A recent study by two Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers highlights an approach to quantum simulation that could help lead to newer and more robust quantum technologies.
The findings by Travis Humble, an ORNL distinguished scientist and interim director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Quantum Science Center, and Paul Kairys, a doctoral student and energy science and engineering fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, were published in October in Physical Review A, which promoted the paper to Editors’ Suggestion status. The editors award this distinction to a few outstanding publications each year.
Quantum materials exhibit exotic properties under certain conditions and could enable vastly more powerful computers, incredibly precise sensors and potentially unhackable communications. DOE launched the QSC, one of five national quantum information science research centers funded by DOE’s Office of Science, in September 2020 to help realize the potential of topological quantum materials for manipulating, transferring and storing quantum information. ORNL serves as headquarters of the five-year, $115 million effort, which spans four national laboratories, nine universities and three industry partners.
The study by Humble and Kairys examines ways to overcome common shortcomings of analog quantum simulation – a potential method for estimating the dynamic properties of quantum states – and discusses opportunities for applying those solutions in available quantum devices.
“Our results show an efficient and scalable method for quantum simulation using optimal control,” Kairys said. “The calculations suggest these optimal controls could even be used in near-term quantum devices.”
The authors also recommend approaches for future studies to build on their work.
“Quantum simulation is an important application of quantum computing that helps us understand the structure and dynamics of materials,” Humble said. “These results, and others like them, are paving the way to new methods for scientific discovery with quantum technology.”
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit https://energy.gov/science. — Matt Lakin
