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In quantum mechanics, a quantum speed limit (QSL) is a limitation on the minimum time for a quantum system to evolve between two distinguishable (orthogonal) states.^[1] QSL theorems are closely related to time-energy uncertainty relations. In 1945, Leonid Mandelstam and Igor Tamm derived a time-energy uncertainty relation that bounds the speed of evolution in terms of the energy dispersion.^[2] Over half a century later, Norman Margolus and Lev Levitin showed that the speed of evolution cannot exceed the mean energy,^[3] a result known as the Margolus–Levitin theorem. Realistic physical systems in contact with an environment are known as open quantum systems and their evolution is also subject to QSL.^[4]^[5] Quite remarkably it was shown that environmental effects, such as non-Markovian dynamics can speed up quantum processes,^[6] which was verified in a cavity QED experiment.^[7]

QSL have been used to explore the limits of computation^[8]^[9] and complexity. In 2017, QSLs were studied in a quantum oscillator at high temperature.^[10] In 2018, it was shown that QSL are not restricted to the quantum domain and that similar bounds hold in classical systems.^[11]^[12] In 2021, both the Mandelstam-Tamm and the Margolus–Levitin QSL bounds were concurrently tested in a single experiment^[13] which indicated there are "two different regimes: one where the Mandelstam-Tamm limit constrains the evolution at all times, and a second where a crossover to the Margolus-Levitin limit occurs at longer times."

Preliminary definitions

The speed limit theorems can be stated for pure states, and for mixed states; they take a simpler form for pure states. An arbitrary pure state can be written as a linear combination of energy eigenstates:

|\psi \rangle =\sum _{n}c_{n}|E_{n}\rangle .

The task is to provide a lower bound for the time interval $t_{\perp }$ required for the initial state $|\psi \rangle$ to evolve into a state orthogonal to $|\psi \rangle$ . The time evolution of a pure state is given by the Schrödinger equation:

|\psi _{t}\rangle =\sum _{n}c_{n}e^{itE_{n}/\hbar }|E_{n}\rangle .

Orthogonality is obtained when

\langle \psi _{0}|\psi _{t}\rangle =0

and the minimum time interval $t=t_{\perp }$ required to achieve this condition is called the orthogonalization interval^[2] or orthogonalization time.^[14]

Mandelstam–Tamm limit

For pure states, the Mandelstam–Tamm theorem states that the minimum time $t_{\perp }$ required for a state to evolve into an orthogonal state is bounded below:

t_{\perp }\geq {\frac {\pi \hbar }{2\,\delta E}}={\frac {h}{4\,\delta E}}

,

where

(\delta E)^{2}=\left\langle \psi |H^{2}|\psi \right\rangle -(\left\langle \psi |H|\psi \right\rangle )^{2}={\frac {1}{2}}\sum _{n,m}|c_{n}|^{2}|c_{m}|^{2}(E_{n}-E_{m})^{2}

,

is the variance of the system's energy and $H$ is the Hamiltonian operator. The quantum evolution is independent of the particular Hamiltonian used to transport the quantum system along a given curve in the projective Hilbert space; the distance along this curve is measured by the Fubini–Study metric.^[15] This is sometimes called the quantum angle, as it can be understood as the arccos of the inner product of the initial and final states.

For mixed states

The Mandelstam–Tamm limit can also be stated for mixed states and for time-varying Hamiltonians. In this case, the Bures metric must be employed in place of the Fubini–Study metric. A mixed state can be understood as a sum over pure states, weighted by classical probabilities; likewise, the Bures metric is a weighted sum of the Fubini–Study metric. For a time-varying Hamiltonian $H_{t}$ and time-varying density matrix $\rho _{t},$ the variance of the energy is given by

\sigma _{H}^{2}(t)=|{\text{tr}}(\rho _{t}H_{t}^{2})|-|{\text{tr}}(\rho _{t}H_{t})|^{2}

The Mandelstam–Tamm limit then takes the form

\int _{0}^{\tau }\sigma _{H}(t)dt\geq \hbar D_{B}(\rho _{0},\rho _{\tau })

