100 Quantity Quantum Leap: Scientists use quantum computers to model the basic physics of the universe

For the first time, researchers successfully prepared the quantum vacuum state of the basic physical model of up to 100 tons of IBM’s advanced quantum computers, a milestone that brings scientists closer to simulating complex particle interactions that go beyond the scope of traditional supercomputers.

The achievement, detailed in a study published on PRX Quantum on April 18, demonstrates a new approach that can effectively model aspects of the standard model of particle physics – a framework that describes fundamental forces and particles in our universe.

“Our hope for this kind of research is to know our own solar system, life, and ourselves, compared to other supersphere galaxies, so that we can background our existence,” explains William Balmer. “We want to take pictures of other solar systems and compare them to us as they are similar or different. From there, we can try to understand the real weirdness of our solar system, or how normal it is.”

Led by researchers including Roland Farrell, Marc Illa, Anthony Ciavarella and Martin Savage, the team developed what they call the “scalable circuit Adapt-VQE” (SC-Adapt-VQE), a new algorithm that leverages regular-scale patterns and limited interactions to synthesize states across many Qubits across the physical range across many quantum ranges.

Traditional methods of quantum state preparation often encounter obstacles when scaling to larger systems, making them impractical to the types of simulations that physicists dream of. New approaches cleverly revolve around these limitations.

At the heart of this study is the Schwinger model – a simplified version of quantum electrodynamics in a spatial dimension. Although the system is not as complex as the entire standard model, it captures basic features such as limitations that cannot exist in isolation in some properties – an important phenomenon in understanding how quarks combine to form particles such as protons and neutrons.

What makes the team’s approach particularly powerful is that they first use classical computers to identify quantum circuits for small systems and then prove that these circuits can be systematically extended to handle larger systems on actual quantum hardware.

The researchers successfully implemented scalable circuits on IBM’s Eagle quantum processor, testing systems up to 100 QUAT-scales, and the quantum advantage over classical computing becomes increasingly relevant. The mass of the prepared quantum state is verified with impressive accuracy by measuring various physical properties that match the theoretical predictions.

To illustrate the inevitable error in today’s noisy quantum computers, the team developed a new type of error mitigation technology called “operator inverter re-normalization.” This approach solves the fact that different qubits in large systems experience different levels of noise and require a more complex compensation method than previously used.

While this achievement marks an important step forward, the researchers stress that there is still work to be done before quantum computers can cope with the full complexity of the standard model or simulate the full complexity of high-energy particle collisions.

However, the scalable circuit framework they developed might be applied to other systems with similar physical characteristics, including quantum chromosomal dynamics (QCD) – a strong nuclear force theory that combines quarks and gluons into protons and neutrons.

These meanings go beyond basic physics. Similar techniques may help simulate complex materials, chemical reactions, or other quantum systems that violate classical computing methods.

“We expect future quantum simulations using these scalable circuits will exceed the capabilities of classical computing,” the research team suggested in its press statement. “These simulations will provide insights on the mechanisms that control fundamental particles and the dynamics of our universe.”

Such insights could solve the long-standing problem in physics: Why is there more antimatter in the universe than antimatter? How do supernova produce heavy elements? What are the characteristics of matter at ultra-high density found in neutron stars?

As the scale and reliability of quantum computers continue to improve, technologies such as SC-ADAPT-VQE offer promising ways for technologies that answer these fundamental questions through quantum simulations—the potential to achieve the quantum advantages that researchers have been working on for decades.

The study was supported by institutions such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics, and the Center for Quantum Science.