1,831 research outputs found
Index theory of one dimensional quantum walks and cellular automata
If a one-dimensional quantum lattice system is subject to one step of a
reversible discrete-time dynamics, it is intuitive that as much "quantum
information" as moves into any given block of cells from the left, has to exit
that block to the right. For two types of such systems - namely quantum walks
and cellular automata - we make this intuition precise by defining an index, a
quantity that measures the "net flow of quantum information" through the
system. The index supplies a complete characterization of two properties of the
discrete dynamics. First, two systems S_1, S_2 can be pieced together, in the
sense that there is a system S which locally acts like S_1 in one region and
like S_2 in some other region, if and only if S_1 and S_2 have the same index.
Second, the index labels connected components of such systems: equality of the
index is necessary and sufficient for the existence of a continuous deformation
of S_1 into S_2. In the case of quantum walks, the index is integer-valued,
whereas for cellular automata, it takes values in the group of positive
rationals. In both cases, the map S -> ind S is a group homomorphism if
composition of the discrete dynamics is taken as the group law of the quantum
systems. Systems with trivial index are precisely those which can be realized
by partitioned unitaries, and the prototypes of systems with non-trivial index
are shifts.Comment: 38 pages. v2: added examples, terminology clarifie
Path-integral solution of the one-dimensional Dirac quantum cellular automaton
Quantum cellular automata have been recently considered as a fundamental
approach to quantum field theory, resorting to a precise automaton, linear in
the field, for the Dirac equation in one dimension. In such linear case a
quantum automaton is isomorphic to a quantum walk, and a convenient formulation
can be given in terms of transition matrices, leading to a new kind of discrete
path integral that we solve analytically in terms of Jacobi polynomials versus
the arbitrary mass parameter.Comment: 5 page
Solutions of a two-particle interacting quantum walk
We study the solutions of the interacting Fermionic cellular automaton
introduced in Ref. [Phys Rev A 97, 032132 (2018)]. The automaton is the
analogue of the Thirring model with both space and time discrete. We present a
derivation of the two-particles solutions of the automaton, which exploits the
symmetries of the evolution operator. In the two-particles sector, the
evolution operator is given by the sequence of two steps, the first one
corresponding to a unitary interaction activated by two-particle excitation at
the same site, and the second one to two independent one-dimensional Dirac
quantum walks. The interaction step can be regarded as the discrete-time
version of the interacting term of some Hamiltonian integrable system, such as
the Hubbard or the Thirring model. The present automaton exhibits scattering
solutions with nontrivial momentum transfer, jumping between different regions
of the Brillouin zone that can be interpreted as Fermion-doubled particles, in
stark contrast with the customary momentum-exchange of the one dimensional
Hamiltonian systems. A further difference compared to the Hamiltonian model is
that there exist bound states for every value of the total momentum, and even
for vanishing coupling constant. As a complement to the analytical derivations
we show numerical simulations of the interacting evolution.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Physics Without Physics: The Power of Information-theoretical Principles
David Finkelstein was very fond of the new information-theoretic paradigm of
physics advocated by John Archibald Wheeler and Richard Feynman. Only recently,
however, the paradigm has concretely shown its full power, with the derivation
of quantum theory (Chiribella et al., Phys. Rev. A 84:012311, 2011; D'Ariano et
al., 2017) and of free quantum field theory (D'Ariano and Perinotti, Phys. Rev.
A 90:062106, 2014; Bisio et al., Phys. Rev. A 88:032301, 2013; Bisio et al.,
Ann. Phys. 354:244, 2015; Bisio et al., Ann. Phys. 368:177, 2016) from
informational principles. The paradigm has opened for the first time the
possibility of avoiding physical primitives in the axioms of the physical
theory, allowing a refoundation of the whole physics over logically solid
grounds. In addition to such methodological value, the new
information-theoretic derivation of quantum field theory is particularly
interesting for establishing a theoretical framework for quantum gravity, with
the idea of obtaining gravity itself as emergent from the quantum information
processing, as also suggested by the role played by information in the
holographic principle (Susskind, J. Math. Phys. 36:6377, 1995; Bousso, Rev.
Mod. Phys. 74:825, 2002). In this paper I review how free quantum field theory
is derived without using mechanical primitives, including space-time, special
relativity, Hamiltonians, and quantization rules. The theory is simply provided
by the simplest quantum algorithm encompassing a countable set of quantum
systems whose network of interactions satisfies the three following simple
principles: homogeneity, locality, and isotropy. The inherent discrete nature
of the informational derivation leads to an extension of quantum field theory
in terms of a quantum cellular automata and quantum walks. A simple heuristic
argument sets the scale to the Planck one, and the observed regime is that of
small wavevectors ...Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures. Paper for in memoriam of David Finkelstei
Discrete Spacetime and Relativistic Quantum Particles
We study a single quantum particle in discrete spacetime evolving in a causal
way. We see that in the continuum limit any massless particle with a two
dimensional internal degree of freedom obeys the Weyl equation, provided that
we perform a simple relabeling of the coordinate axes or demand rotational
symmetry in the continuum limit. It is surprising that this occurs regardless
of the specific details of the evolution: it would be natural to assume that
discrete evolutions giving rise to relativistic dynamics in the continuum limit
would be very special cases. We also see that the same is not true for
particles with larger internal degrees of freedom, by looking at an example
with a three dimensional internal degree of freedom that is not relativistic in
the continuum limit. In the process we give a formula for the Hamiltonian
arising from the continuum limit of massless and massive particles in discrete
spacetime.Comment: 6 page
Decoherence in Discrete Quantum Walks
We present an introduction to coined quantum walks on regular graphs, which
have been developed in the past few years as an alternative to quantum Fourier
transforms for underpinning algorithms for quantum computation. We then
describe our results on the effects of decoherence on these quantum walks on a
line, cycle and hypercube. We find high sensitivity to decoherence, increasing
with the number of steps in the walk, as the particle is becoming more
delocalised with each step. However, the effect of a small amount of
decoherence can be to enhance the properties of the quantum walk that are
desirable for the development of quantum algorithms, such as fast mixing times
to uniform distributions.Comment: 15 pages, Springer LNP latex style, submitted to Proceedings of DICE
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