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Saturday 2 May

Quantum Physics

Memory-assisted multimode microwave-to-optical transduction

Microwave-to-optical quantum transducers will enable coherent interconnection between distant superconducting quantum devices. Ongoing explorations with several platforms have shown promising results at single-photon levels. However, in all these demonstrations, elimination of noise due to the concurrence of the weak transduced signal with intense pump pulses remains a challenge, requiring high suppression filtering setups. A memory-assisted transducer, on the other hand, offers a versatile approach that not only mitigates the noise but also enables the on-demand retrieval of the transduced signal. Here, we integrate a quantum memory protocol with transduction in a three-level atomic system to demonstrate on-demand retrieval of transduced signals. Due to the zero-first-order Zeeman transitions at zero magnetic fields, providing long optical and spin coherence times, and GHz range hyperfine splitting, we use a low-doping concentration $^{171}{\rm Yb}^{3+}$:${\rm Y}_2{\rm SiO}_5$ crystal at 30\,mK temperature. We achieve on-demand transduction assisted by memory with $0.4\ (\text{and }0.3)$ noise photons in the detection window at a storage duration of $460\ (\text{and }620) \, \mu \textrm{s}$. To demonstrate the coherent nature of the protocol, we show interference patterns resulting from transduced signals due to varying phase or frequency of the input microwave pulses. Further, multimode transduction capacity is demonstrated, utilizing the spin and optical inhomogeneous broadening. The on-demand capability of the protocol allows synchronizing qubits in a quantum repeater protocol, while multimode capacity increases the entanglement generation rate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of an on-demand microwave-to-optical transducer assisted by memory.
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All authors Ujjwal Gautam, Nasser Gohari Kamel, Sourabh Kumar, Daniel Oblak

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from hep-ex

Probing Quantum Entanglement in $\tau^+\tau^-$ Pairs via the $\pi\pi$ Channel at STCF

Quantum entanglement and Bell-inequality violation in $\tau^+\tau^-$ pairs provide a sensitive probe of quantum correlations in high-energy interactions. We present a feasibility study of $e^+e^- \to \tau^+\tau^-$ at the proposed Super Tau-Charm Facility based on full Monte Carlo simulation at $\sqrt{s} = 7$ GeV, focusing on the $\pi\pi$ channel ($\tau^\pm \to \pi^\pm\nu$), which offers the maximal spin-analyzing power $|\kappa| = 1$ and the simplest final-state topology for validating the quantum-tomography framework. We establish a consistency chain from the tree-level QED prediction through truth-level and detector-level reconstruction, yielding a reconstructed concurrence of $0.279 \pm 0.007$ with the good-solution approach. A complementary full-simulation study of the $\rho\rho$ channel is also briefly reported. These results demonstrate that the STCF can provide a competitive platform for precision studies of quantum correlations in $\tau$-lepton pairs.
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All authors Xiaokang Li, Chentao Bao, Hai Chen, Mingyi Liu, Dayong Wang

Quantum Physics

A Quantum Approach to Stochastic Optimization in Insurance Underwriting

The presence of stochastic elements in combinatorial optimization problems makes them particularly challenging, as such problems quickly become intractable for classical computers even at relatively small sizes. In this work, we propose a novel quantum-classical hybrid scheme for solving a class of stochastic optimization problems known as chance-constrained knapsack problems, in which item weights follow probability distributions and constraints may be violated within a specified risk tolerance. Our method employs knapsack-specific QAOA-based circuits to generate samples which, when combined with a new self-consistent classical recovery scheme introduced in this work, produce high-quality solutions. Experiments carried out on IBM Heron processors, using circuits with depths up to 177 and comprising 3443 gates acting on as many as 150 qubits, yield solutions that indicate performance comparable to classical optimization schemes. The proposed quantum-classical scheme paves the way to tackling such problems, with the potential to outperform approaches that rely solely on classical computation.
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All authors Mitchell Bordelon, Maurice Garfinkel, Vivek Dixit, Thomas Whitehead, Jenny Holzbauer, Guillermo Mijares Vilarino, Alberto Maldonado Romo, Abhijit Mitra, Vaibhaw Kumar, Jean Utke

Friday 1 May

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cs.AI

Spacetime Formation under Requirements: Contextual Realization and Form-Dependent Probability

