For error-resistant quantum computers, creating superpositions or entanglement between states is relatively easy. In contrast, adding magic to the state or dislocating them further from easy-to-simulate stabilizer states is expected to be highly challenging.

“In the literature of quantum information, you often encounter terms like ‘magic state distillation’ or ‘magic state cultivation,’ which refer to pretty arduous processes to create special quantum states with magic that the quantum computer can make use of,” said Niroula.

“Prior to this paper, we had written a paper that observed a similar phase transition in entanglement, in which we had observed phases where measurements of a quantum system preserved or destroyed entanglement depending on how frequent they are.”

A scheme that moves electromagnetically trapped ions around a 2D array of sites could aid development of scaled-up ion-based quantum computing.

Arrays of ions held in electromagnetic traps could eventually become powerful quantum computers, but as the number of ions increases, linear arrays become impractical. Rearranging the ions to achieve interactions between any specific pair becomes challenging, but now researchers have demonstrated a 2D scheme that does it more efficiently [1]. Using this approach, the full range of quantum operations is feasible with relatively simple applied voltages, and the researchers believe that it should soon find use in practical ion-based devices.

In trapped-ion quantum processors, single ions represent quantum bits (qubits). One of the main advantages of this technology is that individual ions can be moved around, says Robert Delaney of Quantinuum, a quantum-computing company. If rearranging ions—known as sorting—can bring every ion close enough to every other ion to allow pairwise quantum entanglement, the system has what is called all-to-all connectivity.