Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: quantum physics – Page 23

Strong correlations and superconductivity observed in a supermoiré lattice

Two or more graphene layers that are stacked with a small twist angle in relation to each other form a so-called moiré lattice. This characteristic pattern influences the movement of electrons inside materials, which can give rise to strongly correlated states, such as superconductivity.

Researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Freie Universität Berlin and other institutes recently uncovered a strong superconductivity in a supermoiré lattice, a twisted trilayer graphene structure with broken symmetry in which several moiré patterns overlap. Their paper, published in Nature Physics, could open new possibilities for the design of quantum materials for various applications.

“Fabricating a twisted trilayer graphene device with two distinct twist angles was not our original intention,” Mitali Banerjee, senior author of the paper, told Phys.org. “Instead, we aimed to make a device in which the two twist angles are identical in magnitude (magic-angle twisted trilayer). During our measurements, however, my student Zekang Zhou found that the phase diagram of this device differs fundamentally from that of magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene.”

Single-Shot Parity Readout of a Minimal Kitaev Chain: A Breakthrough in Majorana Qubits

In a major technical leap published in Nature on February 11, 2026, an international research team led by QuTech (Delft University of Technology) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has demonstrated the first single-shot, real-time readout of the quantum information stored in Majorana qubits. This achievement addresses the “readout problem”—the long-standing experimental hurdle of measuring a non-locally distributed quantum state without compromising its inherent topological protection.

The study, titled “Single-shot parity readout of a minimal Kitaev chain,” utilizes a novel quantum capacitance technique to sense the global state of a “Kitaev minimal chain.” By constructing a bottom-up nanostructure of two semiconductor quantum dots coupled via a superconductor, the team successfully generated Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a controlled, modular fashion. This “Lego-like” approach allowed the researchers to discriminate between the even and odd parity states (the 0 and 1 of the qubit) in real-time, effectively unlocking the “safe box” of topological information.

Time crystals could become accurate and efficient timekeepers

Time crystals could one day provide a reliable foundation for ultra-precise quantum clocks, new mathematical analysis has revealed. Published in Physical Review Letters, the research was led by Ludmila Viotti at the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics in Italy. The team shows that these exotic systems could, in principle, offer higher timekeeping precision than more conventional designs, which rely on external excitations to generate reliably repeating oscillations.

In physics, a crystal can be defined as any system that hosts a repeating pattern in its microscopic structure. In conventional crystals, this pattern repeats in space—but more exotic behavior can emerge in materials whose configurations repeat over time. Known as “time crystals,” these systems were first demonstrated experimentally in 2016. Since then, researchers have been working to understand the full extent of their possible applications.

Quantum research in two ways: From proving someone’s location to simulating financial markets

Quantum physics may sound abstract, but Ph.D. candidates Kirsten Kanneworff and David Dechant show that quantum research can also be very concrete. Together, they are investigating how quantum technology can change the world. While Kanneworff worked in the lab to study how quantum optics can be used to prove someone’s location, Dechant focused on quantum computing for dynamic systems, such as the financial world. The two researchers are defending their doctoral theses this week.

Imagine that you receive an email from someone posing as your bank, asking you to enter your personal details on a website. How can you verify the sender’s identity?

Kanneworff investigated a smart way to check whether someone is really in a certain place: quantum position verification. “The idea for this project came about during my master’s degree,” she says. “I found it an interesting subject. The combination of optics and quantum communication really appealed to me, especially since it has a clear application.”

A New Way To Cool Quantum Computers Could Change How They’re Built

By using controlled microwave noise, researchers created a quantum refrigerator capable of operating as a cooler, heat engine, or amplifier. This approach offers a new way to manage heat directly inside quantum circuits. Quantum technology has the potential to reshape many core areas of society.

Physicist Publishes Method For Communicating With Parallel Universes

🌏 Get Exclusive NordVPN 2Y deal + 4 months extra here → https://nordvpn.com/sabine It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌️

In the many worlds theory of quantum physics, all possible outcomes of a quantum event occur, creating branching parallel worlds in which a different outcome is reality. According to a recently published paper, communication between those worlds should be possible under our current understanding of quantum physics. Sounds crazy? Let’s take a look.

Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.

👕T-shirts, mugs, posters and more: ➜ https://sabines-store.dashery.com/
💌 Support me on Donorbox ➜ https://donorbox.org/swtg.
👉 Transcript with links to references on Patreon ➜ / sabine.
📝 Transcripts and written news on Substack ➜ https://sciencewtg.substack.com/
📩 Free weekly science newsletter ➜ https://sabinehossenfelder.com/newsle… Audio only podcast ➜ https://open.spotify.com/show/0MkNfXl… 🔗 Join this channel to get access to perks ➜ / @sabinehossenfelder 📚 Buy my book ➜ https://amzn.to/3HSAWJW #science #sciencenews #physics #quantum.
👂 Audio only podcast ➜ https://open.spotify.com/show/0MkNfXl…
🔗 Join this channel to get access to perks ➜
/ @sabinehossenfelder.
📚 Buy my book ➜ https://amzn.to/3HSAWJW

#science #sciencenews #physics #quantum

Why Time Doesn’t Exist | Leonard Susskind

We experience time as something that flows. Seconds pass. Moments disappear. The future becomes the present and then turns into the past.

But modern physics does not describe time this way.

In this video, we explore why time — as we intuitively understand it — may not exist at the fundamental level of reality.

Drawing on ideas associated with Leonard Susskind, this documentary examines how relativity and quantum physics challenge the idea of a flowing temporal river. Einstein’s theory removes the notion of a universal present. There is no global “now” that sweeps across the universe.

Without a universal present, the idea of time flowing becomes difficult to define physically.

In the relativistic picture, spacetime is a four-dimensional structure. Events are not created moment by moment. They are embedded in geometry. The equations of physics do not contain a moving present. They describe relations between events.

Continue reading “Why Time Doesn’t Exist | Leonard Susskind” | >

Wavelength-resolved heterodimer [2 + 2] photocycloadditions for reversible surface grafting

🔥 New and HOT in Chemical Science!

“” by Kai Mundsinger (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Christopher Barner-Kowollik (Queensland University of Technology, Australia and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany), et al.

Read it for free.

We report the first wavelength-dependent quantum yields of a [2 + 2] photocycloaddition generating the heterodimers of 7-hydroxycoumarin (7HCou) and styrene via a photochemical action plot. The wavelength-dependent heterodimer quantum yields are quantified at a constant number of photons at each wavelength between 310 and 370 nm. The resulting wavelength-dependent quantum yields demonstrate that the heterodimer is most efficiently generated at 345 nm, red-shifted by close to 25 nm compared to the absorption maximum of 7HCou at 320 nm. We subsequently translate these findings to photochemical surface functionalization by exploiting heterodimer formation between a surface bound coumarin derivative and para-styrene perfluoroalkyl ether (StyPFA) on surfaces under 345 nm irradiation to reversibly modulate surface hydrophobicity. The reversibility of the surface heterodimerization is demonstrated by removing StyPFA under UVC irradiation, and re-functionalization on the same surface. Functional heterodimer formation and the reversibility of the reaction on surface are followed via surface-sensitive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle measurements. We subsequently apply our photochemical surface functionalization strategy to a dual cure photoresin based on a polyurethane-acrylate interpenetrating network, without deterioration of its mechanical properties, thereby confirming the feasibility of a photocycloaddition-based functionalization strategy for photoresins.

/* */