Quantum cognition often explains order effects, contextuality, and violations of the law of total probability by replacing classical probability with quantum probability on a fixed event structure. This paper proposes a different interpretation: quantum probability is the fixed-spacetime projection of contextual spacetime formation under finite-state requirements. The framework begins not with time, space, objects, or probabilities, but with requirements such as finite representational capacity, single-state semantic stability, context-sensitive intervention, avoidance of explicit context labels, coherent world-formation, and intersubjective transformability. When these requirements cannot be realized within a single global Boolean event structure, the mismatch appears, under fixed-spacetime projection, as noncommutativity, interference, and quantum-like probability. Building on prior single-state approaches to contextuality, we reinterpret classical contextual bookkeeping cost as the fixed-spacetime shadow of contextual spacetime formation. Auxiliary memory or context labels in a classical representation correspond, in this account, to holonomy-like mismatch among locally Boolean logic-worlds. The interference term is the cross term generated when locally classical realization contributions are nontrivially glued and projected back into a fixed classical spacetime form. The result is a transcendental-operational realist account: objecthood, eventhood, probability, and spacetime are treated as forms of realization under requirements, while objectivity is defined by invariants preserved across observer- and history-dependent spacetime formations.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.app-ph

Different roles of quantum interference in a quantum dot photocell with two intermediate bands

It is generally believed that quantum interference can improve the transport of photo-generated carriers in a photocell, thereby improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency. In this work, we explicitly explore different roles of quantum interferences in the photoelectric conversion efficiency in a quantum dot (QD) photocell with two intermediate bands. The increasing transition rates from different charge transport channels bring out first increasing, then decreasing, and then monotonically decreasing photoelectric conversion efficiencies. And the photoelectric conversions increase with quantum coherence generated by the upper transition rates owing to their robust quantum interference. However, the conversion efficiency decrease with the quantum interference induced by two lower-transition rates due to the shortened population lifetime in the intermediate bands. These results provide insight into different roles of quantum interferences in photoelectric conversion efficiency, and may provide some artificial strategies to achieve efficient photoelectric conversion via the adjusted quantum interferences in a QD photocell with multi-intermediate bands.
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Quantum Physics

ADaPT: Adaptive-window Decoding for Practical fault-Tolerance

Window decoding, first proposed to reduce decoding complexity for real-time decoding, is an essential component to realize scalable, universal-fault tolerant computation. Prior work has focused on improving throughput through parallelization and reducing reaction time via speculation on window boundaries. However, these methods use a fixed window size d, paying a fixed decoding time overhead for each window. In practice, we find this overhead of a fixed window size unnecessary in many cases due to the sparsity of average-case errors in QEC. Leveraging this insight, in this paper we propose an adaptive window decoding technique based on decoder confidence. This technique reduces the overhead in decoding time thus reducing reaction time without compromising on logical error rates. We benchmark adaptive window decoding across different codes and hardware inspired noise models. Our results show that this adaptive technique reaches the target error rate while maintaining a low decoding time overhead across different codes, and under different noise models.
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Quantum Physics

Crossing the 12,000-atom barrier with heterogeneous quantum-classical supercomputing: quantum chemistry of protein-ligand complexes

We develop a workflow decomposing a molecule into fragments via quantum embedding and simulating them with a heterogeneous quantum-classical (HQC) method. We sample fragment electronic configurations on two 156-qubit quantum processors (ibm$\_$cleveland, ibm$\_$kobe), using up to 94 qubits, running 21,006 circuits for over 239 hours, collecting $3.0 \cdot 10^9$ measurement outcomes – the most resource-intensive HQC computation for quantum chemistry to date. We compute fragment wavefunctions via optimized subspace diagonalization on supercomputers Fugaku, Miyabi-G, and ROQUO, achieving 72.5$\%$ parallel efficiency with scalable distributed linear algebra kernels. We simulate two protein-ligand complexes spanning dispersion- and electrostatics-dominated regimes (11,608, 12,635 atoms), demonstrate $>40\times$ increase in system size and up to $210\times$ improvement in accuracy over previous state-of-the-art, with HQC matching coupled-cluster (CCSD) accuracy in fragment energies. We present the first HQC protein-ligand binding prediction using a mixed-basis set and an automated end-to-end workflow enabling practical HQC calculations of large protein systems.
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All authors Kenneth M. Merz, Jr., Akhil Shajan, Danil Kaliakin, Fangchun Liang, Yuichi Otsuka, Tomonori Shirakawa, Lukas Broers, Han Xu, Miwako Tsuji, Mitsuhisa Sato, Seiji Yunoki, Ryo Wakizaka, Yukio Kawashima, Jun Doi, Hitomi Takahashi, Toshinari Itoko, Hiroshi Horii, Thaddeus Pellegrini, Javier Robledo Moreno, Kevin J. Sung, Ella Fejer, Robert Walkup, Seetharami Seelam, Mario Motta

