Physics and complexity in a growing quantum worldConfirmed

by Thomas Schuster (California Institute of Technology (Caltech))

Wednesday Mar 25, 2026, 2:00 PM → 3:30 PM America/Toronto

PI/2-292 - Time Room (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

 Modern quantum experiments achieve coherences and scales once only dreamed of, pushing the limits of physics and computation. To understand and guide these advances, the questions we ask of quantum physics today---centered around the behavior of quantum information and complexity in large coherent systems---differ essentially from those asked in the past. In this talk, I will present two examples drawn from my work in which simple ideas regarding the dynamics of quantum information provide a unifying lens for answering these questions. First, I will present a classical computational algorithm that can provably simulate quantum circuits with uncorrected noise in polynomial time. This result establishes firm limits on the magnitude of quantum advantage that any such experiment can achieve. Second, I will discuss the emergence of universal random matrix phenomena in local quantum circuits and time-dynamics. I will show that such phenomena appear exponentially faster than previously believed, with applications to more efficient quantum device benchmarking, quantum cryptographic protocols, and fundamental questions in physics. I will conclude by looking forward, and mentioning several open directions at the interface of complexity, physics, and quantum computing experiments.