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Simulating non-equilibrium phenomena in strongly-interacting quantum many-body systems, including thermalization, is a promising application of near-term and future quantum computation. By performing experiments on a digital quantum computer consisting of fully-connected optically-controlled trapped ions, we study the role of entanglement in the thermalization dynamics of a Z2 lattice gauge theory in 2+1 spacetime dimensions. Using randomized-measurement protocols, we efficiently learn a classical approximation of non-equilibrium states that yields the gap-ratio distribution and the spectral form factor of the entanglement Hamiltonian. These observables exhibit universal early-time signals for quantum chaos, a prerequisite for thermalization. Our work, therefore, establishes quantum computers as robust tools for studying universal features of thermalization in complex many-body systems, including in gauge theories.
Probing quantum many-body systems while undergoing thermalisation is challenging, especially when looking for signatures of ergodicity and quantum chaos. Here, the authors study a lattice gauge theory in 2+1 dimensions using a trapped-ion-based universal digital quantum computer, unveiling the role of entanglement in the thermalization dynamics.
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; Wang, Tianyi 2 ; Katz, Or 3 ; Davoudi, Zohreh 4
; Cetina, Marko 5
1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico, Center for Quantum Information and Control, Albuquerque, USA (GRID:grid.266832.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 8502); Department of Physics, University of Washington, InQubator for Quantum Simulation (IQuS), Seattle, USA (GRID:grid.34477.33) (ISNI:0000 0001 2298 6657)
2 Duke University, Department of Physics, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Duke University, Duke Quantum Center, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); University of Maryland, College Park, The NSF Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.164295.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0941 7177)
3 Duke University, Duke Quantum Center, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Cornell University, School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Ithaca, USA (GRID:grid.5386.8) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 877X)
4 University of Maryland, College Park, The NSF Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.164295.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0941 7177); University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Physics and Maryland Center for Fundamental Physics, Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.164295.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0941 7177); NIST and University of Maryland, College Park, Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.509516.e); University of Maryland, College Park, National Quantum Laboratory (QLab), Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.164295.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0941 7177)
5 Duke University, Department of Physics, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Duke University, Duke Quantum Center, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); University of Maryland, College Park, The NSF Institute for Robust Quantum Simulation, Maryland, USA (GRID:grid.164295.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0941 7177); Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961)