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Category: quantum physics – Page 22

Physicists rewrite quantum rules by bending light through both time and space

The significance of this experiment extends beyond telecommunications, computing, and medicine. Metamaterials like the ones used in this research could have broader applications in industries such as energy, transportation, aerospace, and defense.

For instance, controlling light at such a fine level might enable more efficient energy systems or advanced sensor technologies for aircraft and vehicles. Even black hole physics could be explored through these new quantum experiments, adding to the wide-ranging impact of this research.

As technology advances, the role of metamaterials and quantum physics will become increasingly critical. The ability to manipulate light in space and time holds the promise of reshaping how we interact with the world, offering faster, more efficient, and more precise tools across industries.

Machine learning method generates circuit synthesis for quantum computing

Researchers from the University of Innsbruck have unveiled a novel method to prepare quantum operations on a given quantum computer, using a machine learning generative model to find the appropriate sequence of quantum gates to execute a quantum operation.

The study, recently published in Nature Machine Intelligence, marks a significant step forward in realizing the full extent of .

Generative models like diffusion models are one of the most important recent developments in (ML), with models such as Stable Diffusion and DALL·E revolutionizing the field of image generation. These models are able to produce high quality images based on text description.

Quantum eyes on energy loss: Diamond quantum imaging can enable next-gen power electronics

Improving energy conversion efficiency in power electronics is vital for a sustainable society, with wide-bandgap semiconductors like GaN and SiC power devices offering advantages due to their high-frequency capabilities. However, energy losses in passive components at high frequencies hinder efficiency and miniaturization. This underscores the need for advanced soft magnetic materials with lower energy losses.

In a study published in Communications Materials, a research team led by Professor Mutsuko Hatano from the School of Engineering, Institute of Science, Tokyo, Japan, has developed a novel method for analyzing such losses by simultaneously imaging the amplitude and phase of alternating current (AC) stray fields, which are key to understanding hysteresis losses.

Using a diamond quantum sensor with nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers and developing two protocols—qubit frequency tracking (Qurack) for kHz and quantum heterodyne (Qdyne) imaging for MHz frequencies—they realized wide-range AC magnetic field imaging. This study was carried out in collaboration with Harvard University and Hitachi, Ltd.

Superconducting quantum processors help understand quantum transport

Thus, a complete understanding of quantum transport requires the ability to simulate and probe macroscopic and microscopic physics on equal footing.

Researchers from Singapore and China have utilized a superconducting quantum processor to examine the phenomenon of quantum transport in unprecedented detail.

Gaining deeper insights into quantum transport—encompassing the flow of particles, magnetization, energy, and information through quantum channels—has the potential to drive significant innovations in next-generation technologies such as nanoelectronics and thermal management.

Quantum simulator realizes strongly interacting Mott-Meissner phases in bosonic flux ladders

When exposed to periodic driving, which is the time-dependent manipulation of a system’s parameters, quantum systems can exhibit interesting new phases of matter that are not present in time-independent (i.e., static) conditions. Among other things, periodic driving can be useful for the engineering of synthetic gauge fields, artificial constructs that mimic the behavior of electromagnetic fields and can be leveraged to study topological many-body physics using neutral atom quantum simulators.

Researchers at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST) recently realized a strongly interacting phase of matter in large-scale bosonic flux ladders, known as the Mott-Meissner phase, using a neutral atom quantum simulator. Their paper, published in Nature Physics, could open new exciting possibilities for the in-depth study of topological quantum matter.

“Our work was inspired by a long-standing effort across the field of neutral atom quantum simulation to study strongly interacting phases of matter in the presence of magnetic fields,” Alexander Impertro, first author of the paper, told Phys.org. “The interplay of these two ingredients can create a variety of quantum many-body phases with exotic properties.

Controlling quantum motion and hyper-entanglement

Manuel Endres, professor of physics at Caltech, specializes in finely controlling single atoms using devices known as optical tweezers. He and his colleagues use the tweezers, made of laser light, to manipulate individual atoms within an array of atoms to study fundamental properties of quantum systems. Their experiments have led to, among other advances, new techniques for erasing errors in simple quantum machines; a new device that could lead to the world’s most precise clocks; and a record-breaking quantum system controlling more than 6,000 individual atoms.

One nagging factor in this line of work has been the normal jiggling motion of atoms, which make the systems harder to control. Now, reporting in the journal Science, the team has flipped the problem on its head and used this to encode .

“We show that atomic motion, which is typically treated as a source of unwanted noise in quantum systems, can be turned into a strength,” says Adam Shaw, a co-lead author on the study along with Pascal Scholl and Ran Finkelstein.

A new nanometer-scale measurement tool exploits the quantum properties of light for better precision and speed

University of Illinois Physics Professor Paul Kwiat and members of his research group have developed a new tool for precision measurement at the nanometer scale in scenarios where background noise and optical loss from the sample are present.

This new optical interferometry technology leverages the quantum properties of light—specifically, extreme color entanglement—to enable faster and more precise measurements than widely used classical and quantum techniques can achieve.

Colin Lualdi, Illinois Physics graduate student and lead author of the study, emphasizes, “By taking advantage of both quantum interference and , we can make measurements that would otherwise be difficult with existing methods.”

Researchers unveil 3D magnon control, charting a new course for neuromorphic and quantum technologies

What if the magnon Hall effect, which processes information using magnons (spin waves) capable of current-free information transfer with magnets, could overcome its current limitation of being possible only on a 2D plane? If magnons could be utilized in 3D space, they would enable flexible design, including 3D circuits, and be applicable in various fields such as next-generation neuromorphic (brain-mimicking) computing structures, similar to human brain information processing.

KAIST and an international joint research team have, for the first time, predicted a 3D magnon Hall effect, demonstrating that magnons can move freely and complexly in 3D space, transcending the conventional concept of magnons. The work is published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Professor Se Kwon Kim of the Department of Physics, in collaboration with Dr. Ricardo Zarzuela of the University of Mainz, Germany, has revealed that the interaction between magnons (spin waves) and solitons (spin vortices) within complex (topologically textured frustrated magnets) is not simple, but complex in a way that enables novel functionalities.