Analog quantum simulator of a quantum field theory with fermion-spin systems in silicon

Published

May 29, 2026

Author(s)

Ali Rad, Alexander Schuckert, Eleanor Crane, Gautam Nambiar, Fan Fei, Jonathan Wyrick, Richard Silver, Mohammad Hafezi, Zohreh Davoudi, Michael Gullans

Abstract

Simulating fermions coupled to large spin degrees of freedom represents a promising application for quantum simulators, given its relevance to lattice gauge theories. Mapping fermions to qubits is challenging in dimensions larger than one, complicating the realization of mixed-species in digital simulators. We propose a native fermion-large spin analog simulator platform by utilizing dopant arrays in silicon. Specifically, we show how to simulate a dynamical lattice realizing the extended Jackiw-Rebbi model where conduction band electrons are coupled at each site to a local nuclear spin. We demonstrate the feasibility of observing dynamical mass generation and a confinement- deconfinement quantum phase transition in one dimension on this platform, even in the presence of strong long-range Coulomb interactions. We employ finite temperature Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov simulations to investigate the dynamics of mass generation in two-dimensional square and hexag- onal arrays, showing that this can be done within realistic experimental parameters. Our findings reveal two distinct phases and demonstrate robustness against the addition of Coulomb interactions. Finally, we discuss experimental signatures observable through transport and local charge sensing in dopant arrays. This study lays the foundation for quantum simulations of fermions coupled to large spin degrees of freedom using donors in silicon.

Citation

Physical Review X

Volume

113

Issue

9

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1103/hv84-l6kg

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Keywords

Quantum simulation, silicon quantum electronics, nuclear physics

Citation

Rad, A. , Schuckert, A. , Crane, E. , Nambiar, G. , Fei, F. , Wyrick, J. , Silver, R. , Hafezi, M. , Davoudi, Z. and Gullans, M. (2026), Analog quantum simulator of a quantum field theory with fermion-spin systems in silicon, Physical Review X, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/hv84-l6kg, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957889 (Accessed June 16, 2026)

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