Phases of matter are the basic states that matter can take – like water that can occur in a liquid or ice phase. Traditionally, these phases are defined under equilibrium conditions, where the system is stable over time. But nature allows for stranger possibilities: new phases that emerge only when a system is driven out of equilibrium. In a new study published in Nature, a research team shows that quantum computers offer an unparalleled way to explore those exotic states of matter.
https://www.nat.tum.de/en/nat/latest/article/exotic-phase-of-matter-realized-on-a-quantum-processor/
Research and authors team at TUM: Prof. Dr. Michael Knap, Prof. Dr. Frank Pollmann, graduate student Melissa Will .
Publication
M. Will, T. A. Cochran et al. Probing Non-Equilibrium Topological Order on a Quantum Processor. Nature 10 September 2025, DOI 10.1038/s41586-025-09456-3 www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09456-3
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