Describing a particle in an external electromagnetic field is a basic task of quantum mechanics. The standard scheme for this is known as “minimal coupling” and consists of replacing the momentum operators in the Hamiltonian by the modified ones with an added vector potential. In lattice systems, it is not so clear how to do this because there is no continuous translation symmetry, and hence, there are no momenta. Moreover, when time is also discrete, as in quantum walk systems, there is no Hamiltonian, but only a unitary step operator. We present a unified framework of gauge theory for such discrete systems, keeping a close analogy to the continuum case. In particular, we show how to implement minimal coupling in a way that automatically guarantees unitary dynamics. The scheme works in any lattice dimension, for any number of internal degrees of freedom, for walks that allow jumps to a finite neighbourhood rather than to nearest neighbours, is naturally gauge invariant, and prepares possible extensions to non-abelian gauge groups.
Describing a particle in an external electromagnetic field is a basic task of quantum mechanics. The standard scheme for this is known as “minimal coupling” and consists of replacing the momentum operators in the Hamiltonian by the modified ones with an added vector potential. In lattice systems, it is not so clear how to do this because there is no continuous translation symmetry, and hence, there are no momenta. Moreover, when time is also discrete, as in quantum walk systems, there is no Hamiltonian, but only a unitary step operator. We present a unified framework of gauge theory for such discrete systems, keeping a close analogy to the continuum case. In particular, we show how to implement minimal coupling in a way that automatically guarantees unitary dynamics. The scheme works in any lattice dimension, for any number of internal degrees of freedom, for walks that allow jumps to a finite neighbourhood rather than to nearest neighbours, is naturally gauge invariant, and prepares possible extensions to non-abelian gauge groups.
Gauge invariance is one of the more important concepts in physics. We discuss this concept in connection with the unitary evolution of discrete-time quantum walks in one and two spatial dimensions, when they include the interaction with synthetic, external electromagnetic fields. One introduces this interaction as additional phases that play the role of gauge fields. Here, we present a way to incorporate those phases, which differs from previous works. Our proposal allows the discrete derivatives, that appear under a gauge transformation, to treat time and space on the same footing, in a way which is similar to standard lattice gauge theories. By considering two steps of the evolution, we define a density current which is gauge invariant and conserved. In the continuum limit, the dynamics of the particle, under a suitable choice of the parameters, becomes the Dirac equation and the conserved current satisfies the corresponding conservation equation.
A quantum computer, i.e. utilizing the resources of quantum physics, superposition of states and entanglement, could furnish an exponential gain in computing time. A simulation using such resources is called a quantum simulation. The advantage of quantum simulations over classical ones is well established at the theoretical, i.e. software level. Their practical benefit requires their implementation on a quantum hardware. The quantum computer, i.e. the universal one (see below), has not seen the light of day yet, but the efforts in this direction are both growing and diverse. Also, quantum simulation has already been illustrated by numerous experimental proofs of principle, thanks too small-size and specific-task quantum computers or simulators. Quantum walks are particularly-studied quantum-simulation schemes, being elementary bricks to conceive any quantum algorithm, i.e. to achieve so-called universal quantum computation. The present thesis is a step more towards a simulation of quantum field theories based on discrete-time quantum walks (DTQWs). Indeed, it is shown, in certain cases, how DTQWs can simulate, in the continuum, the action of Yang-Mills gauge fields on fermionic matter, and the retroaction of the latter on the gauge-field dynamics. The suggested schemes preserve gauge invariance on the spacetime lattice, i.e. not only in the continuum. In the (1+2)-dimensional Abelian case, consistent lattice equivalents to both Maxwell's equations and the current conservation are suggested. In the (1+1)-dimensional non-Abelian case, a lattice version of the non-Abelian field strength is suggested. Moreover, it is shown how this fermionic matter based on DTQWs can be coupled to relativistic gravitational fields of the continuum, i.e. to curved spacetimes, in 1+2 dimensions.
It is shown that discrete-time quantum walks can be used to digitize, i.e., to time discretize fermionic models of continuous-time lattice gauge theory. The resulting discrete-time dynamics is thus not only manifestly unitary, but also ultralocal, i.e., the particle's speed is upper bounded, as in standard relativistic quantum field theories. The lattice chiral symmetry of staggered fermions, which corresponds to a translational invariance, is lost after the requirement of ultralocality of the evolution; this fact is an instance of Meyer's 1996 no-go results stating that no nontrivial scalar quantum cellular automaton can be translationally invariant [D. A. Meyer, J. Stat. Phys. 85, 551 (1996); Phys. Lett. A 223, 337 (1996)]. All results are presented in a single-particle framework and for a (1+1)-dimensional space-time.
A discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) is a lattice model of a single particle whose two-component internal state is repeatedly mixed by a unitary "coin" and shifted in space, chirality by chirality. In this work, we present a framework for coupling such a walk to a background electromagnetic (U(1)) gauge field. Instead of introducing traditional link variables common to the existing literature, we embed the gauge phase directly within the coin operator already required by the free walk, thereby eliminating the need for extra local degrees of freedom. We demonstrate this construction in two stages: first, using only coin phases to generate a purely spatial potential (A_1) while structurally forcing the temporal potential (A_0) to vanish (the temporal, or Weyl, gauge); and second, incorporating a single post-shift phase to recover a fully general potential (A_mu = (A_0, A_1). In both regimes, we show that the gauge transformation law for the coin phases is rigorously forced by the consistency requirement between the left- and right-moving sectors rather than assumed. We verify the construction non-perturbatively through the exact lattice dispersion relation, the walk’s convergence rate to the continuum Dirac equation, and its intrinsic avoidance of the fermion doubling problem.
There are many problems that cannot be solved using current classical comput- ers. One manner to approach a solution of these systems is by using quantum computers. However, building a quantum computer is really challenging from the experimental side. Quantum simulators have been capable to solve some of these problems, as they are realizable experimentally.Discrete Time Quantum Walks (DTQWs) have been proved to be an useful tool to quantum simulate physical systems. In the continuous limit, a family of differential equations can be achieved, in particular, the Dirac equation can be recovered. In this thesis we study QWs as possible schemes for quantum simula- tion. Specifically, we can summarize our results in: i) We introduce a QW-based model in which a brane theory can be simulated in the continuum, opening the possibility to study more general theories with extra dimensions; ii) Elec- tromagnetic gauge invariance in QWs is discussed, presenting some similarities and differences to previous models. This QW model also makes a connection to gauge invariance in lattice gauge theories (LGT); iii) We introduce QWs over non- rectangular lattices, such a triangular or honeycomb structures, for the purpose of simulating the Dirac equation in the continuum. We also extent these models, by introducing local coin operators, that allow us to reproduce the dynamics of quantum particles under a curved space time.
A particular example is produced to prove that quantum walks can be used to simulate full-fledged discrete gauge theories. A family of two-dimensional walks is introduced and its continuous limit is shown to coincide with the dynamics of a Dirac fermion coupled to arbitrary electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic interpretation is extended beyond the continuous limit by proving that these discrete-time quantum walks (DTQWs) exhibit an exact discrete local U(1) gauge invariance and possess a discrete gauge-invariant conserved current. A discrete gauge-invariant electromagnetic field is also constructed and that field is coupled to the conserved current by a discrete generalization of Maxwell equations. The dynamics of the DTQWs under crossed electric and magnetic fields is finally explored outside the continuous limit by numerical simulations. Bloch oscillations and the so-called $\mathbf{E}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\mathbf{B}$ drift are recovered in the weak-field limit. Localization is observed for some values of the gauge fields.