Non-Hermitian (NH) quantum systems attract research interest increasingly in recent years, among which the PT-symmetric, P-pseudo-Hermitian and their anti-symmetric counterpart systems are focused much more. In this work, we extend the usage of entropy to distinguish time-evolutions of different classes and phases of typical NH-systems. In detail, we investigate the entropy dynamics of two-level NH-systems after quantum decoherence induced by single-qubit projective measurements, finding that it depends on both the initial states and the selection of the computational bases of the measurements. In a general case, we show how to distinguish all the eight phases of the above NH-systems step by step, in which process three different initial states are necessary if the basis of measurement is fixed. We propose how the distinguishing process is realized in quantum simulation, in which quantum tomography is not needed. Our investigations can be applied to judge phase transitions of non-Hermitian systems.
Non-Hermitian (NH) quantum systems attract research interest increasingly in recent years, among which the PT-symmetric, P-pseudo-Hermitian and their anti-symmetric counterpart systems are focused much more. In this work, we extend the usage of entropy to distinguish time-evolutions of different classes and phases of typical NH-systems. In detail, we investigate the entropy dynamics of two-level NH-systems after quantum decoherence induced by single-qubit projective measurements, finding that it depends on both the initial states and the selection of the computational bases of the measurements. In a general case, we show how to distinguish all the eight phases of the above NH-systems step by step, in which process three different initial states are necessary if the basis of measurement is fixed. We propose how the distinguishing process is realized in quantum simulation, in which quantum tomography is not needed. Our investigations can be applied to judge phase transitions of non-Hermitian systems.
The PT -symmetric non-Hermitian systems have been widely studied and explored both in theory and in experiment due to their various interesting features.In this work we focus on the dynamical features of a triplequbit system, one of which evolves under a local PT -symmetric Hamiltonian.An abnormal dynamic pattern in the entropy evolution process is identified that presents a parameter-dependent stable state, determined by the non-Hermiticity of Hamiltonian in the broken phase of PT symmetry.The entanglement and mutual information of a two-body subsystem can increase beyond the initial values, which do not exist in the Hermitian and two-qubit PT -symmetric systems.Moreover, an experimental demonstration of the stable states in non-Hermitian systems with nonzero entropy and entanglement is realized on a four-qubit quantum simulator with nuclear spins.Our work reveals the distinctive dynamic features in the triple-qubit PT -symmetric system and paves the way for practical quantum simulation of multiparty non-Hermitian system on quantum computers.
Quantum state discrimination (QSD) is a fundamental task in quantum information processing, improving the computation efficiency and communication security. Non-Hermitian (NH) PT-symmetric systems were found to be able to discriminate two quantum states better than the Hermitian strategy. In this work, we propose a QSD approach based on P-pseudo-Hermitian systems with real spectra. We theoretically prove the feasibility of realizing QSD in the real-spectrum phase of a P-pseudo-Hermitian system, i.e., two arbitrary non-orthogonal quantum states can be discriminated by a suitable P-pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian. In detail, we decide the minimal angular separation between two non-orthogonal quantum states for a fixed P-pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian, and we find the orthogonal evolution time is able to approach zero under suitable conditions, while both the trace distance and the quantum relative entropy are employed to judge their orthogonality. We give a criterion to choose the parameters of a P-pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonian that evolves the two initial orthogonal states faster than a fixed arbitrary PT-symmetric one with an identical energy difference. Our work expands the NH family for QSD, and can be used to explore real quantum systems in the future.
We investigate the dynamics of a general two-level based anti-parity-time (anti-PT)-symmetric qubit and study its decoherence as well as entanglement entropy properties. We compare our findings with that of the corresponding parity-time (PT)-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. To begin, we consider the time-dependent Dyson map to find the exact analytical dynamics for a general non-Hermitian qubit system weakly coupled with a thermal bath for pure dephasing, before specializing it to the case of a general anti-PT-symmetric qubit. Basing the comparison under the same coupling strength or increasing the non-Hermiticity, we observe that the decoherence function and entanglement entropy of the anti-PT-symmetric qubit decays and grows more slowly, respectively, compared to the PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. Similarly, the corresponding variance and area of Fisher information are much higher compared to the PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. These results demonstrate that anti-PT-symmetric qubits may be better suited for quantum computing and quantum information processing applications than conventional Hermitian or even PT-symmetric qubits.
Non-Hermitian (NH) quantum theory has been attracting increased research interest due to its featured properties, novel phenomena, and links to open and dissipative systems. Typical NH systems include PT-symmetric systems, pseudo-Hermitian systems, and their anti-symmetric counterparts. In this work, we generalize the pseudo-Hermitian systems to their complex counterparts, which we call pseudo-Hermitian-φ-symmetric systems. This complex extension adds an extra degree of freedom to the original symmetry. On the one hand, it enlarges the non-Hermitian class relevant to pseudo-Hermiticity. On the other hand, the conventional pseudo-Hermitian systems can be understood better as a subgroup of this wider class. The well-defined inner product and pseudo-inner product are still valid. Since quantum simulation provides a strong method to investigate NH systems, we mainly investigate how to simulate this novel system in a Hermitian system using the linear combination of unitaries in the scheme of duality quantum computing. We illustrate in detail how to simulate a general P-pseudo-Hermitian-φ-symmetric two-level system. Duality quantum algorithms have been recently successfully applied to similar types of simulations, so we look forward to the implementation of available quantum devices.
As a fundamental and challenging problem in quantum information processing, quantum state discrimination (QSD) has recently been revisited from the perspective of non-Hermitian (NH) physics. The existing work about QSD in NH systems is mostly limited to PT-symmetric or pseudo-Hermitian systems with real spectra, while generic NH Hamiltonians possess complex spectra. To explore the underlying physics of quantum state discrimination in NH systems, we first demonstrate that the unambiguous discrimination of non-orthogonal quantum states can be realized with P-pseudo-Hermitian and PT-symmetric Hamiltonians in the broken phase and the required evolution time can be arbitrarily small. We further extend the regime to generic non-Hermitian Hamiltonians and demonstrate the feasibility of unambiguous discrimination. Under the same energy constraint, we establish the criteria for constructing P-pseudo-Hermitian Hamiltonians that enable unambiguous discrimination of quantum states with smaller angular separation or within shorter evolution time than any fixed PT-symmetric system. Furthermore, we also discuss the potential impact of exceptional points (EPs) on QSD. Our results suggest that the non-orthogonal eigenstates of NH Hamiltonians, rather than PT symmetry or pseudo-Hermitian symmetry, are fundamental to unambiguous discrimination and information flow in NH systems.
Anti-PT-symmetric Qubit: Decoherence and Entanglement Entropy
We investigate a two-level spin system based anti-parity-time (anti-PT)-symmetric qubit and study its decoherence as well as entanglement entropy properties. We compare our findings with that of the corresponding PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. First we consider the time-dependent Dyson map to find the exact analytical dynamics for a general non-Hermitian qubit system coupled with a bath, then we specialize it to the case of the anti-PT-symmetric qubit. We find that the decoherence function for the anti-PT-symmetric qubit decays slower than the PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. For the entanglement entropy we find that for the anti-PT-symmetric qubit it grows more slowly compared to the PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. Similarly, we find that the corresponding variance and area of Fisher information is much higher compared to the PT-symmetric and Hermitian qubits. These results demonstrate that anti-PT-symmetric qubits may be better suited for quantum computing and quantum information processing applications than conventional Hermitian or even PT-symmetric qubits.