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Kitaev model on a quantum computer using VQE with Majorana fermions

Ammar Jahin

Published Nov 16, 2023• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We study the simulation of the Kitaev spin model on quantum computers. In particular we focus on the models defined on the honeycomb, and square-octagon lattices. Using a fermionic language to describe these models reveals a region of the parameter space that is exactly solvable. We explore an ansatz that is capable of expressing the ground state in the exactly solvable region of the parameter space and extend it outside this region with good accuracy. Doing the calculation using fermions, while requiring the introduction of a non-local map from the fermionic Hilbert space to that of qubits, offers the potentially interesting application of realizing non-abelian anyons on quantum computers, and can also lead to a reduction in the number of qubits required by half.

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We study the simulation of the Kitaev spin model on quantum computers. In particular we focus on the models defined on the honeycomb, and square-octagon lattices. Using a fermionic language to describe these models reveals a region of the parameter space that is exactly solvable. We explore an ansatz that is capable of expressing the ground state in the exactly solvable region of the parameter space and extend it outside this region with good accuracy. Doing the calculation using fermions, while requiring the introduction of a non-local map from the fermionic Hilbert space to that of qubits, offers the potentially interesting application of realizing non-abelian anyons on quantum computers, and can also lead to a reduction in the number of qubits required by half.
We use the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) to simulate Kitaev spin models with and without integrability-breaking perturbations, focusing in particular on the honeycomb and square-octagon lattices. These models are well known for being exactly solvable in a certain parameter regime via a mapping to free fermions. We use classical simulations to explore a variational ansatz that takes advantage of this fermionic representation and is capable of expressing the exact ground state in the solvable limit. We also demonstrate that this ansatz can be extended beyond this limit to provide excellent accuracy when compared to other VQE approaches. In certain cases, this fermionic representation is advantageous because it reduces by a factor of two the number of qubits required to perform the simulation. We also comment on the implications of our results for simulating non-Abelian anyons on quantum computers.
The Kitaev model, defined on a honeycomb lattice, features an exactly solvable ground state with fractionalized Majorana fermion excitations, which can potentially form non-Abelian anyons crucial for fault-tolerant topological quantum computing. Although Majorana fermions are essential for obtaining the exact ground state, their physical interpretation in terms of spin operators remains unclear. In this study, we employ a Green's function approach that maintains SU(2) symmetry to address this issue and explore the model's finite temperature properties. Our results demonstrate that the computed temperature dependence of the correlation functions closely approximates the exact values at zero temperature, confirming the accuracy of our method. We also present several exact results concerning the spin Green's function and spin-spin correlation functions that are specific to the Kitaev model.
The non-Abelian Berry phase is an essential feature of non-Abelian anyons for the realization of topological quantum computation. This thesis is primarily a study about the numerical calculation of the Berry phase of non-Abelian anyons in the Kitaev honeycomb lattice model. It is also a guide for experimental the realizations of the actual brading process. We give an introduction to the theory of non-Abelian anyons, briefly discussing in what kind of systems they are realized, and their possible use in topological quantum computation. Non-Abelian anyons are studied within the Kitaev honeycomb model where they are realized on the plaquettes of the honeycomb lattice. The Kitaev honeycomb model can be solved exactly by using various fermionization methods. In this thesis, we review a solution based on Jordan-Wigner types of fermions which transform Hamiltonian to a fermionic quadratic form. This kind of fermionization procedure is quite general and can be applied to any trivalent spin lattice models. Moreover, we introduce Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method to solve general quadratic fermionic Hamiltonian and employ Bloch-Messiah theorem in order to write ground state wave function explicitly. Later, we apply these methods to honeycomb model and study the eigenstates of the model so that we can do the Berry phase calculation. The final chapter explains the details of the numerical calculation of the non-Abelian Berry phase. First, we show how to create and adiabatically move vortices in the honeycomb model. A brief review of the Berry phase is given including some discussion about a numerical approach. Later on Thouless’ representation of the ground state is introduced to calculate the Berry phase. All these theoretical tools are applied to a 4 vortex configuration of the model to calculate the non-Abelian Berry phase of the system on a particular path in the parameter space.
Exactly solvable lattice models for spins and non-interacting fermions provide fascinating examples of topological phases, some of them exhibiting the localized Majorana fermions that feature in proposals for topological quantum computing. The Chern invariant ν is an important characterization of such phases. Here we look at the square–octagon variant of Kitaev's honeycomb model. It maps to spinful paired fermions and enjoys a rich phase diagram featuring distinct Abelian and non-Abelian phases with ν = 0,±1,±2,±3 and ±4. The ν = ±1 and ν = ±3 phases all support localized Majorana modes and are examples of Ising and SU(2) 2 anyon theories, respectively.
Exactly solvable lattice models for spins and non-interacting fermions provide fascinating examples of topological phases, some of them exhibiting the localized Majorana fermions that feature in proposals for topological quantum computing. The Chern invariant nu is an important characterization of such phases. Here we look at the square-octagon variant of Kitaev's honeycomb model. It maps to spinful paired fermions and enjoys a rich phase diagram featuring distinct Abelian and non-Abelian phases with nu = 0, +/- 1, +/- 2, +/- 3 and +/- 4. The nu = +/- 1 and nu = +/- 3 phases all support localized Majorana modes and are examples of Ising and SU(2)(2) anyon theories, respectively.
We study a frustrated two-dimensional lattice spin model with Kitaev-type interaction. The lattice is obtained from the honeycomb lattice by replacing half of its sites with triangles. Using the SO(3) Majorana representation of spin, the model is exactly mapped into a Z2{Z}_{2}Z2​ lattice gauge theory of complex fermions with standard Gauss law constraint. We show that the ground state of the model is a chiral spin liquid, and it has gapless excitations. The Chern number of the ground state is $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1$, implying the existence of a chiral edge mode. The vortex excitation of the model is bound with a Majorana zero mode, such mode behaves as non-Abelian anyons.