We discuss how the language of wave functions (state vectors) and associated non-commuting Hermitian operators naturally emerges from classical mechanics by applying the inverse Wigner-Weyl transform to the phase space probability distribution and observables. In this language, the Schrödinger equation follows from the Liouville equation, with $\hbar$ now a free parameter. Classical stationary distributions can be represented as sums over stationary states with discrete (quantized) energies, where these states directly correspond to quantum eigenstates. Interestingly, it is now classical mechanics which allows for apparent negative probabilities to occupy eigenstates, dual to the negative probabilities in Wigner's quasiprobability distribution. These negative probabilities are shown to disappear when allowing sufficient uncertainty in the classical distributions. We show that this correspondence is particularly pronounced for canonical Gibbs ensembles, where classical eigenstates satisfy an integral eigenvalue equation that reduces to the Schrödinger equation in a saddle-point approximation controlled by the inverse temperature. We illustrate this correspondence by showing that some paradigmatic examples such as tunneling, band structures, Berry phases, Landau levels, level statistics and quantum eigenstates in chaotic potentials can be reproduced to a surprising precision from a classical Gibbs ensemble, without any reference to quantum mechanics and with all parameters (including $\hbar$) on the order of unity.
The Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis implies that for a thermodynamically large system in one of its eigenstates, the reduced density matrix describing any finite subsystem is determined solely by a set of {\it relevant} conserved quantities. In a generic system, only the energy plays that role and hence eigenstates appear locally thermal. Integrable systems, on the other hand, possess an extensive number of such conserved quantities and hence the reduced density matrix requires specification of an infinite number of parameters (Generalized Gibbs Ensemble). However, here we show by unbiase…
Within the emergent eigenstate solution to quantum dynamics [Phys. Rev. X 7, 021012 (2017)], one can construct a local operator (an emergent Hamiltonian) of which the time-evolving state is an eigenstate. Here we show that such a solution exists for the expansion dynamics of Tonks-Girardeau gases in optical lattices after turning off power-law (e.g., harmonic or quartic) confining potentials, which are geometric quenches that do not involve the boost operator. For systems that are initially in the ground state and undergo dynamical fermionization during the expansion, we show that they remain …
This work describes the statistics for the occupation numbers of quantum levels in a large isolated quantum system, where all possible superpositions of eigenstates are allowed, provided all these superpositions have the same fixed energy. Such a condition is not equivalent to the conventional micro-canonical condition, because the latter limits the participating eigenstates to a very narrow energy window. The statistics is obtained analytically for both the entire system and its small subsystem. In a significant departure from the Boltzmann-Gibbs statistics, the average occupation numbers of …
Nonequilibrium dynamics of a nonintegrable system without the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis is studied. It is shown that, in the thermodynamic limit, this model thermalizes after an arbitrary quantum quench at finite temperature, although it does not satisfy the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. In contrast, when the system size is finite and the temperature is low enough, the system may not thermalize. In this case, the steady state is well described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble constructed by using highly nonlocal conserved quantities. We also show that this model exhibits pr…
Generalized thermalization is a process that occurs in integrable systems in which unitary dynamics, e.g., following a quantum quench, results in states in which observables after equilibration are described by generalized Gibbs ensembles (GGEs). Here we discuss an emergent eigenstate construction that allows one to built emergent local Hamiltonians of which one eigenstate captures the entire generalized thermalization process following a global quantum quench. Specifically, we study the emergent eigenstate that describes the quantum dynamics of hard-core bosons in one dimension (1D) for which…
We investigate equilibration and generalized thermalization of the quantum Harmonic chain under local quantum quench. The quench action we consider is connecting two disjoint harmonic chains of different sizes and the system jumps between two integrable settings. We verify the validity of the Generalized Gibbs Ensemble description for this infinite dimensional Hilbert space system and also identify equilibration between the subsystems as in classical systems. Using Bogoliubov transformations, we show that the eigenstates of the system prior to the quench evolve towards the Gibbs Generalized En…
Since the first suggestion of the Jarzynski equality many derivations of this equality have been presented in both, the classical and the quantum context. While the approaches and settings greatly differ from one to another, they all appear to rely on the initial state being a thermal Gibbs state. Here, we present an investigation of work distributions in driven isolated quantum systems, starting off from pure states that are close to energy eigenstates of the initial Hamiltonian. We find that, for the nonintegrable system in quest, the Jarzynski equality is fulfilled to good accuracy.
