Operator Fidelity Metric and Many-Body Physics

November 20, 2008 - 4:45-5:10pm

RLE Conference Center 36-428

Abstract

Dr. Zanardi will discuss the extension of the notion of quantum fidelity from the state-space level to the operator one. The operator fidelity metric, is the leading order term in the expansion of the operator fidelity for slightly different operator parameters.  He will show how phase boundaries e.g., separated by a quantum critical point, as well as global properties inside a given phase e.g., being chaotic, can be investigated by this quantum information-geometric tool.

Bio

Dr. Paolo Zanardi obtained his Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" in 1996. Since then he has worked for several years in the Quantum Information Theory group at the ISI Foundation in Torino. His research interests included among the others: general theory of decoherence-free quantum information processing (QIP), implementation of QIP devices with semiconductor nano-structures, geometrical/topological quantum computation. In 2007 Dr. Zanardi moved to the Physics Department of University of Southern California as an Associate Professor. In the last few years he has been active at the intersection of many-body physics and quantum information. In particular he and his collaborators investigated the role of quantum entanglement and fidelity in quantum phase transitions.