1] State Key Laboratory of Low-dimensional Quantum Physics and Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China [2] Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Beijing 100084, P. R. China [3].
Sci Rep. 2013;3:2232. doi: 10.1038/srep02232.
It is well known that quantum computers are superior to classical computers in efficiently simulating quantum systems. Here we report the first experimental simulation of quantum tunneling through potential barriers, a widespread phenomenon of a unique quantum nature, via NMR techniques. Our experiment is based on a digital particle simulation algorithm and requires very few spin-1/2 nuclei without the need of ancillary qubits. The occurrence of quantum tunneling through a barrier, together with the oscillation of the state in potential wells, are clearly observed through the experimental results. This experiment has clearly demonstrated the possibility to observe and study profound physical phenomena within even the reach of small quantum computers.
众所周知，量子计算机在高效模拟量子系统方面优于经典计算机。在这里，我们报告了第一个通过 NMR 技术对量子隧穿势垒这一具有独特量子特性的广泛现象进行实验模拟的结果。我们的实验基于数字粒子模拟算法，仅需少量的自旋-1/2 核而无需辅助量子位。通过实验结果，清晰地观察到了量子隧穿势垒的发生以及在势阱中的状态振荡。该实验清楚地证明了即使在小型量子计算机的范围内也有可能观察和研究深刻的物理现象。
