Does the path to quantum advantage lie in spin-boson quantum computers?
- CQuIC Seminars
February 12, 2026 3:30 PM -
February 12, 2026 4:30 PM
PAIS 2540
- Host:
- Niklas Mueller
- Presenter:
- Alaina Green
Abstract: Trapped atomic ions have held status at the forefront of experimental quantum computing owing to the unrivaled coherence times and often superior gate fidelities afforded by the pristine pseudospins hosted in their valence electrons. However, the ions' harmonic motion in the trap also makes them a rich resource for bosonic quantum computation. In this talk, I will present two stories for harnessing both the ions' pseudospins and motional degrees of freedom to perform spin-boson quantum simulation, highlighting the efficiency advantages of this hybrid operation. In the first, I will share how truncated motional modes can serve as ancillary pseudo-qubits, capable of greatly reducing the resource requirements for thermal state preparation. We leverage these pseudoqubits to map out the phase diagram of a 1D SU(3) lattice gauge theory, a stepping stone for using quantum computers to map out the phase diagram of lattice QCD. Second, I will present our highly efficient digital quantum simulation of particle dynamics in the 1D Yukawa model, a lower dimensional version of the strong force which mediates interactions between nucleons and pions. I will close with a discussion of the theoretical and experimental challenges we anticipate in extending these hybrid quantum computing methods to larger and more complex problems.
Zoom password available upon request, email nlordi AT unm.edu
