Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1806.05747 · Science

Probing Rényi entanglement entropy via randomized measurements

Tiff Brydges, Andreas Elben, Petar Jurcevic, Benoît Vermersch, Christine Maier, B. P. Lanyon, P. Zoller, R. Blatt, Christian F. Roos

Published Apr 19, 2019• 648 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Entanglement is a key feature of many-body quantum systems. Measuring the entropy of different partitions of a quantum system provides a way to probe its entanglement structure. Here, we present and experimentally demonstrate a protocol for measuring the second-order Rényi entropy based on statistical correlations between randomized measurements. Our experiments, carried out with a trapped-ion quantum simulator with partition sizes of up to 10 qubits, prove the overall coherent character of the system dynamics and reveal the growth of entanglement between its parts, in both the absence and presence of disorder. Our protocol represents a universal tool for probing and characterizing engineered quantum systems in the laboratory, which is applicable to arbitrary quantum states of up to several tens of qubits.

DOI
10.1126/science.aau4963

Related papers

Statistical correlations between locally randomized measurements: A toolbox for probing entanglement in many-body quantum states

Andreas Elben, Benoît Vermersch, Christian F. Roos +1 more

We develop a general theoretical framework for measurement protocols employing statistical correlations of randomized measurements. We focus on locally randomized measurements implemented with local random unitaries in quantum lattice models. In particular, we discuss the theoretical details underlying the recent measurement of the second R\'enyi entropy of highly mixed quantum states consisting of up to ten qubits in a trapped-ion quantum simulator [Brydges et al., Science 364, 260 (2019)]. We generalize the protocol to access the overlap of quantum states, prepared sequentially in one experiment. Furthermore, we discuss proposals for quantum state tomography based on randomized measurements within our framework and the respective scaling of statistical errors with system size.

arXiv:1812.02624•Physical Review A•May 15, 2019•168 citations

Rényi Entropies from Random Quenches in Atomic Hubbard and Spin Models

Andreas Elben, Benoît Vermersch, Marcello Dalmonte +2 more

We present a scheme for measuring Rényi entropies in generic atomic Hubbard and spin models using single copies of a quantum state and for partitions in arbitrary spatial dimensions. Our approach is based on the generation of random unitaries from random quenches, implemented using engineered time-dependent disorder potentials, and standard projective measurements, as realized by quantum gas microscopes. By analyzing the properties of the generated unitaries and the role of statistical errors, with respect to the size of the partition, we show that the protocol can be realized in existing quantum simulators and used to measure, for instance, area law scaling of entanglement in two-dimensional spin models or the entanglement growth in many-body localized systems.

arXiv:1709.05060•Physical Review Letters•Feb 2, 2018•260 citations

Measuring Entanglement Entropy of a Generic Many-Body System with a Quantum Switch

Dmitry A. Abanin, Eugene Demler

Entanglement entropy has become an important theoretical concept in condensed matter physics because it provides a unique tool for characterizing quantum mechanical many-body phases and new kinds of quantum order. However, the experimental measurement of entanglement entropy in a many-body system is widely believed to be unfeasible, owing to the nonlocal character of this quantity. Here, we propose a general method to measure the entanglement entropy. The method is based on a quantum switch (a two-level system) coupled to a composite system consisting of several copies of the original many-body system. The state of the switch controls how different parts of the composite system connect to each other. We show that, by studying the dynamics of the quantum switch only, the Rényi entanglement entropy of the many-body system can be extracted. We propose a possible design of the quantum switch, which can be realized in cold atomic systems. Our work provides a route towards testing the scaling of entanglement in critical systems as well as a method for a direct experimental detection of topological order.

arXiv:1204.2819•Physical Review Letters•Jul 12, 2012•236 citations

Measuring Rényi entropy with an Echo Protocol

Yi-Neng Zhou, Robin Löwenberg, Julian Sonner

We present efficient and practical protocols to measure the second Rényi entropy, whose exponential is known as the purity. Our approach is based on expressing the purity in terms of transition probabilities generated by an echo-type forward-backward evolution sequence, making it applicable to quantum many-body systems. Notably, our approach does not rely on random-noise averaging, a feature that can be extended to protocols to measure out-of-time-order correlation functions, as we demonstrate. By way of example, we show that our protocols can be practically implemented in superconducting qubit-based platforms, as well as in cavity-QED trapped ultra-cold gases.

arXiv:2504.05237•Quantum•Jun 30, 2026•2 citations

Measuring fermionic entanglement: Entropy, negativity, and spin structure

Eyal Cornfeld, Eran Sela, Moshe Goldstein

The recent direct experimental measurement of quantum entanglement paves the way towards a better understanding of many-body quantum systems and their correlations. Nevertheless, the experimental and theoretical advances had so far been predominantly limited to bosonic systems. Here, we study fermionic systems. Using experimental setups where multiple copies of the same state are prepared, arbitrary-order R\'enyi entanglement entropies and entanglement negativities can be extracted by utilizing spatially uniform beam splitters and on-site occupation measurement. As an example, we simulate the use of our protocols to measure the entanglement growth following a local quench. We also illustrate how our paradigm could be used for experimental quantum simulations of fermions on manifolds with nontrivial spin structures.

arXiv:1808.04471•Physical Review A•Jun 10, 2019•69 citations

Probing Entanglement and Symmetries in Random States Using a Superconducting Quantum Processor

