IBM announced on March 26 that its quantum computer has successfully simulated real magnetic materials, producing results that align with neutron scattering experiments. This achievement, detailed in a pre-print study, was accomplished by scientists from the Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Purdue University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and IBM.
The announcement marks a significant development for scientific research as it demonstrates that current quantum hardware can already be used to simulate properties of materials. Such simulations are often difficult for classical computers to perform reliably. The ability to accurately model quantum behavior is important for designing new materials like superconductors or efficient batteries.
Arnab Banerjee, assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University, said: “There is so much neutron scattering data on magnetic materials that we don’t fully understand because of the limitations of approximate classical methods. Using a quantum computer for better understanding these simulations and comparing experimental data has been a decade-long dream of mine, and I’m thrilled that we have now demonstrated for the first time that we can do that.”
The team focused their experiment on the magnetic crystal KCuF3 and compared neutron scattering measurements with simulations run on IBM’s quantum processor. Allen Scheie, condensed matter physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory said: “This is the most impressive match I’ve seen between experimental data and qubit simulation, and it definitely raises the bar for what can be expected from quantum computers. I am extremely excited for what this means for science.”
Travis Humble, director of the Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Lab said: “Quantum simulations of realistic models for materials and their experimental characterization is a major demonstration of the impact quantum computing can have on scientific discovery workflows.” Abhinav Kandala, principal research scientist at IBM added: “These results were really enabled by the two-qubit error rates that we can now access on our quantum processors. We expect further improvements in error rates and extensions to higher dimensions to enable predictions of material properties that are challenging for classical methods alone.”
This experiment reflects broader efforts in applying quantum computers to real-world scientific problems across chemistry, molecular biology and other fields. The approach combines today’s quantum hardware with classical computing resources in integrated workflows designed to produce valuable scientific outcomes.
