We present a general framework for simulating open quantum systems by exploiting the device noise. We find that pseudo-identity unitary transformations on system qubits in the presence of noise can generate nontrivial quantum channels driving open-system dynamics. Controlling parameters in these transformations allows us to simulate selective state-to-state transitions as well as the long-lived coherences found in systems such as photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes. These results suggest a general framework in which parameters in pseudo-identity unitary transformations can be chosen to generate arbitrary nonunitary system-bath channels without any additional qubits representing bath dynamics. The demonstrated controllability of the bath through these transformations establishes different possibilities for the efficient simulation of open quantum systems on quantum devices.
We present a general framework for simulating open quantum systems by exploiting the device noise. We find that pseudo-identity unitary transformations on system qubits in the presence of noise can generate nontrivial quantum channels driving open-system dynamics. Controlling parameters in these transformations allows us to simulate selective state-to-state transitions as well as the long-lived coherences found in systems such as photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes. These results suggest a general framework in which parameters in pseudo-identity unitary transformations can be chosen to generate arbitrary nonunitary system-bath channels without any additional qubits representing bath dynamics. The demonstrated controllability of the bath through these transformations establishes different possibilities for the efficient simulation of open quantum systems on quantum devices.
Abstract Quantum simulation represents the most promising quantum application to demonstrate quantum advantage on near-term noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers, yet available quantum simulation algorithms are prone to errors and thus difficult to realize with limited circuit depth on nowadays quantum devices. Herein, we propose a novel scheme to utilize intrinsic gate errors of NISQ devices to enable controllable simulation of open quantum system dynamics without ancillary qubits or explicit bath engineering, thus turning unwanted quantum noises into useful quantum resources. Specifically, we simulate the energy transfer process in a photosynthetic dimer system on IBM-Q cloud. By employing tailored decoherence-inducing gates, we show that quantum dissipative dynamics can be simulated efficiently across coherent-to-incoherent regimes with results comparable to those of the numerically exact classical method. Moreover, we demonstrate a calibration routine that enables consistent and predictive simulations of open-quantum system dynamics in the intermediate coupling regime. This work provides a new direction for quantum advantage in the NISQ era.
All physical quantum systems are in contact with the external world which is inevitably a source of noise. It is therefore necessary to take into account this dissipation when designing controls that accomplish useful tasks in quantum information processing. This thesis is on that overlap of open quantum systems and control theory; it looks at what dynamics can happen with the use of external driving, and how this driving can be chosen to accomplish a desired goal. The first result looks at how a given quantum dissipator can be manipulated, using coherent controls, into replicating the action of a different type of noise. This results in no-go theorems for how noise can be transformed based on its isotropy, with applications in simulating open systems. Another way of doing simulations is to use only unitary dynamics over the system and a finite dimensional ancilla, and it is proved that there always exists a dilation Hamiltonian that replicates the noisy dynamics continuously in time. This also highlights the fact that adding controls on noise can result in a different evolution than if the controls were done on the under- lying system-environment level. A conjecture is introduced and studied which states that both approaches are equivalent in the special case of the controls commuting with the Lindbladian. A way around this difficulty is to use a quantum system to compute in situ which controls are best for achieving a desired task on itself. This problem is studied in the context of reaching entangling gates on a quantum simulator in order to upgrade it into a quantum computer. The experimental cost of doing so is found to be polynomial in the number of qubits in simulations. The same underlying principle is also used to find error correcting codes tailored to the dissipation in a system.
Abstract A variety of tasks in quantum control, ranging from purification and cooling to quantum stabilisation and open-system simulation, rely on the ability to implement a target quantum channel over a specified time interval within prescribed accuracy. This can be achieved by engineering a suitable unitary dynamics of the system of interest along with its environment, which, depending on the available level of control, is fully or partly exploited as a coherent quantum controller . After formalising a controllability framework for completely positive trace-preserving quantum dynamics, we provide sufficient conditions on the environment state and dimension that allow for the realisation of relevant classes of quantum channels, including extreme channels, stochastic unitaries or simply any channel. The results hinge on generalisations of Stinespring’s dilation via a subsystem principle . In the process, we show that a conjecture by Lloyd on the minimal dimension of the environment required for arbitrary open-system simulation, albeit formally disproved, can in fact be salvaged, provided that classical randomisation is included among the available resources. Existing measurement-based feedback protocols for universal simulation, dynamical decoupling and dissipative state preparation are recast within the proposed coherent framework as concrete applications, and the resources they employ discussed in the light of the general results.
Electron transport in realistic physical and chemical systems often involves the nontrivial exchange of energy with a large environment, requiring the definition and treatment of open quantum systems. Because the time evolution of an open quantum system employs a nonunitary operator, the simulation of open quantum systems presents a challenge for universal quantum computers constructed from only unitary operators or gates. Here, we present a general algorithm for implementing the action of any nonunitary operator on an arbitrary state on a quantum device. We show that any quantum operator can be exactly decomposed as a linear combination of at most four unitary operators. We demonstrate this method on a two-level system in both zero and finite temperature amplitude damping channels. The results are in agreement with classical calculations, showing promise in simulating nonunitary operations on intermediate-term and future quantum devices.
Electronic structure and transport in realistically-sized systems often require an open quantum system (OQS) treatment, where the system is defined in the context of an environment. As OQS evolution is non-unitary, implementation on quantum computers -- limited to unitary operations -- is challenging. We present a general framework for OQSs where the system's d×d density matrix is recast as a d2 wavefunction which can be evolved by unitary transformations. This theory has two significant advantages over conventional approaches: (i) the wavefunction requires only an n-qubit, compared to 2n-qubit, bath for an n-qubit system and (ii) the purification includes dynamics of any pure-state universe. We demonstrate this method on a two-level system in a zero temperature amplitude damping channel and a two-site quantum Ising model. Quantum simulation and experimental-device results agree with classical calculations, showing promise in simulating non-unitary operations on NISQ quantum devices.
A quantum algorithm is presented for the simulation of arbitrary Markovian dynamics of a qubit, described by a semigroup of single-qubit quantum channels Tt specified by a generator L. This algorithm requires only single-qubit and controlled-not gates and approximates the channel Tt=etL up to the chosen accuracy $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$, with a slightly superlinear cost ${O((\ensuremath{\parallel}\mathcal{L}\ensuremath{\parallel}}_{(1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1)}t{)}^{1+1/2k}/{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{1/2k})$ for any integer k. Inspired by developments in Hamiltonian simulation, a decomposition and recombination technique is utilized which allows for the exploitation of recently developed methods for the approximation of arbitrary single-qubit channels. In particular, as a result of these methods the algorithm requires only a single ancilla qubit, the minimal possible dilation for a nonunitary single-qubit quantum channel.