Simulating the Femtouniverse on a Quantum Computer

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates quantum simulation techniques to compute the spectrum of 4D SU(2) Yang-Mills theory in a finite volume, using a reduced matrix quantum mechanics model to approximate the femtouniverse.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach employing quantum simulations and dimensional reduction to study non-perturbative gauge theories in finite volumes.

Findings

Quantum algorithms accurately compute the string tension to glueball mass ratio.

Results show qualitative agreement with large volume lattice simulations.

Method provides a new pathway for non-perturbative quantum field theory studies.

Abstract

We compute the low-lying spectrum of 4D SU(2) Yang-Mills in a finite volume using quantum simulations. In contrast to small-volume lattice truncations of the Hilbert space, we employ toroidal dimensional reduction to the ``femtouniverse" matrix quantum mechanics model. In this limit the theory is equivalent to the quantum mechanics of three interacting particles moving inside a 3-ball with certain boundary conditions. We use the variational quantum eigensolver and quantum subspace expansion techniques to compute the string tension to glueball mass ratio near the small/large-volume transition point, finding qualitatively good agreement with large volume Euclidean lattice simulations.