Quantum Physics

Low-cost Ultra-low Noise DAC System-on-Module for Scalable Ion-Trap Electrode Control

A new design for an open-hardware Digital-to-Analog Converter System-on-Module is presented for low-noise ion-trap electrode control. The design specifications were established to fill the technical needs of a modular, scalable DC electrode control platform with sufficient bandwidth, noise characteristics and control flexibility. Critically, a priority was placed on supply-chain management considerations and cost effectiveness for scaling. The system is based upon the Texas Instruments DAC81416 and AMD Xilinx Spartan-7 FPGA for the analog signal and compute architecture respectively. Performance characterization of a prototype device suggests the design is suitable for a variety of ion-trap physics experiments and quantum computing applications.
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Quantum Physics

Impact-Driven Quantum Decomposition for Traffic Zone Partitioning: A Hybrid Gate-Model Framework

Partitioning transportation networks into balanced and spatially coherent traffic zones is a fundamental yet computationally challenging task in intelligent transportation systems. The resulting optimization problem exhibits dense interactions among decision variables and can be formulated as a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) model. While quantum optimization naturally aligns with such quadratic energy representations, current noisy intermediate-scale quantum hardware imposes limitations on problem size, connectivity, and circuit reliability. This paper proposes an impact-driven hybrid quantum–classical optimization framework for traffic zone partitioning that bridges transportation-scale optimization models and practical gate-based quantum processors. Instead of static geographic decomposition, the method estimates the energy impact of decision variables and selectively assigns quantum computation to influential subproblems while a classical coordination loop maintains global feasibility. The framework is implemented using the Iskay optimizer and evaluated on the IBM Quantum System One backend. Experiments compare direct quantum optimization, classical iterative SubQUBO refinement, and the proposed hybrid approach. Results show that impact-guided decomposition improves convergence behavior and produces more coherent spatial partitions relative to classical refinement, while remaining consistent with hardware constraints. Although the hybrid method does not outperform the best direct quantum solution, it demonstrates a practical pathway toward scalable hybrid optimization for transportation applications under current quantum hardware conditions.
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All authors Ruimin Ke, Talha Azfar, Kaicong Huang, Shuyang Li

Quantum Physics

On Quantum Indeterminacy and the Uncertainty Principle

We propose a geometric formulation of quantum indeterminacy based on polar duality between convex bodies representing position and momentum data. A pair (X,P) of centrally symmetric convex bodies is said to satisfy the indeterminacy condition when the h-polar of X is included in P. We show that this condition naturally arises from the geometry of quantum blobs and is closely related to Hardy's uncertainty principle and the Donoho–Stark inequalities. Using symplectic capacities and John ellipsoids, we associate a canonical covariance ellipsoid with every quantum polar pair and prove that it satisfies the quantum condition. The Robertson–Schrödinger inequalities follow as a consequence. This provides a non-statistical formulation of quantum indeterminacy from which the usual uncertainty relations emerge. which the usual uncertainty relations emerge.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from hep-ph

Three-flavor supernova neutrino simulation using a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm with qutrits

We simulate a self-interacting three-flavor neutrino system within a core-collapse supernova using a hybrid classical-quantum algorithm on a qutrit computer. Based on the Dirac-Frenkel evolution equations, we employ a variation of the quantum-assisted simulator to calculate the system's time evolution operator by performing qutrit Hadamard tests to find expectation values of unitary operators in the Hamiltonian. The time evolution simulation is then done classically. We find that the hybrid algorithm produces results comparable to an exact numerical integration out to times of $t \approx 30 \,\omega_0^{-1}$ with time step $\delta t = 0.005 \,\omega_0^{-1}$, where $\omega_0$ is the energy scale of the single neutrino vacuum oscillations. We discuss the lessons learned in simulating neutrino systems using this hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, along with the advantages it offers over quantum Trotterization.
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Quantum Physics

