Quantum Institute: Visitor Schedule

The Quantum Lunch is regularly held on Thursdays in the Theoretical Division Conference Room, TA-3, Building 123, Room 121. For more information, contact Diego Dalvit.

March 2, 2006
12:30 PM

Ken R. Brown ,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Quantum Simulations of Physical Systems

Abstract

Simulating the dynamics of physical systems at a quantum level is a difficult problem. At the heart of this difficulty is the exponential growth of Hilbert space with a linear increase in the number of atoms. A quantum simulator overcomes this difficulty by using a well controlled quantum system to emulate the system of interest. In this talk, I will describe two experiments in the Chuang group that are initial steps towards building a quantum simulator. The first experiment uses an NMR quantum simulator to examine the low-lying energy spectra of superconductors. The second experiment is the development of a planar ion trap that allows one to store and move ions in arbitrary geometries. This flexibility makes planar ion traps an ideal tool for simulating frustrated spin systems.