Is There a Predictive Power to a Toy Model?

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Is there a sense we're having this geometrical picture am helps us predict something about the dynamics of the quantum system? I see helps us understand what's the most efficient way to transfer from point eight to point b in this collection of cubits, for example. And i feel that having a toy model in the lab to play with at andand hopefully soon more than one model, rit a a, is kind of a starting point. So i guess i feel that there's always, there's value in doing experiments. It sort ofii for me, at least, clarifies things to really think, how do you do this?"

When it comes to thinking about quantum mechanics, there are levels. One level is shut-up-and-calculate: find a wave function, square it to get a probability. One level is foundational: dig deeply into the underlying ontology. But there’s a level in between, long neglected but recently coming to life. In this level you think about — or do experiments with — entangled quantum systems in the real world, putting entanglement to use. Monika Schleier-Smith is an experimental physicist specializing in cold atoms, which can be both entangled and manipulated. We discuss how to use such systems to study everything from metrology to quantum gravity.

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Monika Schleier-Smith received her Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is currently an Associate Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Among her awards are a MacArthur Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship, and the I. I. Rabi Prize in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics from the American Physical Society.

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