A quantum circuit is generalized to a nonunitary one whose constituents are nonunitary gates operated by quantum measurement. It is shown that a specific type of one-qubit nonunitary gates, the controlled-NOT gate, as well as all one-qubit unitary gates constitute a universal set of gates for the nonunitary quantum circuit, without the necessity of introducing ancilla qubits. A reversing measurement scheme is used to improve the probability of successful nonunitary gate operation. A quantum NAND gate and Abrams-Lloyd's nonlinear gate are analyzed as examples. Our nonunitary circuit can be used to reduce the qubit overhead needed to ensure fault-tolerant quantum computation.
We show that the integrable Lindblad superoperators found recently can be used to build integrable nonunitary quantum circuits with two-site gates by demonstrating that the $\check{R}$-matrices are completely positive and trace preserving. Using the bond-site transformation, we obtain the corresponding integrable nonunitary quantum circuits with three-site gates. When restricted to the diagonals of the density matrix, these quantum models reduce to integrable classical cellular automata. This approach may pave the way for a systematic construction of integrable nonunitary quantum circuits.
Simulation of quantum matters is a significant application of quantum computers. In contrast to the unitary operation which can be realized naturally on a quantum computer, the implementation of nonunitary operation, widely used in classical approaches, needs special designing. Here, by application of Grover's algorithm, we extend the probabilistic method of implementing nonunitary operation and show that it can promote success probability without fidelity decreasing. This method can be applied to problems of imaginary time evolution and contraction of tensor networks on a quantum computer.
Feynman, in 1982, proposed the idea of using a quantum simulator to perform quantum simulations. A quantum simulator is basically a controllable quantum system that can mimic the dynamics of other quantum systems we wish to study. In this thesis we investigate some aspects of quantum simulation using both unitary and nonunitary controls. In the unitary part, we experimentally simulated the phenomenon of quantum many-body freezing, and also developed a general protocol to decompose an arbitrary unitary operator. In the nonunitary part, we studied phase decoherence by artificially inducing it. W…
Practical implementations of quantum computing are always done in the presence of decoherence. Geometric phase is useful in the context of quantum computing as a tool to achieve fault tolerance. Recent experimental progresses on coherent control of single electron have suggested that electron in quantum dot systems is a promising candidate of qubit in future quantum information processing devices. In this paper, by considering a feasible quantum dot model, we calculate the geometric phase of the quantum dot system in nonunitary evolution and investigate the effect of environment parameters on …
We explicitly construct an integrable and strongly interacting dissipative quantum circuit via a trotterization of the Hubbard model with imaginary interaction strength. To prove integrability, we build an inhomogeneous transfer matrix, from which conserved superoperator charges can be derived, in particular, the circuit's dynamical generator. After showing the trace preservation and complete positivity of local maps, we reinterpret them as the Kraus representation of the local dynamics of free fermions with single-site dephasing. The integrability of the map is broken by adding interactions t…
We propose and analyze a nonunitary variant of the continuous time Grover search algorithm based on frequent Zeno-type measurements. We show that the algorithm scales similarly to the pure quantum version by deriving tight analytical lower bounds on its efficiency for arbitrary database sizes and measurement parameters. We also study the behavior of the algorithm subject to noise, and find that under certain oracle and operational errors our measurement-based algorithm outperforms the standard algorithm, showing robustness against these noises. Our analysis is based on deriving a non-hermitian…
Irreversible logic is at odds with unitary quantum evolution. Emulating such operations by classical measurements can result in disturbances and high resource demands. To overcome these limitations, we propose protocols that harness dissipation to realize the nonunitary evolution required for irreversible gate operations. Using additional excited states subject to decay, we engineer effective decay processes that perform the desired gate operations on the smallest stable Hilbert space. These operate deterministically and in an autonomous fashion, without the need for measurements. We exemplify…
An indirect quantum state measurement process is under investigation. Common evolution of detector's microscopic part (pointer) and measured system (target) is considered to be nonunitary due to the interaction between pointer and environment. System of differential equations for superoperators, which map initial target state to it's conditional final state is obtained. Developed formalism is applied to the problem of cavity quantum mode photodetection to investigate basic information characteristics of this measurement process.
