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:2609.03240

Quantum Complexity in Nuclear Scattering and Fission Dynamics

Saurabh V. Kadam, Antonio Bjelčić, Nicolas Schunck, Kyle Wendt

quant-phnucl-thSubmitted Sep 3, 2026• Announced Sep 4, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum computers promise advantages for simulating strongly correlated quantum many-body systems, like atomic nuclei, that are beyond the reach of classical computers. Realizing this potential requires understanding the quantum complexity structure of the target problem. We investigate the time-evolution of two key indicators of quantum complexity, bipartite entanglement entropy and non-local magic (non-stabilizerness), in nuclear reaction dynamics. We analyze two representative dynamical processes: scattering in a one-dimensional model of strongly interacting fermions governed by the Negele potential, and a realistic simulation of $^{240}$Pu fission within time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (TDHFB) theory. In the former case, we find that interactions dynamically generate both entanglement and non-local magic, leaving persistent signatures of quantum complexity in the outgoing states. In the latter, we observe that substantial quantum complexity survives in the spatial bipartition of daughter fragments well beyond scission. The presence of significant non-local magic and entanglement in both cases strongly indicate that quantum computers would provide substantial advantages for accurately simulating nuclear reaction dynamics.

Comments
24 pages, 6 figures

Related papers

Spatial Entanglement Entropy in Nuclear Fission

S. C. Li, J. W. Chen, J. C. Pei

Nuclear fission provides a unique manifestation of spatially nonlocal many-body entanglement. We compute the bipartite spatial entanglement entropy exactly along dynamical fission trajectories, by leveraging the fermionic Gaussian state formulation. Across seven representative fissioning channels, the final entanglement entropy correlates strongly with the intrinsic particle number variance of the fragment, yet exhibits no simple dependence on scission geometries. Most notably the entanglement is significantly suppressed when fragments are magic nuclei, revealing a shell anti-entanglement effect. This work establishes entanglement entropy as a novel lens that extends the conventional conception of nuclear fission.

arXiv:2608.12120•Aug 12, 2026•0 citations

Quantum entanglement in nuclear fission

Qiang Yu, Junchen Pei, Kyle Godbey

Nuclear fission presents a unique example of quantum entanglement in strongly interacting many-body systems. A heavy nucleus can split into hundreds of combinations of two complementary fragments in the fission process. The entanglement of fragment wave functions is persistent even after separation and impacts the partition of particles and energies between fragments. Based on microscopic dynamical calculations of the fission of 240 Pu, this work finds that dynamical quantum entanglement is indispensable in the appearance of sawtooth distributions of average excitation energies of fragments and thus neutron multiplicities, but not in average neutron excess of fragments. Both sawtooth slopes from particle-number projections are found to be steep – a feature which can be alleviated by random fluctuations. The persistent entanglement is mainly due to non-adiabatic dynamics since the final splitting is so fast that the non-localization of wave functions is kept during the separation. These findings may impact the understanding of quantum entanglement more broadly in mesoscopic systems.

arXiv:2408.07375•Physics Letters B•Jan 14, 2025•15 citations

Quantum complexity fluctuations from nuclear and hypernuclear forces

Caroline Elisa Pauline Robin, Martin J. Savage

Toward an improved understanding of the role of quantum information in nuclei and exotic matter, we examine the quantum magic (nonstabilizerness) in low-energy strong interaction processes. As stabilizer states can be prepared efficiently using classical computers, and include classes of entangled states, it is quantum magic and fluctuations in quantum magic, together with entanglement, that determine computational resource requirements. As a measure of fluctuations in quantum magic, and hence the severity of the exponentially scaling classical computing resource requirements, induced by scattering, the “magic power” of the 𝑆-matrix is introduced. This provides indirect experimental constraints on quantum resources required to model nuclei and dense matter using fault-tolerant quantum computers. Using experimentally determined scattering phase shifts and mixing parameters, the magic power in nucleon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon scattering, along with the magic in the deuteron, are found to exhibit interesting and distinct features. The Σ−-baryon is identified as a potential candidate catalyst for enhanced spreading of magic and entanglement in dense matter, depending on in-medium decoherence.

