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Category: particle physics – Page 9

Quantum teleportation could reduce photon loss in long-distance communications

Quantum technologies, which leverage the principles of quantum mechanics, have been found to outperform their classical counterparts on specific tasks. Among other things, past studies have highlighted the potential of quantum systems that can enable long-distance communication, using photons (i.e., particles of light) to carry quantum information.

Despite their promise, quantum communication systems are often prone to photon loss, the scattering, absorption or disappearance of traveling photons. This photon loss becomes increasingly pronounced as transmission distances increase.

One proposed approach for reducing photon loss relies on a process known as quantum teleportation. This process entails the transfer of a quantum state from one particle to another without moving the particle to a different location, via a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement.

Cold radioactive molecules prepped and readied for physics discoveries

For the first time, researchers have developed a way to create chilled molecules containing the radioactive element radium. The resulting laboratory concoctions, generated in part through steps similar to those used to make candy, are poised to help researchers solve one of the biggest mysteries of our universe: How did matter in the early universe come to dominate over its antimatter counterpart?

Early in the universe, matter and antimatter were created in equal proportions. The negative electron, for example, has an antimatter twin called the positron, which is positively charged. An electron and positron can be created from energy in perfect pairs, yet when the two meet, they annihilate each other back into pure energy. Just what happened to all the antimatter remains one of the biggest mysteries in physics. Some kind of difference, or asymmetry, between matter and antimatter must exist to explain why matter was favored during the creation of our universe.

A few years ago, researchers led by Nick Hutzler, professor of physics at Caltech, began investigating radium molecules as a probe for studying this mystery. Their goal is to use lasers to look for subtle changes in the radium molecules that would indicate new particles and forces behind the matter/antimatter mystery. Radium is ideal for these experiments because its nucleus is shaped like a pear.

Scientists create stable ‘boron graphene’ and uncover quantum liquid crystal state

Graphene has long been regarded as one of the most promising materials for future electronics, but its relatively weak electron interactions have limited its potential for applications such as high-temperature superconductivity. Now, researchers from Tohoku University have overcome a major obstacle by creating a stable version of the long-sought “boron graphene” on the surface of a three-dimensional crystal, revealing a new quantum state that could lead to more energy-efficient electronic devices. The findings were published in Science Advances on July 2, 2026.

“We demonstrated a fundamentally new way of creating two-dimensional quantum materials,” says Takafumi Sato of Tohoku University’s Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR). “Rather than attempting to produce an unstable free-standing sheet of boron atoms, we exposed a naturally occurring honeycomb boron layer that already exists within a stable three-dimensional crystal called LaRh3B2.”

For years, scientists have been interested in borophene—a two-dimensional sheet of boron atoms—because its stronger electron interactions could produce exotic quantum phenomena not seen in graphene. However, borophene’s ideal honeycomb structure is extremely unstable, making it almost impossible to manufacture.

Scientists achieve all-electrical control of single-molecule quantum states

Quantum technologies promise revolutionary advances in computing, sensing and information processing. However, controlling individual quantum bits (qubits) at the atomic scale remains a major challenge because conventional approaches rely on magnetic fields, which are difficult to confine to a single molecule.

A research team at the Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS), led by Director Andreas Heinrich at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), together with collaborators at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), has demonstrated that the quantum state of an individual magnetic molecule can instead be controlled electrically using a newly identified exchange-mediated mechanism. The study published in Nature Physics provides a new strategy for electrically controlling molecular quantum systems and could help pave the way for more scalable quantum technologies.

Magnetic molecules are considered attractive building blocks for future quantum technologies because they are only a few nanometers in size, can self-assemble into ordered structures and can be chemically tailored to possess desired quantum properties. These characteristics make them promising candidates for molecular quantum computing, quantum sensing and spintronic applications.

Braided, exotic particles could build reliable, universal quantum computers

A truly useful quantum computer must be able to run any algorithm, with the same versatility an ordinary laptop offers. Physicists have now shown a new way to give a quantum computer exactly that flexibility, harnessing the capabilities of exotic quantum particles called non-Abelian anyons.

A team of scientists from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), Harvard, Stony Brook University and Quantinuum built and tested a complete toolkit of operations using non-Abelian anyons, proving for the first time the broad utility of this approach.

“We demonstrated a so-called universal gate set—meaning that if you store information in these emergent versions of quarks, and you move them around, you can do any quantum computation you might want to do,” said Ruben Verresen, assistant professor of molecular engineering at UChicago PME and a co-author of the new study published in Nature.

