Speaker
Description
Simulating real-time dynamics of non-Abelian gauge theories is a long-standing challenge for current classical and quantum algorithms. This talk covers recent attempts at large-scale simulations of SU(2) lattice gauge theory with dynamical matter, using both classical tensor network methods and quantum hardware. The Loop-String-Hadron (LSH) framework, equipped with manifestly gauge-invariant states and operators within a local Hamiltonian structure, is used for SU(2) gauge theory in 1+1 dimensions. In the first half of the talk, results from state-of-the-art tensor network simulations on lattices of up to 128 sites are presented. Continuum extrapolations of static observables are performed, and the dynamics of string breaking are probed by studying entanglement production and transport properties across diverse mass regimes. The second half turns to results from a 120-qubit simulation on the state-of-the-art IBM Heron processor. By comparing these methods side-by-side, we identify the parameter regime in which quantum devices provide robust, reliable data with minimal error mitigation, while classical methods increasingly struggle to do so. The talk concludes with a discussion on how to push the boundary of classical computing and combine it with quantum computing to yield a hybrid workflow for lattice gauge theories.