Simulating two-dimensional lattice gauge theories on a qudit quantum computer
Particle physics describes the interplay of matter and forces through gauge theories. Yet, the intrinsic quantum nature of gauge theories makes important problems notoriously difficult for classical computational techniques. Quantum computers offer a promising way to overcome these roadblocks. We demonstrate two essential requirements on this path: first, we perform a quantum computation of the properties of the basic building block of two-dimensional lattice quantum electrodynamics, involving both gauge fields and matter. Second, we show how to refine the gauge-field discretization beyond its minimal representation, using a trapped-ion qudit quantum processor, where quantum information is encoded in several states per ion. Such qudits are ideally suited for describing gauge fields, which are naturally high dimensional, leading to reduced register size and circuit complexity. We prepare the ground state of the model using a variational quantum eigensolver and observe the effect of dynamical matter on quantized magnetic fields. By controlling the qudit dimension, we also show how to seamlessly observe the effect of different gauge-field truncations. Finally, we experimentally study the dynamics of pair creation and magnetic energy. Our results open the door for hardware-efficient quantum simulations of gauge theories with qudits in near-term quantum devices.
Authors
- P. Zoller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4014-1505)
- Christine A. Muschik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4599-5107)
- Luca Dellantonio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1914-6539)
- Lukas Postler
- M. Meth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5446-3962)
- Jan F. Haase (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1126-8216)
- Martin Ringbauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5055-6240)
- Alex Steiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5443-7871)
- Andrew Jena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4584-7312)
- Philipp Schindler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9461-9650)
- R. Blatt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3122-2461)
- Jinglei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3100-7921)
- Thomas Monz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7410-4804)
- Claire Edmunds (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2367-9074)
Institutions
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
- University of Waterloo (CA)
- Perimeter Institute (CA)
- Universität Innsbruck (AT)
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- Alpine Quantum Technologies (Austria) (AT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Physics
- Published
- 2025-03-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-025-02797-w
- Citations
- 38
- Primary Topic
- Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 94.28
Funders
- European Commission
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Austrian Science Fund
- Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft
- Canada First Research Excellence Fund
- QuantERA
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council