Observation of Robust and Coherent Non-Abelian Hadron Dynamics on Noisy Quantum Processors

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18080v1
• Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2026 09:09:55 GMT
• Title: Observation of Robust and Coherent Non-Abelian Hadron Dynamics on Noisy Quantum Processors
• Authors: Fran Ilčić, Ritajit Majumdar, Emil Mathew, Nathan Earnest-Noble, Indrakshi Raychowdhury,
• Abstract summary: This study reports the quantum simulation of hadron dynamics within a $ (1+1)$-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory using a 156-qubit IBM superconducting processor.<n>We successfully observe the continuum-cone propagation of a confined meson and internal oscillations indicative of early-time had breathing modes.<n>Results establish a scalable pathway for simulating non-Abelian dynamics on near-term quantum hardware.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: The real-time evolution of strongly interacting matter remains a frontier of fundamental physics, as classical simulations are hampered by exponential Hilbert space growth and entanglement-driven bottlenecks in tensor networks. This study reports the quantum simulation of hadron dynamics within a $(1+1)$-dimensional SU(2) lattice gauge theory using a 156-qubit IBM superconducting processor. Leveraging a hardware-efficient Loop-String-Hadron (LSH) encoding, we simulate the dynamics of the physical degrees of freedom on a $60$-site lattice in the weak-coupling regime, as a crucial step toward the continuum limit. We successfully observe the light-cone propagation of a confined meson and internal oscillations indicative of early-time hadronic breathing modes. Notably, these high-fidelity results were obtained directly from the quantum data via a differential measurement protocol, together with measurement error mitigation, demonstrating a robust pathway for large-scale simulations even on noisy hardware. To validate the results, we benchmarked the quantum algorithm and outcome from the quantum processor against state-of-the-art approximated classical algorithms using CPU -- based on tensor network methods and Pauli propagation method, respectively. Furthermore, we provide a quantitative comparison demonstrating that as the system approaches the weak-coupling or the continuum limit, the quantum processor maintains a consistent structural robustness where classical tensor networks and Pauli propagation methods encounter an onset of exponential complexity or symmetry violations as an artifact of approximation in the algorithm. These results establish a scalable pathway for simulating non-Abelian dynamics on near-term quantum hardware and mark a critical step toward achieving a practical quantum advantage in high-energy physics.

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