If you want to simulate a quantum experiment, why not use a quantum computer?

Posted in News Story

Prof. Jim Freericks’ research group has published a paper that shows how to use quantum computers to simulate single-photon experiments in Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Lead author Sunny Kang, who is a physics and robotics engineering major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, began working on the project as a participant in the GU physics REU program. Graduate student Zach He (PhD `25) and high-school student Sancharli Banerjee (Thomas Jefferson High School) also made important contributions. The article appears in the American Journal of Physics.

Mach-Zehnder interferometer
Left: Schematic of Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Right: Quantum circuit of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the results from running the circuit. [From Am. J. Phys., 94, 206-216 (2026)]