Variational consistent histories as a hybrid algorithm for quantum foundations
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The Chronus Quantum (ChronusQ) software package is an open source software infrastructure which targets the solution of challenging problems that arise in ab initio electronic structure theory. Special emphasis is placed on the consistent treatment of time dependence and spin in the electronic wave function, as well as the inclusion of relativistic effects in said treatments. In addition, ChronusQ provides support for the inclusion of uniform finite magnetic fields as external perturbations through the use of gauge-including atomic orbitals. ChronusQ is a parallel electronic structure code written in modern C++ which utilizes both message passing implementation and shared memory (OpenMP) parallelism. In addition to the examination of the current state of code base itself, a discussion regarding ongoing developments and developer contributions will also be provided.
Here we discuss the three spacetime dimensional $\mathbb{CP}^N$ model and specialize to the $\mathbb{CP}^1$ model. Because of the Hopf map $\pi_3(\mathbb{CP}^1$) =$\mathbb{Z}$ one might try to couple the model to a periodic θ parameter. However, we argue that only the values θ = 0 and θ = π are consistent. For these values the Skyrmions in the model are bosons and fermions respectively, rather than being anyons. We also extend the model by coupling it to a topological quantum field theory, such that the Skyrmions are anyons. We use techniques from geometry and topology to construct the θ = π theory on arbitrary 3-manifolds, and use recent results about invertible field theories to prove that no other values of θ satisfy the necessary locality.
Quantum dots in SiGe/Si/SiGe heterostructures host coherent electron spin qubits, which are promising for future quantum computers. The silicon quantum well hosts near-degenerate electron valley states, creating a low-lying excited state that is known to reduce spin qubit readout and control fidelity. The valley energy splitting is dominated by the microscopic disorder in the SiGe alloy and at the Si/SiGe interfaces, and while Si devices are compatible with large-scale semiconductor manufacturing, achieving a uniformly large valley splitting energy across a many-qubit device spanning mesoscopic distances is an outstanding challenge. In this work we study valley splitting variations in a 1D quantum dot array, formed in a Si 0.972 Ge 0.028 quantum well, manufactured by Intel. We observe correlations in valley splitting, at both sub-100 nm (single gate) and > 1 μm (device) lengthscales, that are consistent with alloy disorder-dominated theory and simulation. Our results develop the mesoscopic understanding of Si/SiGe heterostructures necessary for scalable device design.
Heavy atomic nuclei have an excess of neutrons over protons, which leads to the formation of a neutron skin whose thickness is sensitive to details of the nuclear force. This links atomic nuclei to properties of neutron stars, thereby relating objects that differ in size by orders of magnitude. The nucleus 208 Pb is of particular interest because it exhibits a simple structure and is experimentally accessible. However, computing such a heavy nucleus has been out of reach for ab initio theory. By combining advances in quantum many-body methods, statistical tools and emulator technology, we make quantitative predictions for the properties of 208 Pb starting from nuclear forces that are consistent with symmetries of low-energy quantum chromodynamics. We explore 10 9 different nuclear force parameterizations via history matching, confront them with data in select light nuclei and arrive at an importance-weighted ensemble of interactions. We accurately reproduce bulk properties of 208 Pb and determine the neutron skin thickness, which is smaller and more precise than a recent extraction from parity-violating electron scattering but in agreement with other experimental probes. This work demonstrates how realistic two- and three-nucleon forces act in a heavy nucleus and allows us to make quantitative predictions across the nuclear landscape.
The Jastrow-modified antisymmetric geminal power (JAGP) ansatz in Hilbert space successfully overcomes two key failings of other pairing theories, namely, a lack of inter-pair correlations and a lack of multiple resonance structures, while maintaining a polynomially scaling cost, variational energies, and size consistency. Here, we present efficient quantum Monte Carlo algorithms that evaluate and optimize the JAGP energy for a cost that scales as the fifth power of the system size. We demonstrate the JAGP’s ability to describe both static and dynamic correlation by applying it to bond stretching in H{sub 2}O, C{sub 2}, and N{sub 2} as well as to a novel, multi-reference transition state of ethene. JAGP’s accuracy in these systems outperforms even the most sophisticated single-reference methods and approaches that of exponentially scaling active space methods.
