Preparation of Matrix Product States with Log-Depth Quantum Circuits.

We consider the preparation of matrix product states (MPS) on quantum devices via quantum circuits of local gates. We first prove that faithfully preparing translation-invariant normal MPS of N sites requires a circuit depth T=Ω(logN). We then introduce an algorithm based on the renormalization-group transformation to prepare normal MPS with an error ε in depth T=O[log(N/ε)], which is optimal. We also show that measurement and feedback leads to an exponential speedup of the algorithm to T=O[loglog(N/ε)]. Measurements also allow one to prepare arbitrary translation-invariant MPS, including long-range non-normal ones, in the same depth. Finally, the algorithm naturally extends to inhomogeneous MPS.

Information Scrambling over Bipartitions: Equilibration, Entropy Production, and Typicality.

In recent years, the out-of-time-order correlator (OTOC) has emerged as a diagnostic tool for information scrambling in quantum many-body systems. Here, we present exact analytical results for the OTOC for a typical pair of random local operators supported over two regions of a bipartition. Quite remarkably, we show that this "bipartite OTOC" is equal to the operator entanglement of the evolution, and we determine its interplay with entangling power. Furthermore, we compute long-time averages of the OTOC and reveal their connection with eigenstate entanglement. For Hamiltonian systems, we uncover a hierarchy of constraints over the structure of the spectrum and elucidate how this affects the equilibration value of the OTOC. Finally, we provide operational significance to this bipartite OTOC by unraveling intimate connections with average entropy production and scrambling of information at the level of quantum channels.

Quantum Circuits Assisted by Local Operations and Classical Communication: Transformations and Phases of Matter.

We introduce deterministic state-transformation protocols between many-body quantum states that can be implemented by low-depth quantum circuits followed by local operations and classical communication. We show that this gives rise to a classification of phases in which topologically ordered states or other paradigmatic entangled states become trivial. We also investigate how the set of unitary operations is enhanced by local operations and classical communication in this scenario, allowing one to perform certain large-depth quantum circuits in terms of low-depth ones.

Quantifying the Incompatibility of Quantum Measurements Relative to a Basis.

Motivated by quantum resource theories, we introduce a notion of incompatibility for quantum measurements relative to a reference basis. The notion arises by considering states diagonal in that basis and investigating whether probability distributions associated with different quantum measurements can be converted into one another by probabilistic postprocessing. The induced preorder over quantum measurements is directly related to multivariate majorization and gives rise to families of monotones, i.e., scalar quantifiers that preserve the ordering. For the case of orthogonal measurement we establish a quantitative connection between incompatibility, quantum coherence and entropic uncertainty relations. We generalize the construction to include arbitrary positive-operator-valued measurements and report complete families of monotones.

Fundamental Limitations to Local Energy Extraction in Quantum Systems.

We examine when it is possible to locally extract energy from a bipartite quantum system in the presence of strong coupling and entanglement, a task which is expected to be restricted by entanglement in the low-energy eigenstates. We fully characterize this distinct notion of "passivity" by finding necessary and sufficient conditions for such extraction to be impossible, using techniques from semidefinite programing. This is the first time in which such techniques are used in the context of energy extraction, which opens a way of exploring further kinds of passivity in quantum thermodynamics. We also significantly strengthen a previous result of Frey et al., by showing a physically relevant quantitative bound on the threshold temperature at which this passivity appears. Furthermore, we show how this no-go result also holds for thermal states in the thermodynamic limit, provided that the spatial correlations decay sufficiently fast, and we give numerical examples.