This is a semi-popular overview of quantum entanglement as an important physical resource in the field of data security and quantum computing. After a brief outline of entanglement's key role in philosophical debates about the meaning of quantum mechanics I describe its current impact on both cryptography and cryptanalysis. The paper is based on the lecture given at the conference "Geometric Issues in the Foundations of Science" (Oxford, June 1996) in honor of Roger Penrose.
Entanglement is a key issue in the quantum physics which gives rise to resources for achieving tasks that are not possible within the realm of classical physics. Quantum entanglement varies with the evolution of the quantum systems. It is of significance to investigate the entanglement dynamics in terms of quantum channels. We study the entanglement-breaking channels and present the necessary and sufficient conditions for a quantum channel to an entanglement-breaking one for qubit systems. Furthermore, a concept of strong entanglement-breaking channel is introduced. The amendment of entangleme…
We characterise Gaussian quantum channels that are Gaussian incompatibility breaking, that is, transform every set of Gaussian measurements into a set obtainable from a joint Gaussian observable via Gaussian postprocessing. Such channels represent local noise which renders measurements useless for Gaussian EPR-steering, providing the appropriate generalisation of entanglement breaking channels for this scenario. Understanding the structure of Gaussian incompatibility breaking channels contributes to the resource theory of noisy continuous variable quantum information protocols.
Quantum discord-breaking channels were previously defined as the local channels that act on subsystem $A$ to produce classical-quantum states across system $AB$. However, unlike entanglement, discord is asymmetric. Here, we characterise the discord-breaking channels that act on subsystem $B$, thus completing the overall description of discord-breaking channels. We then introduce the notion of discord-annihilating channels, which act globally on system $AB$ to destroy quantum discord, and find their closed form. Discord-annihilating channels have clear operational description, involving subspac…
In this work spontaneous (non-dynamical) breaking (effective hiding) of the unitary quantum mechanical dynamical symmetry (superposition) is considered. It represents an especial but very interesting case of the general formalism of the spontaneous symmetry breaking (effective hiding). Conceptual analogies with spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry in Weinberg-Sallam's electro-weak interaction are pointed out. Also, consequences of the spontaneous superposition breaking in the measurement process are discussed. Measurement can be considered as a typical Landau's continuous phase transitio…
Marshall et al. gedanken experiment of the quantum superpposition of a mirror (oscilating part of a Michelson interferometer) interacting with single photon is consequently interpreted by relative decoherence.Such relative decoherence (based on the spontaneous superposition breaking (effective hiding)) on the photon (quantum object) caused by mirror (measurement device) is sufficient to model real measurement.
It is shown that spontaneous symmetry breaking does not modify the ground-state entanglement of two spins, as defined by the concurrence, in the XXZ- and the transverse field Ising-chain. Correlation function inequalities, valid in any dimensions for these models, are presented outlining the regimes where entanglement is unaffected by spontaneous symmetry breaking.
In this dissertation, we study the implications generated by the Lorentz breaking symmetry in quantum electrodynamics. We analyze fermions interacting with an electromagnetic field in the contexts of quantum mechanics and make radiative corrections. In quantum mechanics, the terms of the Lorentz breaking symmetry were treated as perturbations to the Dirac equation, and their expected values were obtained in a vacuum. In the radiative corrections, the Lorentz breaking symmetry was introduced in this interaction for the Chern-Simons like term could be induced in (3 +1) dimensions. We also discus…
Using well known duality between quantum maps and states of composite systems we introduce the notion of Schmidt number of a quantum channel. It enables one to define classes of quantum channels which partially break quantum entanglement. These classes generalize the well known class of entanglement breaking channels.
Quantum channels breaking entanglement, incompatibility, or nonlocality are defined as such because they are not useful for entanglement-based, one-sided device-independent, or device-independent quantum information processing, respectively. Here, we show that such breaking channels are related to complementary tests of macrorealism i.e., temporal separability, channel unsteerability, temporal unsteerability, and the temporal Bell inequality. To demonstrate this we first define a steerability-breaking channel, which is conceptually similar to entanglement and nonlocality-breaking channels and …
The observation of genuine quantum effects in systems governed by non-Hermitian Hamiltonians has been an outstanding challenge in the field. Here we simulate the evolution under such Hamiltonians in the quantum regime on a superconducting quantum processor by using a dilation procedure involving an ancillary qubit. We observe the parity-time ($\mathcal{PT}$)-symmetry breaking phase transition at the exceptional points, obtain the critical exponent, and show that this transition is associated with a loss of state distinguishability. In a two-qubit setting, we show that the entanglement can be m…
We analyze quantum network primitives which are entanglement-breaking. We show superadditivity of quantum and classical capacity regions for quantum multiple-access channel and quantum butterfly network. Since the effects are especially visible at high noise they suggest that quantum information effects may be particularly helpful in the case of the networks with occasional high noise rates. To our knowledge the present effects provide the first qualitative borderline between superadditivities of bipartite and multipartite systems.
