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Category: quantum physics – Page 16

Solitonic superfluorescence paves way for high-temperature quantum materials

A study in Nature describes both the mechanism and the material conditions necessary for superfluorescence at room temperature. The work could serve as a blueprint for designing materials that allow exotic quantum states—such as superconductivity, superfluidity or superfluorescence—at high temperatures, paving the way for applications such as quantum computers that don’t require extremely low temperatures to operate.

The international team that did the work was led by North Carolina State University and included researchers from Duke University, Boston University and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris.

“In this work, we show both experimental and theoretical reasons behind macroscopic quantum coherence at high temperature,” says Kenan Gundogdu, professor of physics at NC State and corresponding author of the study.

Erasure cooling, control, and hyperentanglement of motion in optical tweezers

Coherently controlling the motion of single atoms in optical tweezers would enable new applications in quantum information science. To demonstrate this, we first prepared atoms in their motional ground state using a species-agnostic cooling mechanism…

Record-breaking performance in data security achieved with quantum mechanics

A joint team of researchers led by scientists at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) has reported the fastest quantum random number generator (QRNG) to date based on international benchmarks. The QRNG, which passed the required randomness tests of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, could produce random numbers at a rate nearly a thousand times faster than other QRNG.

“This is a significant leap for any industry that depends on strong data security,” said KAUST Professor Boon Ooi, who led the study, which is published in Optics Express. KAUST Professor Osman Bakr also contributed to the study.

Random number generators are critical for industries that depend on security, such as health, finance, and defense. But the random number generators currently used are vulnerable because of an intrinsic flaw in their design.

University of Arizona scientists unveil breakthrough petahertz-speed transistor

A team of scientists has unveiled a breakthrough that could one day propel computers to operate at speeds millions of times faster than today’s most advanced processors.

The discovery, led by researchers at the University of Arizona and their international collaborators, centers on harnessing ultrafast pulses of light to control the movement of electrons in graphene – a material just one atom thick.

The research, recently published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that electrons can be made to bypass barriers almost instantaneously by firing laser pulses lasting less than a trillionth of a second at graphene. This phenomenon, known as quantum tunneling, has long intrigued physicists, but the team’s ability to observe and manipulate it in real time marks a significant milestone.

Global first: Quantum computer generates bits of unpredictable randomness

Back in 2018, a scientist from the University of Texas at Austin proposed a protocol to generate randomness in a way that could be certified as truly unpredictable. That scientist, Scott Aaronson, now sees that idea become a working reality. “When I first proposed my certified randomness protocol in 2018, I had no idea how long I’d need to wait to see an experimental demonstration of it,” said Aaronson, who now directs a quantum center at a major university.

The experiment was carried out on a cutting-edge 56-qubit quantum computer, accessed remotely over the internet. The machine belongs to a company that recently made a significant upgrade to its system. The research team included experts from a large bank’s tech lab, national research centers, and universities.

To generate certified randomness, the team used a method called random circuit sampling, or RCS. The idea is to feed the quantum computer a series of tough problems, known as challenge circuits. The computer must solve them by choosing among many possible outcomes in a way that’s impossible to predict. Then, classical supercomputers step in to confirm whether the answers are genuinely random or not.

Diamond nanoparticles get a quantum upgrade with shell inspired by TV technology

Putting hypersensitive quantum sensors in a living cell is a promising path for tracking cell growth and diagnosing diseases—even cancers—in their early stages.

Many of the best, most powerful quantum sensors can be created in small bits of diamond, but that leads to a separate issue: It’s hard to stick a diamond in a cell and get it to work.

“All kinds of those processes that you really need to probe on a , you cannot use something very big. You have to go inside the cell. For that, we need nanoparticles,” said University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering Ph.D. candidate Uri Zvi. “People have used diamond nanocrystals as biosensors before, but they discovered that they perform worse than what we would expect. Significantly worse.”