Physical Review C•Jan 1, 2025•0 citations

Quantum magic of strongly correlated fermions −-− the Hubbard dimer

Edoardo Zavatti, Gabriele Bellomia, Massimo Capone

We study the non-stabilizerness (quantum magic) content of the Hubbard dimer, an analytically solvable, yet completely non-trivial, model of strongly correlated fermions. We consider zero- and finite-temperature properties as well as the time evolution after a quantum quench drives the system out of equilibrium. We evaluate local and nonlocal non-stabilizerness using both the robustness of magic and the stabilizer Renyi entropy, demonstrating how the latter often fails in detecting the mixed stabilizer states that are typically found in this kind of systems. Finally, we compare the non-stabilizerness with other genuine resources of quantum-state complexity, i.e., the fermionic non-Gaussianity and the superselected two-site entanglement. Our findings corroborate the role of non-stabilizerness as a fundamental quantum resource, capturing aspects of quantum complexity that elude traditional information-theoretic measures and providing a novel perspective on fermionic systems with tunable interactions.

quant-pharXiv:2605.18494•May 19, 2026•0 citations

Quantum complexity fluctuations from nuclear and hypernuclear forces

Caroline Robin, Martin J. Savage A

Toward an improved understanding of the role of quantum information in nuclei and exotic matter, we examine the quantum magic (nonstabilizerness) in low-energy strong interaction processes. As stabilizer states can be prepared efficiently using classical computers, and include classes of entangled states, it is quantum magic and fluctuations in quantum magic, together with entanglement, that determine computational resource requirements. As a measure of fluctuations in quantum magic, and hence the severity of the exponentially scaling classical computing resource requirements, induced by scattering, the “magic power” of the S -matrix is introduced. This provides indirect experimental constraints on quantum resources required to model nuclei and dense matter using fault-tolerant quantum computers. Using experimentally determined scattering phase shifts and mixing parameters, the magic power in nucleon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon scattering, along with the magic in the deuteron, are found to exhibit interesting and distinct features. The Σ − -baryon is identified as a potential candidate catalyst for enhanced spreading of magic and entanglement in dense matter, depending on in-medium decoherence.

arXiv:2405.10268•Physical Review C•Sep 12, 2025•19 citations

Toward nuclear physics on a spin quantum simulator by detecting quantum phase transitions in the Agassi model

Yufang Feng, Xinyue Long, Hongfeng Liu +7 more

A central challenge in nuclear physics is understanding quantum many-body systems governed by the strong nuclear force. The inherent complexity of these systems, combined with the limitations of classical computational methods, underscores the need for new approaches to study nuclear structure and dynamics. Here, we demonstrate that a spin-based digital quantum simulator using nuclear magnetic resonance, where nuclear spins simulate interacting fermions, offers a powerful tool to address this challenge. As a first step, we experimentally simulate the Agassi model, which encapsulates the interplay between collective and single-particle behaviors in finite nuclei. By representing nucleons as both bosons (nucleon pairs) and fermions (individual unpaired nucleons), the Agassi model captures highly non-linear interactions and is particularly suited for studying nuclear phase transitions, such as those between spherical and deformed shapes. We experimentally measure the correlation function as an order parameter during the evolution of the many-body system, successfully detecting a quantum phase transition. Specifically, we observe a sharp transition between the symmetric phase and the broken symmetry phase. This work underscores the potential of quantum simulation as a transformative tool in nuclear physics, particularly for exploring complex quantum many-body systems with applications in nuclear structure and reaction dynamics.

