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At least 19 records

Approximate constants of motion for classically chaotic vibrational dynamics - Vague tori, semiclassical quantization, and classical intramolecular energy flow

Substantial short time regularity, even in the chaotic regions of phase space, is found for what is seen as a large class of systems. This regularity manifests itself through the behavior of approximate constants of motion calculated by Pade summation of the Birkhoff-Gustavson normal form expansion; it is attributed to remnants of destroyed invariant tori in phase space. The remnant torus-like manifold structures are used to justify Einstein-Brillouin-Keller semiclassical quantization procedures for obtaining quantum energy levels, even in the absence of complete tori. They also provide a theoretical basis for the calculation of rate constants for intramolecular mode-mode energy transfer. These results are illustrated by means of a thorough analysis of the Henon-Heiles oscillator problem. Possible generality of the analysis is demonstrated by brief consideration of classical dynamics for the Barbanis Hamiltonian, Zeeman effect in hydrogen and recent results of Wolf and Hase (1980) for the H-C-C fragment.

Shirts, R. B.

Rotational excitation of a rigid rotor - Comparison of two approximate classical models with exact classical results.

A rigid body model and a perturbation technique are used to measure the rotational excitation of a rigid rotor in the determination of the moments of fractional rotational energy transfer in the Ar-N2 system. A table of data is included to compare the obtained results with exact results, showing the failure of the perturbation model to yield correct results.

Labudde, R. A.

Classical and neo-classical cruise-dash optimization

Cruise-dash flight performance is analyzed in the context of singular perturbations. Attention is given to the problem of determining an atmospheric flight path between given end points which minimizes a linear combination of time and fuel. It is shown that nonconvexity in the fuel-flow vs. airspeed graph has important consequences in optimum-cruise problems with time restrictions. Certain velocity regions are nonoptimal for cruise-dash and optimal cruise-dash sometimes requires time-shared operation between two altitude-airspeed points. Calculations are presented illustrating the occurrence of time-shared operation between two altitude-airspeed combinations for optimal cruise-dash.

Cliff, E. M.

Classic-Ada(TM)

The SPS product, Classic-Ada, is a software tool that supports object-oriented Ada programming with powerful inheritance and dynamic binding. Object Oriented Design (OOD) is an easy, natural development paradigm, but it is not supported by Ada. Following the DOD Ada mandate, SPS developed Classic-Ada to provide a tool which supports OOD and implements code in Ada. It consists of a design language, a code generator and a toolset. As a design language, Classic-Ada supports the object-oriented principles of information hiding, data abstraction, dynamic binding, and inheritance. It also supports natural reuse and incremental development through inheritance, code factoring, and Ada, Classic-Ada, dynamic binding and static binding in the same program. Only nine new constructs were added to Ada to provide object-oriented design capabilities. The Classic-Ada code generator translates user application code into fully compliant, ready-to-run, standard Ada. The Classic-Ada toolset is fully supported by SPS and consists of an object generator, a builder, a dictionary manager, and a reporter. Demonstrations of Classic-Ada and the Classic-Ada Browser were given at the workshop.

Valley, Lois

Classical combinatorial optimization scaling for random Ising models on 2D heavy-hex graphs

Motivated by near term quantum computing hardware limitations, combinatorial optimization problems that can be addressed by current quantum algorithms and noisy hardware with little or no overhead are used to probe capabilities of quantum algorithms such as the quantum approximate optimization algorithm. In this study, a specific class of near term quantum computing hardware defined combinatorial optimization problems, Ising models on heavy-hex graphs both with and without geometrically local cubic terms, are examined for their classical computational hardness via empirical computation time scaling quantification. Specifically the time-to-solution (TTS) metric using the classical heuristic simulated annealing is measured for finding optimal variable assignments (ground states), as well as the time required for the optimization software Gurobi to find an optimal variable assignment. Because of the sparsity of these Ising models, the classical algorithms are able to find optimal solutions efficiently even for large instances (i.e. 100 000 spin variables). The Ising models both with and without geometrically local cubic terms exhibit average-case linear-time or weakly quadratic scaling when solved exactly using Gurobi, and the Ising models with no cubic terms show evidence of exponential-time TTS scaling when sampled using simulated annealing. These findings point to the necessity of developing and testing more complex, namely more densely connected, optimization problems in order for quantum computing to ever have a practical advantage over classical computing. Our results are another illustration that different classical algorithms can indeed have exponentially different running times, thus making the identification of the best practical classical technique important in any quantum computing vs. classical computing comparison.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC

