Large-scale quantum simulations of dissipative spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains

Abstract

A quantum many-body system coupled to an environment relaxes to a nonequilibrium steady state that can sustain order with no equilibrium counterpart. Computing such steady states is harder than closed-system dynamics as the density matrix problem squares the Hilbert-space dimension, and no free energy selects the steady state. The dissipative spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain is a benchmark example for nonequilibrium steady state physics; various methods have each calculated its phase diagram but do not agree, and a controlled determination at large system size has remained out of reach. Here we simulate the Lindblad dynamics of chains of up to 50 sites on the superconducting processor ibm_kingston -- 100 simultaneously active qubits at up to 1700 entangling-gate depths -- realizing the dissipation via Stinespring dilation. The system's dissipative evolution is a self-correcting mechanism that effectively erases errors, so hardware noise enters only as a weak competing dissipator. We measure static structure factors and resolve ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, spin-density-wave, and paramagnetic steady states, mapping the phase diagram with 117 quantum hardware data points across the $J_x$--$J_y$ plane. We uncover a rich non-equilibrium phase diagram of ordered phases with only remnants of the mean-field order, and where sharp transitions give way to the crossovers expected in one dimension. We also find the existence of an incipient (Trotter-induced) spin density wave phase, highlighting the potential of controlled Trotterization as a tool to engineer various magnetic phases in dissipative spin systems. Our quantum simulations largely settle the lingering uncertainty regarding the correct phase diagram of this benchmark system. Moreover, they show that quantum computers are now a feasible tool for addressing scientific questions involving dissipative quantum systems.