IBM quantum computer simulates real magnetic materials matching lab data

IBM announced new results that its quantum computer can simulate real magnetic materials with results that match neutron scattering experiments. The work was conducted by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Purdue University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and IBM. The team focused on the magnetic crystal KCuF3 and directly compared neutron scattering measurements with simulations on a quantum computer. The agreement between experiment and simulation demonstrates that quantum processors can capture key dynamical properties of real materials. Arnab Banerjee, assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University, said there is so much neutron scattering data on magnetic materials that classical methods do not fully explain. He said using a quantum computer for better understanding these simulations and comparing experimental data has been a decade-long dream. Allen Scheie, condensed matter physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said this is the most impressive match seen between experimental data and qubit simulation. Travis Humble, director of the Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, said quantum simulations of realistic models for materials and their experimental characterization is a major demonstration of the impact quantum computing can have on scientific discovery workflows. Abhinav Kandala, principal research scientist at IBM, said the results were enabled by the two-qubit error rates now accessible on quantum processors. The team has extended the approach beyond KCuF3 to simulate material classes with more complex interactions.