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Category: particle physics – Page 154

Quantum Chill: Developing Japan’s First “Cold (Neutral) Atom” Quantum Computers

The Institute for Molecular Science has launched a Commercialization Preparatory Platform, in collaboration with 10 industry partners, to accelerate the development of “cold (neutral) atom” quantum computers.

Institute for Molecular Science (IMS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, has established a “Commercialization Preparatory Platform (PF)” to accelerate the development of novel quantum computers, based on the achievement of a research group led by Prof. Kenji Ohmori. The launch of the PF was made possible by collaboration with 10 industry partners, including companies and financial institutions.

The 10 partners that joined the PF include (listed alphabetically): blueqat Inc., Development Bank of Japan Inc., Fujitsu Limited, Groovenauts, Inc., Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Hitachi, Ltd., and NEC Corporation.

From Common White Powder to Quantum Innovation: Unlocking Nearly Noiseless Qubits

Researchers discovered that bismuth atoms embedded in calcium oxide can function as qubits for quantum computers, providing a low-noise, durable, and inexpensive alternative to current materials. This groundbreaking study highlights its potential to transform quantum computing and telecommunications.

Calcium oxide is an inexpensive, chalky chemical compound frequently used in the manufacturing of cement, plaster, paper, and steel. However, the common material may soon have a more high-tech application.

Scientists used theoretical and computational approaches to discover how tiny, lone atoms of bismuth embedded within solid calcium oxide can act as qubits — the building blocks of quantum computers and quantum communication devices. These qubits were described by University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering researchers and their collaborator in Sweden on June 6 in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

“Spooky action at a distance” confirmed in heaviest particles

Physicists have delved deeper into the enigmatic world of quantum entanglement and top quarks, bringing a new level of understanding to a phenomenon that even Albert Einstein found perplexing.

This incredible feat has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the quantum realm and its far-reaching implications.

The experiment, conducted by a team of researchers led by University of Rochester physics professor Regina Demina at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN), has yielded a significant result.

Voyager 1 Returning Science Data From All Four Instruments

Most distant spacecraft, #Voyager1, is now returning data from all four science instruments for the first time following a technical issue last November.

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is conducting normal science operations for the first time following a technical issue that arose in November 2023.

The team partially resolved the issue in April when they prompted the spacecraft to begin returning engineering data, which includes information about the health and status of the spacecraft. On May 19, the mission team executed the second step of that repair process and beamed a command to the spacecraft to begin returning science data. Two of the four science instruments returned to their normal operating modes immediately. Two other instruments required some additional work, but now, all four are returning usable science data.

The four instruments study plasma waves, magnetic fields, and particles. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are the only spacecraft to directly sample interstellar space, which is the region outside the heliosphere — the protective bubble of magnetic fields and solar wind created by the Sun.

Dark matter turns out to be an echo of a parallel Universe

The study is based on several intriguing coincidences. First, observations show that there is about the same amount of ordinary and dark matter, which exceeds baryonic by about five times. And secondly, neutrons and protons have almost the same mass, which allows them to form stable atoms — this is a random but stable property of the quantum world, because otherwise our universe would not be home to any of the atoms that make up stars, planets and ourselves.

In fact, the theory suggests that there may be a parallel universe like ours in which neutrons and protons do not have such convenient symmetry in mass. In this world, there is a “soup” of subatomic particles that interact little, which explains why dark matter does not seem to clump together.

It is important to note that this is just one more of many hypotheses that try to explain the mystery of dark matter – an annoying and lingering unknown in our understanding of the universe.

Dark Matter Decoded: How Neutron Stars May Solve the Universe’s Biggest Mystery

Scientists may be one step closer to unraveling one of the universe’s greatest mysteries. Their recent calculations suggest that neutron stars could play a crucial role in shedding light on the mysterious dark matter.

In a paper published in The Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, physicists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, led by the University of Melbourne, calculated that energy transferred when dark matter particles collide and annihilate inside cold dead neutron stars can heat the stars up very quickly.

It was previously thought that this energy transfer could take a very long time, in some cases, longer than the age of the universe itself, rendering this heating irrelevant.

Primordial black holes, dark matter and Apollo era technology

Is dark matter primordial black holes? If so, could we find them using Apollo-era technology on the moon?
A new paper suggests the answer may be yes to both. I interviewed David Kaiser, one of the paper’s co-authors, former student of inflationary cosmology pioneer Alan Guth, and now Professor of Physics and Professor of the History of Science at MIT.
For the preprint of the full paper:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2310.16877
and other press about the paper.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n…
https://news.mit.edu/2024/exotic-blac…
And some other related papers:
https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract…
https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.02168
https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.17217
a timeline is below.
00:00 introduction.
00:57 primordial black holes.
3:05 particle dark matter and modified gravity.
6:33 LIGO and EHT
11:03 window of opportunity.
15:16 observaitonal signatures.
20:30 Apollo era tech.
25:19 Star Wars.
25:54 the future.