Simulating Chern insulators on a superconducting quantum processor

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Quantum information science
• Topological phases of matter

Background:

• The quantum Hall effect is crucial for understanding emergent phases of matter.
• Chern insulators are a key area of topological matter research.
• Synthetic dimensions offer novel platforms for exploring quantum phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate Chern insulators using synthetic dimensions on a programmable superconducting processor.
• To investigate the bulk-edge correspondence in synthetic 2D Chern insulators.
• To simulate bilayer Chern insulators and explore their topological properties.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 30-qubit-ladder superconducting processor.
• Experimentally measured band structures along synthetic dimensions.
• Observed dynamical localization of edge excitations.
• Simulated bilayer Chern insulators with modulated on-site potentials.

Main Results:

• Successfully demonstrated three types of Chern insulators with synthetic dimensions.
• Implemented the bulk-edge correspondence in a synthetic 2D Chern insulator.
• Simulated topologically nontrivial edge states and a Chern insulator with higher Chern numbers.

Conclusions:

• Superconducting qubits provide a powerful platform for investigating topological phases of quantum matter.
• The experimental demonstration validates theoretical predictions for Chern insulators in synthetic dimensions.
• This work opens avenues for exploring complex topological phenomena using quantum simulators.