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Category: information science – Page 20

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.

Continue reading “Developed proprietary quantum error correction technology beyond the world’s leading quantum computing companies” | >

Oil and gas extraction in places like Texas’ Permian Basin leads to several waste products, including significant amounts of wastewater and flares firing into the sky. Texas Engineer Vaibhav Bahadur is researching how those byproducts, which are harmful to the environment, could be repurposed to serve as key elements in the creation of “green” hydrogen.

Bahadur, an associate professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently published a new paper in the journal Desalination about a new way to potentially produce green hydrogen. It involves using the energy wasted via gas flaring to power reverse osmosis, a common, low-energy technique used for municipal water treatment. Hydrogen production requires pristine water, and this process satisfies that need by removing salts and other elements from the equation.

Learn more about green hydrogen in the Q&A with Bahadur below, as well as his research, next steps and its broader implications.

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String theory aims to explain all fundamental forces and particles in the universe—essentially, how the world operates on the smallest scales. Though it has not yet been experimentally verified, work in string theory has already led to significant advancements in mathematics and theoretical physics.

Dr. Ksenia Fedosova, a researcher at the Mathematics Münster Cluster of Excellence at the University of Münster has, along with two co-authors, added a new piece to this puzzle: They have proven a conjecture related to so-called 4-graviton scattering, which physicists have proposed for certain equations. The results have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Gravitons are hypothetical particles responsible for gravity. “The 4-graviton scattering can be thought of as two gravitons moving freely through space until they interact in a ‘black box’ and then emerge as two gravitons,” explains Fedosova, providing the physical background for her work. “The goal is to determine the probability of what happens in this black box.”

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The rise of quantum computing is more than a technological advancement; it marks a profound shift in the world of cybersecurity, especially when considering the actions of state-sponsored cyber actors. Quantum technology has the power to upend the very foundations of digital security, promising to dismantle current encryption standards, enhance offensive capabilities, and recalibrate the balance of cyber power globally. As leading nations like China, Russia, and others intensify their investments in quantum research, the potential repercussions for cybersecurity and international relations are becoming alarmingly clear.

Imagine a world where encrypted communications, long thought to be secure, could be broken in mere seconds. Today, encryption standards such as RSA or ECC rely on complex mathematical problems that would take traditional computers thousands of years to solve. Quantum computing, however, changes this equation. Using quantum algorithms like Shor’s, a sufficiently powerful quantum computer could factorize these massive numbers, effectively rendering these encryption methods obsolete.

This capability could give state actors the ability to decrypt communications, access sensitive governmental data, and breach secure systems in real time, transforming cyber espionage. Instead of months spent infiltrating networks and monitoring data flow, quantum computing could provide immediate access to critical information, bypassing traditional defenses entirely.

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However, Hassabis’ true breakthrough came just a month ago, when he and two colleagues from DeepMind won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of AlphaFold, an AI tool capable of predicting the structure of the 200 million known proteins. This achievement would have been nearly impossible without AI, and solidifies Hassabis’ belief that AI is set to become one of the main drivers of scientific progress in the coming years.

Hassabis — the son of a Greek-Cypriot father and a Singaporean mother — reflects on the early days of DeepMind, which he founded in 2010, when “nobody was working on AI.” Over time, machine learning techniques such as deep learning and reinforcement learning began to take shape, providing AI with a significant boost. In 2017, Google scientists introduced a new algorithmic architecture that enabled the development of AGI. “It took several years to figure out how to utilize that type of algorithm and then integrate it in hybrid systems like AlphaFold, which includes other components,” he explains.

“During our first years, we were working in a theoretical space. We focused on games and video games, which were never an end in themselves. It gave us a controlled environment in which to operate and ask questions. But my passion has always been to use AI to accelerate scientific understanding. We managed to scale up to solving a real-world problem, such as protein folding,” recalls the engineer and neuroscientist.

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In an era where AI and data are driving the scientific revolution, quantum computing technology is emerging as another game-changer in the development of new drugs and new materials.

Dr. Hyang-Tag Lim’s research team at the Center for Quantum Technology at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has implemented a quantum computing algorithm that can estimate interatomic bond distances and ground state energies with chemical accuracy using fewer resources than conventional methods, and has succeeded in performing accurate calculations without the need for additional quantum error mitigation techniques.

The work is published in the journal Science Advances.

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Caltech’s new optical devices, evolved by algorithms and crafted via precise 3D printing, offer advanced light-manipulation for applications like augmented reality and cameras.

Researchers at Caltech have developed a groundbreaking technology that “evolves” optical devices and fabricates them using a specialized 3D printer. These devices, composed of optical metamaterials, gain their unique properties from nanometer-scale structures. This innovation could enable cameras and sensors to detect and manipulate light in ways previously impossible at such small scales.

The research was conducted in the lab of Andrei Faraon, the William L. Valentine Professor of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering and was published in the journal Nature Communications.

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Flying with Photons: Rendering Novel Views of Propagating Light https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.

Close your eyes and picture the iconic “bullet time” scene from “The Matrix”—the one where Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, dodges bullets in slow motion. Now imagine being able to witness the same effect, but instead of speeding bullets, you’re watching something that moves one million times faster: light itself.

Computer scientists from the University of Toronto have built an advanced camera setup that can visualize light in motion from any perspective, opening avenues for further inquiry into new types of 3D sensing techniques.

Continue reading “Novel AI algorithm captures photons in motion” | >

A team of astrophysicists, led by our Institute for Computational Cosmology, have developed a new model that could estimate how likely it is for intelligent life to emerge in our Universe and beyond.

In the 1960s, American astronomer Dr Frank Drake came up with an equation to calculate the number of detectable extraterrestrial civilisations in our Milky Way galaxy.

More than 60 years on, researchers at Durham, the University of Edinburgh and the Université de Genève, have produced a new model based on the conditions created by the acceleration of the Universe’s expansion and the amount of stars formed instead.

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