We consider the non-equilibrium dynamics in isolated systems, described by quantum field theories (QFTs). After being prepared in a density matrix that is not an eigenstate of the Hamiltonian, such systems are expected to relax locally to a stationary state. In a presence of local conservation laws, these stationary states are believed to be described by appropriate generalized Gibbs ensembles. Here we demonstrate that in order to obtain a correct description of the stationary state, it is necessary to take into account conservation laws that are not (ultra-)local in the usual sense of QFT, bu…
The quantum dynamics of a periodically driven system, the delta-kicked accelerator, is investigated in the semiclassical and pseudo-classical regimes, where quantum accelerator modes are observed. We construct the evolution operator of this classically chaotic system explicitly. If certain quantum resonance conditions are fullfilled, we show one can reduce the evolution operator to a finite matrix, whose eigenvectors are the quasi-eigenstates. These are represented by their Husimi functions. In so doing, we are able to directly compare the pure quantum states with the classical states. In the …
Weakly interacting fermionic Gibbs states are Gaussian mixtures and classically simulable
Yau Mathematical Sciences Center, Tsinghua University（清华大学丘成桐数学科学中心）；State Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Quantum Physics, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University（清华大学物理系低维量子物理国家重点实验室）
We investigate the relation between the classical ergodicity and the quantum eigenstate thermalization in the fully connected Ising ferromagnets. In the case of spin-1/2, an expectation value of an observable in a single energy eigenstate coincides with the long-time average in the underlying classical dynamics, which is a consequence of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation. In the case of spin-1, the underlying classical dynamics is not necessarily ergodic. In that case, it turns out that, in the thermodynamic limit, the statistics of the expectation values of an observable in the ener…
Gibbs state preparation for commuting Hamiltonian: Mapping to classical Gibbs sampling
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University（哈佛大学工程与应用科学学院）；Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院计算与数学科学系）；Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校西蒙斯计算理论研究所）
According to the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH), the eigenstate-to-eigenstate fluctuations of expectation values of local observables should decrease with increasing system size. In approaching the thermodynamic limit - the number of sites and the particle number increasing at the same rate - the fluctuations should scale as $\sim D^{-1/2}$ with the Hilbert space dimension $D$. Here, we study a different limit - the classical or semiclassical limit - by increasing the particle number in fixed lattice topologies. We focus on the paradigmatic Bose-Hubbard system, which is quantum-cha…
Quantum Gibbs state sampling algorithms generally suffer from either scaling exponentially with system size or requiring specific knowledge of spectral properties \textit{a priori}. Also, these algorithms require a large overhead of bath or scratch/ancilla qubits. We propose a method, termed the minimal effective Gibbs ansatz (MEGA), which uses a quantum computer to determine a minimal ensemble of pure states that accurately reproduce thermal averages of typical observables. This technique employs properties of correlation functions that can be split into a lesser and greater part; here, we pr…
The Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) has played a major role in understanding thermodynamic phenomena in closed quantum systems. However, its connection to the timescale of thermalization for open system dynamics has remained elusive. This paper establishes a rigorous link between ETH and fast thermalization to the global Gibbs state. Specifically, we demonstrate fast thermalization for a system coupled weakly to a bath of quasi-free Fermions that we refresh periodically. To describe the joint evolution, we derive a finite-time version of Davies' generator with explicit error bounds …
An (almost) efficient classical algorithm for sampling from typical Gibbs states
Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, Caltech（加州理工学院量子信息与物质研究所）；Department of Physics, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学物理系）；Department of Computer Science, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学计算机科学系）；Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, Caltech（加州理工学院沃尔特·伯克理论物理研究所）
The eigenstate decoherence hypothesis (EDH) asserts that each individual eigenstate of a large closed system is locally classical-like. We test this hypothesis for a heavy particle interacting with a gas of light particles. This system is paradigmatic for studies of the quantum-to-classical transition: The reduced state of the heavy particle is widely believed to rapidly loose any nonclassical features due to the interaction with the gas. Yet, we find numerical evidence that the EDH is violated: certain eigenstates of this model are manifestly non-classical. Only the weak version of EDH referr…
An eigenstate decoherence hypothesis states that each individual eigenstate of a large closed system is locally classical-like. We extend this hypothesis to account for a typically extremely short time scale of decoherence. The extension implies that nondiagonal matrix elements of certain operators - quantumness witnesses - are suppressed as long as the energy difference between corresponding eigenstates is smaller than the inverse decoherence time.
