Quantum information approach to high energy interactions

Abstract

High energy hadron interactions are commonly described by using a probabilistic parton model that ignores quantum entanglement present in the light-cone wave functions. Here we argue that since a high energy interaction samples an instant snapshot of the hadron wave function, the phases of different Fock state wave functions cannot be measured - therefore the light-cone density matrix has to be traced over these unobservable phases. Performing this trace with the corresponding $U(1)$ Haar integration measure leads to "Haar scrambling" of the density matrix, and to the emergence of entanglement entropy. This entanglement entropy is determined by the Fock state probability distribution, and is thus directly related to the parton structure functions. As proposed earlier, at large rapidity $\eta$ the hadron state becomes maximally entangled, and the entanglement entropy is $S_E\sim \eta$ according to QCD evolution equations. When the phases of Fock state components are controlled, for example in spin asymmetry measurements, the Haar average cannot be performed, and the probabilistic parton description breaks down.

9 pages; one typo corrected for archiving purposes, no other changes

References in corpus (4)

• Standard Model Physics and the Digital Quantum Revolution: Thoughts about the Interface
• The Color Glass Condensate density matrix: Lindblad evolution, entanglement entropy and Wigner functional
• Gibbs entropy from entanglement in electric quenches
• Classicalization and unitarization of wee partons in QCD and Gravity: The CGC-Black Hole correspondence

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• Quantum Computing for Heavy Quarkonium Spectroscopy
• Quantum Entanglement and the Thermal Hadron
• 1+1D Hadrons Minimize their Biparton Renyi Free Energy
• Chirality distributions inside baryons in $\mathrm{QC}{\mathrm{D}}_2$