We discuss a class of quantum speed limits (QSLs) based on unified quantum ($α,μ$)-entropy for nonunitary physical processes. The bounds depend on both the Schatten speed and the smallest eigenvalue of the evolved state, and the two-parametric unified entropy. We specialize these results to quantum channels and non-Hermitian evolutions. In the first case, the QSL depends on the Kraus operators related to the quantum channel, while in the second case the speed limit is recast in terms of the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. To illustrate these findings, we consider a single-qubit state evolving under…
Geometric phases, arising from cyclic evolutions in a curved parameter space, appear in a wealth of physical settings. Recently, and largely motivated by the need of an experimentally realistic definition for quantum computing applications, the quantum geometric phase was generalized to open systems. The definition takes a kinematical approach, with an initial state that is evolved cyclically but coupled to an environment --- leading to a correction of the geometric phase with respect to the uncoupled case. We obtain this correction by measuring the nonunitary evolution of the reduced density …
Temporal steering and violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality are two different ways of probing the violation of macro-realistic assumptions in quantum mechanics. It is shown here that under unitary evolution and projective measurements the two types of temporal correlations lead to similar results. However, their inequivalence may be exhibited if either one of them is relaxed, i.e., by employing either generalized measurements, or noisy evolution, as we show here using relevant examples.
We report the experimental detection of bulk topological invariants in nonunitary discrete-time quantum walks with single photons. The nonunitarity of the quantum dynamics is enforced by periodically performing partial measurements on the polarization of the walker photon, which effectively introduces loss to the dynamics. The topological invariant of the nonunitary quantum walk is manifested in the quantized average displacement of the walker, which is probed by monitoring the photon loss. We confirm the topological properties of the system by observing localized edge states at the boundary o…
We consider a scalar quantum field theory, in which the interaction takes the form of a field cutoff; the energy diverges to infinity whenever the value of the field at some point falls outside a finite interval. In a simple (1+1)-dimensional version of this theory, we may calculate the results of certain scattering processes exactly. The main feature of the nontrivial solutions is the appearance of shock fronts, whose time development is irreversible. The resulting nonunitarity implies that these theories are, at a minimum, radically different from conventional quantum field theories.
We first discuss the geometrical construction and the main mathematical features of the maximum-entropy-production/steepest-entropy-ascent nonlinear evolution equation proposed long ago by this author in the framework of a fully quantum theory of irreversibility and thermodynamics for a single isolated or adiabatic particle, qubit, or qudit, and recently rediscovered by other authors. The nonlinear equation generates a dynamical group, not just a semigroup, providing a deterministic description of irreversible conservative relaxation towards equilibrium from any non-equilibrium density operato…
The problem of unambiguously distinguishing among nonorthogonal but linearly independent quantum states can be solved by mapping the set of nonorthogonal quantum states onto a set of orthogonal ones, which can then be distinguished without error. Such nonunitary transformations can be performed conditionally on quantum systems; a unitary transformation is carried out on a larger system of which the system of interest is a subsytem, a measurement is performed, and if the proper result is obtained, the desired nonunitary transformation will have been performed on the subsystem. We show how to co…
We explore the nonunitary dynamics of $(2+1)$-dimensional free fermions and show that the obtained steady state is critical regardless the strength of the nonunitary evolution. Numerical results indicate that the entanglement entropy has a logarithmic violation of the area-law and the mutual information between two distant regions decays as a power-law function. In particular, we provide an interpretation of these scaling behaviors in terms of a simple quasiparticle pair picture. In addition, we study the dynamics of the correlation function and demonstrate that this system has dynamical expon…
The localization of a quantum state is numerically exhibited in a nonunitary Newtonian model for gravity. It is shown that an unlocalized state of a ball of mass just above the expected threshold of 10^11 proton masses evolves into a mixed state with vanishing coherences above some localization lengths.
The Yang-Lee edge singularity is a quintessential nonunitary critical phenomenon accompanied by anomalous scaling laws. However, an imaginary magnetic field involved in this critical phenomenon makes its physical implementation difficult. By invoking the quantum-classical correspondence to embed the Yang-Lee edge singularity in a quantum system with an ancilla qubit, we demonstrate a physical realization of the nonunitary quantum criticality in an open quantum system. Here the nonunitary criticality is identified with the singularity at an exceptional point caused by postselection of quantum m…
The problem of geometric phase for an open quantum system is reinvestigated in a unifying approach. Two of existing methods to define geometric phase, one by Uhlmann's approach and the other by kinematic approach, which have been considered to be distinct, are shown to be related in this framework. The method is based upon purification of a density matrix by its uniform decomposition and a generalization of the parallel transport condition obtained from this decomposition. It is shown that the generalized parallel transport condition can be satisfied when Uhlmann's condition holds. However, it…
Aim of this work is to calculate explicitly the result of the experiment of superposition of a mirror in the Michelson photon cavities interferometric device proposed by Marshall, Simon, Penrose and Bownmeester, as expected within a recently proposed model of non-unitary self-gravity inducing localization. As for other proposals of modifications of Quantum Mechanics in a non-unitary sense, aimed to account for both unitary evolution and irreversible collapse, like in the famous Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber and Pearle's models, it turns out that, for the experimental parameters proposed, no effect is …
We consider a collapsing relativistic spherical shell for a free quantum field. Once the center of the wavefunction of the shell passes a certain radius R, the degrees of freedom inside R are traced over. We show that an observer outside this region will determine that the evolution of the system is nonunitary. We argue that this phenomenon is generic to entangled systems, and discuss a possible relation to black hole physics.