By analyzing a paradigmatic example of the theory of dissipative systems -- the classical and quantum dissipative standard map -- we are able to explain the main features of the decay to the quantum equilibrium state. The classical isoperiodic stable structures typically present in the parameter space of these kind of systems play a fundamental role. In fact, we have found that the period of stable structures that are near in this space determines the phase of the leading eigenstates of the corresponding quantum superoperator. Moreover, the eigenvectors show a strong localization on the corres…
We present classical and quantum algorithms for approximating partition functions of classical Hamiltonians at a given temperature. Our work has two main contributions: first, we modify the classical algorithm of Štefankovič, Vempala and Vigoda (\emph{J.~ACM}, 56(3), 2009) to improve its sample complexity; second, we quantize this new algorithm, improving upon the previously fastest quantum algorithm for this problem, due to Harrow and Wei (SODA 2020). The conventional approach to estimating partition functions requires approximating the means of Gibbs distributions at a set of inverse tempera…
In investigations of the emergence of classicality from quantum theory, a useful step is the construction of quantum operators corresponding to the classical notion that the system resides in a region of phase space. The simplest such constructions, using coherent states, yield operators which are approximate projection operators -- their eigenvalues are approximately equal to 1 or 0. Such projections may be shown to have close to classical behaviour under time evolution and these results have been used to prove some useful results about emergent classicality in the decoherent histories approa…
A growing number of dynamical situations involve the coupling of particles or singularities with physical waves. In principle these situations are very far from the wave-particle duality at quantum scale where the wave is probabilistic by nature. Yet some dual characteristics were observed in a system where a macroscopic droplet is guided by a pilot-wave it generates. Here we investigate the behaviour of these entities when confined in a two-dimensional harmonic potential well. A discrete set of stable orbits is observed, in the shape of successive generalized Cassinian-like curves (circles, o…
We study the quantum mechanics of a billiard (Robnik 1983) in the regime of mixed-type classical phase space (the shape parameter λ=0.15) at very high-lying eigenstates, starting at about 1.000.000th eigenstate and including the consecutive 587654 eigenstates. By calculating the normalized Poincaré Husimi functions of the eigenstates and comparing them with the classical phase space structure, we introduce the overlap criterion which enables us to separate with great accuracy and reliability the regular and chaotic eigenstates, and the corresponding energies. The chaotic eigenstates appear all…
Boltzmann's ergodic hypothesis furnishes a possible explanation for the emergence of statistical mechanics in the framework of classical physics. In quantum mechanics, the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) is instead generally considered as a possible route to thermalization. This is because the notion of ergodicity itself is vague in the quantum world and it is often simply taken as a synonym for thermalization. Here we show, in an elementary way, that when quantum ergodicity is properly defined, it is, in fact, equivalent to ETH. In turn, ergodicity is equivalent to thermalization, …
IBM Research Europe - Zurich（IBM 欧洲苏黎世研究中心）；École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne（洛桑联邦理工学院）；Institute for Quantum Information and Matter, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院量子信息与物质研究所）
A penalty-free quantum algorithm to find energy eigenstates
