Caltech engineers have made a breakthrough in quantum communication by successfully linking two quantum nodes with multiple qubits.
Using a novel multiplexing technique, they drastically increased the data transmission rate, setting the stage for large-scale quantum networks.
Laying the groundwork for quantum networks.
A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) examines how photons—the fundamental particles of light—behave when they encounter sudden changes in a material’s properties over time. This research reveals intriguing quantum optical effects that could advance quantum technology and help establish an emerging field known as four-dimensional quantum optics.
Four-dimensional optics is a field of research that explores how light interacts with structures that change both in time and space. This emerging area has the potential to revolutionize microwave and optical technologies by enabling capabilities such as frequency conversion, amplification, polarization control, and asymmetric scattering. Because of these possibilities, it has drawn significant interest from researchers worldwide.
In recent years, substantial progress has been made in this field. For example, a recent international study published in Nature Photonics.
PsiQuantum has detailed the photonic quantum chips and cooling system it plans to use for a quantum computer with a million qubits.
The Omega quantum photonic chipset is purpose-built for utility-scale quantum computing and produced by Global Foundries in New York on 300mm wafer. The technology was detailed in a paper in Nature submitted last June and published this week.
This paper shows high-fidelity qubit operations, and a simple, long-range chip-to-chip qubit interconnect – a key enabler to scale that has remained challenging for other technologies.
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 quantum chip introduces a breakthrough Topological Core, enabling stable and scalable qubits.
By leveraging topoconductors, this innovation paves the way for million-qubit machines capable of solving complex scientific and industrial challenges. With DARPA
Formed in 1958 (as ARPA), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. DARPA formulates and executes research and development projects to expand the frontiers of technology and science, often beyond immediate U.S. military requirements, by collaborating with academic, industry, and government partners.
Using the Frontier supercomputer, researchers have cracked a major challenge in nuclear physics: accurately predicting nuclear structure and forces at an unprecedented level of detail.
Their discoveries, including new insights into the shape-shifting nature of the 30-neon nucleus, could revolutionize scientific fields ranging from quantum mechanics to national security.
Revolutionizing Nuclear Predictions with Frontier.
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The researchers indicate that several challenges remain. The current system operates at cryogenic temperatures, which limits practical applications. While photons themselves can function at room temperature, the quantum dot requires cooling to maintain stability. Researchers are exploring alternative materials and designs that could allow operation at higher temperatures.
Additionally, the experiment used a single quantum dot, which is not easily scalable to large numbers of qubits needed for universal quantum computing. Future work will need to integrate multiple quantum dots or alternative photon sources that can be mass-produced with high consistency.
Another limitation is the reliance on superconducting detectors with an efficiency of 79%. If detection efficiency is improved beyond 93.7%, the overall system efficiency could surpass the required threshold even further. Advancements in superconducting nanowire technology suggest this is feasible in the near future.
“According to Hooke, microscopes, like telescopes, put us on the cusp of doing what philosophers from Antiquity onwards had always tried to do, namely, understand the fundamental nature of reality,” writes assistant professor in philosophy, Peter West.
The idea that we can discover the fundamental level of reality might be alluring, but it’s based on a faulty philosophy, not science, argues Peter West.
Tap to read more about his beliefs that reality is not revealed by quantum mechanics.
The craze with all things quantum is not just because of its inherent weirdness. It’s motivated by a reductionist impulse that has been animating science from Robert Hooke in the 17th century to Stephen Hawking in the 21st. The idea that we can discover the fundamental level of reality might be alluring, but it’s based on a faulty philosophy, not science, writes Peter West.
The idea that reality is reducible to its most fundamental parts still animates much of science, particularly physics and philosophy. The craze with all things quantum is partly animated by this thought: understand quantum mechanics, the way that matter behaves at the smallest level known to us, and you’ve understood everything. But this philosophical impulse — because contrary to belief, it’s not scientific — that the microscopic holds the key to the secrets of the universe, is much older than quantum mechanics. It goes back at least all the way to the 17th century and the invention of the microscope. Some of the best critiques of reductionism also date from the same century: Size doesn’t matter, the very small is just one realm of reality among many, with no special privilege.
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Physicists have a lot of questions about our universe. Here’s one more to add to the list: Why is it so asymmetrical? New research has confirmed an anomaly named the Hemispherical Power Asymmetry, which states that the cosmic microwave background has more fluctuations in one side of the universe than the other. The weirdest part about this is that no one even has a theory for why this might be the case.
Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.
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