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

Digital quantum simulation for screening and confinement in gauge theory with a topological term

Masazumi Honda, Etsuko Itou, Yuta Kikuchi, Lento Nagano, Takuya Okuda

Published May 7, 2021• 7 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We perform digital quantum simulation to study screening and confinement in a gauge theory with a topological term, focusing on ($1+1$)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) with a theta term. We compute the ground state energy in the presence of probe charges to estimate the potential between them, via adiabatic state preparation. We compare our simulation results and analytical predictions for a finite volume, finding good agreements. In particular our result in the massive case shows a linear behavior for non-integer charges and a non-linear behavior for integer charges, consistently with the expected confinement (screening) behavior for non-integer (integer) charges.

Related papers

Classically emulated digital quantum simulation for screening and confinement in the Schwinger model with a topological term

Masazumi Honda, Etsuko Itou, Yuta Kikuchi +2 more

We perform digital quantum simulation, using a classical simulator, to study screening and confinement in a gauge theory with a topological term, focusing on ($1+1$)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) with a theta term. We compute the ground state energy in the presence of probe charges to estimate the potential between them, via adiabatic state preparation. We compare our simulation results and analytical predictions for a finite volume, finding good agreements. In particular our result in the massive case shows a linear behavior for noninteger charges and a nonlinear behavior for integer charges, consistently with the expected confinement (screening) behavior for noninteger (integer) charges.

arXiv:2105.03276•Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•Jan 7, 2022•49 citations

Digital Quantum Simulation of the Schwinger Model with Topological Term via Adiabatic State Preparation

Bipasha Chakraborty, Masazumi Honda, Taku Izubuchi +2 more

We perform a digital quantum simulation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on $1+1$ dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the $\theta$-term known as the Schwinger model. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in massless case agrees with the known exact result. In massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in small mass regime and deviations in large mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation is already useful tool to explore non-perturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.

•Jan 2, 2020•18 citations

Classically Emulated Digital Quantum Simulation of the Schwinger Model with Topological Term via Adiabatic State Preparation

Bipasha Chakraborty, Masazumi Honda, Taku Izubuchi +2 more

We perform a digital quantum simulation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on $1+1$ dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the $θ$-term known as the Schwinger model. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in massless case agrees with the known exact result. In massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in small mass regime and deviations in large mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation is already useful tool to explore non-perturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.

arXiv:2001.00485•Jan 2, 2020•3 citations

Classically emulated digital quantum simulation of the Schwinger model with a topological term via adiabatic state preparation

Bipasha Chakraborty, Masazumi Honda, Taku Izubuchi +2 more

We designed a protocol for digital quantum computation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on $1+1$ dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the $\ensuremath{\theta}$ term known as the Schwinger model and test our protocol for this on an IBM simulator. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in the massless case agrees with the known exact result. In the massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in the small-mass regime and deviations in the large-mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation appears a promising tool to explore nonperturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•May 13, 2022•61 citations

Adiabatic state preparation for digital quantum simulations of QED in 1 + 1 D

Matteo D’Anna, Marina Krstić Marinković, João C. Pinto Barros

Quantum electrodynamics in 1 + 1 D (QED2) shares intriguing properties with quantum chromodynamics (QCD), including confinement, string breaking, and interesting phase diagram when the nontrivial topological θ -term is considered. Its lattice regularization is a commonly used toy model for quantum simulations of gauge theories on near-term quantum devices. In this work, we address algorithms for adiabatic state preparation in digital quantum simulations of QED2. We demonstrate that, for specific choices of parameters, the existing adiabatic procedure leads to level crossing between states of different charge sectors, preventing the correct preparation of the ground state. We further propose a new adiabatic Hamiltonian and verify its efficiency in targeting systems with a nonzero topological θ -term and in studying string breaking phenomena.

arXiv:2411.01079•Physical review. D/Physical review. D.•May 21, 2025•5 citations

Digital Quantum Simulation for Energy Spectroscopy of Schwinger Model

Masazumi Honda, Dongwook Ghim

We discuss a method to efficiently compute energy spectra in quantum field theories by digital quantum simulation. We utilize a quantum algorithm called coherent imaging spectroscopy which quenches the ground state with a perturbation oscillating periodically in time for various frequencies and then reads off excited energy levels from values of frequencies having loss of the vacuum-to-vacuum probability by the quench. We demonstrate this method in the Schwinger model which is the (1+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics with a topological term. In particular, the ground state of the Schwinger model on lattice is prepared by adiabatic state preparation and then we apply various types of quenches to the approximate ground state via Suzuki-Trotter time evolution. We benchmark the types of quenches and argue their (dis)advantages especially in the context of studying quantum field theories. We also estimate the computational complexity to obtain physically reasonable results which likely implies efficiency of the method in the early fault-tolerant quantum computer era

