Abstract
We design and implement a quantum laboratory to experimentally observe and study dynamical processes of quantum field theories. Our approach encodes the field theory as an Ising model, which is then solved by a quantum annealer. As a proof-of-concept, we encode a scalar field theory and measure the probability for it to tunnel from the false to the true vacuum for various tunnelling times, vacuum displacements and potential profiles. The results are in accord with those predicted theoretically, showing that a quantum annealer is a genuine quantum system that can be used as a quantum laboratory. This is the first time it has been possible to experimentally measure instanton processes in a freely chosen quantum field theory. This novel and flexible method to study the dynamics of quantum systems can be applied to any field theory of interest. Experimental measurements of the dynamical behaviour of field theories are independent of theoretical calculations and can be used to infer their properties without being limited by the availability of suitable perturbative or nonperturbative computational methods. In the near future, measurements in such a quantum laboratory could therefore be used to improve theoretical and computational methods conceptually and may enable the measurement and detailed study of previously unobserved quantum phenomena.
Highlights
Quantum field theories (QFTs) are the theoretical framework underlying the most fundamental description of nature
Our study is performed on the DWave Systems quantum annealer, which we treat as a trusted device that does what it claims to do—namely, it implements the potential and interactions of a generalized Ising model
Barrier penetration is a manifestly quantum mechanical property of a quantum field. While such tunneling processes have been observed and studied in quantum mechanics and a selection of special quantum field theories have been realized in nature, to our knowledge it has not yet been possible to implement, observe, and study such instanton processes in a freely chosen quantum field theory
Summary
Quantum field theories (QFTs) are the theoretical framework underlying the most fundamental description of nature. In soon many theoretical calculations for quantum field theories could be replaced by quantum measurements, thereby overcoming computational or theoretical limitations (e.g., perturbative or nonperturbative computational methods) or high computational demands (e.g., in lattice calculations). We refer to this as a “quantum annealing simulation platform” (QASP) ( some of the techniques we discuss for encoding a field theory would be applicable to quantum gate devices as well). Our study is performed on the DWave Systems quantum annealer, which we treat as a trusted device that does what it claims to do—namely, it implements the potential and interactions of a generalized Ising model Under this assumption, our goal is to test if the QASP produces results that fit with expectations
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