,

where $D_{B}$ is the Bures distance between the starting and ending states. The Bures distance is geodesic, giving the shortest possible distance of any continuous curve connecting two points, with $\sigma _{H}(t)$ understood as an infinitessimal path length along a curve parametrized by $t.$ Equivalently, the time $\tau$ taken to evolve from $\rho$ to $\rho '$ is bounded as

\tau \geq {\frac {\hbar }{{\overline {\sigma }}_{H}}}D_{B}(\rho ,\rho ')

where

{\overline {\sigma }}_{H}={\frac {1}{\tau }}\int _{0}^{\tau }\sigma _{H}(t)dt

is the time-averaged uncertainty in energy. For a pure state evolving under a time-varying Hamiltonian, the time $\tau$ taken to evolve from one pure state to another pure state orthogonal to it is bounded as^[16]

\tau \geq {\frac {\hbar }{{\overline {\sigma }}_{H}}}{\frac {\pi }{2}}

This follows, as for a pure state, one has the density matrix $\rho _{t}=|\psi _{t}\rangle \langle \psi _{t}|.$ The quantum angle (Fubini–Study distance) is then $D_{B}(\rho _{0},\rho _{t})=\arccos |\langle \psi _{0}|\psi _{t}\rangle |$ and so one concludes $D_{B}=\arccos 0=\pi /2$ when the initial and final states are orthogonal.

Margolus–Levitin limit

For the case of a pure state, Margolus and Levitin^[3] obtain a different limit, that

\tau _{\perp }\geq {\frac {h}{4\langle E\rangle }},

where $\langle E\rangle$ is the average energy,

\langle E\rangle =E_{\text{avg}}=\langle \psi |H|\psi \rangle =\sum _{n}|c_{n}|^{2}E_{n}.

This form applies when the Hamiltonian is not time-dependent, and the ground-state energy is defined to be zero.

For time-varying states

The Margolus–Levitin theorem can also be generalized to the case where the Hamiltonian varies with time, and the system is described by a mixed state.^[16] In this form, it is given by

\int _{0}^{\tau }|{\text{tr}}(\rho _{t}H_{t})|dt\geq \hbar D_{B}(\rho _{0},\rho _{\tau })

with the ground-state defined so that it has energy zero at all times.

This provides a result for time varying states. Although it also provides a bound for mixed states, the bound (for mixed states) can be so loose as to be uninformative.^[17] The Margolus–Levitin theorem has not yet been established in time-dependent quantum systems, whose Hamiltonians $H_{t}$ are driven by arbitrary time-dependent parameters, except for the adiabatic case.^[18]

Levitin–Toffoli limit

A 2009 result by Lev B. Levitin and Tommaso Toffoli states that the precise bound for the Mandelstam–Tamm theorem is attained only for a qubit state.^[14] This is a two-level state in an equal superposition

\left|\psi _{q}\right\rangle ={\frac {1}{\sqrt {2}}}\left(\left|E_{0}\right\rangle +e^{i\varphi }\left|E_{1}\right\rangle \right)

for energy eigenstates $E_{0}=0$ and $E_{1}=\pm \pi \hbar /\Delta t$ . The states $\left|E_{0}\right\rangle$ and $\left|E_{1}\right\rangle$ are unique up to degeneracy of the energy level $E_{1}$ and an arbitrary phase factor $\varphi .$ This result is sharp, in that this state also satisfies the Margolus–Levitin bound, in that $E_{\text{avg}}=\delta E$ and so $t_{\perp }=\hbar \pi /2E_{\text{avg}}=\hbar \pi /2\delta E.$ This result establishes that the combined limits are strict:

t_{\perp }\geq \max \left({\frac {\pi \hbar }{2\,\delta E}}\;,\;{\frac {\pi \hbar }{2\,E_{\text{avg}}}}\right)

Levitin and Toffoli also provide a bound for the average energy in terms of the maximum. For any pure state $\left|\psi \right\rangle ,$ the average energy is bounded as

