paper / jasonalicea / Jun 12
This work establishes a general symmetry-based framework connecting the stability of non-Abelian topological order to statistical mechanics models, where the symmetries of the stat-mech model directly expose which anyonic excitations proliferate and cause phase transitions. Using D4 topological order as an exemplar, the authors demonstrate via Monte-Carlo simulations that proliferating two non-Abelian anyon species can parasitically condense a shared Abelian fusion outcome beyond a finite threshold, destroying the topological order. Crucially, the resulting trivial phase retains memory of which anyons condensed, differing from the phase obtained by Abelian charge condensation alone—a distinction that informs decoder design for non-Abelian topological quantum memories.
topological-quantum-computingnon-abelian-anyonsstatistical-mechanicsquantum-error-correctiondecoherencequantum-phases
“The instability of topological order to wavefunction deformations and decoherence is generically captured by statistical mechanics models whose symmetries reveal the corrupting anyonic excitations.”
paper / jasonalicea / Feb 11
This paper investigates the behavior of three-dimensional electron gases under strong magnetic fields, exploring how interactions and symmetry breaking can lead to various emergent phases. The focus is on the competition between charge density waves and superconductivity under different perturbations, ultimately revealing conditions for unconventional superconductivity and non-Fermi liquid states in these extreme environments.
condensed-mattersuperconductivityquantum-hall-effectnon-fermi-liquidweyl-superconductorsmagnetic-fieldselectron-gas
“Generic local interactions can stabilize a nematic charge density wave (CDW) in which integer quantum Hall layers spontaneously 'tilt', leading to unconventional Hall response.”
paper / jasonalicea / Jan 7
This paper details interferometric sensing protocols leveraging quantum critical wavefunctions, comparing their performance against GHZ and spin-squeezed states. It introduces a symmetry-based algorithm for optimal measurement strategies in both magnetic and Rydberg atom systems. The research investigates the resilience of quantum criticality in sensing applications under various non-ideal conditions, demonstrating potential advantages over traditional methods and even some performance enhancements due to non-unitary deformations.
quantum-sensingquantum-metrologymany-body-physicsdecoherencequantum-criticality
“Entangled many-body states enable high-precision quantum sensing beyond the standard quantum limit.”
paper / jasonalicea / Jul 7
This work introduces a protocol for extracting defect physics from standard projective measurement snapshots already collected in quantum simulator experiments, bypassing the need to explicitly engineer defects in hardware. Using bulk snapshots alone — demonstrated on a 1D Rydberg atom realization of quantum Ising criticality — the protocol recovers both the defect entropy and the continuous line of fixed points of defect conformal field theory (dCFT). This reuse of existing datasets for multiple defect types has direct implications for experimental efficiency, and the connection to weak-measurement-altered criticality situates the protocol within an active frontier of measurement-induced phase transitions.
quantum-simulatorsquantum-computingdefect-physicsconformal-field-theoryrydberg-atomsquantum-criticalityprojective-measurements
“Defect physics can be probed from bulk quantum simulator snapshots without introducing the defect explicitly into the system.”
paper / jasonalicea / Jun 27
This paper proposes a practical experimental scheme to demonstrate measurement-altered criticality in Rydberg atom chains, specifically at Ising and tricritical Ising phase transitions. The method involves projectively measuring a periodic subset of atoms, which is shown to distinctly alter quantum critical correlations. Despite relying on post-selection, the scheme is viable due to surprisingly high probabilities (O(10%) for O(100) sites) of obtaining the dramatic measurement outcomes, and requires minimal additional experimental overhead compared to characterizing unmeasured critical states.
quantum-physicsrydberg-atomsquantum-criticalityweak-measurementsstatistical-mechanicsising-model
“Weak measurements can significantly change the universal properties of quantum critical wavefunctions.”