We show that for the tensor product of an entanglement-breaking quantum channel with an arbitrary quantum channel, both the minimum entropy of an output of the channel and the Holevo-Schumacher-Westmoreland capacity are additive. In addition, for the tensor product of two arbitrary quantum channels, we give a bound involving entanglement of formation for the amount of subadditivity (for minimum entropy output) or superadditivity (for channel capacity) that can occur.
A typical bipartite quantum protocol, such as EPR-steering, relies on two quantum features, entanglement of states and incompatibility of measurements. Noise can delete both of these quantum features. In this work we study the behavior of incompatibility under noisy quantum channels. The starting point for our investigation is the observation that compatible measurements cannot become incompatible by the action of any channel. We focus our attention to channels which completely destroy the incompatibility of various relevant sets of measurements. We call such channels incompatibility breaking,…
A quantum measuring instrument is constructed that utilises symmetry breaking to enhance a microscopic signal. The entire quantum system consists of a system-apparatus-environment triad that is composed of a small set of spin-1/2 particles. The apparatus is a ferromagnet that measures the $z$-component of a single spin. A full quantum many-body calculation allows for a careful examination of the loss of phase coherence, the formation and amplification of system-apparatus correlations, the irreversibility of registration, the fault tolerance, and the bias of the device.
By using numerical and semiclassical methods, we evaluate the quantum breaking, or Ehrenfest time for a wave packet localized around classical equilibrium points of autonomous one-dimensional systems with polynomial potentials. We find that the Ehrenfest time diverges logarithmically with the inverse of the Planck constant whenever the equilibrium point is exponentially unstable. For stable equilibrium points, we have a power law divergence with exponent determined by the degree of the potential near the equilibrium point.
A trapped-ion quantum tunneling rotor (QTR) is in a quantum superposition of two different Wigner crystal orientations. In a QTR system, quantum tunneling drives the coherent transition between the two different Wigner crystal orientations. We theoretically study the quantum dynamics of a QTR, particularly when the spin state of one of the ions is flipped. We show that the quantum dynamics of an $\it{N}$-ion QTR can be described by continuous-time cyclic quantum walks. We also investigate the quantum dynamics of the QTR in a magnetic field. Flipping the spin state breaks the rotational symmetr…
We propose a mechanism for system-induced spontaneous time reparametrization symmetry breaking in canonical gravity. We consider a model of extended canonical gravity, based on Sen's spinorial expression of the spatial-diffeomorphism-gauge independent part of the shift vector, with one additional long-range self-interacting massive spin-$1/2$ particle whose spin is coupled to Sen's spinor in the Hamiltonian. This additional particle plays the role of creating the system-induced time reparametrization invariant potential. We use this potential to break time reparametrization symmetry spontaneou…
The measurement process in quantum mechanics is usually described by the von Neumann projection postulate, which forms a basic constituent of the laws of quantum mechanics. Since this postulate requires the outside observer of the system, it is hard to apply quantum mechanics to the whole Universe. Therefore we propose that the quantum measurement process is actually a physical process associated with the ubiquitous mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking. Based on this proposal, we construct a quantum measurement model in which the von Neumann projection is described as the dynamical pro-c…
We discuss general properties of discrete time quantum symmetry breaking in degenerate parametric oscillators. Recent experiments in superconducting quantum circuit with Josephson junction nonlinearities give rise to new properties of strong parametric coupling and nonlinearities. Exact analytic solutions are obtained for the steady-state of this single-mode case of subharmonic generation. We also obtain analytic solutions for the tunneling time over which the time symmetry-breaking is lost above threshold. We find that additional anharmonic terms found in the superconducting case increase the…
One of the classical results concerning quantum channels is the characterization of entanglement-breaking channels [M. Horodecki et al., Rev. Math. Phys 15, 629 (2003)]. We address the question whether there exists a similar characterization on the level of quantum correlations which may go beyond entanglement. The answer is fully affirmative in the case of breaking quantum correlations down to the, so called, CQ (Classical-Quantum) type, and the corresponding channels turn out to be measurement maps, while it is no longer true in the CC (Classical-Classical) case. The study of the latter reve…
Entangled systems in experiments may be lost or offline in distributed quantum information processing. This inspires a general problem to characterize quantum operations which result in breaking of entanglement or not. Our goal in this work is to solve this problem both in single entanglement and network scenarios. We firstly propose a local model for characterizing all entangled states that are breaking for losing particles. This implies a simple criterion for witnessing single entanglement such as generalized GHZ states and Dicke states. It further provides an efficient witness for entangled…