Testing Classical Properties from Quantum Data

Many properties of Boolean functions can be tested far more efficiently than the function itself can be learned. However, this dramatic advantage often disappears when testers are limited to random samples of ƒ instead of adaptively chosen queries to f. In this work we investigate the quantum version of this restriction: quantum algorithms that test properties of a Boolean function f solely from copies of either the function state |ƒ⟩ ∝ ∑ x |x, ƒ(x)⟩ or the phase state |(-1) ƒ ⟩ ∝ ∑ x (-1) ƒ(x) |x⟩. For monotonicity, symmetry, and triangle-freeness, we show passive quantum testers are unboundedly or super-polynomially better than their classical passive testing counterparts. They are competitive with classic query -based testers in each case. Our new testers use techniques beyond quantum Fourier sampling, and it turns out this is necessary: we show a certain class of bent functions can be tested from 𝒪(1) function states but has a sample complexity lower bound of 2 Ω(n) for any tester relying exclusively on Fourier and classical samples. Our passive quantum testers are competitive with classical query -based testers, but this isn't universal: we exhibit a testing problem that can be solved from 𝒪(1) classical queries but requires Ω(2 n/2 ) function state copies. The Forrelation problem provides a separation of the same magnitude in the opposite direction, so we conclude that quantum data and classical queries are "maximally incomparable" resources for testing. We also begin the study of lower bounds for testing from quantum data. For quantum monotonicity testing, we prove that the ensembles of [Goldreich et al., 2000; Black, 2024], which give exponential lower bounds for classical sample-based testing, do not yield any nontrivial lower bounds for testing from quantum data. New insights specific to quantum data will be required for proving copy complexity lower bounds for testing in this model.

Boolean Functions

Hybrid classical-quantum communication networks

Over the past several decades, the proliferation of global classical communication networks has transformed various facets of human society. Concurrently, quantum networking has emerged as a dynamic field of research, driven by its potential applications in distributed quantum computing, quantum sensor networks, and secure communications. This prompts a fundamental question: rather than constructing quantum networks from scratch, can we harness the widely available classical fiber-optic infrastructure to establish hybrid quantum–classical networks? This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of ongoing research endeavors aimed at integrating quantum communication protocols, such as quantum key distribution, into existing lightwave networks. This approach offers the substantial advantage of reducing implementation costs by allowing classical and quantum communication protocols to share optical fibers, communication hardware, and other network control resources—arguably the most pragmatic solution in the near term. In the long run, classical communication will also reap the rewards of innovative quantum communication technologies, such as quantum memories and repeaters. Accordingly, our vision for the future of the Internet is that of heterogeneous communication networks thoughtfully designed for the seamless support of both classical and quantum communications.

Fiber-optic communication

Observation of quantum Darwinism and the origin of classicality with superconducting circuits

The transition from quantum to classical behavior is a central question in modern physics. How can we rationalize everyday classical observations from an inherently quantum world? Quantum Darwinism offers a compelling framework to explain this by proposing that the environment redundantly encodes information about a quantum system, leading to the objective reality. Here, by leveraging cutting-edge superconducting quantum circuits, we observe the highly structured branching quantum states that support classicality and the saturation of quantum mutual information, establishing a robust verification of quantum Darwinism and the underlying geometric structure of quantum states. Additionally, we propose a particular class of observables that can be used as a computationally and experimentally inexpensive quantifier to probe quantum-to-classical transitions. Our investigation delves into how the quantum effects are inaccessible to observers, allowing only classical properties to be detected. It experimentally demonstrates the physical framework through which everyday classical observations emerge from underlying quantum principles and paves the way to settling the measurement problem.

