Speaker
Description
Preparing low-energy states of lattice gauge theories (LGT) on quantum computers remains a central challenge. Standard approaches such as adiabatic evolution, variational algorithms, and eigenstate filtering are often limited by large circuit depths, closing gaps, costly classical optimization, or the need for high-overlap initial states. Dissipative state preparation offers an alternative route, where a Lindbladian is engineered so that the target state is its unique fixed point within a chosen symmetry sector. This has the advantage that any initial state in the symmetry sector, even one with zero overlap, can be driven to the target state. In this work, we apply a dissipative algorithm to the $\mathbb{Z}_2$ LGT in $1+1$D as a first testbed. The key step is designing jump operators that preserve the relevant symmetries, including gauge invariance, momentum, and charge conjugation, so that the dynamics remain confined to a chosen sector by construction. Within this framework we target the vacuum as well as meson states at both zero and nonzero momentum. We present preliminary numerical evidence that dissipative methods can successfully obtain these states, which is a first step toward dissipative preparation in richer gauge theories.