Physics Dept Seminar

April 5, Tuesday (*SPECIAL DAY*)

Topological Materials: Opportunities and Challenges in Near-term Quantum Computations

Dr. Xiao Xiao

North Carolina State University

(Condensed Matter/Materials Physics)

*SPECIAL TIME: 2:45 pm - 3:45 pm with 2:30 pm teatime

Room: ECE 202

Quantum computers are expected to outperform conventional computers for a broad range of applications, from quantum chemistry to financial service. However, the present quantum hardware is still very susceptible to noise and limited in the number of qubits. The immediate tasks in the development of quantum computation are to look for near-term applications and to find efficient methods to reduce the noise level. In this talk, I will demonstrate that the two immediate tasks in quantum computation research are closely related to the research of topological materials. In the first part of the talk, I will show that the important properties of topological states can be accurately determined on the present noisy quantum computers. In the second part of the talk, I will introduce a reliable strategy to detect Majorana fermions in topological superconductors, which are believed to be the next generation of qubits showing much better noise immunity. Outlooks of the future directions including the application of the quantum computer to study various properties of topological materials as well as other potential strategies for detecting Majorana fermions will be discussed.