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arXiv:2010.03571 · Physical review. D/Physical review. D.

Quantum simulation of open quantum systems in heavy-ion collisions

Wibe Albert de Jong, Mekena Metcalf, James Declan Mulligan, Mateusz Andrzej Ploskon, Felix Ringer, Xiaojun Yao

Published Sep 7, 2021• 52 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a framework to simulate the dynamics of hard probes such as heavy quarks or jets in a hot, strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on a quantum computer. Hard probes in the QGP can be treated as open quantum systems governed in the Markovian limit by the Lindblad equation. However, due to large computational costs, most current phenomenological calculations of hard probes evolving in the QGP use semiclassical approximations of the quantum evolution. Quantum computation can mitigate these costs and offers the potential for a fully quantum treatment with exponential speed-up over classical techniques. We report a simplified demonstration of our framework on IBM Q quantum devices and apply the random identity insertion method to account for cnot depolarization noise, in addition to measurement error mitigation. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of simulating open quantum systems on current and near-term quantum devices, which is of broad relevance to applications in nuclear physics, quantum information, and other fields.

DOI
10.1103/physrevd.104.l051501

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We present a framework to simulate the dynamics of hard probes such as heavy quarks or jets in a hot, strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on a quantum computer. Hard probes in the QGP can be treated as open quantum systems governed in the Markovian limit by the Lindblad equation. However, due to large computational costs, most current phenomenological calculations of hard probes evolving in the QGP use semiclassical approximations of the quantum evolution. Quantum computation can mitigate these costs and offers the potential for a fully quantum treatment with exponential speed-up over classical techniques. We report a simplified demonstration of our framework on IBM Q quantum devices and apply the random identity insertion method to account for cnot depolarization noise, in addition to measurement error mitigation. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of simulating open quantum systems on current and near-term quantum devices, which is of broad relevance to applications in nuclear physics, quantum information, and other fields.
In this paper we study the real-time evolution of heavy quarkonium in the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on the basis of the open quantum systems approach. In particular, we shed light on how quantum dissipation affects the dynamics of the relative motion of the quarkonium state over time. To this end we present a novel nonequilibrium master equation for the relative motion of quarkonium in a medium, starting from Lindblad operators derived systematically from quantum field theory. In order to implement the corresponding dynamics, we deploy the well established quantum state diffusion method. In turn we reveal how the full quantum evolution can be cast in the form of a stochastic nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation. This for the first time provides a direct link from quantum chromodynamics to phenomenological models based on nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations. Proof of principle simulations in one dimension show that dissipative effects indeed allow the relative motion of the constituent quarks in a quarkonium at rest to thermalize. Dissipation turns out to be relevant already at early times well within the QGP lifetime in relativistic heavy ion collisions.
We present a quantum computing framework for simulating open-quantum-system approaches based on Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, which is relevant to heavy-ion collisions. To simulate the non-Markovian evolution on quantum computers, we introduce an auxiliary two-level pseudomode that carries the memory forward and couples to both the subsystem and the residual Markovian bath. We explicitly show that tracing out the pseudomode reproduces the non-Markovian evolution with the exact memory kernel. Moreover, in the relevant time scale hierarchy, the quantum circuit construction of the pseudomode smoothly converges to the Markovian limit. For a given bath memory kernel, our results demonstrate the feasibility of quantum simulations of both Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, establishing a framework for future studies of hard probes such as jets, heavy quarks, and quarkonia in heavy-ion collisions.
Quark and gluon jets provide one of the best ways to probe the matter produced in ultrarelativistic high-energy collisions, from cold nuclear matter to hot quark-gluon plasma. In this work, we propose a unified framework for efficient quantum simulation of many-body dynamics using the ( 3 + 1 )-dimensional QCD Hamiltonian on the light front, particularly suited for studying the scattering of quark and gluon jets on nuclear matter in heavy-ion collisions. We describe scalable methods for mapping physical degrees of freedom onto qubits and for simulating in-medium jet evolution. We then validate our framework by implementing an algorithm that directly maps second-quantized Fock states onto qubits and uses Trotterized simulation for simulating time dynamics. Using a classical emulator, we investigate the evolution of quark and gluon jets with up to three particles in Fock states, extending prior studies. These calculations enable the study of key observables, including jet momentum broadening, particle production, and parton distribution functions.
Accurate modelling and understanding of quarkonium production in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions requires a formalism that preserves the quantum properties of microscopic QˉQ\bar{Q}QQˉ​Q systems while treating the interaction of such pairs with the quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The open quantum system approach has recently emerged as one of the most fruitful schemes to meet such requirements. However, the quantum master equations obtained so far in this context are derived assuming a strict ordering between the QGP temperature TTT and the QˉQ\bar{Q}QQˉ​Q energy gaps (ΔEΔEΔE) of the quarkonia bound states. This limits their predictive power since, as the QGP expands and cools down, the system traverse all regimes between the quantum Brownian motion (QBM) regime for T≳ΔET\gtrsim ΔET≳ΔE to the quantum optical (QO) regime for ΔE≳TΔE\gtrsim TΔE≳T. In this paper, we derive and present a more general non-abelian quantum master equation of the Lindblad type, which does not suffer from these limitations and thus allows to faithfully describe the quantum evolution of the QQˉQ\bar{Q}QQˉ​ pairs during the whole QGP-evolution. We also provide some illustration of the key quantities governing this equation.
I review recent applications of the open quantum system framework in the understanding of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions, which has been used as a probe of the quark–gluon plasma for decades. The derivation of the Lindblad equations for quarkonium in both the quantum Brownian motion and the quantum optical limits and their semiclassical counterparts is explained. The hierarchy of time scales assumed in the derivation is justified from the separation of energy scales in nonrelativistic effective field theories of QCD. Physical implications of the open quantum system approach are also discussed. Finally, I list some open questions for future studies.
Quantum computing provides a powerful framework for simulating real-time dynamics in open quantum systems, offering key advantages for modeling heavy-quarkonium transport in high-energy nuclear collisions. In this work, we perform quantum simulations of the isotropic next-to-leading-order Lindblad equation for bottomonium in the quark-gluon plasma using a reduced spherical coordinate representation. We discretize operators and wavefunctions, map the physical state onto qubits, and execute time evolution via parameterized quantum gate operations. By extracting the Υ(1S)Υ(1S)Υ(1S) survival probability, we quantitatively isolate the color-octet contribution, demonstrating that its overall impact is small in the final production of the bottomonium ground state Υ(1S)Υ(1S)Υ(1S) in the hot QCD medium at temperatures accessible at the Large Hadron Collider. Additionally, we have further optimized the quantum simulation algorithm for the Lindblad equation. The improved algorithm requires only a single ancillary qubit to realize the Lindblad evolution, thereby minimizing the circuit significantly.