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Category: quantum physics – Page 166

New approach merges theoretical fundamentals with experimental studies of the proton’s structure

Protons and other subatomic particles that are subject to the strong nuclear force have a complex structure that involves even more fundamental constituents called quarks and gluons. These quarks and gluons bind under the influence of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). QCD is the theory of strong interaction of quarks and the role of color symmetry.

However, the mechanisms that lead to and combining to form the particles we see in nature are very mysterious and poorly understood. For example, virtual quarks and gluons constantly appear and disappear within our current picture of the dynamics in the proton. So, which quarks and gluons are actually “in” a proton is a difficult question to answer.

Much of the experimental work related to extracting the quark and gluon structure of protons occurs at existing like the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, and in the future at the Electron Ion Collider.

With NSF grant, Yale and industry team up to harness quantum’s potential

A Yale-led project that aims to develop quantum technology into practical applications has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Erasure Qubits and Dynamic Circuits for Quantum Advantage (ERASE), a pilot project led by Yale physicist Steven Girvin, is a collaboration between academia and an industrial hardware partner, Quantum Circuits, Inc. (QCI), a Connecticut-based company that aims to bring to market the first practical quantum computers.

Have Researchers Found The First Evidence For String Theory?

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The BBC claims that researchers have found the first evidence for string theory, citing a recent discovery of long-wavelength gravitational waves that might indicate the existence of so-called “cosmic strings.” Crazier still, they think that this could allow time travel! But do these gravitational waves actually mean that cosmic strings exist? And what, if anything, does it have to do with time travel?

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Valence electrons’ role in magnetism of molecular crystals explored

Molecular crystals with conductivity and magnetism, due to their low impurity concentrations, provide valuable insights into valence electrons. They have helped link charge ordering to superconductivity and to explore quantum spin liquids, where electron spins remain disordered even at extremely low temperatures.

Valence electrons with are also expected to exhibit emergent phenomena, making these essential for studying novel material functionalities.

However, the extent to which valence electrons in molecular crystals contribute to magnetism remains unclear, leaving their quantum properties insufficiently explored. To address this, a research team used light to analyze valence electron arrangements, building on studies of superconductors and quantum spin liquids. The findings are published in Physical Review B.

New Math Suggests ‘Impossible’ Third Type of Particle Could Exist

Quantum mechanics has long classified particles into just two distinct types: fermions and bosons.

Now physicists from Rice University in the US have found a third type might be possible after all, at least mathematically speaking. Known as a paraparticles, their behavior could imply the existence of elementary particles nobody has ever considered.

“We determined that new types of particles we never knew of before are possible,” says Kaden Hazzard, who with co-author Zhiyuan Wang formulated a theory to demonstrate how objects that weren’t fermions or bosons could exist in physical reality without breaking any known laws.

UConn, NORDITA, and Google Reveal Gravity As Both Friend and Foe of Quantum Technology

The mention of gravity and quantum in the same sentence often elicits discomfort from theoretical physicists, yet the effects of gravity on quantum information systems cannot be ignored. In a recently announced collaboration between the University of Connecticut, Google Quantum AI, and the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA), researchers explored the interplay of these two domains, quantifying the nontrivial effects of gravity on transmon qubits.

Led by Alexander Balatsky of UConn’s Quantum Initiative, along with Google’s Pedram Roushan and NORDITA researchers Patrick Wong and Joris Schaltegger, the study focuses on the gravitational redshift. This phenomenon slightly detunes the energy levels of qubits based on their position in a gravitational field. While negligible for a single qubit, this effect becomes measurable when scaled.

While quantum computers can effectively be protected from electromagnetic radiation, barring any innovative antigravitic devices expansive enough to hold a quantum computer, quantum technology cannot at this point in time be shielded from the effects of gravity. The team demonstrated that gravitational interactions create a universal dephasing channel, disrupting the coherence required for quantum operations. However, these same interactions could also be used to develop highly sensitive gravitational sensors.

“Our research reveals that the same finely tuned qubits engineered to process information can serve as precise sensors—so sensitive, in fact, that future quantum chips may double as practical gravity sensors. This approach is opening a new frontier in quantum technology.”

To explore these effects, the researchers modeled the gravitational redshift’s impact on energy-level splitting in transmon qubits. Gravitational redshift, a phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity, occurs when light or electromagnetic waves traveling away from a massive object lose energy and shift to longer wavelengths. This happens because gravity alters the flow of time, causing clocks closer to a massive object to tick more slowly than those farther away.