We demonstrate characterizing quantum evolutions via matrix factorization algorithm, a particular type of the recommender system (RS). A system undergoing a quantum evolution can be characterized in several ways. Here we choose (i) quantum correlations quantified by measures such as entropy, negativity, or discord, and (ii) state-fidelity. Using quantum registers with up to 10 qubits, we demonstrate that an RS can efficiently characterize both unitary and nonunitary evolutions. After carrying out a detailed performance analysis of the RS in two qubits, we show that it can be used to distinguis…
We describe the decoherence process induced on a two-level quantum system in direct interaction with a non-equilibrium environment. The non-equilibrium feature is represented by a non-stationary random function corresponding to the fluctuating transition frequency between two quantum states coupled to the surroundings. In this framework, we compute the decoherence factors which have a characteristic "dip" related to the initial phases of the bath modes. We therefore study different types of environments, namely ohmic and supra-ohmic. These environments present different decoherence time-scales…
Unitary transformations are routinely modeled and implemented in the field of quantum optics. In contrast, nonunitary transformations that can involve loss and gain require a different approach. In this theory work, we present a universal method to deal with nonunitary networks. An input to the method is an arbitrary linear transformation matrix of optical modes that does not need to adhere to bosonic commutation relations. The method constructs a transformation that includes the network of interest and accounts for full quantum optical effects related to loss and gain. Furthermore, through a …
Usually models for quantum computations deal with unitary gates on pure states. In this paper we generalize the usual model. We consider a model of quantum computations in which the state is an operator of density matrix and the gates are quantum operations, not necessarily unitary. A mixed state (operator of density matrix) of n two-level quantum systems is considered as an element of $4^{n}$-dimensional operator Hilbert space. Unitary quantum gates and nonunitary quantum operations for n-qubit system are considered as generalized quantum gates acting on mixed state. In this paper we study un…
In this report, we study the reduced conditional dynamics of a quantum system in the case of indirect quantum measurement. The detectors microscopic part (pointer) interacts with the measured system (target) and the environment, which results in a nonunitary interaction between target and pointer. The quantum state evolution conditioned by the measurement result is under investigation. Particularly, we are interested in explicit analytical expressions for the conditional evolution superoperators and basic information characteristics of this measurement process, which is applied to the cavity m…
We demonstrate the conditional reversal of a weak (partial-collapse) quantum measurement on a photonic qubit. The weak quantum measurement causes a nonunitary transformation of a qubit which is subsequently reversed to the original state after a successful reversing operation. Both the weak measurement and the reversal operation are implemented linear optically. The state recovery fidelity, determined by quantum process tomography, is shown to be over 94% for partial-collapse strength up to 0.9. We also experimentally study information gain due to the weak measurement and discuss the role of t…
We show that both information erasure process and trace process can be realized by projective measurement. And a partial trace operation consists to a projective measurement on a subsystem. We show that a nonunitary operation will destroy the wave-behavior of a particle. We give a quantum manifestation of Maxwell's demon and give a quantum manifestation of the second law of therodynamics. We show that, considering the law of memontum-energy conversation, the evolution of a closed system should be unitary and the von Neumann entropy of the closed quantum system should be least.
In the abstract of~[Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 125}, 040601 (2020)] one can read that: [...]{\it to have a nonzero rate of change of the extractable work, the state $ρ_\mathcal{W}$ of the battery cannot be an eigenstate of a "free energy operator", defined by $\mathcal{F}=H_\mathcal{W}+β^{-1}\log ρ_\mathcal{W}$, where $H_\mathcal{W}$ is the Hamiltonian of the battery and $β$ is the inverse temperature} [...]. Contrarily to what is presented below Eq.~(17) of the paper, we observe that the above conclusion does not hold when the battery is subject to nonunitary dynamics.
Realistic dynamical theories of measurement based on the diffusion of quantum states are nonunitary, whereas quantum field theory and its generalizations are unitary. This problem in the quantum field theory of quantum state diffusion (QSD) appears already in the Lagrangian formulation of QSD as a classical equation of motion, where Liouville's theorem does not apply to the usual field theory formulation. This problem is resolved here by doubling the number of freedoms used to represent a quantum field. The space of quantum fields is then a classical configuration space, for which volume need …
We introduce unitary quantum gates for photon pair creation in spontaneous parametric down-conversion nonlinear crystals (NLs) and for photon path alignment. These are the two key ingredients for the method of "induced coherence without induced emission" and many ensuing variations thereof. The difficulty in doing so stems from an apparent mixing of the mode picture (such as the polarization of photons) and the Fock picture (such as the existence of the photons). We illustrate utility of these gates by obtaining quantum circuits for the experimental setups of the frustrated generation of photo…
