamics, discuss conditions for unitarity, give an equivalent time-local description for exponential kernels, and show explicitly how hysteresis arises in the response of a driven qubit.
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Quantum Physics

A Quantum Photonic Approach to Graph Coloring

Gaussian Boson Sampling (GBS) is a quantum computational model that leverages linear optics to solve sampling problems believed to be classically intractable. Recent experimental breakthroughs have demonstrated quantum advantage using GBS, motivating its application to real-world combinatorial optimization problems. In this work, we reformulate the graph coloring problem as an integer programming problem using the independent set formulation. This enables the use of GBS to identify cliques in the complement graph, which correspond to independent sets in the original graph. Our method is benchmarked against classical heuristics and exact algorithms on two sets of instances: Erdős-Rényi random graphs and graphs derived from a smart-charging use case. The results demonstrate that GBS can provide competitive solutions, highlighting its potential as a quantum-enhanced heuristic for graph-based optimization.
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Quantum Physics

Computer Science Challenges in Quantum Computing: Early Fault-Tolerance and Beyond

Quantum computing is entering a period in which progress will be shaped as much by advances in computer science as by improvements in hardware. The central thesis of this report is that early fault-tolerant quantum computing shifts many of the primary bottlenecks from device physics alone to computer-science-driven system design, integration, and evaluation. While large-scale, fully fault-tolerant quantum computers remain a long-term objective, near- and medium-term systems will support early fault-tolerant computation with small numbers of logical qubits and tight constraints on error rates, connectivity, latency, and classical control. How effectively such systems can be used will depend on advances across algorithms, error correction, software, and architecture. This report identifies key research challenges for computer scientists and organizes them around these four areas, each centered on a fundamental question.
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All authors Jens Palsberg, Jason Cong, Yufei Ding, Bill Fefferman, Moinuddin Qureshi, Gokul Subramanian Ravi, Kaitlin N. Smith, Hanrui Wang, Xiaodi Wu, Henry Yuen

Quantum Physics

Fast state transfer via loop weights

We prove that almost-linear-time high-fidelity state transfer is achievable in a quantum spin chain using loop weights at the second and second-to-last nodes. We provide specific parameter values, and using a careful analysis of the eigenvectors we make precise quantitative estimates of the transfer time and strength.
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Quantum Physics

A general interpretation of nonlinear connected time crystals: quantum self-sustaining combined with quantum synchronization

Although classical nonlinear dynamics suggests that sufficiently strong nonlinearity can sustain oscillations, quantization of such model typically yields a time-independent steady state that respects time-translation symmetry and thus precludes time-crystal behavior. We identify dephasing as the primary mechanism enforcing this symmetry, which can be suppressed by intercomponent phase correlations. Consequently, a sufficient condition for realizing a continuous time crystal is a nonlinear quantum self-sustaining system exhibiting quantum synchronization among its constituents. As a concrete example, we demonstrate spontaneous oscillations in a synchronized array of van der Pol oscillators, corroborated by both semiclassical dynamics and the quantum Liouville spectrum. These results reduce the identification of time crystals in many-body systems to the evaluation of only two-body correlations and provide a framework for classifying uncorrelated time crystals as trivial.
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All authors Song-hai Li, Najmeh Es'haqi-Sani, Xingli Li, Wenlin Li

Quantum Physics

Contextuality as an External Bookkeeping Cost under Fixed Shared-State Semantics

Contextuality is a central feature distinguishing quantum from classical probability theories, but its operational meaning is often stated only qualitatively. In this Letter, we study a simple information-theoretic question: how much additional contextual information must a classical simulation introduce when it tries to keep a shared internal description fixed across contexts? To make this question precise, we analyze a minimal external-label simulation model in which the remaining context dependence is carried only by an auxiliary label. For this model, we define an obstruction cost as the minimum mutual information between the context and the auxiliary label required to reproduce the observed statistics. We then prove a conservative quantitative lower bound: any linear witness that separates the observed statistics from the zero-obstruction set yields a positive lower bound on this cost. We do not claim that this bound is tight, and we do not claim that the simulation model covers every possible classical architecture. Its role is narrower and more explicit: under fixed shared-state semantics, contextuality can be read as a certificate of irreducible external bookkeeping cost in a simple and well-defined simulation model.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cond-mat.stat-mech

