Lattice gauge theory

Gauge-Symmetry Protection Using Single-Body Terms

Quantum-simulator hardware promises new insights into problems from particle and nuclear physics. A major challenge is to reproduce gauge invariance, as violations of this quintessential property of lattice gauge theories can have dramatic …

Robustness of gauge-invariant dynamics against defects in ultracold-atom gauge theories

Recent years have seen strong progress in quantum simulation of gauge-theory dynamics using ultracold-atom experiments. A principal challenge in these efforts is the certification of gauge invariance, which has recently been realized in [B. Yang *et …

Origin of staircase prethermalization in lattice gauge theories

Quantum many-body systems with exact local gauge symmetries exhibit rich out-of-equilibrium physics such as constrained dynamics and disorder-free localization. In a joint submission, we present evidence of _staircase prethermalization_ in a $Z_2$ …

Staircase prethermalization and constrained dynamics in lattice gauge theories

The dynamics of lattice gauge theories is characterized by an abundance of local symmetry constraints. Although errors that break gauge symmetry appear naturally in NISQ-era quantum simulators, their influence on the gauge-theory dynamics is …

Observation of gauge invariance in a 71-site quantum simulator

The modern description of elementary particles is built on gauge theories. Such theories implement fundamental laws of physics by local symmetry constraints, such as Gauss's law in the interplay of charged matter and electromagnetic fields. Solving …

Reliability of lattice gauge theories

Currently, there are intense experimental efforts to realize lattice gauge theories in quantum simulators. Except for specific models, however, practical quantum simulators can never be fine-tuned to perfect local gauge invariance. There is thus a …

A scalable realization of local U(1) gauge invariance in cold atomic mixtures

In the fundamental laws of physics, gauge fields mediate the interaction between charged particles. An example is quantum electrodynamics -- the theory of electrons interacting with the electromagnetic field -- based on $U(1)$ gauge symmetry. Solving …

Real-time dynamics of lattice gauge theories with a few-qubit quantum computer

Gauge theories are fundamental to our understanding of interactions between the elementary constituents of matter as mediated by gauge bosons1,2. However, computing the real-time dynamics in gauge theories is a notorious challenge for classical …