Realizing Feynman's Dream of a Quantum Simulator
Prof. Dr. James Freericks (University of Georgetown, USA)

In 1981, Richard Feynman proposed the idea of an analog quantum computer, which could set up the behavior of a quantum system under the action of a Hamiltonian and could then be probed to determine the quantum properties of the system. Recent work with trapped ions has begun to realize this goal by simulating interacting spins in a one-dimensional chain or in a two-dimensional plane. Initially, researchers focused on adiabatically creating a nontrivial ground state of a complicated Hamiltonian, but more recent work has gone beyond this ideal to consider spectroscopically measuring low-lying energy levels, and dynamical responses. I will describe how these experiments work and what their successes have been in addition to describing the role theory has played in helping shape the experimental work and where the field is likely to go in the future.