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A team of researchers from the Structured Light Laboratory at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, has made a significant breakthrough regarding quantum entanglement.

Led by Professor Andrew Forbes, in collaboration with renowned string theorist Robert de Mello Koch, now at Huzhou University in China, the team has successfully demonstrated a novel method to manipulate quantum entangled particles without altering their intrinsic properties.

This feat marks a monumental step in our understanding and application of quantum entanglement.

Many physicists and engineers have been trying to develop highly efficient quantum technologies that can perform similar functions to conventional electronics leveraging quantum mechanical effects. This includes high-dimensional quantum memories, storage devices with a greater information capacity and noise resilience than two-dimensional quantum memories.

So far, developing these high-dimensional memories has proved challenging, and most attempts have not yielded satisfactory efficiencies. In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, a research team at University of Science and Technology of China and Hefei Normal University recently introduced an approach to realize a highly efficient 25-dimensional memory based on cold atoms.

“Our group has been using the orbital angular momentum mode in the space channel to study high-dimensional quantum storage and has accumulated a wealth of research experience and technology,” Dong Sheng Ding, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org. “Achieving high-dimensional and high-efficiency quantum storage has always been our goal.”

Scientists have uncovered the interaction between lattice vibrations and spins in a hybrid excitation called an electromagnon, using a unique combination of experiments at the SwissFEL X-ray free electron laser. This discovery at the atomic level paves the way for ultrafast manipulation of magnetism using light.

Within the atomic lattice of a solid, particles and their various properties cooperate in wave like motions known as collective excitations. When atoms in a lattice jiggle together, the collective excitation is known as a phonon. Similarly, when the atomic spins – the magnetisation of the atoms-move together, it’s known as a magnon.

The situation gets more complex. Some of these collective excitations talk to each other in so-called hybrid excitations. One such hybrid excitation is an electromagnon. Electromagnons get their name because of the ability to excite the atomic spins using the electric field of light, in contrast to conventional magnons: an exciting prospect for numerous technical applications. Yet their secret life at an atomic level is not well understood.

Historically, JILA (a joint institute established by the National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST] and the University of Colorado Boulder) has been a world leader in precision timekeeping using optical atomic clocks. These clocks harness the intrinsic properties of atoms to measure time with unparalleled precision and accuracy, representing a significant leap in our quest to quantify the most elusive of dimensions: time.

When Rosemary Brown identified a strange particle decay 75 years ago, it set events in motion that would rewrite the laws of physics.

In the ever-evolving world of financial markets, understanding the unpredictable nature of stock market fluctuations is crucial. A new study has taken a leap in this field by developing an innovative quantum mechanics model to analyze the stock market.

This model not only encompasses economic uncertainty and investor behavior but also aims to unravel the mysteries behind stock market anomalies like fat tails, volatility clustering, and contrarian effects.

The core of this model is quantum mechanics, a pillar of physics known for explaining the behavior of subatomic particles.

What actually happens is much weirder, and may help us understand more about quantum mechanics.

The quantum Cheshire cat effect draws its name from the fictional Cheshire Cat in the Alice in Wonderland story. That cat was able to disappear, leaving only its grin behind. Similarly, in a 2013 paper, researchers claimed quantum particles are able to separate from their properties, with the properties traveling along paths the particle cannot. They named this the quantum Cheshire cat effect. Researchers since have claimed to extend this further, swapping disembodied properties between particles, disembodying multiple properties simultaneously, and even “separating the wave-particle duality” of a particle.

Contextuality in Quantum Mechanics.

Scientists uncover new insights on polaritons, showing potential for breakthroughs in light manipulation and nanotechnology applications.

An international team of scientists provides an overview of the latest research on light-matter interactions. A team of scientists from the Fritz Haber Institute, the City University of New York, and the Universidad de Oviedo has published a comprehensive review article in the scientific journal Nature Reviews Materials. In this article, they provide an overview of the latest research on polaritons, tiny particles that arise when light and material interact in a special way.

Understanding Polaritons

Solar panels are already an affordable energy solution since they generate enough power over their lifetimes to pay for themselves and then some. However, they do take some investment up front, and some people (and homeowners associations) dislike the way they look.

So what if you could get that power to make electricity from sunlight without having to install solar panels? That’s the beauty of solar paint, as reported by Solar Action Alliance.

The idea behind solar paint (aka photovoltaic paint) is simple: It’d be like ordinary paint but with billions of light-sensitive particles mixed in, as Understand Solar notes.