Complex nonlinear sigma model

Motivated by the recent interest in the criticality of open quantum many-body systems, we study nonlinear sigma models with complexified couplings as a general framework for nonunitary field theory. Applying the perturbative renormalization-group analysis to the tenfold symmetric spaces, we demonstrate that fixed points with complex scaling dimensions and critical exponents arise generically, without counterparts in conventional nonlinear sigma models with real couplings. We further clarify the global phase diagrams in the complex-coupling plane and identify both continuous and discontinuous phase transitions. Our work thus identifies nonlinear sigma models as a representative setting for studying complex critical points and elucidates universal aspects of critical phenomena in complexified field theory.
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Quantum Physics

Universal thermodynamic implementation of a process with a variable work cost

The minimum amount of thermodynamic work required in order to implement a quantum computation or a quantum state transformation can be quantified using frameworks based on the resource theory of thermodynamics, deeply rooted in the works of Landauer and Bennett. For instance, the work we need to invest in order to implement $n$ independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) copies of a quantum channel is quantified by the thermodynamic capacity of the channel when we require the implementation's accuracy to be guaranteed in diamond norm over the $n$-system input. Recent work showed that work extraction can be implemented universally, meaning the same implementation works for a large class of input states, while achieving a variable work cost that is optimal for each individual i.i.d. input state. Here, we revisit some techniques leading to derivation of the thermodynamic capacity, and leverage them to construct a thermodynamic implementation of $n$ i.i.d. copies of any time-covariant quantum channel, up to some process decoherence that is necessary because the implementation reveals the amount of consumed work. The protocol uses so-called thermal operations and achieves the optimal per-input work cost for any i.i.d. input state; it relies on the conditional erasure protocol in our earlier work, adjusted to yield variable work. We discuss the effect of the work-cost decoherence. While it can significantly corrupt the correlations between the output state and any reference system, we show that for any time-covariant i.i.d. input state, the state on the output system faithfully reproduces that of the desired process to be implemented. As an immediate consequence of our results, we recover recent results for optimal work extraction from i.i.d. states up to the error scaling and implementation specifics, and propose an optimal preparation protocol for time-covariant i.i.d. states.
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Tuesday 27 January

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

DISCOVER: A Physics-Informed, GPU-Accelerated Symbolic Regression Framework

Symbolic Regression (SR) enables the discovery of interpretable mathematical relationships from experimental and simulation data. These relationships are often coined descriptors which are defined as a fundamental materials property that is directly correlated to a desired or undesired functional property of the material. Although established approaches such as Sure Independence Screening and Sparsifying Operator (SISSO) have successfully identified low-dimensional descriptors within large feature spaces many existing SR tools integrate poorly with modern Python workflows, offer limited control over the symbolic search space, or struggle with the computational demands of large-scale studies. This paper introduces DISCOVER (Data-Informed Symbolic Combination of Operators for Variable Equation Regression), an open-source symbolic regression package developed to address these challenges through a modular, physics-motivated design. DISCOVER allows users to guide the symbolic search using domain knowledge, constrain the feature space explicitly, and take advantage of optional GPU acceleration to improve computational efficiency in data-intensive workflows, enabling reproducible and scalable SR workflows. The software is intended for applications in computational physics, computational chemistry, and materials science, where interpretability, physical consistency, and execution time are especially important, and it complements general-purpose SR frameworks by emphasizing the discovery of physically meaningful models.
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All authors Udaykumar Gajera, Mohsen Sotoudeh, Kanchan Sarkar, Axel Groß