DQC Seminar Series: Quantum Simulation of Molecules and Mesons on a Trapped Ion Quantum Computer

Abstract: In this talk I will present two new applications of trapped ion quantum computers to quantum simulation. In the first, we experimentally simulate the transfer of an electronic excitation along a chain of macromolecules, capable of interacting by exchanging both electrons and phonons. This two-stage experiment is unique in that the initial state preparation relies not on a prior construction of the wavefunction from its nanoscopic constituents, but rather from a model fit to molecular spectroscopy data using a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm. In the second experiment, we demonstrate an efficient method for thermal state preparation on quantum computers uniquely adapted to trapped-ion hardware. Taking as our example a simulation of the quantum chromodynamic (QCD) phase diagram, we show how quantized motional modes can replace a register of spin ancillae to provide the required dissipation for controlled thermal state creation. In this case, the alternative use of motional ancillae effectively doubles the simulation space supported by the quantum computer. --- Spring 2025 Upcoming Speakers 23 Jan: Lu Qi 6 Feb: Andrei Ruskuc 20 Feb: Noah Shutty 6 Mar: TBA 20 Mar: Kristi Beck 27 Mar: Peter Shor 3 Apr: Ed Farhi 17 Apr: Anthony Ransford