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At least 55 records · Page 3

Dipolar molecule emulator of lattice gauge theories (Final Report)

The quantum many-body problem is a great unsolved, cross-cutting challenge in physics that is of fundamental importance. Our understanding of phenomena related to dense quark matter, in particular, is challenged by this practical intractability of classical simulations. Because of the sheer cost and challenge of performing experiments that probe the length and energy scales relevant to such physics, there are practical motivations for finding theoretical methods to address the many-body problem. One promising approach is based on the use of a programmable and controllable analog quantum systems to emulate the physics of many-body problems of interest. While there are currently broad efforts to develop mid- to large-scale quantum computers, we are still likely many years away from such devices outperforming classical supercomputers for useful calculations. Even though digital quantum computers are still at a stage too premature for such tasks, approaches based on analog quantum simulators have advanced rapidly over the past two decades and can now treat many-body problems of interest on small- to medium-scale systems. Tackling the challenging many-body problems of relevance to high energy physics represents one of the great new opportunities and challenges for the field of analog quantum simulation. To address this challenge, this award brought together an interdisciplinary team of physicists with expertise in high energy theory (El-Khadra and Draper), computational and condensed matter physics (Clark), and experimental quantum and atomic, molecular, optical (AMO) science (DeMarco and Gadway), with the goal of developing realistic and optimized strategies for the analog quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories using cold atoms and molecules. This track 1 project included both theoretical and experimental goals, stated as follows. The theory goals were to "develop and verify a novel approach to quantum emulation of (1+1)d quantum link models, based on arrays of trapped quantum spins with long-range interactions." This final project report details the progress made under this award, as well as new research directions developed under this award.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Analog-to-digital converter based on voltage-controlled superconducting devices

The increasing demand for cryogenic electronics in superconducting and quantum computing systems calls for ultra-energy-efficient data conversion architectures that remain functional at deep cryogenic temperatures. Here, in this work, we present the first design of a voltage-controlled superconducting flash analog-to-digital converter (ADC) based on a voltage-controlled quantum-enhanced Josephson junction field-effect transistor (JJFET). Exploiting its strong gate tunability and transistor-like behavior, the JJFET offers a scalable alternative to conventional current-controlled superconducting devices while aligning naturally with CMOS-style design methodologies. Building on our previously developed Verilog-A compact model calibrated to experimental data, we design and simulate a three-bit JJFET-based flash ADC targeted for integration within cryogenic control and readout circuitry in quantum computing. The core comparator block is realized through careful bias current selection and augmented with a three-terminal nanocryotron to precisely define reference voltages. Cascaded JJFET comparators ensure robust voltage gain, cascadability, and logic-level restoration across stages. Simulation results demonstrate accurate quantization behavior with ultra-low power dissipation, underscoring the feasibility of voltage-driven superconducting mixed-signal circuits. This work establishes a critical step toward unifying superconducting logic and data conversion, paving the way for scalable cryogenic architectures in quantum–classical co-processors, low-power artificial intelligence accelerators, and next-generation energy-constrained computing platforms.

Analog-to-digital converter↗

Thermodynamics and its prediction and CALPHAD modeling: Review, state of the art, and perspectives

