Pith. sign in

REVIEW 3 major objections 5 minor 7 cited by

Two adjacent 1-mesons merge into a single 4-meson during inelastic scattering in a digitally implemented Floquet Z2 lattice gauge theory, an observation made on a superconducting quantum processor.

Reviewed by Pith at T0; open to challenge. T0 means a machine referee read the full paper against a public rubric. the ladder, T0–T4 →

Challenge this review Re-run · record.json Download PDF Read on arXiv ↗

An 8-qubit superconducting processor observed two short-string mesons merging into a longer string meson, demonstrating inelastic meson scattering in a Floquet Z2 lattice gauge theory model.

T0 review reviewed 2026-08-05 challenge →

load-bearing objection A clean, honest experimental extension on 8 qubits, but the headline claim of inelastic meson scattering rests on bare-meson populations that the authors themselves concede are not dressed mesons at finite field. the 3 major comments →

arxiv 2508.20759 v1 pith:UKVVWEDK submitted 2025-08-28 quant-ph

Observation of Inelastic Meson Scattering in a Floquet System using a Digital Quantum Simulator

Ziting Wang , Zi-Yong Ge , Yun-Hao Shi , Zheng-An Wang , Si-Yun Zhou , Hao Li , Kui Zhao , Yue-Shan Xu
show 14 more authors
Wei-Guo Ma Hao-Tian Liu Cai-Ping Fang Jia-Cheng Song Tian-Ming Li Jia-Chi Zhang Yu Liu Cheng-Lin Deng Guangming Xue Haifeng Yu Kai Xu Kaixuan Huang Franco Nori Heng Fan
This is my paper
classification quant-ph
keywords lattice gauge theoryquantum simulationmeson scatteringconfinementstring breakingFloquet systemsuperconducting qubitsinelastic scattering
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved

The pith

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The reading

This paper reports an experimental observation of inelastic meson scattering in a driven quantum many-body system. Using a superconducting quantum processor and digital Floquet evolution, the authors realize a one-dimensional Z2 lattice gauge theory in which kinks—domain walls in the spin chain—are confined by a longitudinal field and bind into mesons of various string lengths. Tracking the population of each string length via full joint readout, they see a long 4-string meson fragment into shorter strings (a signature of string breaking) and, at a particular field strength, two 1-mesons merge into a 4-meson. If correct, the result is the first direct observation of inelastic meson–meson scattering in a digital quantum simulator, and it demonstrates a practical route to studying real-time hadron dynamics that is intractable classically.

Core claim

The paper's central claim is that two short-string mesons can merge into one longer meson during real-time evolution of a Floquet spin chain that is equivalent to a one-dimensional Z2 lattice gauge theory. The evidence is the time-dependent population N4, the number of strings of four flipped spins, starting from the initial state |00100100> (two adjacent 1-mesons) at longitudinal field h=π/4: N4 grows over 15 Floquet cycles while N1 decays, whereas at h=π/8 no such growth appears. The authors also report supporting observations: a single kink performs Bloch oscillations under the same field, two adjacent kinks remain bound as a 1-meson, and an initial 4-meson at h=π/4 fragments into 1-meson

What carries the argument

The central objects are the Floquet unitary U = exp(-ihZ) exp(-iμX) exp(iJHzz), implemented as three layers of single-qubit rotations and controlled-phase gates; the Z2 gauge structure with generator G_j = τ^x_{j-1/2} s^z_j τ^x_{j+1/2}, under which the spin chain maps to a Z2 lattice gauge theory coupled to matter; and the meson projectors M_{j,l} = P^0_{j-1} (∏_{k=j}^{j+l} P^1_k) P^0_{j+l+1} that count strings of l adjacent flipped spins and give the l-meson populations N_l. A meson here is a bound pair of kinks connected by a string of l anti-aligned spins, called the l-meson. The projectors carry the argument: by measuring them, the experiment resolves scattering channels by string length

Load-bearing premise

The experiment treats a string of adjacent flipped spins as 'a meson', and those strings are exact eigenstates only in the zero-transverse-field limit; that identification, unchecked at the operating transverse field, is what makes the growing 4-meson population a statement about physical meson fusion.

What would settle it

Repeat the two-1-meson experiment at h=π/4 with the mesons separated by two or more empty sites so they cannot interact; if N4 still grows, the string-length count is not a faithful meson observable. More directly, compute the exact Floquet eigenstates at μ=π/10 and verify that the observed N4(t) matches the transition amplitudes between dressed two-meson states; if it does not, the fusion signal is an artifact of the bare basis.

Watch this falsifier. Get emailed when new claim-graph text bears on it.

