Caltech Confirms 2 Quantum Phase Theories With 35-Atom Simulator

3 articles · Updated · HPCwire · Aug 19

Nature published Caltech-led results directly measuring the energy-level ratios predicted by Ising and tricritical Ising conformal field theories—the first experimental confirmation of spectra long derived only on paper.
Using chains of up to 35 strontium atoms in optical tweezers, the team tuned the system to quantum critical tipping points and mapped its “energy ladder” with many-body modulation spectroscopy by shaking the chain at selected frequencies.
The measured spectra collapsed onto the universal curve expected for the Ising theory, while the tricritical point produced a distinct set of low-lying levels in the ratios theory predicts.
Individual control of each atom also let researchers sort excitations by symmetry and alter boundary conditions at the chain’s ends, exposing additional spectral families that are difficult to access in conventional materials.
The work turns neutral-atom quantum-computing hardware toward fundamental physics and sets up larger, 2D studies of conformal field theories, including regimes beyond classical computers’ reach.