Historically, gravitational redshift has played a pivotal role in confirming general relativity and is critical to technologies like GPS, where precise timing accounts for gravitational differences between satellites and the Earth’s surface. In this study, the researchers applied the concept to transmon qubits, modeling how gravitational effects subtly shift their energy states depending on their height in a gravitational field.

Using computational simulations and theoretical models, the team was able to quantify these energy-level shifts. While the effects are negligible for individual qubits, they become significant when scaled to arrays of qubits positioned at varying heights on vertically aligned chips, such as Google’s Sycamore chip.

Continue reading “UConn, NORDITA, and Google Reveal Gravity As Both Friend and Foe of Quantum Technology” | >

Nvidia’s $3K “Digits” GB10 Supercomputer

The mention of gravity and quantum in the same sentence often elicits discomfort from theoretical physicists, yet the effects of gravity on quantum information systems cannot be ignored. In a recently announced collaboration between the University of Connecticut, Google Quantum AI, and the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics (NORDITA), researchers explored the interplay of these two domains, quantifying the nontrivial effects of gravity on transmon qubits.

Led by Alexander Balatsky of UConn’s Quantum Initiative, along with Google’s Pedram Roushan and NORDITA researchers Patrick Wong and Joris Schaltegger, the study focuses on the gravitational redshift. This phenomenon slightly detunes the energy levels of qubits based on their position in a gravitational field. While negligible for a single qubit, this effect becomes measurable when scaled.

While quantum computers can effectively be protected from electromagnetic radiation, barring any innovative antigravitic devices expansive enough to hold a quantum computer, quantum technology cannot at this point in time be shielded from the effects of gravity. The team demonstrated that gravitational interactions create a universal dephasing channel, disrupting the coherence required for quantum operations. However, these same interactions could also be used to develop highly sensitive gravitational sensors.

“Our research reveals that the same finely tuned qubits engineered to process information can serve as precise sensors—so sensitive, in fact, that future quantum chips may double as practical gravity sensors. This approach is opening a new frontier in quantum technology.”

To explore these effects, the researchers modeled the gravitational redshift’s impact on energy-level splitting in transmon qubits. Gravitational redshift, a phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s general theory of relativity, occurs when light or electromagnetic waves traveling away from a massive object lose energy and shift to longer wavelengths. This happens because gravity alters the flow of time, causing clocks closer to a massive object to tick more slowly than those farther away.

Historically, gravitational redshift has played a pivotal role in confirming general relativity and is critical to technologies like GPS, where precise timing accounts for gravitational differences between satellites and the Earth’s surface. In this study, the researchers applied the concept to transmon qubits, modeling how gravitational effects subtly shift their energy states depending on their height in a gravitational field.

Using computational simulations and theoretical models, the team was able to quantify these energy-level shifts. While the effects are negligible for individual qubits, they become significant when scaled to arrays of qubits positioned at varying heights on vertically aligned chips, such as Google’s Sycamore chip.

Continue reading “Nvidia’s K “Digits” GB10 Supercomputer” | >

Quantum Is More Than Just Computing

Quantum computing is getting a lot of attention lately — deservedly so. It’s hard not to get excited about the new capabilities that quantum computing could bring. This new generation of computers will solve extremely complex problems by sorting through billions upon billions of wrong answers to arrive at the correct solutions. We could put these capabilities to work designing new medications or optimizing global infrastructure on an enormous scale.

But in the excitement surrounding quantum computing, what often gets lost is that computing is just one element of the larger quantum technologies story. We are entering a new quantum era in which we are learning to manipulate and control the quantum states of matter down to the level of individual particles. This has unlocked a wealth of new possibilities across multiple fields. For instance, by entangling two photons of light, we can generate a communications channel that is impervious to eavesdropping. Or we can put the highly sensitive nature of quantum particles to work detecting phenomena we have never been able to sense before.

We call this new era of innovation Quantum 2.0, distinguishing it from the Quantum 1.0 era of the last 100 years. Quantum 1.0 gave us some of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century, from the transistor to the laser. But as we transition to Quantum 2.0, we are reconceptualizing the way we communicate and the way we sense the world, as well as the way we compute. What’s more, we’re only just beginning to realize Quantum 2.0’s full potential.

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