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09:00 - 09:45
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Frank Pollmann
(Technical University of Munich, Germany)
Probing Non-Equilibrium Topological Order on a Quantum Processor
Out-of-equilibrium phases in many-body systems constitute a new paradigm in quantum matter—they exhibit dynamical properties that may otherwise be forbidden by equilibrium thermodynamics. Among these non-equilibrium phases are periodically driven (Floquet) systems, which are generally difficult to simulate classically due to their high entanglement. Using an array of superconducting qubits, we realize a Floquet topologically ordered state, image the characteristic dynamics of its chiral edge modes, and characterize its emergent anyonic excitations. By devising an interferometric algorithm, we introduce and measure a bulk topological invariant to probe the dynamical transmutation of anyons for system sizes up to 58 qubits. Our work demonstrates that quantum processors can provide key insights into the largely unexplored landscape of highly entangled non-equilibrium phases of matter.
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09:45 - 10:15
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Brice Bakkali-Hassani
(Collège de France, France)
Arrays of long-lived circular Rydberg states of strontium
Rydberg atoms in tweezer arrays are a promising platform for quantum simulation, with scaling limits that have yet to be reached. Unlike laser-accessible Rydberg states which have radiative lifetimes on the order of 100 µs, circular Rydberg states - characterized by their maximum angular momentum - can live up to tens of milliseconds in a cryogenic environment. This extended lifetime could provide access to dynamics beyond the reach of conventional Rydberg states. To study these long-time dynamics, circular atoms need to be trapped. The nearly free Rydberg electron experiences a ponderomotive potential from the trapping light, which is repulsive. Blue-detuned traps with specialized geometries can trap these states but require high laser power and therefore limit scalability. An alternative approach is to use alkaline-earth-like species and to exploit the polarizability of the ionic core to trap the Rydberg atom. We have developed a cryogenic (4 K) experimental setup capable of trapping strontium atoms in an optical tweezer array and exciting them to circular Rydberg states. Once the Rydberg atoms are trapped, we will demonstrate that the broad transition of the ionic core enables direct imaging of the Rydberg states, without the need to transfer the atoms back to the ground state. In addition, the electrostatic interaction between the Rydberg electron and the ionic core induces a shift in the ion’s energy levels that depends on the Rydberg state. By resolving this shift, it becomes possible to implement local manipulations and non-destructive measurements of the Rydberg state.
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10:15 - 10:45
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Coffee Break
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10:45 - 11:30
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Roderich Moessner
(Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Germany)
Ballistic conductance with and without disorder in a boundary-driven XXZ spin chain
We identify many-body caging, the many-body counterpart of flat bands, as a general mechanism for non-equilibrium phenomena such as a novel type of glassy eigenspectrum order and many-body Rabi oscillations in the time domain. We focus on constrained systems of great current interest in the context of Rydberg atoms and synthetic or emergent gauge theories. We find that their state graphs host motifs which produce flat bands in the many-body spectrum at a particular set of universal energies.
Basis states in Fock space exhibit Edwards-Anderson type order {\it in the absence of quenched disorder}, with an intricate, possibly fractal, distribution over Fock space, which is reflected in a distinctive structure of a non-vanishing post-quench long-time Loschmidt echo, an experimentally accessible quantity.
In general, phenomena familiar from single-particle flat bands manifest themselves in characteristic many-body incarnations, such as a reentrant `Anderson' delocalisation, offering a rich ensemble of experimental signatures in the abovementioned quantum simulators.
The variety of single-particle flat band types suggests an analogous typology--and concomitant phenomenological richness to be explored--of their many-body counterparts.
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11:30 - 12:00
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Armin Rahmani
(Western Washington University, USA)
Anyonic interferometry and standardized test of many-body coherence in gate-based quantum platforms
We introduce a synthetic Mach-Zehnder interferometer for digitized quantum computing devices to probe fractional exchange statistics of anyonic excitations that appear in quantum spin liquids. Employing an IonQ quantum computer, we apply this scheme to the toric ladder, a quasi-one-dimensional reduction of the toric code. We observe interference patterns resulting from the movement of `electric' excitations in the presence and absence of `magnetic' ones. Using this framework, we propose a method to define a many-body quantum coherence length scale, which effectively mirrors the problem of a quantum particle on a ring, with or without flux through it. We propose using the maximum length of the ring for which the presence or absence of flux can be clearly discerned, as a simple measure of the many-body quantum coherence grade (Q-grade) in a given quantum hardware. We demonstrate how this approach can be implemented on gate-based quantum platforms to estimate and compare the quantum coherence of current devices, such as those from Google, IBM, IonQ, IQM, and Quantinuum that we considered here. This work aims to contribute to the creation of a live Web interface where the latest developments and advancements can be demonstrated, and progress in quantum coherence resources tracked over time. Establishing such a standardized quantum test would enable monitoring the growth of quantum coherence in gate-based quantum platforms, in a spirit similar to Moore's law.
