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Category: quantum physics – Page 15

Quantum Computer Solves a Problem in 15 Minutes That Classical Methods Can’t Practically Compute

Researchers have demonstrated a quantum computation that appears to exceed the practical capabilities of leading classical simulation methods while also addressing a longstanding problem: how to verify the result.

A quantum computer completed a difficult calculation in about 15 minutes, while leading classical simulation methods would require prohibitive amounts of time. Just as importantly, the experiment included a way to establish confidence that the quantum result was accurate.

IBM and University of Chicago researchers announced the demonstration on July 30, 2026, presenting it as evidence that quantum computing has met the central requirements for quantum advantage. This means completing a task beyond the practical reach of leading classical methods while providing a reliable measure of how faithfully the quantum computation was performed.

Quantum computer completes verified task beyond practical reach of classical simulations

IBM and researchers from the University of Chicago announced a demonstration in quantum computing that meets the fundamental criteria for “quantum advantage”—the point where quantum computers can be confirmed to have outperformed classical computers on trusted computations.

The collaboration said its system had performed computations beyond the reach of leading classical simulation methods while providing confidence that the computation returned accurate results.

In their new paper, the researchers showed that these two goals could be achieved through a novel construction of encoded quantum circuits—one of the largest demonstrations of logical quantum computing to date. The paper is published on the arXiv preprint server.

How the Department of War Is Rebuilding Its Innovation Edge

Chuck Brooks is the president of Brooks Consulting International and one of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Experts.

The United States is about to enter a new age of technical competitiveness where the rate of innovation and invention could have just as much of an impact on national security as the technology itself. Emerging technologies such as directed energy, biotechnology, autonomous systems, robotics, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and quantum computing are developing concurrently and rapidly converging.

This convergence is posing a fundamental dilemma for the Department of War: Can the government organize itself to find, develop, buy and field new technology at the same rate as the business sector and America’s adversaries? A major reorganization of the Department’s research, technology and innovation ecosystem is starting to reveal the solution.

Miniaturized Laser System Enables Record Flux in Microgravity

Scientists produce atomic quantum gas mixtures with unprecedented particle flux to test fundamental physics in space.

Researchers Map the Hidden 3D Geometry of a Quantum Wavefunction

Physicists at Göttingen University imaged three-dimensional wave functions using a tabletop soft X-ray laser.

An electron inside a molecule does not occupy one fixed point. Quantum mechanics instead describes it through a “wavefunction,” a mathematical map that gives the probabilities of properties such as position and momentum.

Within molecules, these electron wavefunctions are known as “molecular orbitals.” Their shapes contain information about how a molecule may absorb light, interact with its surroundings, or undergo a chemical reaction.

The New Stakes for Business Viability in the Digital Era: AI, Quantum, and the Expanding Cyber Threat Landscape

Chuck Brooks

A company’s ability to survive throughout a large portion of the industrial era rested on well-known fundamentals: capital, clients, staff, intellectual property, physical infrastructure, dependable suppliers, and efficient management. These principles are still important. However, digital trust and resilience have become an additional factor in organizational survival due to the global economy’s digital transition.

Interconnected networks, cloud computing, software, data, digital identities, third-party providers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, artificial intelligence, and increasingly intricate technology ecosystems are now essential to nearly every enterprise. Therefore, the security of a modern organization depends on the digital relationships and technology it uses.

Quantum Latin squares cannot solve Euler’s 36 officers problem without entanglement

Latin squares are arrangements of symbols in a grid in which every symbol appears exactly once in each row and column. These symbol arrangements, which were first studied more than three centuries ago, are now widely used to optimize experimental designs and develop secure cryptographic systems, puzzles or other complex combinatorial structures.

In 1782, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler devised a renowned mathematical problem based on Latin squares, known as the 36 officers problem. This problem entails arranging 36 officers from six regiments and six ranks in a 6-by-6 square grid, ensuring that every row and column contains one officer from each regiment and each rank.

In the centuries after Euler introduced this problem, mathematicians showed that it could not be solved using classical approaches. More recently, theorists introduced quantum versions of this problem, replacing the individual symbols in ordinary Latin squares with mathematical descriptions of possible quantum system states.

Scientists Steer Infrared Light Through an “Invisible” Waveguide

The discovery could advance integrated photonics, on-chip optical signal transmission, and future quantum technologies.

A nanoscale gold antenna placed on a crystal can send infrared light along one narrow route, even though no physical waveguide has been carved into the material.

Researchers at the 4th Physics Institute of the University of Stuttgart and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Milan demonstrated this mechanism in a naturally hyperbolic van der Waals material. The result could support integrated photonics, optical communication on chips, and future quantum technologies.

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