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Physics

Quantum computers could simulate a black hole in the next decade

Understanding the interactions between quantum physics and gravity within a black hole is one of the thorniest problems in physics, but quantum computers could soon offer an answer

By Alex Wilkins

29 April 2023

Black holes hold many mysteries

Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock

A quantum computer capable of simulating the exotic behaviour of a black hole and answering questions at the frontier of modern physics could be possible in the next decade, according to one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists.

One long-standing goal for physicists like Juan Maldacena at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, is to unite the theories of quantum mechanics and gravity. Maldacena and others think black holes might contain clues about a theory of quantum gravity, because they are …

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