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Category: quantum physics – Page 21

Faster quantum computers can learn from their own mistakes

Quantum computers promise to solve problems that would take even the fastest conventional supercomputers a vast amount of time, but the quantum information they store and process is extremely sensitive to even tiny disturbances from their surroundings. To keep these systems operating reliably, they need to be constantly recalibrated—interrupting their calculations in the process.

In a new experiment published in Nature, researchers led by Volodymyr Sivak at Google Quantum AI developed a machine-learning approach that continuously adjusts a quantum computer as it works. Their approach could allow quantum calculations to run far longer without costly interruptions.

Sensitive measurements uncover dual superconducting states in atom-thin NbSe₂ and TaS₂

A new study reveals that two widely studied ultrathin superconducting materials are more sophisticated than they appear. Although they seem to behave like simple superconductors with a single energy gap, they actually contain two strongly interacting superconducting states that work together and disguise themselves as one. This finding resolves a long-standing mystery about how these materials behave, providing new insight into superconductivity that could help scientists design better superconducting materials for future technologies such as quantum computers, ultra-efficient electronics and advanced sensors.

Sometimes, the biggest scientific discoveries come from looking more closely at something we thought we already understood. For decades, physicists have studied a remarkable class of materials called superconductors—materials that can carry electricity with zero energy loss. These materials could one day help power ultra-efficient electronics, quantum computers and advanced medical technologies.

One of the most widely studied superconductors, niobium diselenide (NbSe₂), seemed straightforward when peeled down to just a few atomic layers. Experiments suggested it behaved like a superconductor with a single energy gap—a fundamental fingerprint that describes how electrons order in pairs to flow without resistance.

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.

Physicists create first room-temperature quantum material

Quantum materials could transform technologies ranging from powerful computers and ultrasecure communications to advanced energy systems. But there has always been one major obstacle.

Nearly all known quantum materials exhibit their remarkable properties only when cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero. At room temperature, heat creates constant atomic vibrations that overwhelm the delicate quantum behavior scientists are trying to harness. Keeping those vibrations in check requires bulky cryogenic refrigeration systems, making quantum materials powerful tools in the laboratory but difficult to translate into practical technologies.

In a study published in Nature, LSU physicists have developed the first room-temperature quantum material capable of distinguishing and transporting different quantum states of light, overcoming one of the biggest challenges in quantum materials research. Led by Associate Professor of Physics Omar S. Magaña-Loaiza, the work establishes a general design principle for engineering an entirely new class of quantum materials, opening new possibilities for quantum computing, secure communications, sensing technologies and advanced energy systems.

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.

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❍ 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…

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Quantum Computers Identify Nuclear Fusion Fuel in Major First

A major barrier to harnessing energy via nuclear fusion is the fuel source.

Most proposed fusion reactors (the donut-shaped tokamak reactors) are powered by the fusion of tritium and deuterium.

Both are isotopes of hydrogen, but tritium is radioactive, and deuterium is stable.

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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