Thermodynamics is a science concerning the state of a system, whether it is stable, metastable, or unstable, when interacting with its surroundings. The combined law of thermodynamics derived by Gibbs about 150 years ago laid the foundation of thermodynamics. In Gibbs combined law, the entropy production due to internal processes was not included, and the 2nd law was thus practically removed from the Gibbs combined law, so it is only applicable to systems under equilibrium, thus commonly termed as equilibrium or Gibbs thermodynamics. Gibbs further derived the classical statistical thermodynamics in terms of the probability of configurations in a system in the later 1800's and early 1900's. With the quantum mechanics (QM) developed in 1920's, the QM-based statistical thermodynamics was established and connected to classical statistical thermodynamics at the classical limit as shown by Landau in the 1940's. In 1960's the development of density functional theory (DFT) by Kohn and co-workers enabled the QM prediction of properties of the ground state of a system. On the other hand, the entropy production due to internal processes in non-equilibrium systems was studied separately by Onsager in 1930's and Prigogine and co-workers in the 1950's. In 1960's to 1970's the digitization of thermodynamics was developed by Kaufman in the framework of the CALculation of PHAse Diagrams (CALPHAD) modeling of individual phases with internal degrees of freedom. CALPHAD modeling of thermodynamics and atomic transport properties has enabled computational design of complex materials in the last 50 years. Our recently termed zentropy theory integrates DFT and statistical mechanics through the replacement of the internal energy of each individual configuration by its DFT-predicted free energy. The zentropy theory is capable of accurately predicting the free energy of individual phases, transition temperatures and properties of magnetic and ferroelectric materials with free energies of individual configurations solely from DFT-based calculations and without fitting parameters, and is being tested for other phenomena including superconductivity, quantum criticality, and black holes. Those predictions include the singularity at critical points with divergence of physical properties, negative thermal expansion, and the strongly correlated physics. Furthermore, those individual configurations may thus be considered as the genomic building blocks of individual phases in the spirit of the materials genome®. This has the potential to shift the paradigm of CALPHAD modeling from being heavily dependent on experimental inputs to becoming fully predictive with inputs solely from DFT-based calculations and machine learning models built on those calculations and existing experimental data through newly developed and future open-source tools. Furthermore, through the combined law of thermodynamics including the internal entropy production, it is shown that the kinetic coefficient matrix of independent internal processes is diagonal with respect to the conjugate potentials in the combined law, and the cross phenomena that the phenomenological Onsager flux and reciprocal relationships are due to the dependence of the conjugate potential of a molar quantity on nonconjugate molar quantities and other potentials, which can be predicted by the zentropy theory and CALPHAD modeling.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Towards string order melting of spin-1 particle chains in superconducting transmons using optimal control

Utilizing optimal control to simulate a model Hamiltonian is an emerging strategy that leverages the intrinsic physics of a device with digital quantum simulation methods. Here we evaluate optimal control for probing the nonequilibrium properties of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) states simulated with superconducting hardware. Assuming a tunable transmon architecture, we cast the evolution of these SPT states as a series of one- and two-site pulse optimization problems that are solved in the presence of leakage constraints. From the generated pulses, we classically simulate the time-dependent melting of the perturbed SPT string order across a six-site model with an average state infidelity of 10 -3 . The feasibility of these pulses as well as their efficient application indicate that high-fidelity simulations of string order melting are within reach of current quantum computing systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Fourth-order partial differential equation noise removal on welding images

Partial differential equation (PDE) has become one of the important topics in mathematics and is widely used in various fields. It can be used for image denoising in the image analysis field. In this paper, a fourth-order PDE is discussed and implemented as a denoising method on digital images. The fourth-order PDE is solved computationally using finite difference approach and then implemented on a set of digital radiographic images with welding defects. The performance of the discretized model is evaluated using Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). Simulation is carried out on the discretized model on different level of Gaussian noise in order to get the maximum PSNR value. The convergence criteria chosen to determine the number of iterations required is measured based on the highest PSNR value. Results obtained show that the fourth-order PDE model produced promising results as an image denoising tool compared with median filter.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Quantum simulations of hadron dynamics in the Schwinger model using 112 qubits

Hadron wave packets are prepared and time evolved in the Schwinger model using 112 qubits of IBM’s 133-qubit Heron quantum computer ibm_torino. The initialization of the hadron wave packet is performed in two steps. First, the vacuum is prepared across the whole lattice using the recently developed SC-ADAPT-VQE algorithm and workflow. SC-ADAPT-VQE is then extended to the preparation of localized states, and used to establish a hadron wave packet on top of the vacuum. This is done by adaptively constructing low-depth circuits that maximize the overlap with an adiabatically prepared hadron wave packet. Due to the localized nature of the wavepacket, these circuits can be determined on a sequence of small lattices using classical computers, and then robustly scaled to prepare wave packets on large lattices for simulations using quantum computers. Time evolution is implemented with a second-order Trotterization. To reduce both the required qubit connectivity and circuit depth, an approximate quasilocal interaction is introduced. This approximation is made possible by the emergence of confinement at long distances, and converges exponentially with increasing distance of the interactions. Using multiple error-mitigation strategies, up to 14 Trotter steps of time evolution are performed, employing 13,858 two-qubit gates (with a CNOT depth of 370). The propagation of hadrons is clearly identified, with results that compare favorably with Matrix Product State simulations. Finally, prospects for a near-term quantum advantage in simulations of hadron scattering are discussed.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Super-transient scaling in time-delay autonomous Boolean network motifs

