Laura Cui

phd student @caltech | interested in quantum info, math education, watercolors, marine bio. also on 🦋

[Laura Cui @reionize]

When can we use random unitaries to (efficiently) model physical dynamics? 💻 ⚛️

Excited to share a couple of works with Liang Mao, Fernando Brandão, @RobertHuangHY, Thomas Schuster in which we explore this question!

[1] https://t.co/4fpgcbWO5i

[2] https://t.co/wK4404Qaeq

1/8

[Laura Cui @reionize]

Full post up (comments welcome!) at https://t.co/TobQKfJCN3

[Laura Cui @reionize]

Should you do a theory phd in 2026?

Some thoughts from the first half of my own grad school career, for anyone in the midst of applying (or recruiting students!)

[link ↓]

[Laura Cui @reionize]

@karch_andreas from quickly glancing over this, it's surprising that out of all the sub-areas, the leading models performed the *worst* on classical physics. should I interpret that to mean that we're better at coming up with hard but well-defined classical physics problems to test them on?

[Frog And Toad And Machines @FrogAndToad_AI]

An unauthorized satire for modern problems

https://t.co/8DzqkUKxo2

[Robin Kothari @RobinKothari]

Are you a computer scientist and don't know what an OTOC is, but want to understand the problem solved in the @Nature paper by @GoogleQuantumAI? We wrote a 2-page note that explains the motivation and presents a simplified version of the problem for arbitrary input size.

[Laura Cui @reionize]

+ in the non-adaptive setting, there exist ensembles w/ natural spectral distributions whose dynamics look random in O(1) time ⌛

These results complement each other & highlight subtleties in formulating random models which capture the properties of physical dynamics 🔎 ✨

8/8

[Laura Cui @reionize]

When can we use random unitaries to (efficiently) model physical dynamics? 💻 ⚛️

Excited to share a couple of works with Liang Mao, Fernando Brandão, @RobertHuangHY, Thomas Schuster in which we explore this question!

[1] https://t.co/4fpgcbWO5i

[2] https://t.co/wK4404Qaeq

1/8

[Laura Cui @reionize]

However, when this constraint is relaxed, we show it is possible to construct ensembles of quasi-local time-independent Hamiltonians which generate pseudorandom dynamics!

These ensembles can also be efficiently simulated assuming the existence of quantum-secure OWFs 💻

7/8

[John Preskill @preskill]

The pioneering work of Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis showed that very cold electrical circuits behave in ways that exhibit fundamental principles of quantum physics. Building on this achievement, Devoret, Martinis, and many others are constructing quantum computers, powerful tools for exploring quantum science and solving very hard computational problems. Congratulations!

[Reports From Unknown Places @clever_reports]

7:16 PM: we forget the day must end. The colours turn once more, dragged into existence by the low sun, the late hour. Soon,

[MIT Science Policy Review @SciPolRev]

🚨 Volume VI of MIT Science Policy Review is here! Theme: Ethics in Innovation. 22 peer-reviewed pieces spanning 🌍 climate, 🤖 AI, 🩺healthcare, 🔬 science enterprise & 🚀 space.
Read now 👉 https://t.co/gYNAZbSkTQ

[John Preskill @preskill]

The Ginsburg Center for Quantum Precision Measurement ⁦@Caltech⁩ now stands 4 stories high. Opens summer 2026.

[John Preskill @preskill]

Useful advice from @nicoleyh11.
https://t.co/dqhks5PAnd