National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）；Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学量子技术中心）；Department of Physics, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学物理系）
We show how to obtain perfect samples from a quantum Gibbs state on a quantum computer. To do so, we adapt one of the `Coupling from the Past'-algorithms proposed by Propp and Wilson. The algorithm has a probabilistic run-time and produces perfect samples without any previous knowledge of the mixing time of a quantum Markov chain. To implement it, we assume we are able to perform the phase estimation algorithm for the underlying Hamiltonian and implement a quantum Markov chain such that the transition probabilities between eigenstates only depend on their energy. We provide some examples of qu…
Recent realization of a kinetically-constrained chain of Rydberg atoms by Bernien et al. [Nature 551, 579 (2017)] resulted in the observation of unusual revivals in the many-body quantum dynamics. In our previous work [arXiv:1711.03528] such dynamics was attributed to the existence of "quantum scarred" eigenstates in the many-body spectrum of the experimentally realized model. Here we present a detailed study of the eigenstate properties of the same model. We find that the majority of the eigenstates exhibit anomalous thermalization: the observable expectation values converge to their Gibbs en…
This paper discusses a classical simulation to compute the partition function (or free energy) of generic one-dimensional quantum many-body systems. Many numerical methods have previously been developed to approximately solve one-dimensional quantum systems. However, there exists no exact proof that arbitrary one-dimensional quantum Gibbs states can be efficiently solved by a classical computer. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to prove this with the clustering properties for arbitrary finite temperatures $β^{-1}$. We explicitly show an efficient algorithm that approximates the partition fu…
Rapid mixing of Gibbs samplers via quantum Dobrushin--Shlosman conditions
Inria, Télécom Paris, LTCI, Institut Polytechnique de Paris（法国国家信息与自动化研究所，巴黎高等电信学校，信息与通信学院，巴黎理工学院）；Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Copenhagen（哥本哈根大学数学科学系）
Given a quantum Hamiltonian, we explain how the dynamical properties of the underlying classical system affect the behaviour of quantum eigenstates in the semi-classical limit. We study this problem via the notion of semiclassical measures. We mostly focus on two opposite dynamical paradigms: completely integrable systems and chaotic ones. We recall standard tools from microlocal analysis and from dynamical systems. We show how to use them in order to illustrate the classical-quantum correspondance and to compare properties of completely integrable and chaotic systems.
We give through pseudodifferential operator calculus a proof that the quantum dynamics of a class of infinite harmonic crystals becomes ergodic and mixing with respect to the quantum Gibbs measure if the classical infinite dynamics is respectively ergodic and mixing with respect to the classical infinite Gibbs measure. The classical ergodicity and mixing properties are recovered as $\hbar\to 0$, and the infinitely many particles limits of the quantum Gibbs averages are proved to be the averages over a classical infinite Gibbs measure of the symbols generating the quantum observables under Weyl…
We present an algorithm for doing Gibbs sampling on a quantum computer. The algorithm combines phase estimation for a Szegedy operator, and Grover's algorithm. For any $ε>0$, the algorithm will sample a probability distribution in ${\cal O}(\frac{1}{\sqrtδ})$ steps with precision ${\cal O}(ε)$. Here $δ$ is the distance between the two largest eigenvalue magnitudes of the transition matrix of the Gibbs Markov chain used in the algorithm. It takes ${\cal O}(\frac{1}δ)$ steps to achieve the same precision if one does Gibbs sampling on a classical computer.
