The standard model of particle physics, which has been very successful in explaining many experimental results, is based on the assumption that our universe is built out of quantum degrees of freedom that exist at every spatial point and evolve in time according to the laws prescribed by the model. These assumptions require us to deal with concepts of infinity which are difficult to tackle computationally and have hindered progress in our ability to compute quantities of interest within the strongly interacting sector of the standard model that describes nuclear physics. So far we have been using classical computational paradigms to tackle the infinities, but the possibility of using quantum computers is suggesting new ways to approach the problem. The quantum computational paradigm forces us to build the quantum degrees of freedom of our universe using qubits. In this talk I will introduce the basic ideas behind this effort and show some recent results that suggest that asymptotic freedom, which is considered as a holy grail in our understanding of quantum field theories, may also emerge in novel ways using qubits.
Building our Universe with Qubits
Host: Arun Paramekanti