Quantum simulation and ground state preparation for the honeycomb Kitaev model

Abstract: We propose a quantum protocol that allows preparing a ground state (GS) of the honeycomb Kitaev model. Our approach efficiently uses underlying symmetries and techniques from topological error correction. It is based on the stabilization procedure, the developed centralizer ansatz, and utilizes the vortex basis description as the most advantageous for qubit-based simulations. We demonstrate the high fidelity preparation of spin liquid ground states for the original Kitaev model, getting the exact GS for N=24 spins using 230 two-qubit operations. We then extend the variational procedure to non-zero magnetic fields, studying observables and correlations that reveal the phase transition. Finally, we perform dynamical simulation, where the ground state preparation opens a route towards studies of strongly-correlated dynamics, and a potential quantum advantage.