Measurement-and Feedback-Driven Non-Equilibrium Phase Transitions on a Quantum Processor

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of a superconducting quantum processor capable of high-fidelity mid-circuit measurements and fast feedback, enabling the experimental observation of distinct non-equilibrium phase transitions in quantum many-body dynamics.

Contribution

The authors introduce a superconducting quantum processor with enhanced measurement and feedback capabilities, allowing the first experimental resolution of multiple non-equilibrium phase transitions.

Findings

Observation of an absorbing-state transition consistent with directed percolation

Detection of a measurement-induced entanglement transition at the quantum trajectory level

Critical exponents matching theoretical predictions for the absorbing-state transition

Abstract

Mid-circuit measurements and feedback operations conditioned on the measurement outcomes are essential for implementing quantum error-correction on quantum hardware. When integrated in quantum many-body dynamics, they can give rise to novel non-equilibrium phase transitions both at the level of each individual quantum trajectory and the averaged quantum channel. Experimentally resolving both transitions on realistic devices has been challenging due to limitations on the fidelity and the significant latency for performing mid-circuit measurements and feedback operations in real time. Here, we develop a superconducting quantum processor that enables global mid-circuit measurement with an average quantum non-demolition (QND) fidelity of 98.7% and fast conditional feedback with a 200 ns real-time decision latency. Using this platform, we demonstrate the coexistence of an absorbing-state transition in the quantum channel and a measurement-induced entanglement transition at the level of individual quantum trajectories. For the absorbing-state transition, we experimentally extract a set of critical exponents at the transition point, which is in excellent agreement with the directed percolation universality class. Crucially, the two transitions occur at distinct values of the tuning parameter. Our results demonstrate that adaptive quantum circuits provide a powerful platform for exploring non-equilibrium quantum many-body dynamics.