Sebastian Deffner
@quthermo.bsky.social
Father of twins, theoretical physicist, quantum thermodynamicist; Thermodynamics and control of information in complex quantum systems. quthermo.umbc.edu
New preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2607.07988
Procrustes Tomography -- reconstructing noisy quantum channels made easy
What is the most expensive part of quantum device characterization? Clearly, the answer is quantum process tomography. However, especially for noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers, a comp...
arxiv.org
New paper in New Journal of Physics @ioppublishing.bsky.social @iopp-quantum.bsky.social: We show that the precise way you code your quantum algorithm for quantum annealers can have tremendous thermodynamic consequences. With @reecejrobertson.bsky.social iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
Thermodynamic significance of QUBO encoding on quantum annealers
Thermodynamic significance of QUBO encoding on quantum annealers, Doucet, Emery, Mzaouali, Zakaria, Robertson, Reece, Gardas, Bartłomiej, Deffner, Sebastian, Domino, Krzysztof
iopscience.iop.org
Congratulations to Maggie Williams for receiving her Master of Science in Physics from UMBC!! And as perfect timing goes, here is also her first published paper now available in Journal of Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics: www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
degruyterbrill.com
Last chance to sign up for "Natural and Engineered Complex Quantum Systems Workshop at UMBC" forms.gle/qrNbVKFjsUGb...
Registration: Natural and Engineered Complex Quantum Systems Workshop at UMBC
Registration for the workshop held at UMBC on May 26th and 27th 2026
forms.gle
EPL celebrates its 40th anniversary! 🎉 To celebrate, we launch a series of 40th Anniversary Highlights, written by our Editor-in-Chief Dr Richard Blythe and our three Deputy Editors, and revisiting key papers published in EPL.
Implementing quantum error correction is generally expected to be absolutely crucial in achieving fault tolerance. However, bigger is not always better! And the specific implementation matters a lot! @joseystevens.bsky.social exploring the energy-error tradeoff: arxiv.org/abs/2605.04329
Energy-error tradeoff in encoding quantum error correction
While it has been widely recognized that genuine quantum advantage for practical problems might only be achieved with fault-tolerant quantum computers, it is still not entirely clear whether the requi...
arxiv.org
📌 We are thrilled to host Sidney Redner (Santa Fe Institute) for our next klogW seminar on May 12 at 12PM EST on "First-Passage Processes with Applications to Resetting-Driven Optimization, Wealth Sharing, and Forest Fires" 🔥 Register here: engage.aps.org/dsnp/resourc...
New preprint celebrating Amir O. Caldeira's contributions to the understanding of Quantum Brownian Motion: arxiv.org/abs/2604.26524
Over forty years of research towards the understanding of Quantum Brownian Motion -- the contributions of A. O. Caldeira
This article presents a brief account of Amir O. Caldeira's contributions to the theory of quantum Brownian motion. Motivated by its importance, we outline the description of Brownian motion in the qu...
arxiv.org
New preprint: Quantum speed limit for measurement probabilities arxiv.org/abs/2604.23160
Quantum speed limit for measurement probabilities
Any protocol to process quantum information has to conclude with a measurement, aimed at producing a specific set of probabilities of measurement outcomes. In this work, we investigate the time, energ...
arxiv.org
When Einstein developed general relativity the closest thing to a practical application that could even be imagined at the time was a slightly more precise description of where to look for the planet Mercury in the sky, and yet now we’d all be literally lost without it. Anyway: fund basic research.
Mike Boylan-Kolchin@mbkplus.bsky.social · 3mo agoGPS satellites move at 1/100000 the speed of light, causing their clocks to tick slower by 7 microseconds per day, and orbit at a height that makes their clocks tick faster by 45 microseconds per day. Two relativistic effects, both at the 1 part in 10 billion level, both essential for GPS accuracy 🧪
Undergrad researcher Monty presenting his project on solving PDEs on NISQ advised by @reecejrobertson.bsky.social @umbc.edu
New paper: Quantum speed limit for observables from quantum asymmetry @physreva.bsky.social journals.aps.org/pra/abstract...
Quantum speed limit for observables from quantum asymmetry
Quantum asymmetry and coherence are genuinely quantum resources that are essential to realize quantum advantage in information technologies. However, all quantum processes are fundamentally constraine...
journals.aps.org
📣 We’re kicking off the first klogW seminar of the year! Join us on April 21st at 12PM EST for a talk by Douglas Jerolmack (UPenn) — 2026 APS-DSNP Fellow — presenting "Fragility of Soft Earth Materials" 🌎🌍🌏 Registration link: apsphysics.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
New paper in @physreve.bsky.social: Quantum thermodynamics of Gross-Pitaevskii qubits journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
Quantum thermodynamics of Gross-Pitaevskii qubits
What are the resources that can be leveraged for a thermodynamic device to exhibit genuine quantum advantage? Typically, the answer to this question is sought in quantum correlations. In the present w...
