We develop a framework for Matrix Product Quantum Channels (MPQCs), a one-dimensional tensor-network description of completely positive, trace-preserving maps. We focus on translation-invariant channels, generated by a single repeated tensor, that admit a local purification. We show that their purifying isometry can always be implemented by a constant-depth brickwork quantum circuit, implying that such channels generate only short-range correlations. In contrast to the unitary setting, where one-dimensional quantum cellular automata (in one-to-one correspondence with matrix product unitaries) carry a nontrivial index, we prove that all locally purified channels belong to a single phase, that is, they can be continuously deformed into one another. We then extend the framework to a broader class of translation-invariant channels capable of generating long-range entanglement and show that these remain deterministically implementable in constant depth using two rounds of measurements and feedforward.
We develop a framework for Matrix Product Quantum Channels (MPQCs), a one-dimensional tensor-network description of completely positive, trace-preserving maps. We focus on translation-invariant channels, generated by a single repeated tensor, that admit a local purification. We show that their purifying isometry can always be implemented by a constant-depth brickwork quantum circuit, implying that such channels generate only short-range correlations. In contrast to the unitary setting, where one-dimensional quantum cellular automata (in one-to-one correspondence with matrix product unitaries) carry a nontrivial index, we prove that all locally purified channels belong to a single phase, that is, they can be continuously deformed into one another. We then extend the framework to a broader class of translation-invariant channels capable of generating long-range entanglement and show that these remain deterministically implementable in constant depth using two rounds of measurements and feedforward.
We develop a framework for Matrix Product Quantum Channels (MPQCs), a one-dimensional tensor-network description of completely positive, trace-preserving maps. We focus on translation-invariant channels, generated by a single repeated tensor, that admit a local purification. We show that their purifying isometry can always be implemented by a constant-depth brickwork quantum circuit, implying that such channels generate only short-range correlations when applied on product states. In contrast to the unitary setting, where one-dimensional quantum cellular automata (in one-to-one correspondence with matrix product unitaries) carry a nontrivial index, we prove that all locally purified channels belong to a single phase, that is, they can be continuously deformed into one another. We then extend the framework to a broader class of translation-invariant channels capable of generating long-range entanglement and show that these remain deterministically implementable in constant depth using two rounds of measurements and feedforward.
Matrix-product unitaries (MPU) are 1D tensor networks describing time evolution and unitary symmetries of quantum systems, while their action on states by construction preserves the entanglement area law. MPU which are formed by a single repeated tensor are known to coincide with 1D quantum cellular automata (QCA), i.e., unitaries with an exact light cone. However, this correspondence breaks down for MPU with open boundary conditions, even if the resulting operator is translation-invariant. Such unitaries can turn short- to long-range correlations and thus alter the underlying phase of matter. Here we make the first steps towards a theory of MPU with uniform bulk but arbitrary boundary. In particular, we study the structure of a subclass with a direct-sum form which maximally violates the QCA property. We also consider the general case of MPU formed by site-dependent (nonuniform) tensors and show a correspondence between MPU and locally maximally entanglable states.
Tensor network methods provide powerful analytical and numerical tools for characterizing quantum phases of matter. While the mathematical structure of matrix product states (MPS) is well understood through the MPS fundamental theorem, an analogous understanding for mixed-state tensor networks remains largely absent: if two purification tensors generate the same density matrix, how are they related? In this work, we initiate the study of a fundamental theorem for matrix product locally purifiable density operators (LPDOs) and focus on sequentially generated LPDOs (sLPDOs), a broad subclass admitting an interpretation in terms of successive applications of quantum channels on an initial state. We prove that, under suitable invertibility or cyclic conditions, two sLPDO representations generate the same density matrix for arbitrary system sizes if and only if they are related by a matrix product isometry acting on the purification bonds. Beyond the sLPDO setting, we provide a counterexample that suggests an obstruction to a general fundamental theorem for LPDOs with periodic boundary conditions. Finally, we discuss implications for mixed-state symmetry-protected topological phases, including the possibility of nontrivial phases protected only by weak symmetry conditions.
