A research team from Google Quantum AI, Caltech, Harvard, MIT, and Fermilab investigated the equivalence of wormholes with quantum teleportation. The result of their experiment was published in Nature: “Traversable Wormhole Dynamics on a Quantum Processor”.
The research team proposes the use of quantum computing to study the behavior of traversable wormholes and potentially simulate their properties.
A traversable wormhole, also known as an Einstein-Rosen bridge, is a hypothetical passage through space-time that would allow an object or person to instantly travel from one point to another in the Universe, possibly even in another universe.
The concept of a traversable wormhole is often used in science fiction and has been the subject of much scientific investigation.
The team studied the wormhole dynamics on the Google Sycamore (SYK) quantum processor. A machine learning algorithm was used to reduce the SYK model to a simplified form (see picture below).
After a qubit was inserted in one of the SYK-like systems, it went from one quantum system to another. In theory, this means that the information passed a wormhole.
Conclusions
The research shows that the quantum computers have the unique capacity to investigate intricate physical ideas, such as gravity, time crystals, quantum chaos, and chemistry. Gravity is just one example of this capability. With the help of Google Quantum AI’s quantum processors, this study of the wormhole dynamics is a step toward understanding future theories of physics.
It is important to note that traversable wormholes are purely theoretical at this point and have not been observed in the real world. There is still much that we do not understand about the nature of space and time, and it is not yet clear if traversable wormholes are even possible based on our current understanding of physics.
“It’s not the real thing; it’s not even close to the real thing; it’s barely even a simulation of something-not-close-to-the-real-thing,” physicist Matt Strassler wrote on his blog.
Therefore, any research on traversable wormholes, including the use of quantum computers to study them is purely theoretical at the moment.
Learn more:
- Research paper “Traversable Wormhole Dynamics on a Quantum Processor” (in Nature)
- News released Making a Traversable Wormhole with a Quantum Computer (on AI Google Blog)
