Notions of a Gaussian state and a Gaussian linear map are generalized to the case of anticommuting (Grassmann) variables. Conditions under which a Gaussian map is trace preserving and (or) completely positive are formulated. For any Gaussian map an explicit formula relating correlation matrices of input and output states is presented. This formalism allows to develop the Lagrangian representation for fermionic linear optics (FLO). It covers both unitary operations and the single-mode projectors associated with FLO measurements. Using the Lagrangian representation we reduce a classical simulation of FLO to a computation of Gaussian integrals over Grassmann variables. Explicit formulas describing evolution of a quantum state under FLO operations are put forward.
Notions of a Gaussian state and a Gaussian linear map are generalized to the case of anticommuting (Grassmann) variables. Conditions under which a Gaussian map is trace preserving and (or) completely positive are formulated. For any Gaussian map an explicit formula relating correlation matrices of input and output states is presented. This formalism allows to develop the Lagrangian representation for fermionic linear optics (FLO). It covers both unitary operations and the single-mode projectors associated with FLO measurements. Using the Lagrangian representation we reduce a classical simulation of FLO to a computation of Gaussian integrals over Grassmann variables. Explicit formulas describing evolution of a quantum state under FLO operations are put forward.
We formulate a general multi-mode Gaussian operator basis for fermions, to enable a positive phase-space representation of correlated Fermi states. The Gaussian basis extends existing bosonic phase-space methods to Fermi systems and thus allows first-principles dynamical or equilibrium calculations in quantum many-body Fermi systems. We prove the completeness of the basis and derive differential forms for products with one- and two-body operators. Because the basis satisfies fermionic superselection rules, the resulting phase space involves only c -numbers, without requiring anticommuting Grassmann variables. Furthermore, because of the overcompleteness of the basis, the phase-space distribution can always be chosen positive. This has important consequences for the sign problem in fermion physics.
A recovery map effectively cancels the action of a quantum operation to a partial or full extent. We study the Petz recovery map in the case where the quantum channel and input states are fermionic and Gaussian. Gaussian states are convenient because they are totally determined by their covariance matrix and because they form a closed set under so-called Gaussian channels. Using a Grassmann representation of fermionic Gaussian maps, we show that the Petz recovery map is also Gaussian and determine it explicitly in terms of the covariance matrix of the reference state and the data of the channel. As a by-product, we obtain a formula for the fidelity between two fermionic Gaussian states. We also discuss subtleties arising from the singularities of the involved matrices.
We revisit the problem of learning fermionic linear optics (FLO), also known as fermionic Gaussian unitaries. Given black-box query access to an unknown FLO, previous proposals required O(n5/ε2) queries, where n is the system size and ε is the error in diamond distance. These algorithms also use unphysical operations (i.e., violating fermionic superselection rules) and/or n auxiliary modes to prepare Choi states of the FLO. In this work, we establish efficient and experimentally friendly protocols that obey superselection, use minimal ancilla (at most 1 extra mode), and exhibit improved dependence on both parameters n and ε. For arbitrary (active) FLOs this algorithm makes at most O(n4/ε) queries, while for number-conserving (passive) FLOs we show that O(n3/ε) queries suffice. The complexity of the active case can be further reduced to O(n3/ε) at the cost of using n ancilla. This marks the first FLO learning algorithm that attains Heisenberg scaling in precision. As a side result, we also demonstrate an improved copy complexity of O(nη2/ε2) for time-efficient state tomography of η-particle Slater determinants in ε trace distance, which may be of independent interest.
In this chapter we set up a classical Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics for matrix models. The fundamental idea is to set up an analog of classical dynamics in which the phase space variables are non-commutative, and the basic tool that allows one to accomplish this is cyclic invariance under a trace. Since no assumptions about commutativity of the phase space variables (such as canonical commutators/anticommutators) are made at this stage, the dynamics that we set up is not the same as standard quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanical behavior will be seen to emerge only when, in Chapters 4 and 5, we study the statistical mechanics of the classical matrix dynamics formulated here. In Section 1.1, we introduce our basic notation for bosonic and fermionic matrices, and give the cyclic identities that will be used repeatedly throughout the book. In Section 1.2, we define the derivative of a trace quantity with respect to an operator, and give the basic properties of this definition. In Section 1.3, we use the operator derivative to formulate a Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics for matrix models. In Section 1.4, we introduce a generalized Poisson bracket appropriate to trace dynamics, constructed from the operator derivative defined in Section 1.2, and give its properties and some applications. Finally, in Section 1.5 we discuss the relation between the trace dynamics time evolution equations, and the usual unitary Heisenberg picture equations of motion obtained when one assumes standard canonical commutators/anticommutators. Bosonic and fermionic matrices and the cyclic trace identities We shall assume finite-dimensional matrices, although ultimately an extension to the infinite-dimensional case may be needed. The matrix elements of these matrices will be constructed from ordinary complex numbers, and from complex anticommuting Grassmann numbers.
We formulate a general multi-mode Gaussian operator basis for fermions, to enable a positive phase-space representation of correlated Fermi states. The Gaussian basis extends existing bosonic phase-space methods to Fermi systems and thus allows first-principles dynamical or equilibrium calculations in quantum many-body Fermi systems. We prove the completeness of the basis and derive differential forms for products with one- and two-body operators. Because the basis satisfies fermionic superselection rules, the resulting phase space involves only c-numbers, without requiring anticommuting Grassmann variables. Furthermore, because of the overcompleteness of the basis, the phase-space distribution can always be chosen positive. This has important consequences for the sign problem in fermion physics. PACS numbers: 03.65.Ca, 42.50.Lc, 03.75.Ss, 71.10.Fd 1.