Stars in space

Dr. Richerme (Atomic Physics) will present, “Quantum Simulation of Interacting Spin Systems Using Trapped Ions.”

The computational difficulty of solving fully quantum many-body spin problems is a significant obstacle to understanding the behavior of strongly correlated quantum matter. This talk will describe experiments that explore interacting quantum spin systems in 1D, as well as progress towards the construction of a 2D quantum spin simulator. Effective quantum spins are encoded within the well-isolated electronic levels of Yb-171 ions and confined within an rf Paul trap. The ions are coupled via phonon-mediated optical dipole forces, allowing for study of Ising, XY, or Heisenberg spin-spin interactions. Both 1D and 2D systems are predicted to scale beyond 100+ quantum particles, while maintaining individual-ion control, long quantum coherence times, and site-resolved projective spin measurements. These versatile tools will serve as an important experimental resource for exploring difficult quantum many-body problems in a regime where classical methods fail.

This is a Denison Seminar and is open to everyone.

January 21, 2020