Entropic Reciprocity in Time-Reversed Young Interferometry

We show that time-reversed Young interferometry reorganizes, rather than reverses, optical entropy. A fixed detector conditions the reciprocal source–detector Green function and produces a source-label probability distribution. Marginal entropies in the standard and time-reversed geometries are generally unequal; the reciprocal invariant is instead the mutual information between source and detector coordinates. Near a destructive response, the conditioned source-label entropy can decrease while Fisher information for small phase, tilt, or defocus perturbations increases. The result identifies time-reversed Young interferometry as a source-space information processor with no analogue in ordinary detector-plane fringe readout.
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Quantum Physics

A Scalable FPGA Architecture for Real-Time Decoding of Quantum LDPC Codes Using GARI

In this work, we introduce a new hardware architecture for decoding correlated errors in quantum LDPC codes. The decoder is based on message passing and exploits the structure of the detector error model obtained through the recently introduced Graph Augmentation and Rewiring for Inference (GARI) method. The proposed architecture enables flexible scaling and can, in principle, adapt to any quantum LDPC codes using the GARI framework. It leverages resource reuse while maintaining a modest degree of parallelism, thereby reducing power consumption and area requirements, while preserving low decoding latency. As a case study, the architecture was implemented on a VCU19P FPGA as an ensemble of three decoder cores targeting the [[144,12,12]] bivariate bicycle code, achieving an average latency of 596 ns per decoding round. This implementation consumes six times fewer resources than the previous GARI-based proposal, being the first reported implementation of multiple decoder cores for correlated errors on a single FPGA device. This enables better energy-conscious scaling of the quantum error correction layer on the classical side, reducing overall power consumption while meeting real-time constraints without compromising decoding accuracy under correlated errors.
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All authors Daniel Báscones, Arshpreet Singh Maan, Valentin Savin, Francisco Garcia-Herrero

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

Model-agnostic cooling algorithms for strongly interacting fermions

Strongly interacting fermions underpin some of the most challenging problems in condensed matter physics, such as high-temperature superconductivity. The low-energy states of these systems encode their essential microscopic properties, yet remain largely inaccessible to classical methods. Quantum simulation offers a promising path forward, and among state-preparation strategies, engineered dissipation has emerged as a particularly compelling approach. Existing cooling protocols, however, typically rely on knowledge of the quasiparticle spectrum or mappings to free-fermion limits. In this letter, we introduce a randomized, symmetry-preserving cooling algorithm that requires no spectral information, using only local coupling operators to ancilla degrees of freedom with randomly sampled energy splittings to drive generic fermionic systems toward their low-energy manifold. We benchmark the protocol on canonical correlated fermionic models relevant to high-temperature superconductors, spanning metallic, density-wave, paired, superconducting, and phase-separated phases. Across all models, we observe universal cooling behavior: monotonic energy relaxation, concentration of spectral weight at low energies, and stabilization of correlated ground-state order. Our results establish randomized dissipative cooling as a general strategy for preparing strongly correlated fermionic states on programmable quantum devices.
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All authors Henning Schlömer, Liyuan Chen, Susanne F. Yelin, Hong-Ye Hu

Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from cs.SE

Semantics-Based Verification of an Implemented Shor Oracle for ECDLP in Qrisp

Shor-style quantum algorithms for the elliptic-curve discrete logarithm problem (ECDLP) are highly sensitive to the exact semantics of their group-operation oracles. Consequently, minor implementation choices can invalidate the intended mathematical model and lead to misleading conclusions. This paper introduces a semantics-first verification perspective for an end-to-end, compilable ECDLP implementation built on Qrisp. We specify the implemented oracle at the level of program semantics, derive refinement-style verification obligations for its key components, and provide a high-level complexity argument for the resulting oracle family. A small case study highlights that (i) the core point-update primitive agrees with a classical reference on well-formed inputs, yet (ii) controlled execution may violate the expected control law under the evaluated toolchain, despite a passing trivial control sanity check. These results position semantic auditing as a practical prerequisite for trustworthy ECDLP-oriented quantum software.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from physics.chem-ph

Accurate, full-dimensional computations of thousands of complex vibrational eigenstates with tree tensor network states

