Observation of a non-Hermitian supersonic mode on a trapped-ion quantum computer

Yuxuan Zhang (), Juan Carrasquilla and Yong Baek Kim
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Yuxuan Zhang: University of Toronto
Juan Carrasquilla: ETH Zürich
Yong Baek Kim: University of Toronto

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Quantum computers have long been anticipated to excel in simulating quantum many-body physics. In this work, we demonstrate the power of variational quantum circuits for resource-efficient simulations of dynamical and equilibrium physics in non-Hermitian systems. Using a variational quantum compilation scheme for fermionic systems, we reduce gate count, save qubits, and eliminate the need for postselection, a major challenge in simulating non-Hermitian dynamics via standard Trotterization. On the Quantinuum H1 trapped-ion processor, we experimentally observed a supersonic mode on an n = 18 fermionic chain after a non-Hermitian, nearest-neighbor interacting quench, which would otherwise be forbidden in a Hermitian system. Additionally, we investigate sequential quantum circuits generated by tensor networks for ground-state preparation using a variance minimization scheme, accurately capturing correlation functions and energies across an exceptional point on a dissipative spin chain up to length n = 20 using only 3 qubits. On the other hand, we provide an analytical example demonstrating that simulating single-qubit non-Hermitian dynamics for $$\Theta (\log (n))$$ Θ ( log ( n ) ) time from certain initial states is exponentially hard on a quantum computer. Our work raises many intriguing questions about the intrinsic properties of non-Hermitian systems that permit efficient quantum simulation.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57930-3

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