IQIM Postdoctoral and Graduate Student Seminar

Abstract: Dissipation and decoherence are sometimes viewed as sources of noise, but they can also drive quantum many-body systems into novel nonequilibrium steady states. In this talk, I will present how a class of Lindbladian dynamics gives rise to steady states that can be understood as "Gutzwiller projected" wave functions in the doubled Hilbert space, leveraging the Choi-Jamiolkowski isomorphism. This perspective establishes a connection between open quantum systems and spin liquids—phases of matter intimately related to the notion of emergent gauge fields. Specifically, when starting from a gapless free fermion state, the steady-state density matrix takes the form of an analog of an algebraic spin liquid, which we refer to as the "Choi-spin liquid." I will discuss how projective measurements without post-selection can dynamically prepare such states. Theoretical predictions for Choi-spin liquids can be informed by the well-established understanding of spin liquid physics, opening up ways to both novel nonequilibrium states and potentially new ways to probe spin liquids. I will outline a protocol for testing these predictions in quantum simulation platforms and discuss broader implications for dissipative state engineering and emergent gauge fields in nonequilibrium systems.

Lunch will be provided following the talk.