Density functional theory (DFT) is widely applied to both molecules and materials, but well known energetic delocalization and static correlation errors in practical exchange-correlation approximations limit quantitative accuracy. Common methods that correct energetic delocalization errors, such as the Hubbard U correction in DFT+U or Hartree-Fock exchange in global hybrids, do so at the cost of worsening static correlation errors. We recently introduced an alternate approach [Bajaj et al., J. Chem. Phys. 147, 191101 (2017)] known as judiciously modified DFT (jmDFT), wherein the deviation from exact behavior of semilocal functionals over both fractional spin and charge, i.e., the so-called flat plane, was used to motivate functional forms of second order analytic corrections. In this work, we introduce fully nonempirical expressions for all four coefficients in a DFT+U+J-inspired form of jmDFT, where all coefficients are obtained only from energies and eigenvalues of the integer-electron systems. We show good agreement for U and J coefficients obtained nonempirically as compared with the results of numerical fitting in a jmDFT U+J/J' correction. Incorporating the fully nonempirical jmDFT correction reduces and even eliminates the fractional spin error at the same time as eliminating the energetic delocalization error. We show that this approach extends beyond s-electron systems to higher angular momentum cases including p- and d-electrons. Finally, we diagnose some shortcomings of the current jmDFT approach that limit its ability to improve upon DFT results for cases such as weakly bound anions due to poor underlying semilocal functional behavior.
The bulk-to-boundary mapping for massive scalar fields is constructed, providing a de Sitter analog of the Lehmann-Symanzik-Zimmermann reduction formula. The set of boundary correlators thus obtained defines a potentially new class of conformal field theories based on principal series representations of the global conformal group. Conversely, we show that bulk field operators in de Sitter may be reconstructed from boundary operators. While consistent at the level of the free field theory, the boundary conformal field theory does not satisfy cluster decomposition. Furthermore, the resulting conformal field theory does not satisfy the basic axioms of Euclidean quantum field theory due to Osterwalder and Schrader, so it is likely not well defined once interactions are included.
We study the equation of state of symmetric nuclear matter at zero temperature over a wide range of densities using two complementary theoretical approaches. At low densities, up to twice nuclear saturation density, we compute the energy per particle based on modern nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions derived within chiral effective field theory. For higher densities, we derive for the first time constraints in a Fierz-complete setting directly based on quantum chromodynamics using functional renormalization group techniques. Here, we find remarkable consistency of the results obtained from both approaches as they come together in density and the natural emergence of a maximum in the speed of sound 𝑐𝑆 at supranuclear densities. The presence of this maximum appears tightly connected to the formation of a diquark gap. Notably, this maximum is observed to exceed the asymptotic value 𝑐$^{2}_{𝑆}$ =1/3 while its exact position in terms of the density cannot yet be determined conclusively.
We initiate the study of a three dimensional disordered supersymmetric field theory. Specifically, we consider a $\mathcal{N}$= 2 large N Wess-Zumino like model with cubic superpotential involving couplings drawn from a Gaussian random ensemble. Taking inspiration from analyses of lower dimensional SYK like models we demonstrate that the theory flows to a strongly coupled superconformal fixed point in the infra-red. In particular, we obtain leading large N spectral data and operator product coefficients at the critical point. Moreover, the analytic control accorded by the model allows us to compare our results against those derived in the conformal bootstrap program and demonstrate consistency with general expectations.
Density matrix electronic structure theory is used in many quantum chemistry methods to “alleviate” the computational cost that arises from directly using wave functions. Although density matrix based methods are computationally more efficient than wave function based methods, significant computational effort is involved. Because the Schrödinger equation needs to be solved as an eigenvalue problem, the time-to-solution scales cubically with the system size in mean-field type approaches such as Hartree–Fock and density functional theory and is solved as many times in order to reach charge or field self-consistency. We hereby propose and study a method to compute the density matrix by using a quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) solver. This method could be useful to solve the problem with quantum computers and, more specifically, quantum annealers. Our proposed approach is based on a direct construction of the density matrix using a QUBO eigensolver. We explore the main parameters of the algorithm focusing on precision and efficiency. We show that, while direct construction of the density matrix using a QUBO formulation is possible, the efficiency and precision have room for improvement. Moreover, calculations performed with quantum annealing on D-Wave’s new Advantage quantum computer are compared with results obtained with classical simulated annealing, further highlighting some problems of the proposed method. Finally, we also suggest alternative methods that could lead to a more efficient QUBO-based density matrix construction.
