Realizing Topological Phases for Quantum Information Processing

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal focuses on theoretical study of the physical realizability of topological phases from two perspectives. The first is to perform numerical simulations of several proposed Hamiltonian models that have been put forward as candidates for supporting non-Abelian topological phases, with the general goals of i) identifying the conditions under which these emergent phases arise from physically realistic Hamiltonians, ii) characterizing these phases and analyzing their robustness, and iii) evaluating the effects of braiding operations. The second is to explore theoretically how to artificially engineer one such Hamiltonian model using cold trapped molecules. Since numerical simulations of emergent phenomena address new physics that is not well understood today, we need new computational tools to characterize and understand the subtleties of the resulting quantum many-body behavior. We shall employ a range of Quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) techniques to address these phenomena, with new variants introduced as required for specific problems.