{\frac {E_{\text{max}}}{4}}\leq E_{\text{avg}}\leq {\frac {E_{\text{max}}}{2}}

where $E_{\text{max}}$ is the maximum energy eigenvalue appearing in $\left|\psi \right\rangle .$ (This is the quarter-pinched sphere theorem in disguise, transported to complex projective space.) Thus, one has the bound

{\frac {\pi \hbar }{E_{\text{max}}}}\leq t_{\perp }\leq {\frac {2\pi \hbar }{E_{\text{max}}}}

The strict lower bound $E_{\text{max}}t_{\perp }=\pi \hbar$ is again attained for the qubit state $\left|\psi _{q}\right\rangle$ with $E_{\text{max}}=E_{1}$ .

Bremermann's limit

The quantum speed limit bounds establish an upper bound at which computation can be performed. Computational machinery is constructed out of physical matter that follows quantum mechanics, and each operation, if it is to be unambiguous, must be a transition of the system from one state to an orthogonal state. Suppose the computing machinery is a physical system evolving under Hamiltonian that does not change with time. Then, according to the Margolus–Levitin theorem, the number of operations per unit time per unit energy is bounded above by

{\frac {2}{\hbar \pi }}=6\times 10^{33}\mathrm {s} ^{-1}\cdot \mathrm {J} ^{-1}

This establishes a strict upper limit on the number of calculations that can be performed by physical matter. The processing rate of all forms of computation cannot be higher than about 6 × 10³³ operations per second per joule of energy. This is including "classical" computers, since even classical computers are still made of matter that follows quantum mechanics.^[19]^[20]

This bound is not merely a fanciful limit: it has practical ramifications for quantum-resistant cryptography. Imagining a computer operating at this limit, a brute-force search to break a 128-bit encryption key requires only modest resources. Brute-forcing a 256-bit key requires planetary-scale computers, while a brute-force search of 512-bit keys is effectively unattainable within the lifetime of the universe, even if galactic-sized computers were applied to the problem.

The Bekenstein bound limits the amount of information that can be stored within a volume of space. The maximal rate of change of information within that volume of space is given by the quantum speed limit. This product of limits is sometimes called the Bremermann–Bekenstein limit; it is saturated by Hawking radiation.^[1] That is, Hawking radiation is emitted at the maximal allowed rate set by these bounds.

