Quantum technologies offer the prospect to efficiently simulate sign-problem afflicted regimes in lattice field theory, such as the presence of topological terms, chemical potentials, and out-of-equilibrium dynamics. In this work, we derive the
(3+1)D topological $\ensuremath{\theta}$-term for Abelian and non-Abelian lattice gauge theories in the Hamiltonian formulation, paving the way toward Hamiltonian-based simulations of such terms on quantum and classical computers. We further study numerically the zero-temperature phase structure of a
(3+1)D U(1) lattice gauge theory with the $\ensuremath{\theta}$-term via exact diagonalization for a single periodic cube. In the strong coupling regime, our results suggest the occurrence of a phase transition at constant values of $\ensuremath{\theta}$, as indicated by an avoided level crossing and abrupt changes in the plaquette expectation value, the electric energy density, and the topological charge density. These results could in principle be cross-checked by the recently developed
(3+1)D tensor network methods and quantum simulations, once sufficient resources become available.
Abstract Gauge theories are of paramount importance in our understanding of fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions. However, the complete characterization of their phase diagrams and the full understanding of non-perturbative effects are still debated, especially at finite charge density, mostly due to the sign-problem affecting Monte Carlo numerical simulations. Here, we report the Tensor Network simulation of a three dimensional lattice gauge theory in the Hamiltonian formulation including dynamical matter: Using this sign-problem-free method, we simulate the ground states of a compact Quantum Electrodynamics at zero and finite charge densities, and address fundamental questions such as the characterization of collective phases of the model, the presence of a confining phase at large gauge coupling, and the study of charge-screening effects.
Gauge theories are of paramount importance in our understanding of fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions. However, the complete characterization of their phase diagrams and the full understanding of non-perturbative effects are still debated, especially at finite charge density, mostly due to the sign-problem affecting Monte Carlo numerical simulations. Here, we report the Tensor Network simulation of a three dimensional lattice gauge theory in the Hamiltonian formulation including dynamical matter: Using this sign-problem-free method, we simulate the ground states of a compact Quantum Electrodynamics at zero and finite charge densities, and address fundamental questions such as the characterization of collective phases of the model, the presence of a confining phase at large gauge coupling, and the study of charge-screening effects.
Lattice gauge theories provide a first-principles, non-perturbative formulation of the fundamental interactions of the Standard Model, and their Hamiltonian reformulation on a quantum simulator offers a promising route to regimes---real-time dynamics, finite baryon density---that lie beyond the reach of Euclidean Monte Carlo methods. With the ultimate goal of overcoming these shortcomings, over the last decade, quantum simulations of Abelian lattice gauge theories have expanded from the first proofs of principle to the experimental study of confinement and string breaking by pair production. One of the next frontiers lies in the simulation of non-Abelian theories, which are significantly more demanding both in local Hilbert space dimension and in symmetry-protection requirements, and ultimately essential for addressing open problems in high-energy physics. In this thesis, we investigate dihedral non-Abelian lattice gauge theories
DN---whose small order and finite local dimension make
D3 and
D4 natural targets for near-term quantum platforms---as a minimal yet physically rich arena for the study of non-Abelian gauge dynamics. After introducing dihedral groups and the associated lattice gauge theories, we propose a gauge-fixed ladder model that reduces the effective dimensionality while preserving the essential physics. We use it to show that the
D3 theory on a ladder displays a smooth crossover---rather than a sharp phase transition---between electric- and magnetic-dominated regimes, with the nonstabilizerness peaking in the crossover region. Furthermore, we introduce a formulation of the model compatible with the analysis of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis. We then study string breaking in pure-gauge
DN ladders in the presence of static charges through tensor-network DMRG simulations in the rishon formalism. We show that for odd
N static charges are screened by gluelumps---charge-glueball bound states enabled by the trivial centre of the group---while for even
N a fundamental flux string persists. Turning to the quantum-simulation side, we introduce a dynamical post-selection (DPS) protocol in which the local gauge charges are tested by mid-circuit measurements on auxiliary registers, and we show that gauge protection emerges through a sharp quantum Zeno transition in the spectrum of an associated Liouvillian. We verify the generality of this picture on
Z2,
Z3, and truncated
U(1) gauge groups, identifying an optimal window of measurement frequencies that survives also in the presence of noisy measurements. Finally, we benchmark DPS against an alternative post-processed symmetry verification scheme on a two-plaquette
D3 model designed for state-of-the-art qudit hardware. We find that both protocols significantly improve the reconstructed dynamics, with DPS tracking the exact evolution over longer times. Taken together, the results of this thesis position dihedral gauge theories as a concrete stepping stone from Abelian proofs of principle toward genuinely non-Abelian quantum simulation on near-term devices.
We numerically simulate a non-Abelian lattice gauge theory in two spatial dimensions, with tensor networks (TN), up to intermediate sizes ( > 30 matter sites) well beyond exact diagonalization. We focus on the SU(2) Yang-Mills model in Hamiltonian formulation, with dynamical matter and minimally truncated gauge field (hardcore gluon). Thanks to the TN sign-problem-free approach, we characterize the phase diagram of the model at zero and finite baryon number as a function of the quark bare mass and color charge. At intermediate system sizes, we detect a liquid phase of quark-pair bound-state quasiparticles (baryons), whose mass is finite towards the continuum limit. Interesting phenomena arise at the transition boundary where color-electric and color-magnetic terms are maximally frustrated: For low quark masses, we see traces of potential deconfinement, while for high masses, signatures of a possible topological order. 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.