London – The group of researchers from the Department of Mathematical, Physical, and Computer Sciences of the University of Parma consisting of Professor Stefano Carretta and Paolo Santini and by Dr. Alessandro Chiesa has published an important result in which a quantum computer is used to interpret complex experiments on molecular nano-magnets in the prestigious journal “Nature Physics”. This demonstrates the power of quantum hardware in the study of nanosystems. The study is the result of a collaboration with the University of Pavia (Prof. D. Gerace and Dr. F. Tacchino), the IBM Research Laboratory in Zurich (Dr. I. Tavernelli) and IBM Italia (Dr. M. Grossi). Research into the design of new materials requires understanding the dynamics of nanosystems, governed by the laws of Quantum Mechanics. Simulating this evolution is an extremely difficult target for traditional calculators, so research is currently limited to very small systems. On the contrary, a quantum computer, which bases its functioning on the same laws, is able to mimic the evolution of other unknown quantum systems in an extremely more efficient way. This opens up enormous prospects in the search for new materials, particularly in the field of future nanotechnologies. (9colonne)
