Digital quantum simulation of $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theories with dynamical fermionic matter

TL;DR

This paper presents a method for digital quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories with dynamical fermions, using layered optical lattices and ancilla atoms to realize complex interactions without perturbation theory, demonstrated on a 2+1D $\

Contribution

It introduces a novel scheme for simulating lattice gauge theories with dynamical fermions using layered optical lattices and moving ancilla atoms, avoiding perturbative approximations.

Findings

Realizes four-body plaquette interactions in 2+1D models.

Provides a practical scheme for digital quantum simulation of gauge theories.

Demonstrates simulation of a $\

Abstract

We propose a scheme for digital quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories with dynamical fermions. Using a layered optical lattice with ancilla atoms that can move and interact with the other atoms (simulating the physical degrees of freedom), we obtain a stroboscopic dynamics which yields the four-body plaquette interactions, arising in models with $2+1$ and higher dimensions, without the use of perturbation theory. As an example we show how to simulate a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ model in $2+1$ dimensions.