Out-of-time-order correlators in electronic structure using Quantum Computers

Understand

Operator spreading has profound implications in diverse fields ranging from statistical mechanics and blackhole physics to quantum information.

• The usual way to quantify it is through out-of-time-order correlators (OTOCs), which are the quantum analog to Lyapunov exponents in classical chaotic dynamics.
• In this work we explore the phenomenon of operator spreading in quantum simulation of electronic structure in quantum computers.
• To substantiate our results, we focus on a hydrogen chain $H_4$ and demonstrate that operator spreading is enhanced when the chain is far from its equilibrium geometry.