Simulating quantum mechanics is known to be a difficult computational problem, especially when dealing with large systems. However, this difficulty may be overcome by using some controllable quantum system to study another less controllable or access
ible quantum system, i.e., quantum simulation. Quantum simulation promises to have applications in the study of many problems in, e.g., condensed-matter physics, high-energy physics, atomic physics, quantum chemistry and cosmology. Quantum simulation could be implemented using quantum computers, but also with simpler, analog devices that would require less control, and therefore, would be easier to construct. A number of quantum systems such as neutral atoms, ions, polar molecules, electrons in semiconductors, superconducting circuits, nuclear spins and photons have been proposed as quantum simulators. This review outlines the main theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum simulation and emphasizes some of the challenges and promises of this fast-growing field.
We analyze the operation of a switching-based detector that probes a qubits observable that does not commute with the qubits Hamiltonian, leading to a nontrivial interplay between the measurement and free-qubit dynamics. In order to obtain analytic r
esults and develop intuitive understanding of the different possible regimes of operation, we use a theoretical model where the detector is a quantum two-level system that is constantly monitored by a macroscopic system. We analyze how to interpret the outcome of the measurement and how the state of the qubit evolves while it is being measured. We find that the answers to the above questions depend on the relation between the different parameters in the problem. In addition to the traditional strong-measurement regime, we identify a number of regimes associated with weak qubit-detector coupling. An incoherent detector whose switching time is measurable with high accuracy can provide high-fidelity information, but the measurement basis is determined only upon switching of the detector. An incoherent detector whose switching time can be known only with low accuracy provides a measurement in the qubits energy eigenbasis with reduced measurement fidelity. A coherent detector measures the qubit in its energy eigenbasis and, under certain conditions, can provide high-fidelity information.
We consider a system composed of two qubits and a high-excitation-energy quantum object used to mediate coupling between the qubits. We treat the entire system quantum mechanically and analyze the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenstates of the
total Hamiltonian. After reproducing well-known results concerning the leading term in the mediated coupling, we obtain an expression for the residual coupling between the qubits in the off state. We also analyze the entanglement between the three objects, i.e. the two qubits and the coupler, in the eigenstates of the total Hamiltonian. Although we focus on the application of our results to the recently realized parametric-coupling scheme with two qubits, we also discuss extensions of our results to harmonic-oscillator couplers, couplers that are near resonance with the qubits and multi-qubit systems. In particular, we find that certain errors that are absent for a two-qubit system arise when dealing with multi-qubit systems.
