Gravitational twists help theoretical physicists shed light on quantum complexity

Are we are living in a computer simulation? Intriguingly, the crux of this question may be hiding in an exotic quantum phenomenon which shows up in metals as a response to twists of space-time geometry.

A recurring theme in science fiction, most famously popularised by the "Matrix' film trilogy, is whether our physical reality is a computer simulation. While this seems to be a rather philosophical idea, in theoretical physics it has an interesting twist when applied to computer simulations of complex quantum systems.

How can one even attempt to give an answer to this question? In new research published in Science Advances magazine, a team of theoretical physicists from the University of Oxford and the HebrewUniversity, may have found a way to approach this answer.