Lifeboat Foundation

PRESS RELEASE — It is hard to imagine our lives without networks such as the internet or mobile phone networks. In the future, similar networks are planned for quantum technologies that will enable the tap-proof transmission of messages using quantum cryptography and make it possible to connect quantum computers to each other.

Like their conventional counterparts, such quantum networks require memory elements in which information can be temporarily stored and routed as needed. A team of researchers at the University of Basel led by Professor Philipp Treutlein has now developed such a memory element, which can be micro-fabricated and is, therefore, suitable for mass production. Their results were recently published in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters.

When Mickael Perrin started out on his scientific career 12 years ago, he had no way of knowing he was conducting research in an area that would be attracting wide public interest only a few years later: Quantum electronics. “At the time, physicists were just starting to talk about the potential of quantum technologies and quantum computers,” he recalls.

“Today there are dozens of start-ups in this area, and governments and companies are investing billions in developing the technology further. We are now seeing the first applications in computer science, cryptography, communications and sensors.” Perrin’s research is opening up another field of application: Electricity production using quantum effects with almost zero energy loss. To achieve this, the 36-year-old scientist combines two usually separate disciplines of physics: thermodynamics and quantum mechanics.

In the past year, the quality of Perrin’s research and its potential for future applications has brought him two awards. He received not only one of the ERC Starting Grants that are so highly sought-after by young researchers, but also an Eccellenza Professorial Fellowship of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNS)F. He now leads a research group of nine at Empa as well as being an Assistant Professor of Quantum Electronics at ETH Zurich.

Light pulses can be stored and retrieved in the glass cell, which is filled with rubidium atoms and is only a few millimeters in size.

Light particles are particularly suited to transmitting quantum information.

Researchers at the University of Basel have built a quantum memory element based on atoms in a tiny glass cell. In the future, such quantum memories could be mass-produced on a wafer.

Continue reading “Scientists build mass-producible miniature quantum memory element” »

A new study shows how quantum computing can be harnessed to discover new properties of polymer systems central to biology and material science.

The advent of quantum computing is opening previously unimaginable perspectives for solving problems deemed beyond the reach of conventional computers, from cryptography and pharmacology to the physical and chemical properties of molecules and materials. However, the computational capabilities of present-day quantum computers are still relatively limited. A newly published study in Science Advances fosters an unexpected alliance between the methods used in quantum and traditional computing.

The research team, formed by Cristian Micheletti and Francesco Slongo of SISSA in Trieste, Philipp Hauke of the University of Trento, and Pietro Faccioli of the University of Milano-Bicocca, used a mathematical approach called QUBO (from “Quadratic Unconstraint Binary Optimization”) that is ideally suited for specific quantum computers, called “quantum annealers.”

Producing photons one at a time on demand at room temperature is a key requirement for the rollout of a quantum internet—and the practical quantum computers that would undergird that network. The photons can be used as quantum bits (qubits), the quantum equivalent of classical computing’s 0s and 1s. Labs around the world have devised various ways to generate single photons, but they can involve complex engineering techniques such as doped carbon nanotubes or costly cryogenically-cooled conditions. On the other hand, less complicated techniques such as using traditional light sources do not provide the necessary level of control over single-photon emissions required for quantum networks and computers.

Now, researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology have collaborated to develop a prototype room temperature single-photon light source using standard materials and methods. The team described the fabrication of the prototype and its results in a recent issue of the journal Physical Review Applied.

“Our single-photon light source … increases the potential to create quantum networks—a quantum internet—that are cost-effective and accessible.” —Kaoru Sanaka, Tokyo University of Science.

Over the past twenty years, many companies, including Google, Microsoft, and IBM, have invested in quantum computing development. Investors have contributed over $5 billion to this cause. The aim is to use quantum physics properties to process information in ways that traditional computers cannot. Quantum computing could impact various fields, including drug discovery, cryptography, finance, and supply-chain logistics. However, the excitement around this technology has led to a mix of claims, making it hard to gauge the actual progress.

The main challenge in developing quantum computers is managing the ‘noise’ that can interfere with these sensitive systems. Quantum systems can be disrupted by disturbances like stray photons from heat, random signals from nearby electronics, or physical vibrations. This noise can cause errors or stop a quantum computation. Regardless of the processor size or the technology’s potential uses, a quantum computer will not surpass a classical computer unless the noise is controlled.

For a while, researchers thought they might have to tolerate some noise in their quantum systems, at least temporarily. They looked for applications that could still work effectively with this constraint. However, recent theoretical and experimental advances suggest that the noise issue might soon be resolved. A mix of hardware and software strategies is showing potential for reducing and correcting quantum errors. Earl Campbell, vice president of quantum science at Riverlane, a UK-based quantum computing company, believes there is growing evidence to be hopeful about quantum computing’s future.

Scientific knowledge can progress rapidly, yet its social, economic, and political impacts often unfold at a painstakingly slow pace. The medicine of the 21st century draws upon genetic and embryological breakthroughs of the 19th century. Our current technology is firmly grounded in quantum physics, which was formulated a century ago. And the topic of the day, artificial intelligence (AI), traces its origins to the secret weapons research during World War II.

‌In 1935, the brilliant British mathematician, Alan Turing, envisioned a conceptual computer. His genius would later lead him to crack the Enigma code used by German submarines for secret communications during the war. Turing’s contributions extended beyond cryptography, as he introduced fundamental concepts of AI, including the training of artificial neural networks. Benedict Cumberbatch portrayed Turing in the 2014 film The Imitation Game, which earned a screenplay Oscar that year. All this historical context brings us to the heart of the current AI revolution.

‌AI uses neural networks, also known as artificial neural networks, which are comprised of multiple layers of artificial neurons. Each neuron receives numerous inputs from the lower layer and produces a single output to the upper layer, similar to the dendrites and axon of natural neurons. As information progresses through each layer, it gradually becomes more abstract, resembling the process that occurs in the visual cortex of our brains.

Almost 11 million internet-exposed SSH servers are vulnerable to the Terrapin attack that threatens the integrity of some SSH connections.

The Terrapin attack targets the SSH protocol, affecting both clients and servers, and was developed by academic researchers from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.

It manipulates sequence numbers during the handshake process to compromise the integrity of the SSH channel, particularly when specific encryption modes like ChaCha20-Poly1305 or CBC with Encrypt-then-MAC are used.

In the modern digital age, where data flows freely and sensitive information is constantly in transit, secure communication has become essential. Traditional encryption methods, while effective, are not immune to the evolving threat landscape. This is where quantum key distribution (QKD) emerges as a revolutionary solution, offering unmatched security for transmitting sensitive data.

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The idea of quantum key distribution (QKD) dates back to Stephen Wiesner’s concept of quantum conjugate coding at Columbia University in the 1970s. Charles H. Bennett later built on this idea, introducing the first QKD protocol, BB84, in the 1980s, using nonorthogonal states. Since then, it has matured into one of the most established quantum technologies, commercially available for over 15 years.