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Observation of Strong and Weak Thermalization in a Superconducting Quantum Processor
Fusheng Chen1,2,3, Zheng-Hang Sun4,5, Ming Gong1,2,3
1Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
Physical Review Letters
|July 23, 2021
Summary
We studied quantum thermalization in superconducting qubits. We identified strong and weak thermalization regimes and showed entanglement entropy can distinguish them, advancing quantum system understanding.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum information science
Background:
- Understanding thermalization is crucial for quantum systems.
- Quantum systems can exhibit distinct thermalization behaviors.
- Superconducting qubits are a promising platform for quantum simulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate ergodic dynamics and thermalization in a 1D array of superconducting qubits.
- To differentiate between strong and weak thermalization regimes.
- To explore the role of entanglement entropy and concurrence in characterizing thermalization.
Main Methods:
- Experimental study of a 1D array of 12 superconducting qubits.
- Application of a transverse field.
- Analysis of local observable dynamics with different initial states.
- Measurement of entanglement entropy and concurrence.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct regimes of strong and weak thermalization.
- Observed convergence to thermal expectation values in strong thermalization.
- Noted oscillations around thermal values in weak thermalization, requiring time averaging.
- Demonstrated that entanglement entropy and concurrence can characterize these regimes.
Conclusions:
- The study provides experimental evidence for different thermalization dynamics in quantum systems.
- Entanglement entropy and concurrence serve as effective measures to distinguish thermalization regimes.
- This work contributes to a fundamental understanding of thermalization in quantum computing and simulation.
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