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X-ray diffraction enables measurement of in-situ ablation depth in aluminum

When laser energy is deposited in a target material, numerous complex processes take place at length and time scales that are too small to visually observe. To study and ultimately fine-tune such processes, researchers look to computer modeling. However, these simulations rely on accurate equation of state (EOS) models to describe the thermodynamic properties—such as pressure, density and temperature—of a target material under the extreme conditions generated by the intense heat of a laser pulse.

One process that is insufficiently addressed in current EOS models is ablation, where the irradiation from the laser beam removes solid material from the target either by means of vaporization or plasma formation (the fourth state of matter). It is this mechanism that launches a shock into the material, ultimately resulting in the high densities required for high pressure experiments such as (ICF).

To better understand laser–matter interactions with regard to ablation, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and other collaborating institutions conducted a study that represents the first example of using X-ray diffraction to make direct time-resolved measurements of an aluminum sample’s ablation depth. The research appears in Applied Physics Letters.

Texas seeks to regulate cryptocurrency mining on ERCOT grid

The Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Thursday adopted a rule requiring virtual currency mining facilities in the region maintained by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to register with the commission. In these registrations, the PUCT seeks each facility to share its location, ownership information and demand for electricity.

Cryptocurrency mining, in which computers crack codes in order to verify crypto transactions, has been on the rise in Texas for the past few years, specifically after China banned the practice in May 2021. The state itself was luring miners to set up shop here, offering relative regulatory freedom at first. But in the last year, Texans have been speaking out against the mines, which operate scores of their large computers at all hours of the day. The computer usage, coupled with the fans required to cool down the hard-working machines, can use up a lot of power and make the kind of noise that residents say make them sick.

Can Quantum Computers Solve the Many-Body Puzzle? Physicists Develop New Metric

The V-score benchmarks classical and quantum algorithms in solving the many-body problem. The study highlights quantum computings potential for tackling complex material systems while providing an open-access framework for future research innovations.

Scientists aspire to use quantum computing to explore complex phenomena that have been difficult for current computers to analyze, such as the characteristics of novel and exotic materials. However, despite the excitement surrounding each announcement of “quantum supremacy,” it remains challenging to pinpoint when quantum computers and algorithms will offer a clear, practical advantage over classical systems.

A large collaboration led by Giuseppe Carleo, a physicist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (EPFL) in Lausane and the member of the National Center for Competence in Research NCCR MARVEL, has now introduced a method to compare the performance of different algorithms, both classical and quantum ones, when simulating complex phenomena in condensed matter physics. The new benchmark, called V-score, is described in an article just published in Science.

Tiny Implant Aims to Treat Depression in Your Brain

Neurotech startup Motif says it has built a pea-sized brain chip that can treat mental illnesses, including depression, without the side effects of conventional drugs. Watch Posthuman with Emily Chang to learn more about the power of brain-computer interfaces.

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Improving Army logistics with quantum computing

Heeding those sentiments, the Australian Army is strategically investing in technological innovation to find better solutions to the complex logistics challenges they face in managing the efficient and safe deployment of personnel and equipment on the battlefield. For a difficult class of problems in an area called “optimization”, quantum computing is on the roadmap for exploration.

With the help of our quantum infrastructure software, they’ve now been able to test and validate a quantum computing solution on real hardware that promises to outperform their existing methods.

Developed proprietary quantum error correction technology beyond the world’s leading quantum computing companies

Dr. Seung-Woo Lee and his team at the Quantum Technology Research Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) have developed a world-class quantum error correction technology and designed a fault-tolerant quantum computing architecture based on it.


- Quantum error correction is a key technology in the implementation and practicalization of quantum computing.

- Groundbreaking quantum error correction technology contributes to the development of K-quantum computing deployments.

Solving the problem of error is essential for the practical application of quantum computing technologies that surpass the performance of digital computers. Information input into a qubit, the smallest unit of quantum computation, is quickly lost and error-prone. No matter how much we mitigate errors and improve the accuracy of qubit control, as the system size and computation scale increase, errors accumulate and algorithms become impossible to perform. Quantum error correction is a way to solve this problem. As the race for global supremacy in quantum technology intensifies, most major companies and research groups leading the development of quantum computing are now focusing on developing quantum error correction technology.

Realization of High-Fidelity CZ Gate Based on a Double-Transmon Coupler

Achieving the full potential of quantum computing will require the development of quantum gates—circuits that carry out fundamental operations—with much higher fidelity than is currently available. An average gate fidelity surpassing 99.9%, for example, would enable not only efficient fault-tolerant quantum computing with error correction but also effective mitigation of errors in current noisy intermediate-scale quantum devices. In this work, we report on a two-qubit gate that achieves that milestone and sustains it for 12 h.

Superconducting qubits, with their ease of scalability and controllability, are prime candidates for building quantum processors. One type known as a transmon is renowned for its high coherence and ease of manufacturing and is thus already widely embraced in academia and industry. In general, single-qubit gates need negligible coupling between two transmon qubits, whereas two-qubit gates require a large coupling. This necessitates a coupling mechanism that can be tuned to both nearly zero and a very large value.

Various coupling schemes based on transmons have been shown to address this issue. Our work focuses on an innovative coupler known as the double-transmon coupler (DTC), which has been only theoretically proposed. We report the first experimental realization of the DTC, achieving gate fidelities of 99.9% for two-qubit gates and 99.98% for single-qubit gates, demonstrated by using two transmons coupled by the DTC.

New ion speed record holds potential for faster battery charging, biosensing

Scientists at Washington State University and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered a way to make ions move more than ten times faster in mixed organic ion-electronic conductors. These conductors combine the advantages of the ion signaling used by many biological systems, including the human body, with the electron signaling used by computers.

The new development, detailed in the journal Advanced Materials, speeds up ion movement in these conductors by using molecules that attract and concentrate ions into a separate nanochannel creating a type of tiny “ion superhighway.”