At the historic Shelter Island Conference on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics in 1947, Willis Lamb reported an unexpected feature in the fine structure of atomic hydrogen: a separation of the 2S 1/2 and 2P 1/2 states. The observation of this separation, now known as the Lamb shift, marked an important event in the evolution of modern physics, inspiring others to develop the theory of quantum electrodynamics. Quantum electrodynamics also describes antimatter, but it has only recently become possible to synthesize and trap atomic antimatter to probe its structure. Mirroring the historical development of quantum atomic physics in the twentieth century, modern measurements on anti-atoms represent a unique approach for testing quantum electrodynamics and the foundational symmetries of the standard model. Here we report measurements of the fine structure in the n = 2 states of antihydrogen, the antimatter counterpart of the hydrogen atom. Using optical excitation of the 1S–2P Lyman-α transitions in antihydrogen, we determine their frequencies in a magnetic field of 1 tesla to a precision of 16 parts per billion. Assuming the standard Zeeman and hyperfine interactions, we infer the zero-field fine-structure splitting (2P 1/2 –2P 3/2 ) in antihydrogen. The resulting value is consistent with the predictions of quantum electrodynamics to a precision of 2 per cent. Using our previously measured value of the 1S–2S transition frequency, we find that the classic Lamb shift in antihydrogen (2S 1/2 –2P 1/2 splitting at zero field) is consistent with theory at a level of 11 per cent. Our observations represent an important step towards precision measurements of the fine structure and the Lamb shift in the antihydrogen spectrum as tests of the charge–parity–time symmetry8 and towards the determination of other fundamental quantities, such as the antiproton charge radius, in this antimatter system.
We consider a general anisotropic spin-orbit coupling and analyze the phase diagrams of both balanced and imbalanced Fermi gases for the entire BCS-BEC evolution. In the first part, we use the self-consistent mean-field theory at zero temperature, and show that the topological structure of the ground-state phase diagrams is quite robust against the effects of anisotropy. In the second part, we go beyond the mean-field description, and investigate the effects of Gaussian fluctuations near the critical temperature. This allows us to derive the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, from which we extract the effective mass of the Cooper pairs and their critical condensation temperature in the molecular BEC limit.
We model rutile titanium dioxide nanocrystals (NCs) up to ~1.5 nm in size to study the effects of quantum confinement on their electronic and optical properties. Ionization potentials (IPs) and electron affinities (EAs) are obtained via the perturbative GW approximation (G 0 W 0 ) and ΔSCF method for NCs up to 24 and 64 TiO 2 formula units, respectively. These demanding GW computations are made feasible by using a real-space framework that exploits quantum confinement to reduce the number of empty states needed in GW summations. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is used to predict the optical properties of NCs up to 64 TiO 2 units. For a NC containing only 2 TiO 2 units, the offsets of the IP and the EA from the corresponding bulk limits are of similar magnitude. However, as NC size increases, the EA is found to converge more slowly to the bulk limit than the IP. The EA values computed at the G 0 W 0 and ΔSCF levels of theory are found to agree fairly well with each other, while the IPs computed with ΔSCF are consistently smaller than those computed with G 0 W 0 by a roughly constant amount. TDDFT optical gaps exhibit weaker size dependence than GW quasiparticle gaps, and result in exciton binding energies on the order of eV. Finally, altering the dimensions of a fixed-size NC can change electronic and optical excitations up to several tenths of an eV. The largest NCs modeled are still quantum confined and do not yet have quasiparticle levels or optical gaps at bulk values. Nevertheless, we find that classical Mie-Gans theory can quite accurately reproduce the line shape of TDDFT absorption spectra, even for (anisotropic) TiO 2 NCs of subnanometer size.
