Simulating one-dimensional quantum chromodynamics on a quantum computer:Real-time evolutions of tetraquarks

Quantum chromodynamics - the theory of quarks and gluons - has been known for decades, but it is yet to be fully understood. A recent example is the prediction and experimental discovery of tetraquarks, that opened a new research field. Crucially, numerous unsolved questions of the standard model can exclusively be addressed by nonperturbative calculations. Quantum computers can solve problems for which well established QCD methods are inapplicable, such as real-time evolution. We take a key step in exploring this possibility by performing a realtime evolution of tetraquark physics in one-dimensional SU(3) gauge theory on a superconducting quantum computer. Our experiment represents a first quantum computation involving quarks with three colour degrees of freedom, i.e. with the gauge group of QCD.