Speaker
Description
We present a quantum simulation of the SU(2) lattice gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions with one flavor of fermions, performed using both Quantinuum's trapped-ion H2-2 hardware and its emulator. This work is based on the loop-string-hadron (LSH) formulation of the gauge theory, and is distinguished by keeping the local bosonic degrees of freedom rather than integrating them out. Furthermore, we access physics that is above the typical $j=1/2$ truncation that is commonly applied for SU(2) quantum simulations. We include an electric-field degree of freedom that is digitized using a true multiqubit ``register'' for representing the bosonic quantum number. Our simulation therefore showcases several features that would characterize a large-scale quantum simulation in more than 1+1 dimensions, while relying solely on optimizations that should scale polynomially with the lattice size.