Matrix Product Unitaries (MPUs) provide compact tensor-network representations of many-body quantum operations. MPU theory has been developed in the translationally invariant setting with periodic boundaries, where MPUs correspond, up to blocking, to one-dimensional quantum cellular automata (QCA) and are therefore characterized by a strict causal cone. Only recently, Styliaris et al. identified a broader class of open-boundary beyond-QCA MPUs that can generate long-range correlations while retaining the area-law operator entanglement characteristic of MPUs. Building on these developments, this thesis presents a framework for the generation, certification, and circuit synthesis of non-QCA MPUs. First, we develop the analytical and numerical tools needed to certify the validity of an input MPU and optimize the exact circuit decomposition algorithm introduced by Styliaris et al. These methods reduce both the asymptotic and finite-size costs of the decomposition. We then implement the complete procedure in the open-source library \textsc{TreeMPU}. We also present a theoretically motivated variational ansatz for approximating non-QCA MPUs with quantum circuits and benchmark its performance against the standard brickwall structure used for MPUs. The second main contribution is a systematic framework for generating MPUs. The local constraints guarantee global unitarity at arbitrary system size and define parameterized families capable of generating long-range correlations and beyond-QCA behavior. They reproduce known examples of non-QCA MPUs as special cases while enabling the random sampling of broader classes of unitary tensor networks. Finally, we assess the performance of the optimized exact decomposition, the variational compilation scheme, and the certified MPU generators developed in this thesis. Together, the certified generators and \textsc{TreeMPU} provide a systematic computational platform for constructing, benchmarking, and implementing beyond-QCA MPUs.
Matrix-product unitaries (MPUs) are many-body unitary operators that, as a consequence of their tensor-network structure, preserve the entanglement area law in 1D systems. However, it is unknown how to implement an MPU as a quantum circuit since the individual tensors describing the MPU are not unitary. In this Letter, we show that a large class of MPUs can be implemented with a polynomial-depth quantum circuit. For an N-site MPU built from a repeated bulk tensor with open boundary, we explicitly construct a quantum circuit of polynomial depth T=O(N^{α}) realizing the MPU, where the constant α depends only on the bulk and boundary tensor and not the system size N. We show that this class includes nontrivial unitaries that generate long-range entanglement and, in particular, contains a large class of unitaries constructed from representations of C^{*}-weak Hopf algebras. Furthermore, we also adapt our construction to nonuniform translationally varying MPUs and show that they can be implemented by a circuit of depth O(N^{β}polyD) where β≤1+log_{2}sqrt[D]/s_{min}, with D being the bond dimension and s_{min} the smallest nonzero Schmidt value of the normalized Choi state corresponding to the MPU.
Adaptive quantum circuits, which combine local unitary gates, midcircuit measurements, and feedforward operations, have recently emerged as a promising avenue for efficient state preparation, particularly on near-term quantum devices limited to shallow-depth circuits. Matrix product states (MPS) comprise a significant class of many-body entangled states, efficiently describing the ground states of one-dimensional gapped local Hamiltonians and finding applications in a number of recent quantum algorithms. Recently, it has been shown that the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki state—a paradigmatic example of an MPS—can be exactly prepared with an adaptive quantum circuit of constant depth, an impossible feat with local unitary gates alone due to its nonzero correlation length [Smith , PRX Quantum 4, 020315 (2023)]. In this work, we broaden the scope of this approach and demonstrate that a diverse class of MPS can be exactly prepared using constant-depth adaptive quantum circuits, outperforming theoretically optimal preparation with unitary circuits. We show that this class includes short- and long-ranged entangled MPS, symmetry-protected topological (SPT) and symmetry-broken states, MPS with finite Abelian, non-Abelian, and continuous symmetries, resource states for MBQC, and families of states with tunable correlation length. Moreover, we illustrate the utility of our framework for designing constant-depth sampling protocols, such as for random MPS or for generating MPS in a particular SPT phase. We present sufficient conditions for particular MPS to be preparable in constant time, with global on-site symmetry playing a pivotal role. Altogether, this work demonstrates the immense promise of adaptive quantum circuits for efficiently preparing many-body entangled states and provides explicit algorithms that outperform known protocols to prepare an essential class of states. Published by the American Physical Society 2024