If this is right

  • The observation establishes that inelastic meson–meson scattering, a process central to hadron physics, can be seen in real time on a digital quantum simulator rather than inferred from static spectra.
  • The measured difference between h=π/8 and h=π/4 shows the longitudinal field controls whether the inelastic channel opens, providing a tunable handle for studying meson fusion and string breaking.
  • The protocol of full-system joint readout with string-length projectors gives a general way to identify composite excitation content in any digital simulation of lattice gauge theories.
  • The agreement between experiment and ideal-circuit simulation at up to 15 Floquet cycles indicates the processor's gate fidelities are sufficient for quantitative studies of interacting gauge dynamics.
  • Because the Floquet implementation uses only single-qubit rotations and controlled-phase gates, the same experiment can be ported to other digital quantum platforms.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The bare-string definition of mesons could overstate fusion: if at μ=π/10 the true quasiparticles are dressed strings, part of the N4 growth may be basis rotation rather than physical fusion; computing the overlap of the bare projectors with exact Floquet eigenstates would settle this.
  • Applying the same string-length projectors to mesons prepared with finite momentum, rather than static neighboring mesons, would connect these measurements to wave-packet scattering cross sections in continuum gauge theories—an extension the paper leaves open.
  • The Floquet drive's suppression of the inelastic channel relative to the static Hamiltonian suggests drive frequency could serve as an interaction dial, a control knob unavailable in static lattice gauge theory.
  • The observed fragmentation channel distribution (mostly 1-mesons) can be compared against a simple random-walk or thermal model to test whether the string-breaking dynamics is genuinely coherent, since the experiment does not measure entanglement or out-of-time-order correlations.
Share X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit HN

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit.

Referee Report

3 major / 5 minor

Summary. The paper reports an experiment on a superconducting 8-qubit processor that digitally implements a Floquet spin chain with unitary U = exp(-ih Z) exp(-i mu X) exp(iJ H_zz). The authors map this model to a 1D Floquet Z2 lattice gauge theory and study kink confinement, meson formation, and meson scattering. They observe Bloch oscillations of a single kink and bound kink pairs for finite longitudinal field h. Using full joint readout, they define string-length projectors M_{j,l} and measure populations N_l. From a 4-meson initial state they see fragmentation into shorter strings; from two 1-mesons they report that a 4-meson population emerges only for h=pi/4, which they interpret as direct observation of inelastic meson scattering (two short-string mesons merge into a longer one). The central claim is that a digital Floquet simulator can exhibit inelastic scattering of composite kink-bound states in a Z2 gauge theory.

Significance. If the central interpretation is correct, this is a notable experimental step: it would demonstrate a nontrivial scattering process of composite excitations in a Floquet-implemented lattice gauge theory on a programmable quantum processor, going beyond static confinement and string-breaking signatures. The paper has several strengths: it uses an exact mapping to a Z2 gauge theory (Supplemental Material), performs full-system joint readout, compares experimental data with ideal circuit simulations, and includes a control comparison at two values of h. However, the significance is conditional on whether the measured string populations correspond to physical mesons at the working parameters. Because the paper itself states that the mesons considered are 'bare mesons' (eigenstates of the mu=0 limit), the gap between the computational-basis observable N_l and the physical quasiparticle content is load-bearing.

