Exploring Many-Body Problems with Arrays of Individual Atoms

Explore the fascinating world of synthetic quantum matter in this Stanford Physics colloquium talk. Delve into the manipulation of individual quantum objects like atoms, ions, and molecules to build elementary many-body systems. Learn how physicists control interactions between atoms to study quantum magnetism, excitation transport, and superconductivity, gaining deeper insights into the N-body problem. Discover the potential industrial applications of these quantum machines in solving combinatorial optimization problems. Examine a specific example of a synthetic quantum system using laser-cooled ensembles of individual atoms trapped in microscopic optical tweezer arrays. Understand how exciting atoms into Rydberg states enables interaction at distances exceeding ten micrometers, allowing for the study of magnetic properties in an ensemble of over a hundred interacting ½ spins. Explore the challenges of simulating such systems using conventional numerical methods and learn about the startup Pasqal, which emerged from aspects of this research.