dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaA Quantum to Classical Phase Transition in Noisy Quantum Computers
| Authors | Dorit Aharonov |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/9910081 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9910081 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevA.62.062311 |
Abstract
The fundamental problem of the transition from quantum to classical physics is usually explained by decoherence, and viewed as a gradual process. The study of entanglement, or quantum correlations, in noisy quantum computers implies that in some cases the transition from quantum to classical is actually a phase transition. We define the notion of entanglement length in $d$-dimensional noisy quantum computers, and show that a phase transition in entanglement occurs at a critical noise rate, where the entanglement length transforms from infinite to finite. Above the critical noise rate, macroscopic classical behavior is expected, whereas below the critical noise rate, subsystems which are macroscopically distant one from another can be entangled. The macroscopic classical behavior in the super-critical phase is shown to hold not only for quantum computers, but for any quantum system composed of macroscopically many finite state particles, with local interactions and local decoherence, subjected to some additional conditions. This phenomenon provides a possible explanation to the emergence of classical behavior in such systems. A simple formula for an upper bound on the entanglement length of any such system in the super-critical phase is given, which can be tested experimentally.
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"abstract": "The fundamental problem of the transition from quantum to classical physics\nis usually explained by decoherence, and viewed as a gradual process. The study\nof entanglement, or quantum correlations, in noisy quantum computers implies\nthat in some cases the transition from quantum to classical is actually a phase\ntransition. We define the notion of entanglement length in $d$-dimensional\nnoisy quantum computers, and show that a phase transition in entanglement\noccurs at a critical noise rate, where the entanglement length transforms from\ninfinite to finite. Above the critical noise rate, macroscopic classical\nbehavior is expected, whereas below the critical noise rate, subsystems which\nare macroscopically distant one from another can be entangled.\n The macroscopic classical behavior in the super-critical phase is shown to\nhold not only for quantum computers, but for any quantum system composed of\nmacroscopically many finite state particles, with local interactions and local\ndecoherence, subjected to some additional conditions.\n This phenomenon provides a possible explanation to the emergence of classical\nbehavior in such systems. A simple formula for an upper bound on the\nentanglement length of any such system in the super-critical phase is given,\nwhich can be tested experimentally.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/9910081",
"authors": [
"Dorit Aharonov"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevA.62.062311",
"title": "A Quantum to Classical Phase Transition in Noisy Quantum Computers",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9910081"
},
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