Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) is the cornerstone of our understanding of quantum phases of matter. Recent works have generalized this concept to the domain of mixed states in open quantum systems, where symmetries can be realized in two distinct ways dubbed strong and weak. Novel intrinsically mixed phases of quantum matter can then be defined by the spontaneous breaking of strong symmetry down to weak symmetry. However, proposed order parameters for strong-to-weak SSB (based on mixed-state fidelities or purities) seem to require exponentially many copies of the state, raising the question: Is it possible to efficiently detect strong-to-weak SSB, in general? Here, we answer this question negatively in the paradigmatic cases of Z_{2} and U(1) symmetries. We construct ensembles of pseudorandom mixed states that do not break the strong symmetry yet are computationally indistinguishable from states that do. This rules out the existence of efficient state-agnostic protocols to detect strong-to-weak SSB.
Source: Physical Review Letters
DOI: 10.1103/1xzd-g9s5
Authors: Xiaozhou Feng, Zihan Cheng, Matteo Ippoliti
Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Language: English
Topic: Quantum many-body systems
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4416148076