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12:00 - 13:45
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Lunch Break
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13:45 - 14:15
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Federico Balducci
(Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Germany)
Symmetry re-breaking in an effective theory of quantum coarsening
Rydberg simulators, superconducting qubit arrays and other quantum simulation platforms are increasingly able to simulate isolated quantum many-body dynamics in two spatial dimensions, and explore uncharted territory for theory. Recent experiments studied order parameter dynamics in both slow ramps and (fast) quenches involving phase transitions, thereby placing the physics of quantum coarsening in the experimental realm. We present a simple theory accounting for two central observations in one of these recent experiments [T. Manovitz et al., Nature 638, 86 (2025)]: an apparent speeding up of the coarsening process as the phase transition is approached; and persistent oscillations of the order parameter after quenches within the ordered phase. Our theory, based on the Hamiltonian structure of the equations of motion in the classical limit of the quantum model, finds a speeding up already deep within the ordered phase, with subsequent slowing down as the domain wall tension vanishes upon approaching the critical line. Further, the oscillations are captured within a mean-field treatment of the order parameter field. For quenches within the ordered phase, small spatially-varying fluctuations in the initial mean-field lead to a remarkable long-time effect, wherein the system dynamically destroys its long-range order and has to coarsen to re-establish it. We term this phenomenon symmetry re-breaking, as the resulting late-time magnetization can have a sign opposite to the initial magnetization.
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14:15 - 14:45
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Johannes Zeiher
(Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Germany)
Quantum gas microscopy of Hubbard models out of equilibrium
Neutral atoms trapped in optical lattices are a versatile platform to study many-body physics in and out of equilibrium. The relaxation behavior of isolated quantum systems taken out of equilibrium is among the most intriguing problems in many-body physics. Quantum systems out of equilibrium typically relax to thermal equilibrium states by scrambling local information and building up entanglement entropy.
In this talk, I will present our recent experiments on probing an exception to this expected thermalization behavior in two-dimensional tilted Hubbard models with strong kinetic constraints. Combining local initial-state control with site-resolved measurements in our quantum-gas microscope, we find a strong dependence of the relaxation dynamics on the specific initial state - a hallmark of the shattering of the underlying Hilbert space in disconnected fragments. Leveraging the control over individual atoms, we furthermore inject mobile excitations into an otherwise immobile state and track their dynamics. We find subdimensional dynamics, which is a feature characteristic of fractonic excitations. Our results pave the way for in-depth studies of microscopic transport phenomena in constrained systems.
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14:45 - 15:30
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Coffee Break
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15:30 - 16:15
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Tibor Rakovszky
(Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary)
Entanglement, topological order and glassiness in finite temperature quantum phases
In recent decades, one of the central goals of condensed matter physics has been the classification and characterization of quantum phases of matter at zero temperature. This has led to the discovery of many exotic phases, notable those exhibiting topological order, characterized by long-range quantum entanglement and a ground state degeneracy that depends on the underlying topology. Much less is known about the situation at finite, non-zero temperatures; for example no examples of finite temperature topological order exist in spatial dimensions below 4.
In this talk, I will discuss a series of results relevant to the problem of quantum phases at nonzero temperatures. First, I will discuss a theorem that provides a "dynamical" perspective on finite temperature phases, relating them to open system dynamics. As an application of this perspective, I will discuss a family of spatially non-local models that exhibit a new kind of "topological quantum spin glass", combining quantum topological order, with features of classical mean-field spin glasses. Finally, I will discuss a model that realizes quantum topological order in 3 spatial dimensions for the first time.
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16:15 - 17:00
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Coffee Break
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17:00 - 17:45
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Sagar Vijay
(University of California Santa Barbara, USA)
Decodable phases of quantum many-body dynamics with coherent noise
TBD (This is forthcoming work)
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17:45 - 18:00
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Discussion time
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18:00 - 19:30
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Dinner
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19:30 - 21:30
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Poster Session 2 (focus on even poster numbers)
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