Proof-of-concept Quantum Simulator based on Molecular Spin Qudits

TL;DR

This paper presents the first experimental prototype of a quantum simulator using molecular spin qudits, demonstrating its potential for simulating complex quantum phenomena like magnetization tunneling and the Ising model.

Contribution

It introduces the first experimental quantum simulator based on molecular nanomagnets and demonstrates its capability to simulate key quantum phenomena.

Findings

Successful simulation of quantum tunneling of magnetization.

Simulation of the transverse-field Ising model.

First experimental demonstration of molecular spin qudits in quantum simulation.

Abstract

The use of $d$-level qudits instead of two-level qubits can largely increase the power of quantum logic for many applications, ranging from quantum simulations to quantum error correction. Molecular Nanomagnets are ideal spin systems to realize these large-dimensional qudits. Indeed, their Hamiltonian can be engineered to an unparalleled extent and can yield a spectrum with many low-energy states. In particular, in the last decade intense theoretical, experimental and synthesis efforts have been devoted to develop quantum simulators based on Molecular Nanomagnets. However, this remarkable potential is practically unexpressed, because no quantum simulation has ever been experimentally demonstrated with these systems. Here we show the first prototype quantum simulator based on an ensemble of molecular qudits and a radiofrequency broadband spectrometer. To demonstrate the operativity of the device, we have simulated quantum tunneling of the magnetization and the transverse-field Ising model, representative of two different classes of problems. These results represent an important step towards the actual use of molecular spin qudits in quantum technologies.