Tree tensor network states (TTNSs) combined with the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) are emerging as powerful tools for vibrational and vibronic structure simulations in molecules with strong coupling and fluxionality. In this Perspective, we discuss how TTNS methods enable accurate, full-dimensional computations of thousands of eigenstates for molecular systems ranging from quartic-force-field benchmarks to molecules with strong vibronic coupling and protonated water clusters as large as the 33-dimensional Eigen ion, H$_3$O$^+$$\cdot$(H$_2$O)$_3$. We emphasize the close connection and interoperability between DMRG-based TTNS methods and the multilayer multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method (ML-MCTDH), which share the same underlying ansatz. We also highlight practical challenges of predictive simulations, including robust error estimation, convergence of observables such as infrared intensities, and optimization of tensor network tree structures. Finally, we outline recent advances toward direct targeting of excited states and discuss opportunities for broader applications in molecular spectroscopy and quantum dynamics.
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Quantum Physics

Multimode Strong-Coupling Processes in Circuit QED Lattices

Circuit QED systems provide an ideal platform for exploring the strong-coupling regime of multimode cavity QED. Here we present two new phenomena from multimode strong coupling: a circuit Lagrangian analysis which captures beyond tight-binding effects of strong photon-photon coupling and experimental observation of strong wave-mixing resonances in the qubit response. Our circuit analysis reveals qualitatively new features such as emergent band gaps, lifted degeneracies, broadened flat bands, and frequency-dependent hopping. Within the multimode photon environment, strong qubit-photon coupling in turn gives rise to multiphoton processes involving multiple normal modes. We demonstrate a strong four-wave-mixing process involving excitation of a qubit and simultaneous frequency conversion between modes. Notably, this wave-mixing process is dominated by localized flat-band modes of the photonic lattice, which exhibit the strongest coupling to the transmon qubit.
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All authors Won Chan Lee, Ali Fahimniya, Kellen O'Brien, Yu-Xin Wang, Alexandra Behne, Maya Amouzegar, Alexey V. Gorshkov, Alicia J. Kollár

Quantum Physics

The minimal example of quantum network Bell nonlocality

In recent years, the study of Bell nonlocality has been generalized to quantum networks, where multiple independent sources distribute physical systems to distant parties who perform local measurements. In this context, a central open question is to identify the minimal network configuration in which quantum resources produce Bell nonlocal correlations. Here we address this question and show that quantum nonlocality is possible in the triangle network where the parties have no input choices and produce only binary-valued outcomes. To do so, we start by identifying a family of target distributions and proving their nonlocality. Next, we construct an explicit quantum model that reproduces the target distributions to machine precision. For this, we develop an efficient method for parameterizing quantum distributions in networks, inspired by the formalism of higher-order quantum operations. When considering the number of observed variables and their cardinality, this constitutes the smallest scenario possible that supports quantum nonlocality in networks. Moreover, by analyzing the explicit quantum model, we obtain new insights into how nonlocal distributions can be generated in quantum networks.
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All authors Erwan Don, Jessica Bavaresco, Patryk Lipka-Bartosik, Nicolas Gisin, Nicolas Brunner, Alejandro Pozas-Kerstjens

Quantum Physics

Universality of Quantum Gates in Particle and Symmetry Constrained Subspaces

Simulating physical systems on near-term quantum computers often requires preparing states within constrained subspaces, like those with fixed particle number or spin. We use Lie algebraic techniques to prove that hardware-efficient gates are universal for state preparation in these subspaces. The key mechanism is Pauli $Z$ dressing: commutators of overlapping gates produce Pauli $Z$ operators on shared qubits, acting as spectator projectors that decompose multi-plane rotations into single-plane generators spanning the full $\mathfrak{so}(w)$ algebra, where $w$ is the dimension of the constrained subspace, thereby guaranteeing universality for real state preparation. Adding independent complex phases extends this to $\mathfrak{su}(w)$, enabling arbitrary complex state preparation. We provide a computationally efficient Jacobian criterion for verifying that a circuit can explore any direction on the target manifold from almost any parameter configuration. Our findings are applicable to many problem areas, including Fermi-Hubbard models, Bose-Hubbard models, and molecular electronic structure. We apply our framework to two physical settings: we prove the completeness of the binary encoded multi-level particles ansatz on the conserved-particle-number subspace, and we construct symmetry-preserving circuits for the fuzzy sphere regularisation of the 3D Ising conformal field theory (CFT). For the latter, we variationally prepare the ground and excited states and extract some CFT data.
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Quantum Physics

