Guifre Vidal (University of Queensland)
Entanglement Renormalization: from Quantum Circuits to Topological Order

I will describe a renormalization group transformation for strongly correlated quantum systems in D spatial dimensions based on ideas from quantum computation and quantum information (quantum circuits, entanglement, ...). Entanglement renormalization can be used to study extended quantum systems in a symmetry breaking phase, as well as quantum phase transitions between two such phases [cond-mat/0512165, quant-ph/0610099]. Recently it has been realized that it also offers a natural framework to describe systems with topological order. I will attempt to present an overview of these results directed to a mixed audience of researchers in theoretical quantum computation/information and condensed matter.