Fundamental forces in nature are described by complex theoretical models. However, understanding them is challenging due to the complexity of simulating these models, which is beyond the capabilities of conventional supercomputers. A research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Princeton University, and Google Quantum AI has now demonstrated that quantum computers are a powerful tool to investigate such fundamental physics and to glimpse into the dynamics of the building blocks of nature.
The research, published in the academic journal Nature, represents an essential step in quantum computing and demonstrates its potential by directly simulating fundamental interactions with Google's quantum processor. In the future, researchers could use this approach to gain deeper insights into particle physics, quantum materials, and even the nature of space and time itself. The aim is to understand how nature works at its most fundamental level, described by so-called gauge theories.
https://www.nat.tum.de/en/nat/latest/article/shedding-light-on-the-building-blocks-of-nature/
Research and authors team at TUM: Prof. Dr. Michael Knap, Prof. Dr. Frank Pollmann, graduate student Bernhard Jobst.
Publication
T. A. Cochran, B. Jobst, E. Rosenberg, et al. Visualizing Dynamics of Charges and Strings in (2+1)D Lattice Gauge Theories, published in Nature, 4. Juni 2025 – DOI: 10.1038/s41586-25-08999-9
Contacts:
Prof. Dr. Michael Knap
Professor for Collective Quantum Dynamics
Technical University of Munich
TUM School of Natural Sciences
michael.knap@ph.tum.de
Prof. Dr. Frank Pollmann
Professor for Solid-State Theory
Technical University of Munich
TUM School of Natural Sciences
+49 89 289 53760
frank.pollmann@tum.de
Dr. Pedram Roushan
Google Quantum AI
+1 609 649 2317
pedramr@google.com