major comments (3)
  1. [Meson scattering section, Eq. (4)] The operator M_{j,l} in Eq. (4) counts blocks of l consecutive spin-up sites. The text concedes that these are 'bare mesons, corresponding to the exact eigenstates of the mu=0 (non-interacting) limit.' The experiment, however, is performed at mu=pi/10 with J=pi/4, so mu/J ~ 0.4; this is not a perturbative regime. There is no evidence that the string configurations counted by N_l coincide with the actual quasiparticle content of the Floquet unitary U. A growing N_4 could equally arise from population transfer in a nonintegrable kicked Ising model, where long strings proliferate during thermalization. To support the phrase 'inelastic meson scattering,' the authors should either (i) compute the overlap of the bare string states with the eigenstates of U (or of the time-averaged Hamiltonian) and show that a dominant meson branch exists, or (ii) reframe the claim as string-length population d
  2. [Fig. 4(e,f) and Summary, final paragraph] The central evidence for inelastic merging is the rise of N_4 for h=pi/4 in Fig. 4(f), with N_4 near zero for h=pi/8. This contrast is suggestive, but the paper does not quantify whether the growth is statistically significant relative to error bars, nor does it show that the 4-string population corresponds to a bound two-kink state rather than a delocalized multi-spin configuration. Since the Summary explicitly states 'we mainly consider localized bare mesons,' the authors themselves acknowledge the limitation. A dedicated check—for example, verifying that the emergent 4-string state has the same energy/momentum signature as a physical meson branch, or that the scattering amplitude matches a model of interacting quasiparticles—is needed before claiming 'directly observe inelastic meson scattering.' Without such a check, the claim should be softened.
  3. [Time-independent Hamiltonian comparison, Eq. (5), Fig. 4(e,f)] The comparison with the time-independent Hamiltonian in Eq. (5) is used to argue that the Floquet drive suppresses inelastic scattering. However, the parameters J=pi/4 and mu=pi/10 are large enough that the Floquet unitary U in Eq. (1) is not well approximated by exp(-i H T) for a single period. The comparison is therefore not a controlled benchmark; it is a different model. If the purpose is to show that the effect persists in a Hamiltonian setting, the authors should present a small-system exact diagonalization of the Floquet eigenstates or a stroboscopic effective Hamiltonian, rather than comparing to the time-independent Hamiltonian at the same bare parameters. As it stands, the comparison is suggestive but not quantitatively meaningful.
minor comments (5)
  1. [Abstract and Introduction] The abstract says 'directly observe inelastic meson scattering' while the Summary says 'we mainly consider localized bare mesons.' Please align the language to avoid overclaiming before the dressed-meson issue is addressed.
  2. [Set-up, Fig. 1(b)] The sentence 'where the finial state still retains high fidelity' contains a typo ('finial' should be 'final'). More importantly, no cumulative circuit fidelity or error-mitigation details are given for T=15; please provide the total number of gates and a state-fidelity estimate for the deepest circuit.
  3. [Confinement and mesons, Fig. 2] The parameter choices h=pi/10 for the single-kink Bloch oscillation and h=pi/8 for the meson binding are not explained. A short sentence justifying these values (e.g., based on the Floquet phase diagram or on avoiding excessive heating) would help the reader.
  4. [Eqs. (1)-(2) and Supplemental Material] The same symbols J, mu, h are used for both the spin-chain parameters in Eq. (1) and the gauge-theory couplings in Eq. (2). While the mapping is exact after the duality transformation, the notation is confusing. Consider using tildes or a clear statement that the parameters are identical under the mapping.
  5. [References] Reference [49] is a 2024 Google Quantum AI paper cited for flip-chip technology; the citation list is extremely long and includes many co-authors. For readability, consider using the standard abbreviated form for large collaborations.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity: the Floquet-to-LGT mapping is exact, the meson observables are explicit, and the scattering claim is a measured outcome rather than a fitted or definitionally forced result.

full rationale

The paper contains no fitted parameters and makes no first-principles prediction that reduces to a fit. The Floquet unitary U in Eq. (1) is mapped to a Floquet Z2 LGT in Eq. (2) by an exact local transformation derived in the Supplemental Material ('Effective lattice gauge theory'), not by an ansatz borrowed from a self-citation. The meson projectors in Eq. (4) are explicit observables: N_l counts blocks of l consecutive flipped spins. The experiment measures these populations for chosen initial states. The observation that N_4 grows for h=pi/4 is a measured outcome, not a quantity forced by construction—the same unitary could in principle produce no growth, and indeed the h=pi/8 data show almost no N_4. The comparison with ideal-circuit numerics and with the time-independent Hamiltonian in Eq. (5) provides an independent cross-check of the dynamics. The paper itself flags the key limitation in the Summary: 'Here we mainly consider localized bare mesons, so it will be interesting to study the scattering of dressed mesons with finite momentum.' This is a genuine validity caveat (bare-string observables need not equal dressed meson amplitudes at mu=pi/10) but it is not circularity: the conclusion does not presuppose the observable it reports. Self-citations (Refs. [21], [61], [65]) are contextual and not load-bearing. Overall, the derivation chain is self-contained and the experimental claim is an observed dynamical signature, not a definitionally forced equivalence.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

2 free parameters · 3 axioms · 0 invented entities

The paper introduces no new physical entities. It does introduce model parameters chosen by hand and relies on assumptions about gauge-sector preparation, Floquet phase structure, and hardware fidelity, all of which are load-bearing for interpreting the observed population transfer as inelastic meson scattering.

free parameters (2)
  • Floquet couplings J and mu = J=pi/4, mu=pi/10
    Chosen operating point for the Floquet spin chain, stated in the Set-up section. These are model parameters, not fit to data, but the central dynamics are specific to this regime.
  • Longitudinal field h = pi/4 for inelastic channel, pi/8 for confinement
    Chosen by hand; the inelastic scattering signal appears only at h=pi/4, making the central observation parameter-dependent.
axioms (3)
  • domain assumption The gauge sector is fixed to G_j=1 and the initial states live in this sector.
    The Supplemental Material 'Effective lattice gauge theory' invokes G_j=1 to replace the Ising interaction with -sum s^z_j. If the digital circuit populated other gauge sectors, the LGT interpretation would fail.
  • domain assumption For h=0 and J>mu, the Floquet system is in a ferromagnetic phase supporting kink excitations.
    The Set-up section relies on refs [55-57] for the Floquet phase diagram; this background result underpins the interpretation of kink localization and confinement at finite h.
  • domain assumption The digital gate decomposition realizes the intended Floquet unitary Û with errors small enough to preserve the measured signal at T=15.
    Set-up states median fidelities but no cumulative circuit fidelity; with ~105 CZ gates, the assumption is nontrivial and unverified.

