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arXiv:1604.01979 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Quantum Yang-Mills theory: An overview of a program

Ashley Milsted, Tobias J. Osborne

Published Jul 10, 2018• 18 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present an overview of a program to understand the low-energy physics of quantum Yang-Mills theory from a quantum-information perspective. Our setting is that of the Hamiltonian formulation of pure Yang-Mills theory in the temporal gauge on the lattice. Firstly, inspired by recent constructions for $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$ lattice gauge theory, in particular, Kitaev's toric code, we describe the gauge-invariant sector of Hilbert space by introducing a primitive quantum gate: the quantum parallel transporter. We then develop a non-Abelian generalization of Laplace interpolation to present an ansatz for the ground state of pure Yang-Mills theory which interpolates between the weak- and strong-coupling renormalization group fixed points. The resulting state acquires the structure of a tensor network, namely, a multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz, and allows for the efficient computation of local observables and Wilson loops. Various refinements of the tensor network are discussed leading to several generalizations. Finally, the continuum limit of our ansatz as the lattice regulator is removed is then described. This paper is intended as an abstract for an ongoing program: there are still many open problems.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.98.014505

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We present an overview of a program to understand the low-energy physics of quantum Yang-Mills theory from a quantum-information perspective. Our setting is that of the Hamiltonian formulation of pure Yang-Mills theory in the temporal gauge on the lattice. Firstly, inspired by recent constructions for Z/2Z\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}Z/2Z lattice gauge theory, in particular, Kitaev's toric code, we describe the gauge-invariant sector of Hilbert space by introducing a primitive quantum gate: the quantum parallel transporter. We then develop a non-Abelian generalization of Laplace interpolation to present an ansatz for the ground state of pure Yang-Mills theory which interpolates between the weak- and strong-coupling renormalization group fixed points. The resulting state acquires the structure of a tensor network, namely, a multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz, and allows for the efficient computation of local observables and Wilson loops. Various refinements of the tensor network are discussed leading to several generalizations. Finally, the continuum limit of our ansatz as the lattice regulator is removed is then described. This paper is intended as an abstract for an ongoing program: there are still many open problems.
This paper presents a novel approach to solving the Yang–Mills existence and mass gap problem using quantum information theory. We develop a rigorous mathematical framework that reformulates the Yang–Mills theory in terms of quantum circuits and entanglement structures. Our method provides a concrete realization of the Yang–Mills theory that is manifestly gauge-invariant and satisfies the Wightman axioms. We demonstrate the existence of a mass gap by analyzing the entanglement spectrum of the vacuum state, establishing a direct connection between the mass gap and the minimum non-zero eigenvalue of the entanglement Hamiltonian. Our approach also offers new insights into non-perturbative phenomena such as confinement and asymptotic freedom. We introduce new mathematical tools, including entanglement renormalization for gauge theories and quantum circuit complexity measures for quantum fields. The implications of our work extend beyond the Yang–Mills theory, suggesting new approaches to quantum gravity, strongly coupled systems, and cosmological problems. This quantum information perspective on gauge theories opens up exciting new directions for research at the intersection of quantum field theory, quantum gravity, and quantum computation.
We develop a constructive, entanglement-first derivation of quantum field theory in which all physical structure arises from a single operator relation, ρ = e −S(H) . The fundamental object is the correlation matrix Cij = ⟨λi |ρ|λj ⟩, from which locality, spectral geometry, renormalization flow, and interaction structure are derived without prior assumptions of spacetime, fields, or gauge symmetry. We show that the conventional kernel formulation is a projection of the full entanglement structure and is therefore insufficient to reconstruct physical dynamics, establishing operator entanglement as the unique fundamental layer. Within this framework, non-Abelian gauge structure emerges from symmetry-induced degeneracies of the entanglement operator, yielding a natural construction of gauge connections and curvature. The Yang–Mills action is derived as the leading gauge-invariant functional consistent with entanglement-induced locality and spectral scaling, rather than postulated. In the strong-coupling regime, exponential decay of correlations implies clustering, a nonzero mass gap, and an area law for Wilson loops, providing a nonperturbative mechanism for confinement. We further construct the full quantum theory via an entanglement-induced measure, verifying all Osterwalder–Schrader axioms and establishing Hilbert space reconstruction, uniqueness of the continuum limit, universality, vacuum uniqueness, and operator-domain control. The resulting framework provides a unified and constructive foundation for quantum field theory in which Yang–Mills dynamics and nonperturbative phenomena arise directly from operator entanglement.
We develop a quantum algorithmic framework for the efficient simulation of Yang--Mills theories, including the SU(3)\mathrm{SU}(3)SU(3) gauge theory in Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). The framework uses maximal-tree gauge in terms of gauge field variables that removes all local gauge redundancies. In the resulting gauge-fixed formulation and digitization in the field-amplitude basis, we show that Hamiltonian time evolution admits an efficient implementation based on quantum singular value transformation (QSVT). We derive upper bounds on the total number of qubits and gate complexity, finding polynomial scaling with the inverse simulation precision 1/εs1/\varepsilon_s1/εs​, lattice volume V\mathcal{V}V, gauge coupling ggg, and target energy scale EEE. Our results provide a rigorous complexity-theoretic demonstration that non-Abelian Yang--Mills theories can be simulated efficiently on quantum computers, paving the way toward first-principles quantum simulations of non-perturbative QCD dynamics.
Abstract We study SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in (2 + 1) dimensions based on networks of Wilson lines. With the help of the q deformation, networks respect the (discretized) SU(3) gauge symmetry as a quantum group, i.e., SU(3)k, and may enable implementations of SU(3) Yang-Mills theory in quantum and classical algorithms by referring to those of the stringnet model. As a demonstration, we perform a mean-field computation of the groundstate of SU(3)k Yang-Mills theory, which is in good agreement with the conventional Monte Carlo simulation by taking sufficiently large k. The variational ansatz of the mean-field computation can be represented by the tensor networks called infinite projected entangled pair states. The success of the mean-field computation indicates that the essential features of Yang-Mills theory are well described by tensor networks, so that they may be useful in numerical simulations of Yang-Mills theory.
We consider the problem of the explicit description of the gauge-invariant subspace of pure lattice gauge theories in the Hamiltonian formulation, where the gauge group is either a compact Lie group or a finite group. The latter case is particularly interesting for quantum simulation. A basis of states where configurations are grouped according to their holonomies is shown to have several advantages over other descriptions. Using this basis, we compute some properties of interest for some non-Abelian finite groups on small lattices, and in particular we examine the question of whether a certain ansatz introduced long ago is a good approximation for the ground state. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Tensor-network methods enable probing dynamics of strongly interacting quantum many-body systems, including gauge theories, via Hamiltonian simulation, hence bypassing sign problems. They also have the potential to inform efficient quantum-simulation algorithms of the same theories. We develop and benchmark a matrix-product-state ansatz for the SU(2) lattice gauge theory using the loop-string-hadron formulation. This formulation has been demonstrated to be advantageous in Hamiltonian simulation of non-Abelian gauge theories. It is applicable to both SU(2) and SU(3) gauge groups, to periodic and open boundary conditions, and to 1+1 and higher dimensions. In this work, we report on progress in computing static and dynamical observables in a SU(2) gauge theory in (1+1)D, pushing the boundary of existing studies.