Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: quantum physics – Page 20

Quantum Zeno effect could freeze computations as qubit systems scale up

The promise of quantum computing is to solve complex problems faster and more energy-efficiently than today’s supercomputers—from optimizing logistics to simulating molecules. This goal is coming within reach as the number of qubits—the computational units of quantum computing—increases.

But in addition to the technological challenges of scaling, there is another, less-considered issue: In the New Journal of Physics, researchers at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) demonstrate that, in extreme cases, the so-called quantum Zeno effect can nearly halt computational processes as the number of qubits increases—a dreaded phenomenon comparable to a traditional computer “freezing.”

“The quantum Zeno effect is a previously overlooked obstacle to a certain class of quantum computers,” says Dr. Gernot Schaller, head of Quantum Technologies at HZDR’s Institute of Theoretical Physics. These so-called adiabatic quantum computers operate according to a special principle: Their qubits are always in their ground state, the lowest energy state. To solve a computational problem, the qubits’ energy landscape is gradually altered—slowly enough for them to adapt continuously and follow the changing ground state. Once the transformation is complete, the ground state immediately encodes the solution to the problem.

Algorithms create foundry-ready photonic circuits

Photonic microchips can process data at extremely high speeds and are embedded in a wide variety of today’s technologies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) and Harvard University have now succeeded in developing three functional components for such chips that are up to 500 times smaller than conventional designs. The researchers used inverse design, a computer algorithm, to achieve this. The results are published in Nature Communications.

Photonic microchips are among the key technologies of modern data processing. Their miniaturization and extremely fast data processing relative to electronic components make them essential building blocks in telecommunications, large-scale AI data centers, precision measurement and quantum technologies. Light is guided through micrometer-wide waveguides across chips only a few millimeters wide.

Photonic microchips incorporate various components, such as grating couplers, which couple light between fibers and the chip, and ring resonators, tiny circular structures that temporarily store light and strongly increase light intensity inside the chip.

Prize honors discovery of altermagnetism as a third fundamental class of magnetism

One of Europe’s highest distinctions in condensed matter physics has been awarded for a discovery that is reshaping our understanding of magnetism: The 2026 Europhysics Prize of the European Physical Society (EPS) Condensed Matter Division goes to Professor Jairo Sinova of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Dr. Libor Šmejkal and Professor Tomas Jungwirth for their discovery of altermagnetism—a previously unknown fundamental class of magnetism.

The prize recognizes their work establishing that nature hosts a third elementary form of collinear magnetism in addition to ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism. The discovery overturns a century-old understanding of magnetic order and has opened an entirely new research field with major implications for quantum materials, condensed matter physics and future information technologies.

“This award recognizes a fundamental discovery that challenged one of the most established paradigms in condensed matter physics,” said Sinova, director of the Spin Phenomena Interdisciplinary Center (SPICE) at Mainz University. “Discovering that an entirely new magnetic phase had remained hidden for more than 100 years demonstrates that even the most mature scientific fields can still hold fundamental surprises.”

Co-designed transversal STAR architecture

Co-designed transversal STAR architecture, published in PRX Quantum, delivers up to 250× faster execution and roughly 2× fewer physical qubits than conventional fault-tolerant approaches for structured quantum simulation — bringing the megaquop era within reach significantly sooner.

BOSTON, MA — June 1, 2026 — QuEra Computing today announced the publication in PRX Quantum of a new co-designed quantum computing architecture, developed in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory, that significantly reduces the physical resources required for early fault-tolerant quantum simulation. The architecture — called transversal STAR (Space-Time Efficient Analog Rotation) — is co-designed with neutral-atom hardware and is targeted at structured quantum simulation problems in materials science, condensed matter and non-equilibrium dynamics.

AI & Quantum Computing Are Redefining Research & Development, Manufacturing & Technological Exploration

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

The convergence of AI and quantum tech is creating a new frontier of innovation and risk.

This trend is evident from the White House’s FY27 research and development goals that put Artificial intelligence and quantum technologies at the center of the national agenda.

From one frontier to another: The quantum revolution

Manchester’s quantum researchers are building on the Ferranti Mark I legacy, using ultra-pure silicon and single atoms to move quantum computing closer to real-world impact.

In February 1951, a machine the size of a room arrived at the University of Manchester.

The Ferranti Mark I, the world’s first commercially available general-purpose computer, came with 4,000 vacuum tubes, 100,000 soldered joints and six miles (10 kilometers) of wires. The 27 kilowatts of power it needed to operate is the equivalent of running roughly 600 midrange laptops today, yet at the time, it must have felt miraculous.

Universal structure of exceptional points revealed in nonlinear light‑based systems

Exceptional points, or EPs for short, are among the phenomena of modern physics. These are special points or locations at which the properties of matter, space or time change. In a new theoretical study, researchers from the Institute for Photonic Quantum Systems (PhoQS) at Paderborn University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Arizona, have shown that exceptional points in nonlinear systems follow a universal geometric order—something that was previously unclear. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Exceptional points are points in physical systems at which not only two eigenvalues but also the corresponding states merge. Such phenomena occur in so-called non-Hermitian systems, which are characterized, for example, by amplification, loss or interactions with their environment. They are the subject of intensive research in fields including optics, lasers, quantum systems and polariton condensates.

Until now, EPs have mainly been studied in linear systems. In such systems, they can often be described as isolated points in parameter space. However, many real physical systems are nonlinear: Their properties depend on the intensity, occupation or state of the system itself.

Quantum Newton’s cradle set to level up computing

Sending quantum information through a chain of qubits, like energy through a Newton’s cradle, could be the key to faster operations and take quantum computing to the next level.

The quantum Newton’s cradle design shows how a laser can be used to give a precisely designed kick of energy to a row of trapped ions, quickly preparing them for quantum calculations known as gates.

The superpower of the new algorithm is its ability to rapidly entangle any two ions in the row without affecting the ones in between: Like a Newton’s cradle, the energy travels through the ions, leaving them untouched.

Shaking atoms to bring black-hole quantum chaos into the lab

Physicists have discovered a surprisingly simple way to reproduce one of the most fascinating models in modern physics—linked to black holes, quantum chaos and exotic electronic materials—using ultracold atoms trapped in light.

Instead of trying to build a highly complex system from scratch, the researchers show that gently “shaking” a standard optical lattice can transform it into an accurate simulator of the Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model, a theoretical model known for its extreme and unusual quantum behavior.

The findings are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

/* */