The 43rd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2026)

Simulating (3+1)D SU(2) Hamiltonian lattice gauge theory with a topological $\theta$-term

30 Jul 2026, 16:10

20m

Margaret Brent A (Adele H. Stamp Student Union)

Contributed talk Quantum computing and quantum information Quantum computing and quantum information

Speaker

Lena Funcke (University of Bonn)

Description

We present a numerical study of the topological $\theta$-term in (3+1)D pure SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in a sign-problem-free Hamiltonian lattice formulation, using exact diagonalization on a single periodic cube and minimal field truncation. In the strong-coupling regime, we uncover distinct $\theta$-dependent phases, signaled by peaks in the topological susceptibility, and sharp variations in the plaquette expectation value, electric energy, and topological charge. We also analyze the entanglement entropy to assess prospects for tensor-network and quantum-computing studies at larger lattice volumes.