References

^ ^a ^b Deffner, S.; Campbell, S. (10 October 2017). "Quantum speed limits: from Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to optimal quantum control". J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 50 (45): 453001. arXiv:1705.08023. doi:10.1088/1751-8121/aa86c6. S2CID 3477317.
^ ^a ^b Mandelshtam, L. I.; Tamm, I. E. (1945). "The uncertainty relation between energy and time in nonrelativistic quantum mechanics". J. Phys. (USSR). 9: 249–254. Reprinted as Mandelstam, L.; Tamm, Ig. (1991). "The Uncertainty Relation Between Energy and Time in Non-relativistic Quantum Mechanics". In Bolotovskii, Boris M.; Frenkel, Victor Ya.; Peierls, Rudolf (eds.). Selected Papers. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 115–123. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-74626-0_8. ISBN 978-3-642-74628-4. Retrieved 2024-04-06.
^ ^a ^b Margolus, Norman; Levitin, Lev B. (September 1998). "The maximum speed of dynamical evolution". Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena. 120 (1–2): 188–195. arXiv:quant-ph/9710043. doi:10.1016/S0167-2789(98)00054-2. S2CID 468290.
^ Taddei, M. M.; Escher, B. M.; Davidovich, L.; de Matos Filho, R. L. (30 January 2013). "Quantum Speed Limit for Physical Processes". Physical Review Letters. 110 (5): 050402. arXiv:1209.0362. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.050402. PMID 23414007. S2CID 38373815.
^ del Campo, A.; Egusquiza, I. L.; Plenio, M. B.; Huelga, S. F. (30 January 2013). "Quantum Speed Limits in Open System Dynamics". Physical Review Letters. 110 (5): 050403. arXiv:1209.1737. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.050403. PMID 23414008. S2CID 8362503.
^ Deffner, S.; Lutz, E. (3 July 2013). "Quantum speed limit for non-Markovian dynamics". Physical Review Letters. 111 (1): 010402. arXiv:1302.5069. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.010402. PMID 23862985. S2CID 36711861.
^ Cimmarusti, A. D.; Yan, Z.; Patterson, B. D.; Corcos, L. P.; Orozco, L. A.; Deffner, S. (11 June 2015). "Environment-Assisted Speed-up of the Field Evolution in Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics". Physical Review Letters. 114 (23): 233602. arXiv:1503.02591. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.233602. PMID 26196802. S2CID 14904633.
^ Lloyd, Seth (31 August 2000). "Ultimate physical limits to computation". Nature. 406 (6799): 1047–1054. arXiv:quant-ph/9908043. doi:10.1038/35023282. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 10984064. S2CID 75923.
^ Lloyd, Seth (24 May 2002). "Computational Capacity of the Universe". Physical Review Letters. 88 (23): 237901. arXiv:quant-ph/0110141. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.237901. PMID 12059399. S2CID 6341263.
^ Deffner, S. (20 October 2017). "Geometric quantum speed limits: a case for Wigner phase space". New Journal of Physics. 19 (10): 103018. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/aa83dc. hdl:11603/19409.
^ Shanahan, B.; Chenu, A.; Margolus, N.; del Campo, A. (12 February 2018). "Quantum Speed Limits across the Quantum-to-Classical Transition". Physical Review Letters. 120 (7): 070401. arXiv:1710.07335. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.070401. PMID 29542956.
^ Okuyama, Manaka; Ohzeki, Masayuki (12 February 2018). "Quantum Speed Limit is Not Quantum". Physical Review Letters. 120 (7): 070402. arXiv:1710.03498. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.070402. PMID 29542975. S2CID 4027745.
^ Ness, Gal; Lam, Manolo R.; Alt, Wolfgang; Meschede, Dieter; Sagi, Yoav; Alberti, Andrea (22 December 2021). "Observing crossover between quantum speed limits". Science Advances. 7 (52): eabj9119. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abj9119. PMC 8694601. PMID 34936463.
^ ^a ^b Lev B. Levitin; Tommaso Toffoli (2009), "Fundamental Limit on the Rate of Quantum Dynamics: The Unified Bound Is Tight", Physical Review Letters, 103 (16): 160502, arXiv:0905.3417, Bibcode:2009PhRvL.103p0502L, doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.160502, ISSN 0031-9007, PMID 19905679, S2CID 36320152
^ Aharonov, Yakir; Anandan, Jeeva (1990). "Geometry of quantum evolution". Physical Review Letters. 65 (14): 1697–1700. Bibcode:1990PhRvL..65.1697A. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.65.1697. PMID 10042340.
^ ^a ^b Deffner, Sebastian; Lutz, Eric (2013-08-23). "Energy–time uncertainty relation for driven quantum systems". Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. 46 (33): 335302. arXiv:1104.5104. Bibcode:2013JPhA...46G5302D. doi:10.1088/1751-8113/46/33/335302. hdl:11603/19394. ISSN 1751-8113. S2CID 119313370.
^ Marvian, Iman; Spekkens, Robert W.; Zanardi, Paolo (2016-05-24). "Quantum speed limits, coherence, and asymmetry". Physical Review A. 93 (5). arXiv:1510.06474. Bibcode:2016PhRvA..93e2331M. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.93.052331. ISSN 2469-9926.
^ Okuyama, Manaka; Ohzeki, Masayuki (2018). "Comment on 'Energy-time uncertainty relation for driven quantum systems'". Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical. 51: 318001. arXiv:1802.00995. doi:10.1088/1751-8121/aacb90. ISSN 1751-8113.
^ Bremermann, H.J. (1962) Optimization through evolution and recombination In: Self-Organizing systems 1962, edited M.C. Yovits et al., Spartan Books, Washington, D.C. pp. 93–106.
^ Bremermann, H.J. (1965) Quantum noise and information. 5th Berkeley Symposium on Mathematical Statistics and Probability; Univ. of California Press, Berkeley, California.