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Gaussian States in Discrete Quantum Phase Space

Zachary Zanussi

Published Jan 1, 2020• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Gaussian states play a central role in continuous quantum mechanics, and an appropriate generalization might play a similar role in discrete quantum mechanics. A common-sense discretization of these turns out to be trivial. In this work, we describe two new discretizations based on recent developments in discrete phase space methods. We also extend existing notions of convergence between continuous and discrete systems and apply some of them to our constructions. Accompanying this work is a numerical software package "qWeyl" which we use to give examples and provide visualizations.

DOI
10.22215/etd/2020-13945

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Gaussian states play a central role in continuous quantum mechanics, and an appropriate generalization might play a similar role in discrete quantum mechanics. A common-sense discretization of these turns out to be trivial. In this work, we describe two new discretizations based on recent developments in discrete phase space methods. We also extend existing notions of convergence between continuous and discrete systems and apply some of them to our constructions. Accompanying this work is a numerical software package "qWeyl" which we use to give examples and provide visualizations.
We introduce a quantum convolution and a conceptual framework to study states in discrete-variable (DV) quantum systems. All our results suggest that stabilizer states play a role in DV quantum systems similar to the role that Gaussian states play in continuous-variable systems. Hence we suggest the name ``discrete quantum Gaussians'' for stabilizer states. For example, we prove that the convolution of two stabilizer states is another stabilizer state, and that stabilizer states extremize both quantum entropy and Fisher information. We establish a ``maximal entropy principle,'' a ``second law of thermodynamics for quantum convolution,'' and a ``quantum central limit theorem.'' The latter is based on iterating the convolution of a zero-mean quantum state, which we prove converges to a stabilizer state. We bound the exponential rate of convergence of the quantum central limit theorem by the ``magic gap,'' defined in terms of the support of the characteristic function of the state. We elaborate on our general results with a discussion of some examples, as well as extending many of them to quantum channels.
Weyl's formulation of quantum mechanics opened the possibility of studying the dynamics of quantum systems both in infinite-dimensional and finite-dimensional systems. Based on Weyl's approach, generalized by Schwinger, a self-consistent theoretical framework describing physical systems characterised by a finite-dimensional space of states has been created. The used mathematical formalism is further developed by adding finite-dimensional versions of some notions and results from the continuous case. Discrete versions of the continuous Gaussian functions have been defined by using the Jacobi theta functions. We continue the investigation of the properties of these finite Gaussians by following the analogy with the continuous case. We study the uncertainty relation of finite Gaussian states, the form of the associated Wigner quasi-distribution and the evolution under free-particle and quantum harmonic oscillator Hamiltonians. In all cases, a particular emphasis is put on the recovery of the known continuous-limit results when the dimension ddd of the system increases.
Weyl's formulation of quantum mechanics opened the possibility of studying the dynamics of quantum systems both in infinite-dimensional and finite-dimensional systems. Based on Weyl's approach, generalized by Schwinger, a self-consistent theoretical framework describing physical systems characterized by a finite-dimensional space of states has been created. The used mathematical formalism is further developed by adding finite-dimensional versions of some notions and results from the continuous case. Discrete versions of the continuous Gaussian functions have been defined by using the Jacobi theta functions. We continue the investigation of the properties of these finite Gaussians by following the analogy with the continuous case. We study the uncertainty relation of finite Gaussian states, the form of the associated Wigner quasi-distribution and the evolution under free-particle and quantum harmonic oscillator Hamiltonians. In all cases, a particular emphasis is put on the recovery of the known continuous-limit results when the dimension d of the system increases.
Since the very early days of quantum theory there have been numerous attempts to interpret quantum mechanics as a statistical theory. This is equivalent to describing quantum states and ensembles together with their dynamics entirely in terms of phase-space distributions. Finite dimensional systems have historically been an issue. In recent works [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 180401 (2016) and Phys. Rev. A 96, 022117 (2017)] we presented a framework for representing any quantum state as a complete continuous Wigner function. Here we extend this work to its partner function---the Weyl function. In doing so we complete the phase-space formulation of quantum mechanics---extending work by Wigner, Weyl, Moyal, and others to any quantum system. This work is structured in three parts. First we provide a brief modernized discussion of the general framework of phase-space quantum mechanics. We extend previous work and show how this leads to a framework that can describe any system in phase space---putting it for the first time on a truly equal footing to Schr\"odinger's and Heisenberg's formulation of quantum mechanics. Importantly, we do this in a way that respects the unifying principles of ``parity'' and ``displacement'' in a natural broadening of previously developed phase-space concepts and methods. Secondly we consider how this framework is realized for different quantum systems; in particular we consider the proper construction of Weyl functions for some example finite dimensional systems. Finally we relate the Wigner and Weyl distributions to statistical properties of any quantum system or set of systems.
A Hilbert space is usually described using an orthonormal basis, but a more general description can be defined using a tight frame. In the case of continuous-variable Gaussian states, the coherence is usually described using the Hermite-Gauss basis. We present an alternative description using the tight frame of all canonical coherent states. The description of Gaussian states in terms of coherent states is simpler than in terms of Hermite-Gauss basis, and this allows us to obtain an explicit formula describing the frame-dependent coherence of a mixed Gaussian state as a function of the determinant and the trace of covariance matrix. For each mixed Gaussian state, we construct a sequence of discrete-variable quantum states rapidly convergent to it (as concern the purity and coherence) when the dimension of Hilbert space becomes large enough (15 or more). In the discrete case, the coherence is measured with respect to the tight frame of all discrete coherent states.
The review of new formulation of conventional quantum mechanics where the quantum states are identified with probability distributions is presented. The invertible map of density operators and wave functions onto the probability distributions describing the quantum states in quantum mechanics is constructed both for systems with continuous variables and systems with discrete variables by using the Born's rule and recently suggested method of dequantizer-quantizer operators. Examples of discussed probability representations of qubits (spin-1/2, two-level atoms), harmonic oscillator and free particle are studied in detail. Schrödinger and von Neumann equations, as well as equations for the evolution of open systems, are written in the form of linear classical-like equations for the probability distributions determining the quantum system states. Relations to phase-space representation of quantum states (Wigner functions) with quantum tomography and classical mechanics are elucidated.