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A General Quantum Speed Limit for Non-Hermitian Systems

arXiv Quantum Physics
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⚡ Quantum Brief
Researchers derived the first tight quantum speed limits (QSLs) for non-Hermitian systems, addressing a long-standing gap in quantum physics theory. Published in May 2026, the work extends classic Hermitian bounds (Mandelstam-Tamm and Margolus-Levitin) to open quantum systems. The team used biorthogonal basis theory to establish two distinct, tighter QSL bounds for non-Hermitian dynamics. These bounds achieve minimal evolution times for specific "fastest initial states" (FIS), proving their compactness and optimality. Unlike Hermitian systems, the FIS in non-Hermitian cases exhibit fundamentally different properties. The study also provides a near-QSL bound for non-optimal initial states, broadening practical applicability. Comparisons with existing literature demonstrate the new bounds’ superiority in accuracy and generality. A minimal non-Hermitian model analytically validates the theory’s predictions. The findings enable precise control of evolution times in dissipative quantum systems, advancing quantum computing, metrology, and open-system simulations.
A General Quantum Speed Limit for Non-Hermitian Systems

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Quantum Physics arXiv:2605.23250 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 22 May 2026] Title:A General Quantum Speed Limit for Non-Hermitian Systems Authors:Zhanxi Wang, Xiaozhe Hao, X. X. Yi View a PDF of the paper titled A General Quantum Speed Limit for Non-Hermitian Systems, by Zhanxi Wang and 2 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:The quantum speed limit (QSL) refers to the maximum speed of a quantum system to evolve from an initial state to its orthogonal states. The bound on the QSL for Hermitian systems, for example the Mandelstam-Tamm (MT) and Margolus-Levitin (ML) as well as Sun-Zheng(SZ) bound, was studied respectively from the perspectives of average value and variance of the system Hamiltonian as well as the geometry of the system. While the compactness of the MT-type, ML-type and SZ-type bounds has been examined well for Hermitian systems, a compact QSL for non-Hermitian systems has not been well studied. In this work, based on the biorthogonal basis theory we derive two distinct and tighter bounds on the QSL for non-Hermitian systems, which correspond to the MT and ML bounds for Hermitian systems. We show that the shortest evolution time corresponding to the two bounds of the non-Hermitian system can be attained by certain initial states, showing the compactness and tightness of our bounds. These initial states dubbed fastest initial states(FIS) are different from that in Hermitian systems. A bound close to QSL for non-FIS is presented and comparison of our bound with others in literature is performed. To illustrate our results, we present a minimal non-Hermitian system to show QSL, and the condition for the shortest evolution time is derived analytically using the present theory. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2605.23250 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2605.23250v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.23250 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Zhanxi Wang [view email] [v1] Fri, 22 May 2026 05:44:42 UTC (1,789 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled A General Quantum Speed Limit for Non-Hermitian Systems, by Zhanxi Wang and 2 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-05 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)

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Source: arXiv Quantum Physics