We present an input/output analysis of photon-correlation experiments whereby a quantum mechanically entangled bi-photon state interacts with a material sample placed in one arm of a Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) apparatus. We show that the output signal contains detailed information about subsequent entanglement with the microscopic quantum states in the sample. In particular, we apply the method to an ensemble of emitters interacting with a common photon mode within the open-system Dicke Model. Our results indicate considerable dynamical information concerning spontaneous symmetry breaking can be rev…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking has revolutionized the understanding in numerous fields of modern physics. Here, we theoretically demonstrate the spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking in a cavity quantum electrodynamics system in which an atomic ensemble interacts coherently with a single resonant cavity mode. The interacting system can be effectively described by two coupled oscillators with positive and negative mass when the two-level atoms are prepared in their excited states. The occurrence of symmetry breaking is controlled by the atomic detuning and the coupling to the cavity mode, …
We propose a quantum sensing scheme for measuring weak forces based on a symmetry-breaking adiabatic transition in the quantum Rabi model. We show that the system described by the Rabi Hamiltonian can serve as a sensor for extremely weak forces with sensitivity beyond the yN $/\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ range. We propose an implementation of this sensing protocol using a single trapped ion. A major advantage of our scheme is that the force detection is performed by projective measurement of the population of the spin states at the end of the transition, instead of the far slower phonon number measureme…
The security of quantum key distribution relies on the validity of quantum mechanics as a description of nature and on the non-existence of leaky degrees of freedom in the practical implementations. We experimentally demonstrate how, in some implementations, timing information revealed during public discussion between the communicating parties can be used by an eavesdropper to undetectably access a significant portion of the ``secret'' key.
Originated from the superposition principle in quantum mechanics, coherence has been extensively studied as a kind important resource in quantum information processing. We investigate the distinguishability of coherence-breaking channels with the help of quantum entanglement. By explicitly computing the minimal error probability of channel discrimination, it is shown that entanglement can enhance the capacity of coherence-breaking channel distinguishability with same types for some cases while cannot enhanced for some other cases. For coherence-breaking channels with different types, the chann…
We investigate entanglement breaking times of Markovian evolutions in discrete and continuous time. In continuous time, we characterize which Markovian evolutions are eventually entanglement breaking, that is, evolutions for which there is a finite time after which any entanglement initially present has been destroyed by the noisy evolution. In the discrete time framework, we consider the entanglement breaking index, that is, the number of times a quantum channel has to be composed with itself before it becomes entanglement breaking. The PPT-square conjecture is that every PPT quantum channel …
We propose an experimental method for extracting the zero-point energy from a local vacuum state by performing local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We model a quantum Hall edge channel as a quantum entangled many-body channel and the zero-point fluctuation in the charge density of the channel as the vacuum state. We estimate the order of the energy gain using reasonable experimental parameters. Such a quantum feedback system breaks the passivity of a local vacuum state. It can be used to demonstrate Maxwell's demon or quantum energy teleportation in which no physical entity tra…
The ability of quantum devices to preserve or distribute entanglement is essential in employing quantum technologies. Such ability is described and guaranteed by the nonentanglement-breaking (nonEB) feature of participating quantum channels. For quantum information applications relying on entanglement, the certification of the nonEB feature is thus indispensable in designing, testing, and benchmarking quantum devices. Here, we develop a direct and operational approach for the certification of nonEB quantum channels. By utilizing the prepare-and-measure test, we derive a necessary and sufficien…
We formulate Grover's unstructured search algorithm as a chiral quantum walk, where transitioning in one direction has a phase conjugate to transitioning in the opposite direction. For small phases, this breaking of time-reversal symmetry is too small to significantly affect the evolution: the system still approximately evolves in its ground and first excited states, rotating to the marked vertex in time $π\sqrt{N} / 2$. Increasing the phase does not change the runtime, but rather changes the support for the 2D subspace, so the system evolves in its first and second excited states, or its seco…
Quantum annealing solves combinatorial optimization problems by finding the energetic ground states of an embedded Hamiltonian. However, quantum annealing dynamics under the embedded Hamiltonian may violate the principles of adiabatic evolution and generate excitations that correspond to errors in the computed solution. Here we empirically benchmark the probability of chain breaks and identify sweet spots for solving a suite of embedded Hamiltonians. We further correlate the physical location of chain breaks in the quantum annealing hardware with the underlying embedding technique and use thes…
Non-Abelian String-Breaking Dynamics on a Qudit Quantum Computer
Universität Innsbruck（因斯布鲁克大学）；Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences（奥地利科学院量子光学与量子信息研究所）；Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck（因斯布鲁克大学理论物理研究所）；Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid（马德里自治大学-西班牙国家科学研究委员会理论物理研究所）
The mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking in quantum systems is briefly reviewed, rectifying part of the standard wisdom on logical and mathematical grounds. The crucial role of the localization properties of the time evolution for the conclusion of the Goldstone theorem is emphasized.