reviewed 2026-08-05 · how reviews work

0 comments
Cite this review

Pith. "Pith review of Observation of Inelastic Meson Scattering in a Floquet System using a Digital Quantum Simulator." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/UKVVWEDK

@misc{pith2026250820759,
  author       = {Pith},
  title        = {Pith review of: Observation of Inelastic Meson Scattering in a Floquet System using a Digital Quantum Simulator},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/UKVVWEDK}},
  note         = {Machine review of arXiv:2508.20759}
}
Share X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit HN
abstract

Lattice gauge theories provide a non-perturbative framework for understanding confinement and hadronic physics, but their real-time dynamics remain challenging for classical computations. However, quantum simulators offer a promising alternative for exploring such dynamics beyond classical capabilities. Here, we experimentally investigate meson scattering using a superconducting quantum processor. Employing a digital protocol, we realize a Floquet spin chain equivalent to a one-dimensional Floquet $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory. We observe Bloch oscillations of single kinks and strong binding between adjacent kinks, signaling confinement and the formation of stable mesons in this Floquet system. Using full-system joint readout, we resolve meson populations by string length, enabling identification of meson scattering channels. Our results reveal the fragmentation of a long-string meson into multiple short-string mesons, which is also an experimental signature of string breaking. Moreover, we directly observe inelastic meson scattering, where two short-string mesons can merge into a longer one. Our results pave the way for studying interacting gauge particles and composite excitations on digital quantum simulators.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2508.20759 by Cai-Ping Fang, Cheng-Lin Deng, Franco Nori, Guangming Xue, Haifeng Yu, Hao Li, Hao-Tian Liu, Heng Fan, Jia-Cheng Song, Jia-Chi Zhang, Kai Xu, Kaixuan Huang, Kui Zhao, Si-Yun Zhou, Tian-Ming Li, Wei-Guo Ma, Yue-Shan Xu, Yu Liu, Yun-Hao Shi, Zheng-An Wang, Ziting Wang, Zi-Yong Ge.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. Set-up. (a) Diagram of the superconducting quantum processor. The device consists of 9 tunable transmon qubits (blue crosses) [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: FIG. 2. Confinement and meson excitations. The dynamics of kink distributions for the single-kink initial state [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: FIG. 3. Fragmentation of a 4-meson for the initial state [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: FIG. 4. Scattering between two 1-mesons for the initial state [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_4.png] view at source ↗

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 7 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Unified resonant-manifold framework for dynamical quantum phase transitions

    quant-ph 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    A resonant-manifold framework unifies manifold and branch DQPTs by attributing them to resonances within the initial manifold and with a transitional manifold connected by low-order processes, shown in Z2 LGT quenches.

  2. Observation of glueball excitations and string breaking in a $2+1$D $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory on a trapped-ion quantum computer

    hep-lat 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    A trapped-ion quantum computer simulates 2+1D Z2 lattice gauge theory dynamics, revealing glueball excitations and multi-order string breaking.

  3. Observation of genuine $2+1$D string dynamics in a U$(1)$ lattice gauge theory with a tunable plaquette term on a trapped-ion quantum computer

    quant-ph 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 7.0

    Quantum simulation on trapped ions shows that a plaquette term in a 2+1D U(1) gauge theory enables string propagation in the plane and extended matter creation, realizing genuine two-dimensional dynamics.

  4. Role of flavor degrees of freedom in quantum simulations of disorder-free localization

    quant-ph 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0

    In a flavor-extended Z2 lattice gauge theory, n=2 binary bond disorder yields only a long-lived nonergodic transient, whereas n=4 and n=8 multilevel disorder produce consistent many-body localization signatures; local...

  5. Photonic Analog Quantum Simulation of (1+1)-Dimensional $U(1)$ Lattice Gauge Theory with Dynamical Matter

    hep-lat 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    A mapping of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model onto the spin-1/2 Quantum Link Model via tuned polaritonic resonances in cavity arrays enables analog simulation of U(1) LGT dynamics with matter, verified by exact diago...

  6. Large Nc Truncations for SU(Nc) Lattice Yang-Mills Theory with Fermions

    hep-lat 2026-02 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    A multi-part truncation for lattice QCD with fermions enables explicit Hamiltonians in 1+1D and 2+1D and string-breaking simulations by capping basis states, electric energy, fermions per site, and using large-Nc matr...