Autonomous Boolean networks are commonly used to model the dynamics of gene regulatory networks and allow for the prediction of stable dynamical attractors. However, most models do not account for time delays along the network links and noise, which are crucial features of real biological systems. Concentrating on two paradigmatic motifs, the toggle switch and the repressilator, we develop an experimental testbed that explicitly includes both inter-node time delays and noise using digital logic elements on field-programmable gate arrays. We observe transients that last millions to billions of characteristic time scales and scale exponentially with the amount of time delays between nodes, a phenomenon known as super-transient scaling. We develop a hybrid model that includes time delays along network links and allows for stochastic variation in the delays. Using this model, we explain the observed super-transient scaling of both motifs and recreate the experimentally measured transient distributions.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A review of predictive nonlinear theories for multiscale modeling of heterogeneous materials

Since the beginning of the industrial age, material performance and design have been in the midst of innovation of many disruptive technologies. Today's electronics, space, medical, transportation, and other industries are enriched by development, design and deployment of composite, heterogeneous and multifunctional materials. As a result, materials innovation is now considerably outpaced by other aspects from component design to product cycle. In this article, we review predictive nonlinear theories for multiscale modeling of heterogeneous materials. Deeper attention is given to multiscale modeling in space and to computational homogenization in addressing challenging materials science questions. Moreover, we discuss a state-of-the-art platform in predictive image-based, multiscale modeling with co-designed simulations and experiments that executes on the world's largest supercomputers. Such a modeling framework consists of experimental tools, computational methods, and digital data strategies. Once fully completed, this collaborative and interdisciplinary framework can be the basis of Virtual Materials Testing standards and aids in the development of new material formulations. Moreover, it will decrease the time to market of innovative products.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Impact of dynamics, entanglement and Markovian noise on the fidelity of few-qubit digital quantum simulation

Quantum algorithms have been proposed to accelerate the simulation of the chaotic dynamical systems that are ubiquitous in the physics of plasmas. Quantum computers without error correction might even use noise to their advantage to calculate the Lyapunov exponent by measuring the Loschmidt echo fidelity decay rate. For the first time, digital Hamiltonian simulations of the quantum sawtooth map, performed on the IBM-Q quantum hardware platform, show that the fidelity decay rate of a digital quantum simulation increases during the transition from dynamical localization to chaotic diffusion in the map. The observed error per CNOT gate increases by $1.5{\times }$ as the dynamics varies from localized to diffusive, while only changing the phases of virtual RZ gates and keeping the overall gate count constant. A gate-based Lindblad noise model that captures the effective change in relaxation and dephasing errors during gate operation qualitatively explains the effect of dynamics on fidelity as being due to the localization and entanglement of the states created. Specifically, highly delocalized states that are entangled with random phases show an increased sensitivity to dephasing and, on average, a similar sensitivity to relaxation as localized states. In contrast, delocalized unentangled states show an increased sensitivity to dephasing but a lower sensitivity to relaxation. This gate-based Lindblad model is shown to be a useful benchmarking tool by estimating the effective Lindblad coherence times during CNOT gates and finding a consistent $2\unicode{x2013}3{\times }$ shorter $T_2$ time than reported for idle qubits. Thus, the interplay of the dynamics of a simulation with the noise processes that are active can strongly influence the overall fidelity decay rate.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

The potential of quantum annealing for rapid solution structure identification

Abstract The recent emergence of novel computational devices, such as quantum computers, coherent Ising machines, and digital annealers presents new opportunities for hardware-accelerated hybrid optimization algorithms. Unfortunately, demonstrations of unquestionable performance gains leveraging novel hardware platforms have faced significant obstacles. One key challenge is understanding the algorithmic properties that distinguish such devices from established optimization approaches. Through the careful design of contrived optimization tasks, this work provides new insights into the computation properties of quantum annealing and suggests that this model has the potential to quickly identify the structure of high-quality solutions. A meticulous comparison to a variety of algorithms spanning both complete and local search suggests that quantum annealing’s performance on the proposed optimization tasks is distinct. This result provides new insights into the time scales and types of optimization problems where quantum annealing has the potential to provide notable performance gains over established optimization algorithms and suggests the development of hybrid algorithms that combine the best features of quantum annealing and state-of-the-art classical approaches.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Scientific machine learning for modeling and simulating complex fluids

