Phys.org October 13, 2021
Calculating quantum light-matter takes enormous amounts of time and computing power—it also becomes very cumbersome. An international team of researchers (Germany, Sweden, Austria) has found a simple way to circumvent this problem by reshaping the equation so that the material part itself accounts for the quantum mechanical uncertainty of the light, far fewer additional photons are needed to describe the combined system of quantum light and matter. The new approach can capture most features of this extreme limit without the need to consider any photon at all. Adding just a few photons is enough to provide the full picture. The method yields considerable savings in computing time and provides a framework for scientists to predict the interplay between quantum light and matter for realistic systems in situations that were prohibitive to simulate. Their approach can serve as a solid foundation for future developments, providing a path to integrate quantum light more strongly into chemistry, material design and quantum technology…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
An illustration of the exponential increase in computational complexity: Credit: PNAS October 12, 2021 118 (41), e2110464118Â