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:2605.09385

Truncating loopy tensor networks by zero-mode gauge fixing: the $Z_2$ lattice gauge theory at finite temperature

Jacek Dziarmaga

quant-phcond-mat.str-elhep-latSubmitted May 10, 2026• Announced May 12, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Loopy tensor networks exhibit internal correlations that often render their compression inefficient. We show that even local bond optimization can more effectively exploit locally available information about relevant loop correlations. By cutting a bond, we define a set of states whose linear dependence can be identified through a zero mode of the states' metric tensor and used to truncate the bond dimension. In the absence of an exact zero mode, a linear combination of a small number of the lowest modes can instead be optimized to provide the optimal approximation to a zero mode. The truncation does not require prior gauge fixing. The method is applied to the two-dimensional finite-temperature $Z_2$ lattice gauge theory, whose thermal-state purification is represented by an infinite projected entangled-pair state (iPEPS).

Comments
6 pages, 4 figures

Related papers

Truncating loopy tensor networks by zero-mode gauge fixing

I. V. Sokolov, Yintai Zhang, Jacek Dziarmaga

Loopy tensor networks have internal correlations that often make their compression inefficient. We show that even local bond optimization can make better use of the insight it has locally into relevant loop correlations. By cutting the bond, we define a set of states whose linear dependence can be used to truncate the bond dimension. The linear dependence is eliminated with zero modes of the states' metric tensor. The method is illustrated by a series of examples for the infinite pair-entangled projected state (iPEPS) and for the periodic matrix product state (pMPS) that occurs in the tensor renormalization group (TRG) step. In all examples, it provides better initial truncation errors than standard initialization.

arXiv:2508.00338•Physical review. E•Nov 7, 2025•0 citations

Infinite projected entangled pair states algorithm improved: Fast full update and gauge fixing

Ho N. Phien, Johann A. Bengua, Hoang Duong Tuan +2 more

The infinite projected entangled pair states (iPEPS) algorithm [J. Jordan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 250602 (2008)] has become a useful tool in the calculation of ground-state properties of two-dimensional quantum lattice systems in the thermodynamic limit. Despite its many successful implementations, the method has some limitations in its present formulation which hinder its application to some highly entangled systems. The purpose of this paper is to unravel some of these issues, in turn enhancing the stability and efficiency of iPEPS methods. For this, we first introduce the fast full update scheme, where effective environment and iPEPS tensors are both simultaneously updated (or evolved) throughout time. As we shall show, this implies two crucial advantages: (i) dramatic computational savings and (ii) improved overall stability. In addition, we extend the application of the local gauge fixing, successfully implemented for finite-size PEPS [M. Lubasch et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 064425 (2014)], to the iPEPS algorithm. We see that the gauge fixing not only further improves the stability of the method but also accelerates the convergence of the alternating least-squares sweeping in the (either ``full'' or ``fast full'') tensor update scheme. The improvement in terms of computational cost and stability of the resulting ``improved'' iPEPS algorithm is benchmarked by studying the ground-state properties of the quantum Heisenberg and transverse-field Ising models on an infinite square lattice.

arXiv:1503.05345•Physical Review B•Jul 24, 2015•226 citations

Gauge fixing, canonical forms, and optimal truncations in tensor networks with closed loops

Glen Evenbly

We describe an approach to fix the gauge degrees of freedom in tensor networks, including those with closed loops, which allows a canonical form for arbitrary tensor networks to be realized. Additionally, a measure for the internal correlations present in a tensor network is proposed, which quantifies the extent of resonances around closed loops in the network. Finally we describe an algorithm for the optimal truncation of an internal index from a tensor network, based upon proper removal of the redundant internal correlations. These results, which offer a unified theoretical framework for the manipulation of tensor networks with closed loops, can be applied to improve existing tensor network methods for the study of many-body systems and may also constitute key algorithmic components of sophisticated new tensor methods.

arXiv:1801.05390•Physical review. B./Physical review. B•Aug 31, 2018•73 citations

Finding the ground state of a lattice gauge theory with fermionic tensor networks: A 2+1D Z2 demonstration

