The Stability of Matrix Multiplicative Weights Dynamics in Quantum Games

In this paper, we study the equilibrium convergence and stability properties of the widely used matrix multiplicative weights (MMW) dynamics for learning in general quantum games. A key difficulty in this endeavor is that the induced quantum state dynamics decompose naturally into (i) a classical, commutative component which governs the dynamics of the system's eigenvalues in a way analogous to the evolution of mixed strategies under the classical replicator dynamics; and (ii) a non-commutative component for the system's eigenvectors. This non-commutative component has no classical counterpart and, as a result, requires the introduction of novel notions of (asymptotic) stability to account for the nonlinear geometry of the game's quantum space. In this general context, we show that (i) only pure quantum equilibria can be stable and attracting under the MMW dynamics; and (ii) as a partial converse, pure quantum states that satisfy a certain "variational stability" condition are always attracting. This allows us to fully characterize the structure of quantum Nash equilibria that are stable and attracting under the MMW dynamics, a fact with significant implications for predicting the outcome of a multi-agent quantum learning process.