Plasma agriculture makes strides toward super-seeding conventional methods

Occasionally, the sun unleashes powerful flares and coronal mass ejections, which hurl plasma and energetic particles into space. On the infant Earth, this solar activity drove cascades of atmospheric chemical reactions that may have helped form the building blocks of life. More recently, scientists have discovered that applying plasma to seeds in a controlled way can trigger similar activity, making them faster-growing and more resilient. Researchers at Nagoya University and Kyushu University in Japan have compiled a comprehensive review of this new field—termed “plasma agriculture”—as a potential sustainable solution to address global food shortages.

The word plasma brings to mind a hot, ionized inferno that makes up the fourth state of matter. But the plasma used here is different. By applying high voltage to air or any gas, electrons are stripped from a tiny fraction of its molecules and gain very high energies. These electrons zipping around can effectively mimic the behavior of plasma even though the bulk of the gas remains at room temperature.

This low-temperature plasma can be applied directly to seeds without burning them. Excessive use of chemicals and genetic modification of plants cause concern for many people. Instead, plasma agriculture can offer similarly high crop yields without invasive intervention.

What does it mean to be ‘quantum?’ A physicist explains the basics behind Einstein’s spooky actions at a distance

Imagine shining a flashlight across a dark room. You can predict exactly what the light will do: travel in a straight line from one point to another. That seems obvious because, in the world we see around us, light appears to follow a single, clear path.

Quantum mechanics paints a far stranger picture.

If you zoom in to the atomic scale, light does not behave as though it follows only one straight route. Instead, a particle of light explores every path available to it at once. One path may indeed be the straight line across the room. But others could involve the light bouncing off walls, curving through space or tracing wildly improbable detours before reaching its destination.

How the universe generates time and space from a single rewriting rule | Stephen Wolfram

Hypergraphs.

We experience only one small slice of the ruliad. What’s the ruliad? Physicist Stephen Wolfram explains.

❍ Subscribe to The Well on YouTube: https://bit.ly/welcometothewell.
❍ Watch Wolfram’s full interview here: • Physics doesn’t explain the universe. Comp…

Is it time for a new ‘theory of everything’?
World-renowned physicist Stephen Wolfram explains his theory that the universe may be built from simple computational rules. He describes space as a giant network made of tiny “atoms of space,” constantly updating in ways that create time, gravity, quantum mechanics, and the laws of physics. He also introduces the ruliad: the space of all possible computations. Ultimately, Wolfram argues that reality may be far more complex than we can see, shaped by both the universe and how we observe it.

Read the full video transcript: https://bigthink.com/videos/objective…

Continue reading “How the universe generates time and space from a single rewriting rule | Stephen Wolfram” | >

New technique for building ultra-thin material stacks promises quantum breakthrough

Scientists have unveiled a new fabrication technique for the ultra-clean manufacturing of 2D heterostructures—materials just a few atoms thick—that could be used in quantum technology and electronics. Experts from Southampton and Singapore say the method could be used to develop next-generation devices that accelerate research in quantum computing.

The research behind their technique, published in Nature Communications, was developed in collaboration between the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials at the National University of Singapore and the University of Southampton.

Current manufacturing methods to build two-dimensional materials rely on sticky synthetic polymers to assemble the atomic layers. However, these often leave behind microscopic residues that contaminate the tiny structures and disrupt the performance of electronic devices that use them. The research team instead used the natural mineral muscovite, or mica, to stack the atomically thin materials together.

Physicists confirm 20-year-old theory that could boost quantum technology

Future quantum computing will require correlations between distant modules—a feature known as distributed entanglement. Traditionally, such entanglement has relied on active control and repeated measurements. Now, physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have realized a fully autonomous method for distributed entanglement using a “quantum bath” of correlated light particles. Published in Physical Review X, their work experimentally confirms a 20-year-old prediction and could provide a new platform for applied quantum technologies.

Entanglement is a central feature of quantum physics in which shared correlations exceed what classical theories can explain. Achieving distributed entanglement between physically separated qubits (quantum bits) could enable future advances, such as scalable quantum computers and quantum networks.

To entangle distant qubits, earlier attempts have relied on two protocols. In one approach, a single, actively controlled photon is sent from one qubit to the other. In the second approach, each qubit emits a photon that must be matched to produce entanglement. While the second method earned the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, it requires many repeated measurements and post-selection and still does not always yield entanglement.

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