Preparation of an exciton condensate of photons on a 53-qubit quantum computer

Abstract

Quantum computation promises an exponential speedup of certain classes of classical calculations through the preparation and manipulation of entangled quantum states. So far, most molecular simulations on quantum computers, however, have been limited to small numbers of particles. Here we prepare a highly entangled state on a 53-qubit IBM quantum computer, representing 53 particles, which reveals the formation of an exciton condensate of photon particles and holes. While the experimental realization of ground state exciton condensates remained elusive for more than 50 years, such condensates were recently achieved for electron-hole pairs in graphene bilayers and metal chalcogenides. Our creation of ground state photon condensates has the potential to further the exploration of exciton condensates, and this novel preparation may play a role in realizing efficient room-temperature energy transport.