Complex Networks from Classical to Quantum

Recent progress in applying complex network theory to problems in quantum information has resulted in a beneficial crossover. Complex network methods have successfully been applied to transport and entanglement models while information physics is setting the stage for a theory of complex systems with quantum information-inspired methods. Novel quantum induced effects have been predicted in random graphs---where edges represent entangled links---and quantum computer algorithms have been proposed to offer enhancement for several network problems. Here we review the results at the cutting edge, pinpointing the similarities and the differences found at the intersection of these two fields.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX 4-1, accepted versio

Fermionic Networks: Modeling Adaptive Complex Networks with Fermionic Gases

We study the structure of Fermionic networks, i.e., a model of networks based on the behavior of fermionic gases, and we analyze dynamical processes over them. In this model, particle dynamics have been mapped to the domain of networks, hence a parameter representing the temperature controls the evolution of the system. In doing so, it is possible to generate adaptive networks, i.e., networks whose structure varies over time. As shown in previous works, networks generated by quantum statistics can undergo critical phenomena as phase transitions and, moreover, they can be considered as thermodynamic systems. In this study, we analyze Fermionic networks and opinion dynamics processes over them, framing this network model as a computational model useful to represent complex and adaptive systems. Results highlight that a strong relation holds between the gas temperature and the structure of the achieved networks. Notably, both the degree distribution and the assortativity vary as the temperature varies, hence we can state that fermionic networks behave as adaptive networks. On the other hand, it is worth to highlight that we did not find relation between outcomes of opinion dynamics processes and the gas temperature. Therefore, although the latter plays a fundamental role in gas dynamics, on the network domain its importance is related only to structural properties of fermionic networks.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure

Hints towards the Emergent Nature of Gravity

A possible way out of the conundrum of quantum gravity is the proposal that general relativity (GR) is not a fundamental theory but emerges from an underlying microscopic description. Despite recent interest in the emergent gravity program within the physics as well as the philosophy community, an assessment of the theoretical evidence for this idea is lacking at the moment. We intend to fill this gap in the literature by discussing the main arguments in favour of the hypothesis that the metric field and its dynamics are emergent. First, we distinguish between microstructure inspired from GR, such as through quantization or discretization, and microstructure that is not directly motivated from GR, such as strings, quantum bits or condensed matter fields. The emergent gravity approach can then be defined as the view that the metric field and its dynamics are derivable from the latter type of microstructure. Subsequently, we assess in how far the following properties of (semi-classical) GR are suggestive of underlying microstructure: (1) the metric's universal coupling to matter fields, (2) perturbative non-renormalizability, (3) black hole thermodynamics, and (4) the holographic principle. In the conclusion we formalize the general structure of the plausibility arguments put forward.Comment: 36 pages, v2: minor additions, references added. Journal version in Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physic

Nuclear Structure Calculations with Coupled Cluster Methods from Quantum Chemistry

We present several coupled-cluster calculations of ground and excited states of 4He and 16O employing methods from quantum chemistry. A comparison of coupled cluster results with the results of exact diagonalization of the hamiltonian in the same model space and other truncated shell-model calculations shows that the quantum chemistry inspired coupled cluster approximations provide an excellent description of ground and excited states of nuclei, with much less computational effort than traditional large-scale shell-model approaches. Unless truncations are made, for nuclei like 16O, full-fledged shell-model calculations with four or more major shells are not possible. However, these and even larger systems can be studied with the coupled cluster methods due to the polynomial rather than factorial scaling inherent in standard shell-model studies. This makes the coupled cluster approaches, developed in quantum chemistry, viable methods for describing weakly bound systems of interest for future nuclear facilities.Comment: 10 pages, Elsevier latex style, Invited contribution to INPC04 proceedings, to appear in Nuclear Physics