  7. Unified resonant-manifold framework for dynamical quantum phase transitions

    quant-ph 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 5.0

    A resonant-manifold framework unifies manifold and branch DQPTs by linking them to resonances within the initial manifold or a transitional manifold, with regularity tied to manifold multiplicity, shown in Z2 LGT quenches.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

66 extracted references · 52 canonical work pages · cited by 6 Pith papers

  1. [1]

    K. G. Wilson, Confinement of quarks, Phys. Rev. D 10, 2445 (1974)

    1974

  2. [2]

    J. B. Kogut, An introduction to lattice gauge theory and spin systems, Rev. Mod. Phys. 51, 659 (1979)

    work page 1979

  3. [3]

    Eisert, M

    J. Eisert, M. Friesdorf, and C. Gogolin, Quantum many-body systems out of equilibrium, Nat. Phys. 11, 124 (2015)

    work page 2015

  4. [4]

    Polkovnikov, K

    A. Polkovnikov, K. Sengupta, A. Silva, and M. Vengalattore, Colloquium: Nonequilibrium dynamics of closed interacting quantum systems, Rev. Mod. Phys. 83, 863 (2011)

    2011

  5. [5]

    Troyer and U.-J

    M. Troyer and U.-J. Wiese, Computational Complexity and Fundamental Limitations to Fermionic Quantum Monte Carlo Simulations, Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 170201 (2005)

    work page 2005

  6. [6]

    Buluta and F

    I. Buluta and F. Nori, Quantum simulators, Science 326, 108 (2009)

    2009

  7. [7]

    I. M. Georgescu, S. Ashhab, and F. Nori, Quantum simulation, Rev. Mod. Phys. 86, 153 (2014)

    2014

  8. [8]

    Cheng, X.-H

    B. Cheng, X.-H. Deng, X. Gu, Y . He, G. Hu, P. Huang, J. Li, B.- C. Lin, D. Lu, Y . Lu, et al., Noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers, Front. Phys. 18, 21308 (2023)

    work page 2023

  9. [9]

    S. P. Jordan, K. S. Lee, and J. Preskill, Quantum algorithms for quantum field theories, Science 336, 1130 (2012)

    work page 2012

  10. [10]

    Dalmonte and S

    M. Dalmonte and S. Montangero, Lattice gauge theory simula- tions in the quantum information era, Contemp. Phys. 57, 388 (2016)

    work page 2016

  11. [11]

    M. C. Banuls, R. Blatt, J. Catani, A. Celi, J. I. Cirac, M. Dal- monte, L. Fallani, K. Jansen, M. Lewenstein, S. Montangero, et al., Simulating lattice gauge theories within quantum tech- nologies, Eur. Phys. J. D 74, 1 (2020)

    work page 2020

  12. [12]

    C. W. B. Davoudi, A. Balantekin, T. Bhattacharya, M. Carena, W. A. de Jong, P. Draper, A. El-Khadra, N. Gemelke, M. Hanada, D. Kharzeev, et al., Quantum Simulation for High Energy Physics, arXiv:2204.03381 (2022)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2022

  13. [13]

    C. W. Bauer, Z. Davoudi, N. Klco, and M. J. Savage, Quantum simulation of fundamental particles and forces, Nat. Rev. Phys. 5, 420 (2023)

    work page 2023

  14. [14]

    J. C. Halimeh, M. Hanada, S. Matsuura, F. Nori, E. Rinaldi, and A. Schäfer, A universal framework for the quantum simulation of Yang-Mills theory, arXiv:2411.13161 (2024)

    arXiv 2024

  15. [15]

    B. Yang, H. Sun, R. Ott, H.-Y . Wang, T. V . Zache, J. C. Hal- imeh, Z.-S. Yuan, P. Hauke, and J.-W. Pan, Observation of gauge invariance in a 71-site Bose-Hubbard quantum simula- tor, Nature (London) 587, 392 (2020)

    work page 2020

  16. [16]

    Zhou, G.-X

    Z.-Y . Zhou, G.-X. Su, J. C. Halimeh, R. Ott, H. Sun, P. Hauke, B. Yang, Z.-S. Yuan, J. Berges, and J.-W. Pan, Thermalization dynamics of a gauge theory on a quantum simulator, Science 377, 311 (2022)

    work page 2022

  17. [17]

    Zhang, Y

    W.-Y . Zhang, Y . Liu, Y . Cheng, M.-G. He, H.-Y . Wang, T.-Y . Wang, Z.-H. Zhu, G.-X. Su, Z.-Y . Zhou, Y .-G. Zheng, et al., Observation of microscopic confinement dynamics by a tunable topological θ-angle, Nature Physics 21, 155 (2024)

    work page 2024

  18. [18]

    González-Cuadra, M

    D. González-Cuadra, M. Hamdan, T. V . Zache, B. Braver- man, M. Kornja ˇca, A. Lukin, S. H. Cantú, F. Liu, S.-T. Wang, A. Keesling, et al., Observation of string breaking on a (2+ 1) D Rydberg quantum simulator, Nature , 1 (2025)

    work page 2025

  19. [19]

