Lifeboat Foundation

MIT physicists and colleagues report new insights into exotic particles key to a form of magnetism that has attracted growing interest because it originates from ultrathin materials only a few atomic layers thick. The work, which could impact future electronics and more, also establishes a new way to study these particles through a powerful instrument at the National Synchrotron Light Source II at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Scientists cannot observe dark matter directly, so to “see” it, they look for signals that it has interacted with other matter by creating a visible photon. However, signals from dark matter are incredibly weak. If scientists can make a particle detector more receptive to these signals, they can increase the likelihood of discovery and decrease the time to get there. One way to do this is to stimulate the emission of photons.

Research on quantum internet technology highlights the challenge of producing stable photons at telecom wavelengths, with recent studies focusing on material improvements and advanced emission techniques to enhance quantum network efficiency.

Computers benefit greatly from being connected to the internet, so we might ask: What good is a quantum computer without a quantum internet?

The secret to our modern internet is the ability for data to remain intact while traveling over long distances, and the best way to achieve that is by using photons. Photons are single units (“quanta”) of light. Unlike other quantum particles, photons interact very weakly with their environment. That stability also makes them extremely appealing for carrying quantum information over long distances, a process that requires maintaining a delicate state of entanglement for an extended period of time. Such photons can be generated in a variety of ways. One possible method involves using atomic-scale imperfections (quantum defects) in crystals to generate single photons in a well-defined quantum state.

Calculations show that nerve fibres in the brain could emit pairs of entangled particles, and this quantum phenomenon might explain how different parts of the brain work together.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

New theoretical research finds that it’s impossible to form a black hole with the energy of light particles alone, poking a hole in Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

When two black holes collide, space and time shake and energy spreads out like ripples in a pond. These gravitational waves, predicted by Einstein in 1916, were observed for the first time by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) telescope in September 2015.

Is nature really as strange as quantum theory says — or are there simpler explanations? Neutron measurements prove: It doesn’t work without the strange properties of quantum theory.

Quantum theory allows particles to exist in superposition states, defying classical realism. The Leggett-Garg inequality tests this by comparing quantum behavior against classical expectations. Recent neutron beam experiments at TU Wien confirmed that particles do violate this inequality, reinforcing the validity of quantum theory over classical explanations.

Next generation of computer chips could ditch silicon for TMD — a 2D material that is embedded with ‘defects’ which can be harnessed to improve performance.

Tomohiro harada ¹ and masashi kimura ²

Published 28 November 2014 • © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.