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Category: quantum physics – Page 387

Seeking a Quantum Hall Effect for Light

Light confined to an accelerating optical cavity could display a photonic counterpart of the electronic quantum Hall effect.

Place a conductor in a magnetic field and the electrical current driven by an applied voltage will not flow in a straight line but in a direction perpendicular to the electric field—a behavior known as the Hall effect [1]. Reduce the temperature to the point where the electrons manifest quantum-mechanical behavior, and the plot thickens. The conductivity (defined as the ratio between the sideways current and the voltage) exhibits discrete jumps as the magnetic field is varied—the quantum Hall effect [2]. Since electrons at low temperature and photons obey a similar wave equation [3], should we also expect a quantum Hall effect for light? This question has been bubbling under the surface for the past decade, leading to the observation of some aspects of an optical quantum Hall effect [4, 5]. But the analogy between photons and electrons remains incomplete.

Combining extreme-ultraviolet light sources to resolve a quantum mechanical dissociation mechanism in oxygen molecules

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in selectively exciting a molecule using a combination of two extreme-ultraviolet light sources and causing the molecule to dissociate while tracking it over time. This is another step towards specific quantum mechanical control of chemical reactions, which could enable new, previously unknown reaction channels.

The interaction of light with matter, especially with molecules, plays an important role in many areas of nature, for example in such as photosynthesis. Technologies such as use this process as well.

On the Earth’s surface, mainly light in the visible, ultraviolet or infrared regime plays a role here. Extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) light—radiation with significantly more energy than —is absorbed by the atmosphere and therefore does not reach the Earth’s surface. However, this XUV radiation can be produced and used in the laboratory to enable a selective excitation of electrons in molecules.

Quantum Riddle Solved: Purple Bronze Discovery Unveils “Perfect Switch” for Future Tech

Quantum scientists have discovered a phenomenon in purple bronze, a one-dimensional metal, that allows it to switch between insulating and superconducting states. This switch, triggered by minimal stimuli like heat or light, is due to ’emergent symmetry’. This groundbreaking finding, initiated by research into the metal’s magnetoresistance, could lead to the development of perfect switches in quantum devices, a potential milestone in quantum technology.

Quantum scientists have discovered a phenomenon in purple bronze that could be key to the development of a ‘perfect switch’ in quantum devices which flips between being an insulator and superconductor.

The research, led by the University of Bristol and published in Science, found these two opposing electronic states exist within purple bronze, a unique one-dimensional metal composed of individual conducting chains of atoms.

The Quantum Boomerang: Light’s New Twisting Tale

Researchers have manipulated light to exhibit quantum backflow, a step towards understanding complex quantum mechanics and its practical applications in precision technologies.

Scientists at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics have superposed two light beams twisted in the clockwise direction to create anti-clockwise twists in the dark regions of the resultant superposition. The results of the research have been published in the prestigious journal Optica. This discovery has implications for the study of light-matter interactions and represents a step towards the observation of a peculiar phenomenon known as a quantum backflow.

“Imagine that you are throwing a tennis ball. The ball starts moving forward with positive momentum. If the ball doesn’t hit an obstacle, you are unlikely to expect it to suddenly change direction and come back to you like a boomerang,” notes Bohnishikha Ghosh, a doctoral student at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Physics. “When you spin such a ball clockwise, for example, you similarly expect it to keep spinning in the same direction.”

Harvard Professor Says Godlike Aliens May Be Creating Universes in Labs

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In a new interview, perpetually provocative Harvard astronomer and alien hunter Avi Loeb posited both that super-human aliens could be building “baby universes” in labs and that his haters are just “jealous.”

When discussing his work and theories in a chat with Fox News, Loeb showed his tendency toward imaginative, deeply speculative theories of extraterrestrial life.

“You can imagine that the superhuman civilization that understands how to unify quantum mechanics and gravity might actually be able to create a baby universe in the laboratory,” he told the news outlet, “a quality that we assign to God in religious texts.”

Q&A: Professor discusses new approaches for the implementation of the quantum internet

Researchers around the world are working on a network which could connect quantum computers with one another over long distances. Andreas Reiserer, Professor of Quantum Networks at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), explains the challenges which have to be mastered and how atoms captured in crystals can help.

The idea is the same: We use today’s to connect computers with one another, while the lets quantum computers communicate with one another. But in technical terms the quantum internet is much more complex. That’s why only smaller networks have been realized as yet.

There are two main applications: First of all, networking quantum computers makes it possible to increase their computing power; second, a quantum network will make absolutely interception-proof encryption of communication possible. But there are other applications as well, for example networking telescopes to achieve a previously impossible resolution in order to look into the depths of the universe, or the possibility of synchronizing around the world extremely precisely, making it possible to investigate completely new physical questions.

A scientist explains an approaching milestone marking the arrival of quantum computers

Quantum advantage is the milestone the field of quantum computing is fervently working toward, where a quantum computer can solve problems that are beyond the reach of the most powerful non-quantum, or classical, computers.

Quantum refers to the scale of atoms and molecules where the laws of physics as we experience them break down and a different, counterintuitive set of laws apply. Quantum computers take advantage of these strange behaviors to solve problems.

There are some types of problems that are impractical for classical computers to solve, such as cracking state-of-the-art encryption algorithms. Research in recent decades has shown that quantum computers have the potential to solve some of these problems. If a quantum computer can be built that actually does solve one of these problems, it will have demonstrated quantum advantage.

Researchers use quantum computing to predict gene relationships

In a new multidisciplinary study, researchers at Texas A&M University showed how quantum computing—a new kind of computing that can process additional types of data—can assist with genetic research and used it to discover new links between genes that scientists were previously unable to detect.

Their project used the new computing technology to map gene regulatory networks (GRNs), which provide information about how can cause each other to activate or deactivate.

As the team published in npj Quantum Information, will help scientists more accurately predict relationships between genes, which could have huge implications for both animal and human medicine.

String Theory, Quantum Gravity and Black Holes (Or, Are We Holograms?)

Join Brian Greene and Juan Maldacena as they explore a wealth of developments connecting black holes, string theory, quantum gravity, quantum entanglement, wormholes, and the holographic principle.

This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.

WSF Landing Page Link: https://www.worldsciencefestival.com/programs/string-theory-…holograms/

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