Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• Riemannian optimization of photonic quantum circuits in phase and Fock space

  Yuan Yao, Filippo Miatto, Nicolás Quesada

  SciPost Phys. 17, 082 (2024) · published 18 September 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a framework to design and optimize generic photonic quantum circuits composed of Gaussian objects (pure and mixed Gaussian states, Gaussian unitaries, Gaussian channels, Gaussian measurements) as well as non-Gaussian effects such as photon-number-resolving measurements. In this framework, we parametrize a phase space representation of Gaussian objects using elements of the symplectic group (or the unitary or orthogonal group in special cases), and then we transform it into the Fock representation using a single linear recurrence relation that computes the Fock amplitudes of any Gaussian object recursively. We also compute the gradient of the Fock amplitudes with respect to phase space parameters by differentiating through the recurrence relation. We can then use Riemannian optimization on the symplectic group to optimize $M$-mode Gaussian objects, avoiding the need to commit to particular realizations in terms of fundamental gates. This allows us to "mod out" all the different gate-level implementations of the same circuit, which now can be chosen after the optimization has completed. This can be especially useful when looking to answer general questions, such as bounding the value of a property over a class of states or transformations, or when one would like to worry about hardware constraints separately from the circuit optimization step. Finally, we make our framework extendable to non-Gaussian objects that can be written as linear combinations of Gaussian ones, by explicitly computing the change in global phase when states undergo Gaussian transformations. We implemented all of these methods in the freely available open-source library MrMustard, which we use in three examples to optimize the 216-mode interferometer in Borealis, and 2- and 3-modes circuits (with Fock measurements) to produce cat states and cubic phase states.

  12 citations

• Deriving density-matrix functionals for excited states

  Julia Liebert, Christian Schilling

  SciPost Phys. 14, 120 (2023) · published 19 May 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We initiate the recently proposed $w$-ensemble one-particle reduced density matrix functional theory ($w$-RDMFT) by deriving the first functional approximations and illustrate how excitation energies can be calculated in practice. For this endeavour, we first study the symmetric Hubbard dimer, constituting the building block of the Hubbard model, for which we execute the Levy-Lieb constrained search. Second, due to the particular suitability of $w$-RDMFT for describing Bose-Einstein condensates, we demonstrate three conceptually different approaches for deriving the universal functional in a homogeneous Bose gas for arbitrary pair interaction in the Bogoliubov regime. Remarkably, in both systems the gradient of the functional is found to diverge repulsively at the boundary of the functional's domain, extending the recently discovered Bose-Einstein condensation force to excited states. Our findings highlight the physical relevance of the generalized exclusion principle for fermionic and bosonic mixed states and the curse of universality in functional theories.

  12 citations

• A microscopic realization of dS$_3$

  Scott Collier, Lorenz Eberhardt, Beatrix Mühlmann

  SciPost Phys. 18, 131 (2025) · published 17 April 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We propose a precise duality between pure de Sitter quantum gravity in $2+1$ dimensions and a double-scaled matrix integral. This duality unfolds in two distinct aspects. First, by carefully quantizing the gravitational phase space, we arrive at a novel proposal for the quantum state of the universe at future infinity. We compute cosmological correlators of massive particles in the universe specified by this wavefunction. Integrating these correlators over the metric at future infinity yields gauge-invariant observables, which are identified with the string amplitudes of the complex Liouville string [S. Collier et al., arXiv: 2409.17246]. This establishes a direct connection between integrated cosmological correlators and the resolvents of the matrix integral dual to the complex Liouville string, thereby demonstrating one aspect of the dS$_3$/matrix integral duality. The second aspect concerns the cosmological horizon of the dS static patch and the Gibbons-Hawking entropy it is conjectured to encode. We show that this entropy can be reproduced exactly by counting the entries of the matrix.

  12 citations

• Computing associators of endomorphism fusion categories

  Daniel Barter, Jacob C. Bridgeman, Ramona Wolf

  SciPost Phys. 13, 029 (2022) · published 19 August 2022 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Many applications of fusion categories, particularly in physics, require the associators or $F$-symbols to be known explicitly. Finding these matrices typically involves solving vast systems of coupled polynomial equations in large numbers of variables. In this work, we present an algorithm that allows associator data for some category with unknown associator to be computed from a Morita equivalent category with known data. Given a module category over the latter, we utilize the representation theory of a module tube category, built from the known data, to compute this unknown associator data. When the input category is unitary, we discuss how to ensure the obtained data is also unitary. We provide several worked examples to illustrate this algorithm. In addition, we include several Mathematica files showing how the algorithm can be used to compute the data for the Haagerup category $\mathcal{H}_1$, whose data was previously unknown.

  12 citations

• On the resurgent structure of quantum periods

  Jie Gu, Marcos Mariño

  SciPost Phys. 15, 035 (2023) · published 28 July 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Quantum periods appear in many contexts, from quantum mechanics to local mirror symmetry. They can be described in terms of topological string free energies and Wilson loops, in the so-called Nekrasov-Shatashvili limit. We consider the trans-series extension of the holomorphic anomaly equations satisfied by these quantities, and we obtain exact multi-instanton solutions for these trans-series. Building on this result, we propose a unified perspective on the resurgent structure of quantum periods. We show for example that the Delabaere-Pham formula, which was originally obtained in quantum mechanical examples, is a generic feature of quantum periods. We illustrate our general results with explicit calculations for the double-well in quantum mechanics, and for the quantum mirror curve of local $\mathbb{P}^2$.