Jia-Nan Yang, Lata Kh Joshi, Filiberto Ares +3 more

Quantum many-body systems display an extraordinary degree of complexity, yet many of their features are universal: they depend not on microscopic details, but on a few fundamental physical aspects such as symmetries. A central challenge is to distill these universal characteristics from model-specific ones. Random quantum states sampled from a uniform distribution, the Haar measure, provide a powerful framework for capturing this typicality. Here, we experimentally study the entanglement and symmetries of random many-body quantum states generated by evolving simple product states under ergodic Floquet models. We find excellent agreement with the predictions from the Haar-random state ensemble. First, we measure the Rényi-2 entanglement entropy as a function of the subsystem size, observing the Page curve. Second, we probe the subsystem symmetries using entanglement asymmetry. Finally, we measure the moments of partially transposed reduced density matrices obtained by tracing out part of the system in the generated ensembles, thereby revealing distinct entanglement phases. Our results offer an experimental perspective on the typical entanglement and symmetries of many-body quantum systems.

quant-pharXiv:2601.22224•Feb 2, 2026•0 citations
Entanglement is a key feature of many-body quantum systems. Measuring the entropy of different partitions of a quantum system provides a way to probe its entanglement structure. Here, we present and experimentally demonstrate a protocol for measuring the second-order Rényi entropy based on statistical correlations between randomized measurements. Our experiments, carried out with a trapped-ion quantum simulator with partition sizes of up to 10 qubits, prove the overall coherent character of the system dynamics and reveal the growth of entanglement between its parts, in both the absence and presence of disorder. Our protocol represents a universal tool for probing and characterizing engineered quantum systems in the laboratory, which is applicable to arbitrary quantum states of up to several tens of qubits.
We develop a general theoretical framework for measurement protocols employing statistical correlations of randomized measurements. We focus on locally randomized measurements implemented with local random unitaries in quantum lattice models. In particular, we discuss the theoretical details underlying the recent measurement of the second R\'enyi entropy of highly mixed quantum states consisting of up to ten qubits in a trapped-ion quantum simulator [Brydges et al., Science 364, 260 (2019)]. We generalize the protocol to access the overlap of quantum states, prepared sequentially in one experiment. Furthermore, we discuss proposals for quantum state tomography based on randomized measurements within our framework and the respective scaling of statistical errors with system size.
We present a scheme for measuring Rényi entropies in generic atomic Hubbard and spin models using single copies of a quantum state and for partitions in arbitrary spatial dimensions. Our approach is based on the generation of random unitaries from random quenches, implemented using engineered time-dependent disorder potentials, and standard projective measurements, as realized by quantum gas microscopes. By analyzing the properties of the generated unitaries and the role of statistical errors, with respect to the size of the partition, we show that the protocol can be realized in existing quantum simulators and used to measure, for instance, area law scaling of entanglement in two-dimensional spin models or the entanglement growth in many-body localized systems.
Entanglement entropy has become an important theoretical concept in condensed matter physics because it provides a unique tool for characterizing quantum mechanical many-body phases and new kinds of quantum order. However, the experimental measurement of entanglement entropy in a many-body system is widely believed to be unfeasible, owing to the nonlocal character of this quantity. Here, we propose a general method to measure the entanglement entropy. The method is based on a quantum switch (a two-level system) coupled to a composite system consisting of several copies of the original many-body system. The state of the switch controls how different parts of the composite system connect to each other. We show that, by studying the dynamics of the quantum switch only, the Rényi entanglement entropy of the many-body system can be extracted. We propose a possible design of the quantum switch, which can be realized in cold atomic systems. Our work provides a route towards testing the scaling of entanglement in critical systems as well as a method for a direct experimental detection of topological order.
We present efficient and practical protocols to measure the second Rényi entropy, whose exponential is known as the purity. Our approach is based on expressing the purity in terms of transition probabilities generated by an echo-type forward-backward evolution sequence, making it applicable to quantum many-body systems. Notably, our approach does not rely on random-noise averaging, a feature that can be extended to protocols to measure out-of-time-order correlation functions, as we demonstrate. By way of example, we show that our protocols can be practically implemented in superconducting qubit-based platforms, as well as in cavity-QED trapped ultra-cold gases.
The recent direct experimental measurement of quantum entanglement paves the way towards a better understanding of many-body quantum systems and their correlations. Nevertheless, the experimental and theoretical advances had so far been predominantly limited to bosonic systems. Here, we study fermionic systems. Using experimental setups where multiple copies of the same state are prepared, arbitrary-order R\'enyi entanglement entropies and entanglement negativities can be extracted by utilizing spatially uniform beam splitters and on-site occupation measurement. As an example, we simulate the use of our protocols to measure the entanglement growth following a local quench. We also illustrate how our paradigm could be used for experimental quantum simulations of fermions on manifolds with nontrivial spin structures.
Quantum many-body systems display an extraordinary degree of complexity, yet many of their features are universal: they depend not on microscopic details, but on a few fundamental physical aspects such as symmetries. A central challenge is to distill these universal characteristics from model-specific ones. Random quantum states sampled from a uniform distribution, the Haar measure, provide a powerful framework for capturing this typicality. Here, we experimentally study the entanglement and symmetries of random many-body quantum states generated by evolving simple product states under ergodic Floquet models. We find excellent agreement with the predictions from the Haar-random state ensemble. First, we measure the Rényi-2 entanglement entropy as a function of the subsystem size, observing the Page curve. Second, we probe the subsystem symmetries using entanglement asymmetry. Finally, we measure the moments of partially transposed reduced density matrices obtained by tracing out part of the system in the generated ensembles, thereby revealing distinct entanglement phases. Our results offer an experimental perspective on the typical entanglement and symmetries of many-body quantum systems.