We show that no matter how slowly a quantum-to-classical symmetry breaking process is driven, the adiabatic limit can never be reached in a macroscopic body. Massive defect formation preempts an adiabatic quantum-classical crossover and triggers the appearance of a symmetric non-equilibrium state that recursively collapses into the classical state, breaking the symmetry at punctured times. The presence of this state allows the quantum-classical transition to be investigated and controlled in mesoscopic devices by supplying externally the proper dynamical symmetry breaking perturbation.
We study symmetry breaking at the Dicke quantum phase transition by coupling a motional degree of freedom of a Bose-Einstein condensate to the field of an optical cavity. Using an optical heterodyne detection scheme we observe symmetry breaking in real-time and distinguish the two superradiant phases. We explore the process of symmetry breaking in the presence of a small symmetry-breaking field, and study its dependence on the rate at which the critical point is crossed. Coherent switching between the two ordered phases is demonstrated.
We study the breaking of the discrete time-translation symmetry in small periodically driven quantum systems. Such systems are intermediate between large closed systems and small dissipative systems, which both display the symmetry breaking, but have qualitatively different dynamics. As a nontrivial example we consider period tripling in a quantum nonlinear oscillator. We show that, for moderately strong driving, the period tripling is robust on an exponentially long time scale, which is further extended by an even weak decoherence.
Error Threshold of SYK Codes from Strong-to-Weak Parity Symmetry Breaking
University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校）；Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory（劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）
Ergodicity breaking is observed in the blockade regime of Rydberg atoms arrays, in the form of low entanglement eigenstates known as scars, which fail to thermalize. The signature of these states persists in periodically driven systems, where they coexist with an extensive number of chaotic states. Here we investigate a quantum cellular automaton based on the classical rule that updates a site if its two neighbors are in the lower state. We show that the breaking of ergodicity extends to chaotic states. The dynamical breaking of ergodicity is controlled by chiral quasiparticle excitations whic…
Using the quantum analog of conditional probability and classical Bayes theorem we discuss some aspects of quantum-classical and classical-classical channels in connection to the recent paper J. Korbicz, P. Horodecki, and R. Horodecki, "Quantum-correlation breaking channels, broadcasting scenarios, and finite Markov chains". Applying the quantum analog of Perron-Frobenius theorem we generalize the result of Korbicz et. al. on full and spectrum broadcasting from quantum-classical channels to arbitrary channels.
Quantum adiabatic evolution, an important fundamental concept inphysics, describes the dynamical evolution arbitrarily close to the instantaneous eigenstate of a slowly driven Hamiltonian. In most systems undergoing spontaneous symmetry-breaking transitions, their two lowest eigenstates change from non-degenerate to degenerate. Therefore, due to the corresponding energy-gap vanishes, the conventional adiabatic condition becomes invalid. Here we explore the existence of quantum adiabatic evolutions in spontaneous symmetry-breaking transitions and derive a symmetry-dependent adiabatic condition.…
Quantum mechanics still provides new unexpected effects when considering the transport of energy and information. Models of continuous time quantum walks, which implicitly use time-reversal symmetric Hamiltonians, have been intensely used to investigate the effectiveness of transport. Here we show how breaking time-reversal symmetry of the unitary dynamics in this model can enable directional control, enhancement, and suppression of quantum transport. Examples ranging from exciton transport to complex networks are presented. This opens new prospects for more efficient methods to transport ener…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) is responsible for structure formation in scenarios ranging from condensed matter to cosmology. SSB is broadly understood in terms of perturbations to the Hamiltonian governing the dynamics or to the state of the system. We study SSB due to quantum monitoring of a system via continuous quantum measurements. The acquisition of information during the measurement process induces a measurement back-action that seeds SSB. In this setting, by monitoring different observables, an observer can tailor the topology of the vacuum manifold, the pattern of symmetry break…
We study the effect of Kerr anharmonicity on the symmetry breaking phenomena of coupled quantum oscillators. We study two types of symmetry-breaking processes, namely the inhomogeneous steady state (or quantum oscillation death state) and quantum chimera state. Remarkably, it is found that Kerr nonlinearity hinders the process of symmetry-breaking in both the cases. We establish our results using direct simulation of quantum master equation and analysis of the stochastic semiclassical model. Interestingly, in the case of quantum oscillation death, an increase in the strength of Kerr nonlineari…
