Energy transport in Z3 chiral clock model

We characterize the energy transport in a one dimensional Z3 chiral clock model. The model generalizes the Z2 symmetric transverse field Ising model (TFIM). The model is parametrized by a chirality parameter Θ, in addition to f and J which are analogous to the transverse field and the nearest neighbour spin coupling in the TFIM. Unlike the well studied TFIM and XYZ models, does not transform to a fermionic system. We use a matrix product states implementation of the Lindblad master equation to obtain the non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) in systems of sizes up to 48. We present the estimated NESS current and its scaling exponent γ as a function of Θ at different f/J. The estimated γ(f/J,Θ) point to a ballistic energy transport along a line of integrable points f=Jcos{3Θ} in the parameter space; all other points deviate from ballistic transport. Analysis of finite size effects within the available system sizes suggest a diffusive behavior away from the integrable points.

Testing a Quantum Annealer as a Quantum Thermal Sampler

Motivated by recent experiments in which specific thermal properties of complex many-body systems were successfully reproduced on a commercially available quantum annealer, we examine the extent to which quantum annealing hardware can reliably sample from the thermal state in a specific basis associated with a target quantum Hamiltonian. We address this question by studying the diagonal thermal properties of the canonical one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model on a D-Wave 2000Q quantum annealing processor. We find that the quantum processor fails to produce the correct expectation values predicted by Quantum Monte Carlo. Comparing to master equation simulations, we find that this discrepancy is best explained by how the measurements at finite transverse fields are enacted on the device. Specifically, measurements at finite transverse field require the system to be quenched from the target Hamiltonian to a Hamiltonian with negligible transverse field, and this quench is too slow. The limitations imposed by such hardware make it an unlikely candidate for thermal sampling, and it remains an open question what thermal expectation values can be robustly estimated in general for arbitrary quantum many-body systems.

Closed hierarchy of Heisenberg equations in integrable models with Onsager algebra

Dynamics of a quantum system can be described by coupled Heisenberg equations. In a generic many-body system these equations form an exponentially large hierarchy that is intractable without approximations. In contrast, in an integrable system a small subset of operators can be closed with respect to commutation with the Hamiltonian. As a result, the Heisenberg equations for these operators can form a smaller closed system amenable to an analytical treatment. We demonstrate that this indeed happens in a class of integrable models where the Hamiltonian is an element of the Onsager algebra. We explicitly solve the system of Heisenberg equations for operators from this algebra. Two specific models are considered as examples: the transverse field Ising model and the superintegrable chiral 3-state Potts model.

Hybrid quantum annealing via molecular dynamics

A novel quantum–classical hybrid scheme is proposed to efficiently solve large-scale combinatorial optimization problems. The key concept is to introduce a Hamiltonian dynamics of the classical flux variables associated with the quantum spins of the transverse-field Ising model. Molecular dynamics of the classical fluxes can be used as a powerful preconditioner to sort out the frozen and ambivalent spins for quantum annealers. The performance and accuracy of our smooth hybridization in comparison to the standard classical algorithms (the tabu search and the simulated annealing) are demonstrated by employing the MAX-CUT and Ising spin-glass problems.

Hidden symmetries, the Bianchi classification and geodesics of the quantum geometric ground-state manifolds

We study the Killing vectors of the quantum ground-state manifold of a parameter-dependent Hamiltonian. We find that the manifold may have symmetries that are not visible at the level of the Hamiltonian and that different quantum phases of matter exhibit different symmetries. We propose a Bianchi-based classification of the various ground-state manifolds using the Lie algebra of the Killing vector fields. Moreover, we explain how to exploit these symmetries to find geodesics and explore their behaviour when crossing critical lines. We briefly discuss the relation between geodesics, energy fluctuations and adiabatic preparation protocols. Our primary example is the anisotropic transverse-field Ising model. We also analyze the Ising limit and find analytic solutions to the geodesic equations for both cases.