IonQ has announced the first known simulation using a quantum computer of a process called neutrinoless double-beta decay – with profound implications for understanding the universe’s imbalance between matter and antimatter.
The simulation of a symmetry-breaking phenomena has potential to advance the frontier of quantum-enabled fundamental physics.
Using IonQ’s Forte Enterprise quantum system, researchers observed in real-time what’s known as a lepton-number violation – a phenomenon never directly simulated before on a quantum computer.
The hypothesised neutrinoless double-beta decay nuclear process suggests that neutrinos are their own antiparticles and that violates a principle in the Standard Model of particle physics.
This technique allows scientists to use quantum computers and simulate the nuclear dynamics on the shortest of timescales (10^{-24} seconds).
Niccolo de Masi, CEO, IonQ, said: “By simulating a fundamental physics process so rare it’s never been observed in nature, we’re showing that quantum computers are not just theoretical tools – they’re engines of discovery.”
The simulation was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Washington’s InQubator for Quantum Simulation (IQuS) and the US Department of Energy’s Quantum Science Center.
The Big Bang should have made equal amounts of matter and antimatter. However, almost everything we see is made of matter and there’s very little antimatter around.
What happened to the missing antimatter is one of the biggest questions in physics. Scientists are looking for the root cause of the imbalance for insights into the fundamental laws of physics.