The formulation of rheological constitutive equations—models that relate internal stresses and deformations in complex fluids—is a critical step in the engineering of systems involving soft materials. While data-driven models provide accessible alternatives to expensive first-principles models and less accurate empirical models in many engineering disciplines, the development of similar models for complex fluids has lagged. The diversity of techniques for characterizing non-Newtonian fluid dynamics creates a challenge for classical machine learning approaches, which require uniformly structured training data. Consequently, early machine-learning based constitutive equations have not been portable between different deformation protocols or mechanical observables. Here, we present a data-driven framework that resolves such issues, allowing rheologists to construct learnable models that incorporate essential physical information, while remaining agnostic to details regarding particular experimental protocols or flow kinematics. These scientific machine learning models incorporate a universal approximator within a materially objective tensorial constitutive framework. By construction, these models respect physical constraints, such as frame-invariance and tensor symmetry, required by continuum mechanics. We demonstrate that this framework facilitates the rapid discovery of accurate constitutive equations from limited data and that the learned models may be used to describe more kinematically complex flows. This inherent flexibility admits the application of these “digital fluid twins” to a range of material systems and engineering problems. We illustrate this flexibility by deploying a trained model within a multidimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation—a task that is not achievable using any previously developed data-driven rheological equation of state.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Methodological approach to the sensitivity analysis of failure effects in modern digital I and C systems - 136

Modern I and C systems of nuclear power plants increasingly use digital equipment, software-based applications for I and C functions and different types and topologies of communication networks as well. The structure, operation and communication of digital safety-related I and C systems are strongly influenced by the implemented automatic fault detection and fault treatment procedures as barriers against failure propagation. Thus, these I and C systems can change their operating states automatically during the operation time, e.g. due to the detection and correction of certain failure types. Reasonably because of these dynamic properties of digital I and C systems the use of classical fault tree and event tree methods solely for the reliability analysis of modern I and C systems is less suitable. These methods basically apply static models and do not consider the temporal changes of the operating state of the I and C system or equipment appropriately. In this paper, a recently developed approach for the sensitivity analysis of digital I and C systems will be introduced that allows to investigate the dynamic behavior of such systems in cases of internal faults and to quantify the effects on the system reliability. The development and testing of the analysis methodology is carried out using models of generic I and C systems with different typical architectures of stepwise increased complexity. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Benchmarking highly entangled states on a 60-atom analogue quantum simulator

Abstract Quantum systems have entered a competitive regime in which classical computers must make approximations to represent highly entangled quantum states 1,2 . However, in this beyond-classically-exact regime, fidelity comparisons between quantum and classical systems have so far been limited to digital quantum devices 2–5 , and it remains unsolved how to estimate the actual entanglement content of experiments 6 . Here, we perform fidelity benchmarking and mixed-state entanglement estimation with a 60-atom analogue Rydberg quantum simulator, reaching a high-entanglement entropy regime in which exact classical simulation becomes impractical. Our benchmarking protocol involves extrapolation from comparisons against an approximate classical algorithm, introduced here, with varying entanglement limits. We then develop and demonstrate an estimator of the experimental mixed-state entanglement 6 , finding our experiment is competitive with state-of-the-art digital quantum devices performing random circuit evolution 2–5 . Finally, we compare the experimental fidelity against that achieved by various approximate classical algorithms, and find that only the algorithm we introduce is able to keep pace with the experiment on the classical hardware we use. Our results enable a new model for evaluating the ability of both analogue and digital quantum devices to generate entanglement in the beyond-classically-exact regime, and highlight the evolving divide between quantum and classical systems.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Digital Quantum Simulation of the Schwinger Model and Symmetry Protection with Trapped Ions

Tracking the dynamics of physical systems in real time is a prime application of quantum computers. Using a trapped-ion system with up to six qubits, we simulate the real-time dynamics of a lattice gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions, i.e., the lattice Schwinger model, and demonstrate nonperturbative effects such as pair creation for times much longer than previously accessible. We study the gate requirement of two formulations of the model using the Suzuki-Trotter product formula, as well as the trade-off between errors from the ordering of the Hamiltonian terms, the Trotter step size, and experimental imperfections. To mitigate experimental errors, a recent symmetry-protection protocol for suppressing coherent errors and a symmetry-inspired postselection scheme are applied. This work demonstrates the integrated theoretical, algorithmic, and experimental approach that is essential for efficient simulation of lattice gauge theories and other complex physical systems.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

General quantum algorithms for Hamiltonian simulation with applications to a non-Abelian lattice gauge theory

