The superfluid weight of a generic lattice model with attractive Hubbard interaction is computed analytically in the isolated band limit within the generalized random phase approximation. Time-reversal symmetry, spin rotational symmetry, and the uniform pairing condition are assumed. It is found that the relation obtained in Huhtinen et al. [Phys. Rev. B 106, 014518 (2022)] between the superfluid weight in the flat band limit and the so-called minimal quantum metric is valid even at the level of the generalized random phase approximation. For an isolated, but not necessarily flat, band it is found that the correction to the superfluid weight obtained from the generalized random phase approximation $D_{\mathrm{s}}^{\left(1\right)}=D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{c}}^{\left(1\right)}+D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{g}}^{\left(1\right)}$ is also the sum of a conventional contribution $D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{c}}^{\left(1\right)}$ and a geometric contribution $D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{g}}^{\left(1\right)}$, as in the case of the known mean-field result $D_{\mathrm{s}}^{\left(0\right)}=D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{c}}^{\left(0\right)}+D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{g}}^{\left(0\right)}$, in which the geometric term $D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{g}}^{\left(0\right)}$ is a weighted average of the quantum metric. The conventional contribution is geometry independent, that is, independent of the orbital positions, while it is possible to find a preferred, or natural, set of orbital positions such that $D_{\mathrm{s},\mathrm{g}}^{\left(1\right)}=0$. Useful analytic expressions are derived for both the natural orbital positions and the minimal quantum metric, including its extension to bands that are not necessarily flat. Finally, using some simple examples, it is argued that the natural orbital positions may lead to a more refined classification of the topological properties of the band structure.

We propose that a weakly spontaneous charge-ordered insulating state probably exists in Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene, which can account for experimentally observed nonmonotonic behavior of resistance as a function of the gated field, namely, the gap closes and reopens at a critical gated field. The underlying physics is demonstrated by a simple model on a corresponding lattice that contains the nearest intralayer and interlayer hoppings, electric field, and staggered potential between different sublattices. Combining density functional theory calculations with model analyses, we argue that the interlayer van der Waals interactions cooperating with ripples may be responsible for the staggered potential, which induces a charge-ordered insulating state in the absence of the electric field.

Adaptive quantum variational algorithms are particularly promising for simulating strongly correlated systems on near-term quantum hardware, but they are not yet viable due, in large part, to the severe coherence time limitations on current devices. In this paper, we introduce an algorithm called TETRIS-ADAPT-VQE (tiling efficient trial circuits with rotations implemented simultaneously adaptive derivative-assembled problem-tailored Ansatz variational quantum eigensolver), which iteratively builds up variational Ansätze a few operators at a time in a way dictated by the problem being simulated. This algorithm is a modified version of the ADAPT-VQE algorithm, in which the one-operator-at-a-time rule is lifted to allow for the addition of multiple operators with disjoint supports in each iteration. TETRIS-ADAPT-VQE results in denser but significantly shallower circuits, without increasing the number of controlled-not gates or variational parameters. Its advantage over the original algorithm in terms of circuit depths increases with the system size. Moreover, the expensive step of measuring the energy gradient with respect to each candidate unitary at each iteration is performed only a fraction of the time compared with ADAPT-VQE. These improvements bring us closer to the goal of demonstrating a practical quantum advantage on quantum hardware.

To interpret our recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiment of nanographene sheets, in which the existence of rectangularlike lattices is confirmed, we conducted first-principles calculations of both simple and wrinkled armchair-edged graphene nanoribbons (AGNRs). We focused on the origin of this unique lattice and simulated STM images in the occupied band for the above-mentioned ribbons with different widths. Combined with the band structures of AGNRs, we investigated the features of electron distribution in detail under various magnitudes of applied sample biases (−1 to −0.05 V). In contrast to the well-known hexagonal structure of graphene at a large bias of −1 V, a rectangularlike lattice emerges in the STM images of AGNRs with specific widths when they are generated solely by electronic states occupying the valence band maximum. Furthermore, we find that a wrinkle in graphene parallel to the edges in AGNR significantly affects the STM images of a neighboring flat graphene region, even when its height is only several angstroms. By comparing the partial density of states of the wrinkle with flat graphene, we discussed the role of a wrinkle in functionalizing graphene sheets.