Sheaf-Theoretic Preparation Contextuality

We introduce a preparation-dual notion of contextuality, formulated as an obstruction to stochastic extension. In parallel with the sheaf-theoretic formulation of measurement contextuality, preparation contextuality arises when locally specified preparation statistics cannot be extended to a single global response matrix compatible with all source contexts. Whereas measurement contextuality concerns the incompatibility of restriction maps (marginalisation), the preparation setting requires stochastic extension of partial conditioning data, which is inherently non-unique. We identify minimal structural and preparation compatibility conditions on admissible extension matrices and show that they enforce a rigid product form. This leads to a notion of preparation contextuality in which the absence of any admissible global response representation witnesses contextuality, while preparation compatibility identifies the cases in which this obstruction is nontrivial. The framework is formulated explicitly in matrix form and illustrated by a quantum-mechanical example exhibiting preparation contextuality.
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Quantum Physics

Gravity-induced entanglement under constrained dynamics

Tests of gravity-induced entanglement have been proposed as a route to probing the quantum nature of gravity, but existing schemes rely on free-fall interferometry of massive spatial superpositions, imposing severe experimental constraints. We show that systems exhibiting effectively inertial dynamics in the short-time regime reproduce the same gravitational phase accumulation responsible for entanglement generation. Deviations from the free-fall phase enter at order $(\tau/T)^2$, where $\tau$ is the interaction timescale and $T$ is the characteristic period of the constrained motion. We analyse a representative mechanically constrained implementation using carbon nanotube pendula and show that the resulting correction to the entangling phase remains small in experimentally relevant regimes, leading to a negligible modification of the interference visibility used to certify entanglement. These results demonstrate that gravity-induced entanglement protocols extend beyond free-fall implementations to a broader class of constrained dynamical systems, complementing existing proposals for experimental realisations of the Bose-Marletto-Vedral protocol.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from gr-qc

Nonperturbative Danielson-Satishchandran-Wald Decoherence with Unruh-DeWitt detectors

Recently, Danielson, Satishchandran, and Wald (DSW) have proposed a novel source of decoherence for uniformly accelerated charges and masses in spatial superposition in spacetimes containing a bifurcating Killing horizon. Such an effect can be traced back to the emission and absorption of soft photons and gravitons, which effectively act as "which-path” information probes. This results in the decoherence of any such superposition in a finite proper time. With this in mind, we study the DSW mechanism using a gapless finite-time detector prepared in a spatial superposition of uniformly accelerated paths in Minkowski spacetime that interacts with a massive scalar field. The calculation is nonperturbative. Such a model will enable us to analyze the decoherence process in a more controlled manner, highlighting the main factors that give rise to this interesting mechanism.
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All authors Levy B. N. Batista, André G. S. Landulfo, Robert B. Mann, George E. A. Matsas

Quantum Physics

Symmetry-Engineered Multiple Bulk-Boundary Correspondences and Anomalous Modes in a Non-Hermitian Creutz Ladder

The synergy between non-Hermiticity and topology makes the bulk-boundary correspondence (BBC) highly elusive. Here we study a non-Hermitian Creutz ladder incorporating both gain-loss and nonreciprocity, and construct multiple BBCs involving scale-free, normal, and anomalous skin modes, as well as topological zero- energy modes. We characterize the skin effect induced by the parity-time (PT) phase transition through an average winding number, thereby formulating a PT-related BBC. Furthermore, a hidden chiral symmetry ensures that topological phase transitions can be reliably detected via a Z 2 invariant. Although the gain-loss breaks the standalone P symmetry, it preserves the combined PT symmetry, allowing a modified Z 2 invariant to sustain the topological BBC. Notably, sublattice symmetry facilitates the precise analytical determination of non-Bloch spectra. Leveraging this, we introduce a hybrid spectral winding that encodes the localization (or delocalization) characteristics of two counterintuitive bulk modes coexisting with normal skin modes, thus defining a non-Hermitian BBC. One of these modes exhibits exponential boundary accumulation in a direction opposite to the nonreciprocity, while the other manifests as an anomalous surge of Bloch-wave states within the nonreciprocal lattice. These results reveal a series of unexpected phenomena governed by underlying symmetry, significantly broadening our fundamental understanding of the BBC mechanism in non-Hermitian topological systems.
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All authors Xin Li, TongYi Li, JingYu Peng, Yu Wang

Quantum Physics

Which Coherence Decoheres? Basis-Dependent Decoherence Rates in Symmetry-Broken Collective Spin Systems

