Bela Bauer, Senior Researcher, Microsoft Station Q

"The many challenges of building a topological quantum computer"

Abstract: Building a quantum computer is one of the most exciting technical challenges of our time, and it is closely intertwined with interesting challenges in quantum many-body physics. Indeed, many proposals for robust qubits are based on coherence in many-body states. One such proposal are topological qubits based on Majorana zero modes in semiconductor-superconductor heterostructures. Bringing this proposal to fruition requires progress on many levels, from understanding basic properties of the materials used to build such qubits, to detecting signatures of topological physics in current experiments, and finally to understanding how Majorana zero modes can be used to build a scalable and error-corrected quantum computer. I will highlight some of the current challenges for the field and highlight how computational quantum many-body physics can help tackle them.