CAREER: Designing quantum computers and understanding glassy systems using numerical simulations and statistical mechanics

技术总结这个职业奖项支持代表量子计算、玻璃系统、计算物理和教育之间的协同作用的理论和计算研究和教育。研究和教育的焦点是：量子计算：量子计算机提供了一种很有前途的替代当前计算范式的方法，它允许大规模并行。尽管如此，仍然存在许多实际挑战，例如克服退相干的影响，以及表明量子算法在解决广泛问题方面比当前技术更有效。PI将利用无序系统研究的方法，通过了解基于拓扑错误码的新量子存储和处理方案对不同误差源的稳定性，测试设备实现的可行性，以及研究量子优化算法的效率来解决这些问题。考虑到对信息技术的潜在影响，必须从理论、设备和软件层面更好地理解这些量子计算方案。玻璃系统：许多跨学科的问题可以映射到玻璃系统上，例如社会科学中的决策问题或量子计算提案的稳定性。PI的目标是利用新的算法来回答这一领域的关键问题。这些包括自旋玻璃在一个领域中行为的基本原理，材料的直接模拟，以及从复杂(社会)网络的决策问题到量子计算的跨学科应用。计算：上述科学目标成功实现的一个关键方面是发展和改进高效的数值算法。PI发展的数值方法可以应用于各种各样的问题。通过以档案的方式免费提供这些算法和数据集，拟议的研究将产生跨学科的广泛影响。教育：计算方法是实验和理论的基础。然而，目前的物理课程并没有解决这一需求。通过开发一门将课堂作业与实践研究相结合的创新计算物理课程，PI将解决这一问题。课程的设计考虑到了机构间的组成部分：所有模块都将在网上免费提供。此外，学生还将接受现代编程技术和高性能计算机的使用方面的培训，这些技能在学术和工业环境中非常有价值。该提案还包括一个针对西班牙裔少数群体的推广部分，以及吸引初中生和高中生的兴趣。非技术性总结快速、经济高效的计算机以及高效算法的出现使计算物理成为除实验和理论之外的强大的第三种研究方式。该职业奖通过使用计算物理的工具和方法以及开发新的计算工具和方法来支持量子计算提案和玻璃材料的研究。摩尔定律准确地描述了半个世纪以来当前计算机技术的加速发展。然而，量子力学表明，令人兴奋的可能性存在于摩尔定律之外。一种有希望的替代方案是操纵量子力学状态进行计算。由于量子力学状态的内在平行性，这项技术可能远远超过现有技术的性能。这个项目的一个目标是通过研究它们对不同误差源的容忍度来数值开发实现量子计算的拟议方法。许多跨学科的问题可以映射到自旋玻璃上；自旋玻璃是一种磁体，其中原子或分子水平上最小的磁性单元之间的相互作用显著不同，并且在不同的单元之间随机变化。与普通磁体不同的是，所有均匀相互作用的微观磁性单元的方向排列满足磁性单元之间的相互作用，这种相互作用的随机性使得它们很难满足，从而导致了一个具有挑战性的计算问题。了解自旋玻璃的性质，以及描述它们的理论图片的局限性，可以带来跨越学科界限的洞察。该项目致力于回答自旋玻璃领域的基本问题，包括自旋玻璃材料的研究和理论的跨学科应用。PI将开发一门结合课堂作业和实践研究的创新计算物理课程。课程的设计考虑到了机构间的组成部分；所有单元都将在网上免费提供。此外，学生还将接受现代编程技术和高性能计算机的使用方面的培训，这些技能在学术和工业环境中非常有价值。该提案还包括一个针对拉美裔少数族裔的外展部分，以及吸引初中生和高中生的兴趣。

TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis CAREER award supports theoretical and computational research and education that represents a synergy among quantum computing, glassy systems, computational physics and education. The research and education foci are:Quantum Computing: A promising alternative to current computing paradigms is given by quantum computers that allow for massive parallelism. Nonetheless, many practical challenges remain, such as overcoming the effects of decoherence and showing that quantum algorithms are more efficient than current technologies in solving a broad range of problems. Using methods from the study of disordered systems, the PI will address these problems by understanding the stability of new quantum storage and processing schemes based on topological error codes to different error sources, testing the feasibility of device implementations, and studying the efficiency of quantum optimization algorithms. Given the potential impact on information technology, it is imperative to better understand these quantum computing schemes on theoretical, device-centered, and software levels.Glassy systems: Many problems across disciplines can be mapped onto glassy systems, for example decision problems in social sciences or the stability of proposals for quantum computing. The PI aims to capitalize on novel algorithms to answer key questions in this area. These include the fundamentals of the behavior of spin glasses in a field, direct simulation of materials, and interdisciplinary applications ranging from decision problems on complex (social) networks to quantum computing.Computation: A crucial aspect for the successful outcome of the aforementioned scientific goals is the development and improvement of efficient numerical algorithms. The numerical methods developed by the PI can be applied to a wide variety of problems. By making these algorithms and data sets freely available in an archival fashion the proposed research will have a broad impact across disciplines.Education: Computational methods are fundamental for both experiment and theory. However, current physics curricula do not address this need. By developing an innovative computational physics course that combines class work with hands-on research, the PI will address this issue. The course is designed with an inter-institutional component in mind: all modules will be freely available online. Furthermore, students will be trained in modern programming techniques and the use of high-performance computers, skills that are extremely valuable in academic and industrial settings. The proposal also includes an outreach component aimed at Hispanic minorities, as well as engaging the interest of middle and high-school students.NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe advent of fast and cost-effective computers as well as efficient algorithms has made computational physics into a powerful third way, besides experiment and theory, to do research. This CAREER award supports the study of quantum computing proposals and glassy materials by using tools and methods from computational physics and developing new computational tools and methods. Moore's law has accurately described the speedup of current computer technologies for half a century. However, quantum mechanics suggests exciting possibilities lie beyond Moore's law. A promising alternative is the manipulation of quantum mechanical states for computation. This technique may far surpass the performance of current technologies due to the intrinsic parallelism of quantum mechanical states. A goal of this project is to numerically develop proposed ways to achieve quantum computing by studying their tolerance to different error sources. Many problems across disciplines can be mapped onto spin glasses; a spin glass is a type of magnet in which interactions among the smallest magnetic units at the atomic or molecular level differ significantly and are vary randomly from unit to unit. Unlike an ordinary magnet in which aligning the directions of all the uniformly interacting microscopic magnetic units satisfies the interactions among the magnetic units, the random nature of the interactions makes them difficult to satisfy leading to a challenging computational problem. Understanding the properties of spin glasses, as well as limitations of theoretical pictures describing them can lead to insights across disciplinary boundaries. This project focuses on answering fundamental questions in the field of spin glasses, including the study of spin-glass materials and interdisciplinary applications of the theory.The PI will develop an innovative computational physics course that combines class work with hands-on research. The course is designed with an inter-institutional component in mind; all modules will be freely available online. Furthermore, students will be trained in modern programming techniques and the use of high-performance computers, skills that are extremely valuable in academic and industrial settings. The proposal also includes an outreach component aimed at Hispanic minorities, as well as engaging the interest of middle and high-school students.