  12 citations

• "Spectrally gapped" random walks on networks: a Mean First Passage Time formula

  Silvia Bartolucci, Fabio Caccioli, Francesco Caravelli, Pierpaolo Vivo

  SciPost Phys. 11, 088 (2021) · published 4 November 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We derive an approximate but explicit formula for the Mean First Passage Time of a random walker between a source and a target node of a directed and weighted network. The formula does not require any matrix inversion, and it takes as only input the transition probabilities into the target node. It is derived from the calculation of the average resolvent of a deformed ensemble of random sub-stochastic matrices $H=\langle H\rangle +\delta H$, with $\langle H\rangle$ rank-$1$ and non-negative. The accuracy of the formula depends on the spectral gap of the reduced transition matrix, and it is tested numerically on several instances of (weighted) networks away from the high sparsity regime, with an excellent agreement.

  12 citations

• 3d N=4 Bootstrap and Mirror Symmetry

  Chi-Ming Chang, Martin Fluder, Ying-Hsuan Lin, Shu-Heng Shao, Yifan Wang

  SciPost Phys. 10, 097 (2021) · published 30 April 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We investigate the non-BPS realm of 3d ${\cal N} = 4$ superconformal field theory by uniting the non-perturbative methods of the conformal bootstrap and supersymmetric localization, and utilizing special features of 3d ${\cal N} = 4$ theories such as mirror symmetry and a protected sector described by topological quantum mechanics (TQM). Supersymmetric localization allows for the exact determination of the conformal and flavor central charges, and the latter can be fed into the mini-bootstrap of the TQM to solve for a subset of the OPE data. We examine the implications of the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ mirror action for the SCFT single- and mixed-branch crossing equations for the moment map operators, and apply numerical bootstrap to obtain universal constraints on OPE data for given flavor symmetry groups. A key ingredient in applying the bootstrap analysis is the determination of the mixed-branch superconformal blocks. Among other results, we show that the simplest known self-mirror theory with $SU(2) \times SU(2)$ flavor symmetry saturates our bootstrap bounds, which allows us to extract the non-BPS data and examine the self-mirror $\mathbb{Z}_2$ symmetry thereof.

  12 citations

• SymTFT for (3+1)d gapless SPTs and obstructions to confinement

  Andrea Antinucci, Christian Copetti, Sakura Schäfer-Nameki

  SciPost Phys. 18, 114 (2025) · published 31 March 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study gapless phases in (3+1)d in the presence of 1-form and non-invertible duality symmetries. Using the Symmetry Topological Field Theory (SymTFT) approach, we classify the gapless symmetry-protected (gSPT) phases in these setups, with particular focus on intrinsically gSPTs (igSPTs). These are symmetry protected critical points which cannot be deformed to a trivially gapped phase without spontaneously breaking the symmetry. Although these are by now well-known in (1+1)d, we demonstrate their existence in (3+1)d gauge theories. Here, they have a clear physical interpretation in terms of an obstruction to confinement, even though the full 1-form symmetry does not suffer from 't Hooft anomalies. These igSPT phases provide a new way to realize 1-form symmetries in CFTs, that has no analog for gapped phases. The SymTFT approach allows for a direct generalization from invertible symmetries to non-invertible duality symmetries, for which we study gSPT and igSPT phases as well. We accompany these theoretical results with concrete physical examples realizing such phases and explain how obstruction to confinement is detected at the level of symmetric deformations.

  12 citations

• Anisotropic Landau-Lifshitz model in discrete space-time

  Žiga Krajnik, Enej Ilievski, Tomaž Prosen, Vincent Pasquier

  SciPost Phys. 11, 051 (2021) · published 9 September 2021 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We construct an integrable lattice model of classical interacting spins in discrete space-time, representing a discrete-time analogue of the lattice Landau-Lifshitz ferromagnet with uniaxial anisotropy. As an application we use this explicit discrete symplectic integration scheme to compute the spin Drude weight and diffusion constant as functions of anisotropy and chemical potential. We demonstrate qualitatively different behavior in the easy-axis and the easy-plane regimes in the non-magnetized sector. Upon approaching the isotropic point we also find an algebraic divergence of the diffusion constant, signaling a crossover to spin superdiffusion.

  12 citations

• Role of fluctuations in the phase transitions of coupled plaquette spin models of glasses

  Giulio Biroli, Charlotte Rulquin, Gilles Tarjus, Marco Tarzia

  SciPost Phys. 1, 007 (2016) · published 25 October 2016 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study the role of fluctuations on the thermodynamic glassy properties of plaquette spin models, more specifically on the transition involving an overlap order parameter in the presence of an attractive coupling between different replicas of the system. We consider both short-range fluctuations associated with the local environment on Bethe lattices and long-range fluctuations that distinguish Euclidean from Bethe lattices with the same local environment. We find that the phase diagram in the temperature-coupling plane is very sensitive to the former but, at least for the $3$-dimensional (square pyramid) model, appears qualitatively or semi-quantitatively unchanged by the latter. This surprising result suggests that the mean-field theory of glasses provides a reasonable account of the glassy thermodynamics of models otherwise described in terms of the kinetically constrained motion of localized defects and taken as a paradigm for the theory of dynamic facilitation. We discuss the possible implications for the dynamical behavior.

  12 citations