Model-agnostic cooling algorithms for strongly interacting fermions

TL;DR

This paper presents a universal, model-agnostic cooling algorithm for strongly interacting fermions that does not require spectral knowledge, enabling efficient preparation of low-energy states on quantum devices.

Contribution

It introduces a randomized, symmetry-preserving cooling protocol that works across various fermionic models without spectral information, advancing quantum state preparation methods.

Findings

Universal cooling behavior observed across models

Monotonic energy relaxation achieved

Spectral weight concentrates at low energies

Abstract

Strongly interacting fermions underpin some of the most challenging problems in condensed matter physics, such as high-temperature superconductivity. The low-energy states of these systems encode their essential microscopic properties, yet remain largely inaccessible to classical methods. Quantum simulation offers a promising path forward, and among state-preparation strategies, engineered dissipation has emerged as a particularly compelling approach. Existing cooling protocols, however, typically rely on knowledge of the quasiparticle spectrum or mappings to free-fermion limits. In this letter, we introduce a randomized, symmetry-preserving cooling algorithm that requires no spectral information, using only local coupling operators to ancilla degrees of freedom with randomly sampled energy splittings to drive generic fermionic systems toward their low-energy manifold. We benchmark the protocol on canonical correlated fermionic models relevant to high-temperature superconductors, spanning metallic, density-wave, paired, superconducting, and phase-separated phases. Across all models, we observe universal cooling behavior: monotonic energy relaxation, concentration of spectral weight at low energies, and stabilization of correlated ground-state order. Our results establish randomized dissipative cooling as a general strategy for preparing strongly correlated fermionic states on programmable quantum devices.