[Colloquium] Quantum Matter Reimagined: New Frontiers from Quantum Information Science

Colloquium Speaker: Sagar Vijay, UCSB

Title:  Quantum Matter Reimagined: New Frontiers from Quantum Information Science

Abstract: The rapid development of quantum simulator platforms—highly controllable experimental systems that emulate the behavior of complex quantum materials—is opening new directions in the theoretical study of quantum matter.  These platforms directly enable the exploration of strong quantum many-body entanglement, and real-time evolution with measurements and control.  In this talk, I will discuss how new tools from quantum information science are advancing our theoretical understanding of quantum matter in these settings, uncovering phenomena that go beyond traditional phases of materials, and leading to a broader notion of order in quantum matter. In particular, I will discuss the discovery of novel equilibrium phases using tools from quantum error-correction, as well as theoretical frameworks for understanding far-from-equilibrium quantum many-body evolution.  This work sheds light on the universal properties of “thermalizing” quantum systems and reveals the fundamentally distinct nature of quantum matter which is being measured by an external observer.