Researchers at Duke University have used a quantum computer to simulate particles appearing to "pop into existence," recreating a fundamental process that helps explain how matter formed in the early universe.
"Quantum computer simulations provide the best platform to investigate complex questions like matter formation, short of having witnessed the Big Bang itself," said research leader Christopher Monroe in a Duke University press release. "As a physicist, it is incredibly exciting to investigate the conditions of the early universe in an atomic-level computing machine," added researcher Zohreh Davoudi
How the simulation works
The team used a trapped-ion quantum simulator with 13 ions to model a phenomenon called string breaking. In this process, two quarks (fundamental particles that normally cannot exist alone) are connected by a theoretical "string" of energy. As researchers simulated pulling these quarks apart, energy accumulated in the connection. When enough energy built up, it converted into mass, creating new particle-antiparticle pairs. This follows Einstein's equation E=mc², which shows that energy and mass are interchangeable.
The researchers prepared the quantum system in an out-of-equilibrium state and watched it evolve over time. By carefully controlling laser beams to adjust how the ions interacted, they could detect the appearance of effective charges and reconstruct the dynamics of the simulated string breaking. They verified their results by comparing them against classical computer calculations, which agreed with the quantum simulation.
This achievement is significant because it demonstrates that quantum computers can realistically model processes that normally require extreme conditions - such as those immediately after the Big Bang. As quantum systems scale up, they may eventually solve problems that even the most powerful supercomputers cannot handle, opening new paths to understand how matter behaved and evolved in the universe's earliest moments.
The researchers have described the methods and results of this study in a paper published in Nature Physics.