Science & Technology - Other Topics

Classical eikonal from Magnus expansion

In a classical scattering problem, the classical eikonal is defined as the generator of the canonical transformation that maps in-states to out-states. It can be regarded as the classical limit of the log of the quantum S-matrix. In a classical analog of the Born approximation in quantum mechanics, the classical eikonal admits an expansion in oriented tree graphs, where oriented edges denote retarded/advanced worldline propagators. The Magnus expansion, which takes the log of a time-ordered exponential integral, offers an efficient method to compute the coefficients of the tree graphs to all orders. We exploit a Hopf algebra structure behind the Magnus expansion to develop a fast algorithm which can compute the tree coefficients up to the 12th order (over half a million trees) in less than an hour. In a relativistic setting, our methods can be applied to the post-Minkowskian (PM) expansion for gravitational binaries in the worldline formalism. We demonstrate the methods by computing the 3PM eikonal and find agreement with previous results based on amplitude methods. Importantly, the Magnus expansion yields a finite eikonal, while the naïve eikonal based on the time-symmetric propagator is infrared-divergent from 3PM on.

Black Holes

Emulation of quantum correlations by classical dynamics in a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg chain

We simulate the dynamical spin structure factor (DSSF) 𝒮⁡(𝑞,𝜔) of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain using classical simulations. By employing Landau-Lifshitz Dynamics, we emulate quantum correlations through temperature-dependent corrections, including rescaling of magnetic dipoles and renormalization of exchange interactions. Here, our results closely match Quantum Monte-Carlo calculations for 𝑘 B⁢ 𝑇/𝐽≳1, extending the applicability of classical dynamics to the challenging case of gapless excitations. At higher temperatures, our simulations comply with general predictions for uncorrelated paramagnetic fluctuations in the infinite temperature limit. Entanglement witnesses derived from the quantum-equivalent DSSF act as sensitive diagnostics for the quantum-to-classical crossover. Their reliability stems from their dependence on spectral features alone, enabling classical dynamics to emulate quantum thresholds without genuine entanglement. This framework also reproduces transverse spin correlations in finite magnetic fields, in agreement with quantum simulations. Together, our results establish quantum-corrected classical dynamics as a scalable and predictive tool for interpreting scattering experiments and exploring quantum correlations in strongly correlated spin systems.

Inelastic neutron scattering

Classical-quantum scattering

We analyze the framework recently proposed by Oppenheim et al (2023 Nat. Commun. 14; 2023 Phys. Rev. X 13 041040; arXiv:2302.07283 [gr-qc]; 2023 J. High Energy Phys. JHEP08(2023)163) to model relativistic quantum fields coupled to relativistic, classical, stochastic fields (in particular, as a model of quantum matter coupled to ‘classical gravity’). Perhaps surprisingly, we find that we can define and calculate scattering probabilities which are Lorentz-covariant and conserve total probability, at least at tree level. As a concrete example, we analyze 2→2 scattering of quantum matter mediated by a classical Yukawa field. Mapping this to a gravitational coupling in the non-relativistic limit, and assuming that we can treat large objects as point masses, we find that the simplest possible ‘classical-quantum’ gravity theory constructed this way gives predictions for 2→2 gravitational scattering which are inconsistent with simple observations of, e.g. spacecraft undergoing slingshot maneuvers. We comment on lessons learned for attempts to couple quantum matter to ‘non-quantum’ gravity, or more generally, for attempts to couple relativistic quantum and classical systems.

