Entanglement are the non-local correlations permitted by quantum theory, believed to play a fundamental role in a quantum computer. We have investigated these correlations in a number of theoretical models for condensed matter systems. Such systems are likely candidates for quantum computing, and experimentally feasible for instance as superconducting qubits. At quantum critical points the ground state of these systems is very complicated, and the entanglement is usually larger than at non-critical points. This entanglement can be used to identify the critical points through what we denote the entanglement signature, even for very small systems. From another perspective, it seems that the entanglement is an essential tool to find an unknown ground state, since this gives rise to a simple decomposition of the state.
Entanglement are the non-local correlations permitted by quantum theory, believed to play a fundamental role in a quantum computer. We have investigated these correlations in a number of theoretical models for condensed matter systems. Such systems are likely candidates for quantum computing, and experimentally feasible for instance as superconducting qubits. At quantum critical points the ground state of these systems is very complicated, and the entanglement is usually larger than at non-critical points. This entanglement can be used to identify the critical points through what we denote the entanglement signature, even for very small systems. From another perspective, it seems that the entanglement is an essential tool to find an unknown ground state, since this gives rise to a simple decomposition of the state.
Entanglement are the non-local correlations permitted by quantum theory, believed to play a fundamental role in a quantum computer. We have investigated these correlations in a number of theoretical models for condensed matter systems. Such systems are likely candidates for quantum computing, and experimentally feasible for instance as superconducting qubits. At quantum critical points the ground state of these systems is very complicated, and the entanglement is usually larger than at non-critical points. This entanglement can be used to identify the critical points through what we denote the entanglement signature, even for very small systems. From another perspective, it seems that the entanglement is an essential tool to find an unknown ground state, since this gives rise to a simple decomposition of the state.
Abstract Quantum information theory is built upon the realisation that quantum resources like coherence and entanglement can be exploited for novel or enhanced ways of transmitting and manipulating information, such as quantum cryptography, teleportation, and quantum computing. We now know that there is potentially much more than entanglement behind the power of quantum information processing. There exist more general forms of non-classical correlations, stemming from fundamental principles such as the necessary disturbance induced by a local measurement, or the persistence of quantum coherence in all possible local bases. These signatures can be identified and are resilient in almost all quantum states, and have been linked to the enhanced performance of certain quantum protocols over classical ones in noisy conditions. Their presence represents, among other things, one of the most essential manifestations of quantumness in cooperative systems, from the subatomic to the macroscopic domain. In this work we give an overview of the current quest for a proper understanding and characterisation of the frontier between classical and quantum correlations (QCs) in composite states. We focus on various approaches to define and quantify general QCs, based on different yet interlinked physical perspectives, and comment on the operational significance of the ensuing measures for quantum technology tasks such as information encoding, distribution, discrimination and metrology. We then provide a broader outlook of a few applications in which quantumness beyond entanglement looks fit to play a key role.
To perform topological quantum computation we first need to experimentally realise anyons in a topological system. These systems are characterised by intriguing non-local quantum correlations that give rise to the anyonic statistics. What are the diagnostic tools we have to identify if a given system is indeed topological or not? Different phases of matter are characterised by their symmetries. This information is captured by order parameters. Usually, order parameters are defined in terms of local operators that can be measured in the laboratory. For example, the magnetisation of a spin system is given as the expectation value of a single spin with respect to the ground state. Such local properties can describe fascinating physical phenomena efficiently, such as ferromagnetism, and can pinpoint quantum phase transitions. But what about topological systems? Experimentally, we usually identify the topological character of systems, such as the fractional quantum Hall liquids, by probing the anyonic properties of their excitations (Miller et al. , 2007). However, topological order should be a characteristic of the ground state (Thouless et al. , 1982; Wen, 1995). The natural question arises: is it possible to identify a property of the ground state of a system that implies anyonic excitations? The theoretical background that made it possible to answer this question came from entropic considerations of simple topological models. Hamma et al . (2005) studied the entanglement entropy of the toric code ground state and noticed an unusual behaviour.
Entanglement can be understood as an extraordinary degree of correlation between states of quantum systems – a correlation that cannot be given an explanation in terms of something like a common cause. Entanglement can occur between two or more quantum systems, and the most interesting case is when these correlations occur between systems that are space-like separated, meaning that changes made to one system are immediately correlated with changes in a distant system even though there is no time for a signal to travel between them. In this case one says that quantum entanglement leads to non-local correlations, or non-locality. More precisely, entanglement can be defined in the following way. Consider two particles, A and B, whose (pure) states can be represented by the state vectors ψA and ψB. Instead of representing the state of each particle individually, one can represent the composite two-particle system by another wavefunction, Ψ AB. If the two particles are unentangled , then the composite state is just the tensor product of the states of the components: Ψ AB = ψ A ⊗ ψ B; the state is then said to be factorable (or separable). If the particles are entangled, however, then the state of the composite system cannot be written as such a product of a definite state for A and a definite state for B. This is how an entangled state is defined for pure states: a state is entangled if and only if it cannot be factored: Ψ AB ≠ ψ A ⊗ ψ B.
Quantum entanglement, where two or more particles become correlated in such a way that the state of one particle is dependent on the state of the other(s), regardless of the distance between them, is an important concept in quantum mechanics. Here, we explore the role of quantum entanglement in quantum computing, by looking at its basic principles, and the new levels of processing power and security it allows. We also discuss the latest advances, problems and opportunities of quantum entanglement in information processing technologies, such as quantum algorithms, quantum encryption and its effect on conventional computers.
The interplay of the constituents of interacting many-body systems may reveal emergent properties on the macroscopic scale which are not inherent to the individual constituents. These properties are expressed in macroscopic observables \ndescribing the state — denoted as the phase of the system. Continuous phase transition between phases are generically manifested in critical behavior, for example, a divergence of a macroscopic observable. The identification of the present phase of a system and the classification of critical phenomena into universality classes are exciting challenges of condensed-matter physics. \nIn this thesis, we use entanglement entropies as macroscopic quantities for the characterization of phases of quantum matter and critical theories. For groundstates of quantum many-body systems the entanglement entropy is a measure of \nthe amount of entanglement between two subsystems. The generic dependence of the entanglement entropy on the size and shape of the subsystems is contained in the well-known boundary law — stating a scaling of the entanglement entropy with the boundary between the two subsystems. We numerically investigate how the coefficient of this dependence reflects quantum phase transitions in simple spin-half bilayer models. \nSubleading terms to the boundary law such as a logarithmic contribution provide universal numbers for the criticality of field theories. We examine free and interacting theories from an entanglement entropy perspective in order to assess the role of the coefficient of the logarithmic correction induced by corners in the subsystems. Beyond its universality, this coefficient also quantifies degrees of freedom of low-lying excitations in the conformal field theory describing a critical point. \nA constant contribution to the boundary law indicates the presence of so-called topological order in the ground state of a many-body system. This extremely useful property can also be identified in classical counterparts of entanglement entropy which we study at the example of various toric code models. To this endeavor, we have designed Monte Carlo techniques which allow for an efficient numerical computation of the constant contribution. In particular, we analyze via entanglement entropies under which conditions remnants of topological order are present in the quantum system at finite temperature and at perturbations from a magnetic field. The major motivation behind this effort is to use topological order for the robust storage of a quantum information — a basic need for the construction of quantum \ncomputers.