Collaborative Research: Topological Phases of Matter and their Application to Quantum Computing

在这个合作项目中，首席研究员(PI)将研究物质拓扑相的数学模型及其在新生的量子信息领域的应用。物质拓扑相的例子包括分数量子霍尔液体和拓扑绝缘体：受到极端物理条件(例如，在大磁力下接近零开尔文)的材料似乎表现出拓扑行为。该项目的主要目标是通过数学模型更好地了解这些奇异物质状态的分类，解决由物理和计算驱动的数学问题，并应用拓扑和代数方法进行研究。例如，量子计算能力(普适性)的问题可以通过寻找与特定模型相关联的表示下的辫子群的图像来分析。此外，现有的物质拓扑态的假设模型并没有涵盖所有的微妙之处(如费米子的拓扑序)，因此PIS将发展新的模型。新发现的拓扑材料尚未完全被理解，但有可能被用来建造性能优于标准微芯片计算机的(量子)计算设备。量子计算最常见的模型-量子电路模型，由于系统与周围环境的局部相互作用，要求硬件具有挑战性的精度(如果不是不可能的话)才具有实用价值。基于物质的奇异状态的拓扑模型，虽然在数学上更为复杂，但对这种相互作用有一种固有的容忍度。PI将从数学上研究物质的这些奇异状态，重点是它们在新的计算范式中的应用，这些新的计算范式可能会给社会带来重大好处。

In this collaborative project the Principal Investigators (PIs) willinvestigate mathematical models for topological phases of matter and theirapplication to the nascent field of quantum information. Examples oftopological phases of matter include Fractional Quantum Hall liquids andtopological insulators: materials subjected to extreme physical conditions(e.g. near zero Kelvin, under large magnetic forces) which appear toexhibit topological behavior. The main objectives of the project are tobetter understand the taxonomy of these exotic states of matter throughmathematical models, address physically and computationally motivatedmathematical problems, and apply topological and algebraic methods tostudy them. For example, the issue of quantum computational power(universality) may be analyzed by finding the images of the braid groupsunder representations associated to a particular model. Moreover, theextant hypothesized models for topological states of matter do not captureall of the subtleties (such as fermionic topological order) so the PIswill develop new models.The classical states of matter of solid, liquid and gas have more refinedclassifications: for example, solid crystals may be differentiated bytheir symmetries. Newly discovered topological materials have yet to befully understood, but potentially can be used to build (quantum)computational devices out-performing standard micro-chip based computers.The most commonly encountered model for quantum computation, the quantumcircuit model, requires challenging, if not impossible, accuracy on thehardware to be of practical value due to local interactions of the systemwith the surrounding environment. The topological model based on exoticstates of matter, while mathematically more complicated, has a built-intolerance for such interactions. The PIs will mathematically study theseexotic states of matter focusing on their application to new computationalparadigms with potentially significant benefit to society.