Several parameters (cross section, reaction rate, etc.) of various processes in laser, atomic, and chemical physics are calculated using quantum scattering theory for a system of a few particles. Results of the study of electronic and atomic collisions with diatomic molecules and collisions of diatomic molecules in excited rovibrational states are discussed. Several approximations needed for calculations of real physical systems consisting of several bodies are analyzed. Such approximations can be used for simulation of direct reactions and reactions that yield intermediate transient complexes. Calculated cross sections of electronic and atomic collisions with diatomic molecules and collisions of diatomic molecules are compared with experimental data and results of alternative calculations.
A system of interacting, identical fermions described by standard Landau Fermi-liquid (FL) theory can experience a rearrangement of its Fermi surface if the correlations grow sufficiently strong, as occurs at a quantum critical point where the effective mass diverges. As yet, this phenomenon defies full understanding, but salient aspects of the non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior observed beyond the quantum critical point are still accessible within the general framework of the Landau quasiparticle picture. Self-consistent solutions of the coupled Landau equations for the quasiparticle momentum distribution n(p) and quasiparticle energy spectrum {epsilon}(p) are shown to exist in two distinct classes, depending on coupling strength and on whether the quasiparticle interaction is regular or singular at zero momentum transfer. One class of solutions maintains the idempotency condition n{sup 2}(p)=n(p) of standard FL theory at zero temperature T while adding pockets to the Fermi surface. The other solutions are characterized by a swelling of the Fermi surface and a flattening of the spectrum {epsilon}(p) over a range of momenta in which the quasiparticle occupancies lie between 0 and 1 even at T=0. The latter, non-idempotent solution is revealed by analysis of a Poincare mapping associated with the fundamental Landau equation connecting n(p) and {epsilon}(p) and validated by solution of a variational condition that yields the symmetry-preserving ground state. Significantly, this extraordinary solution carries the burden of a large temperature-dependent excess entropy down to very low temperatures, threatening violation of the Nernst Theorem. It is argued that certain low-temperature phase transitions, notably those involving Cooper-pair formation, offer effective mechanisms for shedding the entropy excess. Available measurements in heavy-fermion compounds provide concrete support for such a scenario. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Extension of Landau quasiparticle theory to strongly correlated Fermi systems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Analysis of associated topological phase transitions at a quantum critical point. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fermi surface rearrangement featuring hole pockets or emergence of flat bands. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Shedding of flat-band excess entropy via pairing transition at very low temperature.
We investigated the non-adiabatic dynamics of photoexcited thiopyridone systems across their ortho-, meta-, and para-isomeric forms. The relaxation pathways of the three isomers in both gas phase and solvent environments are mapped using surface hopping dynamics based on time-dependent density functional theory. Our analysis highlights the influence of isomeric structures on photophysical behavior, offering insights into design principles to control photochemical phenomena. The simulations suggest a systematic reduction in the rate of intersystem crossing (ISC) from ortho- to meta- to para-isomer. Comparisons with multiconfigurational wave function methods in the gas phase further demonstrate how electronic structure influences the predicted dynamical pathways. The simulated dynamics demonstrates that the spin–orbit coupling strength alone does not determine the rate of ISC, as both state energetics and underlying electronic and structural features play decisive roles. These aspects explain the much slower ISC in the para-isomer, as well as the non-negligible role of the El-Sayed forbidden pathway in the computed ISC dynamics.
Recent arguments based on the quantum extremal surface formula or the gravitational path integral have given fairly compelling evidence that the Hilbert space of quantum gravity in a closed universe is one-dimensional and real. How can this be consistent with the complexity of our own experiences? In this paper we propose that the experiences of any observer Ob in a closed universe can be approximately described by a quantum mechanical theory with a Hilbert space whose dimension is roughly e S Ob , where S Ob is the number of degrees of freedom of Ob. Moreover we argue that the errors in this description are exponentially small in S Ob . We give evidence for this proposal by incorporating it into the gravitational path integral and the coding interpretation of holography in simple models and seeing that it works, and we explain how similar effects arise in black hole physics in appropriate circumstances.