Twisting Up Atoms Through Space and Time
One of the most exciting applications of quantum computers will be to direct their gaze inwards, at the very quantum rules that make them tick. Quantum computers can be used to simulate quantum physics itself, and perhaps even explore realms that don’t exist anywhere in nature. But even in the absence of a fully functional, large-scale quantum computer, physicists can use a quantum system they can easily control to emulate a more complicated or less accessible one. Now, researchers have coached their ultracold atoms to do a new dance, adding to the growing toolkit of quantum simulation.