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arXiv:2307.01267 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Sequential quantum circuits as maps between gapped phases

Xie Chen, Arpit Dua, Michael Hermele, David T. Stephen, Nathanan Tantivasadakarn, Robijn Vanhove, Jingyu Zhao

Published Feb 8, 2024• 50 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Finite-depth quantum circuits preserve the long-range entanglement structure in quantum states and map between states within a gapped phase. To map between states of different gapped phases, we can use sequential quantum circuits, which apply unitary transformations to local patches, strips, or other subregions of a system in a sequential way. The sequential structure of the circuit, on the one hand, preserves entanglement area law and hence the gappedness of the quantum states. On the other hand, the circuit has generically a linear depth, hence, it is capable of changing the long-range correlation and entanglement of quantum states and the phase they belong to. In this paper, we systematically discuss the definition, basic properties, and prototypical examples of sequential quantum circuits that map product states to Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, symmetry-protected topological states, intrinsic topological states, and fracton states. We discuss the physical interpretation of the power of the circuits through connection to condensation, Kramers-Wannier duality, and the notion of foliation for fracton phases.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.109.075116

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Finite-depth quantum circuits preserve the long-range entanglement structure in quantum states and map between states within a gapped phase. To map between states of different gapped phases, we can use sequential quantum circuits, which apply unitary transformations to local patches, strips, or other subregions of a system in a sequential way. The sequential structure of the circuit, on the one hand, preserves entanglement area law and hence the gappedness of the quantum states. On the other hand, the circuit has generically a linear depth, hence, it is capable of changing the long-range correlation and entanglement of quantum states and the phase they belong to. In this paper, we systematically discuss the definition, basic properties, and prototypical examples of sequential quantum circuits that map product states to Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, symmetry-protected topological states, intrinsic topological states, and fracton states. We discuss the physical interpretation of the power of the circuits through connection to condensation, Kramers-Wannier duality, and the notion of foliation for fracton phases.
A fundamental distinction between many-body quantum states are those with short- and long-range entanglement (SRE and LRE). The latter cannot be created by finite-depth circuits, underscoring the nonlocal nature of Schrödinger cat states, topological order, and quantum criticality. Remarkably, examples are known where LRE is obtained by performing single-site measurements on SRE, such as the toric code from measuring a sublattice of a 2D cluster state. However, a systematic understanding of when and how measurements of SRE give rise to LRE is still lacking. Here, we establish that LRE appears upon performing measurements on symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases—of which the cluster state is one example. For instance, we show how to implement the Kramers-Wannier transformation by adding a cluster SPT to an input state followed by measurement. This transformation naturally relates states with SRE and LRE. An application is the realization of double-semion order when the input state is the Z 2 Levin-Gu SPT. Similarly, the addition of fermionic SPTs and measurement leads to an implementation of the Jordan-Wigner transformation of a general state. More generally, we argue that a large class of SPT phases protected by G × H symmetry gives rise to anomalous LRE upon measuring G -charges, and we prove that this persists for generic points in the SPT phase under certain conditions. Our work introduces a new practical tool for using SPT phases as resources for creating LRE, and we uncover the classification result that all states related by sequentially gauging Abelian groups or by Jordan-Wigner transformation are in the same equivalence class, once we augment finite-depth circuits with single-site measurements. In particular, any topological or fracton order with a solvable finite gauge group can be obtained from a product state in this way. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Two prevalent approaches for preparing long-range entangled quantum states are (i) linear-depth sequential unitary (SU) circuits, which apply local unitary gates sequentially, and (ii) constant-depth measurement-feedback (MF) circuits, which employ mid-circuit measurements and conditional feedback based on measurement outcomes. Here, we establish that a broad class of SU and MF circuits are dual to each other under a spacetime rotation. We investigate this spacetime duality in the preparation of various long-range entangled states, including GHZ states, topologically ordered states, and fractal symmetry-breaking states. As an illustration, applying a spacetime rotation to a linear-depth SU circuit that implements a non-invertible Kramers-Wannier duality, originally used to prepare a 1D GHZ state, yields a constant-depth MF circuit that implements a Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ symmetry gauging map, which equivalently prepares the GHZ state. Leveraging this duality, we further propose experimental protocols that require only a constant number of qubits to measure unconventional properties of 1D many-body states. These include (i) measurement of disorder operators, which diagnose the absence of spontaneous symmetry breaking, and (ii) postselection-free detection of measurement-induced long-range order, which emerges in certain symmetry-protected topological phases. We also show that measurement-induced long-range order provides a lower bound for strange correlators, which may be of independent interest.
A systematic approach to dualities in symmetric (1+1)d quantum lattice models has recently been proposed in terms of module categories over the symmetry fusion categories. By characterizing the nontrivial way in which dualities intertwine closed boundary conditions and charge sectors, these can be implemented by unitary matrix product operators. In this Letter, we explain how to turn such duality operators into unitary linear depth quantum circuits via the introduction of ancillary degrees of freedom that keep track of the various sectors. The linear depth is consistent with the fact that these dualities change the phase of the states on which they act. When supplemented with measurements, we show that dualities with respect to symmetries encoded into nilpotent fusion categories can be realized in constant depth. The resulting circuits can for instance be used to efficiently prepare short- and long-range entangled states or map between different gapped boundaries of (2+1)d topological models.
Two quantum theories which look different but are secretly describing the same low-energy physics are said to be dual to each other. When realized in the Topological Holography formalism, duality corresponds to changing the gapped boundary condition on the top boundary of a topological field theory, which determines the symmetry of the system, while not affecting the bottom boundary where all the dynamics take place. In this paper, we show that duality in the Topological Holography formalism can be realized with a Sequential Quantum Circuit applied to the top boundary. As a consequence, the Hamiltonians before and after the duality mapping have exactly the same spectrum in the corresponding symmetry sectors, and the entanglement in the corresponding low-energy eigenstates differs by at most an area law term.
Non-invertible symmetries in quantum many-body systems generally give rise to sequential unitary circuits that move symmetry defects. In this paper, we investigate invariants defined by sequences of such circuits, which move non-invertible defects and generate a Berry phase evaluated on quantum states with defects. We show that this Berry phase generally defines an invariant under local deformations, provided that the sequential circuits preserve the locality of those deformations. This invariant also rules out a short-range-entangled state that preserves the non-invertible symmetry, thereby signaling the 't Hooft anomaly of a non-invertible symmetry purely in terms of unitary operators acting on a state. We then apply this framework to loop excitations in three spatial dimensions and identify a new loop excitation in the (3+1)D D4\mathbb{D}_4D4​ topological order, which we dub a non-Abelian fermionic loop. Using the invariant of sequential circuits, we characterize the statistics of non-Abelian fermionic loops. In addition, we find a new (3+1)D mixed topological order with a single non-Abelian fermionic loop, whose long-range entanglement is protected by an invariant of sequential circuits.
The quantum Kramers-Wannier (KW) duality is a fundamental transformation mapping short-range entangled (SRE) states to long-range entangled (LRE) states. While spatially local unitary circuits require linear-in-system-size depth to implement this duality, the ultimate speed limit for purely unitary circuits equipped with nonlocal connectivity remains an open question. Here, we explicitly construct logarithmic depth, spatially nonlocal unitary circuits that realize the exact Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​ KW dualities in both one and two spatial dimensions. We further generalize the construction to arbitrary Zn\mathbb{Z}_nZn​ KW dualities. Unlike algorithms tailored to prepare specific target states, our circuits implement complete duality maps. Within the symmetric (charge-neutral) sector, these dualities exactly transform arbitrary non-fixed-point SRE states into their corresponding LRE duals. Consequently, our results establish an efficient, purely coherent pathway for exploring phase transitions and topological dualities on modern quantum platforms.