Controllability and observability of multi-spin systems in architectures of various symmetries of coupling type and topology are investigated. We complement recent work of explicitly determining the respective dynamic system Lie algebras and thereby also precise reachability sets under symmetry constraints. Here the focus is on the converse: under which conditions can the absence of symmetry be taken as an indicator of universality of the hardware architecture? More precisely, the absence of symmetry implies irreducibility and provides a convenient necessary condition for full controllability. Though much easier to assess than the well-established Lie-algebra rank condition, this is not sufficient unless in an n-qubit system with connected coupling topology the candidate dynamic simple Lie algebra can be identified uniquely as the full unitary algebra su(2n). - Here we discuss simple tests confined to solving homogeneous linear equations in order to filter irreducible unitary representations of other candidate algebras of classical type (orthogonal ones and unitary symplectic ones). Finally, we give an outlook under which conditions algebras of exceptional type can also be ruled out.
Controllability and observability of multi-spin systems in architectures of various symmetries of coupling type and topology are investigated. We complement recent work of explicitly determining the respective dynamic system Lie algebras and thereby also precise reachability sets under symmetry constraints. Here the focus is on the converse: under which conditions can the absence of symmetry be taken as an indicator of universality of the hardware architecture? More precisely, the absence of symmetry implies irreducibility and provides a convenient necessary condition for full controllability. Though much easier to assess than the well-established Lie-algebra rank condition, this is not sufficient unless in an n-qubit system with connected coupling topology the candidate dynamic simple Lie algebra can be identified uniquely as the full unitary algebra su(2n). - Here we discuss simple tests confined to solving homogeneous linear equations in order to filter irreducible unitary representations of other candidate algebras of classical type (orthogonal ones and unitary symplectic ones). Finally, we give an outlook under which conditions algebras of exceptional type can also be ruled out.
We investigate the universality of multi-spin systems in architectures of various symmetries of coupling type and topology. Explicit reachability sets under symmetry constraints are provided. Thus for a given (possibly symmetric) experimental coupling architecture several decision problems can be solved in a unified way: (i) can a target Hamiltonian be simulated? (ii) can a target gate be synthesised? (iii) to which extent is the system observable by a given set of detection operators? and, as a special case of the latter, (iv) can an underlying system Hamiltonian be identified with a given set of detection operators? Finally, in turn, lack of symmetry provides a convenient necessary condition for full controllability. Though often easier to assess than the well-established Lie-algebra rank condition, this is not sufficient unless the candidate dynamic simple Lie algebra can be pre-identified uniquely, which is fortunately less complicated than expected.
An important result in the theory of quantum control is the “universality” of 2-local unitary gates, i.e., the fact that any global unitary evolution of a system of L qudits can be implemented by composition of 2-local unitary gates. Surprisingly, recent results have shown that universality can break down in the presence of symmetries: in general, not all globally symmetric unitaries can be constructed using k -local symmetric unitary gates. This also restricts the dynamics that can be implemented by symmetric local Hamiltonians. In this paper, we show that obstructions to universality in such settings can in general be understood in terms of superoperator symmetries associated with unitary evolution by restricted sets of gates. These superoperator symmetries lead to block decompositions of the operator Hilbert space, which dictate the connectivity of operator space, and hence the structure of the dynamical Lie algebra. We demonstrate this explicitly in several examples by systematically deriving the superoperator symmetries from the gate structure using the framework of commutant algebras, which has been used to systematically derive symmetries in other quantum many-body systems. We clearly delineate two different types of nonuniversality, which stem from different structures of the superoperator symmetries, and discuss its signatures in physical observables. In all, our work establishes a comprehensive framework to explore the universality of unitary circuits and derive physical consequences of its absence.
An important result in the theory of quantum control is the "universality" of 2-local unitary gates, i.e. the fact that any global unitary evolution of a system of L qudits can be implemented by composition of 2-local unitary gates. Surprisingly, recent results have shown that universality can break down in the presence of symmetries: in general, not all globally symmetric unitaries can be constructed using k-local symmetric unitary gates. This also restricts the dynamics that can be implemented by symmetric local Hamiltonians. In this paper, we show that obstructions to universality in such settings can in general be understood in terms of superoperator symmetries associated with unitary evolution by restricted sets of gates. These superoperator symmetries lead to block decompositions of the operator Hilbert space, which dictate the connectivity of operator space, and hence the structure of the dynamical Lie algebra. We demonstrate this explicitly in several examples by systematically deriving the superoperator symmetries from the gate structure using the framework of commutant algebras, which has been used to systematically derive symmetries in other quantum many-body systems. We clearly delineate two different types of non-universality, which stem from different structures of the superoperator symmetries, and discuss its signatures in physical observables. In all, our work establishes a comprehensive framework to explore the universality of unitary circuits and derive physical consequences of its absence.
Controlling the dynamics of quantum systems has been a long-standing goal of quantum physics. To understand the controllability of a finite-dimensional quantum system is a fundamental problem in quantum control theory, but can be very challenging in many cases. In particular, results on controllability of open-loop coherently controlled closed quantum systems under symmetry constraints have been elusive. In this paper, we study the controllability of spin systems with some specific symmetry where spins are coupled via Ising interaction and manipulated collectively by a global control field. Based on Lie group and Lie algebra techniques, we find the conditions under which the system is universally controllable in its irreducible subspaces. We believe that the results obtained here will contribute to quantum controlling on symmetric quantum systems.
The key dynamic properties of fermionic systems, like controllability, reachability, and simulability, are investigated in a general Lie-theoretical frame for quantum systems theory.It just requires knowing drift and control Hamiltonians of an experimental set-up.Then one can easily determine all the states that can be reached from any given initial state.Likewise all the quantum operations that can be simulated with a given set-up can be identified.Observing the parity superselection rule, we treat the fully controllable and quasifree cases of fermions, as well as various translation-invariant and particle-number conserving cases.We determine the respective dynamic system Lie algebras to express reachable sets of pure (and mixed) states by explicit orbit manifolds.
An open problem of quantum information theory has been to determine under what conditions universal exchange-only computation is possible for qudits encoded on d-state systems for d>2. This problem can be posed in terms of representation theory by recognizing that each quantum mechanical swap, generated by exchange-interaction, can be identified with a transposition in a symmetric group, each d-state system can be identified with the fundamental representation of SU(d), and each encoded qudit can be identified with an irreducible representation of a Lie algebra generated by transpositions. Towards this end we first give a mathematical definition of exchange-only universality in terms of a map from the special unitary algebra on the product of qudits into a representation of a Lie algebra generated by transpositions. We show that this definition is consistent with quantum computing requirements. We then proceed with the task of characterizing universal families of qudits, that is families of encoded qudits admitting exchange-only universality. This endeavor is aided by the fact that the irreducible representations corresponding to qudits are canonically labeled by partitions. In particular we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for universality on one or two such qudits, in terms of simple arithmetic conditions on the associated partitions. We also derive necessary and sufficient conditions for universality on arbitrarily many such qudits, in terms of Littlewood--Richardson coefficients. Among other results, we prove that universal families of multiple qudits are upward closed, that universality is guaranteed for sufficiently many qudits, and that any family that is not universal can be made so by simply adding at most five ancillae. We also obtain results for 2-state systems as a special case.