Quantum-State Texture Dynamics: Theory and Experiment

Abstract

Quantum-state texture (QST) has found applications in several fields from quantum foundations and computation to quantum criticality. However, a general theory of QST dynamics under arbitrary physical processes remains unavailable, limiting both its practical application and experimental exploration. Here, we demonstrate that the QST response to an arbitrary finite-dimensional channel is fully encoded in the dual evolution of a single reference state. This description yields necessary and sufficient conditions for texture preservation and implies exact conservation under all free-unital dynamics. Using a nuclear magnetic resonance quantum processor, we experimentally verify these predictions across distinct channel classes. Furthermore, we show that local QST measurements provide an operational signature of entangling gates in circuit layers. Our results establish quantum-state texture as a resource and a practical diagnostic tool in quantum information processing.