Quantum simulation of three-dimensional critical phenomena using Rydberg atom qubit

Abstract

Critical phenomena refer to the complex behaviors of materials during phase changes, such as the boiling of water at which liquid transforms to gas. Despite the mundane roots of these phenomena, their study has uncovered some of the most profound ideas in basic physics of the last half century—ideas so fundamental that they have transformed disparate field of physics from condensed matter to string theory. Computer simulations of models that start from the atomistic view of materials have played a major role in elucidating the subtleties of critical phenomena, yet the answers to many questions of great interest in three-dimensional critical phenomena are beyond reach of our largest supercomputers. Here we propose a path to harness the nascent technology of quantum simulation to solve problems in critical phenomena out of reach of simulations with only classical resources. Our interdisciplinary collaborative approach combines the complementary expertise of two investigators bringing together ideas from abstract theoretical physics with real world physics and engineering of qubit systems built in a lab from trapped atoms in highly excited “Rydberg” states.

Back to New Initiative Grants