We demonstrate that two phenomena, the kinetic magnetoelectric effect and the nonlinear Hall effect, are universal to polar metals as a consequence of their coexisting and contraindicated polarization and metallicity. We show that measurement of the effects provides a complete characterization of the nature of the polar metal, in that the nonzero response components indicate the direction of the polar axis, and the coefficients change signs on polarization reversal and become zero in the nonpolar phase. We illustrate our findings for the case of electron-doped ${\mathrm{PbTiO}}_3$ using a combination of density functional theory and model Hamiltonian-based calculations. Our model Hamiltonian analysis provides crucial insight into the microscopic origin of the effects, showing that they originate from inversion-symmetry-breaking-induced interorbital hoppings that correlate to an asymmetric charge density quantified by odd-parity charge multipoles. Our paper both heightens the relevance of the kinetic magnetoelectric and nonlinear Hall effects, and broadens the platform for investigating and detecting odd-parity charge multipoles in polar metals.

We discuss the conditional measurement of field amplitudes by a nonclassical photon sequence in the Jaynes-Cummings (JC) model under multiphoton operation. We do so by employing a correlator of immediate experimental relevance to reveal a distinct nonclassical evolution in the spirit of Foster et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 3149 (2000)]. The correlator relies on the complementary nature of the pictures obtained from different unravelings of a JC source master equation. We demonstrate that direct photodetection entails a conditioned separation of timescales, a quantum beat, and a semiclassical oscillation, produced by the coherent light-matter interaction in its strong-coupling limit. We single out the quantum beat in the analytical expression for the waiting-time distribution, pertaining to the particle nature of the scattered light, and find a negative spectrum of quadrature amplitude squeezing, characteristic of its wave nature for certain operation settings. Finally, we jointly detect the dual aspects through the wave-particle correlator, showing an asymmetric regression of fluctuations to the steady state which depends on the quadrature amplitude being measured.

In the realm of quantum information theory, the detection and quantification of quantum entanglement stand as paramount tasks. The relative entropy of entanglement (REE) serves as a prominent measure of entanglement, with extensive applications spanning numerous related fields. The positive partial transpose (PPT) criterion, while providing an efficient method for the computation of REE, unfortunately, falls short when dealing with bound entanglement. In this study, we propose a method termed “pure bosonic extension” to enhance the practicability of $k$-bosonic extensions, which approximates the set of separable states from the “outside”, through a hierarchical structure. It enables efficient characterization of the set of $k$-bosonic extendible states, facilitating the derivation of accurate lower bounds for REE. Compared to the semi-definite programming (SDP) approach, such as the symmetric/bosonic extension function in QETLAB, our algorithm supports much larger dimensions and higher values of extension $k$.

The role of correlations in self-organized critical (SOC) phenomena is investigated by studying the Abelian Manna model (AMM) in two dimensions. Local correlations of the debris left behind after avalanches are destroyed by rearranging particles on the lattice between avalanches, without changing the one-point particle density. It is found that the spatial correlations are not relevant to small avalanches, while changing the scaling of the large (system-wide) ones, yielding a crossover in the model's scaling behavior. This crossover breaks the simple scaling observed in normal SOC.