In the ordered phase of a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetric collective spin system, two natural bases – localised pointer states $\{|P\rangle,|R\rangle\}$ and energy eigenstates $\{|E_0\rangle,|E_1\rangle\}$ – yield Lindblad dephasing rates that differ by a factor approaching $2$ as $N\to\infty$ and reaching $2.42$ near the quantum-critical crossover. The discrepancy has a single algebraic origin: parity forces $\langle E_i|\hat{J}_z|E_i\rangle=0$ exactly, eliminating the cross-term that doubles the localised-state rate. Two distinct protection factors are identified: $\eta_{\rm MF}=(Nm_*)^2/(2G_{01})\approx2.42$, where $m_*$ is the order parameter and $G_{01}=\frac{1}{2}(\langle E_0|\hat{J}_z^2|E_0\rangle+\langle E_1|\hat{J}_z^2|E_1\rangle)$ (advantage over the classical mean-field estimate), and $\eta_{\rm exact}=(G_{01}+J_{01}^2)/G_{01}\approx1.86$, where $J_{01}=\langle E_0|\hat{J}_z|E_1\rangle$ (exact physical ratio of pointer-state to eigenstate decay rate). In the thermodynamic limit the secular approximation fails, the doublet degenerates, and both rates converge. The three-regime structure is demonstrated in the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model via exact diagonalisation, and the algebraic origin of the discrepancy is established via the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ parity of the Lindblad jump operator.
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Quantum Physics

Probability distribution analysis of the cascaded variational quantum eigensolver

The cascaded variational quantum eigensolver (CVQE) circumvents the need for iterative communication between the quantum and classical processing units that is necessary in the conventional VQE algorithm. While CVQE offers complete freedom to choose the guiding state as input, not all guiding states provide both accurate solutions and efficient resource usage. Our work presents a process based on trapezoidal-state preparation for selecting guiding states that yield accurate many-electron ground-state solutions with minimal resource consumption. By analyzing state probability distributions at different stages of CVQE calculations for the collision complex mediating the $\mathrm{H}_2 + \mathrm{H}_2^+ \rightarrow \mathrm{H}_3^+ + \mathrm{H}$ bimolecular reaction, we identify stage-specific errors, trace their impact on final classical optimization, and determine the optimal guiding-state parameters for given resource constraints. Our findings uncover a critical trade-off on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, demonstrating that shallower diabatic circuits provide the best compromise among optimization efficiency, state quality, sampling cost, and signal-to-noise ratio in our system.
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All authors Yi-Hua Lai, John P. T. Stenger, Gloria Bazargan, Igor V. Schweigert, Daniel Gunlycke

Quantum Physics

Quantum Simulation of Differential-Algebraic Equations with Applications to Unsteady Stokes Flow

Differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) arise naturally in constrained dynamical systems, but their algebraic constraints and hidden compatibility conditions make them more subtle than standard ordinary differential equations. This paper initiates a quantum-algorithmic study of constrained linear DAEs. We introduce a dilation framework that embeds the generally non-Hermitian constrained evolution into a projected Schrödinger-type dynamics on an enlarged Hilbert space, \[ i\frac{d}{dt}\Psi(t)=P\widehat H P\Psi(t), \] where $\widehat H$ is Hermitian and $P$ is the orthogonal projector onto the lifted constraint subspace. This identifies the DAE evolution with a quantum Zeno-type dynamics and enables the use of block encodings, QSVT-based projector construction, and Hamiltonian simulation. We apply the framework to structure-preserving discretizations of the unsteady Stokes equations, where the pressure enforces the discrete incompressibility constraint. For Stokes, the Zeno-reduced generator has the projected square factorization \[ S_h=-\Pi_h\Delta_h\Pi_h=(G_h\Pi_h)^\dagger(G_h\Pi_h), \] which can be represented through a Gaussian moment dilation and implemented as a Gaussian superposition of unitary Zeno evolutions generated by a first-order square-root Hamiltonian. In the generic sparse-access model, this gives a simulation-stage cost $\widetilde O(h^{-2}\sqrt t)$, up to the usual postselection factor for preparing the normalized dissipative state. The results provide a first step toward understanding the intersection of quantum algorithms, DAEs, constrained PDE dynamics, and square-root Gaussian dilations.
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Quantum Physics · Cross-listed from math.FA

The structure of gauge invariant Gaussian quantum operations on finite Fermion systems