journals.aps.org
Congrats to QSI Graduate Fellow @reecejrobertson.bsky.social for winning UMBC's 3MT competition today! Next stop, Regionals! gears.umbc.edu/3mt/
📣 DSNP Early-Career Spotlight: Megan Engel from University of Calgary! Her research focuses on molecular motors' efficiency—and how to apply these principles to bio-nanotechnology. Check out the interview below! Want to suggest who to feature next? Email us at gsnpsocialmedia@gmail.com
📣 After a fantastic Squishy Sunday event, the APS Global Physics Summit 2026 has officially started! Check out the DSNP session schedule below. Come say hi at the DSNP table and get your members-only T-shirt! #APSSummit2026 #GlobalPhysicsSummit #DSNP #StatisticalPhysics #NonlinearPhysics #APS
🎉 30 years of Statistical & Nonlinear Physics — and we're just getting started! To mark the transition from APS G to D, @physreve.bsky.social have highlighted the most influential papers that drew the map of the field. 📖 journals.aps.org/over-30-years #StatisticalPhysics #DSNP #Physics
Over 30 years of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics in _Physical Review E_
APS Division of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics and <em>Physical Review E</em> review over 30 years of research in the division’s areas.
journals.aps.org
Excited for #APSSummit26? We are too! Come join us, we’re looking for volunteers! @apsphysics.bsky.social #StatsPhys #NonlinearPhys Details 👇
We’re delighted to share a new editorial in @physreve.bsky.social (PRE) on the DSNP Dissertation Award in #Statistical & #Nonlinear Physics, marking the inaugural year of PRE sponsorship. Congratulations to the winner, 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬 𝐕𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚, from UvA 🎉 Read more: journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
Editorial: DSNP Dissertation Award 2025 -- Pushing the limits of active metamaterials
The DSNP Dissertation Award Selection Committee presents the 2025 Award sponsored by Physical Review E.
journals.aps.org
At the upcoming Global Physics Summit in Denver, @aps-dsnp.bsky.social will be celebrating our advancement from Topical Group to Division! To kick the party off, here is a collection of highlights published in @physreve.bsky.social: journals.aps.org/over-30-years
Over 30 years of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics in _Physical Review E_
APS Division of Statistical and Nonlinear Physics and <em>Physical Review E</em> review over 30 years of research in the division’s areas.
journals.aps.org
A variational quantum algorithm is implemented on IonQ hardware to prepare Gibbs states of the transverse-field Ising model, with fidelities evaluated via state tomography. @reecejrobertson.bsky.social, @quthermo.bsky.social arxiv.org/abs/2603.03801
Variational Gibbs State Preparation on Trapped-Ion Devices
We implement a variational quantum algorithm for Gibbs state preparation of a transverse-field Ising model on IonQ's quantum computers. To this end, we train the variational parameters via classical s...
arxiv.org
What are NISQ computers good for? Well, possibly many things. But definitely for the preparation of Gibbs states: arxiv.org/abs/2603.03801
Variational Gibbs State Preparation on Trapped-Ion Devices
We implement a variational quantum algorithm for Gibbs state preparation of a transverse-field Ising model on IonQ's quantum computers. To this end, we train the variational parameters via classical s...
arxiv.org
The Qalypso School on Quantum Science in Malta returns for its 3rd edition Aug 31 - Sep 4 this year! 🏖️ We have a great line up of lecturers covering Quantum Optimisation, Quantum Thermodynamics and Quantum Gibbs Sampling. Pre-registrations opens today at forms.gle/3NkMJ3Br9V8b... Do Share!
The amazing Prof. Nakalembe taking the TED stage: www.ted.com/talks/cather...
Why can't we better prepare for extreme weather?
Thanks to advanced technology, we can now see droughts and crop failures months before they hit. So why are millions of people still going hungry? TED Fellow Catherine Nakalembe, director of the NASA ...
ted.com
New paper on #QuantumComputing emulation just posted to @ieeexplore.bsky.social! I was thrilled to share this work at the @ieeeorg.bsky.social #CASCON2025 conference last November. The project @github.com was awarded an IEEE Research Object Reviewed Badge. ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/113...
Introducing UNIQuE: The Unconventional Noiseless Intermediate Quantum Emulator
We implement an open-source quantum computing emulator that includes arithmetic operations, the quantum Fourier transform, and quantum phase estimation. The emulator provides significant savings in bo...
ieeexplore.ieee.org
journals.aps.org/pra/abstract...
Quantum speed limit for the out-of-time-ordered correlator from an open-system perspective
A quantum speed limit for the decay of out-of-time-ordered correlators is established by interpreting information scrambling in a closed quantum system as effective decoherence, relating the scramblin...
journals.aps.org
New preprint: employing NISQ to verify the tenets of Quantum Darwinism arxiv.org/abs/2601.05350
From compatibility of measurements to exploring Quantum Darwinism on NISQ
Quantum Darwinism explains how tenets of classical reality, such as objectivity and repeatability, emerge within a quantum universe. As a mathematical framework, Quantum Darwinism also provides guidin...
arxiv.org