# Caltech Quantum Simulator Confirms 40-Year-Old Physics Prediction

*2026-10-01 14:01 UTC · Science · 1 min read*

> Caltech physicists measured energy levels predicted by conformal field theory for the first time, using up to 35 laser-trapped strontium atoms.

Caltech physicists have made the first direct measurement of the energy levels predicted by the Ising and tricritical Ising conformal field theories, a set of predictions that stood untested in experiments for roughly 40 years. The work, with partners at Université Paris-Saclay and the Technical University of Munich, appeared in Nature.

The team trapped chains of up to 35 strontium atoms with laser optical tweezers. A technique called many-body modulation spectroscopy shook the chain by modulating the lasers at a chosen frequency, then measured how strongly the atoms responded. The spacings between the energy levels matched theory, and the spectra collapsed onto a single universal curve once rescaled for system size.

The result shows that quantum simulators can test universal rules of quantum matter directly. Next, the researchers plan to move from one-dimensional chains to two-dimensional atom grids, where the physics is far less understood.

## Sources

- [scitechdaily.com](https://scitechdaily.com/quantum-simulators-put-a-40-year-old-physics-theory-to-the-test/)
- [thequantuminsider.com](https://thequantuminsider.com/2026/08/20/caltech-team-uses-quantum-simulator-to-probe-universal-rules-of-quantum-matter/)

---
TechTools News · https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2473-caltech-quantum-simulator-confirms-40-year-old-physics-prediction
Česká verze: https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2547-kvantovy-simulator-z-caltechu-potvrdil-40-let-starou-fyzikalni-predpoved