Multichannel Kondo lattice models are examples of strongly correlated electronic systems that exhibit non-Fermi-liquid behavior due to the presence of a continuous channel symmetry. Mean-field analyses have predicted that these systems undergo channel symmetry breaking at low temperature. We use the dynamical large-$N$ technique to study temporal and spatial fluctuations of the multichannel Kondo model on a honeycomb lattice and find that this prediction is not generally true. Rather, we find a ($2+1$)-dimensional conformally invariant fixed point, governed by critical exponents that are found numerically. When we break time-reversal symmetry by adding a Haldane mass to the conduction electrons, three phases, separated by continuous transitions, are discernible: one characterized by dynamic mass generation and spontaneous breaking of the channel symmetry, one where topological defects restore channel symmetry but preserve the gap, and one with a Kondo-coupled chiral spin liquid. We argue that the last phase is a fractional Chern insulator with anyonic excitations.

The problem of optimally measuring an analytic function of unknown local parameters each linearly coupled to a qubit sensor is well understood, with applications ranging from field interpolation to noise characterization. Here we resolve a number of open questions that arise when extending this framework to Mach-Zehnder interferometers and quadrature displacement sensing. In particular, we derive lower bounds on the achievable mean square error in estimating a linear function of either local phase shifts or quadrature displacements. In the case of local phase shifts, these results prove, and somewhat generalize, a conjecture by Proctor et al. [arXiv:1702.04271]. For quadrature displacements, we extend proofs of lower bounds to the case of arbitrary linear functions. We provide optimal protocols achieving these bounds up to small (multiplicative) constants and describe an algebraic approach to deriving new optimal protocols, possibly subject to additional constraints. Using this approach, we prove necessary conditions for the amount of entanglement needed for any optimal protocol for both local phase and displacement sensing.

Photonics provide an efficient way to implement quantum walks, the quantum analog of classical random walks, which demonstrate rich physics with potential applications. However, most photonic quantum walks do not involve photon interactions, which limits their potential to explore strongly correlated many-body physics of light. We propose a strongly interacting discrete-time photonic quantum walk using a network of single atom beamsplitters. We calculate output statistics of the quantum walk for the case of two photons, which reveals the strongly correlated transport of photons. Particularly, the walk can exhibit either bosonlike or fermionlike statistics which is tunable by postselecting the two-photon detection time interval. Also, the walk can sort different types of two-photon bound states into distinct pairs of output ports under certain conditions. These unique phenomena show that our quantum walk is an intriguing platform to explore strongly correlated quantum many-body states of light. Finally, we propose an experimental realization based on time-multiplexed synthetic dimensions.

We propose active steering protocols for quantum state preparation in quantum circuits where each system qubit is connected to a single detector qubit, employing a simple coupling selected from a small set of steering operators. The decision is made such that the expected cost-function gain in one time step is maximized. We apply these protocols to several many-qubit models. Our results are underlined by three remarkable insights. First, we show that the standard fidelity does not give a useful cost function; instead, successful steering is achieved by including local fidelity terms. Second, although the steering dynamics acts on each system qubit separately, entanglement in the generated target state is introduced, and can be tuned at will, by performing Bell measurements on detector qubit pairs after every time step. This implements a weak-measurement variant of entanglement swapping. Third, numerical simulations suggest that the active steering protocol can reach arbitrarily designated target states, including passively unsteerable states such as the $N$-qubit W state.

We present a cascaded variational quantum eigensolver algorithm that only requires the execution of a set of quantum circuits once rather than at every iteration during the parameter optimization process, thereby increasing the computational throughput. This algorithm uses a quantum processing unit to probe the needed probability mass functions and a classical processing unit perform the remaining calculations, including the energy minimization. The ansatz form does not restrict the Fock space and provides full control over the trial state, including the implementation of symmetry and other physically motivated constraints.

