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arXiv:quant-ph/0205137 · New Journal of Physics

Quantum entanglement and topological entanglement

Louis Hirsch Kauffman, Samuel J. Lomonaco

Published Oct 16, 2002• 134 citations
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Abstract

This paper discusses relationships between topological entanglement and quantum entanglement. Specifically, we propose that it is more fundamental to view topological entanglements such as braids as entanglement operators and to associate with them unitary operators that are capable of creating quantum entanglement.
DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/4/1/373

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Kauffman and Lomonaco (New J Phys 4:73.1–73.18, 2002. arXiv:quant-ph/0401090 , New J Phys 6:134.1–134.40, 2004) explored the idea of understanding quantum entanglement (the non-local correlation of certain properties of particles) topologically by viewing unitary entangling operators as braiding operators. In Alagic et al. (Yang–Baxter operators need quantum entanglement to distinguish knots, 2015. arXiv:1507.05979v1 ), it is shown that entanglement is a necessary condition for forming non-trivial invariants of knots from braid closures via solutions to the Yang–Baxter equation. We show that the arguments used by Alagic et al. (2015) generalize to essentially the same results for quantum invariant state summation models of knots. In one case (the unoriented swap case) we give an example of a Yang–Baxter operator, and associated quantum invariant, that can detect the Hopf link. Again this is analogous to the results of Alagic et al. (2015). We also give a class of R matrices that are entangling and are weak invariants of classical knots and links yet strong invariants of virtual knots and links. We also give an example of an SU(2) representation of the three-strand braid group that models the Jones polynomial for closures of three-strand braids. This invariant is a quantum model for the Jones polynomial restricted to three-strand braids, and it does not involve quantum entanglement. These relationships between topological braiding and quantum entanglement can be used as a framework for future work in understanding the properties of entangling gates in topological quantum computing. The paper ends with a discussion of the Aravind hypothesis about the direct relationship of knots and quantum entanglement and the ER=EPRER = EPRER=EPR E R = E P R hypothesis about the relationship of quantum entanglement with the connectivity of space. We describe how, given a background space and a quantum tensor network, to construct a new topological space that welds the network and the background space together. This construction embodies the principle that quantum entanglement and topological connectivity are intimately related.
We discuss the analogy between topological entanglement and quantum entanglement, particularly for tripartite quantum systems. We illustrate our approach by first discussing two clearly (topologically) inequivalent systems of three-ring links: The Borromean rings, in which the removal of any one link leaves the remaining two non-linked (or, by analogy, non-entangled); and an inequivalent system (which we call the NUS link) for which the removal of any one link leaves the remaining two linked (or, entangled in our analogy). We introduce unitary representations for the appropriate Braid Group (B3B_3B3​) which produce the related quantum entangled systems. We finally remark that these two quantum systems, which clearly possess inequivalent entanglement properties, are locally unitarily equivalent.
Quantum entanglement, long recognized as a peculiar phenomenon, holds a profound potential beyond simple correlations. This paper explores the concept of entanglement as a fundamental state of a topological space, suggesting that it represents a novel approach to quantum computation. We propose a new mathematical framework, the 'topological braid' model, to describe entanglement, linking it to the inherent properties of topological spaces. This research aims to expand our understanding of entanglement by proposing a fundamentally different perspective, potentially unlocking new quantum algorithms and computational paradigms. The core claim is that entanglement, when viewed through this lens, provides a more robust and versatile foundation for quantum systems.
Abstract This paper is an introduction to relationships between quantum topology and quantum computing. We discuss unitary solutions to the YangBaxter equation that are universal quantum gates, quantum entanglement and topological entanglement, and we give an exposition of knot-theoretic recoupling theory, its relationship with topological quantum field theory and apply these methods to produce unitary representations of the braid groups that are dense in the unitary groups. Our methods are rooted in the bracket state sum model for the Jones polynomial. We give our results for a large class of representations based on values for the bracket polynomial that are roots of unity. We make a separate and self-contained study of the quantum universal Fibonacci model in this framework. We apply our results to give quantum algorithms for the computation of the colored Jones polynomials for knots and links, and the Witten-Reshetikhin-Turaev invariant of three manifolds.