Physicists Tackle a Classic Quantum Problem With a Powerful New Computational Method

Researchers at Caltech and Yale adapted computational techniques from quantum chemistry to predict the behavior of magnetic atoms embedded in copper, improving accuracy by as much as two orders of magnitude on the Kondo effect—a classic quantum physics problem.

The researchers tested this approach on a relatively simple 'prototype problem'; applying it to more complex phenomena like superconductors and quantum magnets will require further development.