Understanding system-environment correlations in open quantum systems is vital for various quantum information and technology applications. However, these correlations are often overlooked or hidden in derivations of open-quantum-system master equations, especially when applying the Born approximation. To address this issue, given a microscopic model, we demonstrate how to retain system-environment correlation within commonly used master equations, such as the Markovian Lindblad, Redfield, second-order time convolutionless, second-order Nakajima-Zwanzig, and second-order universal Lindblad-like equations. We show that each master equation corresponds to a particular approximation on the system-environment correlation operator. In particular, our analysis exposes the form of the hidden system-environment correlation in the Markovian Lindblad equation derived using the Born approximation. We also identify that the processes leading to the Redfield equation yield an inaccurate initial-time system-environment correlation approximation. By fixing this problem, we propose a corrected Redfield equation with an improved prediction for early stages of the time evolution. We further illustrate our results in two examples, which imply that the second-order universal Lindblad-like equation captures correlation more accurately than the other standard master equations.

Quantum embedding (QE) methods such as the ghost Gutzwiller approximation (gGA) offer a powerful approach to simulating strongly correlated systems, but come with the computational bottleneck of computing the ground state of an auxiliary embedding Hamiltonian (EH) iteratively. In this work, we introduce an active learning (AL) framework integrated within the gGA to address this challenge. The methodology is applied to the single-band Hubbard model and results in a significant reduction in the number of instances where the EH must be solved. Through a principal component analysis (PCA), we find that the EH parameters form a low-dimensional structure that is largely independent of the geometric specifics of the systems, especially in the strongly correlated regime. Our AL strategy enables us to discover this low-dimensionality structure on the fly, while leveraging it for reducing the computational cost of gGA, laying the groundwork for more efficient simulations of complex strongly correlated materials.

Much attention has been paid to dynamical simulation and quantum machine learning (QML) independently as applications for quantum advantage, while the possibility of using QML to enhance dynamical simulations has not been thoroughly investigated. Here we develop a framework for using QML methods to simulate quantum dynamics on near-term quantum hardware. We use generalization bounds, which bound the error a machine learning model makes on unseen data, to rigorously analyze the training data requirements of an algorithm within this framework. Our algorithm is thus resource efficient in terms of qubit and data requirements. Furthermore, our preliminary numerics for the XY model exhibit efficient scaling with problem size, and we simulate 20 times longer than Trotterization on IBMQ-Bogota.

Weyl semimetals have nodes in their electronic structure at which electrons attain a definite chirality. Due to the chiral anomaly, the nonconservation of charges with given chirality, the axion term appears in their effective electromagnetic action. We determine how this affects the properties of time-reversal invariant Weyl superconductors (SCs) in the London regime. For type II SCs the axion coupling generates magnetic $B$ fields transverse to vortices, which become unstable at a critical coupling so that a transition into type I SC ensues. In this regime an applied $B$ field not only decays inside the SC within the London penetration depth, but the axion coupling generates an additional perpendicular field. Consequently, when penetrating into the bulk the $B$ field starts to steadily rotate away from the applied field. At a critical coupling the screening of the magnetic field breaks down. The novel chiral superconducting state that emerges has a periodically divergent susceptibility that separates onsets of chiral Meissner regimes. The chiral anomaly thus leaves very crisp experimental signatures in structurally chiral Weyl SCs with an axion response.

We present an analytic, Mie theory-based solution for the energy loss and the photon-emission probabilities in the interaction of spherical nanoparticles with electrons passing nearby and through them, in both cathodoluminescence and electron energy-loss spectroscopies. In particular, we focus on the case of penetrating electron trajectories, for which the complete fully electrodynamic and relativistic formalism has not been reported as yet. We exhibit the efficiency of this method in describing collective excitations in matter through calculations for a dispersive and lossy system, namely a sphere described by a Drude permittivity. Subsequently, we use the analytic solution to corroborate the implementation of electron-beam sources in a state-of-the-art numerical method for problems in electrodynamics, the discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) method. We show that the two approaches produce spectra in good mutual agreement, and demonstrate the versatility of DGTD via simulations of spherical nanoparticles characterized by surface roughness. The possibility of simultaneously employing both kinds of calculations (analytic and numerical) facilitates a better understanding of the rich optical response of nanophotonic architectures excited by fast electron beams.