Driver Hamiltonians for constrained optimization in quantum annealing

One of the current major challenges surrounding the use of quantum annealers for solving practical optimization problems is their inability to encode even moderately sized problems---the main reason for this being the rigid layout of their quantum bits as well as their sparse connectivity. In particular, the implementation of constraints has become a major bottleneck in the embedding of practical problems, because the latter is typically achieved by adding harmful penalty terms to the problem Hamiltonian --- a technique that often requires an `all-to-all' connectivity between the qubits. Recently, a novel technique designed to obviate the need for penalty terms was suggested; it is based on the construction of driver Hamiltonians that commute with the constraints of the problem, rendering the latter constants of motion. In this work we propose general guidelines for the construction of such driver Hamiltonians given an arbitrary set of constraints. We illustrate the broad applicability of our method by analyzing several diverse examples, namely, graph isomorphism, not-all-equal 3SAT, and the so-called Lechner, Hauke and Zoller constraints. We also discuss the significance of our approach in the context of current and future experimental quantum annealers.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Non-Markovianity through Multipartite Correlation Measures

We provide a characterization of memory effects in non-Markovian system-bath interactions from a quantum information perspective. More specifically, we establish sufficient conditions for which generalized measures of multipartite quantum, classical, and total correlations can be used to quantify the degree of non-Markovianity of a local quantum decohering process. We illustrate our results by considering the dynamical behavior of the trace-distance correlations in multi-qubit systems under local dephasing and generalized amplitude damping.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, v2: Published versio

Shortcut to adiabatic gate teleportation

We introduce a shortcut to the adiabatic gate teleportation model of quantum computation. More specifically, we determine fast local counterdiabatic Hamiltonians able to implement teleportation as a universal computational primitive. In this scenario, we provide the counterdiabatic driving for arbitrary n-qubit gates, which allows to achieve universality through a variety of gate sets. Remarkably, our approach maps the superadiabatic Hamiltonian for an arbitrary n-qubit gate teleportation into the implementation of a rotated superadiabatic dynamics of an n-qubit state teleportation. This result is rather general, with the speed of the evolution only dictated by the quantum speed limit. In particular, we analyze the energetic cost for different Hamiltonian interpolations in the context of the energy-time complementarity.Comment: .8 pages, 4 figures. v3: Minor changes on text suggested by Referee. References correcte

Quantum discord in the ground state of spin chains

The ground state of a quantum spin chain is a natural playground for investigating correlations. Nevertheless, not all correlations are genuinely of quantum nature. Here we review the recent progress to quantify the 'quantumness' of the correlations throughout the phase diagram of quantum spin systems. Focusing to one spatial dimension, we discuss the behavior of quantum discord close to quantum phase transitions. In contrast to the two-spin entanglement, pairwise discord is effectively long-ranged in critical regimes. Besides the features of quantum phase transitions, quantum discord is especially feasible to explore the factorization phenomenon, giving rise to nontrivial ground classical states in quantum systems. The effects of spontaneous symmetry breaking are also discussed as well as the identification of quantum critical points through correlation witnesses.Comment: v2: published version. 24 pages, 12 figures. Special issue "Classical Vs Quantum correlations in composite systems" edited by L. Amico, S. Bose, V. Korepin and V. Vedra

Trace-distance correlations for X states and emergence of the pointer basis in Markovian and non-Markovian regimes

We provide analytical expressions for classical and total trace-norm (Schatten 1-norm) geometric correlations in the case of two-qubit X states. As an application, we consider the open-system dynamical behavior of such correlations under phase and generalized amplitude damping evolutions. Then, we show that geometric classical correlations can characterize the emergence of the pointer basis of an apparatus subject to decoherence in either Markovian or non-Markovian regimes. In particular, as a non-Markovian effect, we obtain a time delay for the information to be retrieved from the apparatus by a classical observer. Moreover, we show that the set of initial X states exhibiting sudden transitions in the geometric classical correlation has nonzero measure.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. v2: Minor corrections. Published versio

