Quantum Simulators for Fundamental Physics

实验是物理学的核心：一个想法或理论要被认真对待，就必须经得起严格的检验。但一些具有根本意义的领域，如黑洞的性质或早期宇宙，不适合在实验室里进行简单的测试。所涉及的密度和能量太高，无法直接再现。然而，近年来，在制造“模拟器”方面取得了重大进展——模拟这些极端状态的实验装置具有足够的精度，可以证实爱因斯坦广义相对论中一些最显著的预测。我们现在正在缩小这些实验类似物的规模，使量子效应变得重要。量子技术的最新进展将使我们能够创造量子模拟器，使我们能够研究宇宙中一些最神秘的过程。

Experiments are at the heart of physics: for an idea or theory to be taken seriously, it must stand up to rigorous testing. But some areas of fundamental interest, such as the nature of black holes or the early Universe, do not lend themselves to simple testing in the laboratory. The densities and energies involved are far too high to be reproduced directly. Yet in recent years, major strides have been taken in producing 'simulators' - experimental apparatus that mimics these extreme regimes with sufficient accuracy to confirm some of the most remarkable predictions of Einstein's general relativity. We are now shrinking these experimental analogues to a scale where quantum effects become important. Recent advances in quantum technology will enable us to create quantum simulators that allow us to study some of the most mysterious processes in the Universe.