Researchers from QuEra Computing, Harvard University, and the University of Innsbruck have reported the first observation of string breaking in a programmable two-dimensional quantum simulator. The experiment, conducted on QuEra’s Aquila neutral-atom platform, is detailed in a new publication in Nature. The results demonstrate the controlled simulation of gauge-theory dynamics in two spatial dimensions—an experimental regime that pushes the limits of classical computation.
The team arranged rubidium atoms in a kagome-geometry optical lattice using optical tweezers, implementing a lattice gauge theory that mimics aspects of quantum chromodynamics. By tuning laser parameters, the researchers simulated confining flux tubes between synthetic charges and observed their rupture via spontaneous charge-pair creation. These processes were monitored in real time using dynamic quenches, with resonance features revealing many-body tunneling behavior. The experiment captures both equilibrium properties and non-equilibrium dynamics of the string-breaking process.
This work builds on earlier one-dimensional implementations and demonstrates the scalability of programmable Rydberg-atom arrays for simulating high-energy phenomena. The platform’s geometric flexibility, high qubit count, and tunable interactions enabled enforcement of local gauge constraints, such as Gauss’s law, directly through hardware configuration. The authors emphasize the value of neutral-atom systems as a bridge between quantum simulation, condensed matter theory, and high-energy physics.
Read the official announcement here and the full Nature paper here.
June 5, 2025
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