Entanglement-magic separation in hybrid quantum circuits

Abstract

Magic describes the distance of a quantum state to its closest stabilizer state. It is -- like entanglement -- a necessary resource for a potential quantum advantage over classical computing. We study magic, quantified by stabilizer entropy, in a hybrid quantum circuit with projective measurements and a controlled injection of non-Clifford resources. We discover a phase transition between a (sub)-extensive and area law scaling of magic controlled by the rate of measurements. The same circuit also exhibits a phase transition in entanglement that appears, however, at a different critical measurement rate. This mechanism shows how, from the viewpoint of a potential quantum advantage, hybrid circuits can host multiple distinct transitions where not only entanglement, but also other non-linear properties of the density matrix come into play.