Patrick Emonts, Ariel Kelman, Umberto Borla +3 more

Tensor network states, and in particular projected entangled pair states (PEPS) have been a strong ansatz for the variational study of complicated quantum many-body systems, thanks to their built-in entanglement entropy area law. In this work, we use a special kind of PEPS---gauged Gaussian fermionic PEPS (GGFPEPS)---to find the ground state of $2+1$ dimensional pure ${\mathbb{Z}}_{2}$ lattice gauge theories for a wide range of coupling constants. We do so by combining PEPS methods with Monte-Carlo computations, allowing for efficient contraction of the PEPS and computation of correlation functions. Previously, such numerical computations involved the calculation of the Pfaffian of a matrix scaling with the system size, forming a severe bottleneck; in this work we show how to overcome this problem. This paves the way for applying the method we propose and benchmark here to other gauge groups, higher dimensions, and models with fermionic matter, in an efficient, sign-problem-free way.

arXiv:2211.00023•Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•Jan 4, 2023•27 citations

Tensor Network Annealing Algorithm for Two-Dimensional Thermal States

Augustine Kshetrimayum, Matteo Rizzi, Jens Eisert +1 more

Tensor network methods have become a powerful class of tools to capture strongly correlated matter, but methods to capture the experimentally ubiquitous family of models at finite temperature beyond one spatial dimension are largely lacking. We introduce a tensor network algorithm able to simulate thermal states of two-dimensional quantum lattice systems in the thermodynamic limit. The method develops instances of projected entangled pair states and projected entangled pair operators for this purpose. It is the key feature of this algorithm to resemble the cooling down of the system from an infinite temperature state until it reaches the desired finite-temperature regime. As a benchmark, we study the finite-temperature phase transition of the Ising model on an infinite square lattice, for which we obtain remarkable agreement with the exact solution. We then turn to study the finite-temperature Bose-Hubbard model in the limits of two (hard-core) and three bosonic modes per site. Our technique can be used to support the experimental study of actual effectively two-dimensional materials in the laboratory, as well as to benchmark optical lattice quantum simulators with ultracold atoms.

arXiv:1809.08258•Physical Review Letters•Feb 22, 2019•84 citations

Locally Accurate Tensor Networks for Thermal States and Time Evolution

Alvaro Martin Alhambra, J. I. Cirac

Tensor-network methods are routinely used in approximating various equilibrium and nonequilibrium scenarios, with the algorithms requiring a small bond dimension at low enough time or inverse temperature.These approaches so far lacked a rigorous mathematical justification, since existing approximations to thermal states and time evolution demand a bond dimension growing with system size.To address this problem, we construct projected entangled-pair operators that approximate, for all local observables, (i) their thermal expectation values and (ii) their Heisenberg time evolution.The bond dimension required does not depend on system size, but only on the temperature or time.We also show how these can be used to approximate thermal correlation functions and expectation values in quantum quenches.

