Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer

article Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer published yes Jaka Vodeb author Jean-Yves Marc Desaules author 6c292945-a610-11ed-9eec-c3be1ad62a800000-0002-3749-6375 Andrew Hallam author Andrea Rava author Gregor Humar author Dennis Willsch author Fengping Jin author Madita Willsch author Kristel Michielsen author Zlatko Papić author MaSe department IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program project False vacuum decay—the transition from a metastable quantum state to a true vacuum state—plays an important role in quantum field theory and non-equilibrium phenomena such as phase transitions and dynamical metastability. The non-perturbative nature of false vacuum decay and the limited experimental access to this process make it challenging to study, leaving several open questions regarding how true vacuum bubbles form, move and interact. Here we observe quantized bubble formation in real time, a key feature of false vacuum decay dynamics, using a quantum annealer with 5,564 superconducting flux qubits. We develop an effective model that captures both initial bubble creation and subsequent interactions, and remains accurate under dissipation. The annealer reveals coherent scaling laws in the driven many-body dynamics for more than 1,000 intrinsic qubit time units. This work provides a method for investigating false vacuum dynamics of large quantum systems in quantum annealers. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/19012/20127/2025_NaturePhysics_Vodeb.pdf application/pdfno https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Springer Nature2025 eng Nature Physics 1745-2473 1745-2481 2406.14718 40093970 00141268440000110.1038/s41567-024-02765-w 21386-392 https://ista.ac.at/en/news/dancing-bubbles-model-a-cosmic-disaster/ Vodeb, Jaka, et al. “Stirring the False Vacuum via Interacting Quantized Bubbles on a 5,564-Qubit Quantum Annealer.” Nature Physics, vol. 21, Springer Nature, 2025, pp. 386–92, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w">10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w</a>. Vodeb, J., Desaules, J.-Y. M., Hallam, A., Rava, A., Humar, G., Willsch, D., … Papić, Z. (2025). Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer. Nature Physics. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w</a> Vodeb, Jaka, Jean-Yves Marc Desaules, Andrew Hallam, Andrea Rava, Gregor Humar, Dennis Willsch, Fengping Jin, Madita Willsch, Kristel Michielsen, and Zlatko Papić. “Stirring the False Vacuum via Interacting Quantized Bubbles on a 5,564-Qubit Quantum Annealer.” Nature Physics. Springer Nature, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w</a>. Vodeb J, Desaules J-YM, Hallam A, Rava A, Humar G, Willsch D, Jin F, Willsch M, Michielsen K, Papić Z. 2025. Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer. Nature Physics. 21, 386–392. Vodeb J, Desaules J-YM, Hallam A, et al. Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer. Nature Physics. 2025;21:386-392. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w">10.1038/s41567-024-02765-w</a> J. Vodeb et al., “Stirring the false vacuum via interacting quantized bubbles on a 5,564-qubit quantum annealer,” Nature Physics, vol. 21. Springer Nature, pp. 386–392, 2025. J. Vodeb, J.-Y.M. Desaules, A. Hallam, A. Rava, G. Humar, D. Willsch, F. Jin, M. Willsch, K. Michielsen, Z. Papić, Nature Physics 21 (2025) 386–392. 190122025-02-06T10:07:13Z2025-09-30T10:29:15Z