# Quantum simulation: From basic principles to applications

## TL;DR

Quantum simulation has advanced significantly since the 1980s, enabling the emulation of complex quantum systems and opening new research avenues beyond classical computational limits.

## Contribution

This paper introduces the field of quantum simulation, highlighting recent developments and its potential to solve previously intractable problems.

## Key findings

- Quantum simulators now emulate complex models with high accuracy.
- Recent advances allow exploration of problems beyond classical computational capabilities.
- Quantum simulation provides new insights and tests for theoretical physics.

## Abstract

Envisioned by Richard Feynman in the early 1980s, quantum simulation has received dramatic impetus thanks to the development of a variety of plateforms able to emulate a wide class of quantum Hamiltonians. During the past decade, most of the quantum simulators have implemented rather well-known models, hence permitting a direct comparison with theoretical calculations and a precise benchmarking of their reliability. The field has now reached a maturity such that one can address difficult problems, which cannot be solved efficiently using classical algorithms. These advances provide unprecedented opportunities to explore previously unreachable fields, test theoretical predictions, and inspire novel approaches. This contribution is an introduction to quantum simulation. It is published as a forward to the special issue on Quantum Simulation of the Comptes-Rendus de Physique of the French Academy of Sciences.