    Goerg, K

    F. Goerg, K. Sandholzer, J. Minguzzi, R. Desbuquois, M. Messer, and T. Esslinger, Realization of density-dependent Peierls phases to engineer quantized gauge fields coupled to ul- tracold matter, Nat. Phys. 15, 1161 (2019)

    work page 2019

  20. [20]

    Schweizer, F

    C. Schweizer, F. Grusdt, M. Berngruber, L. Barbiero, E. Dem- ler, N. Goldman, I. Bloch, and M. Aidelsburger, Floquet ap- proach to Z(2) lattice gauge theories with ultracold atoms in optical lattices, Nat. Phys. 15, 1168 (2019)

    work page 2019

  21. [21]

    Wang, Z.-Y

    Z. Wang, Z.-Y . Ge, Z. Xiang, X. Song, R.-Z. Huang, P. Song, X.-Y . Guo, L. Su, K. Xu, D. Zheng, and H. Fan, Observation of emergent Z2 gauge invariance in a superconducting circuit, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, L022060 (2022)

    work page 2022

  22. [22]

    Mildenberger, W

    J. Mildenberger, W. Mruczkiewicz, J. C. Halimeh, Z. Jiang, and P. Hauke, Confinement in a Z2 lattice gauge theory on a quan- tum computer, Nat. Phys. 21, 312 (2025)

    work page 2025

  23. [23]

    A. De, A. Lerose, D. Luo, F. M. Surace, A. Schuckert, E. R. Bennewitz, B. Ware, W. Morong, K. S. Collins, Z. Davoudi, et al., Observation of string-breaking dynamics in a quantum simulator, arXiv:2410.13815 (2024)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2024

  24. [24]

    T. A. Cochran, B. Jobst, E. Rosenberg, Y . D. Lensky, G. Gyawali, N. Eassa, M. Will, A. Szasz, D. Abanin, R. Acharya, et al., Visualizing dynamics of charges and strings in (2+1)D lattice gauge theories, Nature 315, 642 (2025)

    work page 2025

  25. [25]

    Kormos, M

    M. Kormos, M. Collura, G. Takcs, and P. Calabrese, Real-time confinement following a quantum quench to a non-integrable model, Nat. Phys. 13, 246 (2017)

    work page 2017

  26. [26]

    Hebenstreit, J

    F. Hebenstreit, J. Berges, and D. Gelfand, Real-time dynamics of string breaking, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 201601 (2013)

    work page 2013

  27. [27]

    Jurcevic, P

    P. Jurcevic, P. Hauke, C. Maier, C. Hempel, B. P. Lanyon, R. Blatt, and C. F. Roos, Spectroscopy of Interacting Quasi- particles in Trapped Ions, Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 100501 (2015)

    work page 2015

  28. [28]

    Kranzl, S

    F. Kranzl, S. Birnkammer, M. K. Joshi, A. Bastianello, R. Blatt, M. Knap, and C. F. Roos, Observation of Magnon Bound States in the Long-Range, Anisotropic Heisenberg Model, Phys. Rev. X 13, 031017 (2023)

    2023

  29. [29]

    R. K. Ellis, W. J. Stirling, and B. R. Webber, QCD and collider physics, 8 (Cambridge university press, 2003)

    work page 2003

  30. [30]

    Achenbach, D

    P. Achenbach, D. Adhikari, A. Afanasev,et al., The present and future of QCD, Nucl. Phys. A 1047, 122874 (2024)

    work page 2024

  31. [31]

    Borla, R

    U. Borla, R. Verresen, F. Grusdt, and S. Moroz, Confined phases of one-dimensional spinless Fermions coupled to Z2 gauge theory, Phys. Rev. Lett.124, 120503 (2020)

    work page 2020

  32. [32]

    F. Liu, R. Lundgren, P. Titum, G. Pagano, J. Zhang, C. Monroe, and A. V . Gorshkov, Confined Quasiparticle Dynamics in Long- Range Interacting Quantum Spin Chains, Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 150601 (2019)

    work page 2019

  33. [33]

    F. M. Surace and A. Lerose, Scattering of mesons in quantum 6 simulators, New J. Phys. 23, 062001 (2021)

    work page 2021

  34. [34]

    V ovrosh, R

    J. V ovrosh, R. Mukherjee, A. Bastianello, and J. Knolle, Dy- namical Hadron Formation in Long-Range Interacting Quan- tum Spin Chains, PRX Quantum 3, 040309 (2022)

    work page 2022

  35. [35]

    P. I. Karpov, G.-Y . Zhu, M. P. Heller, and M. Heyl, Spatiotem- poral dynamics of particle collisions in quantum spin chains, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, L032001 (2022)

    work page 2022

  36. [36]

    Turco, G

    M. Turco, G. Quinta, J. Seixas, and Y . Omar, Quantum Sim- ulation of Bound State Scattering, PRX Quantum 5, 020311 (2024)

    work page 2024

  37. [37]

