Breakthrough brings quantum computing closer to large-scale practical use.
Category: quantum physics – Page 21
Imagine a world where the act of observation itself holds the key to solving our most complex problems, a world where the very fabric of reality becomes a canvas for computation. This is the tantalizing promise of Observational Computation (OC), a radical new paradigm poised to redefine the very nature of computation and our understanding of the universe itself.
Forget silicon chips and algorithms etched in code; OC harnesses the enigmatic dance of quantum mechanics and the observer effect, where the observer and the observed are inextricably intertwined. Instead of relying on traditional processing power, OC seeks to translate computational problems into carefully crafted observer-environment systems. Picture a quantum stage where potential solutions exist in a hazy superposition, like ghostly apparitions waiting for the spotlight of observation to solidify them into reality.
By meticulously designing these “observational experiments,” we can manipulate quantum systems, nudging them towards desired outcomes. This elegant approach offers tantalizing advantages over our current computational methods. Imagine harnessing the inherent parallelism of quantum superposition for exponentially faster processing, or tapping into the natural energy flows of the universe for unprecedented energy efficiency.
Researchers from Nagoya University in Japan and the Slovak Academy of Sciences have unveiled new insights into the interplay between quantum theory and thermodynamics. The team demonstrated that while quantum theory does not inherently forbid violations of the second law of thermodynamics, quantum processes may be implemented without actually breaching the law.
This discovery, published in npj Quantum Information, highlights a harmonious coexistence between the two fields, despite their logical independence. Their findings open up new avenues for understanding the thermodynamic boundaries of quantum technologies, such as quantum computing and nanoscale engines.
This breakthrough contributes to the long-standing exploration of the second law of thermodynamics, a principle often regarded as one of the most profound and enigmatic in physics.
Phase transitions, shifts between different states of matter, are widely explored physical phenomena. So far, these transitions have primarily been studied in three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) systems, yet theories suggest that they could also occur in some one-dimensional (1D) systems.
Researchers at the Duke Quantum Center and the University of Maryland recently reported the first observation of a finite-energy phase transition in a 1D chain of atoms simulated on a quantum device. Their paper, published in Nature Physics, introduces a promising approach to realizing finite-energy states in quantum simulation platforms, which opens new possibilities for the study of phase transitions in 1D systems.
The recent study is a collaborative effort that combined the work of theoretical physicists at the University of Maryland with that of experimental physicists at the Duke Quantum Center, where the quantum simulator was placed and where the experiments were carried out.
Researchers at Tohoku University have achieved a significant advancement in opto-magnetic technology, observing an opto-magnetic torque approximately five times more efficient than in conventional magnets. This breakthrough, led by Koki Nukui, Assistant Professor Satoshi Iihama, and Professor Shigemi Mizukami, has far-reaching implications for the development of light-based spin memory and storage technologies.
Opto-magnetic torque is a method which can generate force on magnets. This can be used to change the direction of magnets by light more efficiently. By creating alloy nanofilms with up to 70% platinum dissolved in cobalt, the team discovered that the unique relativistic quantum mechanical effects of platinum significantly boost the magnetic torque.
The study revealed that the enhancement of opto-magnetic torque was attributed to the electron orbital angular momentum generated by circularly polarized light and relativistic quantum mechanical effects. The findings are published in Physical Review Letters.
How does cold milk disperse when it is dripped into hot coffee? Even the fastest supercomputers are unable to perform the necessary calculations with high precision because the underlying quantum physical processes are extremely complex.
In 1982, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman suggested that, instead of using conventional computers, such questions are better solved using a quantum computer, which can simulate the quantum physical processes efficiently—a quantum simulator. With the rapid progress now being made in the development of quantum computers, Feynman’s vision could soon become a reality.
Together with researchers from Google and universities in five countries, Andreas Läuchli and Andreas Elben, two theoretical physicists at PSI, have built and successfully tested a new type of digital–analog quantum simulator.
Multiferroic materials, in which electric and magnetic properties are combined in promising ways, will be the heart of new solutions for data storage, data transmission, and quantum computers. Meanwhile, understanding the origin of such properties at a fundamental level is key for developing applications, and neutrons are the ideal probe.
Neutrons possess a magnetic dipole moment which makes them sensitive to magnetic fields generated by unpaired electrons in materials. This makes neutron scattering techniques a powerful tool to probe the magnetic behavior of materials at atomic level.
The story of the so-called layered perovskites and the breakthrough results now published are a paradigmatic example highlighting both the role of fundamental studies in the development of applications and of the power of neutrons. Being a promising class of materials exhibiting coupled magnetic and electric ordering properties at ambient temperatures, the magnetic structure of the layered perovskites YBaCuFeO5—and thus the origin of their interesting magneto-electric behavior—was still to be unambiguously determined.
DARPA’s Intensity-Squeezed Photonic Integration for Revolutionary Detectors (INSPIRED) seeks to break the quantum noise limit
Optical detectors are essential for converting light into measurable signals, enabling a wide range of critical technologies, such as fiber-optic communication, biological imaging, and motion sensors for navigation. However, their sensitivity is fundamentally limited by quantum noise, which prevents the detection of extremely faint signals in the most precision-demanding fields.
As the world marks the 100-year anniversary of the initial development of quantum mechanics with the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, DARPA’s Intensity-Squeezed Photonic Integration for Revolutionary Detectors (INSPIRED) program is working to break through the quantum noise limit. By harnessing “squeezed light,” INSPIRED seeks to develop compact, cost-effective optical detectors that can operate at unprecedented sensitivities – allowing signals previously buried in quantum noise to be clearly detected.
Researchers reveal that plasmons in boron-doped diamonds are driving advances in electronics, optics and quantum computing.
Successive waves of breakout technologies are transforming systems and society. Is quantum computing next?