A team led by Philipp Werner, professor of physics at the University of Fribourg and leader of NCCR MARVEL's Phase 3 project Continued Support, Advanced Simulation Methods, has applied their advanced quantum simulation method to the investigation of the complex material 1T -TaS2. The research, recently published in Physical Review Letters, helped resolve a conflict between earlier experimental and theoretical results, showing that the surface region of 1T -TaS2 exhibits a nontrivial interplay between band insulating and Mott insulating behavior when the material is cooled to below 180 k.