Sequential quantum simulation of strongly correlated electron systems

Quantum simulations of many-body systems in materials science and chemistry are promising application areas for quantum computers. However, the limited scale and coherence of near-term quantum processors pose a significant obstacle to realizing this potential. I will describe our efforts to explore a recently developed method for quantum simulation [1] that constructs a matrix product state (MPS) representation of a many-body quantum state through a sequential process. This method leverages mid-circuit measurement, qubit recycling, and quantum memory to significantly reduce the physical qubit requirements, making it well-suited for noisy, intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. I will present a theoretical [2] and experimental study of how this sequential quantum simulation algorithm can be used to simulate the ground state energy of a highly entangled many-body spin chain. Our implementation uses a superconducting circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) platform, featuring a transmon qubit coupled to a long-lived cavity mode. I will discuss the practical advantages of this approach over qubit-only implementations-such as hardware efficiency in-terms of control lines-as well as the technical challenges encountered during implementation. Extensions of this work may make practical quantum simulations of complex materials achievable with near-term hardware. [1] M. Foss-Feig et al., Phys. Rev. Res. 3, 033002 (2021). [2] Y. Zhang et al., Phys. Rev. A 109, 022606 (2024). --- Shyam Shankar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Shankar is developing superconducting and semiconducting quantum devices and circuits for applications in quantum information science and engineering. --- The Duke Quantum Center, the IBM Quantum Innovation Center at NC State, and the UNC Kenan-Flagler's Rethinc. Labs are pleased to present the Fall 2025 Semester Triangle Quantum Computing Seminar series.