The future of wireless network generations is revolving toward unlocking the opportunities offered by virtualization and digitization services, with the aim to realize improved quality-of-experience (QoE) and bring several advantages to network users. According to the rapid development in the field of network virtualization, we envision that future wireless networks will run over ubiquitous deployment of virtualized components that are controlled by artificial intelligence (AI), i.e., the conceptualization of the Digital Twin (DT) paradigm. The key principle of the DT relies on creating a holistic representation of wireless network elements, in addition to decoupling the information pertaining to physical objects and dynamics, into a cyber twin. The cyber twin will then leverage this information for AI models training, and then reasoning and decision-making operations, which will be then reflected to the physical environment, for improved sustainability. Motivated by this, in this article, we dig deep into the intertwined role of wireless technologies as being enablers and enabled by the DT. Furthermore, we put a forward-looking vision of the integral role that future 6G networks are anticipated to play in order to realize an efficient DT. Finally, we sketch the roadmap toward identifying the limitations of the DT in 6G-enabled wireless networks, and open new horizons for further developments in different design aspects.

翻译：未来无线网络代际演进正聚焦于释放虚拟化与数字化服务带来的机遇，旨在提升用户体验质量（QoE）并为网络用户带来多重优势。基于网络虚拟化领域的快速发展，我们预见未来无线网络将运行在由人工智能（AI）控制的虚拟化组件泛在部署环境中，即数字孪生（DT）范式的概念化。DT的关键原理在于创建无线网络元素的整体表征，并将物理对象及其动态相关信息解耦至网络孪生体。该网络孪生体随后将利用这些信息进行AI模型训练，进而执行推理与决策操作，并将结果反馈至物理环境以实现可持续性提升。受此启发，本文深入探讨了无线技术作为DT使能者与被赋能者之间的交织作用。此外，我们前瞻性地展望了未来6G网络在实现高效DT过程中预计发挥的核心作用。最后，我们勾勒出识别6G赋能无线网络中DT局限性的路线图，并为不同设计层面的进一步拓展开辟了新方向。