Work

Neutrino thermalization via randomization on a quantum processor.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The dynamical evolution of neutrino flavor in supernovae can be modeled by an all-to-all spin Hamiltonian with random couplings. Simulating such two-local Hamiltonian dynamics remains a major challenge, as methods with controllable accuracy require circuit depths that increase at least linearly with system size, thereby exceeding the capabilities of current quantum devices. The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis predicts that these systems should thermalize, a behavior confirmed in small-scale classical simulations. Here we investigate flavor thermalization in much larger systems using random quantum circuits as an empirical tool to emulate the non-local dynamics, and demonstrate that thermal behavior can be reproduced using a depth independent of system size. By simulating systems of over one hundred qubits, we find that the thermalization time grows approximately as the square root of the system size, consistent with predictions from semi-classical methods. Our study also illustrates that near-term quantum devices are useful tools to test and validate empirical classical methods, and highlights an application of random circuits in physics.

Source: PubMed Central

DOI: 10.1038/s42005-026-02697-2

Authors: Oriel Kiss, Ivano Tavernelli, Francesco Tacchino, Denis Lacroix, Alessandro Roggero