Frontiers of Physics•Jan 1, 2025•1 citation
Quantum computers promise advantages for simulating strongly correlated quantum many-body systems, like atomic nuclei, that are beyond the reach of classical computers. Realizing this potential requires understanding the quantum complexity structure of the target problem. We investigate the time-evolution of two key indicators of quantum complexity, bipartite entanglement entropy and non-local magic (non-stabilizerness), in nuclear reaction dynamics. We analyze two representative dynamical processes: scattering in a one-dimensional model of strongly interacting fermions governed by the Negele potential, and a realistic simulation of 240^{240}240Pu fission within time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (TDHFB) theory. In the former case, we find that interactions dynamically generate both entanglement and non-local magic, leaving persistent signatures of quantum complexity in the outgoing states. In the latter, we observe that substantial quantum complexity survives in the spatial bipartition of daughter fragments well beyond scission. The presence of significant non-local magic and entanglement in both cases strongly indicate that quantum computers would provide substantial advantages for accurately simulating nuclear reaction dynamics.
Nuclear fission provides a unique manifestation of spatially nonlocal many-body entanglement. We compute the bipartite spatial entanglement entropy exactly along dynamical fission trajectories, by leveraging the fermionic Gaussian state formulation. Across seven representative fissioning channels, the final entanglement entropy correlates strongly with the intrinsic particle number variance of the fragment, yet exhibits no simple dependence on scission geometries. Most notably the entanglement is significantly suppressed when fragments are magic nuclei, revealing a shell anti-entanglement effect. This work establishes entanglement entropy as a novel lens that extends the conventional conception of nuclear fission.
Nuclear fission presents a unique example of quantum entanglement in strongly interacting many-body systems. A heavy nucleus can split into hundreds of combinations of two complementary fragments in the fission process. The entanglement of fragment wave functions is persistent even after separation and impacts the partition of particles and energies between fragments. Based on microscopic dynamical calculations of the fission of 240 Pu, this work finds that dynamical quantum entanglement is indispensable in the appearance of sawtooth distributions of average excitation energies of fragments and thus neutron multiplicities, but not in average neutron excess of fragments. Both sawtooth slopes from particle-number projections are found to be steep – a feature which can be alleviated by random fluctuations. The persistent entanglement is mainly due to non-adiabatic dynamics since the final splitting is so fast that the non-localization of wave functions is kept during the separation. These findings may impact the understanding of quantum entanglement more broadly in mesoscopic systems.
Toward an improved understanding of the role of quantum information in nuclei and exotic matter, we examine the quantum magic (nonstabilizerness) in low-energy strong interaction processes. As stabilizer states can be prepared efficiently using classical computers, and include classes of entangled states, it is quantum magic and fluctuations in quantum magic, together with entanglement, that determine computational resource requirements. As a measure of fluctuations in quantum magic, and hence the severity of the exponentially scaling classical computing resource requirements, induced by scattering, the “magic power” of the 𝑆-matrix is introduced. This provides indirect experimental constraints on quantum resources required to model nuclei and dense matter using fault-tolerant quantum computers. Using experimentally determined scattering phase shifts and mixing parameters, the magic power in nucleon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon scattering, along with the magic in the deuteron, are found to exhibit interesting and distinct features. The Σ−-baryon is identified as a potential candidate catalyst for enhanced spreading of magic and entanglement in dense matter, depending on in-medium decoherence.
We study the non-stabilizerness (quantum magic) content of the Hubbard dimer, an analytically solvable, yet completely non-trivial, model of strongly correlated fermions. We consider zero- and finite-temperature properties as well as the time evolution after a quantum quench drives the system out of equilibrium. We evaluate local and nonlocal non-stabilizerness using both the robustness of magic and the stabilizer Renyi entropy, demonstrating how the latter often fails in detecting the mixed stabilizer states that are typically found in this kind of systems. Finally, we compare the non-stabilizerness with other genuine resources of quantum-state complexity, i.e., the fermionic non-Gaussianity and the superselected two-site entanglement. Our findings corroborate the role of non-stabilizerness as a fundamental quantum resource, capturing aspects of quantum complexity that elude traditional information-theoretic measures and providing a novel perspective on fermionic systems with tunable interactions.
Toward an improved understanding of the role of quantum information in nuclei and exotic matter, we examine the quantum magic (nonstabilizerness) in low-energy strong interaction processes. As stabilizer states can be prepared efficiently using classical computers, and include classes of entangled states, it is quantum magic and fluctuations in quantum magic, together with entanglement, that determine computational resource requirements. As a measure of fluctuations in quantum magic, and hence the severity of the exponentially scaling classical computing resource requirements, induced by scattering, the “magic power” of the S -matrix is introduced. This provides indirect experimental constraints on quantum resources required to model nuclei and dense matter using fault-tolerant quantum computers. Using experimentally determined scattering phase shifts and mixing parameters, the magic power in nucleon-nucleon and hyperon-nucleon scattering, along with the magic in the deuteron, are found to exhibit interesting and distinct features. The Σ − -baryon is identified as a potential candidate catalyst for enhanced spreading of magic and entanglement in dense matter, depending on in-medium decoherence.
A central challenge in nuclear physics is understanding quantum many-body systems governed by the strong nuclear force. The inherent complexity of these systems, combined with the limitations of classical computational methods, underscores the need for new approaches to study nuclear structure and dynamics. Here, we demonstrate that a spin-based digital quantum simulator using nuclear magnetic resonance, where nuclear spins simulate interacting fermions, offers a powerful tool to address this challenge. As a first step, we experimentally simulate the Agassi model, which encapsulates the interplay between collective and single-particle behaviors in finite nuclei. By representing nucleons as both bosons (nucleon pairs) and fermions (individual unpaired nucleons), the Agassi model captures highly non-linear interactions and is particularly suited for studying nuclear phase transitions, such as those between spherical and deformed shapes. We experimentally measure the correlation function as an order parameter during the evolution of the many-body system, successfully detecting a quantum phase transition. Specifically, we observe a sharp transition between the symmetric phase and the broken symmetry phase. This work underscores the potential of quantum simulation as a transformative tool in nuclear physics, particularly for exploring complex quantum many-body systems with applications in nuclear structure and reaction dynamics.