Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Malta have demonstrated a variational quantum algorithm for preparing Gibbs states, representing probabilities of different energy levels, on IonQ’s quantum computers. The team trained the algorithm using classical simulation before implementing it on the quantum hardware and evaluating the resulting state fidelity through state tomography. A theoretical proposal for this approach appeared in 2021, and an implementation on Quantinuum hardware was demonstrated in 2025. They found that fidelity decreases as a function of the inverse temperature β of the system, and also decreases as a function of the size of the system. Interestingly, a Gibbs state prepared for a specified β is a better representative of a Gibbs state prepared for a lower β, suggesting that thermal fluctuations in the quantum hardware lead to an increase in the temperature of the prepared Gibbs state above what was intended. Variational Gibbs State Preparation with Trapped-Ion Devices Quantum simulations are expanding beyond superconducting circuits, with trapped-ion devices now demonstrating the ability to prepare complex quantum states. This achievement broadens the toolkit for simulating complex systems, offering an alternative to superconducting qubits. The team employed a variational quantum algorithm originally developed by Consiglio et al., previously demonstrated on superconducting hardware. A key advantage of trapped-ion systems is their full connectivity, eliminating the need for complex “SWAP” operations, often a source of error in other architectures, to map the algorithm onto the hardware. This direct mapping allows for a more compact and efficient implementation. Instead, the team found that fidelity decreases as a function of the inverse temperature β of the system, revealing a relationship between thermal parameters and state preparation accuracy. Fidelity also decreases as a function of the size of the system, highlighting a current limitation in scaling up quantum