Conference on Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum (Confinement)•Oct 24, 2025•0 citations
We perform digital quantum simulation to study screening and confinement in a gauge theory with a topological term, focusing on (1+11+11+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) with a theta term. We compute the ground state energy in the presence of probe charges to estimate the potential between them, via adiabatic state preparation. We compare our simulation results and analytical predictions for a finite volume, finding good agreements. In particular our result in the massive case shows a linear behavior for non-integer charges and a non-linear behavior for integer charges, consistently with the expected confinement (screening) behavior for non-integer (integer) charges.
We perform digital quantum simulation, using a classical simulator, to study screening and confinement in a gauge theory with a topological term, focusing on (1+11+11+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (Schwinger model) with a theta term. We compute the ground state energy in the presence of probe charges to estimate the potential between them, via adiabatic state preparation. We compare our simulation results and analytical predictions for a finite volume, finding good agreements. In particular our result in the massive case shows a linear behavior for noninteger charges and a nonlinear behavior for integer charges, consistently with the expected confinement (screening) behavior for noninteger (integer) charges.
We perform a digital quantum simulation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on 1+11+11+1 dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the θ\thetaθ-term known as the Schwinger model. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in massless case agrees with the known exact result. In massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in small mass regime and deviations in large mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation is already useful tool to explore non-perturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.
We perform a digital quantum simulation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on 1+11+11+1 dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the θθθ-term known as the Schwinger model. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in massless case agrees with the known exact result. In massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in small mass regime and deviations in large mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation is already useful tool to explore non-perturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.
We designed a protocol for digital quantum computation of a gauge theory with a topological term in Minkowski spacetime, which is practically inaccessible by standard lattice Monte Carlo simulations. We focus on 1+11+11+1 dimensional quantum electrodynamics with the $\ensuremath{\theta}$ term known as the Schwinger model and test our protocol for this on an IBM simulator. We construct the true vacuum state of a lattice Schwinger model using adiabatic state preparation which, in turn, allows us to compute an expectation value of the fermion mass operator with respect to the vacuum. Upon taking a continuum limit we find that our result in the massless case agrees with the known exact result. In the massive case, we find an agreement with mass perturbation theory in the small-mass regime and deviations in the large-mass regime. We estimate computational costs required to take a reasonable continuum limit. Our results imply that digital quantum simulation appears a promising tool to explore nonperturbative aspects of gauge theories with real time and topological terms.
Quantum electrodynamics in 1 + 1 D (QED2) shares intriguing properties with quantum chromodynamics (QCD), including confinement, string breaking, and interesting phase diagram when the nontrivial topological θ -term is considered. Its lattice regularization is a commonly used toy model for quantum simulations of gauge theories on near-term quantum devices. In this work, we address algorithms for adiabatic state preparation in digital quantum simulations of QED2. We demonstrate that, for specific choices of parameters, the existing adiabatic procedure leads to level crossing between states of different charge sectors, preventing the correct preparation of the ground state. We further propose a new adiabatic Hamiltonian and verify its efficiency in targeting systems with a nonzero topological θ -term and in studying string breaking phenomena.
We discuss a method to efficiently compute energy spectra in quantum field theories by digital quantum simulation. We utilize a quantum algorithm called coherent imaging spectroscopy which quenches the ground state with a perturbation oscillating periodically in time for various frequencies and then reads off excited energy levels from values of frequencies having loss of the vacuum-to-vacuum probability by the quench. We demonstrate this method in the Schwinger model which is the (1+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics with a topological term. In particular, the ground state of the Schwinger model on lattice is prepared by adiabatic state preparation and then we apply various types of quenches to the approximate ground state via Suzuki-Trotter time evolution. We benchmark the types of quenches and argue their (dis)advantages especially in the context of studying quantum field theories. We also estimate the computational complexity to obtain physically reasonable results which likely implies efficiency of the method in the early fault-tolerant quantum computer era