QUANTUM SIMULATION

OUTLINE

Quantum simulation using neutral Ytterbium atoms Quantum simulation using neutral Ytterbium atoms

The momentum of research of laser-cooled quantum degenerate gases continues to grow at a very rapid pace. One of the most remarkable systems is the introduction of ultracold atomic gases into a periodic potential formed by light, called an optical lattice. This system follows the Hubbard model, which was introduced to explain the behavior of strongly correlated electron systems in solids, such as superconductivity and magnetism. The ultracold atoms in the optical lattice can be used to “quantum simulate” strongly correlated quantum many-body systems.

Here, simulating a quantum system using another quantum system with good controllability is called as quantum simulation, following Dr. Richard Feynman. In recent years, quantum simulation research using optical lattices has reached a mature level, and many groundbreaking results have been reported. While most of the previous studies have focused on the so-called Bose-Hubbard model for bosons, more recent work has been done on fermions. Considering that the main stage of strongly correlated quantum many-body systems has so far been electrons in solids, quantum simulations have a deeper meaning. In addition, the research has also covered systems that do not exist in conventional solid-state systems, such as mixtures of bosons and fermions. From the viewpoint of quantum simulation, our primary interest might be to study quantum systems that reproduce models describing real matter, but it is also possible to realize completely new systems that do not have any other counterparts by using laser-cooled atom systems. The exploration of new physical phenomena occurring in such systems is as significant as or more significant than the quantum simulations in the narrower sense described above.