Experimental simulation of postselected closed timelike curves for decoding scrambled quantum information
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Quantum information scrambling (QIS) describes the rapid spread of initially localized information across an entire quantum many-body system through entanglement generation. Once scrambled, the original local information becomes encoded globally, inaccessible from any single subsystem. In this work, we introduce a circuit-based decoding protocol. By utilizing the concept of postselected closed timelike curves (PCTCs), we demonstrate how postselection allows us to interpret an ordinary quantum experiment as an example of a paradox-free trajectory, simulating a consistent time loop and reliable information recovery. Specifically, when conditioned on a final postselected outcome, this experiment can be interpreted as decoding the scrambled information even before the original information is generated. Furthermore, the success probability of the PCTC is governed by out-of-time-ordered correlations, which is a standard measure of QIS. We experimentally implement our protocol on cloud-based Quantinuum and IBM quantum processors. Our approach illuminates a unique quantum task under postselection: the causally consistent simulation of future-to-past scrambled information retrieval.
Source: Physical Review Research
DOI: 10.1103/tm83-sxpm
Authors: Yi-Te Huang, Hsiang-Wei Huang, Jhen-Dong Lin, Adam Miranowicz, Neill Lambert, Guang-Yin Chen, Franco Nori, Yueh-Nan Chen
Language: English
Subfield: Artificial Intelligence
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,625
Funders: National Science and Technology Council, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Narodowe Centrum Nauki, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, Zhejiang University, National Science and Technology Council, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Office of Naval Research, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, Moonshot Research and Development Program, ASPIRE
Awards: Quantum Resources in Open Quantum Systems, G1132077126, G2235139785, Tuning the Sensitivity and Scattering Properties of Non-Hermitian Parity-Time Symmetric Quantum Systems through the Interplay between Hermitian and Non-Hermitian Degeneracies( I ), G2521286739, G2780611546, G406660488, Quantum Advantages with Light and Atoms( Iv ), 初期の誤り耐性量子計算に向けた量子シミュレーションと機械学習, Cloud Computing for Quantum Science & Technology( III ), G5677209283, 誤り耐性型量子コンピュータにおける理論・ソフトウェアの研究開発, G7570018266, G7947070233
OpenAlex ID: W4406931418