Sampling diverse near-optimal solutions via algorithmic quantum annealing.

Sampling a diverse set of high-quality solutions for hard optimization problems is of great practical relevance in many scientific disciplines and applications, such as artificial intelligence and operations research. One of the main open problems is the lack of ergodicity, or mode collapse, for typical stochastic solvers based on Monte Carlo techniques leading to poor generalization or lack of robustness to uncertainties. Currently, there is no universal metric to quantify such performance deficiencies across various solvers.

Coherent Many-Body Oscillations Induced by a Superposition of Broken Symmetry States in the Wake of a Quantum Phase Transition.

It is now widely accepted that quenches through the critical region of quantum phase transitions result in post-transition states populated with topological defects-analogs of the classical topological defects. However, consequences of the very nonclassical fact that the state after a quench is a superposition of distinct, broken-symmetry vacua with different numbers and locations of defects have remained largely unexplored. We identify coherent quantum oscillations induced by such superpositions in observables complementary to the one involved in symmetry breaking.

Quantum phase transition dynamics in the two-dimensional transverse-field Ising model.

The quantum Kibble-Zurek mechanism (QKZM) predicts universal dynamical behavior near the quantum phase transitions (QPTs). It is now well understood for the one-dimensional quantum matter. Higher-dimensional systems, however, remain a challenge, complicated by the fundamentally different character of the associated QPTs and their underlying conformal field theories.

Performance of reservoir discretizations in quantum transport simulations.

Quantum transport simulations often use explicit, yet finite, electronic reservoirs. These should converge to the correct continuum limit, albeit with a trade-off between discretization and computational cost. Here, we study this interplay for extended reservoir simulations, where relaxation maintains a bias or temperature drop across the system.

Approximate optimization, sampling, and spin-glass droplet discovery with tensor networks.

We devise a deterministic algorithm to efficiently sample high-quality solutions of certain spin-glass systems that encode hard optimization problems. We employ tensor networks to represent the Gibbs distribution of all possible configurations. Using approximate tensor-network contractions, we are able to efficiently map the low-energy spectrum of some quasi-two-dimensional Hamiltonians.

Open System Tensor Networks and Kramers' Crossover for Quantum Transport.

Tensor networks are a powerful tool for many-body ground states with limited entanglement. These methods can nonetheless fail for certain time-dependent processes-such as quantum transport or quenches-where entanglement growth is linear in time. Matrix-product-state decompositions of the resulting out-of-equilibrium states require a bond dimension that grows exponentially, imposing a hard limit on simulation timescales.

Breaking the Entanglement Barrier: Tensor Network Simulation of Quantum Transport.

The recognition that large classes of quantum many-body systems have limited entanglement in the ground and low-lying excited states led to dramatic advances in their numerical simulation via so-called tensor networks. However, global dynamics elevates many particles into excited states, and can lead to macroscopic entanglement and the failure of tensor networks. Here, we show that for quantum transport-one of the most important cases of this failure-the fundamental issue is the canonical basis in which the scenario is cast: When particles flow through an interface, they scatter, generating a "bit" of entanglement between spatial regions with each event.

Single-Chain Magnet Based on Cobalt(II) Thiocyanate as XXZ Spin Chain.

Invited for the cover of this issue is the group of Michał Rams at Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland) and colleagues at Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, and Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. The image represents a 1D coordination polymer with Co(II) spins that are flipped by photons during an EPR experiment. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Single-Chain Magnet Based on Cobalt(II) Thiocyanate as XXZ Spin Chain.

The cobalt(II) in [Co(NCS) (4-methoxypyridine) ] are linked by pairs of thiocyanate anions into linear chains. In contrast to a previous structure determination, two crystallographically independent cobalt(II) centers have been found to be present. In the antiferromagnetic state, below the critical temperature (T =3.

Symmetry Breaking Bias and the Dynamics of a Quantum Phase Transition.

The Kibble-Zurek mechanism predicts the formation of topological defects and other excitations that quantify how much a quantum system driven across a quantum critical point fails to be adiabatic. We point out that, thanks to the divergent linear susceptibility at the critical point, even a tiny symmetry breaking bias can restore the adiabaticity. The minimal required bias scales like τ_{Q}^{-βδ/(1+zν)}, where β, δ, z, ν are the critical exponents and τ_{Q} is a quench time.

Reversible and Topotactic Solvent Removal in a Magnetic Ni(NCS) Coordination Polymer.

Reaction of Ni(NCS) with 4-(Boc-amino)pyridine in acetonitrile leads to the formation of a new coordination polymer with the composition Ni(NCS)(4-(Boc-amino)pyridine)·MeCN (1-MeCN). In the crystal structure the Ni(II) cations are linked by the anionic ligands into chains that are further connected into layers by intermolecular N-H···O hydrogen bonding. These layers are stacked and channels are formed, in which acetonitrile molecules are located.

Anomalous behavior of the energy gap in the one-dimensional quantum XY model.

We reexamine the well-studied one-dimensional spin-1/2 XY model to reveal its nontrivial energy spectrum, in particular the energy gap between the ground state and the first excited state. In the case of the isotropic XY model, the XX model, the gap behaves very irregularly as a function of the system size at a second order transition point. This is in stark contrast to the usual power-law decay of the gap and is reminiscent of the similar behavior at the first order phase transition in the infinite-range quantum XY model.

Assisted finite-rate adiabatic passage across a quantum critical point: exact solution for the quantum Ising model.

The dynamics of a quantum phase transition is inextricably woven with the formation of excitations, as a result of critical slowing down in the neighborhood of the critical point. We design a transitionless quantum driving through a quantum critical point, allowing one to access the ground state of the broken-symmetry phase by a finite-rate quench of the control parameter. The method is illustrated in the one-dimensional quantum Ising model in a transverse field.

A quantum phase transition in a quantum external field: superposing two magnetic phases.

We study an Ising chain undergoing a quantum phase transition in a quantum magnetic field. Such a field can be emulated by coupling the chain to a central spin initially in a superposition state. We show that--by adiabatically driving such a system--one can prepare a quantum superposition of any two ground states of the Ising chain.

Quantum fidelity in the thermodynamic limit.

We study quantum fidelity, the overlap between two ground states of a many-body system, focusing on the thermodynamic regime. We show how a drop in fidelity near a critical point encodes universal information about a quantum phase transition. Our general scaling results are illustrated in the quantum Ising chain for which a remarkably simple expression for fidelity is found.

Multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz in two dimensions: quantum Ising model.

We propose a symmetric version of the multiscale entanglement renormalization ansatz in two spatial dimensions (2D) and use this ansatz to find an unknown ground state of a 2D quantum system. Results in the simple 2D quantum Ising model on the 8x8 square lattice are found to be very accurate even with the smallest nontrivial truncation parameter.