With a focus on universal quantum computing for quantum simulation, and through the example of lattice gauge theories, we introduce rather general quantum algorithms that can efficiently simulate certain classes of interactions consisting of correlated changes in multiple (bosonic and fermionic) quantum numbers with non-trivial functional coefficients. In particular, we analyze diagonalization of Hamiltonian terms using a singular-value decomposition technique, and discuss how the achieved diagonal unitaries in the digitized time-evolution operator can be implemented. The lattice gauge theory studied is the SU(2) gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions coupled to one flavor of staggered fermions, for which a complete quantum-resource analysis within different computational models is presented. The algorithms are shown to be applicable to higher-dimensional theories as well as to other Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories. The example chosen further demonstrates the importance of adopting efficient theoretical formulations: it is shown that an explicitly gauge-invariant formulation using loop, string, and hadron degrees of freedom simplifies the algorithms and lowers the cost compared with the standard formulations based on angular-momentum as well as the Schwinger-boson degrees of freedom. The loop-string-hadron formulation further retains the non-Abelian gauge symmetry despite the inexactness of the digitized simulation, without the need for costly controlled operations. Such theoretical and algorithmic considerations are likely to be essential in quantumly simulating other complex theories of relevance to nature.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Organismic materials for beyond von Neumann machines

The elementary basis of intelligence in organisms with a central nervous system includes neurons and synapses and their complex interconnections forming neural circuits. In non-neural organisms such as slime mold with gel-like media, viscosity modulation enables adaptation to changing environments. At a larger scale, collective intelligence emerges via social interactions and feedback in animal colonies. Learning and memory are therefore multi-scale features that evolve as a result of constant interactions with the environment. There is growing interest in emulating such features of intelligence in computing machines and autonomous systems. Materials that can respond to their environment in a manner similar to organisms (referred to as "organismic materials") therefore may be of interest as hardware components in artificial intelligence machines. In this brief review, we present a class of semiconductors called correlated oxides as candidates for learning machines. The term "correlated" refers to the fact that electrons in such lattices strongly interact and the ground state is not what is predicted by classical band theory. Such materials can undergo insulator-metal transitions at near ambient conditions under external stimuli such as thermal or electrical fields, strain, and chemical doping. Depending on the mechanism driving the transition, intermediate states can be metastable with different volatilities, and the time scales of phase change can be controlled over many orders of magnitude. The change in electronic properties can be sharp or gradual, leading to digital or analog behavior. These properties enable the realization of artificial neurons and synapses and emulate the associative and non-associative learning characteristics found in various organisms. We examine microscopic properties concerning electronic and structural transitions leading to collective behavior and theoretical treatments of the ground state and dynamical response, showcasing VO 2 as a model system. Next, we briefly review algorithms designed from the plasticity demonstrated by phase changing systems. Finally, we conclude the brief review with suggestions for future research toward realizing non-von Neumann machines.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Para-particle oscillator simulations on a trapped-ion quantum computer

Deformed oscillators allow for a generalization of the standard fermions and bosons, namely, for the description of para-particles. Such particles remain hypothetical and unobserved in nature; yet, they can model physical phenomena, such as topological phases of matter. Here, we report the digital quantum simulation of para-particle oscillators by mapping para-particle states to the state of a qubit register, which allows us to identify the para-particle oscillator Hamiltonian as an XY model and further digitize the system onto a universal set of gates. In both instances, the gate depth grows polynomially with the number of qubits used. To establish the validity of our results, we experimentally simulate the dynamics of para-fermions and para-bosons, demonstrating full control of para-particle oscillators on a quantum computer. Furthermore, we compare the overall performance of the digital simulation of dynamics of the driven para-Fermi oscillator to a recent analog quantum simulation result.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Quantum Markov chain Monte Carlo with digital dissipative dynamics on quantum computers

Modeling the dynamics of a quantum system connected to the environment is critical for advancing our understanding of complex quantum processes, as most quantum processes in nature are affected by an environment. Modeling a macroscopic environment on a quantum simulator may be achieved by coupling independent ancilla qubits that facilitate energy exchange in an appropriate manner with the system and mimic an environment. This approach requires a large, and possibly exponential number of ancillary degrees of freedom which is impractical. In contrast, we develop a digital quantum algorithm that simulates interaction with an environment using a small number of ancilla qubits. By combining periodic modulation of the ancilla energies, or spectral combing, with periodic reset operations, we are able to mimic interaction with a large environment and generate thermal states of interacting many-body systems. We evaluate the algorithm by simulating preparation of thermal states of the transverse Ising model. Our algorithm can also be viewed as a quantum Markov chain Monte Carlo process that allows sampling of the Gibbs distribution of a multivariate model. To illustrate this we evaluate the accuracy of sampling Gibbs distributions of simple probabilistic graphical models using the algorithm.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