Carney, Daniel

Robust negativity in the quantum-to-classical transition of Kerr dynamics

Here, we quantify the quantum-to-classical transition of the single-mode Kerr nonlinear dynamics in the presence of loss. We establish three timescales that govern the dynamics, each with distinct characteristics. For times short compared with the Ehrenfest time, the evolution is classical, characterized by Gaussian dynamics. For sufficiently long times, as we increase the initial photon number, unitary Kerr evolution would generate macroscopic superpositions of coherent states (so-called kitten states). However, this is severely restricted in the presence of small photon loss, and the expectation values of observables coincide with their classical values. The intermediate timescale, however, shows resilient quantum behavior in the macroscopic limit. We show that in the mean-field non-Gaussian regime, the Kerr Hamiltonian (with small photon loss) generates a significant amount of Wigner-negativity, and classical flow is recovered only if the loss rate grows with system size. Our results broaden the usual understanding of quantum-to-classical transitions and demonstrate the potential for creating robust nonclassical resources for continuous-variable quantum information processing in the presence of loss.

Raza, Mohsin [University of New Mexico, Albuquerqu

A New Hybrid Quantum-Classical Algorithm for Solving the Unit Commitment Problem

Solving problems related to planning and operations of large-scale power systems is challenging on classical computers due to their inherent nature as mixed-integer and nonlinear problems. Quantum computing provides new avenues to approach these problems. We develop a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for the Unit Commitment (UC) problem in power systems which aims at minimizing the total cost while optimally allocating generating units to meet the hourly demand of the power loads. The hybrid algorithm combines a variational quantum algorithm (VQA) with a classical Benders-type heuristic. The resulting algorithm computes approximate solutions to UC in three stages: i) a collection of UC vectors capable meeting the power demand with lowest possible operating costs is generated based on VQA; ii) a classical sequential least squares programming (SLSQP) routine is leveraged to find the optimal power level corresponding to a predetermined number of candidate vectors; iii) in the last stage, the approximate solution of UC along with generating units power level combination is given. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method, three different systems with 3 generating units, 10 generating units, and 26 generating units were tested for different time periods. In addition, convergence of the hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for select time periods is proven out on IonQ's Forte system.

Aboumrad, Willie [IonQ, Inc]

Quantum entanglement distribution coexisting with high-rate, broadband classical optical communications over a real-world fiber connecting remote, synchronized nodes

Compatibility with existing classical network infrastructure offers a scalable path towards deploying large-scale quantum networks. Here, we demonstrate O-band polarization-encoded quantum entanglement distribution over an installed 24.4-km fiber while coexisting with a state-of-the-art fully loaded C-band classical communications line system and a picosecond-level precision L-band synchronization signal. The classical system carries two 800-Gbps channels while the remainder of the C-band is filled with amplified spontaneous emission, as is standard for such state-of-the-art communications systems. We examine the spontaneous Raman scattering spectrum generated from this broadband C-band light and offer insights into wavelength allocation for O-band quantum channels. Optimal wavelength selection and narrow filtering enable well-preserved Bell state fidelity when coexisting with 21.4-dBm aggregate launch power across the C-band suitable for 36-Tbps transmission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first implementation of entanglement-based quantum communications between two remote nodes coexisting with independent classical communications traffic. We demonstrate coexistence of quantum entanglement with ultra-high power levels and record classical bandwidth, offering promise for real-world entanglement-based networking integrated within high-capacity communications infrastructure.

Talcott, Gina M. [Northwestern U.] (ORCID:00000002

Classical laser.

In this paper a completely classical model for laser action is discussed. An active medium consisting of classical anharmonic oscillators interacts with a classical electromagnetic field in a resonant cavity. Comparison with the case of a medium consisting of harmonic oscillators shows the significance of nonlinearities for producing self-sustained oscillations in the radiation field. The results for the classical model are found to be similar to those for a semiclassical model of the ammonia-beam maser. The conclusion is that laser action is not intrinsically a quantum-mechanical effect. The classical-laser theory as given in this paper can also be applied to the case of the electron-cyclotron maser.

Borenstein, M.