Observation of disorder-free localization using a (2+1)D lattice gauge theory on a quantum processor

@article{collaborators2026observation,
  title = {{Observation of disorder-free localization using a (2+1)D lattice gauge theory on a quantum processor}},
  author = {Google AI Quantum and Collaborators and Gaurav Gyawali and Shashwat Kumar and Yuri D. Lensky and Eliott N. Rosenberg and Aaron Szasz and Tyler A. Cochran and R. Chen and Amir H. Karamlou and Noureldin Yosri and S. Meeks and Kostyantyn Kechedzhi and Julia Berndtsson and Tom Westerhout and A. Asfaw and Dmitry A. Abanin and R. Acharya and Laleh Aghababaie Beni and Trond I. Andersen and M. Ansmann and Frank Arute and Kunal Arya and N. Astrakhantsev and Juan Atalaya and Ryan Babbush and B. Ballard and Joseph C. Bardin and Andreas Bengtsson and Alexander Bilmes and Gina Bortoli and Alexandre Bourassa and Jenna Bovaird and L. BRILL and Michael Broughton and D. A. Browne and Brett Buchea and Bob B. Buckley and David A. Buell and T. Burger and Brian Burkett and Nicholas Bushnell and A. Cabrera and J. Campero and Hung-Shen Chang and Z J Chen and B. Chiaro and J. Claes and Agnetta Y. Cleland and J. G. Cogan and Roberto Collins and P. Conner and W. Courtney and A. L. Crook and Sayan Das and Dripto M. Debroy and Alexander Del Toro Barba and Sean Demura and L. De Lorenzo and Agustín Di Paolo and P. Donohoe},
  journal = {Science},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1126/science.adr9680},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr9680},
  note = {CC BY},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Observation of disorder-free localization using a (2+1)D lattice gauge theory on a quantum processor
AU  - Google AI Quantum and Collaborators
AU  - Gaurav Gyawali
AU  - Shashwat Kumar
AU  - Yuri D. Lensky
AU  - Eliott N. Rosenberg
AU  - Aaron Szasz
AU  - Tyler A. Cochran
AU  - R. Chen
AU  - Amir H. Karamlou
AU  - Noureldin Yosri
AU  - S. Meeks
AU  - Kostyantyn Kechedzhi
AU  - Julia Berndtsson
AU  - Tom Westerhout
AU  - A. Asfaw
AU  - Dmitry A. Abanin
AU  - R. Acharya
AU  - Laleh Aghababaie Beni
AU  - Trond I. Andersen
AU  - M. Ansmann
AU  - Frank Arute
AU  - Kunal Arya
AU  - N. Astrakhantsev
AU  - Juan Atalaya
AU  - Ryan Babbush
AU  - B. Ballard
AU  - Joseph C. Bardin
AU  - Andreas Bengtsson
AU  - Alexander Bilmes
AU  - Gina Bortoli
AU  - Alexandre Bourassa
AU  - Jenna Bovaird
AU  - L. BRILL
AU  - Michael Broughton
AU  - D. A. Browne
AU  - Brett Buchea
AU  - Bob B. Buckley
AU  - David A. Buell
AU  - T. Burger
AU  - Brian Burkett
AU  - Nicholas Bushnell
AU  - A. Cabrera
AU  - J. Campero
AU  - Hung-Shen Chang
AU  - Z J Chen
AU  - B. Chiaro
AU  - J. Claes
AU  - Agnetta Y. Cleland
AU  - J. G. Cogan
AU  - Roberto Collins
AU  - P. Conner
AU  - W. Courtney
AU  - A. L. Crook
AU  - Sayan Das
AU  - Dripto M. Debroy
AU  - Alexander Del Toro Barba
AU  - Sean Demura
AU  - L. De Lorenzo
AU  - Agustín Di Paolo
AU  - P. Donohoe
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/02
JO  - Science
DO  - 10.1126/science.adr9680
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr9680
AB  - Disorder-induced phenomena in quantum many-body systems pose a challenge for analytical and numerical approaches at relevant time and system scales. To reduce the cost of disorder sampling, we investigated quantum circuits initialized in states that form tunable superpositions over all disorder configurations, which in lattice gauge theories can be interpreted as superpositions over gauge sectors. On the experimentally accessible timescales, we observed localization in the absence of disorder in one and two dimensions: Perturbations failed to diffuse despite fully disorder-free evolution and initial states. However, entropy measurements revealed that superposition-prepared states fundamentally differ from those obtained by direct disorder sampling. Leveraging superposition, we propose an algorithm with a polynomial speedup in sampling disorder configurations, a long-standing challenge in many-body localization studies.
SN  - 0036-8075
SN  - 0193-4511
SN  - 1095-9203
ER  -