Complex, Lorentzian, and Euclidean simplicial quantum gravity: numerical methods and physical prospects

Evaluating gravitational path integrals in the Lorentzian has been a long-standing challenge due to the numerical sign problem. We show that this challenge can be overcome in simplicial quantum gravity. By deforming the integration contour into the complex, the sign fluctuations can be suppressed, for instance using the holomorphic gradient flow algorithm. Working through simple models, we show that this algorithm enables efficient Monte Carlo simulations for Lorentzian simplicial quantum gravity. In order to allow complex deformations of the integration contour, we provide a manifestly holomorphic formula for Lorentzian simplicial gravity. This leads to a complex version of simplicial gravity that generalizes the Euclidean and Lorentzian cases. Outside the context of numerical computation, complex simplicial gravity is also relevant to studies of singularity resolving processes with complex semi-classical solutions. Along the way, we prove a complex version of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, which may be of independent interest.

Symmetry-protected sign problem and magic in quantum phases of matter

We introduce the concepts of a symmetry-protected sign problem and symmetry-protected magic to study the complexity of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases of matter. In particular, we say a state has a symmetry-protected sign problem or symmetry-protected magic, if finite-depth quantum circuits composed of symmetric gates are unable to transform the state into a non-negative real wave function or stabilizer state, respectively. We prove that states belonging to certain SPT phases have these properties, as a result of their anomalous symmetry action at a boundary. For example, we find that one-dimensional Z2×Z2 SPT states (e.g. cluster state) have a symmetry-protected sign problem, and two-dimensional Z2 SPT states (e.g. Levin-Gu state) have symmetry-protected magic. Furthermore, we comment on the relation between a symmetry-protected sign problem and the computational wire property of one-dimensional SPT states. In an appendix, we also introduce explicit decorated domain wall models of SPT phases, which may be of independent interest.

Loop-free tensor networks for high-energy physics

This brief review introduces the reader to tensor network methods, a powerful theoretical and numerical paradigm spawning from condensed matter physics and quantum information science and increasingly exploited in different fields of research, from artificial intelligence to quantum chemistry. Here, we specialize our presentation on the application of loop-free tensor network methods to the study of high-energy physics problems and, in particular, to the study of lattice gauge theories where tensor networks can be applied in regimes where Monte Carlo methods are hindered by the sign problem. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Quantum technologies in particle physics’.

Monte Carlo simulations of the electron short-range quantum ordering in Coulomb systems and the “fermionic sign problem”.

To account for the interference effects of the Coulomb and exchange interactions of electrons the new path integral representation of the density matrix has been developed in the canonical ensemble at finite temperatures. The developed representation allows to reduce the notorious ``fermionic sign problem'' in the path integral Monte Carlo simulations of fermionic systems. The obtained results for pair distribution functions in plasma and uniform electron gas demonstrate the short--range quantum ordering of electrons associated in literature with exchange--correlation excitons. The charge estimations show the excitonic electric neutrality. Comparison of the internal energy with available ones in the literature demonstrates that the short range ordering does not give noticeable contributions in integral thermodynamic characteristics. This fine physical effect was not observed earlier in the standard path integral Monte Carlo simulations.

The Power of Adiabatic Quantum Computation with No Sign Problem

We show a superpolynomial oracle separation between the power of adiabatic quantum computation with no sign problem and the power of classical computation.

Tensor renormalization group and the volume independence in 2D U(N) and SU(N) gauge theories

The tensor renormalization group method is a promising approach to lattice field theories, which is free from the sign problem unlike standard Monte Carlo methods. One of the remaining issues is the application to gauge theories, which is so far limited to U(1) and SU(2) gauge groups. In the case of higher rank, it becomes highly nontrivial to restrict the number of representations in the character expansion to be used in constructing the fundamental tensor. We propose a practical strategy to accomplish this and demonstrate it in 2D U(N) and SU(N) gauge theories, which are exactly solvable. Using this strategy, we obtain the singular-value spectrum of the fundamental tensor, which turns out to have a definite profile in the large-N limit. For the U(N) case, in particular, we show that the large-N behavior of the singular-value spectrum changes qualitatively at the critical coupling of the Gross-Witten-Wadia phase transition. As an interesting consequence, we find a new type of volume independence in the large-N limit of the 2D U(N) gauge theory with the θ term in the strong coupling phase, which goes beyond the Eguchi-Kawai reduction.

Hamming Distance and the onset of quantum criticality

Simulating models for quantum correlated matter unveils the inherent limitations of deterministic classical computations. In particular, in the case of quantum Monte Carlo methods, this is manifested by the emergence of negative weight configurations in the sampling, that is, the sign problem (SP). There have been several recent calculations which exploit the SP to locate underlying critical behavior. Here, utilizing a metric that quantifies phase-space ergodicity in such sampling, the Hamming distance, we suggest a significant advance on these ideas to extract the location of quantum critical points in various fermionic models, in spite of the presence of a severe SP. Combined with other methods, exact diagonalization in our case, it elucidates both the nature of the different phases as well as their location, as we demonstrate explicitly for the honeycomb and triangular Hubbard models, in both their U(1) and SU(2) forms. Our approach charts a path to circumvent inherent limitations imposed by the SP, allowing the exploration of the phase diagram of a variety of fermionic quantum models hitherto considered to be impractical via quantum Monte Carlo simulations.