    Kreshchuk, J

    M. Kreshchuk, J. P. Vary, and P. J. Love, Simulating scattering of composite particles, arXiv:2310.13742 (2023)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2023

  38. [38]

    Y . Chai, A. Crippa, K. Jansen, S. Kühn, V . R. Pascuzzi, F. Tacchino, and I. Tavernelli, Fermionic wave packet scatter- ing: a quantum computing approach, Quantum 9, 1638 (2025)

    work page 2025

  39. [39]

    R. C. Farrell, M. Illa, A. N. Ciavarella, and M. J. Savage, Quan- tum simulations of hadron dynamics in the Schwinger model using 112 qubits, Phys. Rev. D 109, 114510 (2024)

    work page 2024

  40. [40]

    Davoudi, C.-C

    Z. Davoudi, C.-C. Hsieh, and S. V . Kadam, Scattering wave packets of hadrons in gauge theories: Preparation on a quantum computer, Quantum 8, 1520 (2024)

    work page 2024

  41. [41]

    G.-X. Su, J. J. Osborne, and J. C. Halimeh, Cold-Atom Particle Collider, PRX Quantum 5, 040310 (2024)

    work page 2024

  42. [42]

    E. R. Bennewitz, B. Ware, A. Schuckert, A. Lerose, F. M. Surace, R. Belyansky, W. Morong, D. Luo, A. De, K. S. Collins, O. Katz, C. Monroe, Z. Davoudi, and A. V . Gorshkov, Simulat- ing Meson Scattering on Spin Quantum Simulators, Quantum 9, 1773 (2025)

    work page 2025

  43. [43]

    Schuhmacher, G.-X

    J. Schuhmacher, G.-X. Su, J. J. Osborne, A. Gandon, J. C. Hal- imeh, and I. Tavernelli, Observation of hadron scattering in a lattice gauge theory on a quantum computer, arXiv:2505.20387 (2025)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2025

  44. [44]

    Joshi, J

    R. Joshi, J. C. Louw, M. Meth, J. J. Osborne, K. Mato, G.-X. Su, M. Ringbauer, and J. C. Halimeh, Probing Hadron Scatter- ing in Lattice Gauge Theories on Qudit Quantum Computers, arXiv:2507.12614 (2025)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2025

  45. [45]

    See supplemental material

  46. [46]

    J. Koch, T. M. Yu, J. Gambetta, A. A. Houck, D. I. Schus- ter, J. Majer, A. Blais, M. H. Devoret, S. M. Girvin, and R. J. Schoelkopf, Charge-insensitive qubit design derived from the Cooper pair box, Phys. Rev. A 76, 042319 (2007)

    work page 2007

  47. [47]

    Kjaergaard, M

    M. Kjaergaard, M. E. Schwartz, J. Braumüller, P. Krantz, J. I.- J. Wang, S. Gustavsson, and W. D. Oliver, Superconducting Qubits: Current State of Play, Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 11, 369 (2020)

    work page 2020

  48. [48]

    Siddiqi, Engineering high-coherence superconducting qubits, Nat

    I. Siddiqi, Engineering high-coherence superconducting qubits, Nat. Rev. Mater. 6, 875 (2021)

    work page 2021

  49. [49]

    Acharya, D

    R. Acharya, D. A. Abanin, L. Aghababaie-Beni, I. Aleiner, T. I. Andersen, M. Ansmann, F. Arute, K. Arya, A. Asfaw, N. Astrakhantsev, J. Atalaya, R. Babbush, D. Bacon, B. Ballard, J. C. Bardin, J. Bausch, A. Bengtsson, A. Bilmes, S. Black- well, S. Boixo, G. Bortoli, A. Bourassa, J. Bovaird, L. Brill, M. Broughton, D. A. Browne, B. Buchea, B. B. Buckley, D...

    work page 2024

  50. [50]

    X. Li, H. Xu, J. Wang, L.-Z. Tang, D.-W. Zhang, C. Yang, T. Su, C. Wang, Z. Mi, W. Sun, X. Liang, M. Chen, C. Li, Y . Zhang, K. Linghu, J. Han, W. Liu, Y . Feng, P. Liu, G. Xue, J. Zhang, Y . Jin, S.-L. Zhu, H. Yu, S. P. Zhao, and Q.-K. Xue, Mapping the topology-localization phase diagram with quasiperiodic dis- order using a programmable superconducting ...

    work page 2024

  51. [51]

    X. Li, Y . Zhang, C. Yang, Z. Li, J. Wang, T. Su, M. Chen, Y . Li, C. Li, Z. Mi, X. Liang, C. Wang, Z. Yang, Y . Feng, K. Linghu, H. Xu, J. Han, W. Liu, P. Zhao, T. Ma, R. Wang, J. Zhang, Y . Song, P. Liu, Z. Wang, Z. Yang, G. Xue, Y . Jin, and H. Yu, Vacuum-gap transmon qubits realized using flip-chip technol- ogy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 119, 184003 (2021)

    work page 2021

  52. [52]

