Quantum Simulation of Spin-Boson Models with Structured Bath

Abstract

The spin-boson model, involving spins interacting with a bath of quantum harmonic oscillators, is a widely used representation of open quantum systems. Trapped ions present a natural platform for simulating the quantum dynamics of such models, thanks to the presence of both high quality internal qubit states and the motional modes of the ions that can simulate the relevant quantum degrees of freedom. In our work, we extend the previous body of work that focused on coherent coupling of the spins and bosons to perform quantum simulations with structured dissipative baths using the motional states of trapped ions. We demonstrate the capability for adjusting the bath's temperature and continuous spectral density by adding randomness to fully programmable control parameters. Subsequently, we simulate the dynamics of various spin-boson models with noise spectral densities constructed from coupling to several dissipative harmonic oscillator modes. The experimental outcomes closely align with theoretical predictions, indicating successful simulation of open quantum systems using a trapped-ion system.