Real-time chiral dynamics from a digital quantum simulation*

The chiral magnetic effect in a strong magnetic field can be described using the chiral anomaly in the $(1+1)$-dimensional massive Schwinger model with a time-dependent $\theta$-term. We perform a digital quantum simulation of the model at finite $\theta$-angle and vanishing gauge coupling using an IBM-Q digital quantum simulator, and observe the corresponding vector current induced in a system of relativistic fermions by a global {\it chiral quench} -- a sudden change in the chiral chemical potential or $\theta$-angle. At finite fermion mass, there appears an additional contribution to this current that stems from the non-anomalous relaxation of chirality. Our results are relevant for the real-time dynamics of chiral magnetic effect in heavy ion collisions and in chiral materials, as well as for modeling high-energy processes at hadron colliders.