arXiv:2106.00710•PRX Quantum•Nov 10, 2021•29 citations
Truncating loopy tensor networks by zero-mode gauge fixing: the Z2Z_2Z2​ lattice gauge theory at finite temperature
Loopy tensor networks exhibit internal correlations that often render their compression inefficient. We show that even local bond optimization can more effectively exploit locally available information about relevant loop correlations. By cutting a bond, we define a set of states whose linear dependence can be identified through a zero mode of the states' metric tensor and used to truncate the bond dimension. In the absence of an exact zero mode, a linear combination of a small number of the lowest modes can instead be optimized to provide the optimal approximation to a zero mode. The truncation does not require prior gauge fixing. The method is applied to the two-dimensional finite-temperature Z2Z_2Z2​ lattice gauge theory, whose thermal-state purification is represented by an infinite projected entangled-pair state (iPEPS).
Loopy tensor networks have internal correlations that often make their compression inefficient. We show that even local bond optimization can make better use of the insight it has locally into relevant loop correlations. By cutting the bond, we define a set of states whose linear dependence can be used to truncate the bond dimension. The linear dependence is eliminated with zero modes of the states' metric tensor. The method is illustrated by a series of examples for the infinite pair-entangled projected state (iPEPS) and for the periodic matrix product state (pMPS) that occurs in the tensor renormalization group (TRG) step. In all examples, it provides better initial truncation errors than standard initialization.
The infinite projected entangled pair states (iPEPS) algorithm [J. Jordan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 250602 (2008)] has become a useful tool in the calculation of ground-state properties of two-dimensional quantum lattice systems in the thermodynamic limit. Despite its many successful implementations, the method has some limitations in its present formulation which hinder its application to some highly entangled systems. The purpose of this paper is to unravel some of these issues, in turn enhancing the stability and efficiency of iPEPS methods. For this, we first introduce the fast full update scheme, where effective environment and iPEPS tensors are both simultaneously updated (or evolved) throughout time. As we shall show, this implies two crucial advantages: (i) dramatic computational savings and (ii) improved overall stability. In addition, we extend the application of the local gauge fixing, successfully implemented for finite-size PEPS [M. Lubasch et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 064425 (2014)], to the iPEPS algorithm. We see that the gauge fixing not only further improves the stability of the method but also accelerates the convergence of the alternating least-squares sweeping in the (either ``full'' or ``fast full'') tensor update scheme. The improvement in terms of computational cost and stability of the resulting ``improved'' iPEPS algorithm is benchmarked by studying the ground-state properties of the quantum Heisenberg and transverse-field Ising models on an infinite square lattice.
We describe an approach to fix the gauge degrees of freedom in tensor networks, including those with closed loops, which allows a canonical form for arbitrary tensor networks to be realized. Additionally, a measure for the internal correlations present in a tensor network is proposed, which quantifies the extent of resonances around closed loops in the network. Finally we describe an algorithm for the optimal truncation of an internal index from a tensor network, based upon proper removal of the redundant internal correlations. These results, which offer a unified theoretical framework for the manipulation of tensor networks with closed loops, can be applied to improve existing tensor network methods for the study of many-body systems and may also constitute key algorithmic components of sophisticated new tensor methods.
Tensor network states, and in particular projected entangled pair states (PEPS) have been a strong ansatz for the variational study of complicated quantum many-body systems, thanks to their built-in entanglement entropy area law. In this work, we use a special kind of PEPS---gauged Gaussian fermionic PEPS (GGFPEPS)---to find the ground state of 2+12+12+1 dimensional pure Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ lattice gauge theories for a wide range of coupling constants. We do so by combining PEPS methods with Monte-Carlo computations, allowing for efficient contraction of the PEPS and computation of correlation functions. Previously, such numerical computations involved the calculation of the Pfaffian of a matrix scaling with the system size, forming a severe bottleneck; in this work we show how to overcome this problem. This paves the way for applying the method we propose and benchmark here to other gauge groups, higher dimensions, and models with fermionic matter, in an efficient, sign-problem-free way.
Tensor network methods have become a powerful class of tools to capture strongly correlated matter, but methods to capture the experimentally ubiquitous family of models at finite temperature beyond one spatial dimension are largely lacking. We introduce a tensor network algorithm able to simulate thermal states of two-dimensional quantum lattice systems in the thermodynamic limit. The method develops instances of projected entangled pair states and projected entangled pair operators for this purpose. It is the key feature of this algorithm to resemble the cooling down of the system from an infinite temperature state until it reaches the desired finite-temperature regime. As a benchmark, we study the finite-temperature phase transition of the Ising model on an infinite square lattice, for which we obtain remarkable agreement with the exact solution. We then turn to study the finite-temperature Bose-Hubbard model in the limits of two (hard-core) and three bosonic modes per site. Our technique can be used to support the experimental study of actual effectively two-dimensional materials in the laboratory, as well as to benchmark optical lattice quantum simulators with ultracold atoms.
Tensor-network methods are routinely used in approximating various equilibrium and nonequilibrium scenarios, with the algorithms requiring a small bond dimension at low enough time or inverse temperature.These approaches so far lacked a rigorous mathematical justification, since existing approximations to thermal states and time evolution demand a bond dimension growing with system size.To address this problem, we construct projected entangled-pair operators that approximate, for all local observables, (i) their thermal expectation values and (ii) their Heisenberg time evolution.The bond dimension required does not depend on system size, but only on the temperature or time.We also show how these can be used to approximate thermal correlation functions and expectation values in quantum quenches.