Quantum simulations of many body physics and field theories
PI: Ribhu Kaul (Physics)
Plan for funding tuition for graduate students, or the remainder of the researcher’s salary for postdoc and research faculty: Start-up funds
Quantum field theories with topological terms appear as descriptions of quantum condensed matter and of high energy physics phenomena. Yet they are poorly understood because standard methods based on perturbation theory fail to probe the basic physics of such field theories. An exciting new prospect is the use of quantum computers to simulate the dynamics of such quantum field theories taking advantage of the lattice Hamiltonian formulation of qubits, “qubit regularization” [1]. In this project we will study such lattice models on classical supercomputers to learn their basic phase diagrams and identify which of these lattice models provide the most efficient description of the quantum field theories of interest, paving the way for an eventual quantum simulation.
Concrete projects: We will start with gamma-matrix models [2] and then explore other contenders. For these models we will work with specific sign problem free regularization of the SO(4) sigma model with a topological term.
Target junior researcher: Post-comp graduate students. Expected to attend weekly group meetings, individual discussions and generally work independently. The following background skills are required to complete work. Student should be at the level where they are familiar or can learn these ideas independently.
- -Understanding basic ideas in quantum many body physics and its connections to quantum field theory
- -Quantum simulation circuits on quantum computers-Programming experience with Julia
- -Interest in designing sophisticated quantum Monte Carlo algorithms
- -Collecting and analyzing computational data from computer cluster
The project is connected to ICDS’s long term mission of developing a quantum ecosystem at Penn State. The PI and junior researchers will engage with other experts on quantum at ICDS and on campus.