Learning to stabilize nonequilibrium phases of matter with active feedback using partial information

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Cemin, Giovanni, Schmitt, Markus, Bukov, Marin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Cemin, Giovanni
Schmitt, Markus
Bukov, Marin
author_facet Cemin, Giovanni
Schmitt, Markus
Bukov, Marin
contents We investigate the role of information in active feedback control of quantum many-body systems using reinforcement learning. Active feedback breaks detailed balance, enabling the engineering of steady states and dynamical phases of matter otherwise inaccessible in equilibrium. We train reinforcement learning agents using partial state information to prevent entanglement spreading in (1+1)-dimensional stabilizer circuits with up to 128 qubits. We find that, above a critical information threshold, learned near-optimal strategies are non-greedy, stochastic, and reduce volume-law entangled steady states to area-law scaling. The agents achieve this by placing a series of bottlenecks that induce pyramidal structures in the long-time spatial entanglement distribution, which effectively split the system and reduce the maximum accessible entanglement. Crucially, learned strategies are inherently out of equilibrium and require real-time active feedback; we find that the learned behavior cannot be replaced by simple human-designed control rules. This work establishes the foundations for classically implemented, information-driven individual control of many interacting quantum degrees of freedom, demonstrating the capabilities of reinforcement learning to stabilize and uncover novel critical properties of many-body nonequilibrium steady states.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_06612
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Learning to stabilize nonequilibrium phases of matter with active feedback using partial information
Cemin, Giovanni
Schmitt, Markus
Bukov, Marin
Quantum Physics
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Quantum Gases
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
We investigate the role of information in active feedback control of quantum many-body systems using reinforcement learning. Active feedback breaks detailed balance, enabling the engineering of steady states and dynamical phases of matter otherwise inaccessible in equilibrium. We train reinforcement learning agents using partial state information to prevent entanglement spreading in (1+1)-dimensional stabilizer circuits with up to 128 qubits. We find that, above a critical information threshold, learned near-optimal strategies are non-greedy, stochastic, and reduce volume-law entangled steady states to area-law scaling. The agents achieve this by placing a series of bottlenecks that induce pyramidal structures in the long-time spatial entanglement distribution, which effectively split the system and reduce the maximum accessible entanglement. Crucially, learned strategies are inherently out of equilibrium and require real-time active feedback; we find that the learned behavior cannot be replaced by simple human-designed control rules. This work establishes the foundations for classically implemented, information-driven individual control of many interacting quantum degrees of freedom, demonstrating the capabilities of reinforcement learning to stabilize and uncover novel critical properties of many-body nonequilibrium steady states.
title Learning to stabilize nonequilibrium phases of matter with active feedback using partial information
topic Quantum Physics
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Quantum Gases
Statistical Mechanics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06612