Lifeboat Foundation

We study the competing effects of collective generalized measurements and interaction-induced scrambling in the dynamics of an ensemble of spin-1/2 particles at the level of quantum trajectories. This setup can be considered as analogous to the one leading to measurement-induced transitions in quantum circuits. We show that the interplay between collective unitary dynamics and measurements leads to three regimes of the average Quantum Fisher Information (QFI), which is a witness of multipartite entanglement, as a function of the monitoring strength. While both weak and strong measurements lead to extensive QFI density (i.e., individual quantum trajectories yield states displaying Heisenberg scaling), an intermediate regime of classical-like states emerges for all system sizes where the measurement effectively competes with the scrambling dynamics and precludes the development of quantum correlations, leading to sub-Heisenberg-limited states. We characterize these regimes and the crossovers between them using numerical and analytical tools, and discuss the connections between our findings, entanglement phases in monitored many-body systems, and the quantum-to-classical transition.

While interactions within a many-body quantum system tend to generate highly correlated states, performing local measurements will typically tend to disentangle the different subsystems. When combined, the interplay between these two effects often lead to measurement-induced transitions, which separate two distinct stable phases: one interaction-driven, where entanglement is high, and another measurement-driven, where entanglement is low. However, different types of measurements can lead to other scenarios, and often also generate entanglement themselves. In this work we study quantum many-body systems where both interactions and measurements take place collectively and thus generate a high degree of entanglement if acting separately. We show that nontrivial competition between these two actors emerges, leading to configurations with very low entanglement.

Research reveals the secrets of non-Heisenberg Tsai-type crystals that could open doors to applications in spintronics and magnetic refrigeration.

In 1960, Luttinger proposed a universal principle connecting the total capacity of a system for particles with its response to low-energy excitations. Although easily confirmed in systems with independent particles, this theorem remains applicable in correlated quantum systems characterized by intense inter-particle interactions.

However, and quite surprisingly, Luttinger’s theorem has been shown to fail in very specific and exotic instances of strongly correlated phases of matter. The failure of Luttinger’s theorem and its consequences on the behavior of quantum matter are at the core of intense research in condensed matter physics.

Quasicrystals are intermetallic materials that have garnered significant attention from researchers aiming to advance condensed matter physics understanding. Unlike normal crystals, in which atoms are arranged in an ordered repeating pattern, quasicrystals have non-repeating ordered patterns of atoms.

Their unique structure leads to many exotic and interesting properties, which are particularly useful for practical applications in spintronics and magnetic refrigeration.

A unique quasicrystal variant, known as the Tsai-type icosahedral quasicrystal (iQC) and their cubic approximant crystals (ACs), display intriguing characteristics. These include long-range ferromagnetic (FM) and anti-ferromagnetic (AFM) orders, as well as unconventional quantum critical phenomenon, to name a few.

Eighteen months ago, it was shown that different parts of the interior of the proton must be maximally quantum entangled with each other. This result, achieved with the participation of Prof. Krzysztof Kutak from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IFJ PAN) in Cracow and Prof. Martin Hentschinski from the Universidad de las Americas Puebla in Mexico, was a consequence of considerations and observations of collisions of high-energy photons with quarks and gluons in protons and supported the hypothesis presented a few years earlier by professors Dimitri Kharzeev and Eugene Levin.

Now, in a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, an international team of physicists has been presented a complementary analysis of entanglement for collisions between photons and protons in which secondary particles (hadrons) are produced by a process called diffractive deep inelastic scattering. The main question was: does entanglement also occur among quarks and gluons in these cases, and if so, is it also maximal?

Putting it in simple terms, physicists speak of entanglement between various quantum objects when the values of some feature of these objects are related. Quantum entanglement is not observed in the classical world, but its essence is easily explained by the toss of two coins. Each coin has two sides, and when it falls, it can take one of two mutually exclusive values (heads or tails) with the same probability.

In this episode, reporter Miryam Naddaf joins us to talk about the big science events to look out for in 2024. We’ll hear about the mass of the neutrino, the neural basis of consciousness and the climate lawsuits at the Hague, to name but a few.

Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 6 January 2023.

Columbia University researchers have synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion material, CeSiI, a breakthrough in material science. This new material, easier to manipulate than traditional 3D heavy fermion compounds, opens up new possibilities in understanding quantum phenomena, including superconductivity. Credit: SciTechDaily.com.

Columbia University ’s creation of CeSiI, the first 2D heavy fermion material, marks a significant advancement in quantum material science. This development paves the way for new research into quantum phenomena and the design of innovative materials.

Researchers at Columbia University have successfully synthesized the first 2D heavy fermion material. They introduce the new material, a layered intermetallic crystal composed of cerium, silicon, and iodine (CeSiI), in a research article published today (January 17) in the scientific journal Nature.

This experimental milestone allows for the preservation of quantum information even when entanglement is fragile.

For the first time, researchers from the Structured Light Laboratory (School of Physics) at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, led by Professor Andrew Forbes, in collaboration with string theorist Robert de Mello Koch from Huzhou University in China (previously from Wits University), have demonstrated the remarkable ability to perturb pairs of spatially separated yet interconnected quantum entangled particles without altering their shared properties.

“We achieved this experimental milestone by entangling two identical photons and customizing their shared wave-function in such a way that their topology or structure becomes apparent only when the photons are treated as a unified entity,” explains lead author, Pedro Ornelas, an MSc student in the structured light laboratory.

When large stars or celestial bodies explode near Earth, their debris can reach our solar system. Evidence of these cosmic events is found on Earth and the Moon, detectable through accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). An overview of this exciting research was recently published in the scientific journal Annual Review of Nuclear and Particle Science by Prof. Anton Wallner of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), who soon plans to decisively advance this promising branch of research with the new, ultrasensitive AMS facility “HAMSTER.”

In their paper, HZDR physicist Anton Wallner and colleague Prof. Brian D. Fields from the University of Illinois in Urbana, USA, provide an overview of near-Earth cosmic explosions with a particular focus on events that occurred three and, respectively, seven million years ago.

“Fortunately, these events were still far enough away, so they probably did not significantly impact the Earth’s climate or have major effects on the biosphere. However, things get really uncomfortable when cosmic explosions occur at a distance of 30 light-years or less,” Wallner explains. Converted into the astrophysical unit parsec, this corresponds to less than eight to ten parsecs.