Quantum thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes in lattice gauge theories

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Davoudi, Zohreh, Jarzynski, Christopher, Mueller, Niklas, Oruganti, Greeshma, Powers, Connor, Halpern, Nicole Yunger
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917898928259072
author Davoudi, Zohreh
Jarzynski, Christopher
Mueller, Niklas
Oruganti, Greeshma
Powers, Connor
Halpern, Nicole Yunger
author_facet Davoudi, Zohreh
Jarzynski, Christopher
Mueller, Niklas
Oruganti, Greeshma
Powers, Connor
Halpern, Nicole Yunger
contents A key objective in nuclear and high-energy physics is to describe nonequilibrium dynamics of matter, e.g., in the early universe and in particle colliders, starting from the Standard Model. Classical-computing methods, via the framework of lattice gauge theory, have experienced limited success in this mission. Quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories holds promise for overcoming computational limitations. Because of local constraints (Gauss's laws), lattice gauge theories have an intricate Hilbert-space structure. This structure complicates the definition of thermodynamic properties of systems coupled to reservoirs during equilibrium and nonequilibrium processes. We show how to define thermodynamic quantities such as work and heat using strong-coupling thermodynamics, a framework that has recently burgeoned within the field of quantum thermodynamics. Our definitions suit instantaneous quenches, simple nonequilibrium processes undertaken in quantum simulators. To illustrate our framework, we compute the work and heat exchanged during a quench in a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory coupled to matter in 1+1 dimensions. The thermodynamic quantities, as functions of the quench parameter, evidence a phase transition. For general thermal states, we derive a simple relation between a quantum many-body system's entanglement Hamiltonian, measurable with quantum-information-processing tools, and the Hamiltonian of mean force, used to define strong-coupling thermodynamic quantities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2404_02965
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quantum thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes in lattice gauge theories
Davoudi, Zohreh
Jarzynski, Christopher
Mueller, Niklas
Oruganti, Greeshma
Powers, Connor
Halpern, Nicole Yunger
Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
A key objective in nuclear and high-energy physics is to describe nonequilibrium dynamics of matter, e.g., in the early universe and in particle colliders, starting from the Standard Model. Classical-computing methods, via the framework of lattice gauge theory, have experienced limited success in this mission. Quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories holds promise for overcoming computational limitations. Because of local constraints (Gauss's laws), lattice gauge theories have an intricate Hilbert-space structure. This structure complicates the definition of thermodynamic properties of systems coupled to reservoirs during equilibrium and nonequilibrium processes. We show how to define thermodynamic quantities such as work and heat using strong-coupling thermodynamics, a framework that has recently burgeoned within the field of quantum thermodynamics. Our definitions suit instantaneous quenches, simple nonequilibrium processes undertaken in quantum simulators. To illustrate our framework, we compute the work and heat exchanged during a quench in a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory coupled to matter in 1+1 dimensions. The thermodynamic quantities, as functions of the quench parameter, evidence a phase transition. For general thermal states, we derive a simple relation between a quantum many-body system's entanglement Hamiltonian, measurable with quantum-information-processing tools, and the Hamiltonian of mean force, used to define strong-coupling thermodynamic quantities.
title Quantum thermodynamics of nonequilibrium processes in lattice gauge theories
topic Quantum Physics
Statistical Mechanics
High Energy Physics - Lattice
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology
Nuclear Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.02965