Physicists have demonstrated how simulations using quantum computing can allow the observation of a distinct state of matter taken out of normal equilibrium. Such new states of matter could one day lead to the development of fast, powerful quantum information storage and the science of precision measurement. Thomas Iadecola works his way through the title of the latest research paper, which includes his theoretical and analytical work, patiently explaining digital quantum simulation, Floquet systems, and symmetry-protected topological phases.He then offered an explanation of nonequilibrium systems, time crystals, 2T periodicity, and the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physics. Iadecol’s corner of quantum condensed matter physicsthe study of how states of matter emerge from collections of atoms and subatomic particlescan be counterintuitive and need explanation at most every step and term.
The bottom line is, as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences explained in announcing the 2016 Physics Prize to David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz, that researchers are unlocking more and more secrets of exotic matter, “an unknown world where matter can take on strange states.” An assistant professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University and an Ames National Laboratory scientist, describes simulations using quantum computing that allowed the observation of a distinctive state of matter taken out of its normal equilibrium.
The corresponding author of the paper is Dong-Ling Deng of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Deng and Iadecola worked together as postdoctoral researchers at the University of Maryland in 2017 and 2018.”Our work paves the way to explore new non-equilibrium phases of matter,” the authors wrote in a summary of their paper.For you and me, these new states of matter could one day provide unique and useful properties for new technologies. Possible applications in quantum information processing include the science of precise measurement and information storage.
For this project, Iadecola was a supporting scientist who contributed theoretical work and data analysis. For example: “In a collaborative project like this, my role is to help define the questions that experimenters need to address,” he said. The main question they answered in this paper is how a quantum computing platform can be used to study and understand exotic states of matter. This paper shows that researchers have a very nice digital quantum simulation platform,” said Iadecola. “This platform can also be applied to other interesting problems in many-body quantum physics.”
The project dovetails with Iadecola’s work to begin this summer as part of a five-year, $470,000 National Science Foundation CAREER grant. The grant will support theoretical work in many-particle quantum systems, including the study of how fine quantum states can be preserved. This preservation would allow states to be used for quantum computing, a new technology that uses quantum dynamics to process and store information. The grant will also help Iadecola develop an interdisciplinary quantum computing curriculum at Iowa State that will help “expand the quantum talent pool.”
While the project is all about theory and education, the synopsis says it will be approached “with emerging quantum technologies in mind.””We are thinking about new phenomena,” Iadecola said. “Realizing these phenomena on current quantum hardware could pave the way for a shift toward these applications in quantum information processing.”
Source Journal reference: Xu Zhang, et. al., Digital quantum simulation of Floquet symmetry-protected topological phases. Nature, 2022; 607 (7919): 468 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04854-3
