Echoes of Quantum Matter Probing Spectral Fingerprints of Many-Body Systems with Quantum Computers
One hundred years after Schrödinger wrote down his famous equation, we cannot generally solve it to compute what it predicts for quantum materials. This is because simulating many interacting quantum particles quickly overwhelms even the largest supercomputers. Quantum computers promise a way forward, pushing beyond what is accessible with classical computers.
To understand new forms of quantum matter, some of the most valuable outputs of quantum computers are the characteristic energies at which a quantum system responds. However, these quantities are also among the hardest to obtain.
In this project, Benjamin Schiffer will develop new methods to make these spectral fingerprints—the characteristic energies described above—accessible on the quantum computers becoming available today.
He combines state-of-the-art quantum algorithms with machine learning approaches to understand elusive new forms of quantum matter. Benjamin sees this as a step toward using quantum computers as powerful scientific instruments for exploring the natural world. He will also engage across scientific disciplines on the broader societal implications of emerging quantum technologies.