Sufficient conditions for adiabaticity in open quantum systems

The adiabatic approximation exhibits wide applicability in quantum mechanics, providing a simple approach for nontransitional dynamics in quantum systems governed by slowly varying time-dependent Hamiltonians. However, the standard adiabatic theorem is specifically derived for closed quantum systems. In a realistic open system scenario, the inevitable system-reservoir interaction must be taken into account, which strongly impacts the generalization of the adiabatic behavior. In this paper, we introduce sufficient conditions for the adiabatic approximation in open quantum systems. These conditions are simple yet general, providing a suitable instrument to investigate adiabaticity for arbitrary initial mixed states evolving under time local master equations. We first illustrate our results by showing that the adiabatic approximation for open systems is compatible with the description of quantum thermodynamics at thermal equilibrium, where irreversible entropy production is vanishing. We also apply our sufficient conditions as a tool in quantum control, evaluating the adiabatic behavior for the Hamiltonians of both the Deutsch algorithm and the Landau-Zener model under decoherence.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Nonadiabatic quantum state engineering driven by fast quench dynamics

There are a number of tasks in quantum information science that exploit non-transitional adiabatic dynamics. Such a dynamics is bounded by the adiabatic theorem, which naturally imposes a speed limit in the evolution of quantum systems. Here, we investigate an approach for quantum state engineering exploiting a shortcut to the adiabatic evolution, which is based on rapid quenches in a continuous-time Hamiltonian evolution. In particular, this procedure is able to provide state preparation faster than the adiabatic brachistochrone. Remarkably, the evolution time in this approach is shown to be ultimately limited by its "thermodynamical cost,"provided in terms of the average work rate (average power) of the quench process. We illustrate this result in a scenario that can be experimentally implemented in a nuclear magnetic resonance setup

Maxwell's demons in multipartite quantum correlated systems

We investigate the extraction of thermodynamic work by a Maxwell's demon in a multipartite quantum correlated system. We begin by adopting the standard model of a Maxwell's demon as a Turing machine, either in a classical or quantum setup depending on its ability of implementing classical or quantum conditional dynamics, respectively. Then, for an n-partite system (A_1, A_2, ..., A_n), we introduce a protocol of work extraction that bounds the advantage of the quantum demon over its classical counterpart through the amount of multipartite quantum correlation present in the system, as measured by a thermal version of the global quantum discord. This result is illustrated for an arbitrary n-partite pure state of qubits with Schmidt decomposition, where it is shown that the thermal global quantum discord exactly quantifies the quantum advantage. Moreover, we also consider the work extraction via mixed multipartite states, where examples of tight upper bounds can be obtained.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. v2: Minor corrections. Published versio

Many-body localization transition through pairwise correlations

We investigate the phenomenon of spatial many-body localization (MBL) through pairwise correlation measures based on one and two-point correlation functions. The system considered is the Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain with exchange interaction $J$ and random onsite disorder of strength $h$. As a representative pairwise correlation measure obtained from one-point functions only, we use global entanglement. Through its finite size scaling analysis, we locate the MBL critical point at $h_{c}/J = 3.8$. As for measures involving two-point functions, we analyze pairwise geometric classical, quantum, and total correlations. Similarly to what happens for continuous quantum phase transitions, it is the derivatives of these two-point correlation measures that identify the MBL critical point, which is found to be in the range $h_{c}/J \in \left[3,4\right]$. Our approach relies on very simple measures that do not require access to multipartite entanglement or large portions of the system.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Eigenstate Tracking in Open Quantum Systems

Keeping a quantum system in a given instantaneous eigenstate is a control problem with numerous applications, e.g., in quantum information processing. The problem is even more challenging in the setting of open quantum systems, where environment-mediated transitions introduce additional decoherence channels. Adiabatic passage is a well established solution, but requires a sufficiently slow evolution time that is dictated by the adiabatic theorem. Here we develop a systematic projection theory formulation for the transitionless evolution of general open quantum systems described by time-local master equations. We derive a time-convolutionless dynamical equation for the target instantaneous eigenstate of a given time-dependent Hamiltonian. A transitionless dynamics then arises in terms of a competition between the average Hamiltonian gap and the decoherence rate, which implies optimal adiabaticity timescales. We show how eigenstate tracking can be accomplished via control pulses, without explicitly incorporating counter-diabatic driving, thus offering an alternative route to shortcuts to adiabaticity. We examine rectangular pulses, chaotic signals, and white noise, and find that, remarkably, the effectiveness of eigenstate tracking hardly depends on the details of the control functions. In all cases the control protocol keeps the system in the desired instantaneous eigenstate throughout the entire evolution, along an accelerated adiabatic path.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure