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Category: quantum physics – Page 4

A research team discovered a quantum state in which electrons move in a completely new way under a twisted graphene structure. The unique electronic state is expected to contribute to the development of more efficient and faster electronic devices. It may also be applicable to technologies such as quantum memory, which can process complex computations.

Quantum physics is a crucial theory that attempts to understand and explain how atoms and particles interact and move in nature. Such an understanding serves as the basis for designing new technologies that control or utilize nature at the microscopic level. The research conducted holds significance in discovering the , which is difficult to implement with conventional semiconductor technologies, and in greatly expanding future possibilities for quantum technologies.

Graphene is a material as thin as a piece of paper and is made of carbon atoms. This study utilized a unique structure comprising two slightly twisted layers of graphene, observing a new quantum state. When compared to two transparent films, each film has regular patterns, and when they are rotated slightly, the patterns overlap to reveal new patterns.

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Researchers have developed a revolutionary ultra-thin metasurface that can generate circularly polarized light with remarkable efficiency.

By leveraging the unique properties of chirality and rotational symmetry, this breakthrough eliminates the need for bulky optical setups, enabling more compact and efficient optical devices. This innovation has far-reaching implications for fields such as medical imaging, communications, and quantum physics.

Advancing Optical Technology with Metasurfaces.

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Molecules haven’t been used in quantum computing, even though they have the potential to make the ultra-high-speed experimental technology even faster. Their rich internal structures were seen as too complicated, too delicate, too unpredictable to manage, so smaller particles have been used.

But a team of Harvard scientists has succeeded for the first time in trapping molecules to perform . This feat was accomplished by using ultra-cold polar molecules as qubits, or the fundamental units of information that power the technology. The findings, recently published in the journal Nature, open new realms of possibility for harnessing the complexity of molecular structures for future applications.

“As a field we have been trying to do this for 20 years,” said senior co-author Kang-Kuen Ni, Theodore William Richards Professor of Chemistry and professor of physics. “And we’ve finally been able to do it.”

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PRESS RELEASE — Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $71 million in funding for 25 projects in high energy physics that will use the emerging technologies of quantum information science to answer fundamental questions about the universe.

This research will develop and deploy innovative solutions for scientific discovery by applying the unique capabilities and features of the quantum world to the challenges of making new discoveries in fundamental physics. Awards funded under this program will advance theories of gravity and spacetime, develop quantum sensors that can see previously undetectable signals, and build pathfinder experiments to demonstrate increased discovery reach in searches for dark matter and other new particles and phenomena.

“Quantum information science is opening up new ways for us to understand and explore the universe,” said Regina Rameika, DOE Associate Director of Science for High Energy Physics. “With these projects, we are supporting scientists in developing quantum technologies that will empower the next generation of theory and experiment in high energy physics.”

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A kind of umbilical cord between different quantum states can be found in some materials. Researchers at TU Wien have now shown that this “umbilical cord” is generic to many materials.

It is a basic principle of quantum theory: sometimes certain physical quantities can only assume very specific values; all the values in between are simply not permitted by physics. This fact plays a decisive role in the behavior of materials. Certain energy ranges are possible for the electrons of the material, while others are not. Among other things, this explains the difference between electrically conductive metals and non-conductive insulators.

Sometimes, however, surprising connections can arise between permitted ranges, through which electrons can switch from one range to the other. One such unusual transition region was discovered in 2007 in certain copper-containing materials, known as cuprates.

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MIT researchers are developing techniques to make quantum gates, the basic operations of a quantum computer, as fast as possible in order to reduce the impact of decoherence. However, as gates get faster, another type of error, arising from counter-rotating dynamics, can be introduced because of the way qubits are controlled using electromagnetic waves.

Single-qubit gates are usually implemented with a resonant pulse, which induces Rabi oscillations between the qubit states. When the pulses are too fast, however, “Rabi gates” are not so consistent, due to unwanted errors from counter-rotating effects. The faster the gate, the more the counter-rotating error is manifest. For low-frequency qubits such as fluxonium, counter-rotating errors limit the fidelity of fast gates.

“Getting rid of these errors was a fun challenge for us,” says Rower. “Initially, Leon had the idea to utilize circularly polarized microwave drives, analogous to circularly polarized light, but realized by controlling the relative phase of charge and flux drives of a superconducting qubit. Such a circularly polarized drive would ideally be immune to counter-rotating errors.”

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Competition between different possible ground states of strongly correlated electron systems can lead to the emergence of mixed states called microemulsions. Now this phenomenon is reported at the meltingion of a Wigner crystal.

In the world of tiny particles and quantum physics, scientists often study how electrons—the fundamental particles that carry electricity—behave under different conditions. When electrons interact strongly with each other, they can form various states of matter, much like how water can turn into ice or steam. Sometimes, these states compete, leading to complex and fascinating patterns. One such pattern is called a microemulsion phase, where tiny regions of different electron states mix together, creating a kind of quantum “patchwork quilt.”

In this study, researchers explored a special material called a MoSe₂ monolayer, which is an ultra-thin layer of atoms that can host electrons. By cooling this material to extremely low temperatures and using advanced light-based techniques, they observed something remarkable: aion between two electron states—a rigid Wigner crystal (where electrons are locked in place) and a flowing electron liquid. During thision, the electrons formed a microemulsion phase, blending crystal-like and liquid-like regions in a unique, self-organized pattern.

The team detected this phase by looking for specific clues, such as changes in how light reflects off the material, how the electrons respond to magnetic fields, and how they scatter off each other. These clues confirmed that the microemulsion is a distinct and exotic state of electronic matter, offering new insights into how electrons can organize themselves in surprising ways. This discovery not only deepens our understanding of quantum materials but also opens the door to exploring new phases of matter that could one day power advanced technologies.

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