    Z. Wang, Q. Chen, Y . Du, Z. Yang, X. Cai, K. Huang, J. Zhang, K. Xu, J. Du, Y . Li, et al. , Quantum compiling with reinforcement learning on a superconducting processor, arXiv:2406.12195 (2024)

    Pith/arXiv arXiv 2024

  53. [53]

    Z. T. Wang, R. Wang, P. Zhao, Z. H. Yang, Y .-H. Shi, K. Huang, K. Xu, Y .-S. Zhang, H. Fan, S. P. Zhao, M.-J. Hu, and H. Yu, Demonstration of Maxwell demon-assisted Einstein-Podolsky- Rosen steering via superconducting quantum processor, Phys. Rev. Res. 6, L032073 (2024)

    work page 2024

  54. [54]

    Borla, R

    U. Borla, R. Verresen, J. Shah, and S. Moroz, Gauging the Ki- taev chain, SciPost Phys. 10, 148 (2021)

    work page 2021

  55. [55]

    Khemani, A

    V . Khemani, A. Lazarides, R. Moessner, and S. L. Sondhi, Phase Structure of Driven Quantum Systems, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 250401 (2016). 7

    work page 2016

  56. [56]

    C. W. von Keyserlingk and S. L. Sondhi, Phase structure of one- dimensional interacting Floquet systems. II. Symmetry-broken phases, Phys. Rev. B 93, 245146 (2016)

    work page 2016

  57. [57]

    Harper, R

    F. Harper, R. Roy, M. S. Rudner, and S. Sondhi, Topology and Broken Symmetry in Floquet Systems, Annu. Rev. Condens. Matter Phys. 11, 345 (2020)

    work page 2020

  58. [58]

    G. H. Wannier, Dynamics of Band Electrons in Electric and Magnetic Fields, Rev. Mod. Phys. 34, 645 (1962)

    work page 1962

  59. [59]

    Feldmann, K

    J. Feldmann, K. Leo, J. Shah, D. A. B. Miller, J. E. Cunning- ham, T. Meier, G. von Plessen, A. Schulze, P. Thomas, and S. Schmitt-Rink, Optical investigation of Bloch oscillations in a semiconductor superlattice, Phys. Rev. B 46, 7252 (1992)

    work page 1992

  60. [60]

    Ben Dahan, E

    M. Ben Dahan, E. Peik, J. Reichel, Y . Castin, and C. Salomon, Bloch Oscillations of Atoms in an Optical Potential, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4508 (1996)

    work page 1996

  61. [61]

    Guo, Z.-Y

    X.-Y . Guo, Z.-Y . Ge, H. Li, Z. Wang, Y .-R. Zhang, P. Song, Z. Xiang, X. Song, Y . Jin, L. Lu, et al., Observation of Bloch oscillations and Wannier-Stark localization on a superconduct- ing quantum processor, npj Quantum Inf. 7, 51 (2021)

    work page 2021

  62. [62]

    F. M. Surace, P. P. Mazza, G. Giudici, A. Lerose, A. Gambassi, and M. Dalmonte, Lattice Gauge Theories and String Dynam- ics in Rydberg Atom Quantum Simulators, Phys. Rev. X 10, 021041 (2020)

    work page 2020

  63. [63]

    Z.-C. Yang, F. Liu, A. V . Gorshkov, and T. Iadecola, Hilbert- Space Fragmentation from Strict Confinement, Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 207602 (2020)

    work page 2020

  64. [64]

    Smith, J

    A. Smith, J. Knolle, D. L. Kovrizhin, and R. Moessner, Disorder-free localization, Phys. Rev. Lett.118, 266601 (2017)

    2017

  65. [65]

    Ge, Y .-R

    Z.-Y . Ge, Y .-R. Zhang, and F. Nori, Nonmesonic Quantum Many-Body Scars in a 1D Lattice Gauge Theory, Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 230403 (2024)

    work page 2024

  66. [66]

    Arute, K

    F. Arute, K. Arya, R. Babbush, D. Bacon, J. C. Bardin, R. Barends, R. Biswas, S. Boixo, F. G. S. L. Brandao, D. A. Buell, B. Burkett, Y . Chen, Z. Chen, B. Chiaro, R. Collins, W. Courtney, A. Dunsworth, E. Farhi, B. Foxen, A. Fowler, C. Gidney, M. Giustina, R. Graff, K. Guerin, S. Habegger, M. P. Harrigan, M. J. Hartmann, A. Ho, M. Hoffmann, T. Huang, T. ...

    work page 2019

This paper was first reviewed by deepseek-v4-flash on August 5, 2026.