Quantum information meets quantum matter. From quantum entanglement to topological phases of many-body systems (Q1728556)

This review continues the theme ``Quantum mechanics and quantum computing'' which I have recently started by reviewing the Lecture Notes `Mathematical foundations of quantum informatics [\textit{A. S. Kholevo}, Математические основы квантовой информатики (Russian). Moskva: Matematicheskiĭ Institut im. V. A. Steklova, RAN (2018; Zbl 1414.81002)]. After that, I have received two books for reviewing. Both are on the theme of quantum information theory, and that is why both their reviews naturally extend my early review of Kholevo's notes. Correspondingly, there are two Sequels, I and II. Below is the Sequel II dedicated to the book under review. During the period between Sequels I and II, the following two events related to the above theme and the book under review have been occurred: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] D-Wave Systems, based in Burnaby, B.C., unveils the name of the next-generation, 5,000-qubit quantum computing system that will be called Advantage (with weapons lab as customer). As written in the report by Alan Boyle in September 25 (\url{https://finance.yahoo.com/news/d-wave-unveils-name-next-020212038.html}), ``Quantum computing takes advantage of the weird properties of quantum mechanics -- in which bits of information need not represent definite ones or zeroes, but can hold multiple values simultaneously until the results of the computation are read out\dots Theoretically, quantum-based techniques can solve certain classes of computational problems, ranging from data encryption to molecular interactions, far faster than classical computing techniques.'' \item[2.] The team at the Department of Experimental Physics at the University of Innsbruck and at the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences headed by the experimental physicist Ben Lanyon, who was awarded the Austrian START Prize in 2015 for his research, has achieved a record for the transfer of quantum entanglement between matter and light. For the first time, a distance of 50 kilometers was covered using fiber optic cables. ``This is two orders of magnitude further than was previously possible and is a practical distance to start building inter-city quantum networks'', says Ben Lanyon. \end{itemize} As reported in the APS news (\url{https://m.phys.org/news/2019-08-entanglement-km-optical-fiber.html}), ``the quantum internet promises absolutely tap-proof communication and powerful distributed sensor networks for new science and technology\dots''. This is not possible using a classical network because quantum information cannot be copied. The aforementioned word `entanglement' and statement `quantum information cannot be copied' are the key ones in the reviewed book. Precisely, the book's first section `Correlation and entanglement' defines what is quantum entanglement, and introduces, in Box 1.17 on p. 26, the so-called no-cloning theorem that states that ``An unknown quantum state cannot be cloned.'' The foreword to the book under review about meeting of quantum information and quantum matter was written by John Preskill who describes the book's `surroundings': That in 1989 he first met the fourth author of the book from whom he first time heard about the concept of \textit{topological order} and that year he first time met the term \textit{quantum information} since then `Richard Feynman and Yuri Manin had suggested that a computer processing quantum information might perform tasks beyond the reach of ordinary digital computers.' John Preskill infers his foreword by the words: ``When is the right time for a book that summarizes the status of an ongoing research area? It's a subtle question. The subject should be sufficiently mature that enduring concepts and results can be identified and clearly explained\dots I feel confident that \textit{Quantum information meets quantum matter} is appearing at the opportune time.'' Avoiding repetition on the structure of this book, detailed in the preface, I will say briefly that it five parts each of which carries its own load. Part I presents the basic concepts in quantum information theory. Here, the reader can find the discussion of entanglement which is actually a primordial quantum feature, of the Bell's inequalities, of the Greenberg-Horne-Zeilinger paradox, of the evolution of quantum systems, and of quantum error-correcting codes. Part II, entitled `Local Hamiltonians, ground states, and many-body entanglement' is about these topics and includes the concepts of gapped quantum systems and topological entanglement entropy. Part III introduces the concepts of topological order, local transformations and long-range entanglement. Part IV studies gapped phases and two dimension using the tensor network formalism. Part V altogether outlooks the above concepts in unifying information and matter. To conclude, I absolutely agree with John Preskill that since ``the theoretical and experimental study of highly complex many-particle systems will be an increasingly central theme of twenty-first-century physical science \dots [and] \dots \textit{Quantum information meets quantum matter} is bound to hold an honored place on the bookshelves of many scientists for years to come.'' From myself, I would add that of students and PhD students, I do believe!