While the number of qubits and the stability of quantum states are still limiting current quantum computing devices, there are questions where these processors are already able to leverage their enormous computing power. In collaboration with the Google Quantum AI team scientists from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Nottingham used a quantum processor to simulate the ground state of a so-called toric code Hamiltonian \u2013 an archetypical model system in modern condensed matter physics, which was originally proposed in the context of quantum error correction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What would it be like if we lived in a flat two-dimensional world? Physicists predict that quantum mechanics would be even stranger in that case resulting in exotic particles \u2014 so-called \u201canyons\u201d\u2014 that cannot exist in the three-dimensional world we live in. This unfamiliar world is not just a curiosity but may be key to unlocking quantum materials and technologies of the future, writes TUM in a press release<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In collaboration with the Google Quantum AI team scientists from the Technical University of Munich and the University of Nottingham used a highly controllable quantum processor to simulate such states of quantum matter. Their results appear in the current issue of the renowned scientific journal “Science”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All particles in our universe come in two flavors, bosons or fermions. In the three-dimensional world we live in, this observation stands firm. However, it was theoretically predicted almost 50 years ago that other types of particles, dubbed anyons, could exist when matter is confined to two dimensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these anyons do not appear as elementary particles in our universe, it turns out that anyonic particles can emerge as collective excitations in so-called topological phases of matter, for which the Nobel prize was awarded in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwisting pairs of these anyons by moving them around one another in the simulation unveils their exotic properties\u2014physicists call it braiding statistics,\u201d says Dr. Adam Smith from the University of Nottingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A simple picture for these collective excitations is “the wave” in a stadium crowd \u2013 it has a well-defined position, but it cannot exist without the thousands of people that make up the crowd. However, realizing and simulating such topologically ordered states experimentally has proven to be extremely challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In landmark experiments, the teams from TUM, Google Quantum AI, and the University of Nottingham programmed Google\u2019s quantum processor to simulate these two-dimensional states of quantum matter. \u201cGoogle\u2019s quantum processor named \u2018Sycamore\u2019 can be precisely controlled and is a well-isolated quantum system, which are key requirements for performing quantum computations,\u201d says Kevin Satzinger, a scientist from the Google team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers came up with a quantum algorithm to realize a state with topological order, which was confirmed by simulating the creation of anyon excitations and twisting them around one another. Fingerprints from long-range quantum entanglement could be confirmed in their study. As a possible application, such topologically ordered states can be used to improve quantum computers by realizing new ways of error correction. First steps toward this goal have already been achieved in their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNear term quantum processors will represent an ideal platform to explore the physics of exotic quantum phases matter,\u201d says Prof. Frank Pollmann<\/a> from TUM. \u201cIn the near future, quantum processors promise to solve problems that are beyond the reach of current classical supercomputers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also interesting: <\/strong><\/em>Developing a quantum computer takes more than just money and people<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":322170,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":""},"categories":[8553],"tags":[125997,37153,33511,33860,24230,61883],"location":[24456],"internal_archives":[],"class_list":["post-322171","selected","type-selected","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital","tag-google-quantum-ai","tag-quantum-computers","tag-quantum-physics","tag-technical-university-of-munich","tag-tum","tag-university-of-nottingham","location-germany"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/KZVhQ4fB-csm_20211129_ToricCode_AH_665866_15x22_4d3b018f3d-1.jpg","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/","display_name":"Mauro Mereu"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 4 years ago","modified":"Updated 4 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on December 3, 2021","modified":"Updated on December 3, 2021"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on December 3, 2021 5:00 pm","modified":"Updated on December 3, 2021 5:00 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"\u00a9 A. Heddergott \/ TUM","tax_additional":{"category":{"linked":["Digital<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Digital<\/span>"],"slug":"category","name":"Categories"},"post_tag":{"linked":["Google Quantum AI<\/a>","quantum computers<\/a>","quantum physics<\/a>","Technical University of Munich<\/a>","TUM<\/a>","University of Nottingham<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Google Quantum AI<\/span>","quantum computers<\/span>","quantum physics<\/span>","Technical University of Munich<\/span>","TUM<\/span>","University of Nottingham<\/span>"],"slug":"post_tag","name":"Tags"},"language":{"linked":["EN<\/a>"],"unlinked":["EN<\/span>"],"slug":"language","name":"Tags"},"post_translations":{"linked":["pll_61aa3a8dcfdc1<\/a>"],"unlinked":["pll_61aa3a8dcfdc1<\/span>"],"slug":"post_translations","name":""},"location":{"linked":["Germany<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Germany<\/span>"],"slug":"location","name":"Locations"},"internal_archives":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"internal_archives","name":"Internal Archives"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected\/322171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/selected"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322171"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=322171"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=322171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Emergent quantum particles in two-dimensional systems<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Quantum processors as a platform for controlled quantum simulations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n