From the project leader

Our proposal, “Basic Science through Simulation: Approaches to the New Quantum Era,” has been selected as a “Large-scale Collaborative Proposal” by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) under the “Fugaku” Accelerated Research Program (to promote the use of next-generation ultra-high-speed computer systems).
Research using “Fugaku” will be conducted from FY2023 to FY2025.

The computational power brought by “Fugaku” is bringing about significant changes in the field of basic science.
In the field of particle nucleus research, large-scale simulations of quantum chromodynamics and detailed calculations of nuclear structure are now possible at a different level than before, and this has certainly accelerated the pace of research. However, I believe that it is only in the future that research will become truly interesting.
By combining the results of large-scale experimental projects, I look forward to seeing developments that cannot be achieved by theory, experiment, and computation alone.

A major feature of this project is an attempt to link particle/nuclear physics and condensed matter physics.
At first glance, one might think that they are similar fields to begin with, but the interaction between the two is not so widespread.
Of course, it is difficult because the research subjects are different, but on the other hand, the methods they both use in theoretical physics are very similar. In particular, in their research using computers, they are colleagues who deal with the common problem of quantum physics in many-body systems.
I hope that the combination of our knowledge will lead to new ideas, and that our collaboration will expand beyond this issue.

One of the common problems in particle/nuclear and the field of condensed matter physics is the so-called negative sign problem.
This is a serious problem because the Monte Carlo method, one of the central methods in computational physics, cannot be applied to certain (but very important!) problem.
For decades now, no significant progress has been made, but recently a method has emerged that could be a breakthrough.
We will use Fugaku to examine the possibilities of this method.
That is one of the things we are trying to do in this project.

Another major feature of this project is quantum computing. Of course, it is not about developing a quantum computer.
Rather, our goal is to use Fugaku to simulate a quantum computer, and to realize the world’s largest-scale simulation.
Simulations play an important role in predicting in advance how the actual machine will behave when it is built, and also in considering the efficient use of quantum computers.

“Quantum” is, of course, the central keyword in modern physics, from subatomic nuclei to physical properties.
Our research agenda is to approach the quantum world from various aspects through simulations.

From the project leader