We perform a nonperturbative calculation of the shear viscosity for (2+1)-dimensional SU(2) gauge theory by using the lattice Hamiltonian formulation. The retarded Green’s function of the stress-energy tensor is calculated from real time evolution via exact diagonalization of the lattice Hamiltonian with a local Hilbert space truncation, and the shear viscosity is obtained via the Kubo formula. When taking the continuum limit, we account for the renormalization group flow of the coupling but no additional operator renormalization. We find the ratio of the shear viscosity and the entropy density ηs is consistent with a well-known holographic result 14π at several temperatures on a 4×4 honeycomb lattice with the local electric representation truncated at jmax=12. We also find the ratio of the spectral function and frequency ρxy(ω)ω exhibits a peak structure when the frequency is small. Both the exact diagonalization method and simple matrix product state classical simulation method beyond jmax=12 on bigger lattices require exponentially growing resources. So we develop a quantum computing method to calculate the retarded Green’s function and analyze various systematics of the calculation including jmax truncation and finite size effects, Trotter errors and the thermal state preparation efficiency. Our thermal state preparation method still requires resources that grow exponentially with the lattice size, but with a very small prefactor at high temperature. We test our quantum circuit on both the Quantinuum emulator and the IBM simulator for a small lattice and obtain results consistent with the classical computing ones. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Using the open quantum system formalism and effective field theory of QCD, we derive the Boltzmann transport equation of quarkonium inside the quark-gluon plasma. Our derivation illuminates that the success of transport equations in quarkonium phenomenology is closely related to the separation of scales in the problem.

We present a framework to simulate the dynamics of hard probes such as heavy quarks or jets in a hot, strongly-coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on a quantum computer. Hard probes in the QGP can be treated as open quantum systems governed in the Markovian limit by the Lindblad equation. However, due to large computational costs, most current phenomenological calculations of hard probes evolving in the QGP use semiclassical approximations of the quantum evolution. Quantum computation can mitigate these costs, and offers the potential for a fully quantum treatment with exponential speedup over classical techniques. We report a simplified demonstration of our framework on IBM Q quantum devices, and apply the Random Identity Insertion Method (RIIM) to account for CNOT depolarization noise, in addition to measurement error mitigation. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of simulating open quantum systems on current and near-term quantum devices, which is of broad relevance to applications in nuclear physics, quantum information, and other fields.

We present simulations of nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum field theories on digital quantum computers. As a representative example, we consider the Schwinger model, a (1+1)-dimensional U(1) gauge theory, coupled through a Yukawa-type interaction to a thermal environment described by a scalar field theory. We use the Hamiltonian formulation of the Schwinger model discretized on a spatial lattice. With the thermal scalar fields traced out, the Schwinger model can be treated as an open quantum system and its real-time dynamics are governed by a Lindblad equation in the Markovian limit. The interaction with the environment ultimately drives the system to thermal equilibrium. In the quantum Brownian motion limit, the Lindblad equation is related to a field theoretical Caldeira-Leggett equation. By using the Stinespring dilation theorem with ancillary qubits, we perform studies of both the nonequilibrium dynamics and the preparation of a thermal state in the Schwinger model using IBM's simulator and quantum devices. The real-time dynamics of field theories as open quantum systems and the thermal state preparation studied here are relevant for a variety of applications in nuclear and particle physics, quantum information and cosmology.

We present a framework to simulate the dynamics of hard probes such as heavy quarks or jets in a hot, strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma (QGP) on a quantum computer. Hard probes in the QGP can be treated as open quantum systems governed in the Markovian limit by the Lindblad equation. However, due to large computational costs, most current phenomenological calculations of hard probes evolving in the QGP use semiclassical approximations of the quantum evolution. Quantum computation can mitigate these costs and offers the potential for a fully quantum treatment with exponential speed-up over classical techniques. We report a simplified demonstration of our framework on IBM Q quantum devices and apply the random identity insertion method to account for cnot depolarization noise, in addition to measurement error mitigation. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of simulating open quantum systems on current and near-term quantum devices, which is of broad relevance to applications in nuclear physics, quantum information, and other fields.

We outline the physics opportunities provided by the Electron Ion Collider (EIC). These include the study of the parton structure of the nucleon and nuclei, the onset of gluon saturation, the production of jets and heavy flavor, hadron spectroscopy and tests of fundamental symmetries. We review the present status and future challenges in EIC theory that have to be addressed in order to realize this ambitious and impactful physics program, including how to engage a diverse and inclusive workforce. In order to address these many-fold challenges, we propose a coordinated effort involving theory groups with differing expertise is needed. We discuss the scientific goals and scope of such an EIC Theory Alliance.