Let ${\mathcal H}_1$ be a finite dimensional complex Hilbert space. Let $\psi\mapsto Z(\psi)$ be a canonical anti-commutation relations (CAR) field over ${\mathcal H}_1$ acting irreducibly on a Hilbert space ${\mathord{\mathscr K}}$. The $*$-algebra ${\mathscr A}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ generated by the $Z(\psi)$, $\psi\in {\mathcal H}_1$, is simply all operators on ${\mathscr K}$. However, the CAR field endows ${\mathscr A}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ with additional structure, and we are concerned with quantum operations acting in harmony with this structure. In particular, there is a "gauge" automorphism group generated by "second quantizing” $\psi \mapsto e^{it}\psi$. The fixed point algebra of the gauge group, ${\mathscr G}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$, is a sub-algebra of ${\mathscr A}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ studied by Araki and Wyss. It contains the density matrices of an important class of states, the gauge invariant Gaussian states, ${\mathfrak S}_{GIG}$. Our focus is on semigroups $\{e^{t{\mathscr L}}\}_{t\geq 0}$ of quantum operations on ${\mathscr A}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ that map ${\mathfrak S}_{GIG}$ into itself. Each $e^{t{\mathscr L}}$ is one-to-one, and our first main result is a structure theorem for such quantum operations on ${\mathscr G}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ that map ${\mathfrak S}_{GIG}$ into itself. We apply this to study semigroups of quantum operations on ${\mathscr G}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$ that map ${\mathfrak S}_{GIG}$ into itself. Our second main result is a structure theorem showing that they are parameterized by pairs $(G,A)$ where $G$ is a contraction semigroup generator on ${\mathcal H}_1$, and $0 \leq A \leq -G -G^*$. We then show that each of these semigroups has a natural extension to the full CAR algebra ${\mathscr A}_{{\mathcal H}_1}$. Further results are obtained under further assumptions on the pair $(G,A)$.
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Quantum Physics

Entanglement capacity of complex networks from quantum walks

Discrete-time quantum walks provide a natural framework for quantum transport on complex networks. On regular structures, coin-walker entanglement has been widely used to characterize quantum transport and to support quantum algorithmic protocols. However, this notion relies on a fixed Hilbert space factorization separating coin and position and is therefore not directly applicable to more complex, irregular structures. Here we introduce an entanglement measure for general networks based on a bipartition that assigns each node two roles, acting as both a source and a target. The resulting bipartition defines the source-target entanglement, a measure for general networks, motivated by coin-walker entanglement. We show that the connectivity of the network imposes an upper bound on this entanglement and identify graph matchings as the underlying structure governing entanglement generation. We further illustrate that in random graphs improving graph connectivity reduces the attainable entanglement, establishing a structure-dependent constraint on quantum correlations.
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Quantum Physics

Topological protection of local quantum Fisher information

In many-body quantum systems, unitary dynamics generically delocalize locally encoded information, causing single-site metrological sensitivity to vanish. We analytically demonstrate that a topological phase can prevent this dispersal. In the open Kitaev chain, a Majorana zero mode fixes the boundary quantum Fisher information (QFI) at a nonzero plateau that persists for times exponentially long in system size. We derive exact analytical expressions for the local QFI and identify the mechanism as the spatial separation of the two Majorana quadratures to opposite ends of the chain. This separation produces a boundary encoding-axis asymmetry that distinguishes topological boundary memory from a generic localized subgap signal. We show numerically that the asymmetry is robust to moderate quenched on-site disorder, while the boundary plateau remains visible under parity-preserving interactions in finite-size real-time simulations. The protocol requires only product-state initialization, Hamiltonian evolution, and single-site readout.
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Quantum Physics

Quantum Interval Bound Propagation for Certified Training of Quantum Neural Networks

Quantum machine learning is a promising field for efficiently learning features of a dataset to perform a specified task, such as classification. Interval bound propagation (IBP) is a popular certified training method in classical machine learning, where the lower and upper bounds are tracked throughout the model. These bounds are used during training to ensure that the model is certified to predict the correct label even under adversarial perturbations. While IBP is successful in classical domain, there are limited certified training efforts in quantum domain. In this paper, we present quantum interval bound propagation (QIBP) to establish a certified training routine for quantum machine learning, certifying the accuracy of models under adversarial perturbations. We implement QIBP using both interval and affine arithmetic to explore the tradeoffs between the two implementations in terms of accuracy and other design considerations. Extensive evaluation demonstrates that the resulting certified trained models have robust decision boundaries, guaranteed to predict the correct class for the samples within the trained adversarial robustness bounds.
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