Circuit QED lattices: towards quantum simulation with superconducting circuits

TL;DR

Circuit QED lattices utilize superconducting circuits to emulate complex quantum many-body systems, enabling the study of strong correlations, collective phenomena, and non-equilibrium physics through quantum simulation.

Contribution

This paper reviews recent theoretical proposals and experimental efforts in implementing circuit QED lattices for quantum simulation of the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model.

Findings

Implementation of Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model in superconducting circuits

Experimental progress in realizing circuit QED lattices

Potential to explore non-equilibrium quantum physics

Abstract

The Jaynes-Cummings model describes the coupling between photons and a single two-level atom in a simplified representation of light-matter interactions. In circuit QED, this model is implemented by combining microwave resonators and superconducting qubits on a microchip with unprecedented experimental control. Arranging qubits and resonators in the form of a lattice realizes a new kind of Hubbard model, the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model, in which the elementary excitations are polariton quasi-particles. Due to the genuine openness of photonic systems, circuit QED lattices offer the possibility to study the intricate interplay of collective behavior, strong correlations and non-equilibrium physics. Thus, turning circuit QED into an architecture for quantum simulation, i.e., using a well-controlled system to mimic the intricate quantum behavior of another system too daunting for a theorist to tackle head-on, is an exciting idea which has served as theorists' playground for a while and is now also starting to catch on in experiments. This review gives a summary of the most recent theoretical proposals and experimental efforts in this context.