We investigate the nature of quantum entanglement in long-range orders and spontaneous symmetry breaking. It is shown that diminishing of entanglement between the condensate mode and the rest of the system underlies off-diagonal long-range order, which is the hallmark of superconductivity and Bose-Einstein condensation. It is also revealed that disentanglement underlies various cases of long-range order and spontaneous symmetry breaking. In the course of the discussion, we also present some ideas on characterizing entanglement in many-body systems. Especially, it is shown how the connected cor…
We prove that Kilian's four-message succinct argument system is post-quantum secure in the standard model when instantiated with any probabilistically checkable proof and any collapsing hash function (which in turn exist based on the post-quantum hardness of Learning with Errors). This yields the first post-quantum succinct argument system from any falsifiable assumption. At the heart of our proof is a new quantum rewinding procedure that enables a reduction to repeatedly query a quantum adversary for accepting transcripts as many times as desired. Prior techniques were limited to a constant n…
The RSA cryptosystem could be easily broken with large scale general purpose quantum computers running Shor's factorization algorithm. Being such devices still in their infancy, a quantum annealing approach to integer factorization has recently gained attention. In this work, we analyzed the most promising strategies for RSA hacking via quantum annealing with an extensive study of the low noise D-Wave 2000Q computational times, current hardware limitations and challenges for future developments.
Quantum noise is ubiquitous to quantum systems as they incessantly interact with their surroundings and results in degrading useful resources such as coherence for single quantum systems and quantum correlations for multipartite systems. Given the importance of these resources in various quantum information processing protocols, it is of utmost importance to characterize how deteriorating is a particular noise scenario (quantum channel) in reference to a certain resource? Here we develop a theory of coherence breaking channels for single quantum systems. Any quantum channel on a single quantum…
Using the remarkable mathematical construct of Eugene Wigner to visualize quantum trajectories in phase space, quantum processes can be described in terms of a quasi-probability distribution analogous to the phase space probability distribution of the classical realm. In contrast to the incomplete glimpse of the wave function that is achievable in a single shot experiment, the Wigner distribution, accessible by quantum state tomography, reflects the full quantum state. We show that during the fundamental symmetry-breaking process of a generic quantum system - with a symmetry breaking field dri…
We investigate the effect of quantum noise on the measurement-induced quantum phase transition in monitored random quantum circuits. Using the efficient simulability of random Clifford circuits, we find that the transition is broadened into a crossover and that the phase diagram as a function of projective measurements and noise exhibits several distinct regimes. We show that a mapping to a classical statistical mechanics problem accounts for the main features of the random circuit phase diagram. The bulk noise maps to an explicit permutation symmetry breaking coupling; this symmetry is sponta…
Spontaneous symmetry breaking originats in quantum mechanical measurement of the relevant observable defining the physical situation, order parameter is the average of this observable. A modification is made on the random-phase postulate validating the ensemble description. Off-diagonal long-range order, macroscopic wavefunction and interference effects in many-particle systems present when there is a so-called nucleation of quantum state, which is proposed to be the origin of spontaneous gauge symmetry breaking, for which nonconservation of particle number N is not essential. The approach bas…
By starting from the modified Maxwell theory coupled to gravity, the arising of geometric quantum phases in the relativistic and nonrelativistic quantum dynamics of a Dirac neutral particle from the effects of the violation of the Lorentz symmetry in the cosmic string spacetime is investigated. It is shown that the Dirac equation can be written in terms of an effective metric and a relativistic geometric phase stems from the topology of the cosmic string spacetime and the Lorentz symmetry breaking effects. Further, the nonrelativistic limit of the Dirac equation is discussed and it is shown th…
One necessary criterion for the thermalization of a nonequilibrium quantum many-particle system is ergodicity. It is, however, not sufficient in case where the asymptotic long-time state lies in a symmetry-broken phase but the initial state of nonequilibrium time evolution is fully symmetric with respect to this symmetry. In equilibrium one particular symmetry-broken state is chosen due to the presence of an infinitesimal symmetry-breaking perturbation. We study the analogous scenario from a dynamical point of view: Can an infinitesimal symmetry-breaking perturbation be sufficient for the syst…