Gibbs paradox in the context of statistical mechanics addresses the issue of additivity of entropy of mixing gases. The usual discussion attributes the paradoxical situation to classical distinguishability of identical particles and credits quantum theory for enabling indistinguishability of identical particles to solve the problem. We argue that indistinguishability of identical particles is already a feature in classical mechanics and this is clearly brought out when the problem is treated in the language of information and associated entropy. We pinpoint the physical criteria for indistingu…
In this brief note, we compare two frameworks for characterizing possible operations in quantum thermodynamics. One framework considers Thermal Operations---unitaries which conserve energy. The other framework considers all maps which preserve the Gibbs state at a given temperature. Thermal Operations preserve the Gibbs state; hence a natural question which arises is whether the two frameworks are equivalent. Classically, this is true---Gibbs-Preserving Maps are no more powerful than Thermal Operations. Here, we show that this no longer holds in the quantum regime: a Gibbs-Preserving Map can g…
Schrödinger suggested that thermodynamical functions cannot be based on the gratuitous allegation that quantum-mechanical levels (typically the orthogonal eigenstates of the Hamiltonian operator) are the only allowed states for a quantum system [E. Schrödinger, Statistical Thermodynamics (Courier Dover, Mineola, 1967)]. Different authors have interpreted this statement by introducing density distributions on the space of quantum pure states with weights obtained as functions of the expectation value of the Hamiltonian of the system. In this work we focus on one of the best known of these distr…
We experimentally studied evolution of quasi-eigenmodes as classical dynamics undergoing a transition from being regular to chaotic in open quantum billiards. In a deformation-variable microcavity we traced all high-Q cavity modes in a wide range of frequency as the cavity deformation increased. By employing an internal parameter we were able to obtain a mode-dynamics diagram at a given deformation, showing avoided crossings between different mode groups, and could directly observe the coupling strengths induced by ray chaos among encountering modes. We also show that the observed mode-dynamic…
Provable Quantum-Classical Separation for Continuous Gibbs Sampling
Irréversible Inc.（不可逆公司）；Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学量子计算研究所）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo（滑铁卢大学物理与天文学系）；Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics（圆周理论物理研究所）；National Research Council Canada（加拿大国家研究委员会）
We extend the notion of the Eigenstate Thermalization Hypothesis (ETH) to Open Quantum Systems governed by the Gorini-Kossakowski-Lindblad-Sudarshan (GKLS) Master Equation. We present evidence that the eigenstates of non-equilibrium steady state (NESS) density matrices obey a generalization of ETH in boundary-driven systems when the bulk Hamiltonian is non-integrable, just as eigenstates of Gibbs density matrices are conjectured to do in equilibrium. This generalized ETH, which we call NESS-ETH, can be used to obtain representative pure states that reproduce the expectation values of few-body …
This paper introduces Quibbs v1.3, a Java application available for free. (Source code included in the distribution.) Quibbs is a "code generator" for quantum Gibbs sampling: after the user inputs some files that specify a classical Bayesian network, Quibbs outputs a quantum circuit for performing Gibbs sampling of that Bayesian network on a quantum computer. Quibbs implements an algorithm described in earlier papers, that combines various apple pie techniques such as: an adaptive fixed-point version of Grover's algorithm, Szegedy operators, quantum phase estimation and quantum multiplexors.
The accurate computation of Hamiltonian ground, excited, and thermal states on quantum computers stands to impact many problems in the physical and computer sciences, from quantum simulation to machine learning. Given the challenges posed in constructing large-scale quantum computers, these tasks should be carried out in a resource-efficient way. In this regard, existing techniques based on phase estimation or variational algorithms display potential disadvantages; phase estimation requires deep circuits with ancillae, that are hard to execute reliably without error correction, while variation…
Efficient and simple Gibbs state preparation of the 2D toric code via duality to classical Ising chains
Universidad Complutense de Madrid（马德里康普顿斯大学）；Instituto de Ciencias Matemáticas（数学科学研究院）；Universität Tübingen（蒂宾根大学）；University of Cambridge（剑桥大学）；IBM Quantum, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center（IBM量子，IBM托马斯·J·沃森研究中心）；Ghent University（根特大学）
